Nearto SFO this top-of-the-line Japanese restaurant meets the highest standards. Try the hamachi-kama (roasted yellowtail collar). Highly recommended.
Nenette T.
This place gives off the fancy feels but the food was delicious and I would definitely come back for round 2. This place is located right next to the Millbrae Bart/Caltrain station so if you're craving some sushi after a long day at work, I'd recommend going here. My family and I came here to celebrate my sister's birthday and when I asked them if they did anything special for birthdays (aka free food), they said they can bring something over. After our very filling dinner, we didn't expect them to bring over a slice of cheesecake AND 3 scoops of ice-cream! I'm used to places only providing 1 slice of cake or 1 scoop of ice cream but wow.. this place was so great to provide all these desserts for her birthday! (I even had to doublecheck the bill to make sure all these desserts were, indeed, free). They get a 5/5 stars from me! I wish I could upload the photos of the food/dessert but they became blurry after uploading onto Google photos!
Wats S.
Best affordable($40) omakase in bay area by far! Only $2 more than a very popular good omakase here
Emily L.
I've been here twice now for lunch they are closed both times . No explanation days their hours say they should be open!
Robert V.
Family was craving Japanese and we were in Burlingame, so we randomly selected a restaurant and ended up at Ichizen. Note: the entrance is not on the El Camino facing side, but on the opposite side of the building. Lol Inside: Decor and arrangements were very nice. Good sized booths for a group of 4. Ceramic everything for utensils, tea cups, sauce dish, etc. Food: Delicious. The stone pot anything is a must have. The dishes are served and presented elegantly. The aroma and flavor is amazing. Only thing is it is on the pricier side, but that is expected for quality food. Meal was pleasant and the waiter was helpful. He had come back to refill our tea and water throughout the meal. Overall, 4/5. It's a good place to eat but nothing really 'blew me away' so to speak. If you're in the area, give it a try and see how you like it!
Mike True
Portions too small for the price, will not be returning nor recommending, ordered a wagu steak and received 5 tiny pieces, I thought you must be kidding, what a rip off
Sara B.
BEWARE! Firstly, the food is so overpriced for under quality fish. Secondly, 9 cars had their cars broken into.. within a time span of 20 minutes. Right in their lot. They claimed that all their security cameras are broken and that they have seen cars getting broken into however, they just "don't have time" to fix it so they put up fake cameras. If you eat here, I suggest you walk or ride share.
Dave L.
I was staying at the hotel next door so this was the most convenient dinner option. Ichizen reminds me of the kind of Japanese restaurant you would find in the suburbs or maybe in a strip mall. Not entirely bad but not really authentic. Just so you have an idea of what to expect. It was slow on a Wednesday night--I was the only customer at 7pm aside from a family of 8. Given the numbers, service was of course fast and the food came out quickly. My philosophy in places like this is to keep it simple and I had the tempura udon and teka maki tuna roll. Both were fine. I didn't regret my choice and would return the next time I'm at the hotel.
Kayes C.
Another overpriced sushi joint of mediocre quality. First of, this place is not Japanese owned and business seems to be pretty light for a Friday night, for good reason as I would later find out. The fish was fresh and they did make effort in their presentation, but that does not justify the premium one pays for. I ordered a chawanmushi with Uni and ikura. At $15 a pop, the egg custard only filled up half of the cup it came in, with a dab of ikura and one piece of Uni. The texture of the egg custard was good, but lacked the umami flavor from a decent dashi. The $32 charashi contained a half bowl of rice with a few slices of your typical run of the mill fish varieties common to Tokyo Express (salmon, maguro, hamachi, etc.). Completely underwhelming and should be priced closer to $20 than $30s. The most disappointing was the tempura udon. The udon was completely overcooked and the broth had no flavors. It tasted exactly like the frozen udon pack one can purchase at the market for under $5. There were two pieces of shrimp tempura and a few SMALL pieces vegetables, although the pieces were so small it was hard to tell what they were after they were battered and deep fried. I seriously couldn't tell you what I ate. They also did not give us tempura sauce with the tempura. When we asked, the sauce that they did serve did not include grated daikon. Now, on to the special omakase sushi 10 piece for $60, only available on weekends. The price is not too bad, the presentation was nice, and the fishes were fresh. But once again, nothing was memorable, and the servers were not familiar with the variety of fishes nor sushi in general. Since we did not sit at the bar, the server brought our sushi to the table. I wasn't sure about the names of half of the fishes because the server basically stumbled and slaughtered through them while trying to read off a list. The members of our party are avid sake drinkers, but we ended up deciding against ordering sake. The markup for the quality of sake offered was way too high to the point where none of us could justify ordering them. All in all, this is a sushi restaurant that tries to justify high prices with pretty presentation and faux authenticity. At the end of the day, their dishes will definitely make for some great instagram pictures. Just remember that you'll definitely be paying for it.
Eva O.
Came here for dinner with a friend and we made a RSVP just to be safe. You never know when it comes to dinner time, there can be on and off days. What we ordered: - Payday Roll - this has got to be the most EXTRA sushi roll I have ever seen and it's amazing! hahah it is a veggie roll so if you want some fish, then payday isn't for you, but if you like extra, ten payday is for you! - Omakase [10 piece] - very fresh and the chefs allowed me to ask for a modification because I don't like tuna to sub for another fish they had in stock, thank you chef! - Santa Barbara Uni - sweet and tasty, like how uni should be. The wait staff was super friendly, but the booths make it hard for them to see us when we needed to ask them for something, but other than that, great place to dine. They also have their own parking lot so that eliminates street parking, thank goodness.
Seriously!?!? Shutting down and re-opening has done NOTHING for this establishment. The quality of the food is still mediocre. I've had better tasting sushi other places...hole in the walls even...I'm not sure what's going on with the teriyaki sauces - always a hit or miss, rarely a win. Then you have the udon not sure if it's supposed to be hard - I thought the broth would've softened it. Gross! Now let's talk about SERVICE! Holy crap You'll wait a good 5 minutes to be seated in a half empty restaurant. Ok fine. You'll get water almost immediately because you'll wait 20 minutes to order! And you'll only get to order if you flag someone down...otherwise you'd wait longer. You'll also get your appetizer after your main course (SMH). As you wait for the check...you'll catch the severs taking pictures of the food before bringing them to the tables. I mean come the f*** on...your service is slow as it is! NOTHING has changed...NOT ONE DAMN THING about the service. It still SUCKS!!!! I gave em another chance considering their a local restaurant...but the still SUCK! I do not recommend nor would I ever return.
Maricel Foss
The quality of food is excellent! Can't wait to go back!
Alex Whitton
For the first time being at a Japanese restaurant I really liked it, the food was fantastic and well presented.
Oscar L.
The fish is great here, but the prices are meh for what you get. We were seated fast on a Friday night, but the service needs a lot of work. They took some time to bring out our drinks and take our order. I literally had to wave someone down to get help. The restaurant wasn't busy by the way. The customers already there were either eating or just talking amongst each other. Even the chefs were chillin at the bar conversing with the bar customers. Maybe it was the way my family and I were dressed idk, but that's not a reason to have slow service. I definitely loved the edamame w/ Himalayan salt, Mixed Tempura, Tempura Udon, and the Deluxe Chirashi, but they forgot our ikura nigiri, which was for my 2yr old nephew. And again we had to wait before we had to ask about it. The pace of the food was spot on, but like I said, overall the service ruined it for me. No one really checked up on us to see how our experience was going. Last thing we got was negitoro temakis and it was meh. Yeah, it was creamy, but it lacked in flavor. Just imagine eating only the fat on a NY steak. Not that appealing imo. Overall, I don't think I'd come back. Oh, and the gruitity suggestions are based on the entire bill plus tax. When I was a waiter I never expected gratuity on top of tax. It makes no sense personally, but that's just me.
Fifi S.
Ichizen is a rare exception in the south bay area, where a horde of sushi places around but missing authenticity. The focus is really on the quality of food. Reservation is recommended if you are planning to sit in the sushi bar, especially on weekends. Parking area right in the front - no problem on finding a spot. The dinning atmosphere is friendly and intimate. I have been there several times with friends visiting me because this place is very close to SFO airport. We really enjoy the seating around sushi bar for omakase and conversations with the chef. He was very knowledgeable and accommodating to any special requests. We watch each sushi nigiri meticulously prepared right in front of us, and appreciate the texture and soak in the taste of each bite. The fish are incredibly fresh as most of them are imported daily/weekly from Japan and some of the best areas for special types. Each time we go, we get a slightly different menu. The chef explains every piece and every addition that he is adding to it, keeping the meal interesting and engaging, with occasional spice like yuzu, lime, shiso leaf... There are also some pieces for the purist, with just a dab of real wasabi and a brush of soy sauce. Appetizer wise I would recommend mushroom tempura and Wagyu beef on a hot stone - not much words to say about it, just fresh and juicy. If you are looking for an authentic sushi experience, this place is definitely worth a try!
Nearto SFO this top-of-the-line Japanese restaurant meets the highest standards. Try the hamachi-kama (roasted yellowtail collar). Highly recommended.
This place gives off the fancy feels but the food was delicious and I would definitely come back for round 2. This place is located right next to the Millbrae Bart/Caltrain station so if you're craving some sushi after a long day at work, I'd recommend going here. My family and I came here to celebrate my sister's birthday and when I asked them if they did anything special for birthdays (aka free food), they said they can bring something over. After our very filling dinner, we didn't expect them to bring over a slice of cheesecake AND 3 scoops of ice-cream! I'm used to places only providing 1 slice of cake or 1 scoop of ice cream but wow.. this place was so great to provide all these desserts for her birthday! (I even had to doublecheck the bill to make sure all these desserts were, indeed, free). They get a 5/5 stars from me! I wish I could upload the photos of the food/dessert but they became blurry after uploading onto Google photos!
Best affordable($40) omakase in bay area by far! Only $2 more than a very popular good omakase here
I've been here twice now for lunch they are closed both times . No explanation days their hours say they should be open!
Family was craving Japanese and we were in Burlingame, so we randomly selected a restaurant and ended up at Ichizen. Note: the entrance is not on the El Camino facing side, but on the opposite side of the building. Lol Inside: Decor and arrangements were very nice. Good sized booths for a group of 4. Ceramic everything for utensils, tea cups, sauce dish, etc. Food: Delicious. The stone pot anything is a must have. The dishes are served and presented elegantly. The aroma and flavor is amazing. Only thing is it is on the pricier side, but that is expected for quality food. Meal was pleasant and the waiter was helpful. He had come back to refill our tea and water throughout the meal. Overall, 4/5. It's a good place to eat but nothing really 'blew me away' so to speak. If you're in the area, give it a try and see how you like it!
Portions too small for the price, will not be returning nor recommending, ordered a wagu steak and received 5 tiny pieces, I thought you must be kidding, what a rip off
BEWARE! Firstly, the food is so overpriced for under quality fish. Secondly, 9 cars had their cars broken into.. within a time span of 20 minutes. Right in their lot. They claimed that all their security cameras are broken and that they have seen cars getting broken into however, they just "don't have time" to fix it so they put up fake cameras. If you eat here, I suggest you walk or ride share.
I was staying at the hotel next door so this was the most convenient dinner option. Ichizen reminds me of the kind of Japanese restaurant you would find in the suburbs or maybe in a strip mall. Not entirely bad but not really authentic. Just so you have an idea of what to expect. It was slow on a Wednesday night--I was the only customer at 7pm aside from a family of 8. Given the numbers, service was of course fast and the food came out quickly. My philosophy in places like this is to keep it simple and I had the tempura udon and teka maki tuna roll. Both were fine. I didn't regret my choice and would return the next time I'm at the hotel.
Another overpriced sushi joint of mediocre quality. First of, this place is not Japanese owned and business seems to be pretty light for a Friday night, for good reason as I would later find out. The fish was fresh and they did make effort in their presentation, but that does not justify the premium one pays for. I ordered a chawanmushi with Uni and ikura. At $15 a pop, the egg custard only filled up half of the cup it came in, with a dab of ikura and one piece of Uni. The texture of the egg custard was good, but lacked the umami flavor from a decent dashi. The $32 charashi contained a half bowl of rice with a few slices of your typical run of the mill fish varieties common to Tokyo Express (salmon, maguro, hamachi, etc.). Completely underwhelming and should be priced closer to $20 than $30s. The most disappointing was the tempura udon. The udon was completely overcooked and the broth had no flavors. It tasted exactly like the frozen udon pack one can purchase at the market for under $5. There were two pieces of shrimp tempura and a few SMALL pieces vegetables, although the pieces were so small it was hard to tell what they were after they were battered and deep fried. I seriously couldn't tell you what I ate. They also did not give us tempura sauce with the tempura. When we asked, the sauce that they did serve did not include grated daikon. Now, on to the special omakase sushi 10 piece for $60, only available on weekends. The price is not too bad, the presentation was nice, and the fishes were fresh. But once again, nothing was memorable, and the servers were not familiar with the variety of fishes nor sushi in general. Since we did not sit at the bar, the server brought our sushi to the table. I wasn't sure about the names of half of the fishes because the server basically stumbled and slaughtered through them while trying to read off a list. The members of our party are avid sake drinkers, but we ended up deciding against ordering sake. The markup for the quality of sake offered was way too high to the point where none of us could justify ordering them. All in all, this is a sushi restaurant that tries to justify high prices with pretty presentation and faux authenticity. At the end of the day, their dishes will definitely make for some great instagram pictures. Just remember that you'll definitely be paying for it.
Came here for dinner with a friend and we made a RSVP just to be safe. You never know when it comes to dinner time, there can be on and off days. What we ordered: - Payday Roll - this has got to be the most EXTRA sushi roll I have ever seen and it's amazing! hahah it is a veggie roll so if you want some fish, then payday isn't for you, but if you like extra, ten payday is for you! - Omakase [10 piece] - very fresh and the chefs allowed me to ask for a modification because I don't like tuna to sub for another fish they had in stock, thank you chef! - Santa Barbara Uni - sweet and tasty, like how uni should be. The wait staff was super friendly, but the booths make it hard for them to see us when we needed to ask them for something, but other than that, great place to dine. They also have their own parking lot so that eliminates street parking, thank goodness.
Restaurantji Recommends
Seriously!?!? Shutting down and re-opening has done NOTHING for this establishment. The quality of the food is still mediocre. I've had better tasting sushi other places...hole in the walls even...I'm not sure what's going on with the teriyaki sauces - always a hit or miss, rarely a win. Then you have the udon not sure if it's supposed to be hard - I thought the broth would've softened it. Gross! Now let's talk about SERVICE! Holy crap You'll wait a good 5 minutes to be seated in a half empty restaurant. Ok fine. You'll get water almost immediately because you'll wait 20 minutes to order! And you'll only get to order if you flag someone down...otherwise you'd wait longer. You'll also get your appetizer after your main course (SMH). As you wait for the check...you'll catch the severs taking pictures of the food before bringing them to the tables. I mean come the f*** on...your service is slow as it is! NOTHING has changed...NOT ONE DAMN THING about the service. It still SUCKS!!!! I gave em another chance considering their a local restaurant...but the still SUCK! I do not recommend nor would I ever return.
The quality of food is excellent! Can't wait to go back!
For the first time being at a Japanese restaurant I really liked it, the food was fantastic and well presented.
The fish is great here, but the prices are meh for what you get. We were seated fast on a Friday night, but the service needs a lot of work. They took some time to bring out our drinks and take our order. I literally had to wave someone down to get help. The restaurant wasn't busy by the way. The customers already there were either eating or just talking amongst each other. Even the chefs were chillin at the bar conversing with the bar customers. Maybe it was the way my family and I were dressed idk, but that's not a reason to have slow service. I definitely loved the edamame w/ Himalayan salt, Mixed Tempura, Tempura Udon, and the Deluxe Chirashi, but they forgot our ikura nigiri, which was for my 2yr old nephew. And again we had to wait before we had to ask about it. The pace of the food was spot on, but like I said, overall the service ruined it for me. No one really checked up on us to see how our experience was going. Last thing we got was negitoro temakis and it was meh. Yeah, it was creamy, but it lacked in flavor. Just imagine eating only the fat on a NY steak. Not that appealing imo. Overall, I don't think I'd come back. Oh, and the gruitity suggestions are based on the entire bill plus tax. When I was a waiter I never expected gratuity on top of tax. It makes no sense personally, but that's just me.
Ichizen is a rare exception in the south bay area, where a horde of sushi places around but missing authenticity. The focus is really on the quality of food. Reservation is recommended if you are planning to sit in the sushi bar, especially on weekends. Parking area right in the front - no problem on finding a spot. The dinning atmosphere is friendly and intimate. I have been there several times with friends visiting me because this place is very close to SFO airport. We really enjoy the seating around sushi bar for omakase and conversations with the chef. He was very knowledgeable and accommodating to any special requests. We watch each sushi nigiri meticulously prepared right in front of us, and appreciate the texture and soak in the taste of each bite. The fish are incredibly fresh as most of them are imported daily/weekly from Japan and some of the best areas for special types. Each time we go, we get a slightly different menu. The chef explains every piece and every addition that he is adding to it, keeping the meal interesting and engaging, with occasional spice like yuzu, lime, shiso leaf... There are also some pieces for the purist, with just a dab of real wasabi and a brush of soy sauce. Appetizer wise I would recommend mushroom tempura and Wagyu beef on a hot stone - not much words to say about it, just fresh and juicy. If you are looking for an authentic sushi experience, this place is definitely worth a try!