Ichiban in Cardiff

Been here countless times. Simply put - my favourite restaurant. Great service, brilliant menu, tasty food.

My all time favourite restaurant in Cardiff. Family run, with a wonderful warm welcome and atmosphere. The food is superb and I recommend the Sashimi, Chirashi don, Tako Su and the various Teishoku. Over the 15+ years that we have been visiting Ichiban, the staff have become good friends. Visited on Saturday for my birthday and I had Happy Birthday sang to me for nearly every course - Hugely embarrassing and really appreciated! The current venue is closing on the 10th of Sep and I’m going to really miss it. Hopefully a new venue will be opening very soon, as it’s easily the best of its kind in Cardiff.

Great place, highly recommend it for anyone who loves Japanese cuisine. I hope they find a new place soon

We just exited from dining here. If we could give negative stars we would. The ramen was just a water broth - zero flavor. The maki rolls fell apart no flavor again. Terrible wait staff. No creativity, authenticity or flavor. Just awful food and ambience. Suffice to say will never dine here or order anything from here.again.

Enjoyed their food - highly recommended. Definitely coming back again 👍

Sadly I’m at mcdonalds after trying to eat here. Ordered sashimi deluxe, waited a good 20 minutes past my wife’s food being delivered. What was then brought to the table was the most disappointingly small and poorly cut sashimi I’ve seen. Asked them to rerun the order but gave up after waiting a further 30 minutes. Of course they still charged us full price (£50!!) even though we didn’t get to have a meal. This should be a hard avoid for everyone just so you don’t get disappointed too.

Lovely food, friendly service, I always love eating here.

This is my favorite restaurant! Best sushi I ever had! And yes fair enough I never been to Japan, but I had sushi in many many places around UK and Europe and even Dubai, but nothing compares to Ichiban in Cardiff! I come at least once or 2wice a month and I am not a type of person who regularly come to any places. I like trying new things, new restaurants every time, but I just can't stay away from Ichiban. I'll give you tip for perfect order: set meal 101, one portion of inari nigiri and one portion of tobiko nigiri. You'll leave full and satisfied as well with a portion size as variety of the meal. However if you're not a fan of those things, they offer wide selection of sushi and other japanese dishes so everyone will find something for themselves. Texture of rice and slices of fish are rich and perfectly balanced. There's a slight issue with heating in winter, so it can get quite cold, but I assure you it's worth it.

The place was nice, but the prices are too high for quality. The rice was not sticky enough, the Nigiri was falling apart. But the service and atmosphere were really good

I'm hoping this was just a Sunday sushi issue But I've been coming to this restaurant for 10++ years very regularly ordering a massive takeaway on Xmas eve on top of several visits throughout the year But the resturant just dropped ball slightly on Sashimi platter today 3 out of the 9 fish not available But wasn't advised on ordering The replacement were far lower grade fish - cured mackerel is not Scallop And Sea Bass is no where near Hamachi.. And with a tiny slither of Octopus - I still could only count 8.. (if you include a tiny dusting of fly fish eggs) The sushi boat looked fairly empty on arrival.. So given this is most expensive dish on menu - I was confused and slightly heart broken. Resturant did say if I wanted more.. Blah blah but I wasn't prepared to argue... And cured mackerel is certainly not Uni.. All resturant needed to do was accept I barely had 7 fish (certainly not 9) and reduce price to the normal sashimi platter - and not blag regular customer on the Delux.. Not sure if I should post a picture of the normal platter I had a year or so ago which was far better than this Delux.. I've still given 4 star as - I want this restaurant to get back to best sushi in Cardiff But realistically I left restaurant fairly vexxed after paying bill in full only to write this TripAdvisor..

If I could give it more stars I would, this place is seriously underrated given how easy it is to get a table for some of the best food you could want

Really friendly and efficient service Food is absolutely amazing, Always hot food and full of flavour Service is very quick and cleanliness is 5 ⭐️ Relaxing atmosphere Would recommend to everyone.

Friendly staff, great food! Definitely recommend the crispy salmon maki and chicken teriyaki maki. Will return soon!

Friendly staff, great food! Definitely recommend the crispy salmon maki and chicken teriyaki maki. Will return soon!

Tuna nigiri looked off, smelled off and it tasted off! Fish roe tastes like some sort of plastic or bleach.

Probably my favourite place for sushi in Cardiff, and I consider myself somewhat experienced including multiple trips to Japan. Sushi is my favourite food and I always come here for my birthday. Only lost a star as it was really cold last time had to keep my coat on!

lovely food, my favourite restaurant!

We seemed to be the only customers to start with,however, on a Tuesday night it soon filled up and warmed up. Staff were helpful and friendly. The food was delicious and I loved the fact that it wasn't as loud as most restaurants these days. We will be back

Our absolute favourite restaurant to visit. The food is delicious. The staff are incredibly friendly. I can't fault it at all.

The service here is absolutely great and lovely food a little bit expensive but still fabulous with the service

Okay. This is probably the most authentic Japanese restaurant in Cardiff. One of my Japanese teachers, born and brought up in Osaka, even comes here and says this is the closest you can get to homemade Japanese food. The prices are decent and they serve really good alcohol. I definitely will be returning.

Amazing food, friendly staff and great atmosphere. Food didn’t take too long to come out and was reasonably priced. Really helpful with vegan dishes, showing which items can be made vegan and which ones can’t. Highly recommend!

When I tried it everything except for sushi was really salty, sushi were ok.

I am absolutely in love with it all. The people, the place and omg, the FOOD! I've been going to Ichiban for almost 10 years now and it's always amazing. My favourite restaurant 😍

I usually don’t leave bad reviews despite being a Karen however, ordered a takeaway from them which was over an hour late arriving. 3 out of the 4 items were cold making one completely inedible ( let’s be honest, cold and soggy squid is a hard pass). Called and they offered to resend… it was 9.40pm at this point so that was a no, second offer was a refund of one of the main dishes which I accepted. 2 weeks later… still no refund. No response from their email or social media. £45 for one meal was a complete waste so my friends and I won’t be ordering again.

We got food poisoning from our dinner at Ichiban last night. My friend came to visit from London and I took him there for dinner. Food tasted good as usually but ended up both with stomachache and diarrhea until now...not good!!

Great place, friendly staff and delicious ramen

This was my first visit and I was very impressed with the food and overall service. Very tasty food and will hopefully return soon.

If you're looking for a decent environment for a meal, this restaurant is fine. If you're looking for a good, thoughtful Japanese meal, don't bother. I got the chasiu ramen and a tori karaage. The ramen is one of the worst i've had in the UK, and the vegetables inside tasted like they borrowed it from leftovers from a nearby chinese restaurant, the shoyu soup is ridiculously sweet, and very unbalanced. The karaage skin is only slightly better than KFC, which isn't saying much given how awful KFC is in the UK.

This place has fed all 4 generations of my family including my 9 year old daughter. We love this place and by far the best in Cardiff! Staff are extremely helpful and friendly and the food is amazing and fresh. Might order tonight!

Have been here numerous times, service is excellent and food is fantastic!

Good sushi 3.7 for the sushi Okay vibes Very good service Well priced

Amazing food... Cooked well and served straight away

Lovely food at a decent price. The staff were friendly, catering and attentive! We asked if they could bring a birthday cake out, which I’m not sure if they usually would do this but they did anyway and we appreciated that very much. Would go again :)

Great go-to for your quick Japanese food fix! ❤️

We had such a lovely time at Ichiban. The staff were so friendly and welcoming. The menu is extensive and has so many different options such as jellyfish, sea urchin and eel. We ordered some sushi, crab fried rice, edamame, octopus balls and teriyaki chicken with 2 pints of beer. This was more than enough food for 2 and cost £50 all together.

Family owned restaurant who are wonderful . Fresh noodles and sushi prepared with love. Everything delicious and all served with a smile. We eat here weekly and would come more often but would explode with the good food!

The staff truly cares about your experience. Good ambiance and most especially the food is absolutely amazing. Thank you The Ichiban Sushi & Noodle Bar Japanese Restaurant. I just want to make a request, would it be possible to add on your menu a Ramen that has thick soup?

It was my granddaughter's choice, she live sushi and we went as birthday treat. Food quite nice, wouldn't be my choice, but 10 year old loved it.

Nice place. Enjoyed the dinner and vibe. Staff service was very fast and catered to their customer needs.

Fantastic Japanese food. Great service, thoroughly recommend.

Friendly staff, fresh delicious food and so much variety!! I would not hesitate coming back very soon x

Sadly I didn't eat at the restaurant as I got it delivered to my house. I got the chicken katsu ramen with some sake and I had to share as I absolutely loved it. One of the best meals I've ever had. Also sorry about to bad picture

Lovely staff, great food and excellent value. The staff were very attentive and helped us order as we had not eaten in a Japanese restaurant before. They suggested that we might like to share different dishes and provided an amazing variety of different things to try. Will definitely visit again.

Just had a lovely fresh and tasty meal from Ichiban. Great food and lovely friendly staff 😊 highly recommended!!

Fantastic food, great price, amazing selection of dishes something for everyone will be returning

Very good menu and no here cider drinks

Friendly service and plenty of variety

Top quality food, great staff, never had a bad meal!

Really tasty food A little let down by the scruffy interior and sticky tables

Excellent sushi and temaki. Friendly staff and brilliant service

Some of the most authentic Japanese food I have found in this country. They were unable to do wok fried dishes the night we were there, but we were still spoilt for choice. The ramen was delicious as were the teishoku set meals.

Excellent service and quality we all had a really good night thank you!

Staff were great and the food was amazing! Will be going again in the future

Tasty nudes and delicious meats

Love this place, friendly staff, very tasty food. And generous portions. Highly recommended.

Had a great meal here last night.

Over the past year their quantity of fish in their meals has reduced whilst price has gone up. I'll not order again.

Very good food, excellent staff whose efficiency was only matched by their pleasant demeanour and willingness to get everything right. Wonderful evening, highly recommended restaurant.

Always a lovely experience & amazing food.

Food is good, staff very friendly.

Fantastic restaurants and asset to Cardiff. I have had multiple incredible meals here and have never been disappointed. I always make an effort to order something different, and always enjoy the great flavours in every dish. Staff are always lovely and willing to help! I would recommend to anyway who wants great flavours and friendly atmosphere

I ordered a takeaway tonight on Deliveroo. The food was amazing, we were so impressed. The dishes all tasted very fresh and were full of flavour. Would highly recommend!!

Decent sushi, friendly staff (incl delivery driver) and wide selection of dishes.

I came here to try sushi for the first time and immediately loved it! There's loads of choice of sushi filling (fish and veggie) and style (maki/temaki/nigiri etc) to please everyone, plus other dishes like ramen, noodles, stir fry and rice. The staff have always been very polite here too and the prices of most items are very reasonable. To top it all off, the interior is beautiful! P.S. If you're a lager fan, I recommend that you try the Asahi.

Love the service here excellent food thank you chef's!

Amazing food for vegetarians and meat eaters. Lovely staff

Ordered for delivery for the first time, definetly not the last! Food was delicious! cant wait to try the dine in experience soon.

Not like it use to be salmon teryiaki no sauce very dry, veg looked gone off not good!

Not as good as was before (2 years ago) I ordered salmon teriyaki, no sauce at all, salmon was dry No ginger and wasabi with sushi Very disappointed I'm not going to order again

Very very good ! And amazing service !

Fantastic authentic cuisine and excellent service.

First experience and it was a great experience. Both my partner and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Wonderful food and service whilst maintaining the COVID guidelines. See you soon.

Lovely restaurant, great food and service but food can be a bit pricey

Ordered a takeaway from here. Much better than other Japanese style restaurants I have tried in the Cardiff area. Food generally I would say good value for money, not overpriced by any stretch of the imagination. Thoughtfully packaged and the sushi in particular was excellent as well as the marinated pork with sushi rice. Would recommend this to anyone that wanted a fairly priced good quality Japanese style meal. I’m sure it’s even better value and nicer food if you dine in too

Lovely tasty fresh food. Good service and prices. Would recommend!

Beautiful sushi and teriyaki dishes. Very friendly staff.

Excellent food and customer service.

Cold food, personalisation not followed, 9.3% price increase in a month I used to love this place. Not keen any more - I'll be looking for somewhere else to get my takeaways from in future

What a disappointment !! Had been recommended by a friend so I had high hopes. My son had a sushi platter which he liked. My husband and I ordered warm food, which as it turned out was as cold as the sushi. We pre-ordered as it was a Saturday night. However, after a couple of phone calls when it didn't arrive on time,it eventually turned up almost an hour and 15 minutes late. The food would probably have been acceptable when it left the kitchen, but after being driven round town for an hour and 15, then warmed up in our oven for another 15 minutes, it fell very much short of acceptable !! It wasn't cheap either !! I was offered 10% of a return order, but obviously that's not going to happen !!

Very nice indeed. Great food at decent prices

So delicious and reasonably priced. The Spider Maki and Rainbow Maki are especially delicious and the tuna rolls had a generous amount of tuna.

The best sushi from the best people, Very friendly staff who helped me chose the right delicious dishes. The place looks very clean with great decor, will definitely dine in after lock down. Highly recommended, you won't be disappointed.

The best Japanese restaurant in Cardiff, wonderful and friendly staff. Highly recommended. Top notch everytime.

Food is peng! I don't get some of the reviews left dissing the food, maybe those Karens should ask the helpful stuff behind the counter for recommendations next time? Best sushi in TOWN!!!!

First time going here after many people suggesting me that this is the best sushi place to go. What can I say.. haven't had such a delicious Japanese in long time and would recommend anyone to this place. The staff were friendly and the décor was nice and made me feel welcome from first sight.

I expected a lot more quality for he money paid. Ordered online (which may make the product suffer) and found the food not as good as expected. Did not eat most of what was delivered. The fried tofu had some strange gelatinous layer...which was unappetising, the salad was shredded lettuce and Marie rose sauce (most average salad possible and doesn't seem fitting with the menu).

Absolutely incredible service and staff. They were always polite, friendly and willing to offer help or guidance with decisions. Food was beautifully presented and tasty. Love it.

The best restaurant in Cardiff. We've been going for years and the food is consistently of an excellent standard. I've taken a few friends who have lived in Japan and they have all said it's the closest thing they have had to being back there. Amazing Sashimi, Sushi and Tempura. The staff are delightful and always make us feel very welcome. Takeaway meals are superb too. I'd eat all my meals there if I could afford it!

Absolutely adore it here. Their bento boxes are a dream! my go-to Japanese restaurant.

Been visiting and ordering from Ichiban for over 2 years. Delicious food, friendly staff, and relaxed atmosphere. Perfect place to go with family or friends. The extensive variety of sushi is delicious and is a fun adventure to try out. Would also recommend the soft-shelled crab ('spider maki'), the eel fried rice ('unagi chahan'), and the beef yaki-niku. 😋

Love coming to Ichiban for dinner with the family. Cannot fault it! The spicy beef chahan is a must when coming here! See you soon Ichiban!

Love going to Ichiban Cardiff, it’s one of the best places to get Japanese food, and great customer service too 😍

Amazing quality! Tuna maki rolls were fantastic!

Lovely fresh sushi, sashimi and hot dishes. Always delicious. Recommend to everyone

I'm a sushi enthusiast myself. Despite the challenges faced by the restaurant to obtain the ingredients, they managed to fulfil my satisfaction. Their menu overwhelmes me to a great extent. There is just so much food to choose from, and I've been eating here for years, but everytime I see the menu I still find it a challenge to make a decision. That's because every dish in the menu is just marvellous. There are many Japanese restaurants out there, but I admit that Ichiban is the closest to authentic. The staff are all friendly and nice.

Highly recommend. I can say that out of all places to eat sashimi in Cardiff, the restaurant managed to peak my expectations. Tried all the variety of tempura dishes, and I must say that they serve excellent tempura. The batter is just perfect and the dish is fried to perfection. Furthermore, their fried rice and ramen dishes are simply outstanding. Oishi!

Just got back from a delicious meal at ichiban! We paid an impromptu visit there as a group of 6 and we had excellent service, delicious food and a great time! Thanks all!

Amazing food!! Excellent service, friendly inviting people

Love it here. We've visited many times. Love the spider maki!