Sapporo Ichiban in Lewisham

Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and delicious food - very affordable!

Really helpful & friendly staff a good choice of Japanese food but could do with more choice of beers. The food service can be a little bit slow when it is busy.

I love this place, the owners are lovely and the food is always 5 stars. It's one of the best local places

A true gem. Delicious fresh food, brilliant service and an unexpected treat of green tea chocolate at the end. Can not recommend enough!

The yummiest sushi and the nicest people! Everything we wanted for our family meal. Will be bringing everyone here 🩵

This is a lovely family own restaurant. We, as a family, have been eating there for the past 16 years. We are always welcomed, the food is delicious and not overly priced.

I like it here but their food hygiene rating is 2* - on the door it says 3, which is incorrect. I won’t be revisiting until it’s at least 4*.

It is a lovely restaurant, but for my liking it is a bit cold there.

Best Japanese restaurant in South East London! Beautiful food and friendly service.

Lovely food, good portion, many options to choose from the menu

Been going here for almost 2 decades, The best Japanese restaurant in Catford hands down.

Sunken seating area is fun, kids love it. The sushi is extremely yum.

I’ll never not adore this restaurant. I’ve been coming here for nearly a decade, not super regularly but it’s never disappointed me. The sushi is fresh and flavourful with soft and fluffy rice, the drinks and cheap and cheerful (get the plum wine!!!) and they’ve always got room for me and my friends. One of my fave sushi places in south east london, I would take anyone here. And the value is amazing!! You always leave full and they’ve always got something you want. It’s even good for my veggie and vegan friends!

We have waited too long to write a review for our most favorite place in London. And no, we are not in the so called new age "food critics" category, whatever that meand. If you're expecting high end service and a katana wielding lesson, this is not the place for you. We are also not "authentic Japanese food experts", as some gleefully label themselves, we just like the restaurant, top to bottom, authentic or not. Service can be slow at times, as it can be experienced IN ANY OTHER RESTAURANT ON THE PLANET, but if you're not going there after a starvation diet or during peak times, it should be fine. Consider that it is a family business and three, four people are usually doing everything, from cooking to serving and cleaning. We often take our own empty plates back or we even clear our own table, as to give them a hand (now the restaurant aficionados are going to have a mild stroke upon hearing this) but that, for us, is part of the charm of the place. Food wise, we have never been disappointed, I mean NEVER, and the price per quality and quantity can't be beaten in London. We are two average people and we never seem to pass over the 25 pounds bill, for both of us. That's literally the cheapest dinners we ever had in London. Since we've been going there for one year and a half we've got to know the staff and they've gotten to know us and we've always been understanding of the serving times or possible mishaps. So, my advice is to go there with an open mind and decent appetite and if you're planning to visit the restaurant at peak times, be ready to wait a bit for your food. And stop whining about everything.

Delicious mouthwatering food and a wide selection of authentic Japanese dishes to choose from; best I’ve had in London so far. Fantastic and warm service. Very reasonable prices. Wholeheartedly recommend. <3

Extremely slow service. Really wanted to love the place as the staff are nice. Starters were fairly tasty but after waiting over an hour for ramen to arrive we had to ask for the bill early as we had booked to see a film at the cinema nearby. There were only 4 other tables when we arrived and all already had their food so not sure why it was taking so long to make ramen. I thought an hour and 10 mins would be plenty of time to whip up some noodles but sadly not. Would come back but only if I have a spare 3-4 hours as it seems to take a while to make dishes. Not sure how they’d cope if the restaurant was actually full but definitely need more/faster cooks

Good local Japanese restaurant with friendly service and a choice of Japanese and Western style tables.

Horrible food, nothing os anywhere near traditional, tempura was heavy and oily when it should be light and crunchy, salad can't be called a salad, sushi was frozen and wasn't even fully thawed then served. DO NOT GO HERE IF YOU WANT ACTUAL JAPANESE FOOD.

Banging Sushi. Food is absolutely superb. Do not let the sad potted plant facade deceive you!

Nice food with great pricing, will definitely visit again!

One of my favourite places in Catford! Food is always on point!

An authentic Japanese restaurant with wide variety of food Spicy beef ramen, gyozas and yakitori all delicious Decently priced also As only 2 staff members service was a little slow but super friendly

Always genuinely amazing. Regular returning customers and best sushi in London city.

Cheapest and tastiest icecream mochi you will find! I've enjoyed everything I've eaten here and the staff are a delight. The prices and service and food is well worth a trip ❤️

Really awesome food! I have been going here for years and it never disappoints. The staff are great too! Definitely a local jem!

What a gem. Great food, very reasonably priced and the ground floor seating is a nice quirk

The best and most affordable sushi in London. Well worth a visit.

Delicious food and excellent service at great prices, very warming and homely meal. Would recommend to everyone, good for groups of friends and family.

Lovely food, slightly slow service. Nevetheless, a must visit!

Great place for food and resonable pricing too

Lovely experience, very pleasant and calm place for dinner with friends or family.

Always delicious food at a great price. Local gem

Really nice food, good variety and great for non carnivores. Service was a little slow (was busy) but friendly and attentive. Hidden gem, this place.

Loved it. Delicious and most appetising. Not expensive. Very clean. Excellent service. I also bought fresh Salmon and Avocado Sushi to take home.

Very nice food - all fresh and hot. I had the miso soup, vegetarian gyozo and a vegetarian sushi platter. Very generous portions too! I couldn’t finish the sushi so took some home. Service was nice and attentive (I asked if they could swap some of my sushi). To be honest I was sceptical reading about sushi in catford (there are not many restaurants here anyways) but I am honestly delighted ❤️

This is such an underrated gem and some of the best sushi I've had in South London for a ridiculously reasonable price! Don't judge a book b its cover - the front of this restaurant does not do this place justice. The sushi is as good as any I've had at fancy central London restaurants but for SUCH a low price. The staff are amazing, the unique setting (sunken tables) makes it so much fun, and the Japanese-Chinese menu includes all my favourite dishes from both cuisines! I almost don't want more people to find out about this place but the owners really deserve it because they're doing such an amazing job. The free matcha chocolate that they make in-house and give you with the bill was the icing on the cake !

Great food, the tempura is absolutely delicious. I love the traditional seating available for customers. Nice decor and nice prices as well.

Great restaurant, very tasty food and wonderful staff. A d great value

Stumbled across this place looking for somewhere to eat before the cinema. Incredible food and great service. Freshly made sushi, perfectly fried don buri duck. Just bang!

Amazing sushi restaurant! Food made to order, brilliant service and even gives little gifts at the end for my neice’s birthday. Lovely place and will definitely be back!

Fantastic restaurant with great food and great customer service.

This is not the most helpful of reviews but I wanted to balance out the amazing reviews everywhere that convinced us to visit. I did the best out of us, as I am gluten free. There was very little choice but I had some rice with dried meat and some kind of pickled veg on the side. When you stirred it together it was tasty. My friend's food - sorry I don't know the name frankly looked like vomit and she didn't like it at all. Her daughter was also unimpressed with her food. I felt bad when I looked at their plates and bad that I had invited them. We enjoyed the novelty of sitting on the floor with our legs hanging into the 'pit' and there was a nice atmosphere.

I found this place by accident while taking a different route home. While it looks nothing special from the outside, it definitely has a lot to offer and is a very good value for money. Aside from traditional tables you can also seat Japanese style at the low tables which adds to the climate. The menu is very rich, prices are very low and portions generous. You can choose from a selection of starters, sushi and variety of hot dishes. My personal favourite were takoyaki and it’s probably the only place you can find them in this area. I also went for chicken kara-age, crispy squid, prawn rolls and mushrooms on skewers. All freshly made and served hot to the table. Very nice service as well and

This place is a gem. I've eaten here many times and always been impressed. The owners and all the staff are so welcoming and lovely. At the busiest times it can be a little bit slow, so I find it's better to order things to share as the kitchens turn out dishes one after the other, but it's always worth the wait and always a good time.

A HIDDEN GEM! Staff are so welcoming and service is great. There’s a lot of love and character in this business, always get excited to eat here. I enjoy trying slightly more daring foods at times but get too scared to, however, when I dine here I don’t have to worry as I can trust them!

Delicious and fresh! Great veggie options including sushi and bento boxes, nice to see the open kitchen too. Can’t wait to try more of the menu ☺️

Such nice food + great value. Everything we had was lovely

Great Food and pleasant atmosphere. Went there with friends last Tuesday. We had a great time- plenty of choice and all freshly cooked. Also had a variety of Asian beers.

Eccentrically delightful. They have some artistic flare with the way they prepare the food. Worth a visit.

Good quality of food and very decent price. Service is good too. Visited a few times in the past but I should visit here more often as a local!

Well priced, can't wait to go again. Staff are friendly and attentive. Food is all fresh and the plum wine is delicious!

Very reasonable pricing, quite good sushi, very good noodles, smiling staff.. I’d definitely recommend everyone who likes Far East food, especially sushi 😅

Staff were lovely, food was AMAZING. Excellent value for money too. I think they will become my regular takeout.

Friendly service and delicious food. The generous portion of tempura king prawn was particularly good, and the sushi was wonderful. Highly recommended.

Food never fails here, definitely my go-to sushi place!

My favourite Japanese place in London! Great prices small local run business would 110% recommend

Really delicious. I went for the tofu bento box, was good !!

Lovely family owned business. Mostly very tasty. Honestly could do with refurbishing and a nice deep clean. But overall it is a very family friendly place, with very tasty and reasonably priced food. Would have given 5 stars if the place was cleaner.

Favourite place for a take away for my whole family and all friends 🖤

To be honest I wasn't sure at begining how the food would taste. But it was delicious and affordable. Especially the shushi's variety of dishes and fresh...would definitely recommend and go back again

One of the best sushi restaurant in London, our favorite!!! We love the food and we love the service. The lady owner is really nice, warm and welcoming.

Delicious sushi - the eel and salmon nigiri are up there with what you get in Japan. Great value too.

Love the food and all the Japanese green tea. Agedashi tofu yummy. Service is a bit less frenetic because it's a family run restaurant with one chef so give it a rest with the impatience. Would definitely recommend and it's great to have these kind of places to have a sit down meal in Catford.

I love this restaurant. All my family is going to dine there. The service is always 5 stars 😉 We are definitely recommend this restaurant

I absolutely love the sushi here, catford roll is my fave. Try to go here when it's less busy, otherwise you may experience a little bit of a wait but trust me it is worth it.

Love the kimchi and bento boxes. Always a calm but friendly atmosphere

Very lovely food at an affordable price

Can you believe a sushi restaurant in the middle of Catford? Food is fresh and made on the premises. Been going there for years and never been disappointed. 💯🔯

Great food, very nice service. I recommend

Sapporo never fails to delight. The food was delicious (as was the wine actually), we felt safe there (the tables are distanced and were sanitised regularly) and the service was especially good. I've frequented this restaurant a handful of times over the years, and was especially keen to support it after the UK lockdown. Having never left a review online for Sapporo before, despite valuing it so highly, this review aims to right that wrong. As I say above, the service was faultless: they gave us space when we needed it (I was catching up with my bestie after months of not seeing each other) and were attentive when we were ready to order more, which we did frequently! We shared some starters (pork gyoza, avocado rolls, vegetable tempura) before moving on to mains (chicken ramen and the duck teriyaki bento box) with wine. The house red was really full bodied and not watered down like you get in some other restaurants. I always get the veggie tempura at this restaurant because it really is so good. It didn't include sweet potato and peppers this time, which was disappointing, but the battered mushrooms and cauliflower were delicious. The bento box for me is excellent value for money (see the pics I've posted of the menu for Sept 2020 prices), as you get a steaming, vegetable-filled bowl of miso soup as well as the main and pickles. My friend loved her ramen, as did my sister, who I ordered take out for at the same time as I dined with my friend. Do support this local restaurant if you can. I was very grateful for the top notch service I received earlier this week, and for the full belly I left with too!

Amazing fresh food. Authentic setting. Traditional Japanese dining. Tofu was amazing. Salmon and Eel excellent

Amazing Japanese food. I particularly like the sushi and sashimi which are made with great quality fish. I recently discovered they do take away (pick up only) which is a real treat.

Had another great meal here. Shame more people won't venture out at the moment. Will be back soon.

amazing food! Hey guys, I hope you're all well during this time. We are loyal customers who normally get take away from you. It pains me to see you closed. Can you not do take away only? Or even deliveroo / Uber eat. Me and my partner has spent over £200 in other sushi places, who are not even half as good as you. Have you consider pick up only?

My family and I love this place. Food is always great, and astonishingly affordable for Japanese. One of our favourite restaurants in all of London.

We love it. Lovely food and lovely people.

Friendly Japanese restaurant. lovely traditional food.

I always have to eat here at least one to three times a month. Best Asian restaurant in Lewisham/Catford. I love the ambience. They are so good at what they are doing and the food they make. The bento boxes are worth it as well as the starters. The staff are so polite and welcoming. I was gonna give a 5* in total but I had to go with 4* because I badly need them to have a delivery but still not. I have been going to this restaurant for years and I honestly feel like it's time to step up the game. It is quite a trek to travel from Lewi to Catford especially when I'm so tired from work so I highly suggest a delivery. Otherwise I couldn't ask for any better, just a slight additional recommendation ❤️

Was surprised to see a Japanese restaurant in the local area, so I for sure had to try this place. It’s not in the very best place in Catford, rather I never knew this place was around until a friend recommended it whilst looking for places to eat at in the area The food itself was quite disappointing. The ramen didn’t offer much flavour to it, broth was quite bland and the beef was very plain in flavour. It did sort of offer the spicy kick as it was advertised, but it wasn’t as strong as I was expecting. Wasn’t really the best value for money. The tapioca pearl drink was unbearably sweet, was super bummed by the tapioca. It wasn’t chewy, nor was it even of a ball-like form like usual tapioca pearls. Could do with a clean as the interior was quite filthy and the display menus was filled with dust - essentially it looked like the place wasn’t well taken care of I do like how it has seating options where you can either sit on the floor with your feet in a sunken floor, or go for a western style table and seating. Service was okay, staff were friendly, but the food took a while to arrive. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this place if you’re looking for good quality Japanese food, but for the location and if you’re looking for something cheaper and more local in the market, then this may suit you

OK so can't really judge this on comparison due to not eating much Japanese bar sushi... The bento was sweet for me... And well the udon noddles was questionable.

The taste of the food is fresh also you can see how is cooking your food and you have free soup. Staff really lovely!

Could do with a bit of a refresh decor wise but the food was 5 star. Very reasonably priced as well. Good service too. Top tip. The Ramen bowls are big. You might not need anything else!

One of the best places for Japanese food in the whole of London.

Has a mixture of normal seating and the low, more traditional seating. Staff are friendly and attentive. Extensive menu. Good vegetarian options. Same with the juices. We went for mango and watermelon, both after good. Had tofu and veg gyoza to start. Bento boxes for main. All the food was and very reasonably priced. Recommended.

Great sushi! Super kind staff. It’s was busy on a Sunday night so our food took a bit longer than usual but staff were amazing and even gave us free green tea! Would recommend 🍣🍱😊!

Great food. Very reasonable prices. Will definitely be back.

Awesome local Japanese restaurant. I'm fast becoming a regular!

Delicious food and excellent service

Always a pleasure to eat hear. Excellent food and friendly service. Extremely good value too.

Excellent choice for a family Sunday lunch with a difference. Reasonably priced, tasty food freshly cooked. Nice atmosphere and friendly service.

Had a delicious, reasonably priced Sunday lunch here. Great choice of cocktails etc. All food freshly cooked. Nice atmosphere, friendly service.

Love this place great sushi, Miso soup awesome!

Lovely food but the restaurant needs a make over

We used to come to this restaurant a lot and had good food and service. Unfortunately the last two times we have visited, the service was extremely slow. Dishes arrived when all other diners had long finished their meals. The interior also felt dirty and tired. Some compensation for the poor service would have been appreciated but was not offered. The lady owner is pleasant and smiley but if you have a busy life or are hungry and want to eat soon, perhaps try somewhere else.

Hadn't been for a while. Food was of the usual high standard and the speed of service was significantly better.

I have been a customer here for the last 8 years and it is still the only place that I keep returning too. All their food is freshly made and their sushi is beautiful! I am not sure if the correct name of sushi I get but it has 6 pieces of prawn and cucumber with (what looks like mayo) a white drop of on top- BEAUTIFUL, pork or chicken gyoza and Chicken teriyaki and rice I highly recommend this restaurant and if you are to go here, just call to double check they have a table free as it isn’t the biggest restaurant and can get filled quickly.

Food was amazing and the service was friendly, always a good place to stop for a meal

Just eaten at this amazing sushi restaurant.. We had a good range of the menu and it was all delicious. You must visit! You might get to sit at the funny low tables where your feet are in a hole!

Large menu. Very lovely but you must choose carefully off the menu.

One of my favourite places in Catford. Not only timeless grace and authentic Japanese dishes, incredibly high standards of service and attention to personal preferences. No surprise this place is a winner of awards and also a success across a broad cross section of the local and wider visitors. Not just an average run of the mill, this is home to hearty, healthy, and happy eating, or should I say dining. Congratulations on your outstanding restaurant, Many thanks for years of great dishes.