ICHIRO: A SO-CALLED MODERN JAPANESE RESTAURANT SERVING INTERNATIONAL DISHES
The Cost -$26 per person
The Atmosphere – With the White Plains restaurant claiming to serve modern Japanese cuisine, it isn’t surprising that Ichiro features a modernly designed interior with Japanese touches. However, the restaurant’s design looks more like modern for the year 2002 instead of 2022. It isn’t an uncomfortable dining area, but the décor does not enhance your dining experience. The restaurant is a good fit for an outing with friends or family or a quick solo meal. Casual attire is acceptable.
Ichiro’s own tagline is Modern Japanese Cuisine which is interesting given that a good part of its menu features typical Japanese cuisine like sushi, tempura, teriyaki, udon, and robatayaki, and another significant portion of its menu features a mix of dishes from around Asia like pad thai, Malaysian curry, Korean beef, and General Tso’s chicken. There is some American food like Buffalo Chicken Wings, French Fries, and Surf and Turf as well. With an eclectic menu, it was hard to figure out what to order but we went mostly with Japanese dishes given the restaurant’s name and tagline, figuring that Japanese cuisine would be its specialty.
The Order – Roticanai, Japanese Miso Eggplant, Ichiro Sushi Sandwich, Black Dragon Roll, and a Tuna Lover.
The Great – Funny enough, the best dish of the evening was the only non-Japanese dish ordered – the Roticanai. A typical Malaysian fried dough, Ichiro’s roti was fried to a crisp and was delicious. The roti came with a chicken curry sauce that was also very good. While I figured that the chicken curry would be cream-based and a bit thicker and heavier, it was not cream-based and so it was lighter than what I was expecting. That wasn’t a bad thing though, as the sauce packed some good flavor and had a nice kick to it. The one downside to this appetizer is that it was quite oily so have some napkins close by – trust us, you’ll need them.
The Good – The Japanese Miso Eggplant was the other appetizer ordered and while it wasn’t as good as the roticanai, it was solid. The dish consisted of two long pieces of grilled eggplant with a nice miso flavor served in a bit of a boring, plain way on a white plate. While I wouldn’t order it again before trying other menu items, it was enjoyable and easy to share.
The Tuna Lover was the best sushi item of the night. An entrée that comes with either a miso soup or salad, the plate contained four pieces of tuna sushi, six pieces of tuna sashimi, and a spicy tuna roll. Spicy tuna rolls are generally not my favorite, but Ichiro’s version had more of a fresh tuna taste than the typical spicy tuna roll in which the spicy mayo is almost always the most front-and-center ingredient. The tuna in the sushi and sashimi wasn’t the best tuna I’ve ever eaten but you aren’t paying Nobu prices.
The Black Dragon Roll, one of Ichiro’s Special Rolls, waa sushi roll with salmon, tuna, and avocado inside, and eel on top. Unfortunately, the quantity of salmon and tuna on the inside really didn’t add much aside from texture and at the end of the day, the black dragon roll tasted just like an eel avocado roll, especially because it uses the same eel sauce. If you like eel avocado rolls, I would order that instead as you do pay double the price for this specialty item.
The Okay – To try something even more non-traditional on the Japanese side of the menu, I ordered the Ichiro Sushi Sandwich, another specialty roll that contained spicy tuna, lobster salad, avocado, tamago (egg), kani (imitation crab), and sesame paper. I was definitely surprised when the dish came to the table as it was creatively served as four triangular pieces which resembled a quartered sandwich. But while I give the dish points for its presentation, the sandwich tasted mostly of mayonnaise and sauces and you really didn’t get much fish flavor, making this an item I would not order again.
The Verdict – It was interesting that a traditional Malaysian dish ended up being the best dish at a restaurant that promotes itself as serving modern Japanese cuisine. Ichiro tries to do too much with its menu and while you can find some quality dishes on it, it would serve them well to remove some of the less liked items and focus more on Asian fusion or traditional Japanese cuisine. Doing so might help this restaurant find its identity.