Ichiban, Japanese with Sushi on Old Dominion Drive in McLean - Reopen After Only Six Weeks

[gnatharobed]

Tachibana also in McLean is more authentic than Ichiban. But Ichiban is cheap and good and they have very friendly service. I like their special rolls and handrolls. Someone at the table next to me ordered the Utah roll (never tried it, don't know why it's called that) and it looked great. They also have good toro usually.

[Scott Johnston]

That is funny you should post this, I was there last night and thought that we should have a thread on this. I love this place! The miso is fresh and good! the rolls are always well done, and fresh. Great place!

[Stretch]

Someone at the table next to me ordered the Utah roll (never tried it, don't know why it's called that) and it looked great.

Now that's interesting. There's an Ichiban Sushi in Salt Lake City, housed in a converted church and run by a woman who I believe was the first non-Japanese female to qualify as a master sushi chef. Seems a stretch (ahem) that they would be related, though?

[Meaghan]

Now that's interesting. There's an Ichiban Sushi in Salt Lake City, housed in a converted church and run by a woman who I believe was the first non-Japanese female to qualify as a master sushi chef. Seems a stretch (ahem) that they would be related, though?

Is there an Alaska roll or am I imagining it? A lot of rolls are named after cities and insects, but I cannot think of many states.

[Scott Johnston]

ICHIBAN SUSHI

Hours Mon-Sat 11:30 am -10:00 pm, closed Sunday

6821 A Old Dominion Drive, McLean VA 22101

(703-448-9117).

No website that I could fine

One of my favorite places for sushi is Ichiban in McLean. Located at 6821 A Old Dominion Drive (703-448-9117). The location is in a small strip mall that has McLean Hardware and Chesapeake bagel in it. There are 10 tables with ten seats at small bar. The kitchen is galley style along the bar. The place is very family friendly and I have found the service to be excellent and friendly. The small menu has a variety of rolls and many combinations. In addition to sushi there is Tempura, Udon , several salads and some rice bowls. A small board lists the daily specials. Generally I eat at the bar and have always been served a free miso soup. The miso soup is fantastic!

When I was last there I started with the soup, had a seaweed salad, a Manhattan roll, spicy scallop, smoked eel, fatty tuna, and a Rainbow Maki roll. I personally think that the fish is really fresh and a great bargain for the price. The smoke eel is one of my faviorites!

Ichiban has been in business at this location for 7 years. The location house the Sunrise Cafe before, a great low brow place for breakfast or lunch.

[MelGold]

I love this place! It used to be my go-to sushi place when I lived in Tysons several years ago. One night a friend & I were discussing bridal showers & weddings from hell over a platter of sushi, and the man sitting next to us figured one of us must be getting married. He picked up our bill with a congratulations to me on the engagement...I didn't have the heart to tell him both of us were extremely single. At least the bill was only $20!

[Capital Icebox]

This is a great place, with good prices, a very friendly staff, and a real neighborhood feel to it. There are usually some more interesting choices beyond their regular menu fare on the specials board just to the right of the door as you come in, like their real crab and avacado roll. I don't think it's worth making a special trip, but if you're in the area and want sushi at a family-friendly place, you can't go wrong by coming here.

[Bob Wells]

This is a great place, with good prices, a very friendly staff, and a real neighborhood feel to it.  There are usually some more interesting choices beyond their regular menu fare on the specials board just to the right of the door as you come in, like their real crab and avacado roll.  I don't think it's worth making a special trip, but if you're in the area and want sushi at a family-friendly place, you can't go wrong by coming here.

ow would you guys compare this place to some other local sushi joints, like Yoko in Oakton?

[MelGold]

How would you guys compare this place to some other local sushi joints, like Yoko in Oakton?

I've never been, but I like it better than Konami or Tachibana. It's more like McLean's version of Kotobuki in ambiance - except without the Beatles on a loop.

[DonRocks]

I stopped by Ichiban today for a carryout #5 Sashimi with Bowl of Rice ($7.95), which consisted of five pieces - two large cubes of tuna, and three big slices of salmon - along with some shredded cucumber, shredded radish, wasabi, Ultra-Pink ™ ginger, and an order of good steamed rice. While nothing special, it met expectations. As I was waiting, I saw some more interesting rolls coming out, and just from sight alone I would agree with the above posts about ordering the rolls that are posted on the chalkboard.

Cheers,

Rocks

[Jimmy Chandler]

Ichiban has long been our go to for take out sushi, due to:

a. convenience (it's on my way home form the office)

b. friendly staff (they always greet me by name, since the second time I went there)

c. decent sushi at a fair price

I've never liked Tachibana much, though I've tried it a couple of times. IMHO, not worth the price.

Favorite unusual rolls at Ichiban:

- Crunchy lobster roll

- Utah roll (so named because the guests who first requested it were from Utah, made of shrimp tempura and aovcado, topped by tuna and a spicy mayo)

[lizzie]

Ichiban is also our "local" favorite for sushi and (especially) udon. We are big fans of the various tempura rolls as well. The staff is always friendly, carryout orders are always correct, and the price is reasonable. My kids just wish they could fix the front door.

[DonRocks]

There was an unfortunate accident this morning at Ichiban: a car drove into the front brick wall, causing structural damage and forcing Fairfax County to shut down the restaurant. I talked to a contractor there, and this is going to be a major repair, probably requiring careful replacement of the entire wall. I've seen accidents like this in the past, and what usually happens is the driver thinks they're in reverse, and accidentally pushes the accelerator, then panics, and mashes it down as if it were the brake.

Anyway, the restaurant is closed for the forseeable future. The wall is still there, but it's badly damaged. Nobody was injured, but you can rest assured that any customers sitting near the front wall are out buying new underwear this afternoon.

[DonRocks]

There was an unfortunate accident this morning at Ichiban: a car drove into the front brick wall, causing structural damage and forcing Fairfax County to shut down the restaurant. I talked to a contractor there, and this is going to be a major repair, probably requiring careful replacement of the entire wall. I've seen accidents like this in the past, and what usually happens is the driver thinks they're in reverse, and accidentally pushes the accelerator, then panics, and mashes it down as if it were the brake.

Anyway, the restaurant is closed for the forseeable future. The wall is still there, but it's badly damaged. Nobody was injured, but you can rest assured that any customers sitting near the front wall are out buying new underwear this afternoon.

I drove by Ichiban the other day, and the entire front wall is in the process of being replaced. I saw someone who appeared to be the owner walking in, so he appears to be on top of things, and construction is moving along at full force. Make no mistake: There is a *lot* of work to be done here, and it's *being* done - they are trying to get this place back open in earnest; I just hope the person at fault had good insurance, or that someone did.

[DonRocks]

There was an unfortunate accident this morning at Ichiban: a car drove into the front brick wall, causing structural damage and forcing Fairfax County to shut down the restaurant. I talked to a contractor there, and this is going to be a major repair, probably requiring careful replacement of the entire wall. I've seen accidents like this in the past, and what usually happens is the driver thinks they're in reverse, and accidentally pushes the accelerator, then panics, and mashes it down as if it were the brake.

Anyway, the restaurant is closed for the forseeable future. The wall is still there, but it's badly damaged. Nobody was injured, but you can rest assured that any customers sitting near the front wall are out buying new underwear this afternoon.

I drove by Ichiban the other day, and the entire front wall is in the process of being replaced. I saw someone who appeared to be the owner walking in, so he appears to be on top of things, and construction is moving along at full force. Make no mistake: There is a *lot* of work to be done here, and it's *being* done - they are trying to get this place back open in earnest; I just hope the person at fault had good insurance, or that someone did.

On June 16th, a car drove through Ichiban's front (brick) wall, causing severe damage, and forcing closure of the restaurant. It was a bad situation - the wall was essentially destroyed, and had to be completely rebuilt.

Yet, just two weeks later, here is the progress that was made on July 1st:

And one short month later, here is the picture of Ichiban, on August 4th:

I cannot believe this was fixed in just six short weeks - if you own a restaurant, and need major brickwork done, call Ichiban, and find out who did theirs. This is the construction company you want performing your work.

[DonRocks]

I hadn't been to the McLean Ichiban in awhile, and I wanted to go and give them my support today - if you scroll up, you'll see they were closed for six weeks (a remarkably *short* six weeks) after a car ran through the front of their restaurant, causing front wall damage.

Also, if you go here, you'll notice that there appear to be at least three independent Ichibans in the DC area.

Sitting at the sushi bar for a late lunch, I got a cup of hot tea (gratis), and didn't see anything that really excited me, so I ordered a couple of rolls, thinking I'd at least keep it on the healthy end.

However, I looked over to my right, and noticed a chalkboard, and on it was written Pork Ramen ($12). Given the ramen craze in this town of late? I felt it was my *duty* to try it. I'm glad I had a book, because it was a good ten minutes before it arrived (which is perfectly reasonable, but I'm still glad I had a book).

Although one person has described it as looking like "dirty dish water," I can assure everyone it was a perfectly decent bowl of ramen, with two large pieces of pork - it was on the bland side, but came with some chili-sesame oil (I can't remember the brand, but it looked like a tiny jar of iodine drops) - anyway, I didn't use it except to give it a taste (and sure enough, it tasted like chili-sesame oil). The "dirty dishwater look" of the ramen might have been due to Hakata Tonkotsu.

Ichiban's was a serviceable bowl of ramen - nothing great, and not bad at all. More importantly, the restaurant was full by the time I left, and even had a very short wait. This made me happy given what they had suffered earlier in the year.

I've never been a big fan of the McLean Ichiban, especially considering Tachibana is right down the street - it's not cheap, and the sushi and sashimi are of middling quality.

Remember also that this is apparently *not* the Ichiban whose owners also run Asian Kitchen on Lee Highway in Arlington, better known as "the parking lot for District Taco" - that honor goes to the Ichiban in Alexandria.

Do you want a rave review? I can't give you one. Do you want a trashing? I can't give you that either. Ichiban is middle-of-the-road sushi, and serves a purpose for McLean workers seeking a quick and healthy lunch break that won't break the bank.

[Dr. Delicious]

I wanted to like this place, if only to avoid parking at Tachibana, which can be a chore, and the possibility of saving money long term (among other issues). I don't know sushi or related quality issues all that well, and so I hoped Don's caution regarding quality above would be lost on me. It wasn't, even to an amateur. I will say that I genuinely liked the Miso Soup (nearly double the Tachibana portion) and Utah Roll (a shrimp tempura roll covered with a slab of tuna). The other items were unremarkable. The main problem was their tempura, which lacked flavor and was soggy and limp. The Utah Roll worked because that slab of tuna masked the issues with the rest of the roll. Other rolls we got that were tempura based weren't so lucky. The spicy tuna and salmon rolls were fairly tasteless, I'm assuming due to quality, as opposed to preparation. Anyway, if I could find 1-2 more legitimately good rolls, I could see myself making Ichiban my sushi place of choice in McLean. They have a much better customer experience, imho. Alas, that seems unlikely.

[DonRocks]

I wanted to like this place, if only to avoid parking at Tachibana, which can be a chore, and the possibility of saving money long term (among other issues). I don't know sushi or related quality issues all that well, and so I hoped Don's caution regarding quality above would be lost on me. It wasn't, even to an amateur. I will say that I genuinely liked the Miso Soup (nearly double the Tachibana portion) and Utah Roll (a shrimp tempura roll covered with a slab of tuna). The other items were unremarkable. The main problem was their tempura, which lacked flavor and was soggy and limp. The Utah Roll worked because that slab of tuna masked the issues with the rest of the roll. Other rolls we got that were tempura based weren't so lucky. The spicy tuna and salmon rolls were fairly tasteless, I'm assuming due to quality, as opposed to preparation. Anyway, if I could find 1-2 more legitimately good rolls, I could see myself making Ichiban my sushi place of choice in McLean. They have a much better customer experience, imho. Alas, that seems unlikely.

The good news is that Medicine Chest, the pharmacy next door, is the best in the area, if not in all of Northern Virginia.

Seriously, if you go there, you'll never step foot in a CVS again. I've been meaning to write about them on the Professionals and Businesses Forum, but you can rest assured that when I do, they'll be getting my highest possible recommendation. I cannot urge people enough who get their prescriptions at CVS or Rite-Aid to give a *real* pharmacy a try, at least one time - you'll never go back. I drive *twenty minutes each way* just to give them my business - that's how highly I think of them. Ask for the owner, Ed, and tell him Don Rockwell sent you.

Finally, Dr. Delicious, don't sell your expertise short - you've been an active member of this website for over ten years with nearly 350 posts - if that isn't equivalent to an undergraduate degree in knowing about how to judge a restaurant, then nothing is - your posts have been informative, well-written, and a joy to read.

[wristband]

I echo Don's comments on the Medicine Chest having been a loyal customer for several decades.  The big negatives are Ed no longer accepts AmEx cards and it can get a tad cramped in there with the old codgers lining up for their scripts.  One big plus is the oddball items they stock where are difficult to find elsewhere.  Specifically, anti-jet lag pills which have been (at least for me on flights to asia & Europe) a god send.

I also agree with the meh appraisal of Ichiban.  I really wanted to like Ichiban but multiple visits proved otherwise.  Better fish in the sea & all that for sushi/sashimi.

[pras]

I echo Don's comments on the Medicine Chest having been a loyal customer for several decades.  The big negatives are Ed no longer accepts AmEx cards and it can get a tad cramped in there with the old codgers lining up for their scripts.  One big plus is the oddball items they stock where are difficult to find elsewhere.  Specifically, anti-jet lag pills which have been (at least for me on flights to asia & Europe) a god send.

I also agree with the meh appraisal of Ichiban.  I really wanted to like Ichiban but multiple visits proved otherwise.  Better fish in the sea & all that for sushi/sashimi.

Although I have never been to his store, Ed is a very good next door neighbor!

[DonRocks]

Although I have never been to his store, Ed is a very good next door neighbor!

[DonRocks]

There's now an Ichiban Sushi & Ramen Shop in Shirlington. I'm not sure whether or not it's related, but there's certainly a good chance (I've had ramen at the original Ichiban in McLean before) - it has been there about a year.

[DonRocks]

On 12/14/2016 at 9:45 AM, DonRocks said:

There's now an Ichiban Sushi & Ramen Shop in Shirlington. I'm not sure whether or not it's related, but there's certainly a good chance (I've had ramen at the original Ichiban in McLean before).

Okay, now I'm *really* confused, and could use some help:

As mentioned earlier, Ichiban in McLean owned Asian Kitchen in Arlington (now Misomen).

1) Do they still own Misomen? 

Ichiban Sushi & Ramen Shop opened in Shirlington a little over two years ago. Now, there's also one on King Street in Alexandria, so there are at least two.

2) Are these separate restaurants from the Ichiban in McLean? Note that there are two different websites (Shirlington/Alexandria (*) - McLean).

I have absolutely no idea about either question, and issues like these cause me to give up and head straight for the wine cellar.

There could be two threads, three threads, or four threads, depending on the answers.

(*) At that first website, if you click on their Facebook logo, look at the place where the URL appears at the top of your browser: Right before redirecting to "ichibanshirlington," for a split-second, "blueseaseafood" pops up. Now I'm even more confused, because I've never heard of Blue Sea Seafood.

"Ichiban" means "first" in Japanese, btw, so this is a very generic name which could easily be replicated (with a slight variation) by two companies.