Ichiban Izakaya Japanese Restaurant

🇯🇵🍶 Dinner at Ichiban Izakaya was an unexpectedly 𝑜𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑖 affair featuring some of the best Japanese dishes we’ve ever had in Australia.

🍽 Starting off with the 🍣 𝐴𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑖 𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑜𝑙𝑙 which had fresh ingredients & was seasoned perfectly, followed by the 🍜 𝑇𝑜𝑛𝑘𝑜𝑡𝑠𝑢 𝑅𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑛 with silky-smooth milky pork broth, 🍲 𝑆𝑢𝑘𝑖𝑦𝑎𝑘𝑖 with tantalising thinly sliced beef, soft tofu & udon in one of the best beef broth I’ve ever had, and finishing off with the 🍣 tuna & salmon 𝐼𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑎𝑛 𝑅𝑜𝑙𝑙 which was a top-up order because all the previous dishes were so good.

💡🪑 Ambience was bright & modern, 💲pricing was reasonable & not overpriced at all as some other reviewers had mentioned, 🤵🏻 service was brisk despite being a busy night — overall a delightful discovery in Warrnambool; despite the myriad of really good Japanese options in Melbourne, this restaurant made us wish they’d open a branch in the capital city.

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Lovely little restaurant, with nice decoration and as you enter you are welcomed with happy staff ready to take you to your table. We got the “Chef Recommend Banquet Course” - we skipped lunch so we were quite hungry. It was a great surprise in flavour and textures of Japanese cuisine which is more than just sushi. Loved the mix and that we had a bit of everything to try. From the scallops that melted in your mouth to the crunchy of the chicken, smokiness of the Donbinmushi, the green salad with the seaweed, and the overall umami taste in your mouth from all the goodness. I chose the house sake and it pairs beautifully with the menu. The food came quickly and we left with a full and happy belly. I definitely recommend to any of you in Warrnambool

I was a little bit worried if they could make good and authentic Japanese food in this small town. It turns out the food we had were AMAZING!!! Pork bone ramen was quite different from what I used to have. Normally the broth would be quite oily or salty but their broth was pretty light taste. I love it. The deep fried chicken was so good. The skin was crispy and the meat was tender and juicy. I highly recommend this restaurant if you are visiting Warrnambool.

We came across this restaurant when we were doing a road trip in Warrnambool.

We were scrolling online and found this restaurant had so many good reviews. Coming from melbourne and had tried omakase before, we were not sure what to expect before dining here.

We had the omakase set, $78 per person. Course after course, the dishes blew our mind, and exceeded our expectations. There was so much care and detail put into each dish, which we really appreciate. Our stand out dishes for the night were dobinmushi, torched mentaiko scallops, ebi mayo, zucchini skewers and Ume jelly.

The chef has really done so well with all the dishes. No wonder it was quite packed for a weekday, luckily we booked a table beforehand.

If you have not been here yet, it is definitely recommended when you are in Warrnambool. It is truly a local gem.

We love th ramen. The broths are amazing. Chashu is well cooked and melt into your mouth.

Very delicious Japanese cuisine.
Best local Japanese Restaurant 👍
Highly recommended if you are in Warnambool 👍

Must haves:
Dobinmushi (soup served in a pot)
Chicken Karagae (dipping sauce is amazing).

WE went in, and greeted by friendly staff. We tried the chicken karaage, miso salmon, sashimi & edamame. Delicious meals served on beautiful crockery

Excellent food and fast service brought me back a second time. Loved the vegetarian pancakes with mayo- super tasty!! Kids had sushi rolls and we shared some gyozas. Mmm.

Not going to lie, I was pretty skeptical going into this restaurant. However, I was extremely surprised by my experience. I wasn't ready for how good the food was and the presentation of the food. I honestly would come back here again for a meal.

Highly recommended. Food was delicious and thoroughly enjoyed every single dish that was ordered. Only request is to please include green tea in your menu. It’s a sin not to have it. Hats off also to Molly for being such a gem in making us feel so welcomed!

The best Japanese restaurant I've been to outside of Melbourne! The staff are always friendly, the food is authentic and tastes great. The prices are pretty reasonable too. I have been multiple times and will keep going back. A must go-to restaurant in Warrnambool.

Nice atmosphere, pleasant decoration and attentive staff. I had the original ramen, which was light and nicely flavoured, although could’ve had a bit more of a flavour burst. Meat was well cooked though, and the noodles had a nice texture. Overall a great addition to the location, would recommend.

I’ve been to a lot of great Japanese restaurants and Izakaya has to be one of the best I’ve been to. Great service and food. Highly recommend the Sukiyaki!

I'm really satisfied with the taste of spicy ramen here. (Not spicy at all for me but delicious) Highly recommended.

Came in right before shop closed but they made me a takeaway ramen all nicely packaged and ready to eat, and it was some of the best ramen I’ve ever eaten. Only took 5 minutes and was very affordable. Highly recommend!

Excellent customer service from the employee (Joel) working at lunchtime on the 27th of May, asked if we had any extra requirements and was happy to assist. Food was incredible as it always is :)

Delightful dinning. Fresh ingredients without too much salt! Pleasant find in Warrnambool!

I stopped for lunch unexpectedly in Warrnambool yesterday and was very happy with the result! I ordered two tuna rolls. Not really much choice for me as I'm gluten free. But the rolls were really fresh. It was probably the nicest sushi I've ever had. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. They even offered me gluten free soy sauce! If I go back to Warrnambool, I'd definitely have lunch there again.

We tried 8 dishes and each was exceptional, fresh and super delicious. We will definitely make this restaurant a regular when in town. This restaurant is world class with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of Japanese drinks. Highly recommended.

The ramen is amazing and such a good size for the price! When they have the crispy chicken sushi that is amazing. They have super friendly staff and if you ask they will provide paper and pencils so you can draw a picture for them to hang in the restaurant.