Japanese restaurant – Ichi Ichi Ku Izakaya

Ichi Ichi Ku Izakaya is a delicious Japanese restaurant. It is a little sister to the much bigger and more established Ichi Ni on St.Kilda’s Upper Esplanade. Here, they serve tapas style dishes. Their sushi and sashimi are TO DIE FOR. Also, they cater for vegetarians and vegans when necessary and their prices are absolutely fantastic.

We started out with crispy prawns with wasabi mayo and couldn’t believe how fresh and tasty everything was. Japanese food is renowned for its simplicity and taste, but it’s not uncommon for more ordinary restaurants to fall pretty flat on at least a few dishes. This one served up hit after hit, and it was all so cheap! Their hako sushi and maki sushi stood out, as did the tuna dragon roll, the spider roll with soft shell crab and the prawn tempura roll. Yum! Not to mention… brown rice and lobster. Who would have thought??

The setting is intimate and full of character, with ornaments, decals and decorations making the place a wonder to the eye as well as the stomach. It can be difficult to get a table if you arrive after 7pm, but there is always the option of getting take-away. As a group of four, we went to one of the much quieter restaurants nearby for a drink and the great Ichi Ichi Ku Izakaya staff gave us a buzz when our table was available. The service was excellent and all four of us agree that we will be back for more in future!

Ichi Ichi Ku Izakaya is at 119 Park Street, South Yarra. You can reach them on 98209119, email at info@ichiichiku.com.au or look them up at www.ichiichiku.com.au. They are open 7am – 11pm every day and accept all cards.