Ichigo Ichie - Montreal, Quebec

Amazing quality of food. We were impressed by all of the dishes, appetizers to dessert ! Note, reserve if you are able to, it makes it so much easier. Drinks were out of this word also, special mention to the Nashi and Akuma 🫶

So delicious! I came here with my boyfriend to celebrate his birthday and eat some izakaya. We had an amazing time! We ordered the tuna tataki, and beef with fermented cabbage. We also got these delicious evil bao buns (one of their spring specials) and takoyaki. The cocktails are delicious ... too! Overall a fantastic experience I will definitely be back! Read more

I recently visited this Izakaya and was pleasantly surprised by the noise level, which wasn't as bad as I expected based on other reviews. The food was excellent, especially the tuna tataki and grilled gindara. The wait staff were friendly and professional. One drawback was that if you reserve a ... table, you can't order ramen from the adjacent ramen restaurant. However, since we've tried their ramen before and enjoyed it, this wasn't an issue for us. Overall, we had a great meal from the Izakaya menu and left satisfied. Read more

Jon Batiste, Toronto/Montreal, Uneasy Tour Road Trip Food Stop #3: Pre Concert Meal Montreal! Yes! I was on an 1100 mile (look I’m an American and I don’t do Metric…) round trip loop starting and ending in Hartland, Vermont and spending one night with dinner and lunch outings, in Montreal. Pretty ... sure I’ve been in Montreal before. But also pretty sure it was so long ago I cannot pinpoint what decade that might have been…LOL I love a road tip tho. And I do spend some time planning out every move I make, most importantly my meals. Two things: I want to know where I’m going to eat and I do not want to “waste” time/money/calories on a meal with no forethought or a seriously disappointing meal. So I spent some time on Yelp browsing Montreal restaurants and I focused on Asian cuisine, because that’s my jam. The restaurant scene in Montreal seemed a little strange, but there were Japanese options and I was actually kind of excited when I found Ichigo Ichie. I mean Japanese Pub?? Seemed like a genius idea. Spoiler Alert: It Is! I am that person who not only plans where I am going to eat, I also plan my actual meal. I review menus, I make preliminary item choices. I don’t eat beef, pork or poultry, so some level of planning is always required. Particularly if I’m going to eat somewhere that identifies as a “Pub.” Pubs are not necessarily known for their embrace of “meatless.” You know? I read online menus for Ichigo Ichie and there were actually some things I really wanted to try. Plus they had small plates. Which is my jam. I always want to try as many different things as I can when I eat out and I’m that friend who is so commitment phobic I can’t even commit to an entree for dinner. No. Really. Let me graze and snack! It looked promising at Ichigo Ichie. I drove from Toronto to Montreal and found parking right on the street on the same block (which I’m thinking might not be unusual for Canadians/Quebecois, but was kind of shocking for me!). I arrived shortly after they opened and was able to get a seat at the bar. There are multiple dining rooms and levels here and I feel like the lower Ramen spaces is probably amazing. There was no way I could eat a bowl of Ramen pre-concert and with Hot Flashes…but that situation looked TOP NOTCH. Take the whole “pub thing” seriously folks. I feel like I did not and this spot FILLED UP and became insanely loud. Which, if I’m saying it was loud, means probably unbearable for most everyone else. Service was good, but everyone got to where they were RUNNING because it was crazy. LOL Sake list is limited, but pretty good. Much better than most places. So my dining experience was sort of evenly split between being disappointed because I’d somehow ordered a dish with flavors I work with at my own spot every day (I want completely different flavors when I’m eating out) and meh Age Dashi Tofu to being SUPER INTO an amazing damn Daikon Salad (I. LOVE. Salads. Most especially when someone else makes them for me and they are intricate and have complex flavors and an interesting variety of ingredients) and the most delicious and satisfying Udon Carbonara (which they made meatless for me!). Not gonna lie. That Udon Carbonara had my attention all the way from Vermont before I ever got in the car to start that 1100 mile loop and it did NOT disappoint. Some delicious stuff happening here. Also staff is fully bilingual. But this is a local spot in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Which is the kind of place you WANT to be going to! Genius concept. Excellent execution. Great Local Vibes. Next Time: Ramen! Read more

A lot to say about this place. Overall, great place to come back to. They separated the ramen and izakaya area, so the reservation only get you the izakaya menu and ramen is on a first come first serve base. As other comments noted, place is really crowded, you hit another ... table within your arm’s reach. Seat is not comfortable at all. Service was just so so. Not very attentive. Had to stop a server to get more water. Waited more than 10min for the bill. Now I understand they are busy, and the limited space doesn’t really allow for more servers on the floor. Maybe don’t make it so crowded… Food is bipolar. Their regular menu is great. I had the gyu tartare, cod, and fried ramen from their regular menu and they are above standard. Fresh, flavourful, and decent portions. I got the fried pork from their seasonal (winter) menu and it was meh. Proportion of the meat is off, too much fat, salty. Vegetables aren’t enough to offset the grease from pork fat. Not an enjoyable dish to have. Cocktail I got the peach one and like it. Read more