Reviews describe Ichigo Ichie Izakaya as a standout Japanese spot with a lively yet intimate vibe where sharing plates and a thoughtful mix of cold dishes, hot plates and noodles really shine. Dishes such as hamachi and Yuzu tuna tataki, various tartares, gindara black cod, carbonara udon, and crispy chicken karaage come up repeatedly as highlights, with desserts like tiramisu and chestnut tiramisu also earning praise. The atmosphere, decor and generally warm, attentive staff are frequently highlighted, and cocktails and mocktails are noted as strong complements to the food. The experience can be bustling and loud, seating can feel tight and the layout can be a bit cramped, especially on busy nights. Reservations are often advised to minimize waits, and there is some discussion about the different pacing or policies between the izakaya area and the ramen area, sometimes causing confusion about ordering certain items with a booking. While prices are described as high, many reviews feel the quality justifies the cost and consider it among Montreal’s top izakayas. Overall the spot is seen as a great choice for dates or gatherings who enjoy bold flavors, a dynamic atmosphere and the option to customize bowls, with the caveat to plan ahead for crowds.
CHOOSE SOMEWHERE ELSE. Waiter was terrible & ruined our dining experience here. Ben was inattentive, only came to our table to take our order & give us the bill. Both me & my dinner partner had to get up to find him to signal a problem with our ramen order as we suspected our noodles were thin & not the ordered THICK noodles. Ben proceeded to say he was busy & then lied to me that our noodles were indeed THICK (I had to BRING my bowl of noodles to him as he refused to come to the table). Upon getting the bill, I noticed that he also incorrectly gave us Torikotsu instead of the circled Tonkotsu. No wonder it didn't taste right!!! 🤯
The cocktails were fine & reasonably priced. Karaage & squash ravioli were sub par. Gindara was good (but you can't ever go wrong with Gindara).
Was a let down of a meal! Kevin, the manager, was informed about our displeasure with our waiter on our way out; but I didn't feel reassured. All the waiters stand looking at the kitchen, waiting for dishes; none are actually looking at the dining room for diners who are trying to signal them. Badly trained & managed staff.
Its was packed, on Monday! Impressive attendance, excellent food. Service was slow & ambiance loud but place was packed. They might not have been prepared for a full Monday. All staff were still smiling, did not make ys feel the rush
Sorry for starting off strong, but I really had my hopes up for this place. After hearing so much about it & the general praise that it gets I really had high hopes, perhaps too high, but all I got was a very average experience, one that you can recreate much more easily... I'll get into that.
First of all, we had a reservation, which doesn't allow you to order ramen. They make that very clear when you're booking the reservation. That made me think that perhaps it was a shared space, & that the ramen was like, it's own restaurant. Which when you look at google maps it makes sense! Yeah, one side is a ramen bar, the other side's the izakaya, different thing. Sure? For that to be the expected setup, only to be seated next to tables who were ONLY ordering ramen is so silly. Why seclude people who are willing to reserve?
Staff were very friendly, although service times were extremely inconsistent. We ordered plates to share as that's pretty much to be expected with their menu offerings, we got dish 1 super quick, dish 2 maybe 10 or so minutes later, & then dish 3 & 4 came out at the same time close to an hour later? So in what felt like the middle of the meal, just 40 or so minutes of staring at people eating ramen. LOL
Also staff mispronounced Edamame & Shiso, but I digress.
We ordered some drinks, & I gotta say this was the highlight of the night. The Shiso Sour is seriously banging, & they have a really decent selection of beers.
The food; we ordered the Karaage with Wasabi Mayo, the seasonal Buta Cheese Shiso Fried stick, Takoyaki, Takowasa, & we wanted to start with that & perhaps order more, based on the outcome of these first dishes.
The karaage was well cooked but very underseasoned, the meat was very much lacking any flavour & the wasabi mayo was a broken starchy mess. It had the consistency of heavy cream & a grainy-ness that I assume comes from the powdered wasabi yet had absolutely zero wasabi kick to it.
The takowasa was 90% wasabizuke & 10% octopus, but ok.
The takoyaki were not right. Heavily deepfried texture with a flat bottom, you'd think a'high-level' izakaya would be able to fry takoyaki in an actual takoyaki pan. The octopus pieces were also pretty much bouncy balls but unfortunately for me I'm a sucker & will eat the worst takoyaki on earth if it means it has bonito & mayo on it, so it still went down.
The real crime of the night were the'Seasonal' buta shiso cheese stick things. Tough pork belly wrapped around a block of'pizza' mozzarella, rolled with a shiso leaf & deep fried. If it weren't for the (actually pretty flavourful) shiso leaf, I would've assumed this was a bit & that they were just flipping something from the frozen section at Super C.
Needless to say we didn't order anything else after that.
What really ticked me off is that I noticed someone taking food to go, & they were handed a paper bag with 2 logos on it, one being this restaurant, & the other being IMADAKE Izakaya! & then it clicked! I have had this underseasoned Karaage before! At IMADAKE! It all made sense, this was the same-ish menu as what I had always seen as an average izakaya, wrapped into the bones of a michelin mentioned ramen restaurant!
I dont know. Maybe I'm a sucker, & the Ramen is really amazing, & everyone else knows not to order the other stuff. Overall I'm kind of at a loss, I knew not to expect true Japan-level food, after all we're not in japan, but being that (i guess) half of this restaurant is michelin level (kind of) I had high hopes. But I won't be there to find out if the ramen's good, that'll be without me.
Oh I do have to mention, the interior decor is stellar. Seriously whatever agency did the interior design & branding coordination on little details like the branded chopsticks, hats off, those are tight.
TL;DR - Lower your expectations, & maybe you'll like it!
Honestly super disappointing. The service was great, but the food was truly underwhelming.
Ordered a Hamachi appetizer, & some ramen with the salad appie included.
Starting off, the salad felt like they were just throwing in the towel. Salad greens with some edamame, canned corn, two cherry tomatoes & a couple of croutons, bland olive oil dressing & a bundle of deep fried noodles on top. I dont expect knockout salad from a ramen joint, but I expect a little effort.
The hamachi had spicy sauce, arugula, basil - completely overwhelming the flavour of the fish. Felt like a weird choice.
The ramen. This place was so highly recommended to me because of its michelan star ramen. This experience really makes me think Michelan stars don't mean anything.
The only downsides were that we were seated extremely close to another couple (they were also on a date), so we could hear their entire conversation & they could probably hear ours as well. Also, the portions are a bit on the smaller side.
That said, the restaurant itself is very nice & we would definitely come back to try more of the menu! :)
Mar 7, 2026
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hostess Ximena was so warm & friendly. Food was good, recommend the salmon tartare, very good (thank you Marika in kitchen)
Tori Nabe has clean & simple flavour but a little low on chicken imo
Macademia cookie was good
I'm honestly very disappointed with my experience. This was my second time visiting, & unfortunately, it will likely be my last.
We made a reservation specifically because one person in our group is not from Montreal & absolutely loves the ramen from Yokato Yokabai. That's precisely why we chose to book a table.
When we arrived, the waiter informed us that because we had a reservation, we were not allowed to order the ramen (Yokato Yokabai). We were told we could only have it if we cancelled our reservation & waited outside instead (1h30). This makes absolutely no sense, especially considering there were several empty tables at Ichigo at the time.
It's difficult to understand the logic behind refusing a group of seated customers the opportunity to order the very dish that likely brings many people there in the first place. If Ichigo has such strong ratings, I suspect it's largely because of the popularity & quality of Yokato Yokabai's ramen served there.
In the end, we left without eating anything & went to another restaurant. It's unfortunate that the establishment would rather lose customers on a Friday night - with empty tables - than allow them to order what they came for.
Very disappointing experience.
Mar 1, 2026
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Expérience globalement décevante chez Ichigo Ichie, ce qui est d'autant plus surprenant pour un restaurant référencé au Guide Michelin.
Nous avons commandé le Yasai Yakisoba : les saveurs étaient correctes, mais l'aïoli mentionné dans la description était ajouté en trop grande quantité, ce qui rendait le plat très, voire trop gras, au point de déséquilibrer l'ensemble & de masquer les autres goûts.
Le ramen Gomami (bouillon de sésame) n'a pas non plus convaincu. Les garnitures déposées sur le ramen étaient froides, clairement sorties du réfrigérateur. Si cela fait partie du concept, le bouillon aurait alors dû être nettement plus chaud. Or, une fois le tout mélangé, le bouillon était simplement tiède, ce qui enlève tout le côté réconfortant attendu d'un ramen.
Heureusement, les desserts ont sauvé le repas. La glace au sésame noir est excellente, & le nouveau cookie à la carte est très réussi. Sans ces deux desserts, je ne suis pas certain que j'aurais envisagé de donner une seconde chance à ce restaurant.
Enfin, un mot sur le service : Thibault, le busboy, a été présent, attentif & professionnel, & c'est clairement lui qui a fait que la soirée s'est bien terminée, bien plus que la serveuse que nous avions.
En résumé, une attente élevée pour un établissement de ce niveau, mais une cuisine qui ne suit pas, malgré quelques points positifs.
The ramen broth is excellent-really rich & flavorful. For dessert, the mochi balls are a must-try. I'd recommend waiting at the door right when they open to snag a seat more easily
C'était franchement délicieux !!! Service A1, Les ramens super bon, le tataki de boeuf était une vrai folie!!! Seule chose.....Les toilettes font peur! Sinon, vraiment une belle découverte !
Ridiculous. We passed in front of that restaurant after a concert & it looked nice so we thought we'd finish the evening in style. We had no reservation so they took our number down & sent us a test txt. They said we would receive another one once a table for 2 would become available. They said the waiting time would be around 25-30 min so we got back to our car to stay warm & waited. We gave up after 1h45 min! without any news. We went to another restaurant but the options were very limited because it was so late now. Our night was basically ruined. It is now the next morning as I'm writing this review & still no txt. Safe to say they just brushed us off. It would've been nice of them to tell us the truth about the waiting time that way we could have opted for another option & would've tried them again another day with a reservation this time but by acting like this they made sure we'll never come back.
Feb 28, 2026
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As we were paying for our bill, all I was thinking about was how I already couldn't wait to come back.
Before going in, I heard it was best to make a reservation & I'm very happy I did-so I definitely suggest doing so a week or two before heading here. The ambiance at the bar is gorgeous, but the seating area a bit deeper into the restaurant feels so hidden & surreal, with a very comforting & open atmosphere.
We visited as a group, so sharing plates seemed like the best option, & I'm so happy we did! Everything was so flavourful & unique. It makes for a great solo/partnered date spot, or a night out with friends! I can't wait to go back.
Une soirée parfaite, c'est Sue au service, toujours disponible & respectueuse de ses invités. C'est aussi Maximilien, maître de notre hydratation & plein de petites attentions. Ce sont des plats exquis préparés avec soins & tous aussi délicieux les uns que les autres. Des classiques, des trucs de saisons, un pur délice. Ça vient de déloger le top 1 des Izakaya qu'on avait essayés jusqu'à maintenant... une carte de Sake aussi différente, une petite attention à la fin du repas, merci Sue. Coup de coeur... tartare de boeuf & croustilles wasabi. À améliorer? Faites simplement garder cette cadence!
Came here for dinner, food was yummy. The saumon tartare, yellowfin tuna, & chicken bao buns were my favourite dishes of the night. Cocktails were also good. From seeing the rest of the restaurant I think the ramen is really the highlight.
As the restaurant is quite big & there's only 1 bar it takes a big longer to get the cocktails. Also the inside is very cute & has little stools to fit the vibe, however they aren't very comfortable.
Overall a nice spot!
