Ichi Sushi

Pasadena, CA

Sushi Ichi is a wonderful neighborhood sushi joint with high quality fish and friendly service.   Ichi is a knowledgable chef who provides great conversation and creativity in his dishes . For the best experience, sit at the sushi bar and ask for omakase, and let Ichi wow you with excellent food. You know its a good sign when other sushi chef's come here and the chef goes to get fish fresh at 6 AM daily. The prices are also reasonable, we had 15 different dishes for about 7 bucks a plate.

Escargot

The night started off with a beautifully presented escargot appetizer.

Needlefish

Steamed Uni 

The needlefish was extremely fresh and tasty, but a little over-wasabied. The steamed uni was a first for us and a surprisingly light and tasty dish.

Halibut fin

Mackerel

Surf clam

The halibut fin was good, and mackerel was fine, but not my favorite. The surf clam was extremely tender, sweet, surprisingly one of the best of the night.

Fried oysters

Fried oysters were a pleasant surprise. The batter was light and crisp but did not take away or mask the natural flavor of the Seattle based oysters. 

Sea bream

Snapper

The sea bream and snapper were both fresh and delicious, but the best part of these dishes were the bone chips. The ends of the snapper base and tail are deep fried and are make for a crunchy, delicious snack.

Razor clam

Saba

Marinated tuna

The next clam was very large and were surprised to hear it was of the razor variety. It was sweet and tender, but not as tasty as the surf clam. I've never been a fan of saba, because it's generally fishy. Ichi's version was decent, but I'm still not a fan. The marinated tuna was one of Chu-Toro's favorite of the night. The soy marinated tuna brought out the sweetness of the fish and was delicious.

Cod roe

Unagi

Uni

The cod roe is a Northern Japanese specialty and for some reason, we've been getting it pretty frequently. Its an extremely unique taste, a little bitter, somewhat strange. I'm not really a fan, but Chu-Toro liked it. The unagi was homemade and pretty fresh and tasty. We struggled through the last two items, so tapped out with the classic uni finish. Chu-Toro is the ultimate judge of uni because she either loves it or hates it. She enjoyed the last item of the meal. 

The meal overall was extremely enjoyable and the fish fresh from beginning to end. Ichi is a gracious and king sushi chef and this has definitely become one of our go to places for sushi in Pasadena.

Rating 7.5/10

December 2, 2011