**** After 36 Years Ichiro Closed in 2021
I'd not been to Ichiro's in a while. That's the one thing that Food Blogging does, it really makes you think about where you've been, what you enjoy, and what you're "sticking in your mouth". I've always gotten a kick over the sign, after all, how can you not like a "Happy Restaurant"!
There had been many
changes to "Ichiro" since my last visit. There's a sushi bar, and the seating had been changed, and the menu revised. But my old "friends" and former Katzra employees Masa and Tenryu still worked here. It's still a really nice neighborhood Japanese Restaurant, but like many businesses, Ichiro had evolved. There is now a quite extensive "Izakaya" menu of goodies ranging from Tsukemono to Tamagoyaki:
The hours have also changed; Ichiro is now open until 1am, Mondays thru Saturdays, making it one of the few eating places in San Diego that will not "roll up it's sidewalks" at 9pm. My main reason for coming here are the lunch "specials", they range from $5.25 – $6.95, and you get your money's worth. For example, on my first visit, I got the "special" Menchi-Katsu and Tempura ($5.95):
The mechi-katsu was very good, lot's of filler; that's how I enjoy it, nicely battered, and status quo tempura; which is the shrimp tempura, tasted like the expected shrimp tempura, also a slice of kabocha tempura (very good!), and a slice of zucchini tempura, the green mostly iceberg lettuce salad is dressed with a watered down sesame dressing. You also get a pseudo-kimchee tsukemono, that's really not worth mentioning, and a decent bowl of miso soup, with shred of green onions and onions. Not bad for under 6 bucks.
On my next visit I had the Sesame Chicken combination ($5.50):
I had always wondered about this "Sesame Chicken". In a nutshell, the chicken is battered with tempura batter, fried, and covered with teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds
. There's a nice crunchy texture, and the teriyaki sauce adds the sweetness to the dish. Again the tempura is purely routine. 1 piece shrimp (nice "shrimpy" taste this time), 1 piece zucchini, and 1 piece kabocha. I actually enjoyed this, and loved the price to boot! Actually, I could've gotten just the Sesame Chicken lunch for $5.25.
I had forgotten all about Ichiro; but now it's back in my sights. Ichiro also has pretty good Chicken Katsu, the sushi is +/-, purely neighborhood standards, the Kaki Fu-rai (fried oysters) were really good. The service is very friendly (what do you expect from a "Happy Restaurant"), and open pretty late.
Ichiro's Sushi Restaurant and Bar
4344 Convoy Street
San Diego, California 92111
HOURS OF OPERATION
LUNCH
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 2:30
Sat 11:30 – 3:00
DINNER
Mon – Sat 5:00 – 1:00am
Sun 5:00 – 10:00