Review Ichibandori - Neutral Bay

This is a brilliant place to go for your over-the-top and premium ramen. If you're feeling brave I do recommend trying out the $50 ramen. It's well worth the price tag but if that's outside of your budget, then you should also check out the silky tonkotsu ramen. Also worth trying out their ox tongue with miso. The staff are very accommodating and the chef is a very happy chappy person who would be happy to partake in your selfie requests. It's definitely recommended that you make a booking if you're coming after 7pm. Plenty of parking around the area and heaps of options for pairing wines and other alcoholic beverages. Will be back to try out the rest of the menu and hope you have a great time (:

The best ramen I’ve had in Sydney. It’s a little bit more expensive than you’d expect, but it’s worth every single dollar. The A5 Wagyu Ramen is divine if you feel like treating yourself. The meat just melts in your mouth.

When you walk down the street and see Ichibandori just know that shop front is not the entrance! I think they leave that door open for circulation, the entrance is actually on the other side! (wish someone told me this when I first went so I wouldn't get confused on how come the door was barred by a table lol) I initially came here to try the ramen, but we arrived at around a little past six and saw a sign that says the ramen starts at 9pm! So beware of that too. We ordered: karaage chicken, salmon sashimi, pork gyoza, salmon chan chan yaki and I don't remember the name of the last dish but it was baked potato with shiokara. Everything was really good! Especially loved the salmon chan chan yaki, it was really flavourful and the vegetables were really good! The salmon sashimi was exceedingly fresh, the chicken karaage was REALLY juicy, so delicious.

Very delicious ramen! Broth was good and the ox tongue and pork was really good too. A little bit pricey for the ramen though but apart from that it was great.

Hands down my favorite Ramen place in Sydney. The variation in their weekly specials is outstanding and high quality. The chef is very good at what he does and always keen to show off the techniques and variations of his home town back in Japan. They do an Omakase on Mondays and Tuesdays, it is a MOUNTAIN of food, a degustation of the chefs own dishes. Do yourself a favour and get there!!

Nice ambiance with friendly staff. Even though the food is on the pricier side, they are delicious. The Ramen especially, is very flavourful with nice thick cut of meat with the charred flavours mixed into the broth

Note to all. Entrance at the back of the block past Optus shop. A premium price for what is an amazing product. Sharp service. For a $30 🥣, bowl, it has to be special. AND IT WAS. my special of the night was bonito broth. A mix of chicken and pork broth with all the meat, vegetables charcoal grilled. The signature and special are different each night. Thjs is not a normal ramen outlet. Premium quality. And ONLY from 9pm each night. It you are a ramen lover and desire to try a premium quality meal, you gotta come here

The best ramen I had so far. Pork isn't my first choice when it comes to dishes, but the Signature Ramen I had here had a complex taste and it wasn't too fatty. The octopus with truffle oil was amazing, I wish the portion was bigger.

Ramen in an omakase? There are no rules. Omakase, after all, only means ‘[I’ll] leave it to you’; its sushi connotation is purely a by-product of frequent association. But if that’s the preconception you harbour when booking yourself in for Ramen Ichibandori’s omakase, it may be to your advantage: because this is going to be unlike any other omakase you’ve had in Sydney.

So another venue offering “fancy” ramen! Let’s start with is it better then your average bowl of ramen? The short answer is yes, but the longer answer is yes but it’s not leaps and bounds better. <br/><br/>So what do I mean, obviously a lot more work goes in each bowl. To quote a god level chef “fat is sixth taste” and a lot of lesser ramen places do emphasis this, or in my mind rely on it - not that I’d complain. What you get here is a soup base that doesn’t rely on that “fat” crutch. It’s light, silky and in no way skimping on the depth. A lot of extra care is placed on the sides, and you can say each bowl is a work of art. The special ramen reminds me of the hearty Sapporo style ramen...missing the crab legs :) <br/><br/>But what does all this add too, well I don’t really know. I can’t say you should really compare it to your regular $15 ramen. This is something else, this is where you wanna treat yourself but still be reminded of ramen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s conflicting. Is it still ramen, yes it’s still ramen...but should ramen be so dear, probably not. <br/><br/>So the short story, wanna be fancy, come here....but don’t come in with your usual ramen mindset. Best comparison is taking a sushi train mindset and sitting down at an omakase.

We came here to try the sushi course and it was more than worth the $150 pp charge. All the sushi was extremely fresh, delicious and melted in your mouth. Huge variety of seafood and very generous with portion in terms of sashimi to rice ratio.

Nice simple dishes. It also serves ramen with a twist. The ramen was $25 which is a bit overpriced. The extra ingredients didn’t really add to the ramen.

Located just a short bus ride away from Wynyard, Ichibandori is a Japanese restaurant that only opens for dinner, and after 9pm, they serve their ramen of the day. But to find out what the special's going to be on any one day, you're gonna have to keep an eye out for the chefs' IG Stories. We were hoping for wagyu and the stars aligned.<br/><br/>Say hello to Sydney's most expensive bowl of ramen. Kagoshima A5 wagyu. Our wagyu was torched by Chef Tomo-san at the table and the smell was amazing. The broth was clear (not milky), and flavourful, with floating morsels of wagyu fat that just melt in the mouth. A little on the salty side but still quite drinkable.<br/><br/>Lift up a slice of the wagyu to uncover yet more treasures, and it's the quality of the toppings as well as the variety that makes up the price tag. There was ikura (red caviar—like fishy popping candy that bursts on your tongue), fresh menma (has a different and crisper texture than the bamboo shoots you usually get which I assume are canned), alfalfa sprouts (slightly peppery-tasting, enjoyable), shiitake, oyster and enoki mushrooms, kelp, fried garlic, a whole broccolini stem (simply grilled but ever so tasty) and a whole nitamago (gooey yolk, sweet and salty). Also, noodles were on the firm side and great.<br/><br/>Was it worth 50 bucks? For me, yes, worth trying once. It was delicious, full of pleasant surprises and very satisfying. No regrets.

This cozy bistro showcases Japanese izakaya-style sharing dishes, to sashimi, robatayaki (grilled dishes) and ramen! The ramen side will be mainly looked after by none other than ramen master Hide Suzuki (ex head chef of Manpuku ramen). One little tip, the shop entrance is actually on Ben Boyd Road (between Military and Cheal Lane).

This is one of our favourite Japanese restaurant and we come here regularly. It feels very homely and authentic and there’s attention to detail on their dishes even on simple tempura and miso eggplants. Their sashimi platter is beautiful and fresh. The grilled skewers are also great with some sake or beer. I’ve also tried their bento box sets and it’s great quality and plenty of food! Great service too and so far their recommendations have also been great.

$20 dinner box is pretty good. Good selection of karaage chicken, edamame and sashimi. If it was a bit cheaper I'd probably have it a few times a week!

Only found this place last week after it being right under my nose all that time. Really impressed by the food, sweet service and range of options on the menu. The cooking is home style and presented beautifully. The ingredients are fresh. Loved all of it! Will keep going back til I've tried everything on the menu.<br/>

There is something very satisfying about a Japanese restaurant that has all your homestyle cooking favourites and they do them so well! The menu is filled with all the goodies....gyoza, salmon sushi, sashimi, tempura, tonkatsu, chicken karaage etc and they are all super delicious without all the fuss. Friendly staff, great service and very reasonably priced makes Ichibandori a firm neighbourhood favourite!

its just not what it use to be, smaller and lesser quality portions at an increased price.<br/><br/>it use to be the go to Japanese on the north shore, not anymore.<br/><br/>very disappointing.

Will not be visiting again - I used to love this place, always been my go to Japanese/sushi place! Decent price, amazing food and great customer service. NOW menu price has changed, almost doubled, portion size smaller and management is different.

In a small strip of restaurants opposite the mighty Oaks opposite this little Japanese local spot and full of quality and execution. The nigiri sushi is so fresh and has unusual options such as sea urchin and the special fatty tuna. I love Ramen and they do a special pork and chicken broth variety which is hard to find. Local beauty. Will come back to try more options with friends.

Really good quality nigiri and rolls. The fish was fresh and the menu had good variation. <br/>Quick service and very attentive, would definitely go back.

Great little Japanese restaurant for a causal dinner. Have eaten here a number of times, and can never flaw the service or food. Always walk away feeling like we should have paid and more. Highly rated the Wagyu beef, teriyaki salmon and Nasu Denduka (my favourite).

Right across from the Oaks, best pre drinks place. The sake was cheap and plentiful and pricing was decent. Not super cheap n cheerful like in the city but decent for a quick feed. Run by Japanese people who are super generous and attentive. Overall good :)

Incredible food! Just landed from Tokyo and clearly not over the holiday hangover so headed to ichibandori to re-live the experience. Just what we were looking for. Must try if you in the area.

Really nice local restaurant. Great friendly service and reasonable prices. The chicken karaage is great, as is the chicken teriyaki bento box. Note: Not open Tuesday's- been caught out a few times when gone there to order takeaway. Recommend!!!

One of my favorite japanese in sydney. <br/>So delicious and very good prices! <br/> Want to eat here every day if i live in north sydney. Thank you for good food!!! Xx

After walking by this venue many times we used the "open now" function and found Ichibandori to be open on a Sunday afternoon. We had fantastic service from the loveliest waiter and very fresh sashimi and sushi. Definitely will be back.

So Fresh and delicious!. Absolutely loved this place! Sushi was super fresh and the wagyu beef is so tender & soft it just melts.<br/>Great spot for a quick lunch, they do byo which is fantastic and we were served promptly with a friendly waitress.<br/>will def be back to try other dishes.

Great spot. Friendly service. Good value. Kingfish carpaccio was well presented, fresh and delicious. Beef tataki as well. Crisp and more-ish Gyoza. Slow cooked pork was sumptuous and fall apart soft. Generous serve of Teriyaki Chicken, with a crisp salad accompaniment. All in all, really solid local restaurant. We'll be back.

Many suburbs can now boast a little restaurant or two that turns out katsudon or teriyaki without hassle. Meanwhile, Neutral Bay almost has an overabundance. Faced with a row of Japanese restaurants on the main road not far from the sprawling Oaks Hotel one evening, it was a little like choosing from clones. There was no particular reason that Ichibandori got our pick, but we were glad for the efficient and orderly delivery of dishes to the table. Spicy fish salad from Ichibandori, Military Road, Neutral Bay The spicy sashimi salad was a decent serving size of fresh mixed leaves, undressed, with a pile of spicily dressed salmon and tuna pieces topped with strands of nori seaweed. I'm pretty sure the dressing was Korean gochujang chilli bean paste or similar, and it worked for the most part although it bordered on too spicy for my tastes. Pan fr

Would like to dine...are you open weekdays for lunch ?. Can't comment until we have dined...... preferably lunch..

This cute little restaurant was not only impressive with their service and attentive stuff but the food was affordable and delicious. A perfect quiet Sunday night meal: this place deserves far more custom than they had. Highly recommended.

Ichibandori dinner. Four of us had dinner there on a Saturday night and the service was quick/ food was excellent. Portion sizes great, delicious and economical. We had pork gyozas, ramen soup, teriyaki chicken, wagyu beef, tonkatsu pork and soft shell crab. Definitely will go again.

Be prepared to wait a long time for food. I wasn't particularly happy having to wait over an hour for our food and also look on as three other tables, all who placed orders after us, receive their food well ahead of us. Out of all the Japanese places in Neutral Bay this is the least authentic and interesting. I ordered the agedashi nasu, tempura vegetables, udon curry and teriyaki beef. All we're fairly average in flavour. Do yourself a favour and eat at Tanpopo or sushi studio next door!! You'll also save your pennies eating there.

This is one of the best well price Japanese in neutral bay.<br/>A good bottle of wine,and the pan fried gozers and the sushi is brilliant .<br/>We go every week .

Never coming again, ever!. I usually frequent this restaurant and have enjoyed the ramen. But today they served me a dish I did not order and told me I ordered it. To add insult to injury the woman who supposedly took the order told me she repeated the order back at me. So I feeling sad and dejected I paid and left the restaurant. <br/><br/>Until I get an apology, I am never coming back again.

Authentic Japanese. Ceviche (salmon, tomato, rocket, ponzu) had too much lemon and pepper- too sour that you couldn't taste the fresh fish. Nasu dengaku was  grilled super soft. Avocado and salmon roll was standard. Every mouthful of the Nabeyaki udon was immersed in flavour- absolutely delicious. The aburiyaki wagyu beef was also a standout. A great & reasonably priced place we'll definitely return to!!

Best Food Ever!. Wow. They have THE BEST sashimi I have had. Amazingly fresh it just melts in your mouth. And the sushi is great too. This is "hatted" restaurant quality food at a fraction of the price. The waitress was so friendly too, all smiles. If you look for food quality over fancy surroundings, then you'll love this place.