Chris V.
Yelp
Jack of all trades, master of... maybe just one.
Ichiza, as it is still known on their exterior and their receipt, is an old-school izakaya which I have somehow managed to avoid visiting until tonight. Perhaps I would have been better off without going, but my friend loves the place and insisted that we try it instead of another similar business down the street on Spring Mountain.
I actually tried to go a couple years back only to find that they were doing a "closed on Tuesdays" thing, but I did remember the plaza enough to know that parking can be kinda rough. Luckily, there were a few open spots when we showed up. A long and a short flight of stairs later, we reached their second-floor location and walked in to find some crowding at the tatami and regular tables, but ample seating available at the bar.
Let's start with the positives. It's mainly dessert. OG Honey Toast ($8.95) has stuck in my mind as being associated with Ichiza, so I had to try it. It will really fill up two people if they don't save room for it. The bread is great and the honey is generous, and that might even be enough for some including my friend. That said, the vanilla ice cream adds cool temperature and creamy sweetness, so I enjoyed it even more with all components combined.
The Daikon Salad ($8.75) wasn't bad either. It's very refreshing, and I enjoyed the sour plum and the sauce at the bottom. I could go for the Salmon Carpaccio ($11.45) again too. The salmon is delicious and the sauce is great, but the lemon is confusingly sliced thin and placed in the sauce. That speaks to me as "eat all of me," but the rind seemed to overpower some of the flavors.
The rest of our orders varied from subpar to disastrous. The Chicken Gizzard ($2.95) and Beef Tongue ($3.95) were both somewhat dry, and they do not seem to have the ubiquitous kiss of binchotan here. After having been spoiled by other local restaurants with the delicious touch of that Japanese charcoal, I couldn't help but be disappointed with Ichiza's skewers. Even worse, the Beef Tataki ($10.25) was dreadfully chewy. I don't know if it was how it was sliced or whether it was a London broil cut, but I did not enjoy the toll on my teeth. No binchotan here either.
Lastly (but actually the first impression), the Homemade Simmered Pork Belly ($7.25) was very disappointing on account of the superior offerings at local competitors, from sushi spots to ramen joints. First off, it was very salty. Second, it was not tender enough. Sure, it was soft enough that it wasn't a chore to chew, but pork belly braised like that should melt in your mouth. At least the hard-boiled quail egg garnish was fine; perhaps it didn't have time to soak up the soy sauce.
They do accept card payment, but note on the receipt that they'll discount 4% of the post-tax total if you pay with cash. That's not insignificant. Service was generally fine and was conducted through servers despite the openness of the kitchen. They did surprise me a few times by dropping items to my left, while I was busy talking toward my right.
Come to Ichiza for dessert and skip everything else. The menu feels lacking in depth, and the majority of what I ordered tonight was not enjoyable enough.