Warner Robins' Ichiban no longer No. 1 in Japanese
Ichiban means "No. 1" in Japanese, but its sister restaurant Dai-Ichi also means "No. 1". Then there's their other sister restaurant, Zen, also in Warner Robins. They all share the familiar formula of a "hibachi" or teppanyaki restaurant: peaceful decor, sushi bar and several teppanyaki tables where your dinner is made in front of you.
Our experience at Ichiban was fairly standard with a few exceptions. Our server was quick and professional, bringing us our beverages within minutes of our arrival.
She recommended the house dressing for the salads that came with our teppanyaki, which she described as "better than ranch, better than thousand island."
Since I'm fond of neither, I chose the ginger dressing, which was much stronger and chunkier than ginger dressings I have had before.
The soup that is also part of the teppanyaki meal was good, like the usual miso but with imitation crab added. Though it may sound derogatory to call it imitation, hardly any sushi restaurants use real crab.
Our teppanyaki chef seemed to have a few problems as he made our meal. First, he forgot to put out the usual sauces that accompany the meal, then he actually left our salmon and chicken on the griddle while he went to get an onion for the choo-choo trick.
Our salmon didn't suffer too much, but the chicken ended up tough and chewy. Maybe we didn't seem into the show, but it was not as energetic as we've experienced before.
The sauces that we eventually did receive were flavorless and the serving sizes were much smaller than other hibachi-style restaurants in the area.
The sushi fared better. We always have a California roll as a base standard and this one was no worse or better than most other places.
The cucumber sunomono, a simple salad of fresh cucumbers in sweet vinegar, was delicious. Our other two sushi choices were good but nothing out of the ordinary.
We also enjoyed our spring rolls and steamed chicken dumplings. A pot of hot tea was especially nice on a cold night.
Prices seemed reasonable for the amount of food, less than most other similar restaurants on both accounts.
Our consensus is that Dai-Ichi is the true No. 1 sister and Ichiban is probably No. 2.
If you are a real sushi and teppanyaki fan, do your own comparison and see what you think.
Ichiban Steakhouse and Sushi
Address: 3035 Watson Blvd., Warner Robins
Website: www.zenwr.com
Phone: 478-953-6612
Hours: 4:30-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4:30-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4-9 p.m. Sunday
Payment: Cash, credit
Smoking: No
Alcohol: Yes
Kids Menu: Yes
Noise Level: Low
Health Rating: 95
Price range: $11-$30
Rating: 2.5
This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Warner Robins' Ichiban no longer No. 1 in Japanese ."