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Ichi Rock
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
5 reviews for Ichi Rock
5 reviews in English
-
Review from Tristan B.
Calgary, AB
1/9/2012 3 Check-ins Here
The short version? Go, enjoy some of the finest sushi in town (they have absolutely no fear in running out, even around dinner time, which means super-fresh sushi), the most fun staff (especially Aki, who is one of the friendliest Itamae that I have ever met in my life) and the most modern in decor.
The long version? Truthfully, As far as sushi in Calgary goes, you will be hard pressed to find a restaurant that is all in all better. IchiRock brings sushi that results in art, savory food and excellent service to Calgary. Some people I know have complained that you sometimes have to repeat yourself a couple of times for the servers, since English is not their first language I do not mind! Especially considering I never manage to have servers understand me the first time when I say "Asahi"...
I always get the spider roll here, always! It is easily the best I have had this side of the pacific, a must in my books. As for everything else? I will repeatedly go back, for everything else. From the creative textures and flavors of the appetizers to the quality and portion size of the toro, I cannot complain about anything.
As far as I am concerned, five stars describes it. All in all, I find no real room for improvement in a market flooded with sushi restaurants, including many good competitors. -
Review from Pouri B.
2/12/2012 1 Check-in Here
Quite disappointing really!
It's a nice little romantic place but that's the only good thing I can say about it. Average quality sushi (maybe above average for Calgary) and terrible service summarizes the whole experience. We had 7 orders and it took them 35 minutes between bringing the first and the last! How can you enjoy your meal when someone has to wait an additional 35 minutes for their plate? -
Review from Katie C.
Calgary, AB
10/19/2011
Step 2 of Sushi obsession: locate all places within walking distance of work and frequent often. The friendly folks at Ichirock know me now, in a "you again!" sort of way. I'm a big fan of the service and their lunchtime specials. But oh man, being known at restaurants cracks me up, especially when I bring a new crew around to chow down.
The interior is a stylish and modern red and black design with a bit of an east-asian twist, and I love the serving dishes.
Their dine-in lunchtime specials are continuously expanding, which I'm glad for. I'm not a huge fan of the sushi special though, which makes me sad :( Luckily, they've recently added a customized bento-style lunch special, where you can pick from a variety of smaller dishes - ebi mayo, sushi, rolls, sashimi, yam tempura, and more! I had the ebi mayo and sushi yesterday, and with miso and rice on the side, I practically needed a nap at the end! It came out to 10.95, not too shabby.
If you're not into sushi, they have some pretty awesome donburi (rice with meat) specials. I really like the pork katsudon, which is an egg, deep fried pork cutlet and rice... for 6.95. Holy smokes, what a deal!
My only complaint, and it is deeply personal, is the amount of onions they pile onto most of the cooked dishes. Onion lovers can rejoice! I however, will continue to forget to ask for them removed, and be slowly extracting them into my sad little onion piles. -
Review from Van B.
5/8/2011
Ichi Rock aka Ichi [ra:ku] is a fusion japanese & izakaya style restaurant. I've been there a few times off a recommendation from a close friend of mine and I don't regret it at all.
This restaurant is not particularly large in size but that's how I prefer my restaurants to be. Situated in the west end of downtown it's cozy inside and you can tell special attention to detail was done when designing the interior of the place.
The waitresses are super nice, very accommodating although sometimes you might have to repeat some things to them (english as their second language) they are fairly quick from taking the order to serving the food.
I believe the only downside is when my friends and I usually go here that there will always be one thing that isn't being served or has run out, partially probably our fault as we hardly make it down there before 8pm.
With that in mind the waitresses are awesome in the fact that we always end up getting a couple bonus items as their appreciation that we eat at their restaurant and a sincere form of apology that they don't have an item we wanted in our order.
I'd recommend this place to other people definitely! -
Review from jose m.
Calgary, AB
8/18/2011
i really wanted to like this place, but unfortunately it didn't impress or even satisfy. i came with 3 friends, one of whom suggested we try. he learned that ichi rock was opened by the same owner as the don day restaurant on 7th ave and 8th st. i enjoy the pork neck potato stew from don day (their specialty) so i had hopes this new place would be as good for the food (as an izakaya). sadly, it was not.
the waitress that helped us was very friendly, but didn't seem very knowledgeable on izakaya food or what ichi rock's recommended dishes were. i asked if there was any yakitori or kushiyaki, which she replied there were only teba wings... but she did recommend the flaming chicken, which she said was very good. so we went with that (suicide hotness level), beef tataki, seafood okonomiyaki, takoyaki, bacon yakisoba, grilled mackerel as well as another tuna sashimi dish that i forgot how they described.
the beef tataki came first and it was pretty terrible. the pieces weren't very thinly sliced and tasted like previously frozen meat. i realize that most beef tataki will be frozen, but never should it taste like it. ginger was placed on top of each slice, i wondered if to help mask the freezer taste.
second up was the takoyaki, which wasn't bad - but wasn't anything special either. not sure if they were or not, but it tasted like they were pre-packaged frozen store bought takoyaki. not bad, but nothing special, same with the seafood okonomiyaki: neither good nor bad. it tasted like pre-packaged store bought okonomiyaki powder mix was used, with frozen mixed seafood added to the batter prior to cooking. i have eaten a lot of takoyaki in tokyo and okonomiyaki in hiroshima, so perhaps this is an unfair comparison.. but i don't go out to eat food that tastes like what you can buy and make yourself at home.
the crowning glory that resulted in the 1 star rating: the chicken arrived. for a dish that was 13.95 or 14.95 (can't remember which it was) - it was basically the size of a small plate. there were small morsels of chicken served with onions and green peppers, drenched in a thick sauce. i doubt all four of us were able to have more than a single tiny piece of chicken. ARE YOU FOR REAL?!? 14 bucks for a tiny plate of chicken morsels doused in sauce, with more onions and green peppers than meat? not everyone is that gullible homie.
the bacon yakisoba followed and was pretty standard fare (read - it's hard to fuck up), but rather light in terms of portion. nothing really else to say about it.
the only dish that everyone enjoyed was the grilled mackerel, which was the simplest of all the dishes: grilled and served with a light citrus soy. it was because of this dish that we ended up additionally ordering the tuna dish, thinking perhaps we could find another good dish to salvage a mediocre meal.
the tuna mystery dish (forgot the dish name) is best described as a mystery.. the combination of whatever they used to season made it seem like the chef was trying to be creative, without tasting the end result first. the sauce tasted funky; it was sweet, it was sour and it was savory - all at the same time, but not in a good way while leaving a weird after-taste. it way overpowered the taste of the fish and soundly ruined the dish.
we were served frozen grapes which were nice, when we asked for the check. again to be fair, the waitress was very friendly and attentive to us whenever we needed her. but overall, the food was really disappointing. i didn't think the quality of the dishes warranted the prices they were charging. my personal observation is that this is a corean run joint trying masquerade as a japanese izakaya, which is the latest soup du jour in calgary. still, there are better (non japanese) izakayas, which offer better value for your money.
