Ichiban - Leytonstone

2:43pm Wednesday 10th September 2008

THE Ichiban dining experience is somewhat odd.

Tucked away almost at the very end of Leytonstone High Road, away from other restaurants, its interior is more reminiscent of a tea room than a Japanese restaurant.

There are some faintly oriental-looking vases on shelves on the right hand wall, but the decor is otherwise minimal, with plain white walls and tablecloths and none of the low tables and bamboo screens I’d half-hoped to find.

And instead of traditional Japanese music, as I stepped into the still-empty restaurant on Saturday night, I was greeted by the slightly incongruous sound of Latin American lounge music.

The waiter, when he emerged from behind the single screen that separates diners from the kitchen, was not Japanese either and was casually dressed in jeans and T-shirt.

He was very attentive, however, and arrived to take my order only five or 10 minutes after I’d sat down and had a look at the menu.

I ordered conservatively – harumaki (vegetable spring rolls) to start and chicken yaki soba (chicken with shredded carrot and dressed noodles) for the main – as, while I’m a fan of Chinese and Thai food, I’m less familiar with Japanese cuisine.

Service was again speedy and my spring rolls arrived in less than five minutes.

They were hot, fresh and well-filled, served with what tasted like wasabi sauce, and excellent value for money (five for £1.80) but a little on the greasy side.

Meanwhile, the Latin American music continues in the background and I was joined by four other customers.

By now, it was around 7.30pm and I was sceptical about the necessity of making a reservation.

Given that it’s only open Wednesday to Saturday from 7pm, and I’d read various rave reviews online, I’d expected it to be jam packed before 8pm – but no-one else came in all evening.

My noodles arrived shortly after my first dish had been cleared away and they were also hot, fresh and good value (about £5 for a fairly substantial portion) but there was a noticeable shortage of chicken and an awful lot of what appeared to be parsley.

While I’m not an expert, I’m fairly certain parsley is not a traditional oriental ingredient and while the (scant) chicken was tender, it was again on the greasy side.

The dish was also spicier than I was expecting and left me feeling a bit giddy, as it was fairly warm outside and I was still recovering from the wasabi sauce from my starter.

Nevertheless, I can’t fault Ichiban for portion size – in fact, I had trouble finishing my main course and it’s ridiculously cheap, with my final bill coming to less than £10, including drinks.

For some reason, on delivering the bill, the waiter also presented me with an apparently complementary custard-based strawberry dessert, which was very nice of him, but I didn’t order it and as I was already more or less stuffed, I only managed about half.

The restaurant was also scrupulously clean.

It’s worth a visit if you’re after something cheap, quick and filling, but not quite up to the standards of some of its central London cousins.

Ichiban,
721 High Road,
Leytonstone,
E11 4RD

Tel: 020 8556 7591