Ichiban Fusion

1 out of 5 stars★★★★★

“I honestly don't even know where to start with this place. First of all, I genuinely don't understand why it's rated so highly. It made me wonder whether people locally simply haven't experienced better Japanese or Thai food to compare it with. I've eaten at some disappointing restaurants over the years, but this was on another level. It doesn't even deserve one star. We visited a while ago, so this review is long overdue, but it's one experience I haven't forgotten. Before the food even arrived, we were already questioning our decision to stay. The floors and tables were incredibly sticky, the whole restaurant felt tired and run down, and it didn't feel particularly clean. It certainly wasn't a great first impression and didn't inspire much confidence in what was to come. The concept itself is strange. It's advertised as a Thai and Japanese restaurant, but this isn't a well-thought-out fusion. It simply feels like two completely separate kitchens operating under one roof with two different menus. If you're dining as a couple and one person orders from the Thai menu while the other orders from the Japanese menu, don't expect your meals to arrive together. That's exactly what happened to us. Before the food even arrived, I ordered a virgin Piña Colada and was served one containing alcohol. When I pointed it out, the staff seemed shocked and said they weren't sure how it had happened. That's a pretty serious mistake, especially for someone who avoids alcohol for religious, medical, or personal reasons. To make things even stranger, they then told me they couldn't make a non-alcoholic Piña Colada despite it being listed on the menu. Surely it's just the same drink without the alcohol? In the end, they gave me a mango juice instead, which, in all honesty, ended up being the highlight of the entire meal. I ordered gyoza and ramen from the Japanese menu, and honestly, the photos speak for themselves. The ramen broth tasted like hot water with some cheap seasoning thrown into it. There was no richness, no depth, no authenticity whatsoever. It came with random vegetables, an overcooked egg, and noodles that were genuinely worse than the cheapest instant ramen you can buy from a supermarket. I don't say that lightly. The katsu chicken served separately was massively overcooked, greasy, and almost inedible. The sushi was equally disappointing—bland, lacking freshness, and completely forgettable. The gyoza were somehow even worse. They tasted like frozen supermarket gyoza, with a strange filling that barely resembled meat. Honestly, I've had frozen gyoza from the supermarket that tasted far better than these. What really shocked me, though, was the response when I explained that the ramen was very poor. The waiter actually said, "Maybe you just don't like ramen." I couldn't believe it. I absolutely love ramen and have eaten hundreds of bowls across the UK and abroad, from small independent shops to some of the best ramen restaurants I've ever visited. If anyone reading this looks through my other reviews, they'll see I regularly review ramen restaurants. This simply wasn't authentic ramen—it wasn't even close. This is one of the few occasions where I genuinely feel the rating does not reflect the quality of the food being served. If you're visiting Norwich and thinking of coming here because of the high reviews, don't be fooled. We left hungry, disappointed, and genuinely shocked that food of this standard was being served in a restaurant.”

5 out of 5 stars★★★★★

“Absolutely fantastic place! Extremely delicious sushi (dragon roll to die for!), friendliest staff (shoutout to Noa for going above and beyond)! Francisco is a magician, thank you very much! And thank you Ichiban staff for our great evening! 100% recommend and we’ll be back”