Icho Japanese - Houston

Tuna taco at @ichojapaneseresto I really love Japanese food and this probably is my favorite of all. To have the perfect mixture of crunchiness and raw tuna with mayo.

I forgot what the occasion was, but we learned about Icho from my grandmother who had dined there with her amigas a few months back. I feel as I've been living under a rock as Icho has been around for nearly two years. Anyway, she couldn't stop raving about how good it was, so we decided to give it a try. It's been my go-to Japanese restaurant for when I need my fix! Would give this place an overall rating of 5/5. Quality of food, specifically the seafood, is consistently fresh. Like, quality is always A . Service is really good, waiting time is never too long, really. Ambiance is also quite nice. Highly recommended!!

Authentic Jap food at the heart of metro. Quite pricey, but all dishes we got were worth the price. We ate here on a Sunday for lunch, and the place was jam-packed. Hence, we opted to sit at the bar to avoid the wait. Service was still fast throughout our stay. Food was superb, too. Particularly commend their sashimis—they were fresh and I would say, of top quality. Melts in the mouth!!!

Almost everything about this restaurant, I liked. The relatively ample parking and inside, the well-ventilated and spacious dining area, the attentive and well-trained service staff and of course, the no-nonsense menu. Speaking food, I fell in love with the Foie Gras Aburi, that lightly broiled good liver with balsamic teriyaki sauce with susi rice. Another masterpiece I admired was the Hiroshima Kaki Motoyaki, baked oysters with creamy mayonnaise based sauce. The Icho Roll was this colorful and beautifully presented bestseller. Well-balanced reds and greens playfully dotted this maki sushi number. Tastewise? Equally a winner. On the downside, I didn’t much enjoy the Robata Platter. It’s a collection of grilled meat in skewers that, in my opinion, was on the dry side. Or maybe because our photo session took longer than it should. On the plus side, it was really interesting were the ginko bilboa seeds, also skewered and grilled. On the beverage department, I liked the Matcha Milk Smoothie, which you can mistake for avocado ice cream, the expected herby aftertaste was almost near zero. And my order of Watermelon Shake was also a stand out. Now that’s what I call genuinely refreshing. We finished the meal with vanilla ice cream sandwiched by chocolate and vanilla sponge cake with mochi. It was a simple dessert that successfully fulfilled what a good dessert’s expected to do. End the meal. Satisfyingly.

Important Points Experience the Japanese and Zen connection with their place as you will feel it once you enter the resto. The interior design and structure truly resembles a Japan kind of place. The resto's staff and crew are very welcoming, accommodating, approachable and pleasant. The food menu was specially formulated and made by Chef Rico Panoy. Starting from the appetizer up to the dessert, it surely have a very nice presentation. (Instagrammable be like) Don't miss the MUST TRY dishes that I put star above on the featured food list. The quality of their food is really worth the price (not so cheap or pricey), as in kahit hindi ka mahilig sa Japanese food, masasarapan ka talaga! You can also book for event reservations.