ichikoo "A new restaurant a week!"

I was looking for a place to have a good bite in SF, and came across this via City Search (I know I know. At least I’m reviewing it over here!). It was rated highly, so I figured, why not?

It met my expectation and went a bit above it :)

I’ve come to always expect crepe places to be tasty, and it very much so was. Both the “salty” crepe and the sweet crepe were good. However, what made me appreciate this place more was the fact that the service was pretty fast and streamlined.

Instead of being sat down to order food, you basically wait in the line to order like if you were at a crepe stand. And then by the time you order, a table will be ready for you, in which you can sit and wait for your food. And the food will come out very quickly too. So don’t get discouraged if you see a long line shooting outside of the door to the sidewalk. Just wait, and you’ll see how it may actually be faster this way, than having to wait for a table to order first. I guess one problem is that it can get cold waiting outside, so make sure you wear something warm (on a cold day).

The place was packed, but things still moved quickly. My chai came out before I finished paying. The crepes themselves probably came out within 10 min after ordering (but then again, I didn’t time it exactly, so I may be wrong here. The point is, it didn’t feel like a long wait).

Food was delicious, so I’m glad that I had the chance to check this place out. Oh yah, the dessert crepes will come with either cream or ice cream. Get the ice cream!

The ambience is great. It’s probably a very good place to take a date to. The price is by no means cheap, but their food is very reasonable (then again, I’m not sure if the steak is worth it for the price).

Happy Hour food is even a bit skimpy when it comes to the amount of food that you get, but hey, at least it’s still good.

You may have a long wait to sit in the restaurant area, so just go to the bar area if you want to grab a quick bite. You can get the full menu in the bar.

The view is great because it’s at the top of one of the buildings. You can see downtown Seattle assuming it’s not too gloomy.

Free parking is always a plus for these kinds of restaurant ;)

I think the restaurant itself has a very nice setting. Big restaurant, not too loud, and they have many items available for you to consume.

I never cared to go here until I found the below two items. Now, I’d go back even without the MS Prime Discount (or even if it’s not before we go watch a movie at the theatre near by).

Definitely worth the trek to try their food, but I really cannot speak much for the food other than the two that I love.

I did not find a place that beats this place while I was visiting Hawaii (in terms of a place to have a sip while enjoying the Hawaiian weather).

When 3 of us reached Honolulu first, we had a goal of finding a restaurant by the beach to enjoy a sip of beer and eat some food. After walking around, we came across this curious restaurant tucked away passed the lobby of Outrigger Reef Hotel. Why not right? The beach was right there, the weather was great. The view was phenominal and it just seemed right. Little did I know that it was going to turn into our favorate bar in Honolulu in a short time.

I still remember the perfect Pacific Golden Ale, the great smelling ocean breeze, and the sound of waves breaking at the shore.

Basically, the shore is about 20-30 feet away from the edge of the restaurant, so you can see, smell, and hear the ocean from anywhere. Assuming the wind is not too strong, all the windows will be open and you’ll have the best time drinking a very good beer.

Food wise, I can’t remember what I ate, but I know that everything was ok to good. All of us enjoyed this place more so because of the environment that it offered to us.

This is the first place that I’d go when I visit Hawaii again (not if, when I visit).

Oh, an extra bonus is that they have live music. I’m not sure how often, but most of the times that I went (I went 4 times), they had live music.

I think this is one of those great places to eat for what you pay. It’s very affordable, and there’s no way you will leave here hungry.

The man who I think is the owner is very nice and funny. He jokes around a bit and makes sure that you’re having a good meal.

It’s not that big of a place, but people seem to go in and out fairly quickly. Try it out if you have a chance!

We ended up here on our drive down to San Jose from Seattle. While looking for a place to eat, we chose here because it was very similar to one of our friend’s name…and we were getting hungry.

It turns out that this place has quite a bit of history in terms of how it came about. For example, it’s supposed to be the oldest restaurant to have survived since 1879. It was also speakeasy too at some point, providing alcohol to folks in a coffee mug. NICE.

I think the food was normal. Not gross, but I don’t think that it was specatacular. However, just for the sake of checking out a bit of Portland history, it may be worth dropping by.

It’s a bit weird in terms of location because it’s hidden inside a building from one street, but visible from another. Just look around that area and you’ll find it for sure.

This restaurant is located in the chinese mall area near McCarthy Ranch. It’s a mall that’s filled with a bunch of restaurants, and somewhere in between is this restaurant.

The ambience is just what you would expect in a ramen place. Small, smells good, and is…well, just normal. But the food is pretty good. I always have a problem of not getting enough noodles when I eat ramen which ends up with me craving for more food. Here at Maru Ichi, ramen itself was decent in terms of the amount of noodles that you get, but there are different ways to get completely full.

First, order some ramen. Then, order a “Kaedama” which literally means another bullet. It’s basically a bowl of extra ramen for $1. If you think that won’t be enough, order a Fried Chicken and that’ll fill you up for sure. But be warned, I was full.

Here’s the best part though…it was very cheap for the amount of food and the quality of food that I got. I suppose the competitions in the same mall will keep the price lower, but still…good for us.

Definitely try it out if you’re in the neighborhood.

Ambience: great! More modern-type scene.
Service: the bread-man is awesome!
Price: $25-3-course-meal was priced just right.

It’s probably priced right for the type of food they serve and the ambience.

It’s not a big deal, but the host promised us earlier than our reservation time, but resulted in seating us a bit later. They ended us seating at the table that was empty the whole time we were there 15min prior to our reservation.

The waitress was very professional, prompt, and nice. The bread-man was very quick and never left the plate empty.

Next to it is a bar playing good music, and was pretty packed for a Sunday night. It’s probably because it’s near (or in) the W hotel.

The restaurant is very nice. The ambience is nice. The service is good. But the food that I ordered had some misses and some hits.

I came here for the 3-course meal for $25 deal that’s going on this month in Seattle. I was expecting a bit more, but maybe I chose the wrong dishes.

Either way, please read below about the dishes that I got. I think that it’s still worth checking this place out.

I will probably not go to this place for the $25 deal anytime soon. I may consider going back to this place for a dessert and fois gras…but then again, I can check other places for the same so. Hmm. A hard call. Perhaps I should give other dishes an equal opportunity.

I really like this place. The price is actually not so bad for what you get (considering how everything else at Santana Row is super expensive).

You should definitely try it out if you’re around.