Surprise!
You know you've found a good restaurant when you walk in excited to see if the food is as good as the atmosphere... and walk out already planning your next visit.
That was our experience at Ichiban Japanese & Chinese Cuisine in downtown Fort Myers. Tucked into the historic Post Office Arcade near the Banyan Hotel, Ichiban has been a family-owned downtown favorite since 2002.
A Table in the Arcade
The "outside" seating is really a table in the arcade, in a cute European-alley kind of space near the hotel lobby. Inside there's more seating and a little sushi bar.
And while the name Ichiban means "number one" in Japanese, I was more interested in finding out whether the food could live up to it.
Spoiler alert: it did.
A Skeptic at the Table
I brought my 13-year-old along, which made things even more interesting. Anyone who has dined with a teenager knows an enthusiastic reaction can be harder to get than a reservation.
Don't get me wrong, my kids do love sushi, but getting them to try rolls outside their comfort zone can be a challenge, which is why we also ordered a standard chicken fried rice. I always say you can tell a good Chinese restaurant by how good their egg rolls and fried rice are.
We started with the chicken fried rice, and I'm so glad we did. First impression? That's a NICE portion. The rice was flavorful without being overly salty, and the chicken was the real star for me: juicy, tender and plentiful, not those tiny little pieces you sometimes have to hunt for. Every bite had something going on, and there was enough on the plate that nobody was going to wonder where the rest of the meal went. Leftovers wouldn't have been a bad thing.
Then came the crab rangoon, and these little golden beauties disappeared fast. The outside had the satisfying crunch you want, and the inside was generously filled with a creamy crab and cream cheese mixture.
You know that moment when you bite into something crispy and hear that CRUNCH? Yep. These delivered. And unlike some crab rangoon that seems to be more wrapper than filling, these had a nice filling-to-crunch ratio.
Not Exactly Dainty Bites
Of course, no trip to Ichiban is complete without sushi. We tried two of their specialty rolls, the Tsunami and the Dancing Eel, and these were not dainty little bites.
The Tsunami combines salmon, avocado and cucumber, topped with spicy crab salad and finished with eel sauce and scallion. You get the creamy avocado, the cool crunch of cucumber and then that spicy crab on top, which was a nice surprise with a little kick. It's one of those rolls where you get a bit of everything in one bite: crunchy, creamy, spicy, savory and slightly sweet. Basically, a flavor tsunami.
But the surprise favorite of the night was the Dancing Eel, and I have to give credit where it's due. My 13-year-old was very skeptical about this one.
Eel? Really?
The Dancing Eel is a California roll topped with smoked eel and finished with eel sauce, that sweet, savory flavor that makes eel such a great sushi topping. The eel was tender and flavorful, the avocado added creaminess and the cucumber brought a little freshness and crunch.
A Teenager Weighs In
And then came the moment every parent secretly loves.
“Wow... this is actually really good.”
From a 13-year-old. About eel. I'll take that as high praise.
Both rolls were substantial, beautifully packed and loaded with ingredients. There was no sense of eating mostly rice with a tiny bit of filling hiding inside. And yes, we finished them, because apparently there is always room for sushi.
What I really enjoyed about Ichiban is that it feels like one of those downtown spots you might walk right past if you didn't know it was there. But once you find it, there's plenty to discover, from Chinese favorites like fried rice and crab rangoon to an extensive sushi menu with specialty rolls for the sushi adventurous and the sushi curious.
And honestly, I'm still not sure which was the bigger surprise: how much food we got, or the fact that I didn't have to convince him to try the Dancing Eel twice.
If you'd like to explore downtown Fort Myers with us, join our downtown Fort Myers food tour for a blend of historic charm and culinary adventure.
The Paradise Plate Takeaway
Restaurant: Ichiban Japanese & Chinese Cuisine
Location: 1520 Broadway #106, Post Office Arcade, downtown Fort Myers, Florida
Known For: Chicken fried rice, crab rangoon and specialty sushi rolls like the Tsunami and the Dancing Eel
Perfect For: Casual dinners downtown, sushi lovers, the sushi-curious and anyone with a skeptical eater at the table
The Paradise Plate Takeaway
Sometimes the most honest compliment comes from the skeptic across the table.
