Some friends asked where I was headed for dinner this past Saturday night, so I responded: “Ichigo Ichie”. I received many puzzled looks and “Huhs???” So many puzzled looks in fact that I decided to google it. According to my search, Ichigo Ichie means “one encounter, one chance”, which is actually a beautiful saying meaning that each encounter should be treated as if it’s a first encounter – even if you’re dining with your boyfriend of 8 years. I love that :).

Now that I got that off my chest! Ichigo Ichie is an Izakaya (Japanese pub) located (or should I say hidden) on Rachel Est in the plateau. There is no large sign outside, so keep your eyes peeled!

Many Izakayas have popped up around the city in recent years, but I must say that this is my favourite to date.

It is definitely the most upscale Izakaya in Montreal and they have managed to create ambience without losing the fun and cool pub feel.

Orders are entered on iPads and came out of the kitchen FAST (maybe a little too fast)! We shared everything and are glad that we did, since the menu is quite large and you will want to try everything. We started with the yellowtail hamachi which was light and delicious – topped with thin slices of nori. The salmon on rice with avocado and the agedashi tofu with eggplant in a miso broth were both great dishes though the portions were relatively small.

Our favourites were both udon noodle dishes. The udon noodle carbonara is UNREAL. A take on spaghetti carbonara (cheesy cream sauce, bacon, and an egg), but with thick & slurpy udon noodles (my FAVOURITE). The mushroom udon noodles were much lighter. I really liked both, but the carbonara MUST be tried.

Dessert was definitely green tea-themed with a matcha tiramisu and a green tea ice cream sandwich with mochi! NOM!

 

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Should I reserve? Reservations are definitely recommended and can be made by phone.

Date night? Absolutely. YESYESYES.

Dress ready for… A night at an upscale Japanese pub

The damage: $$$ (out of $$$$)