Ichi Ban - Santiago de Surco

One of my family's favorite Japanese restaurants in Lima. It has a long history behind this restaurant. When Japanese embassy was under attacked by tourists back in 1990s, this restaurant catered to the Japanese Embassy from lunch to dinner. This shows that the quality is good enough for Japanese embassy and their guests especially during crazy time like that. The original location was in Miraflores and now moved to San Isidro for a few years now. The quality is consistant, and always very good service. Their steam egg, grill fish, sashimi are really great!

Excellent and fresh! Hiro the owner always present to welcome the guests. Love this place! I really recommend in Lima as japanese restaurant the Ichiban and the Fuji!

Went here for lunch and had a great time. Ordered two rolls to share among two people (on a budget). Came with a complimentary little salad thing with cucumbers and octopus and green tea. After the rolls, we were given a small fruit platter for dessert. Those little touches plus the friendly staff (got a yelled greeting from the owner when coming in the front door) make this place worth visiting.

We were two couples. When we arrived at our reservation we were seated at a horseshoe configured table for 10. Four on each side and 2 at the end. We were directed to the four on one side which meant the two end people could not speak to each other. We requested that two of us sit on the end so we could talk among ourselves. Apparently that was not allowed. Even when it would not mater where the other two at our communal table sat. The food was plentiful and of good quality, but was over cooked and over sauced. Each item in the entre was served sequentially with a vegetable stir fry at the end. As a good cook, it was painful to watch my scallops cooked to rubber and the salmon drowned in sauce. Mushrooms were in three of the dishes, I suspect to add bulk. So, poorly prepared food and an uncomfortable seating arrangement means we won't be returning.

Located in the heart of the San Isidro district, it is a bit hard to find as one needs to descend a flight of stairs on a side street corner. However, it is an excellent choice particularly for warm Japanese meals. All of the daily menu items looked freshly prepared and my Katsuni (cutled cooked with egg and sweet soy sauce) was excellent. All was good, except for the ventilation which needs to be improved for those of us who need to get back to the office.