Hibachi Ichiban

12617 Jefferson Davis Highway  Chester, VA 23831-5307
(804) 717-2238

In a rundown building, in a nondescript strip mall in Chester lays the best restaurant in the Tri-Cities area, Hibachi Ichiban a carry out version of a Japanese steakhouse. At first glance you would never dream about eating at this little restaurant with its dingy red and white sign but as soon as you walk in you realize that you just found the best kept secret around. The interior of Hibachi leaves quite a bit to be desired but the smells coming from the large grill will cause you to float over to the checkout counter like you’re a cartoon character.

The menu for such a small hole in the wall is impressive. They have a few appetizers I recommend the fried goyza for $2.99. They are deep fried dumplings filled with meat and served with a teriyaki dipping sauce. They are known for their hibachi plates that includes a salad with an amazing house dressing, fried rice, yakisoba noodles, zucchini, mushrooms, onions and your choice of meats cooked in their house teriyaki sauce. The serve chicken, steak, shrimp and scallops which you can mix and match to your heart’s desire. They also serve tempura dishes and noodle plates which are the same as the hibachi plates but with no rice just noodles. The entrées range from $5.79 for the chicken hibachi plate to $12.95 for fillet minion and jumbo shrimp. Any way you go it is a great deal. I usually stick with the chicken because it is so cheap and extremely tasty. When I do decide to splurge or someone else is paying I order the shrimp and scallops which are to die for. The shrimp and scallops are huge and always fresh.  The steak is always good quality and expertly cooked like everything else but I just do not think that steak and teriyaki sauce goes well together although I know people who absolutely love the steak. The vegetables are so good, nice and tender with the perfect amount of teriyaki sauce; I would not blame someone for getting just the vegetable entrée except that you can add mouth watering chicken for 40 cents more.  Each dish is served with two extra dipping sauces one is their amazing white yum yum sauce and the other is a thick teriyaki sauce. Trust me on this, ask for one or two extra white sauces because it is out of this world.

I keep Hibachi on speed dial so I called my order in and it was ready by the time I arrived. I really recommend this because it often gets a little crazy around lunch time. I ordered water and the chicken entrée which can with vegetables, fried rice, noodles and salad and it came to just over $6.00. The chicken was juicy and the vegetables were extremely tender and everything was coated in their delicious teriyaki sauce. After I ate the salad I was only able to eat less than half of the meal. So for $6.00 and change I got 2 amazing lunches.

This hidden gem is one of the best if not the best restaurant in the Tri-Cities area. It is most certainly the best Asian restaurant in the area and is the best value for your money. If all you care about is the atmosphere don’t go to hibachi, go and waste your money at Kanpai but if you want superb Japanese for an amazing price do not go anywhere other than Hibachi Ichiban.