In my humble opinion, there can be fewer joys in life than dining with a knowledgeable chef, who can provide insight and commentary on dishes as we eat. I was thrilled to be able to do this when I booked a table to try out the newly opened Ippin, in West Village. During the soft opening period, only a set menu was available and we did go on the first day open to public. We did expect a few hiccups in the service but were quite blown away through the night. To say it was chaotic would be an understatement.
We arrived 10 minutes ahead of our reservation. Despite having more waitstaff than I have ever seen in a medium sized restaurant, no one came to greet us or seat us for a good five minutes. Instead they looked at us nervously and a few even ran away when I smiled or waived at them. Eventually we were seated at the bar. The bartender probably gave us the quickest service we had that evening. Another table of friends who arrived later than us (but had been booked into the same time slot) was given a table long before us, and I had to ask staff ten minutes past my reservation to then be allocated our table. Service throughout the night did not improve and it was a constant struggle to get anyone's attention, despite the plethora of wait staff.
The set menu for the night comprised of eleven courses. The main course was a pick between a dry aged coral trout or a miyazaki wagyu. Menus were provided but no one offered to ask us which of the mains we elected for. Only after about 40 minutes into our seating, was I able to flag down waitstaff to tell them of our selections.
It took well over on hour after our reservation time before the first course came. In the meantime we filled ourselves with drinks. Service was still rusty in this area because two of the three beers served had been mistaken and had to go back and be re-poured. It also needs to be said that while sparkling and still water were complementary, staff did not make any efforts to ask what we were drinking, so throughout the night we were just drinking whichever water it was convenient for them to serve, which was a real shame. Other than this, I enjoyed my friend Chef L's commentary on sake, which was very insightful.
Our first course came out more than one our after our reservation. It was the Bluefin Tuna Toro-taku, served with sea urchin, caviar served atop some puffed nori. This was quite a tasty appetizer, the nori wasn't too oily, it was crispy and the tuna was lightly minced with good fat content. Otherwise the uni was a bit watery and fought the caviar in terms of flavour.
After another 15 minutes or so, we had the Barramundi served with wasabi leaf san choy bow. This was an odd course because barramundi is not a fish usually found in Japanese cuisine, and the toppings of chili, preserved carrots and fried onion was far more consistent with Vietnamese or Thai cuisine. Having said that, the fish was lightly battered, crisp and tender.
After another long interlude, the Wagyu Tartare arrived. It was served atop a crispy potato nest with anchovies, oyster and chilli mustard. Having enjoyed my fair share of tartare in my time, I was surprised by this wagyu. It was chilled and minced, however because of this, the fat was not rendered and it was quite hard in my mouth. I suppose wagyu would be better served torched or at least heated to allow for the fat to melt. Otherwise the potato nest was light and crunchy but I didn't like the flavour profile of the anchovies, oyster and mustard accompanying the wagyu. What I also didn't like was staff standing over me to pick up the plate when I hadn't even eaten, so that they could rush the next course. I was barely able to put my chopsticks down and the plate was already whisked away.
Our next course was a far more Japanese dish, being a Bonito with Turnip, citrus and a bonito and kelp dashi. This was done quite well, the Bonito was firm but tender and the dashi was delicate but fragrant. Portions were good and it was beautiful, both visually and gastronomically.
After another lengthy wait, our next course, the Sushi and Sashimi came out. In total it comprised of, bass grouper sashimi roll with steamed monkfish liver sauce, Bluefin tuna belly nigiri, Southern calamari & bottarga nigiri, snapper nigiri and a mackerel ginger roll. The cuts of fish were fairly fresh, staff guided us to eat from the left to the right of the dish to enjoy the lighter flavours to the stronger flavours. I enjoyed the delicate bass grouper and the interactive self wrapped rolls. It was a shame though that my tuna belly wasn't otoro but rather a chutoro when everyone else had a fattier cut. The calamari was cut quite roughly in an attempt to make some intricate designs, but aesthetically could have been better. Further to this, the rice was also seasoned very unevenly with some morsels having barely any vinegar whilst some was over seasoned. The actual portions of rice were also quite small and the sizes were inconsistent as well. Overall it was a tasty dish but more attention to detail would have been great.
It didn't take too long for our Chawanmushi to arrive. This was topped with Snow crab & crab butter, filled with gingko nuts, chicken and sushi rice. It was unusual compared to others I have had recently, with delicate flavours on the top but a more wholesome and chunky profile underneath. The chicken and rice were substantial but it worked well in this dish.
Next we had the Tempura Moreton Bay Bug with lemon aioli sauce. This was done really well, the bug was crunchy and firm, lightly battered and piping hot. The sauce was tart and creamy, countering the decadence of tempura batter. We quite enjoyed this dish.
Mains came significantly after. Of our table for four, we had two wagyu and two fish. This was the Miyazaki Wagyu A5 with porcini rub, red wine, soy sauce and aged red vinegar chimichurri. Other than the beef itself, I would be challenged to consider this dish Japanese. The wine, porcini and chimichurri made it definitely a lot more Spanish than Japanese. Portions were a little small, but the beef was quite buttery and tender. I would have liked it to be a bit more cooked to have rendered the fat more, given how thick the slices were but the flavours were quite complimentary, albeit intense.
Our other main was the 48 Hour Dry-Aged Coral Trout served with miso parsley sauce with mussels & potato. We all agreed that although it seemed more like French cuisine, it was the better executed of the two mains. The sauce was definitely moreish and very creamy, complementing the potato very well. The fish was also done well, cooked half through, with a flakey exterior and a smooth interior. I liked how strong the flavours were and the chilli powder it was coated with.
A surprising pick but our favourite of the night was the Truffle Savoy Cabbage. This came warm, lightly charred and had a light hint of truffle. We later found out that the douse of truffle oil was fairly inconsistent across different bowls, some had a lot and some had very little, but it was still a light but substantial side to our mains.
Last of the savoury dishes was the Chazuke. It was topped with mixed sashimi, uni, salmon roe and a light dashi broth. The flavours in this dish were done well, the fish was quite fresh, the uni was markedly nicer than the one we had at the start, however the rice was not served hot and neither was the dashi. If it had actually been hot, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
I was looking forward to our dessert, a Roasted Green Tea Warabi Mochi with vanilla ice cream and crunchy caramelised walnut. Unfortunately, there was almost no green tea taste and I'm not sure that the two squares were mochi. Mochi has a chewy, stretchy texture with a bit of bite, this was something like a soft jelly that was just tender and easy to cut into pieces. I also was a bit disappointed at how the vanilla ice cream looked, especially after having seen professionals scoop ice cream smoothly and elegantly. Having said that, the flavours were complimentary and it made for a reasonably satisfying dessert.
Overall, I'd have to say that my experience at Ippin was fairly disappointing. Dr L who has been watching Hell's Kitchen for sometime now commented that they definitely need Gordon Ramsay to step in and run the place more smoothly. I do note some comments I have received about this being a soft launch and to be more forgiving in not expecting everything to be perfect, however given my detailed experiences, I can say that this was a long way away from being perfect and a lot more attention needs to be given to the menu, the execution and staff training. It also needs to have a level of quality before going out to the public. Having said that, I am glad that I went during the soft launch, because it represented fairly good value for the food we had, but if I had come back during full price, I would definitely have considered it a rip off. In light of the competitive Japanese dining scene in Brisbane, they definitely have many improvements to make.
For those of you who have reached this point, it is also noteworthy that my unsavoury experience didn't even end after we had left the restaurant that night (after a 3.5 hour sitting). My friend who paid for the meal by card had his payment go through, and then it bounced later. None of us realised this until I received a debt collection email the day after. After comparing notes with a few local foodies, it turns out that roughly half the payments had bounced off their system, so they are undoubtedly trying to recover all of this. After attempting to call back and email back to arrange payment on the same day, there has still to be any further contact from management, which again highlights the chaotic nature of this establishment.
Price Range: $118pp (plus drinks) during soft launch, $168pp post launch
Taste: 6.5/10
Value: 6/10
Service: 2/10
Environment: 8/10
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