Our one-visit reviews give readers a quick rundown of our dining critic’s initial thoughts—or gut instinct, you could say—about a restaurant.
Ichika, Plano
Year opened: 2026
Vibe: Not as stuffy as many high-end Japanese restaurants. This is neither a temple nor a rave—it’s comfortable and charming.
My favorite bite: The eel with cucumbers, which was almost reminiscent of pickles on a burger.
I washed it down with: A bottle of sake, served with delightfully colorful glasses.
What caught my eye: The glass sake dispenser, a clever, almost steampunk contraption that keeps the sake cold without watering it down. I took at least four videos of it.
How much I spent: $250 per diner, plus drinks
Would I come back? Yes, once the seasonal menu rotates.
The sake dispenser.Photograph by Paula Forbes
Ichika, an eight-seat Japanese tasting menu restaurant in a strip mall in Plano, was not what I expected. I dreaded spending hours at a “luxurious” omakase service, eating gilded bites brushed with truffle oil and drenched in uni and caviar, meticulously designed to remove money from diners’ wallets. I owe chef Leo Kekoa an apology for this presumption, because the menu he serves in this blond-wood-clad, sunlight-flooded space is much more nuanced, seasonal, and intentional than the other cookie-cutter sushi restaurants that litter the state. (Kekoa does serve uni for one course, but it’s an elegant dollop that enriches a bowl of cold, green tea soba noodles, not a gauche moment of excess.) It was shockingly easy to book two spots, especially since there’s only one seating a night, but word will get out, and I suspect this won’t be the case for long. Per the restaurant’s Instagram, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is already a fan.
Ichika models itself on Kyoto’s famous kaiseki restaurants, which follow a more formal series of courses than omakase restaurants, which can be improvisational at times. But with kaiseki, the order in which Ichika’s eight plates come out—sashimi early, then steamed, grilled, and fried dishes—is predetermined and designed to result in a harmonious meal. Kekoa does let himself have some fun, however. There are several nostalgic references to the time he lived in Hawaii: A dashi (broth) is made with Aloha Wai–brand bottled water, which is sourced from Hawaiian mountain rain and filtered through lava rocks; and a piece of nigiri is topped with the islands’ signature dish, poke. In keeping with the intention of kaiseki, you leave pleasantly full but not stuffed. I was almost floating.
Address: 8240 Preston Road, Plano
Phone: 469-758-7444
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, one seating per night at 6:30 p.m.
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