![\"Ichika-Plano-Japanese-Restaurant-sake-dispenser\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ichika-Plano-Japanese-Restaurant-sake-dispenser.jpg\")
The sake dispenser.Photograph by Paula Forbes<\/p>\nOur one-visit reviews give readers a quick rundown of our dining critic\u2019s initial thoughts\u2014or gut instinct, you could say\u2014about a restaurant. <\/p>\n
Ichika, Plano<\/p>\n
Year opened: 2026<\/p>\n
Vibe: Not as stuffy as many high-end Japanese restaurants. This is neither a temple nor a rave\u2014it\u2019s comfortable and charming.<\/p>\n
My favorite bite: The eel with cucumbers, which was almost reminiscent of pickles on a burger.<\/p>\n
I washed it down with: A bottle of sake, served with delightfully colorful glasses.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
How much I spent: $250 per diner, plus drinks<\/p>\n
Would I come back? Yes, once the seasonal menu rotates.<\/p>\n
The sake dispenser.Photograph by Paula Forbes<\/p>\n
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 \u201cluxurious\u201d omakase service, eating gilded bites brushed with truffle oil and drenched in uni and caviar, meticulously designed to remove money from diners\u2019 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\u2019s 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\u2019s only one seating a night, but word will get out, and I suspect this won\u2019t be the case for long. Per the restaurant\u2019s Instagram, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott<\/a> is already a fan.<\/p>\n Ichika models itself on Kyoto\u2019s 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\u2019s eight plates come out\u2014sashimi early, then steamed, grilled, and fried dishes\u2014is 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\u2013brand bottled water, which is sourced from Hawaiian mountain rain and filtered through lava rocks; and a piece of nigiri is topped with the islands\u2019 signature dish, poke. In keeping with the intention of kaiseki, you leave pleasantly full but not stuffed. I was almost floating.<\/p>\n