Santa Rosa sushi restaurant offers colorful, modern experience

By now, we all can probably admit that dining out these days is an interesting adventure. Just when we think we’ve got it figured out, what new hurdles, hoops and hijinks will we encounter? What ever-creative ways will restaurateurs need to come up with to keep us fed? It’s fun — almost — to find out.

So a tip of the hat must go to the new Ippinn Sushi & Ramen in Santa Rosa. The colorful spot on Mendocino Avenue south of Steele Lane is outfitted with bells and whistles to keep the dining experience safe, efficient and — dare I say it — entertaining, all while serving us lots of very good Japanese food. From tech-savvy ordering systems to a pop-up table-service outdoor dining area, they are making an effort to ensure a visit here feels special.

It’s particularly sad to see Ippinn closed for indoor dining, since its sushi system is one of my favorite kinds of setups for a fast-casual meal: delectable, freshly made nigiri is arranged on a rotating bar that runs on a conveyor belt before our eyes, so we can pick and choose and savor at random until we’re stuffed.

Ippinn’s prices were determined by the color of the plate the sushi sat on, and each plate was covered with a nifty spaceship-style dome that lifted when we grabbed our selection (no contact, no cooties). As a bonus, special orders like shrimp dumplings or fancy rolls could be delivered via a clever mechanical race car atop the bar.

Restaurant partners Frank Wu, Teng Yushu and Mason Lin barely got to warm up the bar after opening during COVID-19 last October, so instead, we now sit at tables in a cute little parklet out front. The setting is surrounded by bamboo fencing, warmed by a heater and enhanced on chilly days with the speedy delivery of complimentary hot tea and miso soup.

Still, ordering is a kick. Tablets are loaded with the menu and photos of the dishes; we simply click on what we want, and our order is sent directly to the kitchen. For me, the visuals are somewhat like the draw of the conveyor belt. Once I see a dish that looks mouthwatering, I want it and am prone to over-order. After all, who can choose between nine kinds of savory ramen, six kinds of bento boxes, 10 kinds of pot stickers and computer screen after screen of beautiful sushi? Bring it on.

The fish here is admittedly not the superior class found at our more elegant Japanese restaurants. Yet it’s fine, fresh and so well-priced that I’m quite pleased with my Rainbow Roll, bringing the classic shredded crab stick (surimi, really), cucumber and avocado combo bundled in rice, then draped with shrimp, salmon, snapper, tuna and avocado for just $11.95. A swipe of wasabi, a dip of soy and it’s a great quick bite.

I’m also drawn to the Ippinn Roll for its crunchy-silky architecture of tempura white tuna, spicy tuna and avocado wrapped in rice, then topped with more tuna, avocado and scallions ($14.95).

On the other hand, a Paradise Roll is more campy and looks almost like a cartoon of salmon, tuna and yellowtail stuffed inside the rice, the pieces topped in four different kinds of fish eggs. It looks like a Disney creation, capped in glittering black, red, green and orange roe ($14.95). But what the heck — it’s amusing and it tastes delicious, buoyed by its salty pops of crunchy fish eggs.

Real crabmeat shows up in the value-packed kani salad, in a tangle of crustacean laced with mango and tobiko. Next time I’ll order it without the cloying mayonnaise binder though, since the crab is sweet enough ($7.75).

The restaurant team owns Ippinn Udon and Tempura just a block away, and they showcase their signature handmade noodles for soups here, too. It’s labor intensive and expensive for the restaurant, but the result is springy, nicely chewy ramen, in a fresh style we rarely see in this area.

You choose your toppings and broth from a wide selection: beef, pork or chicken with spicy miso ($12.50-$13.45); chicken curry ($13.45); tofu coconut curry ($10.99); spicy tan tan ($12.45-$12.95); shoyu ($12.45-$13.45) or seafood stocked with calamari, clams, octopus and shrimp ($14.95). And you can customize soups, adding in favorites like bean sprouts ($2), corn ($2) or wood ear mushrooms ($2).

It’s my goal to sample every tonkatsu ramen across Wine Country, and Ippinn gets a top vote. The rich, creamy broth is rounded out with egg, fish cake, seasoned bamboo shoots, seaweed, scallions and three large slabs of fatty chashu for an indulgent pork belly feast ($13.45). For $2.50 more, I make it a combo with three steamed chicken, pork or veggie gyoza.

If the House Special Donburi reminds me more of Chinese food, that’s OK. It’s another filling, flavorful bargain, the rice piled with tender chicken, beef, shrimp, broccoli, carrot, onion and soft-boiled egg alongside a green salad and miso soup ($13.99).

For takeout, we’re encouraged to order online. Usually, I like ordering in person, with so many menu changes these days and price fluctuations. The Ippinn host was entirely accommodating, pointing out that indeed, the printed menus at the restaurant entry were out of date. More items had recently been added, and prices had been lowered (nice touch).

Yet the online menu is current, and there is also a large QR code posted on a column outside the eatery for instant phone access (Jetsons, anyone?). The host offered me a menu tablet and invited me to sit in a private area and order away at my leisure.

That private area, by the way, is seating at the darkened, lonely, mechanical sushi bar. As soon as indoor dining returns, I’ll be making a beeline here for the real deal and an evening’s worth of theater.

In the meantime, however, I’ll be coming back for Ippinns’ satisfying, affordable and still-fun Japanese fare.

Carey Sweet is a Sebastopol-based food and restaurant writer. Read her restaurant reviews every other week in Sonoma Life. Contact her at carey@careysweet.com.