Head chef and owner of Ichigo Ichie explains major change to restaurant

Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant Ichigo Ichie will close its doors two days before Christmas this year, and will be a very different establishment when it re-opens.

It is set to open its doors again in January as Ichigo Ichie Bistro & Natural Wine, a more casual restaurant with a significantly lower price tag.

Head chef and owner Takashi Miyazaki announced on Instagram on Saturday November 4th that the restaurant will transform into a casual bistro style restaurant in January 2024.

“Takashi and team will focus on local, casual style food, fun and sustainability, starting from small and sharing plates to rice bowl dishes and the first ever in Ireland “Teuchi soba” (handmade buckwheat noodles) dishes”, he wrote.

This change will likely mean that it will lose the Michelin star it has held since 2019, during which time it is one of just five Cork restaurants, and the only one in the city, to hold that honour.

Despite its high prices, it was notoriously hard to get a table at the kaiseki restaurant, which served a fixed-choice, 12-course menu of artistically prepared and designed food that changed to represent the seasons.

Their set menu was priced at €140 per person for before beverages, and they also offered a weekday 5 course menu on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for €80 per person before beverages.

Explaining why he decided to make this substantial change, Takashi Miyazaki told The Echo: “there’s been something different since the pandemic, I knew I would be happier if we went back to casual style and had more people in."

He said that at the moment, visiting Ichigo Ichie is “a special occasion experience”, as people could not afford to go too frequently.

“So many things have changed”, he said, explaining that due to several geopolitical issues “the cost went up” for the restaurant when it came to ingredients, electricity and general maintenance, “and then we have to charge more.” 

“I think this is the right thing to do”, he said, explaining: “there’s more potential with a casual restaurant, but we will continue to use good quality produce from local producers”, which has been a longtime passion of his.

The chef confirmed that the 23rd of December will be the last service as a kaiseki restaurant, a term used for the traditional Japanese multi course dinner, and then they will close for Christmas break.

He said they would hope to reopen by the 9th of January, but added “that could be changed depending on how much prep we have to do.” 

Miyazaki said that they would be adding more tables and another counter table, so that they could increase the number of guests, and would be welcoming walk-ins as well as bookings going forward.