IKO Restaurant & Bar - 65 Neil Rd

I really wanted to write a good review. The food was great, valentine's day dinner was really good (dessert was a bit underwhelming but everything else was near perfect) But we waited really way too long for everything, we were seated at 6.30 as per our reservation, but we only got our mains at 8.30, after the neighbouring tables (which ordered right before us) either finished or started their dessert. It really sort of ruined the night. We understand that it was a bit understaffed and that there were many orders, but the delay really threw a huge spanner in our plans. We appreciated the apologies and quick turn around after we raised our concerns but I can't help but wonder how long we would have been left to wait had we not asked. It's such a shame, the food was genuinely good and I would love to come back when it's a bit quieter and less busy.

Worth to go for the lunch. Presentation of food is great and flavor good. The beef featured was my friends but she didn't quite enjoy it. My Sexy Chirashi has small portion of the raw fish but the dish was saved with umami broth, which I liked.

Came here for lunch and was informed the charcoal grilled dishes are not available. But the restaurant owner offered to prepare the cod fish for us without grilling. Overall, it was a pleasant experience and the lunch menu didn’t disappoint. Would come again for dinner next time.

Visited IKO on last week of August with a group of friends. Wanna find a nice place for catching up after everyone is avail to meet. Too bad, Quite a disappointment! The food is nicely presented but taste is mediocre. The beef is pricey closed to $100 which we don’t find the taste worthy of such price. To our surprise, their liquor prices are of the high side. Small bottle of beer for $18, a carafe of sake only 250ml. We ended up ordering only a carafe and left feeling not satisfied， proceeded to other places for drinks n more food! Quite over rated restaurant in my opinion. The only good thing is service is good and you get to see pretty ladies serving with fanciful dress. But not our cup of tea. First and last visit for us.

Had their “indulge” lunch menu. Price was very reasonable for the quality. No issue with the food. My only reason for the 4 stars - they need to learn to serve appetizers together, mains together and desserts at the same time. For 2 pax dining, I do expect both to get their food at the same time. It can’t be one party getting their main, while another person having to wait 15 mins for their main dish to be serve. Same for the rest of the lunch. After finishing our appetizers, no one attended to us to clear the plates, we had to wait for like 10 mins before someone came. And obviously waited even longer for the main. A bit disappointing. Luckily, the food wasn’t as disappointing.

*Yakimeshi ochazuke* This was really tasty and not too salty. The adding of the corn was genius. Our little girl who was initially reserved (she doesn't like to try new things) ended up eating a huge portion of it. The broth is amazing and smart. Usually the broth for ochazuke tends to be more on the light, blander side. This broth is full of flavour but the clever part is the adding of yuzu to lift the richness. Alone, the broth is good but the broth is better together with the rice because of the yuzu. *Takoyaki* This is not your average soft ball. There's a bite inside with a bit of crisp. It was a good surprise along with the wasabi kick. *Edamame* The char adds flavour along with the wasabi. I have seen anyone else do it this way. It's like a new modern way of serving the famous bean. My friend did not like when there were parts where the bean got soft. I told her it probably got soft because of the heat applied. *Monster Curry* The short rib was generous and very tender. My friend did not like the aftertaste which she said reminded her of Indian curry. I however appreciated the aftertaste which had a smoky taste which goes well with the char of the meat. She agreed. I thought the flavours were great and came together well. *Black miso cod* We detected butter in this broth. I thought it went well adding richness with the fattiness of the cod. Impressed with the richness of flavours. *Foie gras roll* Even my Wife who doesn't eat foie gras said it was good. Enough said. Only comment is the shape did not seem to hold together in a proper circle. It looked a bit untidy. *A5 Wagyu Donabe* With all that, we come to the most expensive but the one we liked the least. This is a modern take on claypot rice. I see an attempt to add texture to the rice with the charred bits but these bits are awfully hard to eat. They were chewy and hard at the same time. I understand that with A5 fatty Wagyu and the foie gras, there is thought to not have a rich broth. Instead truffle oil was used. However, general comments were it was too oily. The dish felt like three separate ingredients and they stayed separated - rice, beef and foie gras. I liked the shaved truffle inside the dish. First time having it cooked inside a dish.

Was looking forward to dining at IKO as their ads have been popping up frequently and they have a 4.4 star rating. The two of us dined a total of $350, we had the popular items such as the A5 Wagyu donabe, tempura soft shell crab, appetiser platter salmon sashimi. The food were presented really well however, the flavours was very disappointing. Everything tasted mediocre and poorly seasoned. Particularly the clams that we ordered. It is a habit of mine to de shell all the clams before eating and unlucky for me I didn’t taste before I de shell the clams. It was horribly salty to taste, it was literally painful and impossible to swallow. Upon giving feedback to the manager on duty, all he said was because we had touched the food there was no alternative or solution he could provide. He did not even bother informing the chef. The table next to us (was heard to be the owners friend) had the same order as well. But thankfully they overheard our feedback and they tasted it before splitting. They mentioned to the manager and he offered to return to the kitchen to recook it. What was disappointing was the accumulated lack of service recovery and attention to the table. Half the food on the table were left untouched. Not a single service crew bothered to check in on us. It was only after we paid, the lady at the table next to us told the manager that he should at least offer us something as a service recovery. Then the manager came reluctantly offering some ice cream. All we wanted to do was to just leave this place and not turn back again. Thankfully we had the kawa ebi and A4 wagyu sukiyaki which were the saving grace. If you intend to try out this place, perhaps do not hold any form of expectations for this place. It may be a one off for the restaurant for this incident but food quality could be overlooked, but a poor service leaves a deep impression.

Tried this restaurant as the reviews rating was high and it didn’t disappoint. Each dish crafted at Michelin star level. We were blown away by the creativity, quality and freshness of the dishes. Don’t miss the Cod and the clams. The restaurant ambiance and staff are very welcoming and chill. They have a great selection of Japanese beer and sake. We ll be back!