Takeout from CoCo Ichibanya

I think many people were quite excited when it was announced that CoCo Ichibanya was opening in San Diego, I know that I was. And finally, in March of this past year they opened. And of course there were the lines, so I decided to wait....until they did online ordering which took quite a while. Each time I'd drive by I'd see all the folks waiting. When I saw a trend of shorter lines. And they finally did have online ordering at  the beginning of this month, I went ahead and placed an order when I was in the office and was given a time.

I went ahead and drove down to Convoy. I had placed my order right at 11am and was given an 1130 pick-up time. I drove down and arrived at 1125.

 As I pulled into the parking lot I received a text telling me that my pick-up time had changed to 1150-1200.....at 1125? Really? Five minutes before pickup you move the goalposts? It was a work day, so I waited 10 minutes and just walked in to check on my order. The folks working were really nice in spite of seeming to be quite harried. And guess what, my order was ready......I asked when I should have picked it up...the answer? 1130.

Ok, I figured that they are busy and still working out the kinks; I returned to the office with my Tonkatsu Curry, sauce level 2 (50 cent upcharge)....I usually order level 5, but I thought I'd just see how spicy this curry really was.

 Good lord, this was terrible. From the unevenly fried tonkatsu...notice the breading was peeling off the super dry pork. To the super watery curry, to the dry and hard rice. Man, to think I criticized Zen Curry. I know of a few CI loyalists who will say, "well, because of ingredients and such you can't compare the food to Japan". Well, let me tell you, I'm not comparing this to CI in Japan. The first CoCo Ichibanya outside of Japan opened in Honolulu. In fact it was in McCully and was just a few blocks from where my apartment used to be before I moved to the mainland....the service was terrible and they only took cash, but the curry was nothing like this. Also, when I was doing work in Irvine, the folks I was working with went to CI in Irvine, which was also much better than this.....it was like a whole different restaurant.

A few weeks later the Missus told me She wanted to try CoCo Ichibanya.......so I did the online ordering thing again.......I was given a time 1215 and I went off to do some shopping where I was then sent a text telling me my order was ready......at 1120! Sheesh, so I rushed on over to pick-up my order.

Returning home we got to opening things up right away. I had ordered the Missus's Chicken Katsu Curry with vegetables ($2.80 upcharge), just in case the curry didn't line up with Her expectations. Well, that didn't help at all.

 Man, that chicken was so dry.....and like before the breading was peeling off, which means really bad quality control in terms of the temp of the protein and the oil used for frying. Having a taste of a piece I noticed it was barely seasoned. I couldn't hide how watery and bland the curry was behind the vegetables. The Missus looked at me and said, "this can't be Coco Ichibanya".

I'm afraid to say it was.

I got the Karaage Curry and having had the curry on my previous visit, I went with level 5 spice ($1.25 upcharge). Opening my container I knew this was not going to be the curry from Coco Ichibanya I enjoyed.

The chicken was so pale, flaccid, the batter mushy, bland, and the flesh dry. At least the curry had some "zip", but it was watery, and lacking in all that makes Japanese curry enjoyable to me; a nice tongue coating umami richness, some beefiness, a hint of sweetness......

We didn't even finish half. 

The folks here are working super hard, the prices are reasonable, it's just that there seems to be a lack of quality control. CI has been open for over 6 months now, so it's hard to blame grand opening jitters. As for a pandemic personnel shortage....well perhaps..... But this isn't the Coco Ichibanya I know.

I was going to try a third takeout visit; but in the end just decided to wait....perhaps down the line, when I'm ok with dining in again, I'll give them another try.

You can read about Kirbie's takeout visit here.

CoCo Ichibanya
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Daily 11am - 10pm

Comments

[Sandy]

I was just talking to someone about CoCo Ichibanya, and thinking that it was time to try it. Guess I'll wait a little longer! I've only tried them once, at the Ala Moana mall location years ago.

[Kirk]

Maybe you should just try them anyway Sandy.....dining in might be a different experience. I thought the food/prep was not as good as the locations in HNL/Irvine.

[Soo]

Doh! Hope they get better.

[Kirk]

I hope so too Soo!

[Jason]

That is disappointing, I haven't gotten around to trying them but looks like no need to rush. I agree that we'll see how they do for dine in.

[Kirk]

It was really disappointing Jason.

[Derric]

I've gotten takeout from CoCo once and was similarly disappointed; may give it another chance in the future though. For now I will stick with Zen Curry as I like the thicker curry they make.

[Junichi]

I had the same experience. The curry was so watery and bland. The keema was better. Not sure what's the deal since I've been to their location in Torrance and it was way better.

[Kirk]

Hey Derric - I know, it was so disappointing.

I don't know what's up with that Junichi....I tried it twice and it was the same. The locations I've been to in HNL and Irvine seem like a total different chain.

[sawyer]

""well, because of ingredients and such you can't compare the food to Japan". Well, let me tell you, I'm not comparing this to CI in Japan."

That made me LOL. Thanks for reporting on this.

[Joy]

Sigh. It's the worst when a beloved chain expands nearby only to not live up to the original (or to other locations). Hopefully they will improve their quality control with time.

[kat]

bummer

[Kirk]

I hope they do improve Joy.

Total bummer Kat!

[Kirk]

Yeah, this was quite disappointing Sawyer! Hope all is well with you.

[SomTommy]

The curry I had here was so bland and pork cutlet so dry. I’m sticking with E E Nami

[Kirk]

I'd probably do the same for now ST!

[Jason]

On a more positive side note, saw that Tadokoro was awarded a Michelin star... well deserved for a favorite of yours! Our meals from there were always a treat.

[Kirk]

We're very happy for them Jason!

[Kirbie]

I was really hoping CoCo would have worked out its kinks by now. I haven't been back since the weather has been so warm.

[Kirk]

Hi Kirbie - It seems that they still a ways to go. It really didn't taste like CI that I know.....