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Riverdale's Ichiban Sushi, photographed Thursday, July 25, 2024, opened its doors earlier this month.

Ryan Aston, Standard-Examiner

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One of Ichiban Sushi's many sushi roll options. The restaurant opened in Riverdale earlier this month.

Ryan Aston, Standard-Examiner

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RIVERDALE — Sushi aficionados and those in the Weber/North Davis area who appreciate Asian cuisine in general have a new spot to share meals with family and friends.

Located at 1071 W. Riverdale Road, where Boat Haus formerly was housed, Ichiban Sushi Ogden opened its doors earlier this month, bringing with it tastes both new and familiar, as well as “50% off sushi.”

“We are known for good sushi and great Chinese food,” co-owner Frank Lin told the Standard-Examiner.

Lin came to the U.S. from mainland China more than two decades ago and eventually began working at his uncle’s Chinese restaurant in Vernal. During his eight years there, he and other members of his immediate family developed a desire to carve out their own niche in the restaurant business.

Eventually, they opened Ichiban Sushi and Grill in the South Salt Lake area. And after a first year that Lin describes as a “struggle,” the restaurant blossomed into a fixture of the local dining scene.

Flash forward to now and Lin has brought a lot of the old favorites to his new restaurant in Riverdale. The menu features many of the hits from South Salt Lake, including the Fatty Salmon roll, Tokyo roll, Red Bull roll, Lazy Boy roll, U U roll and many others.

“We serve fresh fish and they fly in like two to three times a week from California,” Lin said.

He also put a spotlight on Ichiban’s “famous” orange chicken, saying, “It’s a very unique sauce that we use that’s different than what other people serve around this area.”

Just don’t ask him for the recipe.

“That is secret,” Lin said with a laugh when asked what makes Ichiban’s orange chicken so different.

While Ichiban in Riverdale remains true to its roots as a family-run business making the food they know and selling it for a reasonable price, Lin says the restaurant is constantly evolving, too.

“Even though we have the same menu, we’re still trying to see if we can come up with new items every day and trying to be better,” he said.

That work isn’t happening solely in the restaurant itself, either.

“I just love food. When I travel, the main thing is I don’t really care about the sites and stuff, but I always search for good food. When I travel, I love sushi. When I travel, I eat a lot of sushi. … I always go for a taste; trying to order something unique that they have and try to figure out if I can come up with something that’s the same or better. (I try) to figure out their recipe.”