Still love this place - I had to add an update because I have now tried many things on the menu and I have never been disappointed. My husband said its the best Mongolian Beef in the area- we order it extra spicy and its GREAT! I also love the shrimp fried rice. Sushi or Chinese you just can't go wrong here. Great service, great prices, great food! MY ORIGINAL REVIEW: Tucked away in the Peru Mall, this place is certainly a hidden gem! It is so exceptional because it is finally an ACTUAL sushi place in the Illinois Valley - it is not exceptional sushi but it is good, very good, and nothing like to what people around here are used to at the Chinese Buffets. Most of the rolls are cooked and it seems the crab might be imitation but it is worthy enough to satisfy my craving for sushi! The Chinese food is also good - I tried a sample. Spring Rolls were excellent. I have been here a few times for sushi and I have like everything I have had. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the area and want sushi - I like that they also serve Chinese because I can get my husband to eat here with me - he doesn't like sushi, but he will eat Chinese. I have even gotten a to go order for lunch ;) Friendly services, reasonable prices and I will be back - I am sure! read more

These people know there stuff. All I have to mention is spicy and they bring it. They are super nice too! The place is not terribly big, but I don't care. read more

The Chipotle Orange Chicken is AWESOME! Best I have ever had. Fried rice was awesome too. Husband had the Bayou Roll and Kung Poa Shrimp. Said they were AWESOME as well. The guys working in here are very nice too! Great place to eat. read more

10/10 food. Service is great every time. Good energy here. I'd give it 5 stars every time. The best and most fresh Chinese around this area.

Inside a nice mall. No mackerel but otherwise real good here. Mex Coke to drink. Having a roll of various parts. Just right.

I enjoyed this. A sushi roll (Bayou Roll) and a fried rice, chipotle orange chicken and garlic beef. I ate it all! Nice little spot phone ringing off the hook very good food. I'd call it Asian-fusion. Very good spot. read more

Hands down, One of my favorite places to eat in the Illinois Valley. The food is always cooked fresh to order and the staff is super friendly and genuinely appreciates my business. Only one other restaurant in the area (Monari's 101) makes me feel as welcome! For a mall joint, the staff checks on us repeatedly to ensure the food is good, drinks topped off, and we have everything we need. I get better service here than many fine restaurants in Chicago. The food is always cooked fresh and even though it's served on plastic plates, it's appealing and has good presentation. Servings are large and we never go away hungry. And if you aren't sure what you want, they'll give you samples. Like sushi? This place has an excellent selection and always made fresh as well. We eat here regularly with the family and even on Friday night date night. Never had a bad meal. Our favorites include the Spicy Beef and Orange Chicken. Our favorite sushi roll is the spicy tuna roll. You can't go wrong with those!! read more

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Customer service 5/5. They are very friendly and personable. Prices are great and they make your food fresh! I recommend the orange chicken or general chicken. The crab ragoon is delicious as well. Nice atmosphere. read more

Bayou Express - Chow mein. General chicken. Orange chicken for about 6.50 - Japanese Near Me - Peru, Illinois

Chicken taste like card board and beef doesn't look authentic either. Unfortunately Not recommended

Best restaurant in the world noodles are the best and the orange chicken is amazing!! I could eat it everyday if I could I come here every Sunday with my family and the people are so kind!! Definitely my favorite restaurant read more

Sorry to be Debbie downer, but the sushi just isn't that good. After looking in the sushi case and seeing the tuna and other selections not looking quite as fresh as I'm used to seeing in other parts of the country, I got what I expected. Imitation crab meat, reheated frozen shrimp, and fish that was just bland and fishy. It wasn't as fresh as true four/five star sushi restaurants provide. While I understand and respect that it's in Peru mall, I think the restaurant to be much cleaner. When I walked in at lunchtime I got nervous when I saw for employees sitting in the back when they could have been cleaning. Sorry, I guess I just watch too much Robert Irvine and Restaurant Impossible. With all that said, they were extremely accommodating during my time in the restaurant. That gave the second star. I will not be returning, nor do I recommend eating here. read more

I ordered orange chicken but there is no orange zest in the sauce. It instead had cracked red pepper, and what looked like small traces of sesame seeds. This left the sauce tasting similar to a dulled down version of General Tsos chicken with a HEAVY salty aftertaste. Some pieces were overcooked making them chewy. It wasn't bad i've definitely experienced worse but it was very much lacking any definitive freshness or sweet taste one would expect from Orange Chicken. I wont be ordering it again soon. TRY IF YOUR HUNGRY BUT I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT OTHERWISE I also ordered other items: CALIFORNIA ROLL: Don't know Sushi very well but it seemed to be about what i've experienced from other restaurants. Looked to be well made and presented. Imitation crab meat was used so not really gourmet but good for the price. CRAB RANGOON: It had a decent portion of cream cheese but was lacking any sweet flavor or crab meat chunks. Basically tasted like I was taking a bite straight from a cream cheese stick inside of a rangoon shell. DON'T RECOMMEND THIS FRIED RICE: The best thing out of the entire experience. :-) Loaded with fresh colorful veggies, moist and clump together nicely so i could eat it with chopsticks. WILL DEFINITELY ORDER THIS AGAIN! Sweet and Sour Chicken: Decent sauce, its cooked with the chicken leaving it a little soggy for my texture preference. Usually its served on the side everywhere i go. The addition of fresh green peppers, onions, and pineapple helped the flavor go along way giving a little extra crunch. DONT RECOMMEND THIS ENTREE AT ALL As Derek G. said in his review the food was basically Meh read more

Yummm. This place is a hidden gem. Do you like sushi? Then go here because it's actually good! They even have deep fried rolls. Our favorite is the King Kong. The owner is always here and he is very nice. An a+ on customer service. Fried rice is delicious as well. read more

Bayou Express - Owner bring us our king Kong rolls. - Japanese Near Me - Peru, Illinois

Very surprised to get decent quality sushi in a mall food court restaurant. I ordered three rolls and enjoyed all of the very much. I will definitely go back again. Hidden gem for sure. read more

Bayou Express - Yummmmmm! - Japanese Near Me - Peru, Illinois

Food was plain, sushi was eh. The food was lacking in flavor. Not a terrible place to eat but we won't be coming back.

Hubs and I went on the recommendations of literally EVERYONE I know. Soooooo disappointed! I had crab rangoons, and we both had fried rice. Rangoons were tough....not hot. Fried rice only had onions and one other vegetable (not memorable & oily). My entree, Orange Chicken, is breast meat everywhere else. Here it appeared to be thigh meat. Same with my husband's Black Pepper Chicken. Neither of us like the texture of thigh meat. Can't understand the rave reviews unless its the low prices. Won't be going back. Will continue to go to our favorite place in Ottawa. read more

Amazing!! The servers know my husband and I by name. I would eat here all the time if I could. Ps they deliver! The service is incredible, they are so nice and eager to help. The food is fantastic and the sushi is to die for! I recommend everyone to visit this Bayou Express!! read more

My boyfriend and I came here tonight after reading previous food reviews. We were very surprised that our food was cooked to order just like in a regular restaurant. We had the beef teriyaki, orange chicken, fried rice & chow mein which were all wonderful. We plan to come back again. read more

We have one question. How can they call it bayou express and not serve any Cajun food?

The Chinese food here is basically the same with Panda Express, but they cook after your order, we wait for 10 mins. Cookers are not Asian.

Love, love, love this place for sushi. Super fresh sushi all the time. You can sit and watch then make your sushi. I have eaten other things but they are not made to order. read more

Impressed every time I go to Bayou Express. The sushi is good but the service is outstanding and makes me want to go back over and over again. read more

Each time I've eaten here, I've had the sushi. It's always fresh, delicious, and reasonably priced. The customer service is also superb. The workers are prompt, polite, and genuinely care about your dining experience. This is one of the only reasons why I ever go to the Peru Mall anymore. read more

The food has upset my stomach several times. And the customer service is terrible, they had me pay before I picked up my food and when I came back after walking around the mall they claimed I didn't pay and forced me to pay again. The way they handled that situation was very unprofessional I will not be coming back. read more

Don't let the fact that it's in a mall fool you; this is a great place if you like sushi and/or Chinese food. I tried the tempura roll recently with all the trappings (wasabi, soy sauce, pickled ginger) and it was amazing. I would recommend opting for a bottled beverage over their fountain soda; otherwise, it was amazing and I will be back next time I'm in Peru... read more

Very friendly staff, the Chinese food itself is decent. The real deliciousness is found within the sushi. DELICIOUS! Fresh and quality ingredients, can't go wrong eating here. read more

I ate here last night. It was so nice to have a sushi place in the Illinois Valley area. They aren't fully stocked, but as their restaurant catches on, they will be able to give different cuts of fish. They only have rolls for now, but hopefully will be fully stocked and able to serve a full Nigiri and Shashimi menu. The fish was good and hearty and fresh. I had the Peru and the Spicy Tuna rolls. They were both good. I will be back! The chef advised they will be serving a miso soup soon. He also advised that if you are going to bring in a big party to call a few days ahead and they can get more fish in stock to serve a full menu and can order what you want ( I see red snapper, yellow tail and others in my near future) Sure there are better sushi restaurants in the suburbs, but you won't get any better around here! read more

the spicy tuna is so delicious!! lots of options, ive been coming here forever. the fried rice tastes rlly fresh and the mushroom chicken is super yummy. they give u good big portions read more

It is nothing fancy since it is in the mall but it is the best Chinese food in the area.

Bayou express was our favorite restaurant. Every time we went to the mall we would have lunch. The last two time we went they had new employees higher prices and the quality of the food wasn't up to their old standards. In the past I would recommend it to anyone even with the higher prices but the quality we came to expect is no longer there too bad read more

What a pleasant surprise! The food was freshly prepared and delicious, our sides of veggies were cooked perfectly, and the egg roll was really good. The staff was friendly, helpful, and the service was excellent. I never tip in places like this, but I sure did today. They deserve it! Will definitely be back! read more

The sushi is well worth the visit.It is the best local sushi around in these small parts.The service was nothing to sneeze at in my opinion.

Decent sushi considering the area with plenty of other food for non sushi types. Very friendly and fast service. A bit pricey but sushi usually is. I would return, and have! read more

Favorite chinese restaurant in the IV! May not be a buffet, but the food is amazing, and everything is decently priced.

Always a good place to eat! Sushi is also great! If you haven't been here before, you should try it out. The staff is nice and friendly. 5/5 in my book! read more

This place is amazing! Im from Southern California (where we have everything), and just moved to the Illinois Valley. Did NOT expect to find the best Chinese food I've ever had in the peru mall. My mouth is literally watering as I type because its that good. Pineapple shrimp and mushroom chicken with chow mein is what I get. They cook it after you order it. It honestly will not disappoint. read more

They are always very fast and friendly plus they make great food. I have been to several locations, and this is by far the best one.

Absolutely Delicious!.... I'm no sushi restaurant connoisseur like the other 2 star reviewer but for being a small walk in mall restaurant this food is amazing. I've never been one to go to a top notch sushi bar but I eat sushi whenever I get a chance and with this place I'm impressed and the other food is great too! read more