I would probably give this new place four stars but I am giving it five to balance the one star review at the end, which I find useless and clearly wrong. We gave Bonsai Cafe a chance to get on it's feet before we went there. It was worth the wait. First of all, you can bring your own wine, which was quickly opened by our friendly waitress. We ordered two appetizers - the Vietnamese Spring rolls and the fried calamari. Be careful here; either is enough for two people (maybe four if all you want is a starter). Both were very good. The rolls (four pieces) were light and come with two sauces - one spicy, one sweet. The calamari is deep fried in tempura batter and very tasty, but almost too large of a serving! You could make a meal out of this alone. I ordered the the Sushi Platter and my wife had the Spicy Basil Noodles with chicken. The sushi was fresh tasting, nicely prepared and presented, and the slices of fish were large. The platter contained twelve pieces, each a different variety, for only $18. The Noodle dish was tasty, spicy and large enough to need a take home container. For a new neighborhood place, it is great. read more

I'm not sure what all the bad reviews are about. The staff is always friendly, the restaurant is spotless, and the food is very good. My very picky 80 year old mom loves Bonsai too. The duck moo shoo is fantastic. read more

Wow, I am really surprised by the negative reviews. We have only eaten lunch, but we have gone there 5-6 times. I have always enjoyed my selections, but I do know that what you order somewhere will reflect how you feel about a place. The Szechuan green beans are really good and the heat varies, but I always have enjoyed the dish. My favorite dish is the Ginger Beef Chowfun. It has noodles, beef, mini bok choy, peppers, and is served in a bowl. My husband usually gets a lunch box special and is surprised at how much food you get for the cost. The homemade ginger ale is great in the summer. The place is pretty small and I think that our service has improved since we first started eating here. It is a good neighborhood place and we have never had to wait for a table at lunch time. read more

6 plus years later, I still regularly eat here and get carry out. Have not been disappointed across the sushi, maki, noodle dishes or kids meals. My five year old daughter has declared Bonsai chicken is the best! read more

Live only 5 min away from the place walking distance, I find the place to be clean with well maintenance. The chairs and tables were shiny clean. The service has been professional and waitresses to be attentive. Food had been fresh and well-prepared. Ordered a combo salmon/chicken bento along with another order of orange chicken. Both dishes had been great and the sushi was a treat along with the miso soup. Restaurant has a location within a multi mixed building. You can only find street parking. read more

Fantastically expanded menu, delicious preparations, and an extremely friendly atmosphere make this a favorite neighborhood spot for a quiet dinner or a family meal out. Reasonable prices too! Delicious!! Quick, usually not too busy, and great prices. A real gem. read more

There is nothing "star worthy" about this place. When I say it was terrible, that seems like an understatement. First, the place needs a good, thorough scrubbing. It was dirty and grimy and the table and floors were equally sticky. In fact, I couldn't tell which one was worse. For the first time in my life long love affair with miso soup, I hated its taste in my mouth. I had to put soy sauce in it because it was too fishy and bland. Ever heard of salt, people? The chicken teriyaki lunch special was disgusting. The chicken was smothered in some sticky, gluey, heavy sauce with days-old meat. That was next to stale, hard rice, next to some salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and two types of crunchy noodles (no yummy ginger dressing here). The kicker was the dry, bland, and OLD California roll. How do you screw up a Cali roll? What a way to fail at a bento box. That coupled with the FLAT diet RC or Rite was enough to send me running away from this awful place. read more

Meh. Food lacks flavor. Tried basic Asian favorites and found all of them lacking in flavor. Very bland.

I've been patronizing Bonsai for more than a year (originally b/c of participation in Restaurant.com which establishment discontinued months ago). The Pan-Asian & sushi entrees were generally good but today was a shocker: I ordered "Chicken Dumpling Noodle Soup." REAL title of this is Noodle-Noodle-Noodle Soup With 1 Dumpling & 1 Piece of Chicken. Description also included "Bok Choy" but there were no full bulbs - just a few leaves & 1 stem. What a disappointment! Don't EVER order "Chicken Dumpling Noodle Soup." Owner's response to my posting was extremely professional, well-considered and reasonable so perhaps this was just a slip. Will definitely try again and encourage others to give them a chance. read more

Love this little gem. Delicious food there is nothing that I have had that really enjoyed. Prices are affordable for a lovely atmosphere.

Horrible! Do not have your food delivered from them. It took me 2 hours to get my food and I lived only 10 min. Away. I could have walked there and back in less time. The food was cold and the person in the phone was horrible. First and last time I'm ordering from them. They suck! read more

Decent food for when I don't have time to go anywhere else on my break. Will never order their bubble tea/bubble shake/smoothies again though. Drinks taste extremely powdery, and 2/2 times I went to see if I just had a bad experience, I was handed a cup with an opening too small for the straw, was alerted that they had no tapioca (I don't believe they will ever have tapioca even though it is advertised) and with the drink totally overflowing and handed to me dripping everywhere. Food was okay although pretty expensive for one piece of sushi. Usually greeted with a smile by at least one employee when I go to pick up my food although it usually seems dead empty around lunch time. read more

I really like Thai cuisine. Although I am no expert., I can discern the difference between bad, good and wow. My impression is that the food at Bonsai hovers around "good." The decor, I think, is nice. Another reviewer mentioned it wasn't clean enough. We were there at night, so perhaps it looks better in the dark. I'll have to take a closer look next time. But the general appearance was perfectly acceptable. Service: The service was okay until the check arrived. Then we stepped into The Twilight Zone. We had ordered a couple of maki that were priced on the menu at $6 each. The check stated $8 each. We called the waitress back to point out the error. She compared the check to the menu and informed us, "That's wrong," pointing at the menu, "The are $8." We politely insisted that any error was not ours. She went to the manager (owner) and returned with an adjusted check, without a word. The body language suggested she was peeved at us. I'm sorry, but this was bizarre. I think she owed us an apology rather than giving us a bad attitude. The owner seems to be a very nice guy, however, he needs to understand that ambiance is important to diners. As I said, the decor is nice, however, when we were there, he started talking on the phone, with the phone set to speaker. So everyone could here both him and his mother (or whoever). Very annoying, in any case; especially annoying while you are having dinner. BYOB: Yes. We like that. TV: Charlie Trotter won't even hang fine art on the walls in his establishment, wanting customers to focus on the food. A TV simply diminishes the ambiance of Bonsai. Just give us tea lights.. We'll almost certainly be back for another try, since this is in the neighborhood, but the competition is stiff, so I hope that Bonsai works to improve the ambiance. And to update the menu. read more

Delicious food, reasonable prices and friendly staff. Kid friendly and wonderful meal sets for kids too - teriyaki chicken, gyoza, rice, veg. We come here for sushi and love it. Great neighborhood place. read more

This is soley based ob the chicken Pho'. We love Pho' from Argyle St. so we knew we were taking a chance especially since it was only $5. It smelled a little too fishy and there was no fresh basil or jalapeño and the limes were dry. We wouldn't order the Pho' again, but may try other dishes. The delivery was fast and friendly. read more

My wife and I had lunch here on a Friday. We shared soups (pho and tom yan) and the orange chicken. Everything tasted fresh and was quite good. We particularly appreciated that the orange chicken didn't have that syrupy texture you too often get at Chinese restaurants. We live in the neighborhood so we'll definitely be ordering from here again. read more

So, Someone here said the food was too salty... agreed, I got Mongolian Beef, incredibly salty. Someone else said the servings were small, agreed especially considering the price. Let me put this in perspective, the day after I ordered from here I got the same dish from a different place, received the same size plastic container, only where bonsai had filled it with beef & rice, from this other place it was FULL of just the beef and the rice came in one of those rice boxes. So in other words, my serving of Mongolian beef was twice as large, and it cost $2 less. Other folks on yelp said it was the sort of place that is pan Asian and does everything badly... yup... won't be ordering again Only really positive thing I can say was the delivery was quick read more

This is such a great little local spot. We enjoy ordering out from here, but don't come enough! The food is fresh and fabulous Asian fusion. And the Thai staff is super friendly (remember that Thailand is the land of smiling people!). Don't forget to BYO! read more

Bonsai Cafe - Japanese Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I live a half of a mile from the restaurant and I have had a few dinners and lunches ever since it opened. The waitress's are very nice and I have always had my food served in a timely fashion. I was so surprised to have dinner for two recently and have such a terrible meal. It was the most lack luster meal I have had anywhere. The meat was too chewy and cooked poorly. Boring , bland and minimal portions. They are obviously resting on the regulars that haven't eaten anywhere else and need a quick answer for a bad dinner to forget about. This could be a really great place with interesting over the top flavors, instead of par with old school carry out Chinese. Come on pick it up. Northwest Evanston deserves better. read more

We went for dinner and ordered: tempura, panang chicken curry, Chinese chicken salad, crab rangoon, spicy tuna maki, unagi, tamago, thai iced coffee. The tamago was decent. Everything else was disgusting. The tempura sauce was nothing more than brown water. The panang was soupy and had no flavor but straight up curry. The chicken salad was something that I feel like McDonalds might offer to be cultural: iceberg with hot shredded chicken on top spiced with some red pepper. The spicy tuna maki tasted like they used some fish other than tuna. Not sure how raw tuna can taste bad, but somehow here it does. The unagi had no flavor. The crab rangoon (in all fairness the menu does state "imitation crab" as the filling) was gross - like sugary imitation crab with mayo rather than whatever else is supposed to be in it. And the wantons they were in were almost elephant ears. And the worst? The thai iced coffee. It was like they dumped a cup of sugar in with the condensed milk. We didn't have any chopsticks, and had to ask for silverware. When they brought the check, we had to wait 5 minutes to get someone to bring us a pen - and the place was empty. The $60 we spent on this food was such a regrettable waste. read more

This place is in the neighborhood and has good food. The staff is very friendly staff (although we typically do take out - at least once a week). We enjoy the apps and the shrimp and chicken meals are usually very good. Beef meals are sometimes hit or miss (although the thai beef salad is usually very good). read more

We waited over one hour for maki that was small and poorly rolled. I used to enjoy coming to here but waiting and hour for sushi when there are only two tables is unacceptable. To top it off the food we poor. We will never be coming back. . read more

I love this restaurant. The service is efficient and friendly My daughters like the menu and the food is great.

This place is very good. The California maki were a favorite with a 10 year old. The sushi was fresh, the potstickers were delicious, the dumpling soup was child friendly, the parents took over the tasty, slightly spicy Vietnamese soup. The home made ginger ale is a must, and the mochi dessert was a delicious end to the meal. Nice and cozy place with a good atmosphere for small groups of friends and families. The only downside: the ginger ale was so popular that they ran out of it at the end.... read more

I have been going here for a few years and recommending it to family and friends, until now. Although pretty good food - the owner has no gratitude towards customers. My carryout order was packed in one brown bag. Needless to say it leaked, then soggy from the soup, leaked in my car. I went back, and the whole thing broke in the street. Soup on my clothes and in my car. Complained to two waitresses. Waited for replacement of soup and repackaging. Not only did they not apologize, but they didn't even offer me a glass of water. I asked to talk to the owner. Low and behold, the owner was at the Sushi bar socializing with the sushi chef and dancing. I thought she was just a friend of someone that worked there. I asked her why she didnt approach me and her answer was "I was watching". Well, as a business owner myself, I had to explain to her that this is not how to run a business, and her first priority should always be her customers. We have many choices where to spend our money, and that I will never come back, and either will my family members. I have never commented on Yelp but find it necessary to tell you all that this is not an establishment that is in any way grateful for your business. Please GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!! read more

Ordered delivery. Chinese Chicken Salad turned out to be 90% shredded lettuce with maybe a couple dry shreds of chicken, a few shredded carrots, a pinch of crunchy noodles. None of the advertised green onions, cilantro, bell peppers or sesame seeds. One small side of hoisin sauce as dressing. Best part? I paid $9.00 for this. And they forgot to include my side of rice. When I called to ask about it, they said that the next time I ordered, I could have two sides. When I told her that I was only going to be in town for today, she put me on hold for 10 minutes. They are delivering said rice now, and I do feel very bad for making them come back with a $1 side of rice, but this lettuce is not going to fill me up. Bubble tea is tasty (green tea) but devoid of the actual bubbles/boba. One of the worst experiences I've had, but I won't be in the area to avoid it again. read more

Nice looking inside but staff does not follow instructions and the food is not very flavorful. I am disappointed by the quality of food and will not order from here again. read more

It took almost 90 minutes for our food to arrive first of all. Secondly, the 2 so called hot and spicy dishes were neither. They tasted more like vinegar than anything else. What a disappointment. I will never order from here again. read more

My family has been coming here usually for take out since it opened. Love the pan asian fusion. Pad taxi, sesame chicken, mongolian beef, sushi, etc. However, most recently when I called in an order for pick up on a saturday evening around 6:30/7, they said it would be 20 minutes. I showed up half an hour later and the place was clearly understaffed. there was one person waiting on all the tables plus hosting and taking phone orders. They had not even placed our order yet. We had to wait for an additional 40 minutes before our food was ready. Totally unacceptable service and lack of awareness on the server/hostess's part. Really disappointed in their service and will be taking my business elsewhere. read more

This is my favorite sushi joint and restaurant. Every roll I've gotten is good. Their dumplings are excellent (I always get the steamed dumplings, the pot stickers are a little on the greasy side for me) and the sesame mustard sauce is to die for. They make it themselves and I'm considering buying some for myself. Favorite rolls include the ruby maki and Chicago crunchy maki. You don't need a fancy maki for good sushi, their salmon and yellowtail rolls are delicious, simple, and all their fish tastes super fresh. Best miso soup ever. The chicken teriyaki is great too. We love that it's BYOB, we brought a large bottle of Matilda and they didn't realize it wasn't wine, we felt super fancy drinking beer out of wine glasses! read more

We have been coming here for years to enjoy the Kung Pao chicken (either with rice or with noodle), pot stickers, panang curry, and sushi. Prices are reasonable and service is usually good. BYOB is nice. While in my experience the quality of some menu items can vary depending on the night you go, I have to say I have not found any place that makes kung pao as good as they do. It is consistently great! Beef noodle curry is another consistent favorite! read more

I really don't know what people find so negative about this place. I went tonight for the first time and it was really a nice experience. The Mongolian beef is delicious - agreed with a previous poster about their "reinterpretation" of traditional Asian fusion. Portions are very generous. Restaurant is clean and tastefully decorated. The service was amazingly fast and very friendly. My only real criticism is that their tastes in music are a little eclectic (albeit catchy) and they should get rid of the television. I'll be back to try their sushi. read more

A solid, reliable Asian Fusion cafe that is very friendly to patrons like me who have service dogs.

Worst place to eat on Central St. The seasme chicken tasted like it was cooked in very old oil. Service was bad. Expensive if you compare it too the much better tasting Pinto or Royin up the street. read more

I've eaten here/gotten takeout a half dozen times, and the food has ranged from very good to excellent.

We are cheering for this place, but it still needs to move the food up a notch or two. We tried the potato croquettes and Vietnamese rolls. Croquettes were good; rolls boring. Then, we turned to our focus, the sushi. They failed the saba test (see my sushi list); hamachi and unagi were, at best, average, other sushi were more disappointing. Fish needs to be fresher. Rolls were OK, but flavors were not up to Chicago sushi standard. We want you to succeed; please try harder! read more

I live close to this restaurant, so I really wanted to like it, but after eating here several times I think I have to concede that it's just OK in most respects. There's nothing bad about it, that I've experienced. The food is competently made for the most part, reasonable priced, and the service is prompt, but it just lacks something that would make it better, somehow... I may be spoiled from eating sushi in the northwest suburbs where there are many options, some of which ARE spectacular for these same price points, but I'll try to stick to what I know of Bansai Cafe, to be fair. The food: It really depends on what you order, I find. Their maki rolls are generally good, with a few things (spicy tuna and their shogun roll in particular) that are surprisingly excellent. Other things, even simpler dishes like California rolls or Pad Thai that you'd think would be hard to do wrong, are too small, blandly cooked and seasoned, or otherwise disappointing. Portion sizes are mostly fine (their simpler maki rolls could be bigger), but flavoring and ingredients sometimes feel perfunctory or uninspired. I leave feeling totally satisfied by the spicy tuna, but wondering how it's even possible to mess up Pad Thai? And many things are just... exactly... what you'd expect. The crab rangoon is so predictably competent that it's almost, I don't know, boring? I don't feel like the owners are trying to skimp on ingredients to save money, but it feels very calculated and conservative to eat here, somehow, and that always translates to disappointment for me. There's nothing bad about the food, but neither is there anything on the menu that's especially great or that I can't get elsewhere, which seems like the whole point of eating at a restaurant. The restaurant: It's in a very nice location with plentiful free parking immediately adjacent to the doors, so there's no problems with slippery date-night sidewalks in the winter or finding some not-very-close parking structure to park in, so that's a plus. The interior is cosy with very basic furniture, but this usually doesn't bother me: plenty of sushi places keep their furniture simple and you come to expect that after a while. Others have said it's family-friendly, and I suspect that's probably true, but there are other, better (even legendary) local options for this. The service: I hate to keep harping on this, but again: it's just OK. The food seems to be prepared quickly as long as it's not crowded, and everything comes out hot and correctly. Just the same, there are many places nearby where the servers are noticeably friendlier, more enthusiastic or good-humored, or in some way just more congenial. Down the street at Royin, even when you roll in with an 18-month old in a stroller, the servers always seem pleased to see you, and there's a sense of generally good energy that suffuses the place. Here, it's sort of like a decent diner. Not bad, but otherwise unremarkable. I've seen places in the northwest burbs where the chefs come around and ask how the food is, maybe give you a bite-sized sample of something unusual to try while you wait, etc. There are places that have simple neighborhood-like gimmicks where if you're a return customer you get your own set of lacquered chopsticks with your name on them for lunch, and things like that. Even just a friendly hello would be something. Just simple things that would somehow communicate that they valued your patronage would help immensely, but again, I've never had an outright negative experience here, either. The prices: Reasonable. Not cheap, and can be expensive at dinner time, but reasonable for the most part. I ordered a combination lunch today that would approximate a bento box at other places and it came out to around $15 before tip, which is what I would expect. I don't know that I'd demand a cheaper meal just because I'd rather have a local place that offers good sushi, but I'd just prefer tastier food at this same price point if it was up to me. The verdict: Overall, it feels to me like Bonsai Cafe is a potentially-terrific restaurant that's in search of something that communicates "terrific" to its customers. It's in a nice location, they get most things right in terms of food and service, and the prices are reasonable, but it still noticeably lacks an ineffable 'something' to make it shine. It could come in many forms: a more consistently tasty or generous menu (no breaded sesame chicken?), one or two particularly well-priced entrees or lunch meals, a more stylish interior that says "date night" to couples like my wife and I, or a handful of enthusiastic chefs and servers to communicate a friendlier, livelier environment. Any of these things could potentially make Bonsai Cafe more of a destination, but for now, it's just OK. read more

First time ordering from this restaurant while in Chicago on business. Ordered about $40 bucks worth of food. Things tasted great, until I noticed half way through my calamari appetizer that a dead roach was at the bottom of the container. Called the restaurant immediately but was only offered a replacement dish. Definitely the last time that I'll order from them while in the city. read more

We eat here all the time and the food has always been constantly good. Kids love it because it's one of the rare places that when you ask for mild it is actually mild! 4 stars because always room to improve! read more

I love this place! People are warm, food is good, and so is the service. I frequent it all the time. Love the Salmon Lover's dish, and the chicken pot stickers are fantastic. Thank you! read more