now *this* is great okonomiyaki…read more coming from seattle and very recently having a disastrous experience at the only okonomiyaki spot in our area (you can read my past reviews for that), my two friends, my partner, and i were looking forward to having great okonomiyaki. thankfully, gaijin delivered! we came by on a friday night, and it was fairly busy. we wouldn't have been surprised if we were turned away since we didn't have a reservation. they ended up making space for us thankfully and we didn't even have to wait long at all. the inside of the place isn't that big, but it's not so tiny that it's cramped. when you sit down, if you are in a large enough party, you sit down in front of a flat stovetop to keep your okonomiyaki warm when the waiter brings it out to you. we started with some drinks. they were all very good - next time i'm trying that espresso goma-tini! i did get a lychee martini though, and it was a little strong of a pour but i still really enjoyed it. onto the okonomiyaki. we all ordered different ones so we could try them. every single one of them were delicious. i got the tofu osaka-style, my partner got the beef osaka-style, one of my friends got the fried shrimp osaka-style, and my other friend got the traditional hiroshima-style. each okonomiyaki is prepared perfectly, not too thick and not overly saucy (so it doesn't get soggy). the flavours are quite rich but also really nicely umami. sometimes, too rich of a sauce kind of overwhelms me, but the ratios are well-balanced. overall, truly recommend this place. probably some of the best okonomiyaki i've had. next time i'm in chicago, i'd love to go again. there's so many options to choose from and i want to try them all!

I've been wanting to try Okonomiyaki for a long time, so when I saw that they had it I had to stop…read moreby! It's really cool in here because you can watch them make the Okonomiyaki in front of you! They had like a set meal going on which included soup and okonomiyaki and dessert, which was mochi donuts. The soup was pretty good, standard. The Okonomiyaki was such a big portion. I loved the little tempura bits on top and they were generous with the amount of shrimp. It's like a yummy savory pancake. I will say I didn't really enjoy the mochi donuts but I was so full I couldn't eat them until later so it may have been because they weren't as fresh and got hard. If you've been wanting to try Okonomiyaki you should check this place out!

The service was great, super attentive. Kind gesture with a signed birthday menu…read more Sushi was fresh, with simple but great flavors. Didn't love the wagyu bao buns since it was more of a ground meat, similar to a kabob. But overall the food was good, atmosphere was perfect date night/special occasion, and we will definitely be back.

food: my favs were the tsukune dango and tsukune sliders. all the food that came out was yummy but…read morenothing blew me away and for the price i'd have hoped for a dish that made me want to come back but I didn't get that service: the staff was very nice and let us switch tables because it was hard to hear ambiance: really nice vibe especially when the dim the lights later into the night. gets really loud and was so hard to hear my partner across the table

Great food, amazing ambience. We sat on the patio and had a wonderful time. Service was great.read more

Sushi Dokku was great! The intimate speakeasy feel in…read moreBoozeBox was so unique and perfect for date night. The sushi was very fresh - definitely get the truffle tuna nigiri and the tuna microgreens roll! The staff was very kind and the bartender made us really great mocktails. Awesome sushi spot in the heart of West Loop!

I never leave negative reviews, but this experience was unacceptable. On 7/18/2026 at approximately…read more9:30pm-9-45pm My friend and I were waiting for our ramen, we watched one of the kitchen staff check the noodles by reaching into the bowl with his bare fingers, pulling out some noodles, and putting them directly into his mouth to taste them. Then wiped his fingers on a dirty rag and proceeded to finish making the bowls. A short time later, we were served that same bowl of ramen. Watching an employee use their bare hands and mouth on food that was then served to a customer was extremely concerning and completely unacceptable from a food safety and hygiene standpoint. It ruined the experience and made us lose confidence in the restaurant's food handling practices. I hope management takes this seriously, retrains their staff on proper food safety procedures, and ensures this doesn't happen to anyone else.

First time here we were seated immediately! It was Thursday night around 10ish I'll say. The staff…read morewas super friendly and helpful! Very welcoming and attentive, but then again it's a hidden little ramen spot where everyone's huddled up at a bar pretty much lol The food was absolutely delicious! I got their signature ramen and the pork just melted in your mouth. Noodles were 10/10, broth even better.! Will be coming back for sure. Hopefully we have a similar experience with waiting and dining

Been dying to try because I'm obsessed with sushi dokku and this did not disappoint! I went to the…read morewalk up window, they are so quick which is awesome! I got the truffle hamachi bowl! This is amazing! The quality of the fish is so fresh! A huge portion size for lunch. Everything went together very well! Now I need to dine in and try some hand rolls!

I have been here a couple of times and love their happy hour hand roll deals. Their truffle hamachi…read moreis my personal favorite alongside the spicy tuna and salmon. They also have great drinks and appetizer option. We tried their lychee mocktail and it was absolutely so good. We did order from their lunch menu but to our surprise it's not the same as dining in their restaurant.

I have had nothing but the best of times here. I am surprised it has taken me this long to write…read morethis wonderful review for the wonderful team here. It starts with the service, Michelle and her family do a phenomenal job in making sure they try to accommodate anyone and everyone and their preferences. They offer so much good advice on what to order based on what your likes and dislikes are. The ambience inside is subtle and has a nice dimmed lighting with greenery/plants galore. They have indoor and outdoor seating as well as boots that stretch into the back of the restaurant. It's a very nice date spot or family spot because they do have picnic tables outside as well. Now for the food, the quality of ingredients here is beyond exceptional. They use fresh ingredients and you can tell immediately. The fish is fresh and the combinations for the specialty rolls are out of this world. The rice is nice and soft and doesn't feel old like most places. The quality the fish is very fresh and does not smell. They have come up with great specialty role selections and pairings and even do customer specific rolls. They end each meal with a serving of mango, which is very unique and lovely to end your meal with as a pallet cleanser. This place is a hidden gem tucked away on the busy street of Randolph within West Loop. I need to say this more than once the food and quality of service here is beyond exceptional and everyone needs to make it out here to give them a shot. They also have a happy hour lunch that is worth checking out, which has Bento boxes. Love everything about this place and will definitely be coming back here for years to come

I popped in for dinner. Was going to try omakase but it was pretty quiet so i decided to grab a…read morecouple snacks instead. The miso was good, a bit salty. The ginger house salad was delicious! Zesty and flavorful! This was the highlight of my visit. The squid nigiri was good. I would have preferred it not be torched but it was still good. I added the ponzu sashimi appetizer because the sauces sounded delectable. It wasnt quite as loaded with flavor and texture as Id hoped but it was still good. I would have loved a stronger essence of the accents of chili oil and sesame oils. My server Kaylie was a sweetheart, very warm and attentive. It was nice that they offer happy hour specials.

We ordered to go but their hand rolls are so good and fresh. They are also affordable as well…read more Their scallop and spicy tuna are my favorite! Next time we need to try their rolls on the menu which is filled with so much flavors.

We've been supporters of Tamu since day one, and my wife and I keep coming back for a reason. It…read moreconsistently delivers. The omakase in the back is one of the best combinations of quality and value in Chicago. It's an approachable way to experience genuinely high-quality omakase without the price tag of some of the city's much more expensive options. The HandRoll Bar is excellent too. Fresh, creative, beautifully executed, and consistently good. I honestly don't understand why Tamu is sometimes so easy to get into. We've been to the other hand roll bars around Chicago, and this deserves to be every bit as popular, if not more. Great food, great value, great experience. Every single time. Our most recent visit was yesterday.

The staff are nice, the interior is clean but uninteresting, and the food is disappointing. The…read moremenu is also formatted badly, the udon lunch set comes with a standard "plain udon" that isn't even on the menu as far as I can tell. The way it's written implies that you can choose an udon from the udon section, not the case. Minor gripe, but annoying nonetheless. The maki is fine, spicy tuna was bland but decent quality and the shrimp tempura maki was good but also lacking. Personally I prefer a spicy tuna with more tuna texture and this is basically puree, personal preference I guess. The udon is where my meal fell apart. For a lunch menu focusing on udon I expected a more flavorful broth and noodles that weren't overcooked. It's not like the underlying flavor is bad or anything, it's just barely there at all. The dashi is very weak and one dimensional, and the noodles taste like plain flour with a spongy overly soft bite. The toppings are extremely basic, I can't even comment on them because I'm not sure if I hallucinated them having any flavor or not. They might as well not exist. The shredded cabbage side salad is also mediocre. Dressing was weak and the cabbage could've been cut thinner. People I went with told me "maybe you just got the wrong things" but I don't think a chef should have losing items on their menu to begin with. Overall quite disappointed considering the name attached to this place.

Visiting from out of town someone suggested this restaurant. The restaurant is nicely decorated for…read moreits style. There are plenty of offerings. However to me it's pricey for single skewer items and even the maki. I was not that impressed with the food the best item I ate was the gyoza.

We had a very nice experience dining at the Izakaya! Our…read moreserver is awesome. The food and drinks - fantastic! The Momo Royale Burger is the star of the night. It's one of the best burger we tried in Chicago so far. The bao bun makes it unique. It's a must try! The chicken wings (let me say.. the whole part!) huge portion. Delish!!! Love the flavor. Kind of saucy, so prepare to lick your fingers... haha! The ramen - not crazy about this one. We could skip this but I wanted to try anyway. Not bad and not that good either. Ube Tiramisu is the great way to end the night. This is delish!! A very nice lively music going on at the bar... as it is an izakaya or speakeasy type... it's kind of dim. I like it.

Get the RAMEN!!! Wow I've never had such a bowl Service was…read moreincredible and they brought us such a sweet birthday dessert :) Loud and chill vibes all around if you know what I mean. Absolutely coming back and bringing friends :)

We went for my birthday dinner this year and wow did it ever over impress! The restaurant is TINY…read moreand we were seating at the counter with 3 other couples. The ambiance is reserved but comfortable and people were dressed from casual nice to more formal. The chef in front of us chatted a bit and was very friendly, happy to answer questions while he was prepping our next course. We had the matched wine courses as well and every one of them was a perfect hit for the course served. The service and the food were simple amazing. I would suggest this to anybody looking for the best Omakase experience in Chicago!

Masterclass in sushi, but the hospitality falls flat…read more I booked Mako for a special occasion, landing a rare 6:00 PM spot. The 23-course Omakase ($890 total for two, including two drinks) was culinary perfection,exquisitely crafted, beautifully presented, and fascinating to watch from the bar seating. The restaurant's interior is clean, moody, and Zen-like with dramatic lighting on the prep area. It starts off pin-drop silent, but as the night progresses, the room warms up into a pleasant communal energy. Unfortunately, the service did not match the quality of the food. The atmosphere among the staff was cold and stiff. Roles were confusing (asking for a oaper napkin resulted in odd glares), and when my guest unrolled their wet towel (oshibori), a staff member scolded them for not "pinching" it correctly. Furthermore, after calling ahead regarding a birthday, I was told they couldn't accommodate a candle or small dessert. Handing out a signed paper menu at the end of the night feels like a cheap substitute for real celebratory effort at a Michelin-level price tag. The chefs are brilliantly trained, but the awkward hospitality and rigid micro-aggressions meant we left without that warm, satisfied feeling you expect from fine dining. Great food, but the overall guest experience needs work.