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!

Our server Liam was excellent, the experience was smooth, the ambiance is simple and calming as the…read moredining room is pretty quiet for an elegant evening . The food was inventive annd exquisite and the drinks, of course were outstanding. Definitely planning to return and recommend.

Kumiko has a long list of honors, including #11 on North America's 50 Best Bars and the Michter's…read moreArt of Hospitality award, and it did not disappoint. This chic Japanese cocktail lounge in the West Loop is bright, vibrant, and absolutely beautiful. We sat at the bar and ended up trying almost half the cocktail menu. Every drink was amazing, and the small plates were mind-blowing. But the star of the show was our bartender, Zack. He knew everything about what he poured and was kind enough to show us the bottles of spirits behind each cocktail. He was so warm and friendly that by the end of our time there, he felt like a good friend. I completely understand how this place earned its hospitality awards. Pro tip: If you love Japanese whiskey or shochu, ask about the hidden 10-seat basement bar. It features one of the rarest collections of both that you'll find anywhere. I can't wait to come back, and I'll recommend Kumiko to anyone who spends time in Chicago. Five stars, easily.

Disclaimer: I'm a New Yorker who's moved to Chicagoland so maybe I'm a bit snooty but the regular…read moreYelpers in the Midwest should always be viewed with a star and a 1/2 less than what is expected normally. Any bar with Yamazaki 18 is good in my book. We had lunch at Chubby Cattle so couldn't eat that much .: no skewers. The Sushi taco was good, pretty impressive with the thin seaweed that had a great crunch; didn't feel greasy at all. The seafood udon was decent; just a tad bit too salty is all. If you're into kushiyaki and what's presented here, definitely give it a try.

Good food! Love the…read moreconcept and you can order on the same QR code two different phones at the same time. The food is fresh made and full of flavor. My favorite thing was the fish cake skewer and the squid. Service was great and people keep checking on you if you need more things. They were havung a karaoke night the saturday at 10pm, but we were packed for other activities after dinner so we missed that out. The only down side that we found, it is some of the plates used to serve, they are chipped or damaged, and that bother a little the presentation.

I ordered the Sushi + Sashimi Lunch ($26), and for the price it's a strong deal. It came with miso…read moresoup and a bright, crunchy seaweed-cucumber salad, then a beautiful tray of tuna, yellowtail, and salmon nigiri and sashimi, plus three chopped-fish hand rolls. The fish was fresh and cut with care, and the rice was seasoned just right. We also split the Sesame Salmon Maki, 10 generous pieces full of avocado and flavor, along with an ice-cold Asahi draft in a frosted mug. The real highlight was our server, Andy. Even with a full house, he was friendly, attentive, and kept everything moving at a perfect pace. Drinks never ran low, and he checked in at just the right moments. The restroom was clean and well kept, which says a lot about how a restaurant is run. Paying is easy too: just scan the QR code at your table. Great food, great vibe, outstanding service. Ask for Andy. Five stars for the whole experience.

Incredible! Walked in on a Tuesday around 5 and there was plenty of seating open at the bar…read more There's a happy hour menu for 4-6! I got the eggplant tempura snack off the happy hour menu for $6 and this was SO good. And actually a little too much for one person! Portion was generous and this was delicious. Perfectly crispy, with super soft jammy eggplant, with mildly sweet, savory, herby, and fish saucy(?) flavors. I opted to get a yuzu margarita, not on the happy hour menu, but yuzu margarita. YUM! To round it out, I got the deluxe nigiri set and this was SO fabulous. Really delicious, high quality fish, with inventive garnishes, but while still letting the fish itself shine. There was a specialty scallop nigiri on the menu as well with nori-infused French butter. The sushi chef heard me talking about all the things I was trying to choose between and just upgraded the scallop nigiri that comes with the deluxe set to the specialty one, with no added charge (which was a surprise!). Super lovely folks working behind the bar. If I wasn't an out of towner, I could absolutely see myself becoming a regular here. Interior was vibey but in a relaxed, approachable way. Highly recommend checking this spot out!

Amazing sushi and fantastic service! 10/10!…read moreIf you find yourself in the south loop then you must give this restaurant a try!

Really great. We absolutely loved everything. The staff wasn't very engaged with us and seemed…read moretired. Maybe it had been a long day. But the chefs made the food beautiful and yummy!

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.

Tonight, we were in the West Loop and decided to try an establishment new to us. We chose…read moreMomotaro, since we love Japanese and Japanese influenced cuisine. We had to make a late reservation since nothing was available earlier. We tried walking in earlier and there was a 1 hour and 45 min wait. So we kept our reservation for 9:30. Upon entering, the manager and the host were very friendly and promptly sat us about 15 min early. The ambiance is really nice, but the music... is way to loud. You have to yell across a standard 4-seat tabletop to communicate. Since everyone has to yell, the crowd noise then amplifies this issue. I've never understood restaurants that try to be a nightclub. You can have music at normal levels to keep the energy without causing your patrons to yell. Once we were seated, the waitress came over within 5 minutes. She was friendly, but slow. After she offered us water, she was didn't return to the table for 20 minutes to take drink orders. After we ordered drinks, it was another 15-20 to help with the menus. We asked about portion sizes (shareable vs not shareable). We were told each plate was good for 2-4 people. I'm not sure what portion sizes she classified suitable for sharing... but no way were a majority of our dishes enough to share. We ordered edamame, which we were able to share. We really liked how they salted it, sometimes you get edamame and it's bland. We also ordered spicy tuna sushi (6 pieces), Komodo sushi rolls, pork chops (comes with 2 pieces), 2 orders of wagyu sliders (only 2 per order), hotate batayaki (3 scallops), shishito peppers (8 grilled peppers), and yakatori don (chicken bowl with rice and a soft egg). I have tried many Japanese restaurants and have been to Japan as well. Loved the food. To start with the good, we really liked the pork chops. They were on the rarer cooked side but delicious. The sliders were really good as well. Tons of flavor and each one was a decent size. These 2 items we felt were slightly over priced but felt we got a great food experience for the money. The shishito peppers were barely grilled and bland. They literally were no better than what my teenagers can do on the grill. Absolutely not worth $12 for peppers. Each sushi roll was decent but very small very overpriced for what you get. There is nothing special about either roll. I have gotten better spicy tuna in the city, that comes with 8 rolls for half of momotaro's price. The scallops were very fishy. I love scallops, and I wouldn't order these again... no way! $22 for such. Small serving that was too fishy compared to other establishments. My chicken bowl yakatori don) had a great presentation. That's where the dish ends. The toppings overpowered the chicken. The chicken tasted like plain boiled chicken that was so bland, literally no flavor to it. After we were done, the waitress came over about 15 min later, asking if we were interested in dessert. We told her no, we were full and ready for the check. We sat around for over 20 minutes waiting. I'm watching our server talking in the corner with 4 other servers. Laughing, on their phones, etc. after watching them for over 10 minutes I walked up to the front host and asked for a manager. The girl, was prompt, and very friendly. I discussed my dissatisfaction with the service. It was slow, terrible for the price point of the restaurant. The manager brought the check to me fairly quickly and apologized. She didn't ask what they could do to make it right, nothing. Not until after the bill was paid she conveniently asked what they could do. Little late at that point. Overall, we have been to many low and high end restaurants in Chicago... River North, West Loop,, Manhattan, Munich, etc... and this was about as bad of service as you can get. With all the options in the city, I don't recommend this one.

I've been going to Ramen Wasabi for years and it has never disappointed. The staff is all so sweet…read moreand the food is amazing. This is honestly the best ramen I've had in Chicago and I've tried a lot of places. The music is also always so good. Think Tom Misch, FKJ, Galimatias kind of vibe. My go to is always the Spicy Roasted Garlic Miso ramen. It's full of umami flavor and not too spicy at all. The pork belly is tender and it's even good alone so it doesn't need to broth to be good. The whole thing is a 10/10. No notes. This time I tried the Karaage Fried Chicken Nuggets and they were nice and tender and juicy as well. It paired perfectly with the lemon and the aioli on the side. The nuggets were crispy but could be crispier - the nuggets on the bottom weren't as crispy as the ones on the top. I'll give this one a 8/10

Ramen Wasabi will always have me at a chokehold. Probably by far the best ramen spot in Chicago,…read moreand that is saying a lot since I've been to many different ramen restaurants in the city. Ramen Wasabi has no reservations. The wait times vary, but sometimes there are seats readily available. There are bar seats available and a large middle table that you share with other parties. Service has always been good for us, and we're known as regulars there now Karaage - Fried Chicken Nuggets: An absolute must for any craving. Plenty to share with friends and the togarashi mayo dip is super delicious with it. Juicy bites with crispy batter, making everything about this appetizer perfect. Signature Tonkotsu (with Spice Umami): the noodles are sooo bouncy. I love how rich the broth is and how easy it is to bite into the Char Siu. It is so filling and honestly reminds me of my time in Japan. Tokyo Classic Shoyu (with Spice Umami): lighter broth compared to the tonkotsu, but just as delicious. This is another must-try! Ramen Wasabi will always remain as my top ramen shop in Chicago. Never had a miss with this. I would love to try their other dishes (donburi) when I have the chance...but their ramen is too good to not order

Came here for a business dinner with our sales rep. It had great reviews and came in on a Sunday…read morenight. We didn't make reservations but they accommodated us immediately and sat down. We had sushi, rolls, their specials and yakitori. What a great meal from beginning to end. The chef ended up sending us a special of salmon belly, ponzu and ikura on top. It sounds simple but what an amazing bite. It was complimentary from the chef and if I wasn't full I would have ordered another round. I highly recommend this place. You will not be disappointed and everything was absolutely fresh! Enjoy!

We've been wanting to try happy hour at Ikigai Sushi & Izakaya for a while. We started with a cold…read moreSapporo (no cocktails for happy hour), then went straight into the karaage (barely edible, the chicken used was so chewy and nasty, we couldn't finish it), sushi rolls (very fishy smell, not the best), and grilled kushiyaki skewers (these were my fav). Everything came out looking seriously tempting, but somewhat fell short.

One of the best Omakase experience I've ever had. I booked last minute during a Chicago business…read moretrip and was able to get a seating for one: I came at my time and had a drink alone at the bar and had an awesome conversation with the bartender Brandon who shared some stories about Japan with me. I was seated at the sushi bar shortly and to my surprise I had the chefs table all to myself! It was very beautifully decorated and clean and got to meet Chef Shoji. I was well taken care of by both the staff and Chef Shoji and he meticulously explained every dish and we chatted about everything from his time in America, Japan, and even shared some of my life stories. All in all the dinner service was about 90 minutes with maybe 12-15 or so dishes? I was absolutely satisfied and more. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience having personalized service!

Great omakase!! Loved the cuts of fish especially the toro. I dream about going back every now and…read morethen. Service was spectacular as well.

Rooftop dinner!! Sushi & lychee martini for the win :)…read more So this is my first time at Miru- Definitely make a reservation! This is at the Saint Regis hotel. I would definitely recommend the crispy rice. The Hamachi roll and the spicy tuna roll. The shrimp fried rice was not as tasty as I would hoped, but they have big shrimps in there, which I loved. The shrimp temporary I could've lived without it. It's just fried shrimp very flaky the sauce it comes with is actually really delicious. We kept it for the remainder of the meal. Get the lychee martini it is divine and super smooth, not like a kick in your face! The ambience here is upscale of course you must dress to impress. They have window seating since the weather wasn't permitting for us to sit on the rooftop. Our waiter was really sweet. He was kind of busy so he was forgetful a little bit but super sweet. And we celebrated my birthday there so he got me a little birthday treat for free. I would come here again for the sushi and lychee martini! The bar looks super cute to just sit out and drink and have a quick Hamachi roll. I'll be back! Separate restrooms of course it's kind of hidden in the back.

This place is expensive but the views and service make up for it…read more We each got to order our favorite drinks. Mine was a highball which really tasted like Tokyo, I was taken back on the first sip. We ordered the little gems, miso cod, edamame, duck yakisoba, hamachi sashimi, and chicken kaarage. Everything was good, and we didn't leave hungry so that's the good thing. I think you can go up there to get a drink and enjoy the views just the same, we went outside briefly for pix but recommend eating inside due to the windy conditions.