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

Food was decent. I went for dinner and I was impressed with the salad, wings and ramen. Everything…read morehad some spice to it but it wasn't overpowering. Service was good. Waitress was attentive and definitely helped with good suggestions Ambiance is good. Very dimly lit but perfect for a good date night.

Kitchen open till 2 Great Sake Selection…read moreNew staff was great personality wise, needs some training but the food carried. Killer meal.

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.

Everything! Ambiance, fun staff that made excellent recommendations. Felt like friends after we…read moreleft. And the food! Omg! Fresh decadent and savory. Excellent presentation. Well worth the price! Definitely going back to try more options.

Another wonderful dinner at Raisu. This restaurant deserves to be packed every night, if it was…read morecloser to downtown it would get the accolades it deserves. Highly recommended !!!

I've been coming here for years and I can't believe I've never written a review! This place, is…read moreprobably the best Japanese food in the Chicago area. The food they prepare uses fresh ingredients. The uni they serve is huge, creamy and sweet. I always order their uni toro tartare because it's the best! The food is innovative yet stay grounded in flavors. Hospitality is top notch and the decor is warm and inviting. I've never had a bad dish there! Highly recommend for date nights or small group gatherings!

Had a great experience at Kai Zan, was looking for my first omakase and came across them, very…read morehappy with the choice. The service is dedicated to each party inside, small but functional space where you genuinely feel taken care of throughout. Each course was explained in detail before every bite which I appreciated, and the craftsmanship behind each piece showed in their open kitchen. The kind of flavors you reminisce on shortly after finishing, wishing for more. The yellowtail stood out the most had me order an extra piece after the omakase wrapped up, highly recommend. No old fashioned on the menu but the beer I had alongside served as a solid palate cleanser between bites. Finished the night with the lava cake warm, fluffy, paired with ice cream and just enough to top it all off. -Mr.

Stumbled upon this neighborhood spot and couldn't be happier. Food was fantastic as was the…read moreatmosphere and service!

01/25/25 - We met my wife's family here for here birthday last night. The restaurant was packed…read morebut as usual we had awesome service from the staff there. Jenny was our server but as the night continued & it started getting very busy Bonnie (the owner) came out & started helping serving people. We have eaten here before but this is the first time Bonnie made an appearance As usual the food was good w/great size portions. As the night wore on we mentioned that it was my wife's birthday. Bonnie went above and beyond what we ever expected & not only brought out a small birthday cake that was big enough for our party of 8 along with/dishes, utensils & the coolest birthday candle. The birthday candle was a flower that burst open w/the candles lit playing HAPPY BIRTHDAY. This was so cool & unexpected that just brought a level of service above & beyond what you would expect from any restaurant Thank you for a nice ambiance, great food, & service above and beyond anything what is normal. On a side note the candle is still playing Happy Birthday in the living room. HOW DO YOU SHUT IT OFF? LOL

LOVE this place! Booked us a reservation for our special day and we had the kindest server. Love…read morethe food and the experience we had. They have an express lunch deal if you're not looking at the main menu on the weekday, and it's affordable! Can't wait to come back when we're in Chicago!

genuinely one of the worst service experiences i've had in chicago…read more my friends and i were seeing each other for the first time in almost a year, so we came in excited and talkative. somehow, this was interpreted as us being excessively intoxicated. we weren't. the alcohol itself was NEVER the issue. restaurants should refuse service when someone is visibly intoxicated. the issue was an assumption about our table becoming a game of telephone among the staff. there appeared to be a staff or shift change, and whatever concern existed about our supposed "intoxication" was passed along rather than independently assessed. we were told we needed to get "food in us" before ordering drinks. we ate, asked again, and ultimately had to ask at least THREE times before being served. even then, our server made a pointed comment about how we finally had "food in us." i've eaten at sushi-san before and ordered drinks before food without ANY issue, so the contrast was jarring. then, when my friend finally received her drink, she was specifically told, "it wasn't you." if it wasn't her, who exactly at our table had been designated the problem, and based on what? apparently there was plenty of communication ABOUT us, just none WITH us. meanwhile, patrons who appeared FAR more intoxicated continued to be served normally. i also experienced an explicitly racist interaction with another patron in the bathroom who appeared considerably more intoxicated than anyone at our table. obviously sushi-san cannot control another customer's behavior, but the contrast was hard to ignore. they eventually brought us a sake bomb to make amends, but it was delivered with such visible reluctance that the gesture felt almost insulting. by that point, we ordered considerably less than planned because we wanted to leave. if someone is genuinely too intoxicated to serve, address them directly and respectfully. don't pass assumptions between employees, make a table repeatedly ask for drinks after meeting your "food in us" requirement, and tell one person "it wasn't you" while leaving everyone else to wonder who had been singled out. we came in excited to see each other after almost a year apart and left early because of the service. for a restaurant at this price point, the way this was handled was embarrassingly unprofessional.

Great sushi, miso and poke bowls. Inexpensive. Highly recommend. Been twice already!!read more

Very cute new spot. We tried egg rolls, miso soup, a maki roll and poke bowl and liked everything!read more

This is a great little spot for Sushi and it is BYOB…read more My husband and I came for a date night and brought a bottle of wine. They do have buckets to keep it chill if it is a white wine. The service was a little slow. The place was busy for dinner and there were only a few staff members so it took a while for us to be able to place our order and for the sushi to arrive. Once the food arrived it was very good. We got the chicken gyoza and the were perfectly crispy with a delicious dipping sauce. I got a Dragon roll and a Spicy crab roll. Both were very good and a good portion size. The spicy crab was actually spicy which was nice. My husband got the deep fried California roll and the salmon crunch Maki. They have some unique rolls on the menu as well as a few options besides sushi. Come here for good sushi and if you want to leave full.

Best sushi in Chicago…read more Seriously. That's my review. It's a gem. You'll agree too when you get here and they are so accommodating of you're gluten free. All ages, whatever your deal, you'll love it.

Food 4.5/5 Sushi rice 4.5/5…read moreService 5/5 Fish is very fresh Sushi rice is cooked very well and seasoned right Most importantly, it's consistent Been here 2 times in a few months and both times were good Authentic Japanese restaurant If you want saucy roll, you won't find any Only downside, they are a little far from my house or I'll 100% go more often

The second place I tried, searching for my Ultimate Tendon place. This time it's Tenjin in…read moreLincolnwood. It's a classy set-ip, just like Nomu in Glenview. And it shows in their food presentation. Instead of the traditional bowl they serve it on, they opted for a plate, with much less rice, 2 small pieces of shrimp tempura, one more than Nomu's singular sensation. But, with more tempura veggies. Side of pickled veggies but surprisingly, did not come with a bowl of miso soup like at Nomu! Or, anywhere else for that matter. Good taste, satisfying but not the Ultimate Tendon I was looking for. The search continues!

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!