Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Sai Cafe

    4.1 (403 reviews)
    Closed 4:00 pm - 10:00 PM
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Sai Cafe Takeout or Delivery

    Sai Cafe Photos

    SAI CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Sai Cafe

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Choir
    Dorothy S.

    Came by for a lovely weeknight dinner on a cold night. I'd never been to their og location, they moved into where Dee's used to be and their new location is just lovely. We didn't need a reservation on a random weeknight, were sat quickly and we started w a hamachi jalapeño app and it was so good! Very fresh hamachi, really delicious. I had a fresh salmon don, my friend had a rainbow roll and chirashi. The fish was so fresh and tasty. Service was great and quick. I would definitely come back here for their quality of fish, I'd also do take away for sure. The menu isn't super creative or new, it's got a lot of pretty standard sushi restaurant items. They do standard items really well, which is dope. My only problem is how expensive it ended up being, but with what's goin on in the world and economy today, this wasn't that surprising. I'll definitely be back! We got parking on the street right out front, pay to park.

    The claw!
    Mancow M.

    Our families favorite sushi restaurant in Lincoln Park for over 20 years. The newlocation is spectacular. The staff never changes so they must be very happy. I mean it's literally the same people for 20 years. And that is saying something yo! We go quite often. Details: our personal favorites are the ginger salad and the volcano roll.

    Volcano Maki
    Minh P.

    Updating my review to give Sai a well-deserved 5 stars. What ultimately changed my mind was this: Sai provides excellent food for a fair price with stellar service and a lovely ambiance. I enjoy myself every time I come to Sai, and am so so glad I ever gave it a try. Every menu item I have tried ranges from good to great, and that includes sushi, hot appetizers, cold appetizers, etc. The staff is very attentive, fast, and kind. I do not think I could ask more out of a dining experience. Would recommend! If you check out the menu and this is within your price range for sushi, give it a shot! You will not be disappointed. My favorites: - Creamy Scallop Maki - Agedashi tofu - Grilled black cod - Soft shell crab

    Gyoza!
    Rebecca C.

    My friends and I were craving sushi so we naturally took to Tik Tok to see what places we could try. Sai Cafe came up a few times and to our surprise, there was a table at 6:30 on a Saturday night! We booked it. We started with the miso soup and the gyoza. Both were very good! I will say- the online menu has the miso soup listed for $2, when the in person menu has it listed for $3 so that was interesting. The gyoza was crispy and well flavored with a wonderful dipping sauce. We shared an order of the veggie yakisoba, which was great. We all ordered some modified rolls and our waiter made sure the rolls were made perfectly. The salmon avocado was delicious, as well as the shrimp tempura roll. I noticed they had an Omikase experience which I would be interested to try next time. Overall- we ordered 6 rolls, 2 miso soups, 1 gyoza and 1 yakisoba and our total was $100 for 3 of us. I felt this place was reasonably priced and offered wonderfully fresh fish and delicious food!

    Dragon Maki, Unagi Maki
    Mariya S.

    A very solid 3 star in my humble opinion. I've decided to give my personal rating to places based on a few criteria's: Location: not a busy street, we were able to find paid street parking easily, not far from downtown. 4/5 Menu: food variety vas great, variety of appetizers was nice, though my friend was unable to find non-alcoholic beverages. I'm 3/5 Flavors: it was good, but nothing special, I was expecting more, the maki rolls were too big with a thick layer of rice. 3/5 Interior: very cute place, not overwhelmed with furniture and other decorations, felt cozy. 4/5 Price: I would say, that comparing price and quality, this place is slightly overpriced, though I didn't mind paying this much if I liked the food. 2/5 Service: the servants were good, no special treatment, but we didn't expect any. I also wanted to say thank you for being open on Christmas Eve, overall I think it was a nice experience, maybe I will come back again if I will be in the area.

    Courtney R.

    After living so close to this spot for the past year, my partner and I decided to stop by and give it a shot! Atmosphere: 5/5 - upon walking in, you're welcomed right away by not only the server staff, but also the chefs and owner! They were all so amazing, gave great recommendations, and overall fantastic Food: 5/5 - we tried a few different things while we were here. To name some of my favorites is the Nigiri (very fresh), the Gyoza (even my boyfriend liked it and he's picky), the Udon (had plenty of meat and the flavor was amazing) and the Flaming Salmon was to DIE FOR! Those are some of the best things to get in my opinion, plus having it paired with some warm Sake is even better! Overall, this place will now be my go to Sushi spot close to home. Since it's literally a crossed the street from me, I'm sure they will see me quite a bit :)

    Halloween Maki And Spicy White Tuna Crunch
    Nick B.

    Sai cafe is just fantastic. Our whole family loves to come here. Everything is just absolutely amazing. The sushi is phenomenal. Gorgeous ambience inside and Sai is just the nicest, almost always in the house walking around and making sure everything is fantastic.

    We had our first date here in 2007 and today is our 12 year anniversary. Great cocktails, great service, great food. You guys are amazing!
    Angeline V.

    Jim and the staff are impeccable. Had our 1st date here in 2007. Today we celebrate 12 years married.

    Sashimi Entree
    Kate L.

    Yes! It's delicious and Yes! It's also fun. Meandered through the sushi and sashimi offers, following the suggestions of the chefs at the bar where we landed. And Yes! Would go here again in a heartbeat. Good value for money and the atmosphere and neighborhood are terrific.

    See all

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mancow M.
    855
    256
    4326

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Amy G.
    77
    22
    0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Chris B.
    217
    20
    0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Annie D.
    1
    139
    14

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    3 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    We love this restaurant so much! It is super kid friendly.It is the freshest fish you can get.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nick B.
    206
    28
    78

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kate L.
    1
    21
    45

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Outstanding always. Great service, fish, ambience etc. can't go wrong. Sit at the bar like a man

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Glean L.
    0
    197
    15

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Great neighborhood sushi place. Always reliable and fresh. Owner and servers are friendly and attentive.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Been coming to this place for 16 years, in fact it's where I had my first date with my wife. thanks Jim and staff!!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nay U.
    0
    24
    36

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    We enjoyed the food was very good. I was impressed with the service. We will definitely go back.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Spicy tuna crunch no chop. That's all the needs to be said. Mr. C

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Jim B.

    Jim B.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 11

    Ask the Community - Sai Cafe

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Sushi Bars 25,788 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    SUSHI DOKKU Japanese Restaurant - Absolutely fresh and delicious!! I highly recommend.

    SUSHI DOKKU Japanese Restaurant

    (693 reviews)

    $$

    West Loop, Near West Side

    If you're looking for some great nigiri combinations, Sushi Dokku is the place for you! Recently…read morecame back for their restaurant week menu, and it was great! I chose the Deviled Eggs, Tuna Truffle nigiri, Hamachi nigiri, Sake nigiri, Crispy Maguro roll, and mochi (we tried all the flavors - espresso, salted caramel, passion fruit, and strawberry). Every bite was amazing - but beware, the Crispy Maguro definitely packs on the heat. I also recommend the Snow Maiden sake if you like a sweeter sake. We dined in the Booze Box section and it was super vibey, but not too loud where we had to yell over the music or anything. The servers were attentive, will definitely keep going back (especially for Restaurant Week)!

    We decided to try a new spot while downtown last week. We've heard many good reviews for Sushi w…read moreand decided to give it a shot. We got: Tuna nigiri: 6.5/10 it was fine for the price I was expecting a much fattier tuna. Kaarage: 7.5/10 loved the salt and guchuyang but I wish it was boneless. Okinomiyaki: 6.5/10 would have been better if all the pieces had the sauce. Dragon roll: 6/10 very basic almost like grocery sushi roll Blue crab roll: 6.5/10 it was fine wish there was more portion wise Fuji fu: 7.5/10 it was good but he gave us forks which made it very difficult to eat. The service was fast and everyone was nice. The restaurant is small and good for couples since they have a lot of seating for 2. It is pretty dark and romantic but very noisy.

    Tamu - Crunchy spicy akami

    Tamu

    (94 reviews)

    West Loop, Near West Side

    The staff are super nice and lovely, and the ambiance is cool and thoughtful but not pretentious…read more We tried these really refreshing cucumber and yuzu sodas which were awesome. However the food was generally underwhelming. I wanted to love this place sooo much and I'm not sure if we ordered wrong... We tried the tuna tartare which was good, the mixed kaisendon which was also not bad, but the biggest let down were the hand rolls surprisingly. We tried 7 different rolls: the salmon and tuna hand rolls as well as the chefs set of five hand rolls, and all 7 hand rolls we were served were chopped up fish covered in sauces, no real bites of whole pieces of fish in any of the 7 hand rolls we tried. If they change up the hand rolls so they contain real bites of fish versus chopped fish, I'm sure it would be so much better because the quality is there!!

    Came here for a date night and overall had a nice experience. The ambiance is great, very clean,…read moreintimate, and perfect for a night out. Service was solid, and our waiter gave thoughtful recommendations that helped us decide what to order. We ordered the sashimi sampler and the ninniku crudo to start. My husband got 6 handrolls and I had 4. We both had the otoro handroll for the premium temaki options. The handrolls came out at a really good pace, which we appreciated since it let us enjoy each one fresh. The fish itself was definitely fresh and everything was well prepared. My favorite handroll was the spicy hotate. The otoro temaki was good, but we have had better otoro elsewhere. My husband also got the sake temaki and mentioned that the salmon was a bit chewy. Overall, nothing really stood out as particularly memorable. Our bill ended up being close to $200, and while the food was good, it was not quite mind blowing for that price point. Overall, a solid spot with nice ambiance and fresh fish, just not necessarily a standout for us.

    Mako

    Mako

    (191 reviews)

    $$$$

    West Loop, Near West Side

    If Mako is the benchmark for Michelin-starred restaurants, the bar has been set monumentally high…read more Beneath the chaos of the Pink Line lies the intimate setting Chef BK Park so carefully envisioned. Upon entering, you are greeted and warmly escorted to your seats. They suggest arriving a few minutes early so as not to disrupt the timing. I opted for seats at the sushi bar to get the full experience of an omakase. The service was impeccable and methodical, with each dish presented in perfect harmony. The carefully curated menu rose in a crescendo of umami-rich bites--each course striking a delicate balance of anticipation for the next bite and savoring the lingering flavors on the palate. It is nearly impossible to select our favorites, but the standouts were the scallop, miso cod, and the otoro. We came here to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday, and the staff commemorated the occasion with a personalized menu, signed by the entire team. This was truly an unforgettable experience and I would recommend Mako to anyone seeking the same.

    Mako was truly a 10/10 experience from the service to the food. The restaurant is an intimate space…read morewith limited seating. We were seated at the bar in front of the chef. The staff was polite, friendly and accommodating to our needs. The food was absolutely fresh and delicious, prepared perfectly. We tried a variety of dishes, over 20 different courses. Some standout dishes were the Chutoro tuna, and the cod which sat in an amazing broth. My only complaint is that halfway through the courses, the chef mentioned a special salmon and truffle course that he offered to us. Of course, we said yes, but we later found out that it was an additional charge added to our bill. I didn't appreciate that it was framed as something special rather than as an add-on to our experience. Overall, Mako was a great Michelin Star experience, offering authentic Japanese omakase!

    Sai Cafe - sushi - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...