Came here to celebrate the new year with friends. It was an amazing experience and I'd definitely want to do it again or try something new here at Tamu. I had the omakase experience. The ambiance of the restaurant was very nice, comfortable seating. Service was great! I did not feel rushed out of service. The quality of each fish was impressive. Definitely going back to try their handroll bar read more

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I had a really fun night there last night with the omakase chefs. delicate and delicious courses. will be back soon

The hand rolls were amazing and the staff was very helpful and friendly! Will come again

Everything about Tamu is amazing!!! Ask for Max!!! The ambiance was incredible, our Chef Max was one of the most friendly people I've ever met! Bathrooms were clean, food was incredible, would recommend Tamu to anyone looking for an amazing meal! read more

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Solid & relatively affordable omakase place in the city. Service was good and fish was also good for the price. Only mention is that the dessert was not great. They also do solid hand rolls if you're more into that! read more

Finally, a great hand roll spot in downtown Chicago! I came here once during their soft opening and again some time later. For those who sit at a table instead of counter, they've improved the experience even more by separating the nori from the rice and fish. This prevents the hand rolls from getting soggy. Plus, the details are second to none: the radish in the miso soup are cut in flower shapes, and the hand rolls come with wooden tongs. Fish is high quality, but it can be chopped a bit too finely/overmixed in several of the hand rolls. I prefer less sauce, but that's just me. Portions have become even bigger since they opened, so I feel satisfied after 3 rolls. Service is consistently outstanding. One of the owners personally explained each hand roll to us the first time I went, and he continuously checked on us the second time. My companion dropped her chopstick on the floor, and he brought her a new set before she had the chance to say anything. Go to Tamu for a beautiful, well-designed, modern aesthetic with a natural and bright feel. When you enter, you see the counter with chefs preparing hand rolls. It also features stunning artwork of abstract koinburi made of vintage Japanese fabrics. A bit further in are the tables, and at the back is a stunning space reserved for omakase. Food: 4.5/5 Service: 5/5 Ambiance: 5/5 read more

Tamu - Miso soup - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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the fancy handrolls are really good quality. the regular ones are quite mid, my scallop one was fishy and i greatly disliked the tofu in the toro taku. service is welcoming, ambiance is nice but imo it's a bit much to have 3 separate sections of the restaurant, would've been nice if they let us order a bit from everything instead of deciding on the section when we make the res. read more

Tamu - uni handroll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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*Lunch omakase review* Food came out right away during service and everything was delicious. Good value for lunch omakase since total came out to be $60+ if you're looking for a 30-45 minute lunch then come here. read more

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I came in Friday afternoon for the $48 lunchtime omakase as a party of two without a reservation. We were seated right away. The omakase section of the restaurant has everyone sitting right in front of the chefs. This has to be the BEST value omakase in Chicago :) 13 courses total - soup, salad, mostly nigiri, handroll and a dessert. Every piece was delicious! You have the option to eat the nigiri with your chopsticks or fingers. The servers will have a wet towel in a bowl for you to wipe your fingers after each bite. No soy sauce or wasabi unless you request it but I prefer to eat the nigiri how the chef prepared it. Overall, super clean and calm environment! The chef and servers were very friendly. Parking is always hard in the West Loop so prepare to circle around a bit. I'll definitely be coming back to try the handroll menu and their dinner omakase once it starts! read more

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Artful and elegant. Beautiful lunch omakase. I've been twice and would go again! Great pricing for lunch omakase. read more

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The food here is absolutely amazing!!! I come here at least twice a month and love brining my friends and family. Cute vibes and quality service seal the deal! read more

Tamu - Omakase Menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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What an incredible omakase experience! This beautiful new sushi spot opened only 3 months ago but is already making a big name for itself with its incredible delicious and traditional omakase experience. No need for over the top garnishes, this is quality fish at its finest. The staff is fun, knowledgeable, and incredible helpful. Special shout out to our anime loving chef Max who did an amazing job breaking down each piece and teaching us all about sushi while we enjoyed his edible artwork. The rest of the staff was incredible and helped us find the perfect sake to bring the entire night together. Even if you aren't doing the omakase, the hand rolls are beautiful and no doubt delicious. You'll truly enjoy yourself in this super cute new spot. Enjoy the anime themes playing overhead and throw back some sake. Kanpai! read more

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Delicious. Some of the best sushi I've ever had. Definitely recommend going for lunch if you can. They charge way more for dinner and it's all the same food. read more

Great spot! Have been here several times. Always great food and service is very friendly.

Best hand rolls I've had! Each one is absolutely delicious. Highly recommend for a quick dinner! read more

Tamu - Gin/cucumber drink - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came here after soho house for dinner. Loved their hand rolls. The ambiance is great and I really want to come back for omakase here. The chef was very nice and friendly. We will be back! read more

My first omakase experience in Chicago, the fish is great and fresh. Among the 13 courses, my favorites are kanpachi, madai, tamago, hand roll and the uni and anago from add-on list. Chef is nice and explains fish when he serves. Also ordered mocktail, refreshing! read more

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The hand rolls were soggy for my liking. It would make more sense to raise a dollar more on the price and just get higher quality nori. Also personally didn't enjoy the okra on hand rolls despite liking okra generally. On rolls like unagi where flavors are strong and have distinct texture, it just tastes slimy and out of place. Also generally wish they had more menus that focuses on the fish. The ambiance was pretty nice though and service was attentive though read more

Heard about the recent opening of Tamu, a new hand roll bar and omakase restaurant located in West Loop and had to check it out, especially because the restaurant had just rolled out reservations for their $48 lunch omakase, which is a great deal for high-quality nigiri! As soon as you walk in, you immediately see the hand roll bar (which I will for sure try next time), but for the omakase, you walk to the back of the dining room to a separate area. The restaurant has a cool and modern atmosphere, and every dish tasted great. Loved the progression of the different textures of fish throughout the meal, and it was also nice to get a freshly prepared crab hand roll (temaki), heightening my expectations for trying out the hand roll bar the next time I visit. They're also starting up their dinner omakase soon, so that will be great to try once it's up and running. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a cool and delicious sushi experience in Chicago! read more

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A great bang for your buck sushi handroll spot! Easily walked in a sat at the chef's counter / bar. I do think the classic temaki could use a little more fish in each roll but overall quality was good. My favorites were the toro taku and crispy spicy akami. read more

Tamu - Toro taku - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I'm reluctant to write a good review because I want this restaurant all to myself. Once word gets out how awesome this place is, I will have to fight the lines to get in. First, the concept is something I've been begging for in Chicago. I've spent time in New York and love the casual walk-up hand roll joints there. No reservations, walk in, grab a counter seat, fill out a paper with your order, enjoy, and off you go. . . or linger longer for drinks and dessert. No pressure. It's like fast food sushi but with the highest quality. The front of Tamu is exactly that. It's immediately on the top of my list of sushi/hand roll in the area. My wife and I ordered 14 different items (we eat more than the average person) all were delicious. High quality fish accompanied with perfect spice and added flavor profiles. The chef is from Mako, so it's no surprise the quality and flavor is elevated. I also want to mention that the cocktails were incredible. Service was excellent! They've only been open a couple of days, but the whole staff was flawless. The welcome, the manager, the server, the chef were all professional and friendly. The back room of Tamu will soon be open for Omakase with a reservation. We look forward to trying that the minute they open reservations. For now the front of Tamu is all you need. I can't recommend Tamu strongly enough. read more

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Great lunch omakase experience! I really enjoyed all of the courses and probably my favorite omakase I have tried in Chicago. The chef explained each of the dishes and I enjoyed each of the parings. read more

Tamu is a new sushi spot in West loop. The service was great and everyone was nice/accommodating. The prices are what you would expect in West loop with smaller portions in my opinion. The flavors were very good and I did enjoy my meal although I didn't feel totally full at the end. The restaurant has 3 areas: the hand roll bar, the restaurant area, and the omakase (which needs reservations). We came in for the hand rolls but with the limited seats the wait would be too long. The sake was served in wine glasses which was odd compared to what I'm used to but otherwise the vibe was very nice! read more

Came here the other night. Overall I really like the idea and Chicago doesn't have a hand roll spot. The inside was very chic and fitting. I did the chefs special which had for original hand rollls and one signature. Overall they tasted good but feel like the overall quantity of food was not very substantial at the price point. Left the place still hungry. 4/5 stars as cool concept and I like what they are going for. read more

Tamu - Chef special - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came in on a weekday evening with a party of 4. Bar seating was full, so we ended up sitting at a table. Staff explained that the full hand roll menu was only available at the bar because they don't transfer well to the table. However, the chef selection hand roll set was still available to order at the table. I thought the quality of the hand rolls from chef selection were worth and pricing was fair. Miso soup was served lukewarm. Two of my group's cocktails came with an ice cube that took up 80% of the glass which made it feel like a ripoff. Staff was friendly and restaurant was nicely decorated. Would definitely go back for the hand rolls. Be prepared to wait during busy hours as they don't take reservations. read more

Another hit from Bk. The only thing keeping this from a 5 is the value, but its more like a 4.5 overall. All the rolls were great, but its just really expensive. 7 rolls and I left hungry but didn't want to spend more. read more

Just hit up tamu and wow, what a spot! The sushi here is on another level. The fish was super fresh, and you can really tell they know what they're doing. read more

The food was amazing- my first time trying handrolls. The service from the chefs and staff was pretty subpar for the price. read more

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Really wanted to love the restaurant as I'm a sushi/hand roll enthusiast but the service was awful, server couldn't get our order right, we told the chef the order was wrong then he walked away and looked like he was going to fix it but just disappeared. After waiting for a while, we tracked down someone else to correct our order. Ultimately they told us they ran out of that fish and couldn't fulfill our order and comped the one item we didn't even order. The quality of the fish especially for the more basic salmon and spicy scallop hand rolls were underwhelming. Of course the uni and fatty tuna were phenomenal but you were definitely paying a hefty price for it. The kaisendons for both the tuna and salmon felt so basic and underwhelming especially for the price point that was paid. Overall, for the price we expected a lot more. The food wasn't terrible but portion size was quite lacking especially compared to hand roll shops in LA/Houston that I've been to. I was so excited to find out a hand roll shop opened near my home and thought this would be my regular spot but overall with the service, lackluster food, small portions, I unfortunately will never be back and would not recommend to anyone. After spending over $200 for two, we went to Chinatown to have a 2nd dinner. Really quite disappointing. read more

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Beautiful ambience, staff are wonderful and very friendly! Tamu has some very unconventional style of hand rolls but it adds so much personality to this cuisine! You'll have a great time, great food, and beverage choices! Happy hour on Sundays for those who love sushi and a nice drink during brunch time! Overall a wonderful hidden gem in the west loop! read more

Tamu - Kaisendon the sake don asked a chef to take a picture - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

To start, my first experience from the group is from doing omakase at mako which I more than thorough enjoyed. This newer spot though from start to finish did an amazing job. The host was pleasant and understanding I was late to my reservation, even offering me a spot at the Omakase bar incase I was interested. I was sat at the hand roll bar where I had a great time. I generally spend my time with headphones in as a solo diner and surprisingly today I didn't. The hand roll chefs were engaging and interesting. The host was even knowledgeable on the sake options for the menu which made me really happy because all I wanted was handrolls and sake today. Overall a great experience, I will def be back to check out all the different services. Thanks for making my day!! read more

I've been there twice. Once for omakase and once for the hand food at the bar. I definitely liked the hand rolls more. Omakase was fine but there are better ones in town. Hand rolls were delicious. I plan to return and sit in the middle section and taste their platters, too. read more

I love sushi. I was excited to try this place and was very disappointed. The food has no flavor. They serve hand rolls, which are extremely small fur the price, that have no flavor. It's literally rice and fish. There's no sauces, seasoning or anything else on these rolls that would make it delicious. And for the price, it's just not worth it. We've each had six hand rolls, one specialty roll, one small plate and soup and we left hungry. I don't mind spending money on good food, but the food here was not good. The drink, Kool Kyuri what tasteless. Won't be going back. read more

Everything was fresh. The ambiance was nice and design is sleek. Love the little holder the hand roll comes in. The service was exceptional and our server, Madison, was extremely sweet and attentive. Our rolls came with good proportions, loved the crispy seaweed and slaw. Vell, our chef, was knowledgeable when we had questions about the rolls and made the experience very pleasant. read more

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Amazing handrolls with simple fresh fish and crispy nori. ordered a chef choice handrolls which comes with 5 handrolls and a soup. It was a great deal! read more

Tamu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Best handrolls ever. Each handrolls were made fresh to eat. Reasonably priced. Very happy to have this place in the neighborhood.

I came in without a reservation for lunch and got seated without any issue at the hand roll bar. Food was good and fresh. I always love trying new Sushi places and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and service. Will come back and try the kaisendon. read more

Love Tamu! The hand rolls are fantastic & Paige was so sweet and helpful! Will be back again!

I would like to request the bar to not have "servers." Kazunori has tips included in the price and I wish this place did the same..

I only was there for breakfast, but y'all make me wish I'd come back for dinner! The restaurant is cozy, CLEAN, the service is excellent (shout out to Anthony in the morning!), and the menu was varied and tasty. I was with a family group, so we had all kinds of "wants" for breakfast, and their menu options kept everyone happy! Anthony, the server, was incredible, especially when rude folks tried to bully their way to the front of the line or were just plain rude. He was class and patience! I'll have to return specifically to try dinner, y'all are making me hungry! read more