Category Archives: Sushi Bars

Naoki

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***** (5 stars)

I’ve had sushi all over the world, and some of it at very high end places. It seems most great cities have some exciting sushi places that focus on high quality sashimi, so I’ve always been surprised that I couldn’t find a similar experience in Chicago, even though I tried all the highly rated suspects. So I was happy to see that Naoki now fills that gap.

Located in the former private dining room of L2O and Intro, and accessible only by literally walking through the kitchen, Naoki is a refined and fairly intimate space with a small sushi bar and about a dozen tables.

Clearly the thing to have here is the Naoki-Style Sashimi. These dishes each consist of five pieces of fish dressed with a subtle drizzle of sauce and topped with one or two morsels to enhance them. The two standouts were Salmon with spicy Ginger Soy and Endive, and the Hamachi with Aja Panca, Scallion and Ponzu. These range from $15 to $24 and are well worth the price.

The Edamame “Guac” was an interesting appetizer; it’s fluorescent green, packs a slight kick, and is served with rice crisps. Tuna Tacos were fine, but the two very small tacos seemed extremely overpriced.

The regular sashimi offerings we had and the rainbow roll were no different than you’d get at many other restaurants, so stick with the Naoki-Style sashimi.

A thoughtful list of cocktails, sake, and some superb Japanese whiskies is supplemented by a short but excellent list of wines by the glass, and more offerings by the bottle. Standout beverages included the Six Corner Sling and the Nikka Taketsuru whiskey.

Service was helpful and attentive. Noise levels are energetic but not unreasonable.

Naoki
2300 N. Lincoln Park West
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 868-0002
http://www.yelp.com/biz/naoki-chicago

Yoshi Sushi Bar

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*** (3 stars)

This is a perfectly fine neighborhood sushi bar. Fish quality is good, and the preparations are professional.

All of the fish selections for the sashimi lunch were fresh tasting and it was a nice assortment. There is a large assortment of rolls available as choices on the sushi lunch.

The Tuna Kobachi was a fairly small serving, and the very thinly sliced avocado was a bit hard to deal with, but the flavors were good.

Service was very friendly and welcoming.

Yoshi Sushi Bar
11127 W. Colonial Dr
Ocoee, FL 34761
(407) 347-0521
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yoshi-sushi-bar-ocoee

Seito Sushi

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**** (4 stars)

This is a beautiful restaurant, both inside and out. Like many of the Baldwin Park restaurants it has a great sidewalk dining area that is covered and shaded.

There is an extensive list of interesting sushi rolls, and an even more extensive “roll-odex” you can request.

We started with garlic lime edamame, a very generous serving with an equally generous amount of garlic. We also tried the tuna kobachi, which was less generous, and was missing the usual avocado. It consisted of spicy tuna cubes with a few pickles; oddly, the pickles seemed more American than Japanese.

We tried four rolls, and liked them all. The most interesting was the Smoking’ 808, which was served under a smoke filled lid that imparted an exotic flavor.

There are several excellent sushi restaurants in the area, but unlike some of the others, Seito is open for lunch on Sundays, and it is certainly a pleasant spot to enjoy a relaxed meal outside.

Seito Sushi
4898 New Broad St
Orlando, FL 32814
(407) 898-8801
http://www.yelp.com/biz/seito-sushi-orlando-3

Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge

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**** (4 stars)

This is a beautiful, large, expensive looking space, so it’s not surprising that prices are pretty high. I loved the way each item was served a bit more nicely than in the other sushi  places in town: miso soup was in a large, stylish bowl, and was a generous serving. The salad that came with lunch was an elaborate collection of mixed greens plus a couple of slices of peppers served with a much more delicate dressing than the normal ginger glop.

But when the sushi lunch set arrived, it looked pretty stingy: just four pieces of nigiri, and four coins of California roll. Not much for $14.

Fortunately I’d ordered another roll, the Mellow Yellow, and it was huge, with ten large slices for its reasonable $7 price.

I loved the tea service, with Genmai tea (the kind with the puffed rice) in a glass pot, served with a tiny glass cup and saucer.

Service was friendly, although if the place had more than a half dozen customers I’m not sure how the relatively slow sushi prep would have kept up.

Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge
332 E Illinois St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 527-2888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/niu-japanese-fusion-lounge-chicago

Naru Sushi Bar

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*** (3 stars)

“Hi, I’m your sever today. May I bring you a beverage?”

“Green tea, please.”

“I’m sorry, we don’t have green tea. Only Lipton iced tea.”

Uh oh. A Japanese restaurant without green tea. Seriously?

That’s not the only thing in somewhat short supply at Naru. A quick look at the sushi and sashimi list will reveal that almost everything is based upon tuna or salmon. Because that’s basically what they have.

And someone sure likes cream cheese–nearly every roll includes it. In fact one entire section of rolls has not a single offering without cream cheese.

Despite all of this, we had some fairly good food during our visit. The best item was the salmon carpaccio, which included, citrus, oil and scallions.

The sushi rolls were unimpressive, but the hand roll, although pricey at $8, was good, and I liked the way you can easily add optional ingredients such as salmon skin for a very reasonable price.

Still, lunch for two came to $100 without alcohol, and with no real home runs.

The decor of the place is great, the sound track is upbeat and trendy, and the service is friendly.

But I can’t help wondering about a Japanese restaurant with no green tea.

Naru Sushi Bar
8441 International Dr
Ste 290
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 801-0005
http://www.yelp.com/biz/naru-sushi-bar-orlando

Tamari Japanese Kitchen

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***** (5 stars)

This very stylish and excellent Japanese restaurant is in an unlikely mall location.

The real test of a Japanese restaurant is in the quality and visual appeal of the sashimi, and Tamari passed with flying colors. The tuna sampler appetizer was a great example. I was expecting some piles of tartare, but instead received nine pieces of sashimi, including creamy white tuna, lightly seasoned albacore, and superb big eye tuna.

They also have the usual novelty rolls, fried food and noodle dishes, which were all good, but the sashimi is where it’s at.

Efficient service and a great vibe make this the go to spot for sushi in the southwest ‘burbs.

Tamari Japanese Kitchen
639 E Boughton Rd
Ste 105
Bolingbrook, IL 60440
(630) 863-7288
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tamari-japanese-kitchen-bolingbrook

Oysy Sushi

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Exterior

Sashimi: snapper, hamachi, salmon, eel sushi

White Dragon – white tuna, shrimp tempura, yellow tobiko, cucumber, avocado

California Sunset – imitation crab, avocado, mayo and cucumber, seared salmon, topped with a shies leaf and ikura, miso dressing

Emerald – lightly saute‘ed scallop, asparagus, cucumber, green caviar, and spicy sauce

Summer – Tuna, masago, red snapper, cilantro, avocado, green pepper, chili oil, spicy sauce, lime juice

***** (5 stars)

This stylish and spacious restaurant on Grand can get very busy, so the best place to eat during the summer is on the sidewalk. The menu is extensive, with many rolls, some cooked dishes, and all the sashimi and sushi selections you can imagine.

Beer selections are limited, but there are some nice wines and quite a few sakes.

We liked everything we had, so much that we couldn’t pick a favorite. We tried:

An assortment of sashimi: snapper, hamachi, salmon, and eel sushi. The eel was the best I’ve had.

White Dragon roll – white tuna, shrimp tempura, yellow tobiko, cucumber, avocado. A very attractive roll, and the white tuna was excellent.

California Sunset roll – imitation crab, avocado, mayo and cucumber, seared salmon, topped with a shies leaf and ikura, miso dressing. This roll was best eaten disassembled.

Emerald roll – lightly sautéed scallop, asparagus, cucumber, green caviar, and spicy sauce. The asparagus provided a nice crunch.

Summer roll – Tuna, masago, red snapper, cilantro, avocado, green pepper, chili oil, spicy sauce, lime juice. This one probably had the best overall combination of flavors, which united to be more than the individual components.

So far this is the best sushi place I’ve found in downtown Chicago, and I am including the high end names in that comparison.

Service was prompt and friendly.

Oysy Sushi
50 E Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 670-6750
http://www.yelp.com/biz/oysy-sushi-chicago

Japonais by Morimoto

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IMG_7500

**** (4 stars)

This is certainly one of the better sushi restaurants in Chicago, although it perhaps can’t live up to the prestigious name attached to it. The decor and vibe of the place is top notch, from the downstairs bar (the Blue Room) to the upstairs dining rooms.

The food features many of the items you’ll find at Morimoto in New York City and as far as I could recall they were nearly identical. Fish quality is, of course, excellent.

We had the multi course omakase, which is a bit different than other omakases in that you can pretty much pick your own items, so it’s just a way of bundling the items you’re interested in, at a reasonable price of $130 per person. Portion sizes were large, and we definitely left feeling well stuffed with sushi!

The best item we tried was the hamachi crudo, thin strips alternating with pimentos. The hamachi tacos were also quite good.

A few of the specialties didn’t live up to expectations, including the Caesar salad, which just was voted best salad in Chicago, but seemed rather pedestrian to me. Perhaps it’s just that I don’t like Caesars that are served deconstructed, leaving the prep work to me.

The vaunted Duck Duck Duck was also a bit lackluster, although there was nothing wrong with any of the (more than 3) duck preparations on the plate.

We also had octopus, both raw (supposedly live, but I think the octopus would disagree) and cooked, beets, a large platter of sashimi, and spicy crab legs.

The trio of sorbets was a nice light way to end the meal.

The wine list is extensive, and there is a nice selection of Champagnes, the perfect match for sashimi.

Service was friendly and attentive, although several times during the meal there was an attempt to deliver two dishes at once, a physical impossibility on such small tables and with such large dishes. This is apparently caused by them having three kitchen and no coordination between them, which seems very odd for a restaurant of this caliber.

Overall I enjoyed the meal, thought it was reasonably priced for what it was, and would go back. But I’m still looking for a truly great Chicago sushi restaurant.

Japonais by Morimoto
600 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 822-9600
http://www.yelp.com/biz/japonais-by-morimoto-chicago-2

Momotaro

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***** (5 stars)

I was expecting this restaurant to be crowded, noisy and with forced service, but it was none of these. Even though by the time we finished dinner it was full, it didn’t seem crowded, and noise levels never made it the least bit difficult to converse. Most importantly, our server, Brennan, was the opposite of stiff. He made the whole meal a fun and exciting experience, with excellent recommendations, deep knowledge of the menu and wine list, and a clear passion for what he is doing.

We loved the quality of the fish in the sashimi platter (which is called an omakase, but isn’t really what that is, traditionally).

Crab with shishito peppers was also very good.

My favorite dish was the bacon wrapped quail eggs from the robata grill. With three eggs on each of two skewers, this is a very shareable item.

The flan-like butterscotch dessert was also delicious.

The interior design of the restaurant is beautiful, and reasonable pricing makes it a place I will return to often.

Momotaro
820 W Lake St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-4818
http://www.yelp.com/biz/momotaro-chicago-3