I’ve been here a couple times and it keeps getting better. If you went when they first opened you must return for an experience devoid of all the opening jitters , now with impeccable hand roles with Crispy nori for the perfect crunch. The nigiri pieces of Ora king salmon and chutoro were very tasty. The sake pours are generous and the highballs are delicious. Don’t miss out on highball and hand roll happy hours form 5-6 on wed, thur, and Friday! Overall a great Japanese experience for sushi, nigiri, hand rolls ( which are hard to come by) , and perfect highballs! There’s more to offer but I’ll have to wait until next time to try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chai Chang
Highly recommend the strawberry and matcha cream sando and the katsu sando!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Evan Malamis
Absolutely amazing food and experience all around. Don't sleep on this one. The tataki kyuri is the best I've ever had, and that's including three trips to Japan. The hand rolls have perfect fish to rice ratios. Very high quality ingredients. Refreshing and boozy cocktails. Very friendly and engaging staff. Not a single thing I would change for this restaurant.Vegetarian options: I had a couple items that would be considered vegetarian, and those were some of the best items on the menu. I wouldn't say that there is a huge selection of veggie options, but the items that are, are incredible.Wheelchair accessibility: It was right off the street and they have a bar that didn't look too high. I could be wrong though.
Excellent dinner experience. We ordered ala carte, would love to come back for Omakase.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
BIOCARBON13 official
Imagine stepping into a fast food restaurant just like you would imagine from reading Japanese. You may expect someone to be missing a finger! Trust the chef! Enjoy the ride.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shashwat Lad
Well situated restaurant in west loop, which gives you a feel of being in Tokyo. The seating arrangement enables you to see the live preparation of your orders, which makes the experience of dining in more pleasurable. The staff is very respectful, hospitable and knowledgeable. Definitely will visit again.
Service and food was delicious, best sushi I’ve had since I was in Japan! Strawberry matcha sando is just
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Lauryn Carver
This place is stellar.An extremely charismatic and attentive staff paired with fresh and excellent food.I would say maybe the cost per weight of food is slightly high compared to similar establishments, but the quality and vibe surely make up for it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dumplings
Claudia C
Incredible experience of eating well made, fresh, as close to or as authentic you'll find in Chicago. (IMO). The name says it all Yokocho 'alleyways' nicely hidden at The Mews in between Green Street and Halstead. I love the interior of this place and how you sit at the bar surrounding the chefs...you get a front row seat to enjoy the prep and if you see something you like or don't know ask. That's how I tasted a sea scallop hand roll that melted in my mouth. Excellent choices for sake, really cool innovative cocktails on the menu and let's not forget the food. Try the waygu hand roll ... you're welcome. The dumplings, the uni, I could go on and on. Don't forget to end your meal with the strawberry shortcake WOW. Hit the happy hour for a really good price for the hand rolls.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hot Sake, Sushi
Michelle Court-Reuss
My partner and I had an awesome experience this past weekend at Yokocho. Even though they moved our seats around a few times to accommodate the omakase, being served by Mariano was a true pleasure. We had great conversation and courses were paced very well. Cocktails were top notch too - despite a limited sake list. Only nigiri we didn’t care too much for was the scallop with monkfish liver in the center (IIRC).Awesome ambiance, great service, delicious food, no notes. ? we hope to make this spot a semi regular occurrence.
We had the omakase. Fish were delightfully fresh, in the texture it's meant to be, harvested from all over including British Columbia. Chefs would explain the ingredients of each course as well as the preparation process. They didn't shy away from our questions. The meticulously sliced cucumber salad with octopus and radish had the best combination of crunchy, chewy texture. There were many flavor combinations that pleasantly surprised me: the seared fatty tuna with watercress, lemon juice and flaky salt; aged mackerel with oil & red vinegar; lightly cooked tuna with truffle and sharp cheese; quick seared wagyu beef on milk toast topped with flaky salt and arugula. I would return just for the uni/urchin cheesecake with sea salt on the side. I particularly appreciated scooping it into my mouth with the wooden spoon.Drinks were also delicious. I had no doubt from the folks behind Sushi Dokku and Boozebox. Just like these spots, Yokocho had excellent ambience with the sound design and engineering by Pineapple Audio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bart Zimmerman
Perfect!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sameet Sapra
I loved the ambiance here. We tried walking in for a party for 3 and they were fully booked. Understandable for a Saturday night.While we were trying to find another place to eat, one of the members of the staff came out and said that some people were finishing up earlier and they can accommodate us. That was a really nice gesture.Onto the food and drinks, wow, everything was delicious. We ordered a round of cocktails based on staff recommendations, then some of us got the junmai ginjo sake recommended to us.We then ordered anything that sounded remotely interesting. Some highlights:- the cucumber starter with spiced chilis: unexpected flavor combination- the salmon and the tuna nigiri: on par with sushi I’ve had in Japan, very soft and buttery. Would’ve loved to see what high fatty tuna could have tasted like at this restaurant.- the hand rolls were excellent too, a more enjoyable way to eat a combination of flavors.Honestly, order anything on the menu - you won’t be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cecilia X.
I'm a fan! came here for lunch on a weekday and got the sandos for takeout. I got the set of three and chose the chicken katsu, the spicy deviled egg (but I got mine non spicy so with no chili oil), and the strawberry matcha cream. it was honestly better than I expected it to be! all the sandos were really good, nothing ground breaking but very tasty. I will say it is pretty expensive for what it is, but you kind of know that going in for a spot in West loop. sandos are kinda small but not egregiously so. overall I would definitely get these again as like a little treat!
Bernadette C.
I've been wanting to Yokocho for the longest time! I finally got out of work early enough to catch them for lunch before they close and reopen for dinner. I got the Set of 3 Sandos - Spicy tuna, Chicken Katsu, and Match Strawberry. The spicy tuna was definitely holding up to the "spicy" part of its name, if you like spicy, you'll love that sando. It was a little too much spicy for my preference, but it still had a good amount of Tuna in it. The chicken katsu was pretty good too, I was hoping for the chicken to be somewhat warm, but it was on the cold side for sure. I did feel like one half of the sando, the chicken was a little too thin, and the other half the chicken was a good thickness. And finally, the matcha strawberry sando, my absolute favorite! I'm not a huge match fan myself, but the pairing with the sweet cream and fresh strawberries, you just can't beat it. I'm looking forward to coming back and trying their donburi bowls! Service was pretty fast as well, this came out in less than 10 minutes.
I’ve been here a couple times and it keeps getting better. If you went when they first opened you must return for an experience devoid of all the opening jitters , now with impeccable hand roles with Crispy nori for the perfect crunch. The nigiri pieces of Ora king salmon and chutoro were very tasty. The sake pours are generous and the highballs are delicious. Don’t miss out on highball and hand roll happy hours form 5-6 on wed, thur, and Friday! Overall a great Japanese experience for sushi, nigiri, hand rolls ( which are hard to come by) , and perfect highballs! There’s more to offer but I’ll have to wait until next time to try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Highly recommend the strawberry and matcha cream sando and the katsu sando!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Absolutely amazing food and experience all around. Don't sleep on this one. The tataki kyuri is the best I've ever had, and that's including three trips to Japan. The hand rolls have perfect fish to rice ratios. Very high quality ingredients. Refreshing and boozy cocktails. Very friendly and engaging staff. Not a single thing I would change for this restaurant.Vegetarian options: I had a couple items that would be considered vegetarian, and those were some of the best items on the menu. I wouldn't say that there is a huge selection of veggie options, but the items that are, are incredible.Wheelchair accessibility: It was right off the street and they have a bar that didn't look too high. I could be wrong though.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak Tartare, Sushi, Sea Scallop Handroll
Excellent dinner experience. We ordered ala carte, would love to come back for Omakase.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Imagine stepping into a fast food restaurant just like you would imagine from reading Japanese. You may expect someone to be missing a finger! Trust the chef! Enjoy the ride.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Well situated restaurant in west loop, which gives you a feel of being in Tokyo. The seating arrangement enables you to see the live preparation of your orders, which makes the experience of dining in more pleasurable. The staff is very respectful, hospitable and knowledgeable. Definitely will visit again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi, HH Negi-Hamachi Handroll, HH Sea Scallop Handroll, Salmon Sashimi, HH Spicy Shrimp Handroll
Service and food was delicious, best sushi I’ve had since I was in Japan! Strawberry matcha sando is just
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi
This place is stellar.An extremely charismatic and attentive staff paired with fresh and excellent food.I would say maybe the cost per weight of food is slightly high compared to similar establishments, but the quality and vibe surely make up for it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dumplings
Incredible experience of eating well made, fresh, as close to or as authentic you'll find in Chicago. (IMO). The name says it all Yokocho 'alleyways' nicely hidden at The Mews in between Green Street and Halstead. I love the interior of this place and how you sit at the bar surrounding the chefs...you get a front row seat to enjoy the prep and if you see something you like or don't know ask. That's how I tasted a sea scallop hand roll that melted in my mouth. Excellent choices for sake, really cool innovative cocktails on the menu and let's not forget the food. Try the waygu hand roll ... you're welcome. The dumplings, the uni, I could go on and on. Don't forget to end your meal with the strawberry shortcake WOW. Hit the happy hour for a really good price for the hand rolls.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hot Sake, Sushi
My partner and I had an awesome experience this past weekend at Yokocho. Even though they moved our seats around a few times to accommodate the omakase, being served by Mariano was a true pleasure. We had great conversation and courses were paced very well. Cocktails were top notch too - despite a limited sake list. Only nigiri we didn’t care too much for was the scallop with monkfish liver in the center (IIRC).Awesome ambiance, great service, delicious food, no notes. ? we hope to make this spot a semi regular occurrence.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We had the omakase. Fish were delightfully fresh, in the texture it's meant to be, harvested from all over including British Columbia. Chefs would explain the ingredients of each course as well as the preparation process. They didn't shy away from our questions. The meticulously sliced cucumber salad with octopus and radish had the best combination of crunchy, chewy texture. There were many flavor combinations that pleasantly surprised me: the seared fatty tuna with watercress, lemon juice and flaky salt; aged mackerel with oil & red vinegar; lightly cooked tuna with truffle and sharp cheese; quick seared wagyu beef on milk toast topped with flaky salt and arugula. I would return just for the uni/urchin cheesecake with sea salt on the side. I particularly appreciated scooping it into my mouth with the wooden spoon.Drinks were also delicious. I had no doubt from the folks behind Sushi Dokku and Boozebox. Just like these spots, Yokocho had excellent ambience with the sound design and engineering by Pineapple Audio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Perfect!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I loved the ambiance here. We tried walking in for a party for 3 and they were fully booked. Understandable for a Saturday night.While we were trying to find another place to eat, one of the members of the staff came out and said that some people were finishing up earlier and they can accommodate us. That was a really nice gesture.Onto the food and drinks, wow, everything was delicious. We ordered a round of cocktails based on staff recommendations, then some of us got the junmai ginjo sake recommended to us.We then ordered anything that sounded remotely interesting. Some highlights:- the cucumber starter with spiced chilis: unexpected flavor combination- the salmon and the tuna nigiri: on par with sushi I’ve had in Japan, very soft and buttery. Would’ve loved to see what high fatty tuna could have tasted like at this restaurant.- the hand rolls were excellent too, a more enjoyable way to eat a combination of flavors.Honestly, order anything on the menu - you won’t be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I'm a fan! came here for lunch on a weekday and got the sandos for takeout. I got the set of three and chose the chicken katsu, the spicy deviled egg (but I got mine non spicy so with no chili oil), and the strawberry matcha cream. it was honestly better than I expected it to be! all the sandos were really good, nothing ground breaking but very tasty. I will say it is pretty expensive for what it is, but you kind of know that going in for a spot in West loop. sandos are kinda small but not egregiously so. overall I would definitely get these again as like a little treat!
I've been wanting to Yokocho for the longest time! I finally got out of work early enough to catch them for lunch before they close and reopen for dinner. I got the Set of 3 Sandos - Spicy tuna, Chicken Katsu, and Match Strawberry. The spicy tuna was definitely holding up to the "spicy" part of its name, if you like spicy, you'll love that sando. It was a little too much spicy for my preference, but it still had a good amount of Tuna in it. The chicken katsu was pretty good too, I was hoping for the chicken to be somewhat warm, but it was on the cold side for sure. I did feel like one half of the sando, the chicken was a little too thin, and the other half the chicken was a good thickness. And finally, the matcha strawberry sando, my absolute favorite! I'm not a huge match fan myself, but the pairing with the sweet cream and fresh strawberries, you just can't beat it. I'm looking forward to coming back and trying their donburi bowls! Service was pretty fast as well, this came out in less than 10 minutes.