Japanese restaurants in Chicago
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A
Kaze Sushi
The most refined option on the Roscoe St strip, Kaze’s Tuesday night tasting menu features their signature specialties: inventive sushi and Japanese dishes with a French inflection. The seasonal menu has much to offer in the way of large plates, though sushi aficionados will delight in the creative rolls – like the Blue Fin tuna dressed with pickled onions, burdock root, chives and truffle oil – and simple nigiri cuts, ideal to accent with the house-made soy sauce.
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B
Tsuki
This large urbane sushi destination is beloved for its fresh sashimi and playful approach to traditional rolls. Top picks include the smoked duck nigiri (served on top of the rice instead of rolled like maki) and the intriguing pistachio-salmon teriyaki. Soba and udon noodles and tempura round out the menu, which also includes some vegetarian selections. Most items on the simplified lounge menu are $5 or less, making them some of the best nighttime eats around.
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C
Mirai Sushi
This high-energy restaurant has an even higher-energy lounge upstairs; both are packed with happy, shiny Wicker Park residents enjoying some of the freshest sushi in the area. From the trance-hop electronic music to the young, black-clad staff, Mirai is where true connoisseurs of sashimi and maki (rolled sushi) gather to throw back a few cocktails between savory morsels of yellowtail and shiitake tempura lightly fried to perfection.
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D
Sunshine Cafe
Japanese comfort food fries in the pans at this humble storefront. Gyozas (dumplings), potato croquettes, sakiyuki (a sweet savory noodle dish with thinly sliced beef and veggies) and tonkatsu (breaded pork) are among the most popular dishes. The laid-back staff can help you decide what to order if you’re new to the non-sushi scene.
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E
Yoshi’s Café
Yoshi and Nobuko Katsumura preside over one of the most innovative casual places in town – as they’ve done for two decades – with a changing Japanese- and French-flared menu. They treat all ingredients with the utmost respect, from the salmon to the tofu to the Kobe beef. Service in the low-lit, well-spaced room is every bit as snappy as the food.
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F
Shiroi Hana
Every large city, if it’s lucky, has its Shiroi Hana – the dirt-cheap sushi place where the food is consistently good, if not overwhelming. There’s a $20 all-you-can-eat special from 5pm to 8pm weekdays.
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