Itoko Chicago Restaurant Week – My Top 1 Japanese Spot

I tried a lot of places during Restaurant Week, and many just recycled less popular dishes into their set menus — but Itoko was different. Every dish was a hit, with a couple being truly outstanding. Plus, for the first time ever, I left a Japanese meal feeling full 😅 Honestly enjoyed it more than Sushisan. 🍽️ $45 dinner for 4 courses — between two people, we could try almost everything. Great value! 🥒 Blistered Shishito Peppers & Cucumber Salad – Peppers were okay, better than Boqueria’s but not amazing. Cucumber was tangy and sweet — decent starters. 🍤 Fried Shrimp Sushi & Salmon Tempura Nori – The fried shrimp sushi was a winner! Crispy shrimp, fresh cucumber bits cutting through any richness — my friend called it the best dish of the night. The salmon tempura nori looked beautiful but was too oily — the nori absorbed too much oil, and the salmon lacked seasoning. Just ended up feeling greasy 🙃. 🌟 Uni & Salmon Hand Roll (added on) – HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Creamy, sweet uni with melt-in-your-mouth salmon — like a savory mousse but not heavy at all. Definitely ordering more hand rolls next time! 🍚 Main: Seafood Donburi – By this point we were already pretty full, so maybe that affected our impression. The seafood was generous, but it didn’t “wow” us. Maybe the chicken katsu rice would’ve been a better pick 🤔. 🍧 Dessert: Soy Milk Pudding & Pineapple Sorbet – The sorbet was tart and refreshing, perfect if you got greased out earlier. But the soy milk pudding was even better — creamy with a lemon curd base. Loved it! 💰 With the extra hand roll and tip, it came to about $80 per person. Totally worth it for delicious, filling Japanese food — rare combo! Just wish it weren’t so far from my place 😂 #Chicago #ExploreChicago #ChicagoRestaurantWeek #ChicagoEats #JapaneseFood