Japanese Cuisine in Chicago Suburbs – Kurumaya 🏮

This is a long-standing favorite Japanese spot in Chicago. Before the pandemic, I often came for their lunch sets due to work, and occasionally for yakitori at night. Post-pandemic, I’ve only been twice for lunch—quality remained steady. This was my first evening visit for drinks since COVID. You can feel the changes: the counter seating and menu boards are gone, though business still seems okay. Food Notes: The first 5 photos (cover included) are from pre-pandemic visits. The sashimi is average—feel free to skip. It’s more of a drinking spot, so the fish is passable. The fried shrimp and glazed yakitori are still consistent—nothing spectacular but reliable. From the 6th photo onward—this visit’s shots: 🥢 Stir-Fried Beef Tongue – As beef tongue, it’s a 0/10 (too salty, tough, thin). But as a drinking snack, it’s 100/10—salty = flavorful, chewy = satisfying, perfect with scallions and beer. This one dish alone got me through three beers! 🍻 🔥 Salt-Grilled Skewers – Pork belly, chicken, and chicken skin. The meat was great: chicken tender and springy, pork belly well-marbled and not greasy. I still prefer glazed chicken skin, but it seems unavailable now—a shame. 🍤 Fried Trio – Karaage, lotus root tempura, fried oysters. All decent and consistent. Fried food + beer = classic combo. Dipping the lotus root in soy sauce made another pint disappear fast! 🐚 Sake-Steamed Clams to finish—clams were tender, broth rich and soothing—perfect to balance the beer and heavy bites. Final Take: Lunch = affordable, tasty set meals (last photo is their tonkatsu lunch set). Dinner = cozy izakaya for gathering with friends over drinks. Japanese customers often nurse one skewer while chatting for hours—but if you’re there for both food and drinks, it’s easy to overorder and overdrink! In the end, over a third of the bill was just drinks 🍶😅. 📍 Address: 1201 E Higgins Rd, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 #CaptureTheMoment #FoodTemplate #JapaneseFood #Yakitori #Chicago #ChicagoLife