Sushi Kame — Restaurant in Champaign

Good things to say about all the sushi places in town that I've tried. However, if you are a sushi purist, Sushi Kame is the place to go. You can tell by the quality of the rice, the the simplicity, and tradition. Their chefs are humble but have decades of experience. I think they are the longest-lasting sushi restaurant in town. Their first restaurant, Sushi County on Green street, was one of the first sushi restaurants on Campustown Green street that I can remember. Then they closed that one to open up Sushi Kame in downtown Champaign. For townies and those who have been here a while, their restaurants have outlasted Miko, Kamakura, and Hinode. Their miso salad dressing and all their sauces are made from scratch. They put a lot of time, thought, and care into their dishes and how they taste. Many of my friends and their friends who move away from town (California, Hawaii, Florida, Chicago, and elsewhere) come back to visit and make specific plans to visit this restaurant when they are back in town, because they miss the food and its quality. Sushi Kame doesn't have the dark mysterious flashy vibe that some other sushi restaurants have. Regulars would say they are good for casual lunch and dinner with friends, families, and dates. Or even for a quick meal by yourself at the sushi bar, if you need some time to yourself to think, or read. The restaurant is very accommodating for children (their non-sushi entrees include yaki-soba and chicken teriyaki, and I also think these are the best in town). It's a simple traditional sushi place that doesn't advertise because the food...

We were there Saturday night close to 7pm. Waited for a table because they have no tables for 5. Got our table pretty quickly, but they didn't wipe the table, they just took the dishes and cups away. They took our orders in a timely manner, but there's still no serving utensils and cups. After 20 minutes we were still sitting there waiting while other parties who arrived after us were sitted, placed orders, with water and hot towels, and some of them had food already. The waiter told us they don't have cups and sauce dishes and they were still washing them. We knew it was Saturday night and they were busy, but why did they serve the parties who arrived after us first? By the time we got our food it was after 8:15. We ordered 2 bento boxes, some California rolls and dragon rolls. Maybe they had to catch the dragon first to make our food. We've been there before on Saturday nights around dinner rush with 10 people and we had better services. I noticed that the waiters and waitresses there will not help out with each others. We asked for water from a waitress and she completely ignored us. Certain waitress got utensils and food she needed faster than others. Maybe our waiter is new or there's something going on behind the scenes that we don't know. We spent over $120 on food. Sushis are fresh and yummy, but the service sucks big time. Maybe we shouldn't go there during rush hours. Definitely will...

I went to Sushi Kame for my first date (in 2008, when I wasn’t yet 14), and I’ve been back countless times since. As I sat there earlier, waiting for the finishing touches on my pickup order, I looked at the empty tables where I’d sat celebrating with my family (eating delicious bento boxes), catching up with old friends (over an affordable meal of udon soup), even just alone treating myself to a spicy tuna roll.

I’ve never had a bad meal at Sushi Kame, and that didn’t change when I brought it home to celebrate the end of the semester (for anyone reading this next year or next decade, recall that Spring 2020 was not a time when we went out to eat). Picture of us eating on the back porch attached, so my brother who lives elsewhere could eat with us. (It was not warm out but the food was still excellent!!)

If you’re looking for a nice treat for take-out during this weird time, get Sushi Kame. If you can, trade them some of your money for amazing food so they can keep the lights on and their people paid. Champaign will he markedly worse if, when we make it through this, there’s another empty storefront next to the...