Kayao Restaurant — Restaurant in Chicago

The Midwest has always had a contentious relationship with seafood, both coastal regions in America just dominate in terms of ease of access for fresher ingredients, the Midwest just doesn't have that luck geographically, and If you've been to the Mediterranean where freshness is king, the comparisons get even more drastic. However every once in a while a gem appears, and I really haven't had more exemplary seafood in Chicago than in Kayao. The Ceviche Clasico had smooth, silky pieces of fish in a pool of delicious, acidic, tangy, lemon-lime mixture. The combination of crisp corn and boiled corn made for some great bites. Exceptional dish. The tiradito Nikkei was similar to the ceviche but with the added sweetness of the passion fruit to even out the tartness. There were some fishiness to this dish, but it was spectacular nonetheless. The Pulpo Parilerro was a smokey, tender, evenly sliced pile of octopus that is some of the best I've had in Chicago, only a few spots come to mind that rival octopus like that. The potatoas where perfectly cooked to a point they were fork tender and the accompanied sauce made for a dish with a great contrast of bold smokey flavors and a slightly sweet and rich sauce to top it off. The branzino was expertly cooked and filleted, the rich escabeche sauce complimented it well, I just wish it was a little more toned down. That said it is still a fantastic dish worth getting by itself. The short rib was another classic done perfectly, the meat was tender and had an amazing crust while retaining a lot of juiciness, and the potato leek puree is one of my favorite potatoe based forms of food I've had, I could eat that for every meal. The dessert was a simple panna cotta, not being overly sweet with a nice surprise of acid in the form of apple cider vinegar. Honestly blown away at how good this place was, I can scrutinize some minor things but this has been one of the best restaurants I've been to and especially more impressive it was seafood that was the star of the show. Highly recommended, no...

Let me just say Bomb 💣 Kayao has only been open about six months, but boy is it popular. We didn’t get a chance to sit outside, unfortunately. But inside is very swanky. Our server was amazingly attentive and very nice. Peru offers many types of foods depending on region. I don’t think when people think of Peruvian these offerings are typically what comes to mind. Our server told us Kayao is off the port of Peru. Lots of seafood and after World War II Asian sailors would sail by.

We had to start with their rolls 🤤 which change depending on what’s fresh. Fish of the day tartare, shrimp tempura, yuzu acevichada sauce. Amaze! I don’t stop to take pictures the way I used to, but that is the one thing I managed to take a photo of haha. Next, we enjoyed the bok choy salad. Entree we tried the short ribs which were to die for. To finish, we had an ice cream made from, I forgot what it was called, a fruit they said, similar to avocado from the Amazon. It was made into an ice cream and they said naturally without adding or changing it. It taste like butterscotch. Omg I’ll be darned if it didn’t taste like bomb butterscotch ice cream. We were trying to think to ourselves what would we have thought if they didn’t tell us anything. After putting it out of my mind, I couldn’t help but think of buttery… Caramely Butterscotch! Hahaha This place was absolutely great. Service was incredible. Cannot wait to come back and sit outside. Have more rolls, try ceviche, LOMO CHIFERO, beef rice bowl and CHAUFA rice with duck the Peruvian seafood risotto also sounded amazing

Yo 10 out of 10 So many more things to...

After reflecting on my initial menu browse, I can’t say my experience surprised me.

A friend of mine made a reservation for our first visit to Kayao. I showed up about 20 minutes early, sat at the bar to grab a drink (per the host’s suggestion), and waited. Once my friend arrived, we stayed at the bar, catching up, assuming we’d be called to our table after checking in. Fifteen minutes past our reservation time, I asked the host about it. He said something along the lines of, “It should be ready soon, but I’m not sure when the party will leave.”

What’s the point of making a reservation if your table isn’t ready shortly after you arrive? Just shy of 45 minutes later, we were finally seated.

The food itself was good, and I appreciated the hustle from the staff in black shirts. Without missing a beat, they were clearing dishes, refilling waters, and staying attentive the entire visit.

What rubbed me the wrong way—and ultimately led to a three-star review—was how the night ended. The host offered us a complimentary dessert to make up for the table delay. Nice gesture, and the custard we were given helped smooth things over. But when he circled back to ask how it was, he immediately tried to upsell us on another dessert. Whatever goodwill was built evaporated right there.

It didn’t help that while he could easily rattle off the flashier, pricier dishes, he had to reference the flimsy paper menu for everything else.

For an average spend of about $40 per person, I walked away...