MIKAMI IZAKAYA & RAMEN — Restaurant in Chicago

Extremely disappointed with this place. Food was ok but, respectfully, the front end management and our waitress in particular provided abysmal service, showed zero awareness of their failures, and didn’t even have the decency to offer an apology to our face.

We came in for a dinner ahead of the black pink concert. Once they sat us the troubles immediately started. It took us 20 minutes to have our order taken despite trying to wave down any staff that made eye contact. During this we sat and watched and several people seated after us had their orders taken well before.

We ordered an appetizer dish and ramen. The appetizer dish took way too long and the ramen just never came. After half an hour we flagged someone down (not our server because she just could not be bothered to attend to us at all), the front house manager, and asked about the ramen. After we watched five minutes of the staff chatting and likely realizing they never even made our order, our server comes over and tell us the ramen would be another 10-15 minutes (she offered zero explanation as to why it would take them 45 minutes to prepare ramen). We gave them 13 minutes before finally ending this absurdity and we told them we want to close out now.

Once we told them we want to close out now and don’t want the ramen it dawned on some of the employees that the restaurant botched our order and made zero attempts to fix it. The one bright spot was the waitress for the section next to us. She, along with a bus boy i had to flag down to close my check (once again our server was nowhere to be found so we had to resort to flagging down a bus boy), where the only ones to offer an apology for the debacle which was appreciated.

The front end manager never even bothered to walk over once and apologize or offer an explanation for the crazy delay on the food. I get delays happen but both the manager and our waitress just kept us in the dark on the status of our food, we had to flag them down to ask where it is and even then they simply said 10-15 more min without explaining why it was taking so long. The waitress who served us never even bothered to walk over and apologize for totally neglecting us. just terrible all around, your server is terrible and takes no accountability and the same goes for your front end manager.

another thing worth mentioning that just shows you how the front end of this place just have their heads up in the clouds. We were sitting next to a table of four people that were obnoxiously loud. Ok sometimes that’s unavoidable but these guys were watching videos on their phones on full volume for other tables to hear. This genius house manager was just sitting there doing god knows what and it never once dawned on the guy to police the conduct of customers like this. Does he think hearing another table listen to videos out loud on their phones makes my dining experience enjoyable?

owner if you are reading this you have serious issues with your staff over there. This is the first time i have never tipped at a restaurant and not going to lie putting a big x through the tip line felt good. To offer any amount as a tip for the terrible experience we had wound be endorsing the staffs terrible service and give them zero incentive to fix anything.

will not recommend to anyone, how could i. you have to beat these people over the head to get them to realize there’s an issue and they make zero effort to fix it and don’t acknowledge their mistakes at any point meaning they will...

Now I can't really compare M.I.R. to the joints in Japan because the food is still somewhat Americanized to some degree, but there are a few things that makes M.I.R. stand out more than the others. It is under the Izakaya category, so the tempura, tonkatsu and ramen are a must try. Let's run this down... The NAGAIMO ASAZUKE 長芋の浅漬け was on point, I have never had it with passion fruit before, it was very refreshing but the sweet and sour taste was a little bit too strong for me. But it is supposed to be a pickled dish and it is ok. The TEMPURA PLATE 天ぷら盛り合わせ was good, the panko was not too thick but it was fried just a bit too long and it soaked up too much oil, it got soggy when it cooled down. The portion was large but they charge you $1.50 if you want just a little more sauce, dashi is expensive these days. The soft shell crab was standard and quite tasty. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Now about the Tonkatsu, the pork was one of the most perfect fat/lean balanced cut of pork that I have ever had in Chicagoland. Perfect breading, but the sauce is not the regular Tonkatsu sauce, it is a little too sweet for me, and they serve it on top of the pork as it comes out. So make sure you get it on the side so you can enjoy the pork by itself before deciding to add the sauce or not. The Chicken Katsu was bigger than the pork, thigh cut so it was more tender. But personally I prefer the pork version since I like the chew. The curry was the best amongst any Japanese curry place in Chicagoland, and I have tried them all. The flavor is intense and bold, in puree form without being too thick. This is exactly how you should make Japanese curry. The Tonkatsu Ramen was legit, I love the fried garlic bits, the Chashu was perfect, not too thick, same fat/lean ratio as the Tonkatsu. Everyone knows that the broth makes the Ramen Bowl, and the broth here is thick but not oily, you can taste the cartilage and marrow in the thick broth. The type of ramen used was not my favorite, I personally prefer the thick and curly noodles over the straight thin Hakata style, but it will do. This is a solid bowl of Ramen. We will definitely come back and try the other dishes, such as the 一品料理 Entree and the Robata items. Strongly...

I'm genuinely surprised by the high reviews Google--this was easily one of the worst meals I've had in a long time.

My expectations weren't high to begin with, considering the generally subpar quality of Japanese food in Chicago, but we were hoping to find a reliable local spot nearby. Unfortunately, this place missed the mark.

Service: The service was underwhelming, especially given the upscale look of the restaurant. We had an awkward interaction with the host when we arrived, and we saw our waitress once while there (when we ordered our food). Another server eventually brought our bill, but overall, the service felt disjointed and inattentive, considering the ambiance.

Drinks: The only highlight of the meal was my cocktail--it was solid and well-made.

Food: We ordered various items, including Yakitori: Negima, Tsukune, Tsukemen Ramen, and Tori Paitan Ramen.

The Negima skewer, which should include green onions (since "Negi" literally means green onion), had none, and the chicken pieces felt like random thigh bits skewered together. The Tsukune was dry and gritty. There was no effort to Yakitori - this is not authentic Japanese food.

The Tori Paitan ramen was a major letdown. It lacked the signature milky color, flavor depth, and umami. I get that it's not supposed to be as rich as Tonkotsu ramen, but it was missing key components that make for a decent bowl (tare, aroma oil, milk color). The chicken was overcooked and bland, despite being sous-vide.

As for the Tsukemen, I'm not sure what they were trying to do with this--it was just plain odd and disjointed. The only Tsuekemen about it was the broth was on the side.

I can't say for sure, but it felt like some of the ramen components were from pre-packaged products that restaurants can buy from wholesale food distributors.

If you've been to places like Chicago Ramen, Wasabi, or Akahoshi Ramen, you will likely be disappointed here. I almost want to say: save your time. This restaurant needs to put as much effort into its food as it did into...