ROLL UP JAPANESE HAND ROLLS — Restaurant in Chicago

It's still the soft opening so I'm bumping the star by 1 especially since I'd love this place to succeed as it's a nice concept and adds to the neighborhood.

Tried a wide variety between my wife getting set 1 as the special that included edamame (not pictured) and getting bluefin, spicy salmon, and yellowfin hand rolls for myself. The fish was all fresh enough even on a Sunday of a holiday weekend. However serving sizes were pretty small (about 3-4 bites) and ingredients were uneven (the yellowfin the seaweed wrap almost overpowered both the yellowfin and rice). Some of that is the nature of hand rolls as was the each piece coming out separately (kept everything fresh so definitely no complaints there). No wasabi was served (there's an extra charge for wasabi mayo if you want it in mayo form), but we didn't ask so not sure if that's the norm.

But the main reason for 3-stars is we were still fairly hungry and not satiated after $80 before tip on what I'd largely only call "good" sushi and a very no frills service and experience. For the price I'm expecting either a more substantial meal or a more elevated experience since there are other sushi options in the area (although hand rolls less so--more traditional mako and sashimi although this was odd in that usually sushi handroll is a cone and these were more maki style but smaller and...

This place is new so I’m trying to go easy. We want this to succeed as someone in the South Loop.

I am a big sushi person, obviously this place is what it is however, rolls to go we’re teensy. Fish was not awesome, didn’t feel like finishing it.

Additionally, I really advise ginger and wasabi should be in the to go. I read somewhere they don’t offer wasabi in the restaurant which I have never heard of in the hundred sushi spots I’ve been to.

Tiramisu while pretty was not that good.

I think if they take any feedback and go with it, they could have a lot of loyalists but advice would be: invest in great fish (you can keep the smaller portions but the fish quality has to make sense ie how Joto in west loop does handrolls), you have to serve sushi with ginger and wasabi (that’s the most basic expectation), atmosphere was nice (promote mode lighting heavily in the evenings), invest in your staff and sushi chefs bc there’s a lot of complaints about the roll prep and appearance.

Success is determined by accepting and taking feedback. I hope to return in a month or so and see some...

One of my friends recommended this restaurant when I was looking for a place to host my birthday party. The owner was super responsive. I reached out to her a couple of weeks in advance, and she worked with us to hammer out logistics with the birthday decorations and cake prep. She also helped us order some off-menu items we wanted for the party.

During the party, we also ordered items from their menu. We were not only impressed with the overall fish quality, but also the small details they put into things. They provide real wasabi, and serve really aromatic tea from Paris that I've not seen at other restaurants. The 9 of us really enjoyed the experience - we've been to omakases in LA, NYC, and Japan, and their uni and otoro is up there with the greats.

It's so refreshing to find a non-omakase restaurant that puts a high focus on the quality of their ingredients without breaking the bank for us customers. It's also very cool that they do private events! My friends and I had a great time celebrating my birthday, and we will...