Sushi Suite 202 - Lincoln Park Chicago by Sushi by Bou — Restaurant in Chicago

It could have been 5 stars but it could also have been 1 or 2. We booked the place last minute as my wife had a sudden sushi craving, I had the place on the list and saw they had a table available at 5pm and booked it at 4:40pm. We were like 25 minutes away so I texted the restaurant to let them know that we would likely be 5 minutes late and check that was ok. They replied and said that was fine and thanks for letting them know.

When we arrived at the restaurant/room the bartender half opened the door and told us that we had the wrong place, I explained that we had a booking under my name at 5pm and he insisted that we did not and that we probably had the wrong place since they have several locations in the city. I showed him the booking and he was surprised, I told him we even texted them and they confirmed and he said that was not them that number is central for all their locations and based in New York. Weird but this sounds like their problem since that is the number listed in the booking system and mentioned to contact for any details... How am I suppose to know that?

He then asked us to wait while he checked his system and closed the door leaving us waiting in the hotel corridor in front of a closed door. I do not know but considering this is a 140 USD minimum per head I expect him to let us go in and discuss this in a better environment specially once he saw the booking confirmation on my phone. Weird service.

A lady came out and explained us that since we booked last minute they did not receive the reservation on time because there was a delay in the system. I call BS on this since I work in the industry and reservations reflect inmediately in 99.9% of systems plus they send an email alert too they just probably were distracted talking to each other and did not check the system. She said we had to wait outside in the lobby while the chef was getting ready. Not at their bar while enjoying a welcome drink as an apology no, at the lobby next to the stairs. At this point this was between insulting and humilliating and if my wife would not have had that crazy craving I would have asked for the money back and leave. Not a single apology, nothing, zero, nada. A tonne of excuses and a tonne of blaming systems or whatever. Listen, I do not care, this was your fault you represent a business and things went wrong on your side you should apologize to your clients and not let them waiting behind a closed door in a corridor when you have a bar and a sofa INSIDE your restaurant. What kind of joke is this?.

In the end, once in, we had an amazing meal with Chef Mike, he was an absolute legend and did his best to recover the situation, he was knowledgeable, explained all the meals, had great conversation, engaged, apologized several times even though this situation was probably a challenge for him too and he made us think about coming back.

I love the concept, I love the food and I wanted to love the experience but service was...

Elbow to elbow at the eating area, it was very tight and crammed. It truely was an "intimate" experience considering you're shoulder to shoulder with strangers at the eating area. I felt like I had no personal space especially because the server kept coming around from behind me and bumping into me EVERY time she came by to change the plates or wipe down eating utensils. This seemed pretty unprofessional considering everything with COVID. I found it strange that you are given chop sticks but when i picked them up to eat with them, i was asked not to use them and they are only there "for instagram". So chopsticks are only placed in front of you for the purpose of pictures? I was told to eat with my hands. I was pretty disappointed in the food because they asked if any guests had preferences/allergies and I said I didn't like Wasabi. I asked if they could just make mine without it and they said no. I found this extremely off-putting since you're paying so much money for the experience. Each piece is made separately so i dont understand why this was an issue. They made all of my pieces with Wasabi and they also put soy sauce on everything which I found to take away from the natural flavor of the fish. All I tasted was salt and Wasabi. Also, during the entire dinner, the group before us hung around and they were getting wasted and doing shots. This was annoying on an entirely different level because the space everyone is in is about the size of a studio apartment and the girls were literally screaming and being obnoxious. My friends and I could not hear what the chef was saying half the time. I feel like this was so over-priced considering it cost me about $200 just for myself to have one drink and the meal. We were offered regular water or sparkling water and my friend was charged for the sparkling water. It was NEVER disclosed to us that there was an additional cost. I will never be back and I was extremely...

this is a 3.5 to 4 for me right now. mostly because it is the only omakase joint i have been to, though i have had plenty of sushi in Chicago, the US at large, New Zealand, and Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima). so lacking a baseline on omakase.

most of the stars knocked off for the general ambience. it's a neat idea, but i feel like something a little too fabricated and obviously tailored to the insta-crowd and people's obsessions with speakeasies in this city and in general.

the fish and flavours of each of the pieces of nigiri were pretty excellent and the chef seemed to have a passion for the craft.

but on the negative side, the rapid fire 17 courses (aka 17 pieces of nigiri) didn’t give almost any time to really deep dive into his sourcing of fish, his thought process behind food, and build a rapport with the chef to come away with a unique experience.

the aesthetic sloppiness of the rest of the waitstaff and even worse with the hotel staff below just lead to an overall diminished view of the place. it was also freezing in the small space. i understand there might be issues with making it too warm for the raw fish, but still—it is Chicago during winter after all.

my bf took me for my birthday, and to be honest i had some great food but there was nothing above and beyond from an experience standpoint. and for the price, there could have been some more interesting variety overall.

the cocktail list seemed incongruent with the food, so i am glad we didn’t get any alcohol pairings. and again, i encounter puzzled looks from a waiter when asking for a simple classic daiquiri (one of the most common cocktails of all time; not the slushy kind), something i do not expect from a higher end fine dining place.

post-dinner, the lounge area just seems increasingly crowded and awkward.

curious how i’ll feel in retrospect after trying some more omakase...