Shinsen — Restaurant in Evanston Township

Shinsen is a contemporary Thai and Japanese restaurant that I have been patronizing for a few years now.

One of my go-to orders is their Yakitori (grilled chicken) Don and Yakiniku (grilled skirt steak) Don. I especially like the soy reduction that accompanies the rice, which I think is house-made and brewed for several hours.

Another one of my go-to orders is their Shallot Fried Rice with shrimp. It's unique and not like your traditional Thai or Japanese fried rice. My only complaint is that it comes with only three pieces of shrimp chopped up into little bite sizes. Shrimp fried rice at most, if not all, other restaurants come with at least five shrimps.

I also really like their robata skewers. Among the more ordinary skewers are shrimp, chicken wings, and asparagus while their more exotic skewers, if you are adventurous, are grilled chicken gizzard, chicken heart, and pork jowl (cheek). All of the skewers that I have ordered are good. It's a shame, however, that they have removed their pork belly skewer from the menu.

My second and final complaint, which I think is really important and therefore want to highlight is the way the skewers are packaged for carryout orders.

Every order of skewer is wrapped in aluminium foil and packed in its own styrofoam box, which is wasteful. If they're going to wrap every order of skewer in aluminium foil, then there's no problem with packing them in the same container. I also wish Shinsen would use a more environmental-friendly material rather than styrofoam containers for their skewers. I'm generally not a tree-hugger, but styrofoam is really harmful to the environment, cannot be recycled, and takes an incredibly long time to degrade.

I know that Shinsen cares a lot about presentation for their carryout orders, but there are ways to maintain good food presentation while being thoughtful about wastage and the environment. I hope Shinsen can be more conscious...

This is the first place I've ever been to with such positive and high ratings. It did not disappoint and is in fact more than deserving of being a 5 star establishment. The ambience, service, and food is top quality. It is a byob restaurant and they do not charge a cork fee. Can it get better? Yes it can.

I went with a party of six and we each ordered different platters, all of which were amazing. My favorites were the mussels, black widow roll, and pad thai. The black widow roll had a perfect combination of ingredients and sauce. The mussels had a tasty curry sauce and came with two japanese bun rolls which were exquisite. The pad thai had the perfect blend of sweet and sour with delicate vegetables. The ramen had a comforting taste with a silky broth. The other rolls were also delicious in their own way. The fried rice was alright as it was more on the crispier side and I prefer a softer texture. Lastly, the dessert was exotic and delicate to the taste. Whoever cooked the food made it with passion and talent. I can tell this establishment really cares about serving quality food to it's customers. Bring your own bottles of wine and they'll provide the ice and cups! Our waitress was attentive and kind.

I highly recommend anyone in the area or stopping by evanston to give this place a try. It's one of the best restaurants I've been to and I will definitely be coming again. I want to tell everyone about it and bring all my friends-- that's how amazing...

This was our first date since our kiddo was born, as well as the first day of Phase 4 reopening and my goodness Shinsen did not disappoint. We went there for a BYOB lunch with a reservation and I believe it was the owner that waited on us, or she was knowledgeable and passionate enough to seem like the owner. The hospitality and attention to detail was fantastic. We took her recommendations and ordered off-menu for our appetizer - a hot stone new york strip. (It was called something else) The meat you cook yourself for three seconds on each side and it tasted amazing. We were gifted edamame and matcha cookies. We also ordered the Karaage, Black Dragon, Crispy Spicy Salmon, and two desserts (treat yo self) Japanese Yuzu Panna Cotta, and the Thai Tea Crème Brulee. We finished it all off with Moonlight Jasmin Blossom tea. I would order everything again in a heartbeat. The taste was excellent, everything cooked absolutely perfect. The presentation was beautiful. And even my husband was impressed, Shinsen is doing Asian Fusion WELL. On receiving the bill we were pleasantly surprised with an extremely reasonable price for a four course meal. We are only sad we didn't discover this Evanston...