Ora — Restaurant in Lake View Township

“If I could give ZERO stars, I would” headahh lol. Nah, but we got this new girl that just started. Super nice and sweet. Was honest about it being her first day; no biggie, we told her she was doing great… so I spoke TOO soon. People coming in after us had finished eating, paid, and left while my girlfriend and I sat there nearly two hours. We spent 6 hours in the car getting to Chicago from MN and just wanted some good sushi. At this point, we just WANTED to pay for the edamame we received an hour ago and leave. We finally caught her attention (we had a feeling she was ignoring us, she was serving customers right next to us) and asked if the rolls had been made yet, to which she rudely cuts us off and responds with “NOTHING’s been made yet”. Great! Let’s not waste their time beginning the rolls and just pay for what we received… no. A manager came over and offered us free food, twice. We declined the first time— this lady was actually very sweet, felt bad and accepted her last offer. Somehow our rolls were made right then and there (waitress missed it and never checked in with the chefs, I guess). I will say by the end of it I was getting antsy and just wanted to leave. Again, we spent 6 hours roadtripping and found Ora with good reviews… wasn’t so much a great “aura” for me. I only hope the waitress we had improves her professionalism, customer service, and time management skills. (My gf proof read this so I wouldn’t be as...

There is simply no topping Ora when it comes to sushi. I have eaten sushi up and down in this town, have relocated to Seattle (where fish is basically the defining quality), and Ora remains my absolute number one.

Ora is a quiet, small and subtle establishment in Andersonville - pretty small so, don't try to wait inside. Instead head to Hopleaf while you wait for your table, or head to the Andersonville wine shop down the block on Foster, they have a great sake selection and Ora is BYOB (amazing). Sit at the sushi bar if you like a bit of conversation with the chefs, but the tables are cozy and intimate.

The fish. Everything is flown in from Japan, so the quality is stunning and unbeatable. The cuts are expertly executed - hamachi toro, sake, salmon belly, and medium fatty tuna are my usual standbys for sashimi. Chirashi roll, Albacore Tataki, spicy tuna... if any of the servers are reading this review they will literally know who I am - these are all my standard orders. I literally melt into the floor with every bite. Try the Orarashi bowl if you enjoy beautiful, bountiful cuts over perfectly seasoned rice.

The service is friendly and sweet, the guys behind the counter recognize you and say hello if you become a regular. I mentioned the BYOB - this is what keeps the prices down overall, so it's basically Chicago's best kept...

Incredible sushi. I live in the city and make specific trips to andersonville to come here and then go to hopleaf.

Let's start with it is a small intimate restaurant. Low lighting, and a reservation is a must. They have a small sushi bar which accommodates ones and twos. They are BYOB, but be aware that the ice bucket situation is a little dire. At most you can have two beers cooling in the small containers they give you.

On to the most important aspect of any restaurant; the food. Started off with their miso soup, which is standard. Ratios were fine, and the broth was nice and salty. Firm meso.

If you love fresh sushi, and like to pass on the fried stuff this place is incredible. They have an extensive list of all kinds of sushi, and it is hard to go wrong but my favorites are the wasabi tail for starters ( so fresh, and not an overpowering dish, good use of wasabi). The spicymono is a amazing. It has a this sauce is a unique grouping of fish engulfed in a spicy sauce.

This place also has a very knowledgeable staff that will help anyone along the way, definitely ask what is fresh and they will steer you in the right direction.

Tldr: get a reservation,...