Kenko Sushi — Restaurant in Lincoln Park

This may very well get drowned out in the chorus of voices here, but Kenko Sushi is without a doubt the best sushi I've ever had, and it's not close. I've been here or ordered from them over 50 times at this point - every single order has been perfect, every experience amazing. The consistency is just mouth-dropping.

One of my chums and I accidentally discovered this place a couple of years ago when it was at its old location around the corner on Main Street and started coming by often after that. The downside was that that particular space was pretty small and they don't take reservations, so you were basically at the mercy of local customer traffic. If you came at dinnertime, it wasn't unusual to have a 45-minute wait, and we'd usually do it, along with hordes of other people. It's that good. The new location has a bigger space that we visited a few times prior to COVID, and I recall the wait times weren't as much of an issue.

Every roll I've ever had here has been great. I suspect a lot of people are going to highlight the Godzilla Roll, which is delicious but a TON of food. I love it but I won't order it unless I've spent an hour on an elliptical within the prior 12 hours. Even then, you'll likely be stuffed. And the presentation value of this roll and frankly any of the special rolls is just top notch.

My most recent to-go order was (and always is) a K4 Combo, which is a great value - it's two giant special rolls for about $19. You can easily find a nearby sushi restaurant that's selling ONE special roll for close to that. Kenko also throws in a few pieces of another roll gratis, so you're getting tons of quality sushi for that money. I selected the Devil's Ride, which has seared salmon, and the Amazing Sweet Potato Tempura. Both are long-time favorites of mine, both are scrumptious.

Frankly, the only downside of late is that Kenko has been super skittery about COVID so they're only handling takeout orders for the foreseeable future, and those orders are exclusively processed through their app. The first time I used it was a little bit of a hassle, but it's pretty easy to figure out after a few minutes of tinkering. Also, the sit-down service involves a free dessert (so much free stuff here, it's amazing), a fish-shaped ice cream dish with vanilla ice cream and a thin chocolate syrup layer that's the perfect palate cleanser, so I hope our return to quasi-normalcy happens sooner rather than later.

If you're thinking about opening up a sushi restaurant within 10 miles of this place,...

I used to love Kenko - would always come here with my family and even though it's a decent drive away from us (25 min+), would always love to make the trip out here.

Last night was the exception. My family and I have been looking forward to sushi for the past few months and ordered a platter at 4:30pm for immediate pick up. We were notified that our order would be ready by 7:15pm, which was a long wait but understandable given their volume. My entire family of 10 was waiting for the food to break our fast at sunset, and we were reassured by Kenko that it would be ready in time. At 7:30, our order still wasn't ready while we were waiting outside but we were told that it would be ready at 8.

By then, we were annoyed because my family will have to wait an additional 30 minutes to break their fast but we've been waiting hours for Kenko so no big deal I thought. I walked in at 8 and inquired about the status of my order. To my surprise, I was told that they weren't going to make my order because they didn't have enough food and that they deprioritized it because it was a large order. They said I could either get a refund or get it tomorrow, and even after explaining that my entire family of 10 has been fasting all day and did not make plans to cook at home and it's already past sunset AND all other eateries are closed after 8pm given the NJ curfew, they had the audacity to tell me that they had 400+ orders today and that if I'm not happy I can gladly get a refund. I even heard them strategize in the back of the kitchen about what they're going to tell me and I unfortunately heard one of their workers suggest to make their apology seem honest, implying that the actual reason may not have been.

In short, if you're looking for good food, kenko has it. If you're looking for good customer service or a good experience (I've had bad customer experiences in the past but let them slide bc of the food) don't come here. They've developed an arrogant attitude ever since they grew in popularity. They're not considerate or empathetic and truly only interesting in gauging you of your money.

I've already went ahead to file other complaints with the BBB and my family will never go back to eating here ever...

I have never been to Kenko Sushi before but everyone raved that it was the best and freshest sushi you can get. I ordered a Philly roll, shrimp tempura, and their signature 5th Ave roll. I’ll never forget the day, it was Friday which is my cheat day for my diet so I picked up my sushi with the biggest smile on my face. I felt like a little kid leaving the toy store with all the toys I wanted. As soon as I got home I got to work and ate the food I have been impatiently waiting to devour and then…..

I started to feel bloated, way more than usual but since it was my first meal of the day and it was late (say around 4-5 pm) I thought I just ate too much and it would pass me. Oh let me tell you something wanted to pass but it wasn’t going without a fight! Saturday my stomach felt like I had cinder blocks in there and I felt extreme fatigue and stomach cramps. Sunday ohhh Sunday I will not forget, I spent Sunday in pain with stomach cramps on and I kid you not I did not leave the bathroom. My body turned into Kilauea volcano with a vengeance!!!

I have never experienced food poisoning in my life or stomach cramps to the point where it felt like my gut was being twisted. Needless to say Monday and Tuesday I started to feel better and by Wednesday all the “lava” has passed me and this volcano became no longer active. Anyone thinking of going to Kenko or thinking of getting sushi go get a...