SEN Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Oak Park

I'll start off on a good note: the sashimi was good (not "great", not "very good", just "good"). I may be spoiled with really fantastic sushi, but SEN really missed the boat on a number of levels:

The miso soup was luke warm at best. My dad and I decided to not say anything, and just eat/drink it. The asparagus & beef rolls came out cold. This is when my dad and I said something, to which they took the plate away and returned it sixty seconds later. We inquired if this was a new plate, and the waitress said, "No, we just put in the microwave". Astounded, we sent it back and asked for a fresh dish. The manager came over, apologized and brought us two new miso soup's that were hot (we made mention of our disappointment in the first order). The new plate of asparagus & beef rolls appeared, slightly better than the first round. My dad and I decided that the meat is a pre-cooked meat that they heat up in the microwave, because it is really flavorless and sort of tough for such a thin cut of beef. The sashimi came out – we were sitting at the sushi bar – and it was good. The only obvious thing about this sushi was that none of it was "fresh that day", it was all a pre-wrapped, Sysco delivery most likely. It wasn't bad, just not that great. Granted, being in a landlocked state makes fresh fish hard, but I know a number of sushi joints that do sushi much better.

Personally, I would bypass this establishment for another location if you can. You will get better sushi somewhere else...

After one year and five months, I dare to try sushi again. The taste is still as good as always but the size shrinks greatly (30% at least). I always order the same two kinds of sushi and now I can see more space in the delivery box for the same order. Not sure if it is the new policy of Sen against price appreciation or I just got the bad luck. If the former, I prefer the same size with a higher price, at least I don't have to feel still hungry.

I order the second today, sep 15, and finally talked with the manager, Varanya, who is honest and friendly. I learned that Sen does not want to disappoint its customers by increasing the price in a crazy way while its cost of materials increased sharply to 25 - 40%ish: the import from Japan is more difficult and competition for bidding quality fish and other food materials are more fierce domestically. So they have to reduce the proportion in a reasonable way but maintaining the quality is always their primary. I feel comfortable after this conversation and I completely understand their strategy to retain customers while combating the pandemic and economic downturn, price appreciation. Thus, I changed my rating from 3 to 5.

BTW, soon after the conversation, the manager sent me a message suggesting me try Fuji mountain that has some of the similar ingredients that I love for Volcano and said it is quite a big roll and very tasty. I appreciated that follow-up...

Tucked away on Oak Park Avenue, I had no idea this place even existed before I became a member of the Yelp community.

We came here on a Saturday night. Luckily we beat the dinner rush and got a seat without reservations around 5:30 p.m. The place was crowded with lots of middle-aged suburban couples out enjoying a small meal.

To start, we ordered the takoyaki (fried octopus balls topped w/mayo, bulldog sauce, and benito) for $6 and the Sen Spicy Maki Set for $20. The octopus inside the takoyaki was very tough, and the batter was very disappointing. It only came with four balls, which was a little disappointing considering how cheap you find these things in Japan.

As for the sushi, I would say that it is very standard and Americanized. I love to be able to taste the freshness of the fish and the individual grains of rice when I eat sushi. Unfortunately, for the bulk of the meal, I found myself constantly needing to dip the maki in soy sauce in order to make the roll taste good. The high-end maki rolls at neighboring tables looked killer. They were nicely decorated and had lots of sauce to compliment the generally dull fish.

Overall takeaway: I might have to come back to try the fancier maki rolls. They look well made and the flavor combinations sound very interesting. However, if you are looking for quality, authentic sushi, this is not your place. The fish and rice could definitely...