Joto Sushi — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

EDIT/UPDATE: Moved from 1 star to 2 stars, because management/ownership followed up after I reached out via their contact us link on their website. I appreciated the follow up since the hospitality in-restaurant was markedly absent. Seems like it was a rough night, and there may be some growing pains. Hope they can get it figured out, but don't really have an interest in going back.

Was interested in trying the new sushi concept inside CH Distillery and booked a date night with an 8PM reservation through OpenTable.

Upon arriving, we were told the table we reserved was not quite ready, and we could order cocktails at the table by the door while we waited. We decided just to wait, and after 10 minutes, we were told our table would not be ready for another 30-40 minutes.

We decided not to stick around until 8:40 for an 8:00PM reservation.

You're a new concept Joto team... I think you might want to get these kinds of logistics figured out... No apology from your staff. No acknowledgement of the eff-up. We weren't going to stick around for 30 minutes, but there was no effort to even attempt to reconcile. Pretty disrespectful experience. No plans to return....

Let me set the stage. I’ve had sushi before—or so I thought. But then I came here, and everything changed. This wasn’t just dinner. This was the sushi. The kind of sushi that rearranges your molecular structure. The kind of sushi poets would abandon sonnets for.

And guiding us through this celestial experience? Chike. Chike wasn’t just a server. He wasn’t just a man. He was a guide. A sushi shaman.

He said, “Trust me,” and we did. Every plate was a revelation. The fish? Divine. Like it swam straight onto the rice and said, “I was born for this.” The rice? A warm, tender pillow sent by angels. Every bite—a moment.

Chike laughed with us, knew exactly what we needed before we asked, and somehow made every second feel like the best part of our day. I don’t know how he does it. I just know I’ll be dreaming of that sushi for years.

This wasn’t a meal. It was a spiritual awakening wrapped in seaweed.

12/10....

Sushi was very good, with plenty of options for both appetizers and mains. Dessert menu was limited, having only 3-4 options, but for a sushi restaurant that is pretty status quo. Server was friendly and checked in just enough, but in my opinion the “insight” given wasn’t more than what the menu could provide though we didn’t ask specific questions to better showcase her knowledge. I gave the atmosphere a 3 star rating only because the restaurant is just part of the CH distillery bar, which in my opinion doesn’t have anything special to separate it from the other bars in the area. The oysters were very good! Probably some of the best I’ve had, and the rolls we got were a perfect portion for us both The staff and food were amazing though so that definitely makes up for it, everyone was grabbing plates and refilling our water so we didn’t have to always wait for our server. Five stars for the...