Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Chicago — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Sushi by scratch has amazing sushi, but after going to other omakases in the city, the service fell flat. The entire event felt slightly aggressive. The two men in the center announcing the drink pairings and the dressed bites became the center focal point of the meal, and actually replaced the ability to have smaller conversation. The head chef critiqued one of the sushi chefs scoring of the fish in front of us which I found odd and not buttoned up. The man serving cocktails was exceptionally loud to the point where we felt uncomfortable ordering drinks. When asking for suggestions, he asked a price point to which we gave a number that was inclusive of probably every drink on the menu except one, and he proceeded to scream out the cheapest beverages at 9$ and 10$, and say “this one’s good value for the cost” which was embarrassing and frustrating considering that this was an over 500$ meal that we were spending our money on. We felt super uncomfortable, and because of his lack of volume control all eyes in the room were on us. We had a couple more notably uncomfortable encounters in our two hours at the meal. The weirdest cherry on top of the whole experience in my opinion was paying on the staircase in a line, and being asked if “I want to see my itemized bill.” Yes, I do want to see my itemized bill similar to any restaurant experience ever, especially considering this is a 500$ meal. Why would that ever be a question? Overall, if you’re looking to visit sushi by scratch it’s probably worth it for the food alone (favorites included the bone marrow, kanpachi), but I would highly recommend going to mako, Kyoten next door, Kyoten, yume,...

We went here for our anniversary dinner and it was by far and simply one of rather strange experiences we had. We have been to most omakase restaurants in the city and we could say this is not typical traditional omakase that shows chef’s culinary craftsmanship.

The sushi quality itself was good, but the garnishes and the balance of salt/sweet flavors felt somewhat rushed and basic. It basically felt like fast food version of omakase.

The biggest fluke was in the atmosphere and the attitude of one of chefs/service. Maybe it was off night, but the atmosphere felt “cheap” and not high-end/elegant like some of omakase experiences we had in Chicago and New York. The main chef spent most of her time talking to one customer that we were left hanging and waiting for our next piece. The chef in front of us was a bit eccentric and kept trying to make small talk that felt very misogynistic and aggressive. One example is when he asked which one of us made reservation and told me to love my husband because his wife always makes reservations. What? And then he asked us which piece we like the most and when we answered, he gave us a big thumb down. It felt very passive aggressive. Again, there was no class and sense of craftsmanship in the encounter. Also, there was time when he missed placing one of garnishes on sushi and the main chef gave him the biggest stink eye and sigh. We had to laugh amicably in order to ease the tension.

Overall, this was pretty stressful. Stressful enough that we would not pay pretty steep prices to get...

We spent about $900 for two (including 20% gratuity) and while the chef and servers were so amazing — so much so that we would definitely be returning with our friends and families — but everything was ruined by one of the chef assistant.

Given it was last sitting and we enjoyed everything throughout, when they offered additional courses. The way he promotes his extra courses creation, you couldn’t say no because how confident he was and bragging about it would be one of the best LOL. With that all being said, what really thrown us away was the inappropriate jokes he made and how uncomfortable we felt during the end experience. He told us to “finish quickly so I can go home,” and his so-called “special seasoning” for his special creation was really just a taste of Korean chili paste. He said he is from South Korean. More to it, but there’s only so much we could share with words. We really loved the place, from the moment but totally ruined by his solo behavior. I don’t think he fits the great concept of this Omakase place. All of the jokes/comment he made throughout can clearly tell, he doesn’t enjoy his job. He really ruins the reputation. If you come here, enjoy everything but him/his’s — but whatever you do, skip the assistant’s extras unless you want to waste your money...