Awesome sushi!
The decor is amazing, sushi is delicious, and the bartenders (Nick and Bart) and servers are always extremely nice and helpful. They always have a groupon special but I don't think they're worth it. If you sit at the bar they always have some sort of special going on. We went during happy hour so it was $3 Sapporo, $6 large sake, $4 purple haze, and buy one get the second maki half off. Can't beat that!
Their vegetable tempura is the best I've had around. The batter is so light and crispy and the dipping sauce is perfect. Any of the tuna appetizers are delicious. The best roll is the spicy tuna with jalapeño roll, haven't found another place that makes this combination this well.
My boyfriend and I went here on Valentine's Day 2.14.13 and had a horrible experience! Â First, the hostess sat us at a dirty table. Â In addition, it took at least 45 minutes for a busboy to clean the table, we were not provided with any menus or any water. Â And this was only after my boyfriend alerted someone twice that no one had been to our table.
It was clear that there was poor planning and staffing for this night, especially since they were promoting a Valentine's Day special. Â Finally, a waiter who was clearly overworked finally came to our table. Â He was extremely nice, so that reduced me being pissed to me be extremely annoyed. Â During our experience, 2 couples actually got up and left do to the poor service. Â Another host actually brought us some overly salted and overly cooked edamame to apologize for the backed up kitchen and horrible wait, but this was even before we had our order taken by the waiter.
In addition, the Valentine's Day special that they advertised included a photo. Â The photographer took the photo, however, did not have a printer on site. Â He asked for my email address, and to this day I have yet to receive my photo. Â They had the audacity to ask that we like them on Facebook. Â I think not. Â
I will say the food was good, but the service was horrible. Â I will not be returning, and would not recommend anyone to go to this restaurant!
Save your money and your time!
This place has such high potential .. Decoration/atmosphere is awesome and menu descriptions all sound very good, however, service is absolutely terrible.
My date and I went there on valentines day and had a reservation at 8:30. We arrived 15 min earlier in a nice booth. Here's what happened :
- took them 15 minutes to realize we have not received water and that no waitress was assigned to our table.
- finally received our water 10 minutes later and waitress took our order for wine, nothing more.
- received our wine and waited another 20 min to get our soup + salad
- once we were done with that we waited another 30 minutes before someone came and took our order for our appetizer and sushi rolls.
- an hour later we are still waiting for our appetizer.... We walk over and have to find a waitress to ask where our food is. Manager ensures us we will get someone to see what the holdup is.
- half an hour later our undercooked calamari comes out.
At this point we are both angry and annoyed that no one is helping us and so we get the manager who apologizes and tells us he will blame the kitchen for it. I don't care who gets the blame. Bottom line is it's been over 2 hours since we arrived and we have yet to see our food. The sushi finally came out and it DID taste good but at that point I was so frustrated I wanted to leave. We get the bill and they didn't even bother to take off the calamari. The poor waitress whose been running between a bunch of tables apologizes but we should have been taken care of a long time ago. Manager didn't know how to handle the situation and took off $20.
Like I said, this place had a lot of potential but I would never go back if I have to wait 2.5 hours for food.
If you're looking for good sushi I'm sure you're find it here but be aware you'll have to wait forever to get any of your food
I can write an extensive review on this delectable sushi place, but I won't. I'll get down to the dirty details. Agami is "off the chain", seriously. Great sushi for the average price in the midst of the Uptown neighborhood. My girlfriend and I have dined-in and ordered take-out from here quite often and each time we are never left disappointed.
My favorite rolls:
- Smokey Bear
- Mini Godzilla
- Caterpillar
- Cheese (specialty roll, seasonal I believe)
- Kamikaze
- Tataki Crunch
- 300
- Dragon Festival
- Red Phoenix
My least favorite rolls:
- the ones that sit on the sides of my stomach =?
Pros:
- Very nice interior / ambience. Comfortable seating with modern decor. Semi-swank with a marine/underwater theme going.
- Service was very nice, attentive and friendly. They took good care of us.
- Food/drinks were good - I had some of their specialty rolls and all in all, it didn't knock me out of the ballpark, but they did a nice job with their food and drinks.
Cons:
- For a Saturday night, it was pretty empty.
- Which tells you what their turn-over/freshness factor may be regarding their raw fish. Some of my friends thought their raw sushi taste a fishy.
Tips:
- Until they start really picking up business, I'd eat rolls with cooked fish/meat in it instead of the raw. They may not be getting rid of their fish fast enough to keep a fresh turnover.
- For larger parties, make reservations
- Parking: Street and most of it you have to pay. There are areas with residential parking, and all these cars have permits. So if you don't have a permit, most likely you'll have to pay unless you are parking after hours.
I agree with some of the posters, this is the best Sushi I've had in Chicago. The space is nicely decorated, it has a nice "cool" factor. The waiters are very well informed and food was spectacular. the prices seem a little steep, seem to be more in line with the prices in the downtown area, but that's the only thing from keeping me from coming here more often. Great place to take out-of-towners for sushi.
Review Source:Agami is pretty much my favorite place to eat sushi in the city. I typically go on Friday evenings and sit at the bar so my friend and I can chat with Nick, one of my favorite bartenders in the city. The sushi is super fresh and delish, and Nick mixes up a ginger martini that is to die for.
If I'm with a larger group and sitting at a table, I highly recommend asking to sit in William's section. He is friendly and funny, and will keep you laughing with his perfectly twisted sense of humor.
Take advantage of their weekday sushi specials too. with about 40 rolls under $7 to choose from, you can't go wrong.
Yay Agami Sushi!! This place is hidden in plain sight. It is right off of the Lawrence redline and it is amazing! Everytime I go in, I wonder why there aren't more people. The only reason I can think of is because of location and price. Both are absolutely worth it.
First of all, the ambience is enough for me. It is a spacious restaurant that is dimly lit but obvi still enough light to enjoy yaself. The interior decoration is bomb! From the outside you can only see a lot of red, which is romantic, but after going in you realize how effing awesome it really is.
Second. This is a place that focuses on food presentation and fish quality, you pay more, but you get a beautiful product, especially if he head chef makes it. The crazy roll hits my spot. Any Agami nigiri is off the chain delicious. The tuna tartar is gorgeous and tasty, as well as the spicy tuna rice crispy. The entree portions are enormous, and any kitchen appetizer is sure to wow. Nick the bartender is my favorite. Â This is by far the coolest and not pretentious place to eat sushi on the north side. A perfect date place!!!
The focus is maki and nigiri but you can eat more than just that.
They play top forty jams.
Bathrooms are epic.
Street parking... But take the train or ride a bike!
I took a date to Agami because of the reviews on Yelp and not knowing the neighborhood at all. I would definitely say that both of us left thinking eh, it wasn't horrible, but not some place we would go back to (assuming there are more dates) and not a place I would take any date to again. I can understand why people have given it high reviews; the sushi was good (not amazing), the service was great (really nice waiter), but the decor! Ha, it felt like an underwater club or something that was built years ago and they haven't bothered keeping it in good condition. So it gets 3 stars for good service, decent enough sushi, but I wouldn't go back with a date. If I lived around Agami, I could see doing pick up, but that is about it.
Review Source:They have great specials Sun-Thurs. Â The Lobster Tempura is tasty as is the sweet potato. Â They have a banana tempura that was interesting; it wasn't my favorite, but it was good. Â Drink specials and sushi specials in a nice environment. Â It's a gem hidden in the hood. Â :) William, our server, was very knowledgeable and helpful when it came to ordering. Â He knows his sushi, and he makes great recommendations. Â Ask for him.
Review Source:My wife and I love sushi (and a few of our first dates were for sushi). As we have started venturing into the fine dining arena over the past year, we decided to seek out a higher end sushi restaurant and see how it compared to the more vanilla venues we generally frequent. It seemed as though similarly named restaurant Arami was often proclaimed to have the best sushi in Chicago so we initially made reservations there; prior to our dinner we learned that their highly acclaimed sushi chef (B.K. Park) had abruptly resigned. We canceled our Arami reservation and I researched the Gayot listing of the Top 10 Chicago Sushi Restaurants: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gayot.com%2Frestaurants%2Fbest-chicago-il-top10-sushi_5ch.html&s=a9c805426d92c1a9cc6418d9ba7c5fe52e3bec89cc3068ee623967f212919b63" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.gayot.com/res…</a> Â
I quickly weeded out the suburban restaurants and the restaurants that had less than a four star Yelp review and was left with a handful to choose from. I opted for Arami as they are fairly close to where I live and a good friend who's taste I trust had mentioned having some great meals here. When I learned they are affiliated with Savored (a service where if you reserve through them, you receive 30% of your bill) that sealed the deal: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsvrd.co%2FpVNxyW&s=e18744947d5bb8ee26b89042470452d67375a04ae166ec440a44369269cf2791" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://svrd.co/pVNxyW</a>
Arami has an interesting, energetic ambiance. There is a massive bar in the middle with a couple of big screen TV's (the Olympics and the White Sox were on), red leather booths and fairly loud (but not overbearing) dance music. It had more of a vibe of a casual nightclub than a restaurant. They do need to expand the play list a bit as during the course of our meal the same Black Eyed Peas song repeated as well as Move Like Jagger.
Our server William was very personable and friendly. There were a couple small lapses (i.e. a small delay in retrieving the bill and we were overcharged a bit on the gratuity - with Savored the restaurant is automatically supposed to add an 18% tip prior to calculating the discount, but we were charged about 22%), but he was good enough that I would request him again should I return. What I really appreciated was he cautioned us that we appeared to be ordering a tad too much (not too many servers do that). Even the busboy was quite friendly and attentive and inquired as to our opinions of some of the food. Â
The menu at Agami is massive with tons of rolls to choose from (many interesting options) there is a handful of non sushi related foods as well. It was so hard for us to narrow down our order to a manageable quantity since we were intrigued by so many of the rolls. The menu on their website will give you an idea, but the real menu has changed since the website was last updated. There is also a full bar with a handful of wines by the glasses, Saporro beer on tap and some seasonal cocktails. We shared a couple of appetizers - the Spicy Tuna Rice Crispy (rice fried in butter with tuna tartar and a sweet and spicy sauce) and the Spicy Ahi Tuna Tartar; the guacamole is freshly made for the latter appetizer and this dish was excellent. We also ordered five rolls (we should have listened to Williams' advice as the portions were large and we were unable to finish); the Green Turtle Roll was my favorite - cute presentation (it is plated to look like a turtle) and was quite tasty to boot. Finally I ordered a couple of the signature nigiri sushi items that were on the online menu, but not the menu at the restaurant; these feature single pieces or nigiri sushi with special sauces and accompaniments such as Zuke salmon with butter grilled enoki mushroom topping and a white truffle and olive oil sauce.
Despite being extremely full, their house made ice creams sounded appealing and the idea of a cool, soothing dessert after so much fish and rice seemed appealing.The portions were crazy huge (especially since my last few times having ice cream has been during tasting menus where the serving is golf ball sized); I received three large scoops (must have been over half a pint) of black sesame ice cream served a top a large fried wonton with fudge and caramel sauce drizzled as well as some  yam like substance underneath the wonton. The ice cream was decent, but nothing noteworthy and I was not even able to finish half.
Overall the quality of the food was definitely better than the more run-of-the-mill sushi venues I had been frequenting (i.e. Jaiyen, New Tokyo) but not a huge step better. The plating however was noticeably more attractive and the ambiance (while not necessarily more upscale), was definitely more thought out and energetic. With the Savored 30% discount we ended up paying $117 total which is not bad considering how much food we ordered (we each had an adult beverage as well). Another nice aspect of Agami that the owner of the restaurant actively works as one of the chefs and is intimately involved with the preparation of many of the dishes. We really enjoyed our dinner and it was nice dining at a sushi venue with character, but I do have to say that I would be surprised if this is as good as it gets when it comes to sushi.
I've only been here twice so far, but already think this might be my new favorite sushi place in Chicago. Â They put another favorite of mine, Lawrence Fish Market, to shame in terms of ambiance, selection and even cost! Â This is not merely a neighborhood sushi joint - it is well worth the trip for those who live outside of Uptown.
Agami has amazing weekday specials during weekday evenings throughout most of the year - around 40 rolls all costing between $4-7 a roll. Â I highly recommend their unigi tempura roll and lobster tempura roll (basically all their more unusual "tempura" rolls rock). Â The rolls are usually 6 or 5 pieces, but the 5 piece rolls are quite generous in size. Â My husband and I ordered 6 rolls from the special menu to share yesterday, and we could only eat about 2/3 of our order (note - I pack away a lot and have never had to take home sushi before).
The decor is swanky looking, but still comfortable. Â I'm a big fan of the circular booths, which are almost always available on the weekday evenings because there are usually very few patrons (I'm not sure why considering the good reviews and fantastic deals). Â The wait staff is quite friendly and provide attentive service. Â Street parking immediately in front of the building is readily available unless there is a concert at the Aragon or Riv that evening. Â And most importantly, you can have a tasty, filling meal along with a few drinks without breaking the bank.
I really want to thank Agami because they were the reason that convinced me that I actually enjoy sushi. Â I was a noob when I first came here so I only did the appetizers and signature rolls. Â Still, they were good enough to change my mind. Â My favorite sushi spot is a place in Lisle and I just read from his bio that he used to be a chef at Agami so I'm excited to come by Agami again to try their version of the Zuke Salmon (BEST THING EVERRRR) to compare.
Also, I really like their Pear Martini. Â I think I may love it just as much as Gibson's Pear Blossom.
Agami is still my favorite sushi place. I don't eat there as often as I would like to. (Twice a month) I still have the same problem... can NOT find enough people that want FREE sushi. Rotten luck... (T_T)
Wednesday and Thursday are my favorite nights to go there. Â The staffs and owner are always friendly when I visit Agami. Â
Whenever I do carryout, my foods were well packed and once in awhile I get a little freebie.
Very nice and clean place. Â A+ service. Delicious foods.
Some friends and I visited Agami at 8:00pm on a Friday night for dinner. This neighborhood (Uptown!?) is quickly becoming one of my favorites for casual nights on the town.
We made a reservation, but didn't need to as we were one of about 10 tables in a restaurant that seats hundreds. Our table was a cozy booth, perfect for old friends to eat, drink and catch up.
The food was amazing. There were a wide variety of rolls at prices ranging from $4-$20. The food was fresh and delicious.
The atmosphere is fun and cool. although there are a few too many sex dungeon cliches (red pleather, fire and Ice). This makes Agami good for dates, not for parents visiting from out of town.
The con was that the service was frustratingly slow, so slow that it put a cramp in what would have been a carefree dinner. We had to think strategically ahead about what to order because it took 20 mins for anything, including drinks, to come back to us. This would have been understandable if the restaurant was packed, but this wasn't the case. Thank goodness the bus boy realized what was happening and hurried things along or I think we would have been there all night.
Aside from the slow service, Agami was a nice place to start off an evening off of the Lawrence Red line stop.
The place looks great, the server was helpful and knowledgeable
Yep it's great for a date but why did I take 1 star off?
for the following couple reasons
1. the hostess was uninviting and didn't give attention even though she had nothing to do (1/2 star off just because her attitude but assuming the manager doesn't know of her way treating customers)
2. the presentation was great however the quality is not great compared to their pricing. I had better tasting sushi for sure.
Note: this is not a Japanese restaurant so DO NOT expect Japanese tradition on how food is served
so why didn't I knock off another star for it?
because they don't claim to be a Japanese restaurant. it's a Contemporary Sushi restaurant.
and Yes I do prefer traditional true Japanese joints but it doesn't mean I have to give a bad rating
New favorite rolls: mIni godzilla roll and some garlic chicken roll. (Still order the the spicy tuna rice crispy every time!) The signature nigiri are incredible - I have never had sushi like this anywhere else - try the big eye tuna, yellotail or zuke salmon.
Sit at the bar and have a chat with Nick...he's excellent!
We've been in the neighborhood for years and have always wanted to try Agami but they are so many good sushi places with lower price points that have enticed us in instead.
Finally, one [very snowy] day we ventured in and found they actually have some great deals, not to mention the sushi that costs more is because it's incredible sushi--totally worth it, as long as you're willing to drop $17/roll...they're much more filling than your average spicy tuna roll.
Also, our server knew so much about the food, had great recommendations and was just overall very pleasant.
We'll definitely be back.
My friend drove in from Indiana, and wanted to get some sushi. Â So, to stay close to home, we all agreed on Agami. Â We've never had a bad experience there so it is our go-to spot for good sushi.
After arriving, we were seated right way. Then we ordered shortly after being seated. Â Unfortunately, it took some time to get our drinks. Â However, that was probably due to a concert the Rivera and Aragon.
I must say, food-wise, Agami is always consistent. We all enjoyed our rolls. Â We left very satisfied!!
We will definitely go back!!
Agami is a very nice place to eat. Â The inside decorations are really nice and the atmosphere of the restaurant is great. Â The sushi is pretty good, but I have had a lot better. It is also a bit pricy. Â For the more interesting sushi rolls they are about $16 or more.
The service was slow. Â I was with a group of friends and we wanted to go out for a quick dinner. Â The waiter took forever to take our orders, clear our plates, and give us our checks. Â The place wasn't even busy either!
The waitress was amazing, and everything else was bad, not good, horrible, yuck.... Â
I have not written a review in way too long, and it took this to get me back on the review writing wagon... Â
Over priced, fishy, and the worst dirty martini I have ever had, how does one screw up a dirty martini, they did, it was actually a little bit sweet, how I don't know, maybe sweet vermouth by accident... Â
On the way out they asked if everything was ok, and I just was not in the mood to even begin to explain the levels of not ok, besides I am always afraid when a place is that out of touch with good, they would just assume I want free stuff, and frankly I have no interest in eating fishy AKA old sushi even for free...
Sorry guys and gals of Agami but this was a total disappointment and I can not imagine ever coming back...
Agami was accommodating with our large party on NYE. We called ahead to make reservations and were quickly seated once we all got there.
Overall the sushi was good, fresh and they did have some nice signature rolls - the one I split actually came out on fire (on purpose, no need to worry)
They were a little light on man power for the night and we found our waiter to be running around trying to keep up with the group. In the future they should probably assign another person to help with a 12 person party.
Although I don't live in the area I would come back if I was checking out another show at the Aragon or the Riv.
FYI there is a corkage fee!
Agami has great sushi and I could not say enough about the service. Our waiter was excellent! He made sushi recommendations that we ended up trying and loving, plus he gave me a wine recommendation that was not only delicious, but was one of the cheapest wines! Usually that sort of thing never happens.
The dragon roll and shrimp tempura were amazing as well as the edamame. We ended up ordering two drinks plus three or four rolls and needless to say we were pleasantly surprised at the bill. Very modern and romantic atmosphere - great for date night!
Sushi wasn't bad, but I don't understand why they wouldn't give us a table in an empty restaurant.
Went here with my husband before a show at the Riv. Â We usually like to get to shows early to get a good spot and see the opening band, so we were cutting it a tad close by getting to the restaurant at 6:15 for a show whose doors opened at 7pm. Â We didn't bother with a reservation ahead of time because most people on yelp said this place is usually pretty empty.
We walked into a completely empty restaurant and were told that since we didn't have a reservation we would have to wait 30 minutes for a table. Â They said that although it looked empty now, starting in 15 minutes a ton of reservations would flood in and the place would be full. Â We chose to sit at the bar because we could sit there right away. Â 50 minutes later, we are paying our tab, and the place is still COMPLETELY EMPTY! Â I am really not interested in paying $15 a roll for the privilege of sitting at the bar in a totally empty restaurant that was supposedly full of reservations due to the show. Â
Giving them 2 stars for decent food and generous portions. Â I just can't fathom why they would refuse to seat us in an empty restaurant.
Beautifully presented, with very generous portions - a place you can convince someone they like sushi.
Where else can you go and eat sushi inside of a giant aquarium-slash-lounge in Chicago? Â Agami is a big place. Â There are lots of seating items - huge round red booths for the ballar experience, a 30-foot sushi bar, regular tables, and a nice bar area. The whole place is alive with colors, textures and shapes, so it's a pleasure to be there. Â The big screens at the bar area allow you to catch the game. Â They're open pretty late, too - no matter when I've gone I've been seated right away. Â However, on nights when the theater is open, parking is a pain in the butt.
There are lots of menu items so those who are sushi-phobes can find something decent to eat. Â If you're eating the fish, which you should be, the presentations at Agami are absolutely lovely. Â The descriptions of the rolls are good. Â There's usually a lot going on in every roll - it would burn the eyebrows off a sushi traditionalist. Â The quality of the fish is OK. Â Not great - but when you dress it up and present it the way Agami does, it's not bad. Â The nigiri pieces are HUGE. Â Again, not the best fish ever, but solid. Â The o-toro is usually very tasty, but often tough. Â But I'll still eat it!
I recommend Agami to visitors just for the experience alone - plus it's a good place to take big groups. Â It might not be my go-to joint (that would be Sai Cafe), but it's still a fun place to go when I want to mix up my sushi experience.
We love Agami and can't understand why it's never crowded. Â Sure, it's on an odd stretch of Broadway in Uptown but it's close to the el and you can always find parking on Broadway if you drive. Â If you're going to the Riviera or the Aragon, it's the perfect pre or post show restaurant.
We were there last weekend and the sushi was excellent, as always. This was my first visit since switching to a gluten-free diet. Â Since soy sauce contains gluten and many items include tempura, it can be hard finding food besides the simplest of maki, nigiri or sashimi that are safe. Â Our excellent waiter, William, went out of his way to check which items are safe for me and also checked with the kitchen to see if they had any gluten-free dipping sauce for my fish. Â While they didn't, he assured me they are planning to get gluten-free tamari for their customers that can't eat gluten. Â I'm not sure why all sushi restaurants don't make this simple and cheap adjustment for their customers but I'm happy Agami is making the effort because it has become my favorite sushi restaurant in Chicago.
Oh yeah, the Ocean Drive maki is amazing!
I agree with JPM below. It is my sushi place that is 4 blocks from my house....it hurts to see such a great place not get the attention and customers it so greatly deserves. I am there every Friday night after work and sometimes in between. New management doing everything it can to make every meal special.
The ambiance is fantastic, the rolls are creative and big. There must be 30-40 roll choices alone. The sashimi is the freshest. I owned a charter sportfishing boat in South Florida for 5 years....I know what fresh fish is as I used to make my own sashimi right on the back of the boat!!
The complimentary Agami spring roll which was given to us was unbelievably good. Must try the spinach and the artichoke gomae..... I like the fact that everything is presented as a work of art. Creative bowls, etc. Thinking about going back tomorrow night!! Please support this restaurant!!!
I know there are many, many sushi restaurants in Chicago. Â Many. Â Ad nauseum. Â But, I go out of my way (I live in the loop. Â Agami is in Uptown. Â 'Nuff said.) for sushi at Agami because it's good. Â
Tasty. Â
Fresh. Â
And, not over mid-westernized. Â Okay, they have one maki that has cream cheese (cream cheese, people, does NOT belong in sushi. Â Or hot dogs for that matter. Â You heard me Seattle). Â And, there is one "kitschy" maki that is surrounded by flame, but is quite tasty. Â I stand by my belief that the specialty and signature maki are just, well, gosh darn delicious. Â
Spicy two ways (the chili only and chili-mayo style). Â
Tuna two or three ways. Â
Tuna, salmon, unagi, and other fishies on one or many maki. Â
But, don't stop with the maki (even though most of their maki is HALF OFF on Sunday. Â Yes, you heard that correctly. Â HALF OFF. Â This means up to eight people, without alcohol, can eat for a little under $240. Â Watta-bah-gan -- EDIT: Â WITH tip). Â Try the hamachi kama -- blissful, not fishy, meaty, broiled perfectly, and if you're asian, ask for an extra bowl of rice, although given the fact that you're asian, they may just give you an extra bowl of rice without your asking. Â I'm just sayin'.
The staff is quite friendly and sitting at the bar is a good way to end a Sunday Funday (again, Sunday is HALF OFF most maki. Â Seriously. Â This is not an ad, I swear!). Â A few people have noted the priciness of Agami. Â Hmm, could that be because we're in the Midwest, landlocked from any ocean, and it costs a bitch-load to fly in fish fresh every week? Â And, Agami uses a lot of fish. Â A LOT. Â Don't let the prices deter you. Â Go. Â I'll see you at the bar -- I'll be the brown guy with the large cup of sake and my extra bowl of rice -- say hello when you come in!
I had a mind blowing date here.
It was supposed to be brief for cocktails but gloriously escalated into several courses... I ordered a martini flight that included a mini Honeydew Melon martini, a Green Tea with lemon twist and a truly elegant Coffee concoction (you already know how I love coffee) that I refused to share.
Most coffee liquor drinks taste like one of Cosby's pudding pops dropped in cheap vodka, ew- I am happy to report this drink was exceptionally sublime and worthy of ordering again.
You must peruse the menu beforehand to make the best Signature Maki selection because you can be there debating the merits of each, getting distracted by the gorgeous plates and that would be no good because then you would miss dessert.
Someone who works here must please, pretty please PM me the name of this majestic apple dessert masterpiece because by that point the martinis kicked in, my date got hotter and I was too distracted to take note. That is a compliment.
Yes dessert- no euphemism my yelpster friend- there is a scrumptious apple dessert- crispy, succulent, sweet... I ate the apple, the date devoured the ice cream... there were no fork stabbings over caramel sauce... oh, oh, oh it was good. Â
Plus, I love any reason to dress up. Go.
Top notch sushi in Uptown! Â We had a terrific experience here on a recent Friday evening. Â As soon as we entered the restaurant, the staff was extremely friendly and attentive. Â I love the decor -- it's kind of nightclubby and hip, yet cozy and private at the same time. Â We had a "private booth" (which I think at one time may have contained a curtain to keep it private, but the curtain was no longer). Â Nonetheless, it was still quite cozy and intimate. Â Perfect for a Friday night date.
Our booth was behind the glass-enclosed sushi counter, so we got an up-close look at all those yummy fresh ingredients and the sushi chefs' amazing skills, without compromising the intimacy. Â And the sushi: top, top. Â We had the rainbow roll, the caterpillar roll, and the soft shell crab roll. Â All were beautifully presented, the fish wonderfully fresh, and the accompanying sauces delicious. Â I would definitely go back to try more of the maki rolls on their menu. Â There are tons of really different and inventive rolls.
As for drinks, there are lots of fun martinis and a fairly large wine selection, but we stuck with beer this time around. Â I'll definitely be back to try a few of those martinis! Â For dessert we had the chocolate banana maki, which was basically a frozen chocolate covered banana with ice cream. Â I was expecting something a bit more inventive, but still very tasty nonetheless.
I was a little concerned at the lack of patrons at prime dinnertime Friday night, but perhaps it was the cold that was keeping people away. Â This is the perfect date spot and a stellar sushi dining experience, so I'd hate to see this place close on us! Â Meter parking is plentiful, plus the bank parking lot across the street, and it's steps from the red line.
For great sushi in a sexy environment, Agami hits the nail on the head.
The place was pretty empty when I went here on Sunday around 9:30pm but still had an inviting atmosphere. I really like the reds used in the interior and I think it makes for a sexy environment. Â The booths were really nice, comfy and large! Our waitress was very nice and attentive although it was pretty close to closing time.
Wine bottles are half priced on Sundays so this was a very nice surprise. We had the edamame, Philly Maki, Yellow tail and scallion maki, salmon maki, dragon roll, spice shrimp roll and I must say that they were all very good (though I opted out of the dragon roll). I didn't think the rolls were expensive at all and trust me because I'm CHEAP:)
A couple were $5, $7 and $8, but the dragon was $15 because it's a specialty  one (eel).
Olympics were on the flat screens so we were able to check that out, while talking and eating so it was a pretty good night. I highly recommend this place if you're in the area.
We were so happy to find this place! Good to great sushi walking distance from home. A little dangerous and tempting, perhaps, but after some serious jonsing for good sushi, this place was like an oasis in the desert. The fish here is clean, had a lovely texture, and was just great quality. Standards of hamachi and fresh salmon were great, and we even liked the uni there. If the uni is good, you know they have good fish. The uni was creamy and just a little funky (and I mean that in a good way), with a hint of bitterness. Delicious (if you're into it. I know it's not for everyone).
The rolls are nice, too. Spicy tuna of course, very good. I would stay away from the soft shell crab roll. It wasn't bad, but is wasn't great. The scallop roll was quite tasty. The specialty rolls are a little pricey, and you can have a perfectly enjoyable and less expensive meal sticking with the standards. Also, the wasabi could be a little stronger.
The wait staff is very friendly and helpful. Nice people there. The overall ambiance of the place is not exactly my cup of tea. Industrial decor, big screen TVs, it smacks of a hipster sports bar, which on a crowded evening would be loud. But its clean and open and perfectly pleasant. We have been going on weeknights, which has been very pleasant and quiet. I'm sure that on the weekends this place is overrun with the tragically hip, so if you like that in big crowds, go on a Friday or Saturday night. Go other nights of the week if you just want great sushi without the scene.
I love:
     - American food.
     - fish.
     - alcohol served cold and tastefully prepared for consumption.
     - women with sultry curves and smiles that warm your soul.
     - rooms that were planned out and executed to express soul and imagination.
     - bathrooms that are clean and give you a place to collect and say hello to yourself.
I love coming back to the table with plates decorated like presents waiting for you to open and consume.
                        and I love really cheap prices.
Except for the last item, everything else can be found here.
but its been said by many before me, the words cheap and sushi should never be joined...and in this case this a good thing.
Welcome to the Mike K Generic Review Template version 0.6c.
[ ] First! Â Look at me! Â I love this place!
[ ] First! Â I wish I never found this place!
[ ] What the hell is everyone talking about? Â This place rocks!
[ ] What the hell is everyone talking about? Â This place sucks!
[ ] I agree w/ everyone. Â You need to be here.
[ ] I agree w/ everyone. Â You need to stay away.
[X] Meh. Â You could certainly do better or worse.
[ ] I was drunk the entire time and didn't really notice much.
[X] I liked everything but
- [ ] The food
- [ ] The service
- [ ] The atmosphere
- [ ] The music
- [ ] The people
- [ ] The location
- [X] The price
- [ ] The __________
[X] I recommend _the Jalapeno Spicy Tuna Maki__
- [X] and _the Fire Maki (it's on FIRE!)__
- [ ] and ____________
[X] +1 for _80's music on the soundsystem all night__ Â
[X] +1 for _the excellent, attentive service (possibly b/c we were the only ones there)__
[ ] +1 for ____________
[X] Witty comment: _I get royalties if you want to use this template, yo__
OMG OMG OMG! Â And let me say it one more time OMG! Â The sushi here was AMAZING. Â I mean melt in your mouth, fantastic bites of fishy, yummy goodness! Â The spider maki and California rolls were so yummy I almost ordered a second California roll but then decided against for fear of looking like a little piggy!
The Miso soup was also delicious I just wish it came in a little bigger bowl. Â It was so good and when I reached the end of the bowl I was still wanting more.
Their cuts of Nigri are HUGE and FRESH! Â I was really surprised by the size of fish that we got but was also impressed by how fresh it was. Â This was also melt in your mouth fantastic.
Agami is a little pricey but well worth what you pay and I believe that's how it should be. Â I have no problem paying a little more as long as I am getting the quality I deserve based on the payment. Â And Agami delivers! Â
Oh and parking is not so much! Â I would suggest taking another form of transportation if you have the option.
So why four stars you ask?  Two reason and both equal to losing one star.  First reason - we walked in and were greated by the receptionist who was on the phone.  Fine I can understand they do take reservations but then quickly I realized this was a personal phone conversation and she didn't seem like she was going to end the conversation anytime soon.  So I set off to find the group of yelpers myself.  How hard is it to find a group of yelpers anyway?  Not to damn hard actually!  The  second reason - our wait staff was a little slow and unorganized but I do believe they were really, really busy so I can understand a little.  And actually the first reason made me a little angrier than the second.
Oh and actually I think I'm gonna give it 4.5 stars. Â They brought us out a lovely appetizer...on the house...and even though I didn't eat it (to spicy for me) I heard it was delicious. Â Also our desserts were on the house as well! Â Oh hell that's a lot of free stuff!
WOW!
This was a fun sushi experience. Â
It was sweetest day, and i needed to find a place to take her out for the night. Â We decided to try this place as we saw that there were some good reviews and it was in the neighborhood. Â
Iko was our server. Â If you can get him, do it. Â He's wonderful, and will make your lady laugh.
They have some very fun martinis and the sushi was very good.
I've been to agami once, late at night on a weekday. Yes, the place was dead, no the decor did not knock my socks off (feels like its trying too hard to be trendy) but the sushi was good... and... lets focus on the positive here people, its open late, and they have sushi that LIGHTS ON FIRE!
Now, I realize that fiery sushi may not be as entertaining for everyone as it is for me, but who doesn't like food with flames? Seriously people, don't lie to yourselves!
And, speaking of the positive... isn't it nice  to see a business in uptown thats not a crack house, or hourly motel?
Edit 3/11/08: I went back, and I STILL love it.
I've been wanting to try Agami forever! I am an Uptown dweller, and always keen on trying new establishments that are working to spiff up the image of Uptown. Plus it just looked generally funky and wanted to take a look :)
We stopped in after strolling around Borders...just had edamame to start, very good, and FAST. We didn't have drinks, but their sake list is HUGE. We had fun just looking at all of the different kinds!
I order the Ahi Tuna Steak over sauteed veggies and mash with garlic butter sauce...it was DIVINE. Melted in my mouth,flavorful, veggies were still a bit crunchy, but tender (not soggy). It came with miso soup and a great salad (green lettuce and spinach) and a lovely sesame dressing). My date had several interesting maki rolls that he raved about, including one topped with salmon and sesame sauce.
It's a bit pricier than my favorite "mom and pop" joint Bentonara, but its got some killer ambience for a chill night out, adequate seating for large groups, and an all around great vibe. Waiter was super friendly and fast...
Definitely worth a try. I will go back for sure...
Anybody who claims the food at Agami is just "okay" must be out of their mind. Â Agami is my favorite Sushi joint, and I maintain it has the best Sushi east of Japan (or west, depending on how you look at it). Â I eat Sushi regularly, and I try to check out a new Sushi bar every week or two, and Chicago has plenty of them. Â Due to my location, when I just want great Sushi I go to Agami, I'm never disappointed. Â If I want cheap Sushi I go to Tokyo Marina.
The decor has been described, but I think the round booths behind the Sushi bar are really fun.
Try the Tuna rice crispy for an appetizer, you'll love it. Â The specialty rolls are all fantastic, I highly recommend the Ocean Drive. Â The seared Tuna is better than any other place in Chicago. Â What can I say virtually everything is good, save for maybe the seared scallops.
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