Hachi's Kitchen

can i just say I love the ahi poke and the salmon belly ( newer dish)is ridiculously good. great neighborhood place and the owners Jimmy and Mae are super nice.

I try and go out to any Japanese restaurant when I find one and have the time.  This one is located in Logan Square right off of California avenue.

I came here for dinner one night and it was not busy at all.  I ordered sake and beer to start along with edamame.  The service was attentive and filled our glasses of beer or sake whenever they ran low.  

Being part Japanese and having spent time in Japan I have a pretty good idea of how to eat Japanese food.  So when I was eating my edamame I found it strange that the waitress told me that I don't need to use chopsticks and that I can use my hands.  Yes maybe she didn't know that I knew what I was doing but I clearly was not struggling.  And for someone that is at a Japanese restaurant and ordering traditional dishes, I would think they would know what they were doing.  So I did not appreciate her telling me how to do things.  

For my main course I had a teriyaki tempura dish served over white rice.  The dish was decent.  Halfway through my meal the waitress asked if I needed more sauce to add to my dish.  Again, I took this as an insult.  As a customer I would expect you to put on the appropriate amount of sauce for my dish.  So if you ask me if I need more, I get the impression that you think that I don't have a taste for Japanese food.  It is as if I needed more sauce so that I could get through the entire dish.  

I don't like Hachi's Kitchen and I probably won't ever eat here again.

I'm always looking, nay, hunting, for a new and fun sushi spot and after seeing the reviews for the sister restaurant, Sai Cafe, decided to try this instead.

Decor and ambiance are great- it just gives off a relaxed, peaceful, but fun vibe. I usually tend to dress up-I sleep, live, and breathe heels- and that can sometimes be a bit too much for some smaller restaurants, but I didn't feel out of place and loved it. Crowd is a tad bit older (by the by, that means anyone over 30 to me..i kid, i kid), but no really, it's not your LP hipsters or Wrigleyville backwards-baseball hat wearing crowd either.

It wasn't busy at all, but then again it was a Tuesday night.

Service was efficient and friendly enough.

My bf and I both ordered martinis- perfect combination of sweet and tart.

As for the sushi, we ordered the following:

Nama Sake Avocado Maki- fresh salmon
Ebi Tempura Maki- shrimp tempura
Soft Shell Crab Maki- crab, duh!
Spicy Creamy Tako Maki- chopped octopus
Volcano Maki- creamy lobster

They were mostly all delicious and tasty, and definitely didn't taste like they've been sitting out for hours (we had dinner about an hour so before their closing time).

The only one I can say I was disappointed in was the Spicy Creami Tako Maki- which was supposed to be creamy and fresh- but really tasted wayyy too fishy- is that possible? Either way, I was not a fan.

Also, every time I try a new sushi place, my staple choices are always the shrimp tempura and the salmon with cucumber- those are my make it or break it pieces because they're my favorite. If you can't get those right and if that salmon really isn't fresh, forget it sister!

Lucky for Hachi, they were both tasty, but I wasn't blown away. For a DELICIOUS shrimp tempura, try OYSY on Grand. I have yet to find a place that surpasses Oysy.