This restaurant has nice decor, staff are friendly. The food is delicious, however, the presentation can be improved. Also, since the waitress all work together, the order might be duplicate or forgotten depend in your luck...it's a restaurant worth visiting if you are near by, but you don't want made a trip for it.
Review Source:These are the flavors I remember from a week long stay at a Japanese-owned resort in Hawaii. Â
I'd give it five stars if you are Japanese and want an traditional restaurant with the true flavors of Japan.  Three stars if you are gaijin like me and prefer the sharper, less earthy flavors of  Americanized Japanese food. Â
The ramen noodles are even better than Santouka's, though I like the broth better there.
We were greeted immediately by two separate servers in Japanese. I'm not sure what they said, but it was friendly and warm. We were given the option to sit at a table or seated on pillows on the floor. There were three televisions mounted high on the walls - two showed Japanese shows and the third was in English. The menus were written first in Japanese and second in English. The server brought out a large white board with 20-30 specials written on it. I wanted to try sooo many things!
I got the ramen because Yelpers said it was the best. I got it and was not really a fan. Maybe it's the best, but yeah. I just think that ramen isn't for me. I also got spring rolls and some fried meat balls. The spring rolls were yummy but the meatballs were just okay. And I drank a whole bottle of saki by myself which usually makes everything even better. SO, I don't think those things suited my palette.
I think that I should have had the sushi rolls instead. I know that I like sushi. I chose to be adventurous which turned out to hurt this review. I think that M liked her food okay, but her taste-buds were compromised (she was sick and things tasted differently to her). Given that our experience really wasn't that awesome, we made the mutual decision that we wouldn't make the trek to Sankyu for another try.
I finally found my favorite Japanese restaurant in the Chicago area! Â I moved to the Chicago burbs from Atlanta back in '08 and haven't been able to find a Japanese restaurant that rivaled my favorite in Atlanta until now. Â Most restaurants that I have found are primarily about sushi, while Japanese cuisine is an after thought. Â So much of Japanese cuisine is delicious that it's a unfortunate that it isn't better represented in restaurants. Â But that's neither here nor there, so I'll move on to the review!
Isakaya Sankyu is a great balance of quality food and reasonable prices (with one exception that I'll get to later). Â My wife and I went for lunch on Saturday. Â The place was practically empty. Â With not many people to wait on, we got some great service. Â They started with some very good complimentary hot green tea. Â Our cups were never less than half full before they would come back and top them off. Â I ordered the tonkatsu ramen, which was very good. Â It was $7 and change, and I was told I could get the ramen set for only $1 more, which included a choice of crunchy gyoza or pork shumai. Â I went with the gyoza and they were delicious (not the frozen out of the bag variety). Â I also went with a Rock and Roll maki (hamachi and unagi). Â For only $5.50, I felt like I was stealing from them. Â I thought that they might make the roll smaller, since it was so inexpensive. Â Boy was I wrong! Â The maki was cut into 8 pieces with a good amount of fish and eel in there. Â That made up for the $4.50 single piece of unagi nigiri that my wife had ordered. Â The nigiri are the only part of the menu that seem expensive to me. Â Everything else is reasonable to cheap in price. Â That being said, she really enjoyed that piece of eel. Â It looked very good and was a decent sized piece of eel. Â She also ordered the katsu don (her favorite) and the shrimp tempura appetizer. Â I tried a little of both (I often eat off of her plate) and they were both very good.
Every aspect of the meal was very good and for a little more than $30 we had quite the feast. Â With Mitsuwa just a mile away, we now have at our disposal a nice Japanese-themed outing in the suburbs.
Wow, strip mall Asian dining with lots of options. Â The food was fairly good, not the best I've had and there were some very strange specials - spaghetti sushi roll??? Â The waitress recommended the meatballs, she said they were good drinking food...and they were! Â The maki rolls were pretty standard. Â What leads me to the four star rating is the vibe of this place. Â It has some over the top quirky character. Â First off, they offer floor seating in the main room, a cool way to dine if you are into that. Â Next, there are white boards all around with the specials listed on them and the waitress will bring them over to your table which I found hilarious. Â Last but now least...they have a private karaoke room! Â When we were there a private party was going on and although the glass is tinted, we could still see and hear a little of the party going on. Â It was fantastic entertainment! Â If you are looking for a fun and quirky night out, this is a great place to stop
Review Source:Somewhat against my wishes, I find myself traveling to the suburbs of Chicago quite often. I've humored sushi places with rolls featuring names like "crunchy muffy," Thai restaurants whose delivery services embody late-night work oppression, and chain pizza places with menu items that only provide a glimpse of what Chicago has to offer. Unsuspecting, I got lucky. Strangely enough, it was all because of Yelp.
Four stars really means something in Austin, my hometown. But in Chicago's suburbs, its clout is slightly diluted. Tonight, the four-star rating redeemed itself with my visit to Izakaya Sankyu. My colleague and I boarded a cab from Rosemont and discovered a magical wonderland of fresh, authentic Japanese dishes that turned our day from : to :D. Extra props to the adorbz Japanese grandma type who waited upon us and procured a fantastic sake suggestion. I will be visiting this place again in the future. Thanks for interrupting the perpetuation of mediocrity. Or should I say, "sankyu."
Sankyu is so charming and I love their mixed drinks. Â The calpico sour is delicious and everything we ordered tasted very fresh. Â Anything deep fried here is tasty, the tonkatsu, tempura, soft shell crab, they even have takoyaki and okonomiyaki!
This restaurant is very authentic, the waitresses and the cooks were japanese, so were the other customers. Â I love the friendly atmosphere of this place. Â Ironically, the first time I dined here with my boyfriend was after Acen. Â We wanted some homestyle Japanese food and my friend recommended this place. Â I'm so glad we came! Â It was a nice break from the anime mayhem that is Acen ;)
The interior decor is adorable, like other reviews have said you actually feel like you're in Japan! Â The entrance is like... a restaurant inside of a restaurant. Â You'll get it when you go.
I can't wait to come back for more sours and the friendly faces.
When we first walked into Sankyu, we were a little alarmed. I guess we've gotten so used to Japanese restaurants that serve a mostly non-Japanese clientele, that walking into Sankyu was frankly a bit of a culture shock. Â But it turns out, a really really good culture shock, which we enjoyed tremendously.
When you first walk in, you'll notice right away the casual nature of the place, and that everything is primarily written in Japanese (with English as the second language). We thought that was very cool. Along with regular tables, there are also booths where you can kick off your shoes and sit on little pillows, in the traditional style. Â Also very cool, and will try that next time.
While the service was prompt and fast, it was also casual. There wasn't any of the false obsequious stuff you sometimes get from servers. These gals were friendly but busy, moving about the tables in a cooperative fashion. We had three different people serving us throughout the meal. Â It was neat and efficient.
Our Japan-immersion experience was also heightened by being seated next to a large and loud table of Japanese men (only speaking Japanese), who had apparently gathered for some sort of happy reunion. We thought it was a lot of fun to be in the middle of all that laughing and shouting. Â Anyone who says that Japanese people are restrained, hasn't seen them comfortable and in their own element.
The food was good, filling and surprisingly inexpensive, compared to most restaurants, and especially other Japanese sushi places. Â I was frankly shocked when we received the bill, and it was sub-$40 for 3 people. Â The ramen was outstanding and flavorful, as was the crisp tempura and chicken katsu. Â No refills on soda, but a full range of cool Japanese beers and drinks.
They also gave us a complementary fried fish cakes appetizer, mung bean salads and a miso soup to match another we'd ordered. Â Very welcoming!
This really isn't a sushi place. Their maki rolls were fine, but not great. It felt more like the Japanese version of a neighborhood tavern. Casual, but with tasty basic vittles catering to Japanese tastes.
And that's the beauty of this place. It's an authentic Japanese tavern, that isn't trying hard to be hip or something it's not. Â And last time I checked that, in itself, is pretty hip.
I ordered carry out from here on a Thursday during lunch time...I had to wait around 30 minutes for my sashimi platter and beef teriyaki to come out... I considered the wait to be long considering that I only ordered 2 dishes (one that involved no cooking time)...so if you have a 30 minute timed lunch, make sure you don't come here during lunchtime..
FOOD:
Sashimi Platter: it was ok, good portion for 2 people to share
Beef Teriyaki: it was ok, I've had better..the teriyaki sauce was not saucey, but rather watery like soy sauce was poured on it or something...
Japanese Ramyun: ppl claim that the ramyun here is good, but I just thought it was ok when I tried it last time with my friends...maybe I'm just not a fan of Japanese ramyun..
CUSTOMER SERVICE: the waitresses were nice, but busy so they didn't help me right away when I stepped in.. I waited about 10 minutes before they saw me and helped me...
COSTS: more on the expensive end and the lunch menus don't have lunch specials either....
This is a very traditional Japanese restaurant. Many of hte sushi restaurants we think of are very modern and "fusion" style. However, the food is quite authentic. It's a quiet, casual restaurant.
The sushi is traditional as well without crazy ornaments. The sashimi is very fresh as well.
You can find all sorts of food like ramen, teriyaki, yakisoba, and many other tradtional Japanese foods. The food is very comforting.
I recommend the tonkotsu ramen. It's a very rich broth but not too salty either. There is a generous helping of noodles and is topped with assorted vegetables and slices of pork. The yakisoba is also delicious with many different vegetables and seasonings. The portion is HUGE for only around $13.
If you're looking for a modern sushi restaurant, I wouldn't go here. But if you're looking for declicious traditional Japanese food, this is the best place to go.
I stopped by this place today for lunch. Its kind of hard to find because the sign on the street says Sankyu Sushi instead of its real name. Knowing a little bit about Japanese food culture, this place is suppose to be an izakaya which is basically the Japanese equivalent of a tgi fridays: a casual place where people get together after work for a few drinks and some snacks.
This specific place is pretty popular for tonkotsu ramen (noodles in a deep rich pork broth and toppings) so thats exactly what I got:
Tonkotsu Ramen: It actually lives up to the hype! The best broth I've ever tasted in a bowl of Ramen. Deep, rich, simmered to the point where the calcium and marrow has leeched out of the bones into the soup making it almost milky. Absolutely wonderful. Â Compared to Santouka Ramen which makes the same dish, the noodles were a little chewier and thicker but Santouka's Toppings are better and more appealing to the eyes. This place tops its noodles with bamboo shoots, about 3 small slices of pork belly, some bean sprouts, pickled ginger, and half a hard boiled egg. (7.25)
I would say if you love your Japanese ramen topped delicious high quality goodies and pork go to Santouka at the Mitsuwa Market, but if you believe that noodle quality and depth of flavor in the soup makes a good ramen then this is your place.
The meal also came with a crappy looking shredded lettuce salad which I kind of ignored and ended with 3 tiny fruit jello shots which was nice.
If you want something close to an authentic Japanese experience, check this place out! Just keep in mind it has weird hours (Closed on Wednesdays?)
Try the Ramen!
Fresh. Delicious. Good price!
I've been to Sankyu a few times now and really enjoy it.
The sushi rolls are fresh and there's plenty of varieties. The spider is a huge roll at a great price! And the dragon is so yummy!
I love noodle soup and this place has to have some of the best udon and ramen noodles! It's a must try!
It's 9am and I want some sushi and ramen!
It is with a heavy heart that I submit my first review of Sankyu at only 2 stars.
I have been to Sankyu several times in the past and have always enjoyed myself, despite the ridiculous bill that always results. I wanted to have a fresh visit before I submitted my review and was hoping to submit a five star review. Alas, it was not meant to be this time but maybe in the future. Below is my story.
We arrived at dinner time on a Sunday evening, hungry for some tapas as well as the ramen that everyone raves about. There were three waitresses but the restaurant was already about half filled and busy. The menu is long so they either purposely gave us a lot of time to look it over or they were just too busy. No problem, I can understand a little wait. We ordered a pitcher of Sapporo to start and also submitted all four of our dinner choices as well. We ordered the tonkatsu ramen, eel tempura, pork cheeks, and a rather expensive yaki soba. The beer came out quickly followed by the pork cheeks and ramen about ten minutes later. We were told our other dishes would be out shortly so we started on the first two items. Being a little hungry, we finished both very quickly and then had to wait for the next round. The eel tempura was delivered about ten minutes later and we quickly devoured that as well in anticipation of our $16 yaki soba.
We waited, sipped on some beer, waited some more then about fifteen minutes later were asked if everything was okay. My wife replied that we are still waiting on our yaki soba so our waitress said "oh" and quickly moved toward the kitchen. We assumed that she was checking on our order and would report back to us shortly. 15 minutes later, a different waitress came over and asked if we would like the check. Folks, it was at this point that I should've known something was wrong and just agreed to receive the check.
I looked at her and asked what happened to our yaki soba. This waitress also quickly ran towards the kitchen without a single word of apology and must've put in the order for our yaki soba because another twenty minutes later (the restaurant was very busy at this point) we finally received our yaki soba from our original waitress with a quick apology and no explanation. We had been waiting almost an hour for this dish to arrive and had lost our appetite from waiting for so long. I didn't say a word back to her because I didn't want to be that guy that breaks off a piece of their mind on a waitress in front of a bunch of customers. It was obvious at this point that she had forgotten to put our order in not once, but TWICE. Yep, that's right folks. TWICE.
We picked at the yaki soba then asked for our check and not only did we not receive another apology at the end of our meal but nobody tried to alleviate the situation by offering us dessert or not charging us for the dish we now didn't have the appetite to finish.
Sick with dismay, I tipped accordingly based on our bill not including the yaki soba and walked out.
We absolutely loved the food we ate that night. Every last bite of it. It was some of the best noodles I've ever had and I don't think I can ever bear to eat instant ramen noodles again after being spoiled by fresh, real ramen. Even the yaki soba was meaty and tasty. Everything was tasty!!! The service was absolute s@#$. I cannot clearly express my disdain for the absolutely horrible service we received that night and could only calm myself down by telling myself that this was a fluke and it would probably never happen again.
The almost $70 bill for 2 people ordering 2 tapas dishes and 2 entrees with a $24 pitcher of beer completed the bitter taste in my mouth to accompany the rotten taste of sub-human service we received. Not even a proper apology.
One day, when I have finally rid myself of this awful taste, I will return to once again sample the deliciously expensive treats this restaurant can produce. I can only hope that when I do go back that we do not receive the same horrible service we received. At that time, I will raise (or lower) my rating accordingly.
We've continued to visit Sankyu on a regular basis since my first review & each time have really enjoyed it. My husband, since he reads & speaks Japanese has been able to order far more off of the specials menu than I could (or would probably care to). The last time went, 3 people were ordering beer, so I suggested a pitcher ($18 for 3 glasses of beer or $24 for a pitcher). Unfortunately, the pitcher only served 3 glasses...after much discussion with the server, the manager did adjust our bill and we still love it here...but as a tip: order individual glasses and skip the pitcher :)
Review Source:I'm VERY confused by all these good reviews. Â I went based on yelp reviews and left scratching my head. Â I ordered the ramen, it was a pork dish and it tasted like a dead fish/3 week old sweaty foot in a black sock. Â Totally gross. Â I took a bite with high hopes and the expression on my face was prolly priceless. Â Not good and I would question the survival rate of anyone who ate that whole bowl. Â I didn't eat it, she asked me why I didn't eat it and I explained as nicely as I could. Â She didn't comp the 7 dollar soup I couldn't choke down. Â My husband ordered a couple rolls and I've never seen so much rice surrounding a small amount of fish. Â Way to get fat fast. Â Very disappointed and will not be back because I do value my life, yikes.
Review Source:We tried Sankyu because of all the Chi-town Yelpers who recommeded their ramen. Â I adore a good bowl of ramen, in fact it was all I could do to get out of Mitsuwa without my spicy miso the other day (knowing we had lunch plans at Sankyu).
While I probably prefer the spicy miso vs. tonkatsu, the ramen was indeed delicious-just the thing as I was feeling a bit under the weather after the trip from Phoenix. Â The waitress suggested a 'combo' where you could pick shumai or gyoza and both were good. Â The sushi also impressed me-the crazy roll was a bit large but the quality of the ingredients really shined.
In my quest for Okonomiyaki, I came across Sankyu. Â I got the okonomiyaki, of course, and my friends ordered sushi. Â The okonomikyaki was a little soggier than I would have liked, but it was still good. Â It has shrimp and I think squid in it, which I've never had in okonomiyaki before. Â The seafood was fine, but I did miss the pork belly on top.
I tried some of the sushi, and it was nothing special. Â Some of the rolls had wasabi in them, which seems strange. Â I'm not a huge fan of wasabi, so I probably won't get sushi there again.
The waitstaff was very friendly, and we were given little cheesecake squares as a complimentary dessert. Â I love Japanese food and there's a lot of things on the menu I'd like to try, so I'll definitely be back!
Izakaya Sankyu aka Sankyu Sushi Japanese Restaurant
I guess they changed the name to appeal to a more mainstream American demographic.
Don't get me wrong. Â I'm sure their sushi is pretty good. Â But personally I don't like to mix Izakaya (tapas-style) food with sushi. Â I think there is a time for sushi and a time for tapas. Â Good rule of thumb: "is it good with beer?"
Service: Â Good service, no complaints. Â Got lots of good suggestions for dishes
Ambiance: Â I'm a sucker for simple, salarymen ambiance. Â This was exactly what I was hoping for
Food:
So I"m a bit of a ramen junkie, and I'm very fortunate to have befriended Jonathan T., the resident Chicagoland ramen guru. Â He recommended this place and said it's the best in Chicagoland. Â Well he's right. Â IT'S THE BEST RAMEN. Â
Granted, this is no Ippudo; this is no Daikokuya, nor is this a Katana-ya. Â This is ramen in the Midwest. Â Had the tech bubble never burst, maybe we'd have more Japanese people in or near Chicago. Â But with their economy the way that it is, I think they couldn't care less about our ramen woes in Chicago.
All in all we ordered: Buta kakuni, tontoro, teba, and grilled beef tongue.
The buta kakuni (braised pork) was amazing. Â Fork tender, savory and sweet. Â We'd come back just for this dish. Â You should definitely order this.
The tontoro was good, but the texture was a little tough; but that's normal for cheek. Â This dish was not mind blowingly good though.
The teba was seasoned Buffalo style, but cooked in a Japanese manner. Â Very crisp and light, airy breading. Â But it tasted too familiar, my mistake for ordering it. Â It wasn't bad by any means; but I drove a ways to get out here so I wasn't in the mood for something American tasting.
Value:
4 dishes and 1 large order of warm sake later the damage came out to less than 50 bucks. Â Me and my lovely dining companion were both really, really full and had some leftovers to take home to our stoner friend. Â
Overall:
If you like ramen, next time instead of eating at Mitsuwa's food court; try this place. Â I don't think you'll regret it. Â Plus there are so many other great dishes you can try and at a fantastic price. Â This and Kuruyama are my favorite two Japanese Izakayas in Chicagoland. Â Thank God, we have at least this y'know.
This is the real deal, a Japanese salaryman post-work watering hole with Sapporo on tap, sweet & soy saucy bar food and signs advertising their karaoke box. Â It's all housed in a gloriously nostalgic adornment of carpets and wood, and all the while I expected some old woman to start bellowing out old-time enka music.
The food itself was wonderful, and the portions were larger than I was expecting. Â The buta kimchi was a classic dish done well (even if you'll find better kimchi in a good Korean restaurant), the pork in sugary soy sauce was sweet and savory, the cheese tempura was weird but worth a try, the spider roll was enormous and the kake soba warmed my bones on a particularly cold day.
If you have Japanese friends craving a taste of home, take them here. Â It'll remind them of stories their parents told them about izakayas in Showa-era Tokyo.
AUTHENTIC!!
My favorite part upon walking into this place that made me confident it was a good choice was the lack of english speaking patrons. The clientele were all Japanese and the tv's were running Japanese television,
The food was fantastic, and the server was, i believe the owner or owners mother. She treated me and my fiances like we were her grandkids. I loved it. If your not sure what to order she would go through the menu with you. the sashimi was delicious and FRESH! the dragon roll was awesome. we are coming back for sure!!
Ive been to every sushi bar in Chicago I think. This place is the BEST! When you talk to your friends and tell them how damn good the RICE was.... youve found a great place. The rice is perfect! No one else makes such fantastic rice. It is very important for sushi and sashimi of course. I wish I knew their secret. Everything here is excellent. I havent been even close to dissapointed in any of their dishes.
Best thing is I dont have to drive to the city to get here. Plenty of parking and no fighting traffic. :)
I am easily giving Sankyu 5 Stars as this is as close to being in Japan as you can get in the United States. Â To begin with Mount Prospect has a high concentration of Japanese residents. Â All we heard being spoken here was Japanese and the most excellent food is as Japanese as you can get as well. Â
If we were to show our photos to friends or family in Japan and tell them that they were taken in Japan, they would believe it naturally. Â We tried about 10 different items from the menu and enjoy everything. Â This is one of the easiest 5 star reviews I've even put on Yelp.
The Tonkotsu ramen is AWESOME.
But, the place really kinda sucks service wise. There is no hiding behind the language barrier here, these people truly don't give a shit whether you're happy or not.
The sushi chef is more than non-engaging, he is just downright anti social.
Prepare for the waitress to pretend she doesn't know you exist even when she's literally staring right at you.
The food is great, but if I want to have a meal and get totally shit on I will just stay home. Eat here a few times, because the grub is pretty tasty. Watch out for the elitist, sour, totally assy ass people who own and operate this joint...See for yourself if the taste is worth the disregard.
On the recommendation of a fellow Yelper, I made the trip out to Izakaya Sankyu to try their Tonkotsu Ramen. How'd they do?
Ingredients-wise, they hit a number of my favorites: bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, boiled egg, and pork. Appearance-wise: it looked pretty similar to Tonkotsu I've tried elsewhere. Flavor-wise? The taste was fine, but I tend to prefer a slightly denser broth. Not thick like a stew, but with a little bit more volume and weight, where this particular broth came on the lighter side. The noodles were fine, but I was a bit disappointed with the the quality and preparation of the pork. It's certainly a delight when you get well seasoned, or very tender pork. Given it's nature as a quick-serve street food, I'm okay with not having that all the time. It's a different thing when the pork comes in particularly dry. I'm not too fond of that.
It's definitely nice to know that there's another solid place to grab ramen from in the area, but it's likely not one I'll be making frequent or special trips for.
I also tried their gyoza which was pretty tasty.
The restaurant itself had a decent amount of space, and the staff was pretty friendly when I was there.
If I get a chance, I would like to sample many of the items on their menu, and I suspect that my rating would be a 4-star rating in that case.
I wish this place were closer to me.
Sankyu is an izakaya that specializes in small plates designed to complement the Japanese love affair with drinking sake and beer.
Sankyu brings me back to my days in LA.
It's located in a strip mall.
It serves respectable sushi.
I came with a co-worker on a week night after work. We ordered:
Grilled Chicken Wings with lemon
Deep Fried Buffalo Style Wings
Hamachi
Tuna
Salmon
Halibut
Spicy Tuna
All the fish was very fresh and the rice to fish ratio in every nigiri piece was perfect.
Wings with sushi??? Don't hate.
The wings should be illegal. They taste so yummy they should be classified as a controlled substance.
If this spot was near me, then I would have their number on speed dial or demand an i-Phone take-out app.
Very good. Will be back.
The best compliment that I can give Izakaya Sankyu is that they actually serve REAL Japanese food. Â I know... you think I'm lying. Â After all, the avocado and cream-cheese covered fish slivers wrapped in sour rice topped with spicy mayonnaise and drenched in soy sauce passing as Japanese food has rendered the real deal as common as a unicorn these days. Â Well people, believe me when I say I drove out to Mount Prospect and found me a real, honest-to-goodness unicorn!
As the name suggests, Sankyu is an izakaya (Japanese gastropub) and the obvious focus of the place is on providing the local Japanese office workers with a happy-hour hangout where they can unwind with some high-quality Japanese booze and a taste of the old country. Â
The place is pretty small, with half of the dining room dedicated to low-table, traditional, shoe-less seating. Â There's also a row of regular tables on the other side for people who forgot to wear their nice socks that day (or have raging foot stink or inflexible appendages), and bar-seating around the open kitchen towards the back. Â The atmosphere is very Japanese, a little dated and lovingly worn (like the entire neighborhood), but very cozy and very conducive to getting shitfaced and pigging out.
The menu is pretty extensive, covering a bevy of traditional grilled and fried izakaya hits, ramen soups, udon soups, chazukes, etc, Â They even have sushi and sashimi for those who are more restrained about trying new things, and even that is guaranteed awesome considering how the sushi chef here is actually trained and is actually Japanese (another unicorn alert!).
On the waitress' recommendation, we tried the kurimu korokke (creamy crab croquette) and the mochi bacon (bacon-wrapped rice cake). Â The crab croquette was awesome... panko-crusted outside was perfectly fried and crisp, the inside was luscious and creamy, effusing with crab flavor. Â The best analogy I can think of to describe it would be a big clam chowder fritter, but with crab. Â Awesome. Â The mochi bacon was also tasty (who doesn't love grilled bacon), but had a hard time competing with the croquette on flavor.
We couldn't pass up this rare opportunity to try real-deal sashimi so we also got the sashimi platter. Â The quality and freshness of the fish and the precision of the knife-work made a world of difference. Â Each bite was completely clean in flavor, melting in the mouth. Â Maguro tuna and salmon were my favorites, and in a first for me, the octopus was a perfect texture, not like those rubbery hockey pucks at other places.
Now, my real reason for coming to Sankyu was to try the tonkotsu ramen and I wasn't disappointed in the least with it. Â The big bowl of milky white soup (a divine emulsion of pork stock, collagen, marrow, and fat) came out looking picture perfect (I took a picture!). Â Sankyu is not a dedicated ramen place, so I wondered if the soup and noodles were made fresh that day (tonkotsu takes at least 9-12 hours of boiling), but I couldn't tell the difference either way to tell you the truth. Â The tonkotsu tasted like heaven in a bowl. Â Rich, meaty, creamy but still clean and light on the tongue... mmmmmmm (slobber). Â The ramen was topped with grilled chasu pork slices, pickled ginger, menma bamboo shoots, soybean sprouts and a boiled egg. Â Not bad at all.
As for liquor, they have Sapporo on tap which is nice, but we loved the ume plum wine more. Â They also have decent sake selection (no warm crappy cooking sakes being passed off!) and other harder alcohols (like shochu) but considering how we were about 20 miles from the city center, it probably would have been foolhardy to go there. Â Dessert was a tasty Japanese clear jelly with red bean in a syrup (forgot the name) but i was way too full by then to care.
Our waitress was a bit soft-spoken but very friendly, helpful, attentive and very willing to answer all my obnoxious questions about the restaurant's name (she didn't really know, but her best guess was '39' was a lucky number and sounded like "Thank you" when spoken) and the cabinets full of half-full bottled of sake and shochu labelled with names and dates (unable to be finished, they were awaiting the return of their owners at another time).
Prices were pretty reasonable. Â The sashimi was expectedly pricey ($20), but the appetizers and dessert were priced fairly and that divine bowl or ramen could be considered dirt-cheap. Â All in all, including liquor, we spent a little over $60 for a multi-course, 2-person, alcohol-included eating orgy.
We'll definitely be back. Â It's a bit of a drive, but completely worth it. Â And, as others have stated, they have karaoke here but the flyer in the bathroom was in Japanese so I couldn't really tell you when.
I have been looking for a Japanese restaurant that serves good ramen since Kitakata closed and this place is a good replacement.
I had the day off of work and drove out to the burbs to have lunch with the hubs. Â He had come here previously with a co-worker and knew I would enjoy the food. Â We sat down and were greeted by an old Japanese woman. Â We ordered gyoza, tonkatsu ramen, spicy tuna rolls and chicken katsu. Â For lunch, this was a ton of food. Â The gyoza were fried with a crunchy outside but perfect. Â The tonkatsu ramen was huge! Â There was pork, bean sprouts, ginger and lots of delicious noodles. Â That came with rice and a salad. Â The hubs liked his spicy tuna rolls and the chicken katsu. Â There was so much food that we left some on our plate/bowl.
The service was good though a little slow towards the end of the meal. Â I am ready to go back and try everything else on the menu. Â I will be back!
If there is a positive for working for a Japanese based company, it starts and ends with company dinners. After that, everything gets lost in translation.
Anyways, a small group from our company hit this place up on a Thursday night and they handed my coworker ( blood red sun Japanese) a large menu. From this menu he ordered the entire meal for our group of 7.
I was able to sample everything from sashimi to Udon to the standard Izakaya dishes. My coworker even ordered some rolls against his will as they apparently "don't have that crap" in the real Japan. Needless to say we had some awesome food that I never would have thought to try as I am only a sushi amateur.
With that in mind, this place prepared all of our food with excellent quality. My only regret was trying the sea urchin not once, but twice. I never want something of that consistency in my mouth ever again.
Our bill was up in the $400 range but we honestly had a 6+ course meal with tons of food to take home to la familias.
All in all, this place is a small, delicious part of Mount Prospect that I would recommend to anyone without hesitation. The food is pretty good, but if your expecting its awesomeness to erase the memory of what happened at P. Harbor.....well, that just won't happen.
p.s. The karaoke is interesting. Even more interesting if you get the staff involved. Enjoy!
Great Karaoke but the room needs some ventilation. You don't realize it until you come back from the bathroom and you wonder, "We must be having a blast not to notice how bloody hot and sticky it is in here." Â
It's an authentic Japanese Izakaya. Food is great, service is fine, and they are always getting better. kaizen
I went there with my sister and brother-in-law for lunch. The inside reminded me a lot of a traditional izakaya in Japan, which helped me relax after a busy Sunday in Indianapolis. As we sat on zashiki (higher floor), my brother-in-law had a trouble sitting down due to low table and resultant lack of space for his legs. They also had a small TV playing NHK from the ceiling, which again reminded me a lot of a traditional izakaya in Japan.
The waitress that attended us was probably a Chinese or a Korean, but other waitresses kept eyes on us for service. The variety of the lunch menu was decent, and I ordered grilled pork with ginger sauce lunch set. My sister ordered chirashi zushi.
The pork was good in flavor, although I usually prefer more ginger in taste. The portion was a little more than I expected, so for that department I was happy. Potato salad was mind and matched the pork. Sliced tomato were a little hard and had little taste though. Tea was alright.
On the other hand, my sister complained that she had too much seasoned kanpyo and shiitake mushroom between fishes and rice. Since she could not finish all the rice for her (well, like most she finished her fishes though :P), I finished it off. As she said, the rice was a bit too sweet for my taste as well. Â My brother-in-law enjoyed his fried potstickers and rolled sushi.
In the end, had I eaten chirashi like my sister did, I'd rate this place three-star. But because I ordered something better (and more reasonable), I would like to rate this place a little higher.
2.5 stars
Yeh this place is another disappointment.. Cute restaurant, loved the staff, however, the food was mediocre at best..
We tried the cooked food as well as the sushi and found everything to be average to below average.. I made the mistake of thinking this place was a legite sushi restaurant and ordered some really bad Raw Uni.. It was slimey and fishy and not in a good way.. It tasted really old, like one of the uni you would receive out of a generic tray of like 30..
The sushi pieces were all bad and they had a really small selection.. Ordered a ume shiso roll and was disappointed to see them take the ume out of a tube..
Also had seen one of the cooks make a broth out of a powder in a bag.. Everything was average,,
Another generic restaurant in the burbs..
Super-authentic Japanese food and ambiance.... friendly staff, excellent food.
Wish that this place was closer to work so we could go for lunch, or closer to home so we could go for dinner. Â As it is, it's cool enough to warrant a trip out to the burbs every once in a while specifically for it.
I suppose heading west of the city is getting 10 miles closer to Japan... while this restaurant makes you feel 1500 miles closer to Japan. Â It's a great place to have here in the region!
A solid Japanese izakaya and a karaoke lounge for the local Japanese.
FOOD: Very decent. The menu is extensive, but they were out of the three items I was hoping to try - buta/pork kakuni, grilled iwashi/sardines and gindara! But I was happy to find some authentic dishes on the today's special menu, like cream crab croquette, maguro/tuna tataki and tofu shira-ae. (Note: it's written on a chalkboard in Japanese.) They have the standard izakaya dishes/appetizers, noodles (udon, soba, chuka-soba, ramen), sushi and rice plates. For the ramen fans, their pork ramen (tonkotsu) is supposed to be a popular dish...and you will hear people loudly SLURP here! Oh, and they have "okonomiyaki" - something I'm sure Mindy W would appreciate.
Out of the five items we ordered, we really enjoyed the "pork/buta kimchi." It was spicy, buttery and very tasty. The shira-ae and grilled kama were both decent, and so was the sushi. Not the best, but passable, and I liked the rice. I'm sure with more sake, we would've enjoyed our meal a lot more.
AMBIANCE: Very Japanese. You can sit on the floor zashiki-style or at the table. You can watch the NHK broadcast on TV or read free magazines available at the entrance. There's also a big karaoke room (with the "on-demand" internet karaoke system) that can accommodate up to 30 guests.
SERVICE: Not the friendliest, but careful and attentive.
PRICES: You definitely get a good amount of food for what you pay.
SUM: Would love to throw a karaoke party here!
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