First experience with Jai Yen--ordered delivery. Â Two stars may be a bit overrated. Â First, I ordered a chicken pad thai, and recieved a 1/2 chicken, 1/2 tofu mess (I hate tofu). Â The noodles clumped together and were so overdone, they tasted like mush. Â Disgusting. Â They also forgot our spicy miso, which I immediately called the restaurant, was put on hold for 3 minutes, and was told they would not be able to redeliver it but would 'credit' me a miso for next time ordering, but not refund my money today. Â The crab rangoon and potstickers were decent, which is the only reason I'm giving it two stars. Â Delivery beware!
Review Source:This place is not Sushi. This place is a MESS of food. If you are looking for a good sushi place. This is not the place for you. The rolls seem that are trying to get decorated in the plate and what it looks like is a mess due to having too much food in it. It looks that the chefs had ideas of putting this and putting that and a little of this and that and t the end is a complete mess of flavors. Live two blocks from this place and will never come back. This is not sushi for me!
Review Source:Until tonight this was my favorite place. Case in point: My GrubHub history shows that I have placed delivery orders there 27 times in the past two months. Do the math on that. I took screenshots of my order history but can't upload pics to Yelp; bummer because they make my case for me. Anyway, if you want the truth, I would guess that in the past 5 years I've spent upwards of $5K at that place. I wish I was exaggerating, but I actually think it might even be more. Why? I have food allergies and a crazy work schedule and this place was dependable and fast.
So tonight, I ordered from my GrubHub app from Jaiyen as usual. Â Some time later I realized I was starving and that almost 2 hours had passed since I ordered. Checked my phone and sure enough - 3 calls from Jaiyen and 4 from my doorman from well over an hour earlier. The ringer was on silent. So I call Jaiyen to apologize and see what can be done. I am obviously not going to eat fish that's been out for 2 hours.
While I understand there's a language barrier, "I'm sorry" is universal and I was the one saying it. But instead of being understanding, they gave me a lecture. So I reiterated it was my oversight, I order all the time and this isn't something that usually happens, and asked what could be done now to get some new food to me. I explained that I order from them like 4 times a week (if not more). I got more lecture. I asked to speak to a manager. No manager. The girl - her name was Au -- didn't even know the name of the manager. When I tried a last time to explain, they told me I needed to listen to them; I did, and guess what? They proceeded to explain for the 4th time how I'd messed up and kept their driver waiting. I apologized again, emphasized it was my error, etc. No dice. They refused to cook new food, saying they would have to lose money.
GrubHub facilitated my refund for payment, Â after getting their own lecture from Jaiyen. Can you imagine? GrubHub was great - offered a coupon for my troubles.
Moral of the story: This is not a place that values you as a customer. They'll cook your food and it will be fine, but if something goes wrong, they won't offer good service. Not what you want from a neighborhood joint where you've always been a good customer.
Pretty good sushi and a lot of rolls to choose from. However, we did get there and they told us it would be 10-15 minutes and ended up waiting an hour, where they ended up sticking us (a party of 3) at a 2-person table, when they could have done that from the get-go. So, every couple of 2 that walked in before us got seated before us and we ended up getting the same exact table as them. So that was disappointing. They did give us 10% off the bill though.
Review Source:Got a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> certificate so decided to give this place a try. Â The certificate was worth $25, and the minimum purchase was $35. Â This was easy to meet if you order an appetizer and 3-4 rolls, table for 2. Great that it's BYOB especially on a weeknight.
The pros:
Friendly, nice and attentive staff. Â I asked for water with no ice and the waitress never made a mistake on refilling my water. Â
Good size portions, the sushi is decent and for the price you pay for sashimi I think it's more than fair.
Quick turn around! Â Our food arrived within 15 minutes all on one giant mouth-watering display and that's good news for people who don't like waiting.
The cons:
I agree with the last review - the electronic music was too much. Â And if you sit anywhere close to the screens you might find them a bit too glaring and uncomfortable. Â The lighting is dark but it's not so bad you need a light to see the menu and food.
It can get really loud in here, especially with big groups of people and countless BYOB bottles, so although there is enough space for seating, I wouldn't consider this place romantic or family friendly. Â
Overall good food and service, would come back again. Â I would give it a 3 and a half.
Every single time I go here I leave happy. I read other people's reviews, first if you are ordering sushi to be delivered, that's your fault. You are doing something very strange and if it arrives cold I really can't feel bad for you. Unless you have no legs get off your tush and walk in. If you have no legs, well. If it's diabete's related I'm not sure you should be eating fried sushi anyway.
I half a mile from here, and I live a block from Nano Sushi, and yet I take the extra couple blocks walk and pay the extra dollar or two each and every time. You can taste where that dollar goes. The fish is always fresh, every ingredient is always perfect and the presentation is always worth a picture. At this stage I've tried nearly everything on their menu, if it sounds like something you would like, then more than likely you will like it.
The BYOB pertains to beer and wine, and there is a 711 a block down the street if you needed such. No liquor. So you know.
I've once waited 8 minutes for a table and that happened on a Friday night, other than that the place is always semi slow. Which is nice as they help you immediately and feed you as quick as possible. I honestly cannot say how fortunate I am to live so close to my favorite sushi restaurant, and that it is affordable and consistently perfect.
I could do without the music. Why I am forced to listen to blaring techno at a dimly lit sushi bar is beyond me, I suppose it is the edge of boys town so I let it slide.
Also, I dislike the desserts, but that is an across the board thing. Their food blows our mind if you want cheese cake go to the cheese cake factory.
Went here for a last minute birthday dinner with my friend. She loved the sushi and there were plenty of vegetarian options for me. They even brought us some ice cream when I told them it was her birthday, so that was a nice plus. And it's BYOB. Add in the reasonable prices and you can't really go wrong.
Review Source:Please not this review is for delivery.
So I am a big sushi fan and I have to admit I crave it about 99.9% of the time, even if that means I am too lazy to get my butt off the couch, so I tend to order for delivery a lot. Â Having said that I feel like there is an art to the delivery of sushi, presentation with sushi emans a lot and it really says wonders about a restaurant when the food is really fresh and presented well even when it is delivered and not served moments after the chef has prepared it. Â
Okay, not that I gave that preface, onto the actual reveiw. I ordered Jaiyen for delivery a few nights ago just having another one of my classic sushi cravings and went for Jaiyen since it was relatively close and in the mid price range for sushi. Â My friend and I ordered the regular miso soup, spicy miso soup, seaweed salad (which I always order), some Shrimp fried rice and spicy Tuna Maki, we were not too hungry so we did not go crazy.
After finishing our food, my friend and I decided overall it was 3.5 starts. It was a little bit above average but nothing amazing. The spicy miso soup was really tasty but I did not get a ton of spice in the soup from the jalapenos which is why I got the spicy miso and not the regular. The Seaweed salad, which I could eat for every meal, was really average, there was very little sauce on it and the flavor was not very good. They put a lime in the container to squeeze on the salad but that did not really help the flavor much. What I did find interesting was they put cucumbers at the bottom of the salad, which I did like like because it added a crispness to the salad. The Shrimp fried rice was actually pretty impressive, there was whole pieced of shrimp and not those little nasty baby shrimp that usually comes in shrimp fried rice, so that was really impressive. The Spicy Tuna Maki was really good, but then again, it is kind of hard to mess up Spicy tuna Maki. Â
Overall, if you want a less expensive sushi experience, I would say give them a try. I was not wow'ed but it did satisfy my sushi craving.
For what it is, it's one of my favorite sushi places in Chicago.
Why you ask?
It's ridiculously close to home. Â Granted, there are a plethora of sushi spots in Lakeview within walking distance from my house. Â Many of those same places are also BYOB with no corkage fee...
Location aside, I'd probably give Jai-Yen 4 stars. Â The sushi is delicious, and I crave Red Marine ever since I've had it. Â Many of the other rolls are delicious as well, and I've never had anything I didn't like. Â For a large group, service is a little shaky, but I've gone with one or two friends, and never experienced any issues. Â Not that there were with a large group, but we waited awhile before we could order. Â
If you're in the neighborhood, and by that I include Lakeview and Lincoln Park, and probably Uptown, it's my favorite hands down. Â Definitely worth a stop.
Best sushi in all of Lakeview. Hands down. Â I am so happy that we moved to this neighborhood specifically because of our proximity to Jai-Yen sushi. Â We love that it is a BYOB place because it saves us a lot of money & drinks. Â I recommend the Santa's X-mas tree roll, Red Marine Roll, the pad-thai, actually... I've been here so many times and have tried so many things on the menu & have honestly never been dissatisfied that I can safely say I recommend absolutely everything on the menu. Â The service is great, the servers and sushi-chef's are so friendly and polite with the customers, and service is pretty fast too! They brought us a complimentary ice bucket and chilled glasses to enjoy the beers we brought. If you are a sushi fanatic like me, don't hesitate to check this place out. Â Jai-Yen is a top notch restaurant.
Review Source:Living so close, I've been to Jai-yen multiple times for both dine-in and carry out. First started going because <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> had great deals there for dine-in. We have consistently liked their sushi which has been fresh, has a lot of options, including a lot of veggie options already on the menu. We ventured into their entrees and also enjoyed. I personally like the seaweed salad and pepper steak, as well as their pad thai and crazy soba noodles, yum! I've had friends come over and ask that we get take our from here.
Dine in service is okay, it can get slow and hard to get someone's attention when it's busy. The place does get a bit packed on weekend evenings. They also put out these small wooden tables when they're busy which are not comfortable, so we don't do dine-in too much. Also, if you happen to carry out, be sure to check the website for free things depending on the amount of your order (free edamame, friend rice, rolls, etc.) They won't mention it, but will give it to you if you mention it and meet the order requirement.
In all this is a 3.5-4, but due to proximity for me personally, I gave it 4. Decor is nice inside too, they go for a modern feel, including playing top 40 music sometimes.
I've dined in the restaurant once but what I really really love is the delivery.
You know when you come home from a really miserably long day. The kind that actually start off the night before because you couldn't fall asleep so in the morning you're too tired to remember to take any of the necessary items with you when you leave your place (i.e. wallet, lunch, dignity) and progresses so "well" that by noon you've somehow been roped into a conversation with your ex (and all you want to do is sing Taylor Swift to him: We are never ever ever getting back together. This is exhausting), work is just NOT going well, and by the time you get home you really just want to cry and then die.
But instead you find that tiny bit of sense left in your brain and order Jai-Yen (accidentally-on-purpose ordering twice as much as you can really eat) and about 20 minutes later the nicest looking man is on your step with a bag full of delicious, delicious deliciousness. And you eat your entire order of crab rangoon and your whole body smiles.
To the point: Their food is, well, delicious. Their delivery is quick. And the delivery guy is always super nice and polite. Their prices are spot on and for $20 you can have enough sushi/snacks to rectify even the worst day and to keep you smiling well into the next when you have leftovers for lunch.
Nice combination of sushi and thai in one place, but:
- no wifi (try to redeem that groupon ;)
- would not accommodate sea food allergy (they fry everything in one oil)
- staff, although helpful was difficult to get attention from at times
the good? the food ... it is good, not outstanding, but good (great deal on groupon now)
This has become my go-to sushi place. Jaiyen is one of the only restaurants Ive seen participate in deals such as group-on that offer dine-in and carry-out and had they never offered carry-out with these deals, I wouldnt have become a regular, as I am now. Â Although, I do enjoy eating in the restaurant too. I like the neighborhood, parking is pretty decent, and the restaurant is cozy. The staff has always been very friendly to me and quick to take care of me and my guests.
I highly recommend the Baby Bear and Jade Dragon. However, Im excluding one star b/c lately the usually large (and very fresh) slabs of salmon on the Baby Bear have gotten smaller and the Jade Dragon usually comes with shaved radish,which I love, but they have been leaving it out of my to-go orders the past couple times. Im hoping this is a fluke.
otherwise, fresh sushi, fair prices, and very friendly staff!
A pretty standard BYOB sushi place in Chicago. I like that.
The waitresses are very attentive. Since this is a busy spot with proximity to Boystown and Wrigleyville nightlife, they keep the flow of orders going. The vibe is trendy with pop/club type music playing.
I've had the miso soup, which had lots of miso, and was a nice start. My boyfriend and I have had a number of rolls including spicy tuna, spicy salmon, salmon avocado, crazy, futo (with egg, sweet potato, spinach), philly, unagi and spider. Â The spicy ones are a bit spicy than other places. Our favorite is the unagi avocado.
My big issue is the rice. It doesn't stick together, so oftentimes when you pick up a maki piece, some rice falls off. It's a big frustration of mine when sushi places can't get the rice right, since it's such a big part of their offering. Also, the blenders in the dining room can be a bit disruptive. My boyfriend and I like how everything tastes though.
I can't finish my review without mentioning presentation. It's sort of beautiful - I now almost understand what people feel compelled to instagram their food and post it on Facebook. On a recent visit, we went all out and got dessert. We ordered mochi and green tea ice cream, and the mochi presentation was surprised me in a delightful way (self-admittedly, maybe I'm easily delighted after splitting a bottle of wine). Gotta love the BYOB sushi places.
Slightly above-average sushi. Atmosphere is nice and date appropriate. It's BYOB and reasonably priced. The rolls are pretty big and (if you look at all the added pix) presented beautifully. I just have never been overly impressed with anything I have ever ordered here. Definitely too much filling, not enough fish.
I say go with a date (it's small and I wouldn't recommend it for groups) and put your expectations above the average AYCE sushi, but below the good places like Toro or even Coast. Not a destination spot, but worthy if you're in the hood.
Who doesn't like BYOB...That was cool and it was a welcomed surprise since we were celebrating my friends birthday!
I only gave this restaurant 3 stars because the sushi we had wasn't bad it just wasn't the best I had and one of the dishes we ordered didn't taste that fresh but the presentation, the staff the restaurant itself was very nice.
I would go back if I was in the neighborhood but it wouldn't be my first choice or I wouldn't travel from my side of town just to get to them because it wasn't that good!!
I really like <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> because it allows me and my friend to checkout different places without spending or breaking the bank since we both like to eat...lol and visit new places!
So, I would still recommend this place and I hope if I go back that I'm able to do my signature happy dance..
Whoa, cheap sushi in Chicago? Count me in! I've only been for sushi once before in Chicago and it was good but waaaaay overpriced (Chicago is known for this sushi, yes?) so that was my fear about coming here. Some friends who live in the neighborhood suggested this place since I'm forever posting pics of sushi porn on Facebook and I couldn't wait to see what it had to offer.
We went on Friday night and my first thought was "How do they fit people in here?" The space was tiny but they use it to their advantage with the floor plan and not cramming people on top of each other. I was expecting there to be a long way but we only had to wait about 10 minutes for a table and from there it was smooth sailing. Service was on point but they weren't constantly at the table. We ordered a smorgasbord of sushi rolls and they came out quick but not quick enough to make me think something fishy was going on (pun intended of course). The Green Turtle and Baby Bear were out of this world with flavor bombs exploding in my mouth plus cmon, the names of the rolls are cute. We got an order of edamame and about nine rolls and walked out around $100--not too shabby at all!
And I think we all know the best part---BYOB with no fee! Even thought it's not made in IL anymore it was nice to enjoy some Goose Island 312 without paying $6 a bottle. I kind of wish I lived near here so I could go again!
I'm shocked this place only has 3.5 avg rating. I thought it was incredible. 100% best sushi I've had in Chicago. I lived in San Diego for a year and would put Jai-Yen up against some of my favorites out there. We got the pot-stickers to start which were incredible. The crunchy spicy salmon was one of the best rolls I've ever had. We also got the Ebi Tempura Maki and Tropical which were both delicious as well. The service was wonderful. We had a reservation for 8 on a Friday night. It was packed and we unfortunately got there a little late due to a redline delay. We only had to wait a couple minutes and got a seat. I will definitely be returning!
Review Source:I love this place!
If you are getting food delivered, consider ordering from their direct website since you may find a better deal (they offer some discounts/special offers): Â <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jai-yen.com%2F&s=753d636d47fbb3bc2aa1cd75c09aac9f58a8aaff940ad2569f3b7054cfb70b5b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.jai-yen.com/</a>
The atmosphere is great, and is a nice place to go sit down at. Â The service I've had while eating in the restaurant was fantastic. Â It seemed all of the employees were working together in order to provide great service to the customers. Â We had multiple employees check up on us--not just our server. Â I appreciated that.
My favorite meal is the Cashew Chicken. Â It's delicious! Â The Chicken Teriyaki is good, but not as exceptional as other items on the menu in my opinion. Â Thai Spicy Basil is yummy. Â I asked my boyfriend right now what he likes so I could add it, and he replied "everything." Â He loves the Green Turtle. Â He said it was some of the best sushi he has ever had. Â I don't like seafood or sushi (except vegetable sushi), so I can't comment on it. Â Oh, and try the Spicy Miso!
Thank you to all the employees that are obviously very hard workers! Â It's nice to order food and know that it will be well made every time.
My favorite sushi place in all of Chicago!
The food is amazing, service impeccable (they are so polite) AND it's BYOB.
Another thing... this place is always spotlessly clean. We regularly end up being the last people in there (probably due to being over-jealous with the BYOB policy!) and they make sure the entire restaurant is gleaming before they leave.
Go to Jai-Yen, I guarantee you will not be disappointed!
It's funny how some of your regular spots you aren't even purposely looking for and when you find them they're right in front of your face. We each lived by here for years and randomly checked it out.
The atmosphere is pretty inviting and has an open, large dining room with aquariums and modern decor. They have an outside patio which, considering the traffic and people watching on Broadway at that stretch, was something that never appealed to us.
It's BYOB with no corkage fee. The service is consistently good.
We have ordered over myriad visits:
Miso Soup and Spicy Miso Soup (sometimes w chicken)
Good
Tom Kar with chicken
Rich coconut taste and lots of meat and veggies
Seaweed Salad
He likes it a lot.
Cashew Chicken w Rice
I found boring. He ate it all but was not wowed.
Thai Spicy Basil w Chicken and Rice
He quite likes and orders often. One time it was spicier than typically.
Red Curry Chicken w Rice
Rich and filling. Spicy and Sweet w tons meat and veggies. My fave entree but I love curry.
Sushi!
All the rolls and nigiri are delicious. We like Dynamite (by far the best), Dragon, Giant, Red Marine, Volcano, and Spider. Mexican Roll was a let down. Nigiri didn't wow me; but I love rolls, especially if they have a bunch of ingredients and sauces. So I'm not a purist.
Also, the sushi is served less than room temperature and sometimes the rolls are messy and rolled loose. Ugh, I hate eating even messier than normal in front of a boy. Dropping rice or chunks of fish or avocado all over a damn table.
Even though the menu is fusion and have many options I feel they did not sacrifice quality. Many rolls are unique or Americanized versions but just the same half the items possess authenticity. All items are well executed.
This is a regular spot my dc and I enjoy. See if you like it too!
I'm never sure what to think about Jai Yen. On the one hand, the rolls are quite large and quite good, and the other food available is reasonably priced. But the sushi is a bit higher priced than other joints around town, Â and the service is inane. They were playing NBC Nightly News on TV (...?) and when I asked to turn it off (because I don't want to feel like I'm eating sushi in an airport lounge) the woman giggled as if I were joking.
"No, really. Can you change the channel."
As she walked away, she said over her shoulder, "I can't do that for you, sir." Â Because..... you don't want to? Or because the owner insists on NBC playing at all times because of Brian Williams' awesome hair?
I wouldn't go unless you had some discount, but otherwise, if you don't mind mediocre service and weird TV channels, it's OK.
Wow! Â That was spicy! Hmmmmm =)
If your into spicy noodles..this is the place for you! Â Needless to say...the BYOB led us here for dinner...and the wait staff got us to become repeating customers. Â They were very attentive and knowledgeable about their menu. Â So when they tell you its spicy... ITS SPICY. Â Trust me.
You are able to bring your own wine or beer with no corkage fee. Â That is definitely a plus. Â Only downside is that you cannot bring hard liquor. Although, we did manage to bring a bottle of Crown (without knowing we couldn't bring liquor) without them giving us a hard time =)
Great staff, good food and did I mention it was BYOB. Â Yes, I'll be coming back here in the near future...
My experience last night was bad enough that I'm breaking out of my Yelp silence to report what a disaster this was.
Placed GrubHub carryout order at 8:18 on a Sunday night (I have the email, that's how I know the exact time). Walked out of there with my food at 9:20 after waiting at the restaurant for 35 minutes.
For the most part, I've always gotten my Thai fill at another joint just to the south on Halsted. But this place is closer to home and I was in a hurry to eat and get back to something I needed to work on. I stopped ordering from here a few years ago because I was tired of waiting an extra 10-15 minutes to pick up my food after arriving. I figured things had probably gotten better since then, but I really didn't know how good I had it back then. Sparing you from the lo-o-o-ng story, the Readers' Digest version includes my texting the fiancee to tell her to never allow me to order from here again. Two other people who had ordered carryout milled about, waiting awkwardly in aggravated silence.
I'm a really patient guy. I'm more than understanding when a place is busy, but this was just too much, and while I wasn't taking orders or working in the kitchen, they sure didn't seem busy enough to have been struggling this much. When I went up to check on the food, a delivery guy who was trying to help and seemed to be somewhat in charge took my name, turned to where some bags were sitting, and found my order. Last straw. You mean it was ready and no one bothered to say anything? I honestly believe that if I hadn't broken out of my usually passive, patient shell to get a status update that I would still be sitting there, 17 hours later.
Never again. Schblammo, Jai-Yen!
It's hard to beat this little neighborhood storefront. The food is excellent, the atmosphere is very cozy, it gets a great local crowd and the prices are really reasonable. Make sure you try the specials -- I went for years before I thought of it at the suggestion of a visiting friend. They were seasonal, fresh, imaginative and delicious.
You can bring your own wine or beer for no charge. We brought sake from the neraby liquor store once assuming we'd drink it at room temperature. They took it into the kitchen and heated it for us.
I've never had a single complaint in a couple dozen visits.
This has to be by far the best sushi place i've had in Chicago and I'm from LA.
I've tried rollapalooza and yuki hana both were.... bleh. but Jai Yen was actually really good.
I've had the Jade Dragon, Rainbow, Fire Dragon, and the Seafood Tempura. Although a little pricey compared to LA prices- good to know this will be a good go to whenever I'm craving sushi.
This place is A-Ok. In the past, Jai-Yen was my go to sushi place! Then I started noticing some nights were great and some nights were not so great. As I began to meander around the city I found better places.
I still come back here every now and then for nostalgic purposes (and the price); it is generally decent.
We've been twice now and both times had solid service and pretty good food.
The rolls are good, some standing out more than others, as is wont to occur. The Giant Roll has so far been the favorite, with the Snow Angel coming a close second (it has this spicy coriander sauce drizzled over it that just makes the whole thing come together). My only major complaint was that the Snow Angel wasn't rolled as well as is usual. It was a little loose.
We also had noodle dishes both times as well and both times have been pleased with the level of spice and flavor. While I've definitely had better noodles, ones that I might be tempted to write home about, these were still quite enjoyable.
The service is excellent and the restaurant itself has a relaxed yet somehow hip vibe. Aside from the odd plaster-y smell in one corner, it's a very pleasing set up.
The prices are a little beyond my usual preferences, but with a Groupon or other such deal, it's well worth it.
Came here and blew about $90 on some damn good sushi! I guess the beau got a little sushi-happy with the rolls. We got waaaaay more food than necessary for two people but it was definitely worth it.
I LOOOOVE that it's BYOB and they don't even charge you a cork fee. We brought in a couple of bottles of wine and had ourselves a lovely night.
The inside decor is beautiful. We were actually seated next to three couples on first dates. It was the perfect setting: low lights w/ candles, a gorgeous fish tank and an overall good vibe.
I would definitely come back here in the future.
My friends and I were pleasantly surprised by this Sushi place. I had no problem reserving a Friday evening table for 7 people the night before we wanted to come. They basically gave us a little room to ourselves. It wasn't until later that other people took the remaining tables, but it was still set back enough to feel rather secluded.
Service was decent, but a bit slow. The waitress and her supervisor seemed to be confused by the BuyWithMe deals that we brought. We had 2 coupons which could be combined with 4 or more people. They told us we could only use one, but I pointed out the fine print and they accepted them. There are also good deals on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurant.com&s=0aab4cbd731f3d3b0d1453050d3abc56a8c80bd214e25469c7555b750dca8a51" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurant.com</a> right now. It's still quite affordable without any discounts.
All of us came prepared for BYOB with a plethora of wine and a couple packs of beer. They brought out a large ice bucket and opened a few bottles for us. They quickly realized we had stockpiled booze and smartly left the corkscrew at our table. They also had the sense to bring out wine glasses for the entire group.
We started with two appetizers: Crab Rangoon (pillowy pockets of heaven) and a fried Spicy Tuna Roll (another mouthgasm). It was just enough to tease our tastebuds for the feeding frenzy that was about to begin.
One thing to realize is that the time between ordering food and getting it seems to span as long as the Sahara. We got our appetizers 10 minutes later; however, the rest of the rolls didn't show up for half an hour or more. It was worth the wait as everything we ordered was delicious, but it left me extremely hungry in between orders. I only ordered about 3 rolls myself. We placed individual orders but passed them all around. I can definitely recommend Cubby, Mexican and Volcano. These are the specialty rolls that are more expensive. If you really want to stretch your dollar, order a few specialties and then stock up on the regular ones.
We polished off a first, second and third round of sushi. I was expecting the bill to be astronomical, but it was surprisingly cheap. It came out to about $160 before tip. I think it was $82 and some change when our vouchers were added, which made it somewhere around $16 per person including a 20% tip for the original amount. It still would have been under $30 per person if we hadn't had any deals.
Considering price, atmosphere, BYOB and the fact that we spent nearly 3 hours here without ever feeling rushed to give up our table, I would call it a successful group dinner.
I wanted to like them... Who doesn't want to add a new sushi place to the rotation... Especially with the low delivery fees ($2.50 and $15 minimum). Â However a combination of things earned them a brutal review.
First we ordered through Grub Hub. We got a confirmation email that was blank, but a promised time of 8:06 (over a hour later post order time). We called at 8:17. It took them until about 8:30 to figure out our order. At 9:15 we still didn't have food. We called back. They FINALLY delivered around 9:50 PM. We had started the process around 7 PM. Â They did not refund us the delivery fee or the 10% we had added as a delivery tip to our card.
The food was less than spectacular. Â
The sushi (Tuna Avo and Salmon Avo was pretty good, but warm as it had been sitting in a bag with warm food for a long time. Â The ginger was so skimpy however. Â They did use whole chunks of fish instead of chopped up - that part was nice. Â
The Tom Yum was terrible. Â There was just way too much fish sauce - not like any other Tom Yum I've ever had.
The crazy noodle dish my boyfriend got was good. Â He enjoyed the tender beef.
The house salad with ginger dressing was not impressive - a little carrot and 1 tomato slice on top of some iceberg in a small to go box. Â Not really worth the $4.95 they charge.
They gave us a free veggie pad thai - this was the worst pad thai that both my boyfriend and I had ever tasted. Â It was a sad waste of food.
They also threw in some shrimp dumplings - pretty good despite being luke warm and soggy from the wait.
Meh to bad food. Awful service. Â NO THANKS!
Came here on a friend's recommendation and it quickly became one of my top favorite sushi spots in Chicago! I expected it to be much less expensive (my friend raved about the inexpensive yet delicious sushi), but then I realized that my friend only orders California rolls. Thus, the regular, run-of-the-mill rolls are decently priced, but if you want specialty rolls (which I recommend), you're going to pay a bit more.
**Bonus: no corking fee if you bring multiple bottles of wine. I think it's ridiculous when restaurants charge you a corking fee, so off the bat, this is a huge plus!**
MAKE A RESERVATION if you're visiting on the weekend!! It fills up fast and I've heard the wait is long.
The group of 4 of us ordered 5 rolls of sushi and for 3 girls and 1 guy and we all were totally satisfied at the end of our meal. Here's what we ordered, in order of preference:
1) Dynamite - the favorite roll of all 4 of us. We each saved our last piece of sushi to be this roll so we could finish each of our meals on a high note. Crispy and served warm, though even after it was cool, it was still delicious!
2) Cubby - has an interesting crunch to it and a great flavor blend.
3) Santa and the Xmas Tree - I would have NEVER thought to put kiwi and/or strawberry on a sushi roll, let alone a raspberry sauce to go with it. I was so surprised by this roll that I'd certainly order it again. I'm glad my friends were the ones that suggested this! Only downside: it's one of the most expensive rolls on the menu. Still - it's worth it!
4) Volcano (maybe it was the dragon roll?) - Not terribly spicy, but not super memorable, either. Very tasty, but the others still surpassed it.
5) Spicy Tuna Deluxe - this roll certainly has a kick to it. Not too much flavor, standard sushi roll, but still good. I'm not great with spicy things, so this is why it is at the bottom of my list.
The employees were nice enough to let our group sit and drink wine and chat almost until closing time. It was our fault for bringing 3 bottles of wine for 4 people, but in no way did we feel rushed to leave. By this time, there was no longer a wait...otherwise we would have been courteous enough to leave. Service was polite, fast, and nonintrusive. An all around fantastic experience!
i love rolls. Cinnamon rolls, bed rolls, Rolls Royce. I especially love sushi rolls, of which Jai-Yen, a nice little sushi joint in Lakeview, has a good selection.
The first thing I noticed, being the... frugal... person I am, was that the prices for common rolls were pretty reasonable. averaging about $3-5 for six pieces. Not bad! We started with a very well made crab rangoon appetizer. Like most local sushi joints, they had more than a few specialty rolls, which ranged between $7-15. No surprises there.
Our order:
Asparagus maki - I'm usually not big on vegetable rolls, but it was a nice balance between asparagus and spicy mayo.
Spider maki - Can't go wrong with the soft shell crab
Green Turtle - This was a roll loaded with stuff, shrimp, salmon, spicy mayo.
Dynamite - This one is loaded with unagi, crab and avocado and it's deep fried. This was actually my first experience with deep fried maki. It just doesn't seem right on paper, but it felt right on my tastebuds!
Service was decent, though a little relaxed, especially seeing as it was 3:00 PM and we were the only ones there. So if you're ever in Lakeview and need an above average sushi experience, I would recommend Jai-Yen. It's BYOB so don't forget to stop by the liquor store first!
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