Like many others I used the Groupon and even though it was insanely packed, I still thought the service was great. Our server was really busy so she didn't get to check up on us as much as I would normally like, but I understand everyone in there was on a Groupon, and there was no free tables. I went with someone who was allergic to fish so everything we got was tempura. The dumplings tasted frozen, but for essentially free...who cares? The miso was great, but the cucumer salad was really disappointing. I was expecting ponzo like a sunomono and instead it seemed like the sauce was very sparingly used like maybe they ran out and didn't feel like refilling the bottle at the moment so I got sick of just watered cucumber.
Rolls: 2 Spicy Shrimp Maki...really bland...and not really any spice.
Scorpion...awesome!! (the calamari is really bready though, but if you eat the entire bite it's good I don't recommend trying to pick it apart or make two bites)
Red Dragon...which was excellent, the mango was great, but not too overpowering.
I really enjoyed it, if there was another Groupon I would go again, with someone who isn't allergic to the entire menu!
Food was above average for an average sushi joint. Â Service was slow - made reservations and still had to wait 45 minutes. Â BYOB which is nice. Â Close by to other spots so it's a good place to start your night especially if you're on foot. Â Definitely try to catch the groupon if you can.
Review Source:Fantastic service!
This place was busy at 9:30 at night, which says a lot! Everything was tasty, and came out quickly. Reasonable prices, and a nice selection of different rolls/maki on the menu.
Plus, they have a super awesome wine menu (some bottles are only $10!!!) How can you beat that?
We've been here with a Groupon and I think it was a pretty solid sushi experience. For $20, we got an appetizer, two soup or salads and 4 sushi rolls (2 maki, 2 specialty).
The salad wasn't great (it was clear that it had just been taken out of a refrigerator after sitting for who knows how long), but the appetizer we chose was great (fried potstickers), the miso soup was good & the sushi rolls were above average. I can't really remember what rolls we chose, but they were all good & my boyfriend and I finished them all.
I know they have AYCE, but we've never been here for that. We also brought our own wine because they BYOB, with a $3.50 corking fee. Not bad.
This was the least fresh sushi I have ever had. Â The spider roll tasted like dirty dish water. Â I had 1 piece and couldnt even bring myself to eat another one. Â I almost threw up trying to choke down my salmon avocado roll. Â I honestly think we were lucky to not get food poisoning. Â A friend got teriyaki chicken, and it had the consistency of turkey jerky. Â the service was also very slow. Â avoid this place like the plague.
Review Source:I recently went to Ringo because of a Groupon promotion. Â What shocked me was that we were NOT ALLOWED Â to box left-over maki and rolls, because we used a Groupon. They said they couldn't provide a box and a plastic bag to everyone who used a Groupon, since they were already losing $ by serving the meals at discounted prices. Â They also told me that they'd rather throw away the untouched pieces than have the customers take them home. Â I refuse to support an establishment that blatantly wastes food. Â But if you need to use your Groupon at this place, you should bring your Tupperware.
Review Source:We found Ringo Sushi when looking to replace our former go-to AYCE sushi spot, Shiroi Hana. Â At 8:30 on a Wednesday evening the restaurant was uncrowded. Â Service was friendly and quick. Â The AYCE menu at 22.50 has a good selection of items and in general we found the food better than at Shiroi Hana; a number of the rolls are excellent especially the warm Ringo special. Â We regretted the lack of any unagi options on the AYCE menu. Â There's a BYO option with corkage fees for beer and wine; but beer is cheap enough that it seems silly to BYO and then pay another dollar for it.
Review Source:I went here to try out their all you can eat deal. It runs $22.50 per person and the focus of the menus is really on maki (rolls) vs nigiri (sliced fish over rice); very limited nigiri selection. Fish quality wasn't bad but it wasn't spectacular either. If I lived in the neighborhood I could see myself frequenting this place, but as I don't I wouldn't go out of my way to go back. The service was very good, though. So not a bad choice but nothing special.
Review Source:DISGUSTING...
All-you-can-eat IS the first sign that  I should've stayed away.  We ordered Salmon sashimi as the appetizer, and it was gross!  The fish was NOT FRESH at all!  My taste buds and stomach wouldn't allow me to eat another piece. The Maki's were OKAY? It wasn't bad but it defintely was not good either.
I had been here a couple times in the past- way back when it was exclusively BYOB. Â Now you have the option of BYOB for a small corkage fee or to buy a bottle there. Â We returned this time on a Sunday evening because of a Groupon. Â We tried four different rolls which were all pretty good, but not the best I have had. Â I was not able to finish the sushi, so we asked for a box. Â Apparently, with the Groupon you are not allowed a to-go box. Â That seemed weird and cheap to me since I really hate wasting food. Â I tried to stuff myself, but I couldn't eat anymore and had to leave some behind. Â It was a sad day.
Review Source:So besides the point that my stomach has been sick since I ate here last night ( I won't describe)
At the point of dinner the food was fair at best, better than Jewel grocery store but seriously lacking in something. Before I became ill I thought "meh, its okay but no reason to return" now I wish I could reverse the last eighteen hours and made a better decision originally and gotten mexican.
Felt like sushi with the lady for a Friday night. Haven't ventured out for this sort of dish at any place other than Butterfly on Grand but I'm not opposed to sushi like most. The place was relatively empty for a Friday night given the area but I'm usually big on that. Waitresses were on their business and frequently checked in on us and constantly filled my drink. Service was definitely good, maybe even a bit obsessive.
As for the food, I tried some sushi which was a dragon roll and I believe a Ringo Sizzler and good baby Jesus was it good. Changed my view on sushi. Also ordered a hot chicken teriyaki entree that hit the spot in the cooked department. A healthy portion of chicken, rice, seaweed with sesame, 4 pieces of basic sushi and broccoli. I do know that when I return I will stick to only sushi and no hot entrees. Â Had some apps too, the pot stickers and the wings. Nothing too special.
What really blew my mind was learning of the Monday all-you-can-eat deal for $20. Â Covers everything on the menu from what I understand. Everything! Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I am there the next available Monday to hopefully cure a case of the mondays.
The place itself is pretty simple inside but should be enough space. Really enjoyed that they played the Bulls game on the projector. But maybe they heard me whining about how I wanted to catch some of it. Big ups to them. And big ups to me shutting them down the next possible Monday.
I've been looking for a sushi place since arriving in Chicago and settled for Whole Foods until it literally left a bad taste in my mouth.
Ringo, you saved me. Sushi is back in my life and it's all you can eat on Mondays for $20. Â I've never had all you care to eat sushi before, and apparently I cared to eat a lot last night. Â Most importantly it met all my sushi joint checklist requirements: Clean, fresh fish, solid rolls that don't fall apart, quick (seriously quick) service, not mostly rice, and delicious.
The firecracker, Ringo Sizzler and Spring roll are fantastic. The nigiri is fresh, especially the fatty peppered salmon and seared tuna.
Skip the crab Rangoon, it was good, there's just better stuff on the menu. The veggie tempura is solid if you're looking for non fish items though.
It's not a 5 star Michelin rated sushi place, but it IS fresh, delicious, filling and reasonably priced. And it's clean. I'd like to stress that clean is a huge must.
BYOB w/ a $3.50 corkage fee for wine, $1 per person for beer. Â
Tip: Make a reservation for Monday so you don't have to wait in the cold while people feast in front of you.
AYCE Sushi and BYOB....seriously good deal. Â Â I've been here twice, once on a Wednesday and once on a Thursday - both time with a party of 6....around 6pm. Â At 6pm, we are the only ones in the joint - but it does fill up after 7. Â There are signs that say the AYCE is only Mondays, but I think you can do it every day -$19.99! Â There is a $3.50 corkage fee per bottle.
The place is nice inside - not super upscale, but better than just a store front joint. Â Tables are spacious, noise level is average, service is great. Â The bathroom, which I always pay attention to, is not horrible. Â Â They had some groovey music pumpin' through yesterday. Â
This is not the best sushi I've ever had, but it is good sushi. Â The rolls are made well, the flavors are good, the fish is fresh. Â The AYCE menu is huge - two sided - includes pieces, appetizers, rolls, etc. Â
The Firecracker, Dragon, Ringo, and Rainbow are some of my favorite rolls. Â They brought us out a side of sirracha sauce so we could spice things up.
They had a salmon rangoon - which was different. Â I'd skip the pot sticker - it was just an overcooked, soggy, dumpling.
Great place to go with a group. Â You never feel rushed. Â The sushi comes out fast and is so plentiful.
I very much recommend the all you can eat sushi for $22.50 (or something like that). The menu says you need the internet coupon for the special price but it's not true. They all you can eat menu doesn't have anything super exotic or fancy but (mostly tuna and salmon), nonetheless, it's still good. We stuffed our faces and left with a smile. Mission accomplished!
The service is super friendly and fast and the atmosphere is pleasant and relaxing.
Okay. Â So I wouldn't know good sushi if it hit me in the face, but I would definitely know bad sushi. Â This is NOT bad sushi. Â Is it great? Â ...sure?
I've been to other all-you-care-to-eat places (not all-you-CAN-eat, people, it's not a challenge!) and this one is my favorite. Â They have a large list of options, from appetizers, to nigiri (piece of fish on rice) to maki (fish and other stuff rolled up into rice as well as some tempura and warm dishes.
Eat the ringo sizzler. Â Just trust me on this, it's AWESOME and I've never seen anything like it on a menu before.
The regular price is a bit steep, but the Monday deal is $19.95 for the AYCTE, which puts it right in line with other not-super-fancy sushi places. Â They're BYOB also, so I'm often hear to shake off the Monday blues.
I've had consistently good experiences at Ringo.
Friend and I showed up last Saturday without a reservation. The place was packed. The hostess said she could seat us in a half an hour, so we waited. We ended up having to wait quite a bit longer, but the staff was very nice and brought us wine and edamame on the house.
I never have any idea what I order because I think I get something different every time, but I don't have any complaints about the food. Plus, the BYOB is great.
Go here. It's good.
I went here the weekend before last with some friends for good food, friends and BYOB. Â I'm not a sushi eater, so I had the Chicken Teriyaki. Â Hmm, If I based the experience solely on the food, I'd probably give 1 star. Â The chicken was hard, ick.
The service was great and the ambiance was really nice too. Â My friends said the sushi, was OK. Â Not sure if I'd go back.
At the intersection of Average and Mediocre...
There are so many sushi places out there, so I guess you just win some, lose some, and then the rest are like Ringo: more like a truce. Â
There's nothing particularly bad about the food. Â It's solidly average. Â I did think the noodles in my Udon were undercooked and when I asked for chili powder (togarashi), the common spice blend served with noodles, I received a bowl of ground cayenne pepper. Â Weird but whatever. Â Tempura was good. Â Sushi was, again, fine. Â Miso soup was weak and watery.
Service was really slow and spotty. Â Our waitress was nice enough but didn't seem to be too familiar with the menu and it took forever to run our credit card.
If you're going for AYCE, then I suppose it's fine. Â But find another spot for Saturday night. Â There are PLENTY!
Ringo was my go to spot while I was at DePaul. Friends always liked that we could do AYCE for $20 on Monday's (almost any day if you print their voucher from the website).
The sushi's not the best, but it hit's the spot when you've got that sushi craving. Plus it's BYOB, so that will help keep your cost down.
The menu's pretty large for an AYCE spot. They can take a little longer than expected, but they usually get really busy for AYCE. The sushi is not the freshest or masterfully rolled, but again it still should meet expectations.
Sometimes they have a projector running with some funny Asian games shows. Kinda adds a playful element that you wouldn't expect.
Ringo delivers an adequate AYCE experience for such a low price. Especially within the Chicago area.
A perfect storm of poor service, mediocre food, and premium prices.
Stopped in with the g/f after there was a line at kyoto, across the street. Â I won't go into complete detail but here are the highlights:
-Ordered appetizers with a delay of 10 minutes until we ordered our main course. Â One appetizer didn't come until after my g/f already had her main dishes. Â (Note: her order wasn't particularly speedy) Â Which appetizer?
-Waitress had an easy opportunity to upsell us on the shrimp tempura appetizer, had we known that it was an order for a single shrimp. Â However, when we finally got it, this fellow as quite lonely. Â But at least I had something to munch on while waiting for my main dish. Â It took a good 45 minutes and the restaurant was nowhere near full. But alas, it was messed up so I had to send it back. Â What got fixed?
-My order for sushi deluxe was sent to the chef as sashimi. Â The waitress didn't recognize her mistake until i pointed it out. Â She just said oops and disappeared into the kitchen... no apology at all. Â There went another 15 minutes of waiting. Â Advice for Waitress: if an order is messed up, it ALWAYS takes priority when you send the ticket back to the kitchen.
Word of advice for next time: you're better off waiting in line at kyoto.
Alright foodie snobs - pull your head out of your asses and wise up. If you're coming here on a Monday night for AYCE sushi, please don't be expecting rolls from Toro and service from Japonais. This is a little BYOB operation from an average sushi joint - you come for what it is and don't expect much more.
That being said - my friend and I had a really nice meal a few weeks ago. Service was slow, but then again we were here for the Monday night special so we came in there knowing it was going to be a two hour meal. Rolls were average to large and we really enjoyed everything we had, especially the one they bake - can't remember the name but it's not to be missed.
Wine was also pretty cheap, I think we bought a bottle of Riesling for only $12 or $15. Sad face to them being out of plum wine that evening.
All in all, not a terrible experience and a great place to come if you just want lots of average sushi. Don't come into it thinking you're going to get much else. But for $20, I'll take it!
Great late night Sushi/Japanese. Â
Went here on a Friday night and the place was somewhat packed. Â Great specials and food. Â I decided to try a Japanese plate instead of everyone else getting Sushi. Â
Usually when you order a dish you get more food than sushi but this was an extraordinary case. Â For $13 I ordered the Salmon entree and got a whole filet, rice bowl, a crab roll, Miso, and veggies. Â Needless to say a pretty good deal. Â
Drink selection could use a wider variety, and some uniqueness considering the large amount of sushi places in LP. Overall, a pleasurable experience
Overall, it was OK sushi. Â I went with a girlfriend of mine to catch up and we sat so close to another table that I could tell they were listening to our whole conversation. Â Weird. Â We started with a huge portion of edamame and then ordered 4 rolls and got out under $50 total. Â So, it was reasonable but not great sushi by any means. Â It was BYOB which is why we went in, so that worked out in our favor.
But, I'd say the biggest downer was that the place did not have AIR CONDITIONING! Â Wow. A sushi place without AC makes me question the food quality a little bit... I'm just sayin'
This is definitely a quantity over quality place. Decent sushi, HUGE bang for your buck. My boyfriend got the salmon teriyaki, which wasn't just salmon, but a large platter with what I think was nearly a pound of salmon, rice, miso soup, a big red leaf lettuce salad, small crab rolls, steamed broccoli and carrots, and fruit - all for only $12.95! Â They have a huge menu, so there is something for everyone.
Pair this with BYO and you have one cheap night, in the company of Lakeview girly girls, but you can't win em all!
Currently, this review is only for their delivery - but after reading these reviews I'll be updating soon with my monday BYOB AYCE adventures. You're excited right? I know - I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.
So I've had a quite a few of the rolls here, and while they can be on the small side, they're pretty tasty. Definitely get anything on the menu that has the *Best Seller* next to it. All so good, so it's starred for a reason. I always ask for my miso spicy, they drop a few jalapenos in it for me. Yummy. And the mango maki? Delicious. I was skeptical of fish and fruit but it was perfect. You get a real bang for your buck here, and that's just delivery. Can't wait to to review my buzzed, gluttonous adventures...
Yeah, I'm not looking forward to writing this review. For obvious reasons, you can squeeze a lot of comedy out of a one-star review; for some reason, four and five-star places give you a lot of material too, probably because you have so many cool things to mention that some of them are bound to lead to the funny by virtue of free association. But a place like Ringo is so middle of the road that you end up just sticking to the dull, dull fucking facts.
So, yeah. I hear "all-you-can-eat sushi" and I think "all-night-on-the-can", but Ringo is actually better than that - it's quite safe to eat here. It seems very clean, and they do seem to try to be running a reputable joint. Problem is, nothing on the menu leaps off the table and blows your mind. I've had better and more creative maki at every other place I've been this year. Much of it is passable but BORING. But if a $22 all-you-can-eat cavalcade of painfully typical maki is what you're hankering for, Ringo will be happy to "drum" some up for you. (YOU SEE WHAT I HAVE TO RESORT TO? God, this fucking review is never going to end.)
Oh, but hey, you can get a tempura Snickers bar with green tea ice cream! What a mindfuck! A DEEP-FRIED CANDY BAR!?! I can't wait to see what other already cooling foodie trends they try to latch onto. Maybe bacon and caramel teriyaki?
Ultimately, though, the best reason for Yelpers to avoid Ringo is that you may well be forced to write a dull review. LEARN FROM MY FOLLY!
Long gone are my binge drinking days...i've moved on to binge eating* apparently.
Kids, don't try this at home.
All you can eat sushi sounds like a good idea but holy Pepto! My friend and I were on a mission to see how much we could actually eat. I think we exceeded our own expectations. The sushi was pretty good and the all you can eat offered a large selection of different things. The wait in between orders was horrific and all we were told is "the machine wasn't working"...umm, ok. What machine?
A couple of hot sakes and edamame to get us started and then came the maki. Maki Galore! Maki fest! Whatever you want to call it we had more than our fair share.
Later at home after the rice had started to expand in my belly, I cursed the maki gods and sipped ginger ale while promising myself I would never attempt such a feat again.
But today can you believe I actually thought "hmm...sushi sounds good" :)
* I know binge eating is serious so if you have a problem contact someone.
UPDATED:
I was a little too quick with that positivie post. Â Just one night after I was there for all-u-can-eat Monday, both myself and one of the friends I dined with came down with a nasty case of food poisoning. Â I've never had food poisoning before, so I don't know if that automatically equates to a 1 star, but I feel two stars would only be fair since I've had at least 10-15 postive experiences there. Â Of course that doesn't mean I'll ever set foot in there again... and I suggest you do so at your own risk!
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How is it that I have not yelped Ringo yet?? Â I've been coming here for years for several reasons: Â
The sushi is good. Â
The prices are reasonable. Â
The place is byob. Â
And it's centrally located.
They also can easily accommodate a large group which is always helpful and the service is usually very friendly (albeit not always that fast). Â The sushi isn't incredibly inventive, but the menu is pretty big and the food is quality.
Last night I was in for their All-u-can-eat special... I think it's like $22. Â Not a bad deal, but it doesn't include sashimi and a few other things that I love, like shumai and mochi. Â Also, we noticed when the bill came that they had graciously added on a 20% service fee for our party of 4, which I found a little annoying. Â I typically always tip at least 20% anyways, but I guess I just like that to be my call.
The Friday night we went, they played J-pop music and that silly Japanese gameshow with the obstacle course on Spike TV was projected onto the wall - distracting and not romantic for a date. Â But, Ringo tries with dim lighting.
But the food and service were pretty good. Â Our waitress was so soft-spoken, we couldn't hear the names of the dishes she was bringing out to us, and she wasn't very good at moving plates out of the way - we had to do it ourselves to make room for her. Â Our food came out quickly, but the appetizers came in the middle of our meal.
Most surprisingly, Ringo impressed me with a widely varied menu, which includes yakitori, kushi yaki, kushi age, and a wide selection of maki and nigiri. Â Definitely a rarity in Chicago! Â There's plenty of "cooked" entrees too like tempura, teriyaki, udon, and rice boxes. Â The best meal for variety is the combo which includes the firecracker maki roll and 3 yakitori skewers for $10.50. Â Beware: the firecracker roll has wasabi mayo drizzled on top that absolutely BURNS if it touches your tongue first.
Last tips: their website has a print-out coupon for all-you-can-eat on Sun-Th for $20, and it's BYOB!
Monday night is all you can eat sushi for $20 at Ringo. Â Needless to say people come out of the woodwork to take advantage of this fish fest. Â The folks waiting for a seat stand staring at each table waiting to see who is going to tap out so that they will get their crack at the all you can eat sushi menu. Â We called ahead to put on our name on the list and because of this strategic maneuver our wait time was just 10 minutes. Â We overheard that the wait time for a party of two was thirty minutes. Â Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Ringo is..... DRUMROLL..................BYOB!
We scanned the menu while we stood in line so were ready to order upon being seated. Â Our table was missing chopsticks, napkins, and soy sauce dishes when we sat, but we were in such a sushi trance that it really didn't take away from the experience. Â I mean come on, its $20 all you can eat, we were lucky that they didn't make us clean and cut our own fish.
The all you can eat menu includes a selection of appetizers, a decent selection of standard maki, the usual nigiri, and a about ten specialty maki. Â We started off with the miso soup, edamame, and cucumber salad. Â They were good. Â The waiter did only bring us one miso soup, but once again it's only $20 and the place is a zoo. Â I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of service for lots and lots of fish. Â We then moved on to pieces. We did 2 pieces of salmon, tuna, and white tuna. Â The fish was surprisingly fresh tasting and this gave me the green light that I was free to order as much as I could pack in my tummy. Â So I did. Â
What happened next was like some sort of twisted fishy wet dream. Sushi just kept coming! It was awesome. Â Tray after tray, in total we housed 14 pieces and 7 rolls between the two of us. Â We had the "Sizzler", Spicy Tuna, Spicy White Tuna, Firecracker, Shrimp Tempura, and two others.
The space is nice. It's much nicer than you'd expect from someplace that has a sushi liquidation every Monday night. Â The music ranged from Snow Patrol to some horrible BOOM BOOM BOOM techno trance mumbo jumbo that the kids are listening to these days. Â The service was actually pretty ok despite a couple of small kinks.
In summation, the rolls weren't amazing, but they were fresh and good and there were plenty of them. Â Sure the specialty maki selection is heavy on the spicy mayo, but I love spicy mayo. Ok, the service isn't amazing, but once again it's only $20 and it's BYOB. Â The place is a fucking zoo, but if it were empty we'd probably complain about that too. Â If you are a stuck up uber sushi snob whose everyday sushi place is Mirai, then Ringo may not be for you. Â However, if you are a giant fat ass like myself who enjoys fresh fish and lots of it, I think you will have a good time at Ringo.
3 appetizers
14 pieces
7 rolls
1 corkage
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$46.00
We came here as a second choice since freaking Sushi Para II screwed up our reservation. Those bastards. Why would you tell a customer you could accomodate their 18 people and then when the people show up tell them "oops!, we suck and cant seat you together anymore. We strategically seated the other (5) customers in a way so your group would be split up!"
Anyways, Im glad we came here. 20$ for all you can eat. There is more room so it doesnt seem as crowded as the "other" all you can eat sushi place. Its nicer inside too. It stayed nice and cool, unlike this other place  (cough cough Para II cough) which gets so crowded and WARM sometimes.
As for the food, it was very fresh, it was so good I ate too much and now I wont be looking at sushi for a good month or so.
I usually get one tamago (sweet egg) every place I visit, and it tastes the same everywhere, except here. The tamago
was actually very goood here. Not that it will mean alot to most people but hey I like em. Now that I think about it Ive never seen anyone else order a tamago.
Everything else melts in your mouth just the same. I think Edward.H ate about 10 lbs of sushi that day. Yah yah sounds gross (sorry Ed) but hey, it was good stuff. I have a Japanese friend who doesnt believe in all-you-can-eat sushi. He thinks its sooo wrong, and uhhhh, if he were dead, he would roll over in his grave every time Edward H showed up at Ringo. He's not dead though.
The service was a bit slow to start but once they got started we always had some food on our table.
Highly recommended!
I will be coming here again fo sho.
Even when Ringo was a tiny, orange-colored box with limited seating where you had to kiss the chef on your way through the kitchen if, God-forbid, you had to use the lonely little bathroom in the back, John L. and I would make the trek for delicious and amazingly inexpensive sushi. Â But now with the expanded dining room and proper "rest" facilities, Ringo has upped the anty considerably.
Enough about the size...let's talk sushi!
I think the only gripe I'd have is that scallops don't appear as nigiri or maki. Â Such a shame that the tasty little blob wouldn't be on an otherwise creative and satisfying menu. Â
And as John L. would say, "melt-in-your-mouth-sexytime" goes the salmon. Â I think it was last night that I turned to him after my first bite of sake nigiri and said in this order:
1. Â Mmm...like butter. Â *swallow*
2. Â [Next bite] I don't know why I ever order anything else. Â It's all foreplay. Â But the salmon....
3. Â [Last bite -- yes I take 3 bites of a nigiri piece which should only take 2 maximum because I want to savor every moment] Â When the salmon is good...it's like awesome sex.
Salmon is a must-try here. Â I think I guage my sushi-goodness rating on the salmon. Â If that one piece (or two or three!) of sake nigiri kills, you've got a good sushi establishment in my book. Â If not, I walk on. Â There are plenty of fish in the sushi sea! Â And sake don here is UNUSUALLY affordable. Â I've seen people charge $15 even $20!! Â I think this one runs under $10.
Of course, there's way more than just salmon to satiate the palate. Â I started to develop an allergy to avacados (darn it all!), but before that happened, the Dynamite Maki ruled my world. Â Probably the Tobasco. Â I love the hot stuff! Â And on the same fiery note, the Firecracker Maki is also a taste of hot heaven: Â tuna, crunchy tempura, scallions and spicy wasabi mayo for that extra-special kick. Â For the not-so-hot, the simple things are also perfect. Â
At any rate, Ringo is definitely a place to go for great, affordable sushi if you're in the Lincoln Park area. Â Or even just in Chicago. Â Go there. Â Now!
If you are on a budget, but like good melt-in-your-mouth-sexytime fresh salmon nigiri, you should try Ringo. Â In the past, Clarissa has had the Sake Don, and it was only like $9 vs. the usual $20+ at your trendy-bendy Tsunami, and it's every bit as good without the snot-nose brats showing off their designer pointy shoes and bad trip-hop music in the background.
The Firecracker Maki is just how they advertise it on the menu as a "must-try" (say it like Dr. Evil says "la-ser"). Â It's raw tuna, tempura crunchy and scallions topped with a spicy wasabi mayo. Â I haven't had anything bad here. Â Like unagi and advocado? Â Three words, and say them like King Kong would roar: Â DOUBLE...HEADED...CATERPILLAR!!!
Ringo used to be a small storefront type of joint until last year when they knocked down the wall next door and expanded. Â You used to have to walk through the kitchen and say hi to the staff to get to the unisex john. Â Not anymore!
Ringo is BYOB which is nice, though last night I noticed a limited wine and sake menu has suddenly bloomed. Â Let's hope they still offer BYOB so the have-nots can avoid Lincoln Park assfucking alcohol prices. Â Happy Friday!
A nice casual place to enjoy sushi, yakitori (chicken on skewers), kushi age (fried stuff on skewers) or other familiar Japanese menu items. If you walked by this building and thought that it might be a bit too fancy for your tastes, then fear no more! This place is as casual as you can get, down to its paper menus that double as your order sheet and the live tv projected onto one of the walls.
I tried their Supreme Sashimi, an excellent value that comes with 7 kinds of fish. Not 7 pieces, 7 *kinds* of fish. It makes for a great entree for a sashimi fiend such as myself, but I suppose you can share it with other people too. The quality and freshness of the fish was about where I expected it to be for the price and amount that I received. It also comes with a salad, but their version of the Japanese salad dressing was not to my liking.
Nigiri-wise I tried the Seared Tuna which was tasty, and the Peppered Fatty Salmon, which I'd like to forget.
The service and ambiance was acceptable. I'll update this review once I get to try the All You Can Eat Monday buffet.
I love Ringo. Â The sushi is always fresh and the staff are very pleasant and on top of everything. Â
You have to go on Monday's, where it is all you can eat buffet for $19! Â And the selection is GREAT! Â It's 2 pages with all different type of rolls. Â Not just the plain rolls (aka tuna, spicy salmon, etc) but all kinds of special rolls (dragon, rainbow, etc). Â They also have amazing appetizers, like dumplings, salads, etc. Â And you must eat the strawberry ice cream in the end = ) Â If you go, go early in the night because by 7pm, it is VERY crowded.
If you don't go for the buffet, the food otherwise is always great and very reasonably priced.
Nothing fancy, but to me, a simple maki doesn't need to be fancy.
Didn't remember that they had Snickers Tempura until AFTER we left, so I'll be back to review that once I try it... maybe being offered dessert or something may have helped that? Â I dunno....
The shittake maki was good --- not too mushroomy, which is nice. Â The cucumber maki was excellent --- very refreshing & well-put-together. Â At so many of the sushi places I've been, these non-seafood options tend to fall apart in the soy sauce. Â It didn't here.
My friend ordered more complicated items (summer roll & dragon roll). Â Both were aesthetically pleasing --- the Dragon Roll was made up like a dragon ... so so SO cute.
The service was overly-attentive, but so be it. Â Rather that than the opposite. Â & they were friendly, which was nice.
I'll be back if for nothing else but knowing that Snickers Tempura is less than a block away.
Updated: 5/2/07
This place has now expanded to include the retail space next door so no more space restrictions! Â Monday night AYCE for ~$20 is also nice.
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I found this place when my friends and I were craving some sushi from Kyoto (across the street) and they happened to be open when Kyoto wasn't. Â The place is fairly cramped but the sushi speaks for itself. Â Some of the rolls are interesting if not cute and the pricing is very reasonable. Â I strongly encourage you to try out some of the daily specials - I think they even had fugu once. Â However, I've noticed that there can be quite a service slow down during prime time and consistency has become an issue since the inception of Ringo's sister restaurant.
This place has gotten very busy over the years, so you'll probably need a reservation. Â Be ready for possibly some tight seating. Â Space restrictions aside, the food is excellent and remains one of my favorites around town.
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