Tatami Restaurant

This place was taken over by NEW OWNERS in NOVEMBER OF 2011-- YELP GET RID OF THE OLD BIZARRE REVIEWS.

This place is the BEST Japanese sushi place in glenview, northbrook, highland park, north field--- etc.

My criteria for good sushi is NOT the NOOB sushi of a ROLL. To me Nigiri is the mark of good sushi. If the rice is still slightly firm and the grains are capable of being individually perceived and the seasoning is such that it adds to the taste of the fish without over powering it.

The slice of fish can NOT be the UBER huge American "SUPER SIZE ME" hunk of fish on a grain of rice you must cut in half or stuff in your mouth.. It must be truly bite size in a comfortable way. TASTE over portion size.

And while I am a traditionalist in nigiri, this place is also innovative with its modern twist on traditional items like tempura and other items like tuna poke or their Carnival roll.

But for me the TRUE measure of any sushi place is the quality of their UNI. UNI is the G-D of sushi, if it is fresh all else will follow.

This place consistently has FRESH UNI. It is in fact the ONLY north shore sushi restaurant other than Sushi Kushi in Lake Forest that even has Uni on a regular basis.

My measuring stick for sushi in chicago is 1)arami, 2) roka akor and 3) japane when it first came out.

So to those NOOBS who don't know sushi (Suck it) to those that do... DONT COME HERE - I want it to MYSELF!

Loved the sushi. Just discovered this place and I will be back!!

Pros (in general):
The decor is much improved.
The menus indicate which are low carb options for those interested in that information. Also, the menus are cleaned and not sticky.
They have a good amount of staff so no table should be want for service or attention.

Cons:
Their menu is less varied than under previous ownership and management.
Been coming to Tatami for about 20 years. The current menu is my least favorite.

Food:  
Aesthetically pleasing.  Presentation is nice enough especially if you consider that this is a comfortable neighborhood joint.  

Miso soup is incredibly watered down and lukewarm at best. Across continents and over 3 decades I have never had such bland, watered down miso soup. I pushed it away and had just given up and didn't feel like bringing it up today, but someone at my table asked for some salt.  The server seemed reluctant and skeptical that it could be watery and not seasoned correctly. She replaced it with a different soup.  Equally bland, tad colder than lukewarm.  Strangely, the bowl seemed warmer than the soup temperature.  

The tempura is different here. Again, never seen it done this way at any Japanese restaurant, but that's not necessarily a negative thing. Tempura wasn't bad, but not that good either. The batter and darker color is what makes it distinct from other places.

Prices are slightly higher than comparable small suburban Japanese restaurant and for the portions served.

Ordered take out under current ownership/management on a previous occasion. Maybe it was the makis we ordered and there's always subjectivity of personal taste, but we unanimously decided they were the worst tasting rolls we had tasted in our lives, but that sounds hyperbolic.  I mean this isn't getting rolls at a jewel or trader Joes-- this is their bread and butter so to speak. It should be better not worse than grocery store sushi/rolls.

On the other hand, the roll we had today was much better than the last time and the food was fresh.

Nothing egregious about the place but nothing to recommend to friends in the suburbs for Japanese food either.  Just not exceptional I guess.