Yusho

This place is dope. It gets it right from appetizers to dessert and everything in-inbetween. I really dig on the vintage/modern aesthetic. The mixologist cranks out some amazing cocktails that pair well with the dishes. Highlight=  ramen.

I had dinner with a few girlfriends here, and Yusho is a perfect spot for that sort of thing - lots of smaller plates that are easily shared, a cool atmosphere, fun cocktail list and on the inexpensive side.  I really enjoy the twice fried chicken, the veggie tempura with the squash and shishito peppers, and the fish "tacos" that came on a bao-like bun instead of a tortilla.  Street parking was super easy, and service was great!  If places like Yusho keep opening, I am really going to love my decision to move to the Square!

Finally made it to Yusho after hearing several friends rave about this place and my wife and I were thoroughly impressed. This venue is the total package; fun chic vibe, incredibly friendly service, interesting menu, reasonable prices, great cocktails and most importantly the food rocked - even parking is easy at Yusho (there were several free spots on Kedzie within a block of the restaurant). Yusho has a menu featuring Japanese street food and the offerings are creative and diverse. This is a venue that can please both a picky eater as well as those that have a penchant for nose-to-tail cuisine. The menu ranges from fried chicken and spare ribs to blood sausage, BBQ sweet breads and ramen with fried pig tail.

The vibe and decor is a bit hard to describe at Yusho - there is a lot going on and everything is a bit mismatched, but whoever designed it did a wonderful job. Everything comes together resulting in a very aesthetically pleasing, modern, hipster vibe but is simultaneously friendly and relaxed. The front room has a long bar with barstools and a few booths and there is a more open dining room in the back with a totally different feel. Chef Merges was really visible roaming the restaurant and checked in with several tables. Our primary server Jerry was so friendly and helpful in guiding our order (so much sounded amazing that we were struggling to choose); his recommendations were spot on! All the staff pitches in when your primary server is occupied elsewhere and everybody we met was no nice and passionate about Yusho. We even recognized one of the staff who until recently was a sommelier at Alinea.  

On Sundays Yusho features a noodle dinner; for just $20 one receives your choice of several different noodle based soups, the special draught cocktail of the week and gourmet soft served ice cream with fixings for dessert; tonight's ice cream was hazelnut with flavors of ginger, a rum caramel, spiked raisins and an oat crumble. For my noodles I opted for a grilled shrimp ramen with bonito flakes, kimchi and bamboo shoots; the broth smelled outstanding and the shrimp was ridiculously flavorful. This hands down blew away the ramen I enjoyed a couple months ago at the Aviary.

To supplement the noodle dinner there is also a la carte pricing for their bar snacks as well as several specials if you want to add some heartier fare (the basic $20 noodles dinner is sufficient for a small meal, but if you are particularly hungry or have a large appetite ordering a couple of snacks and/or a nightly special will definitely fill you up and you still end up with a very reasonable tab). Much of Yusho's menu is designed as small plates to be shared and we ordered two of the specials, a half quail, seasoned with curry and served atop a parsnip based pancake (similar to a potato latke but bolder flavor) and a really fun roll your own maki roll dish featuring a generous piece of tuna, several sheets or nori (thin seaweed - the type used to roll sushi), sushi rice, hoison sauce, some vegetables a lime and some greens - you pulled the meat off the tuna (it was served with the skin, fin and bones), slap it on top of a sheet or nori, doctor it up with the fixings, roll it up and eat. A bit messy, but a really fun dish and tasted phenomenal.

Our noodle dinner tonight was so fantastic we will definitely be returning sooner rather than later to start working our way through the regular menu. Merges' new cocktail lounge, Billy Sunday is less than a half mile walk away, so next time we plan to stop there for some cocktails either before or after dinner. I am puzzled why Yusho's rating is not higher on Yelp, but this place is five stars in my book and a strong five stars at that! I definitely could see myself being a regular here. Kudos to Chef Merges on creating such a warm, fun, outstanding restaurant.