I think this may be one of Chicago's best BYOB sushi joints. Â We were fortunate enough to have a reservation here for a party of 8 last Saturday evening. Â Great food, good service, and fairly reasonable on the wallet too. Â Some things I can recall eating that I'd recommend are the sweet potato tempura, robata grill skewers (pork shoulder, asparagus bacon, bacon scallop), and the 'my favorite Midwest roll'.
Review Source:A crazy good place to order delivery from. Â The quality was really good and it came fast and hot (that sounded a lot grosser than I meant it to, I'm sorry if you wouldn't have even considered that w/o this aside). Â And on top of all that, Yuzu offers a menu that's large and contains a large number of items that are difficult to find anywhere else. Â Mainly everything from the Robata Grill Section.
To be fair, the portions are bit small for the price, but I have little qualms with attributing that higher price to the variety they offer. Â Outside of that, the only reason I don't order more often is that choosing one meal of food out of all the options is a daunting task. Â The sushi was of acceptable quality as well, and since I have the same issues ordering sushi I felt that shouldn't really be a knock against it.
This place is literally down the block from me and its the best thing ever. I love the beef short rib. Its like a meat lollipop for meat eaters. I also tend to order their spicy rolls which are really fresh and delicious. I've been to alot of sushi places around Chicago and this place is in my top 3 for sure.
Review Source:Took my family (which includes a 13 and 15 yr old)  for a birthday celebration. To my surprise, the young'uns thoroughly enjoyed their food. The ordered items were tempura, Ebi cooked shrimp, Robata Grill #1 (chicken, pork and short rib), Udon noodle soup, super white tuna and soft shell shrimp. Even with ordering a second round of food, the tab came up to less than $50 and it is a BYOB establishment  The food was delicious! The soup was flavorful, the pork shoulder and beef were really good, and my husband enjoyed the tuna while my daughter ended up ordering three soft shell shrimp. I was going to order some pop but the cucumber water served in a canning jar was quirky and delicious. Only drawback was the seating: metal chairs with small seats were not kind to my bottom. The seating area is very small but we were immediately seated. I guess it helped that we arrived on a Sunday evening so there were seats available around the restaurant.
Staff is courteous and refreshed our glasses at every turn. Food was good especially for the non-sushi crowd. If requested, I will return with my family to enjoy the food again.
What I'm basing this review on:
Miso Soup
Robata set 1
Fire roll
Mango Mochi
Miso Soup: Pretty average, which is to say, good. Miso soup is pretty consistent from place to place and this dish met my expectations.
Robata set 1: Yum! Loved this. The chicken satay was well grilled with a delicious peanut sauce drizzled on top. The winner in the set was the pork shoulder. Will double down on this next time I go.
Fire roll: Very beautiful presentation and extremely tasty with all the sauces.
Mango Mochi: Expectedly delicious.
Overall I highly recommend this place. Great experience!
This intimate BYOB has great sushi and fantastic service. Â (no corkage) Â We went here last night with a small group of girls. Â Bacon wrapped scallops, bacon wrapped asparagus, short rib robata, all very good. Â We really liked the Monster Spider, What's your name, spicy tuna and Dragon Rolls. Â The servers are attentive without being annoying, you barely know they are there. Â Been here twice now. Â The bill was less than $100 and we all left full. Â Great place.
Review Source:Cute restaurant (I love all the manga on the walls), pretty good sushi.
I was in a superwhite tuna mood, so I got the "what's my name" roll and 3 superwhite tuna sushi's, and then the Alaska roll. The superwhite was great, and the rolls were creative and pretty tasty. My friends and sister seemed to enjoy the robata skewers they got too.
It was refreshing to see young sushi chefs, and their young creativity really shines through in the rolls and the plating (such pretty designs made with sauce!).
Green tea was also an order once and continuous refill for 1 pot that 4 of us shared, which I really appreciate, as I hate being charged per cup of such a cheap drink at many other sushi restaurants.
I wish all restaurant staff were as polite, relaxed, and accommodating as the fine folks at Yuzu.
Chicago has a lot of sushi restaurants, but not too many that are fresh, super delicious, reasonably-priced, BYOB, and appealing to non-sushi/fish eaters. So I understand the demand and don't mind a wait.
This place was pretty packed on a Friday night, and I was quite pleased when I was told 20 minutes for a party of two. My friend was still on her way, but I was able to put our name in and wait outside for her. By the time she arrived we were seated in five minutes as seats at the bar had opened. This was apparently offensive to the table-Nazi lady who felt the need to educate the hostess on other restaurants' seating policies. ("At other restaurants, your whole party must be present to put in your name.") Expendable-income-maker problems. Nonetheless, I really appreciated the calmness the Yuzu staff expressed in the presence of so many ravenous Mid-westerners. If you want immediate service, go to Long John Silvers.
Most importantly the sushi was fantastic. (We abstained from the Robata Grill, but it looked/smelled awesome, as did the sweet potato tempura.) We tried a variety of  rolls and loved the extra spicy tuna and one with unagi. They put our cheap white wine over ice and refilled water glasses consistently, all while catering to the starving, vulnerable, sushi-deprived masses.
With four rolls and edamame the bill was under $50 total.
So I've been here about 5-6 times now and I am super impressed with the staff here. They do their best to accommodate everyone and always go the extra mile. Case in point, we were a group of 20 on Saturday night and somehow they made it work (if you've been here before and saw the space, that's quite the feat). We also had a late reservation (9:30 but we didn't really all get seated until around 10ish) so they patiently waited for us to finish our meal around midnight, even though the restaurant technically closed at 11.
There are very few restaurants where I leave happy everytime but Yuzu is definitely one of them!
The kitchen works fast. Â They were able to keep the food flowing for an absurdly large party of 20 and staggered the food so that just about everyone was eating something as they were going.
The grilled stuff there was actually my favorite. Â In particular the grilled squid where they tossed it in some yummy light vinegar sauce.
The sushi was very good, but not likely to the point where you'd drive past a a boat of other places in town for. Â Overall the most impressive thing that they accomplished was handling our large party in such a small space.
I had such a fun date night here! We had reservations, but a few tables were lingering around so we ended up eating at the sushi bar instead. I love eating at the sushi bar anyway, so perfecto!
This place is BYOB and the decor was super cool. They have Japanese anime cartoon strips painted on the wall and they play really good music. It was such a fun atmosphere for a date.
We started off with pork shoulder skewers, which were amazing! We tried the fried tofu skewer also and those were just okay. We had the Pier 99 and Pot River rolls and both were delicious. The Pot River was my favorite of the two. We also ordered some Nigiri, which were also good. I am definitely making my way back to Yuzu!
Wall decor: love. Wish I could read Japanese.
Tuna poke: love. Thank you for the abundance of avocado.
Pork belly & Korean BBQ robata: great. Tender, juicy, right amount of sauce.
Asparagus bacon & Bacon scallop: not so much. Soggy, bacon overpowers both asparagus and scallop.
Green tea cheesecake: eh. It really does taste like green tea and cheesecake...but I"m not sure I like that combination.
Here's my complaint: the Black Sea maki sounds AWESOME...but it's not. The description makes it seem like the whole sea's gonna be in there but it's actually mostly kanikama (imitation crab) drenched in spicy mayo and tiny bits and pieces of what I can spot to be tuna and a speck of super white tuna (the first four ingredients stated tuna, salmon, white tuna, and hamachi). This was very, very, very disappointing. I really wanted to like this place but this was a deal breaker for me :(
I dined at Yuzu on Saturday night and the service was horrible. My wife and I waited for a waitress for 15 minutes before even ordering drinks. I was constantly told "someone will be right with you." Â The food was excellent, but the service and attention we received was sub par at best. I would not recommend this place due to the lack of service and attention the waitress paid to our table.
Review Source:The owner of Yuzu had reached out to me in regards to my last review, urging me to try Yuzu again. I told him I would, and when I give someone my word, I mean business.
My colleague just called me tubby because I ordered (all to myself):
- Sweet Potato Tempura Rolls
- Cucumber Rolls
- Cucumber Avocado Rolls
- Asparagus Robata
& a Sprite
The Sweet Potato Rolls have a great consistency... a tiny bit of crunch and a whole lot of NOM. Â The cucumber rolls were jam-packed with cucumber... none of the weak shiznat where you can barely taste the fresh cucumber taste! Â The cucumber avocado rolls were massive and delicious. Â The asparagus robata stole the show though. Â My jelly rolls agreed. Â
I am so full right now  that I look three months pregnant.  I swear, Mom, it's Danny Devito's child... I mean a Yuzu baby.
I have been to this place 2 times in the past three weeks! So happy to have found this little sushi spot thanks to Yelp! Â It has now become tied with my other favorite sushi spot in Chicago, but I'm almost leaning towards calling it my favorite.
Here's why:
1) Robata Grill - This really makes this sushi spot stand out! Ordering from the Robata Grill before ordering your sushi is a must. Â The beef short rib was amazing! Â I ordered 2 servings of this due to how delicious the flavor was. Â The prices on the robata grill are great and make it easy for groups to order a bunch of things and try a variety of meats/vegetables. Â I also tried the shrimp, bacon wrapped scallop, chicken satay, pork shoulder, and asparagus. Â The pork shoulder was another standout.
2) BYOB - No corkage fees! Â Once our waitress saw that we had a bottle of wine, she immediately came over with a bucket of ice and opened our wine. Â Excellent service!
3) Takes Reservations - This place can get pretty packed, so it is nice that you can make reservations ahead of time. Â Both times my group was seated immediately, while others who did not have reservations were waiting for tables. The other sushi spot I also like a lot does not take reservations, so this is a huge plus for me. Â
Most importantly, the sushi here is top notch. Â There is a huge variety and literally everything we ordered was amazing. Â I would definitely recommend the Chicago Spring Roll and the Sorry I'm Drunk Roll. Â I can't wait to go back again!
My new favorite place to get Sushi. I have both dined-in and carried-out and both have been great experiences. The My Favorite Midwest Roll was amazing, no rice and packed with flavor.
They also have great lunch box deals. I have gotten the Bento Maki box and the Robata Bento D box which BOTH come with a delicious salad, the best miso soup I've had in a long while and enough sushi or robata to fill you up and still have some to enjoy later.
We came for a friend's birthday dinner. Â We were a group of 10, so space was very tight for us. Â We had to sit all the way in the back with 2 people hanging out into the walking aisle. Â The servers and bus boys had to walk around us all night. Â The service was friendly and quick, but due to the tight space, our waiter spilled sauce on our coats. Â He tried to help clean them, and brought us club soda to get the stains out. So no harm done. Â The food was very good here, and nicely presented. Â The maki rolls are very pretty and tasty. Â The sashimi was very fresh too.
Review Source:I was pleasantly surprised by this place. I thought the rolls were going to be heavy with cream cheese or rice, but they weren't. They were innovative, delicious and light.
We ordered the mushroom roll, over the rainbow and south beach. The mushroom roll was pleasantly delicious. I thought it would get dried out, but it was moist and really flavorful. South Beach and Over the Rainbow were both really good. I was a bit distracted by the beautiful plating. I didn't know if the sushi was meant to be dipped with the sauces or if it was just for decoration. For dessert, we got the green tea cheesecake. It had a nice macha flavor to it, so that was nice.
I would have to knock it down a star because of the level of waiting. We waited for about 30-40 minutes for a table. Even though they provided a free bowl of edamame when we finally got our seats, it wasn't enough for me. I think they need more servers to help keep up with all of the tickets or something. It's pretty cramped in there too. I felt bad for the table that was right next to the door/computer/menus. They had to deal with everyone coming in and out of the restaurant!
That aside, I like Yuzu. I would like to try their robata since their rolls seem to be pretty good. If you're looking for a creative sushi spot and you're walking around with a bottle of saki in your bag, come to Yuzu!
I think I've found my new favorite sushi spot!
Yuzu is small and a bit cramped, but the food and service are worth it. The waiters are friendly and accomodating. Our last guest showed up and pulled out a bottle of white wine. In a flash, it was put right into a bucket of ice. I ordered the Sin Nombre and What's My Name rolls which were excellent. The flavors went really well together, then again you can't go wrong with avocado and fish! I don't remember what everyone else ordered, but what I sampled was delicious. The presentation of the sushi is so beautiful that you can't help but take a picture. Cause you know that it's rude not to Instagram your food.
I regret not getting anything from the robata grill! What was I thinking?
We lingered around a little after eating and were never rushed out. I know, I know....we were THAT group, but it wasn't my fault!
p.s. No corking fee! Yay!
I have been waiting for a sushi place that I can walk to from my place and I finally found it! Â Any sushi restaurant that is convenient and walking distance automatically gets a plus in my book.
I dined here on a Friday night (make reservations because it does get busy) with a few friends and we were seated right away. Â It's a very small space and you're crammed in like sardines, but the food is so worth it. Â By the way, this place is BYOB, no cork fee, and no limit to the amount of liquor you can bring-our party of five brought 4 bottles of wine so I know. Â
The menu is extensive so it can take awhile for you to choose what you want, but I guarantee you that whatever you choose will be fantastic. I highly recommend the Pot River and Super Spicy Tuna rolls. Â Their sauce is real good, too.
The service was excellent so the automatic 20% tip on our bill didn't bother me at all. Â I am already planning my return to Yuzu.
Meat on a stick AND sushi? Â You heard right. Â We started off the meal with beef short rib skewers. Â They come out pretty fast, so it's good to have a snack while you decide on some rolls. Â After you stuff your face with short rib, and the server pops open your bottle of wine (BYOB!), you can attend to the rolls situation.
Don't let the funny names keep you from taking these rolls seriously. Â The Pot River is a giant. Â It's crunchy and full of fish, but very heavy on the cilantro. Â The Sin Nombre was my favorite--the fried shallots added this great crunch in the middle, and the pieces were a little more manageable. Â I sacked up and tried my first unagi, and if it's your first time I would recommend the Sorry I Am Drunk...because honestly you can't taste anything eel-like. Â Alaska--great, stuffed full of seafood. Â And then just order the Dragon roll because it comes out looking like a dragon. Â Such beautiful plating.
Make a reservation, since the restaurant is small and seating is hard to come by, especially groups larger than 2. Â And expect to smell like robata grill when you leave too, since it's an open kitchen.
Dined here last night with a few friends after watching Check Please, along with hearing amazing reviews. Â Got in without a reservation. Â Let me preface this by saying as pretty as the sushi is here, I'm not sure what makes it so much more amazing than all the sushi places in town, so I couldn't give it 5 stars. Â
BYOB, a plus, although we couldn't partake. Â
We ordered edamame, tofu from the Robata Grill, the Dragon, the Pot Roll, the My Favorite Midwest Roll, and the Shrimp Tempura roll. Â Every piece of sushi was eaten, and the sauce served on the cutting boards were really pretty and really enhanced the flavors. Â However, I thought what made the restaurant most unique and stand out, was the Robata Grill. Â The tofu was pretty fabulous, and it was one large piece. Â We wished we could cut it, but we only had chopsticks. Â
Another reason I can't give this place 5 stars is a service issue. Â We had a party of three, and our third was stuck in traffic. Â Our server came by three times before our friend arrived, asking if we wanted appetizers. Â Each time we had the same answer, "we're going to wait for our third." Â I am all about attentive service (in fact I'm a stickler about absent service) but asking us MULTIPLE times about appetizers and later desserts seems like you're trying to rush us out. Â We were maybe there for a total of an hour. Â
I'd say if you're in the area, stop in, and I wouldn't mind going back. Â But it's not in my top 3 in Chicago, and there's probably a few other options closer to home.
The hype for Yuzu is blowing up, so I had to hop over to the Village of Ukranians to check out why. I'm often let down when I build a place up, but not this time. I'm not gonna lie, I came to Yuzu 3 times in 1 week. I was a little embarrassed when the waitresses were asking me 'back again?'
Doesn't matter if you come here with a group or on a date, the experience & food is great. Make sure you call ahead for a reservation. All 3 times I called pretty last minute and was able to get tables for prime dinner times on Weds & Thurs nights. On Friday, our group of 4 got a table for 9pm.
The workers are incredibly nice. They're like little Asian elves that just want to make sure you are enjoying yourselves. No, but for real. My first visit, my group had to wait for a 4 top to finish. They took their sweet time and chatted and finished their wine, which is pretty expected and not a huge deal. The hostess kept apologizing and pouring our wine for us. She brought us complimentary edamame to eat while we waited. I'm not sure who was more uncomfortable with the wait, us or the hostess. After 30 minutes, she informed the table that we were waiting for their table. I imagine this annoyed them because this is typically really rude, but in such a small restaurant with limited seating I can kind of understand. They were pretty cool about it, too. At the end of our meal, the hostess apologized again for the wait and gave us a $5 gift certificate for our next visit.
My 2nd and 3rd times visiting that week were just as great. The food was sushi at it's best. Tasty and fresh, and not covered with sauces that muddle every roll to be indistinguishable... aka 'white people sushi'
For the sake of length, here are a few reccos for any future visitors:
Starters
Avocado Mango Salad - A light way to start your meal. Dressing is a little spicy but offset with avocados and mango slices. All3 times this was great and I could eat this every day.
Tuna Poke - Artfully presented and equally delicious. Not fishy at all and really good. Also good for avocado lovers.
Robata Grill - Must try
Pork Shoulder - Unreal. The glaze on this is like crack.
Beef Short Rib - One of my favorites, but consensus is it was too fatty. I love fatties... er I mean meats, of course, so I loved this. If you're not into fatty meats, go with the pork shoulder. Probably unnecessary to get both cuz they're very similar.
Bacon Scallop - Can't go wrong with Bacon
Tuna Miso - My least favorite thing I've gotten here. Thought the fish was kinda dry and chewy. It was thick cut and glazed.
Maki
My Favorite Midwest Roll - $8.50
Riceless roll? Weird so I had to try. I ordered it all 3 times. I am not a fan of cream cheese in my maki rolls, but this is really creative and well done. Lightly battered and not too heavy. Try this.
Black Sea Roll - $8.50 Â
Really simple but really good. Sunflower seeds are a nice touch.
Pier 69 - $14.50
Everyone raves about this roll. It's good but all I could taste was the fried soft shell crab. It's beautifully presented though. Didn't really taste the coconut.
Fire Roll - $15.00
For the jumbo rolls, this one was my favorite. And I don't even like spicy food! Took a chance and the spice is really subtle. Minimal sweat, thank god. Highly recommend this roll over their other jumbo rolls!
Pot River - $15.00
Another good one. Fresh but the cilantro turned me off.
Sorry I am Drunk Roll - $11.00
So good for unagi lovers. Small and simple roll but really tasty. It's like a better version of a unagi roll that I would get at other sushi restaurants.
Damnit, I did it again. I have had comments that my reviews are too long but I wanted to do this place justice. Also worth noting... they play rap and the sushi chefs look young and trendy. I can appreciate a sushi chef wearing a fedora and jamming to Kanye while he's crafting my maki. Also, they gave us free dessert that was bomb. Just go and enjoy!
After cross checking all sources of information ( as I obsessively usually do ) I realized that a former head chef of one of my old go-to sushi spots, Sushi Wabi, had opened this little treat in my neighborhood and it's byob too- yes please!!
If you're looking for a quiet, spacious place.. this is not it. Surprisingly tiny, couldn't have had more than 25 tables, one unisex bathroom that needs a little tlc..and the Robabta grill seems to take up entirely too much space, but the skewers are worth the waste!
Started with Tuna Poke, super fresh, bright pink color, crisp flavors, beautiful spray of avocado ( how the heck to they do that? ) and just the right amount of bite. Gyoza was nothing to write home about, but nothing to complain about either. For skewers we fired in pork shoulder, great flavor, tender; the short rib, melt in your mouth and somewhat fatty but delicious; Ribeye, had the most amazing sauce with it, like a thai marinade I've found in Food & Wine <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodandwine.com%2Frecipes%2Fspicy-thai-marinade-with-basil-and-cilantro&s=4834f568bc26c2934474522dcdae36ce923ce8ffb82e462f1c2f34ca9f494cef" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.foodandwine.c…</a>  Scallop and Bacon.. how could anything with Bacon be bad, only 2 in order so not as easy to share!
For rolls we went with the Motown Effect, I only tried 1 of these ( not a big fan of eel -a reminds me of the evil ones on Little Mermaid and b- they are longer and creepier than anchovies) but it was still tasty, and the batter was truly light unlike some other places where you might as well have had a donut. On the lighter side, we did the South Beach, the whitest super white tuna I've seen, nice balance between mango, jap pepper and lime, last but not least the Pot River, finally a jumbo roll that you can actually fit in your mouth (don't attempt the Po Boy roll at Coast, I don't know who could take that thing down)..also delicious and a crowd pleaser. All sauces, ie. wasabi mayo, sweet soy, eel sauce are displayed next to the roll, its freaky the patterns that they produce.. literally an art form and nice because you can have as much or as little as you want.
We had more wine to drink so we ordered mochi ice cream in every flavor, each was great and sweet and chewy on the outside, great way to end the evening.
Definitely going back, and will be ordering take out too. Waiting to see this place outgrow itself, how hasn't it by now?
After seeing this on Check Please my boyfriend and I had to check it out. Â It was definitely worth the trek for us from the northside.
Called a few days ahead to make a reservation which seems like a good idea since its such a small place.  It was BYOB and there a  few liquor stores on the block so thats not an issue if you're traveling.
We enjoyed some delicious rolls, apps and grilled items. Â The best is you can get a several different things to yourself. The robata stuff is up to you because its like 1-2 bite little dittys. Â Yeah dittys of goodness! Â Recommend the beef, pork and tuna. YUMMO. Â The rolls were elegantly displayed and tasted delicious!
Such a great place for a date especially if you want sushi but your date doesn't. Â There's options for everyone!
We are enamored with this place.  The restaurant is BYOB, they have no corkage fees, and the staff is attentive without being pushy and in your face all throughout the meal.  They offer to chill/warm any alcohol that  you choose to bring and are very acoomodating. Â
Some highlights of the menu include the Tuna Poke - delicious tuna and avocado drizzled with soy sauce and seasme oil. Â The avocado mango salad, where the dressing is a fresh but spicy match to the avocado and mango. The pork shoulder or asaparagus wrapped in bacon robata are excellent. Â The mushroom robata is delicious too for anyone who's not a fan of meats.
For the sushi part of the menu, we love the black sea roll, the pot river roll, over the rainbow roll, green harbor roll... pretty much every roill we've had off of the menu. Â It's a great way to eat as a group as well, since the rolls are big enough to share and the robata is affordable enough that you can order a few different selections and share those as well. Â
We love coming here with friends from out of town as well as ones who just haven't been. Â It's worth the trip, and you'll definitely want to go back.
We dined here after a glowing review in Metromix.  The first thing I noticed was huge piles of pre-cut sushi.  Sorry Metromix, no sushi place that pre-cuts deserves even an honorable mention on any sushi list.  Pre-cutting sushi is the quickest way to kill the taste of the fish as it oxidizes,loses flavor and starts tasting like the fridge.  Anyone who knows anything about sushi knows this.  We went at lunch, and the fish was already suffering, and there was easily enough to push through dinner.  It was being used for rolls, sashimi and nigiri alike.  We ordered one slice of sake, hamachi and whote tuna nigiri  (cooked?) and stopped there - and we are big eaters.
We also had the robata which was amazingly good, and worth going for Yuzu just to sample these grilled wonders. Â We had a bunch of the different offerings - all were amazingly well grilled. Â It should be noted my girlfirend got an MSG headache after dining here, and we suspect some of the sauces served with the robata, FYI.
We got two rolls - tempura sweet potato which was wonderful, and the black sea roll which had enough spicey sauce to disguise the fish inside. Â
Yuzu has so much potential - the presentation of the rolls was really top shelf. Â The guys are slaving on this stuff. Â But we counted at least ten guys working in Yuzu during lunch, you would think one of them could cut fresh fish and honor the elaborate presentations and excellent grilled fare with fresh fish. Â Yuzu would be 5 stars if it abandoned the inexcusable practice of pre-cutting.
Great atmosphere, great food.
The only thing I wish was that I had room for my elbows at the table! Â It's definitely part of the vibe to have the small tables in a condensed space, but I still wish it was a bit roomier.
Some of the highlights in terms of food were:
-The monster roll (sushi with SOFT SHELL CRAB!! so yum)
-The ribeye (pieces or ribeye "yakitori" style with a delicious dipping sauce)
-The soft shell shrimp (I didn't even know these existed!!)
-The whole grilled squid (came with a spicy mayo dipping sauce)
Everything else I ate here was also yummy (I didn't taste a bad dish) and coming from someone who lived in Japan for 13 YEARS, I would definitely recommend this place to anyone in Chi-town searching for a Japanese food fix!
Also, BYOB. Â I'd recommend the food with white wine (chardonnay or a pinot grigio) because it is on the lighter side.
Popped my sushi cherry here and was not disappointed, but I am slightly humiliated that people had to witness me using chopsticks. It was bad.
However, the food was tasty. I tried sashimi and a variety of other things my boyfriend force fed me but I really enjoyed the experience. We sat right in front of the kitchen which was fun too, and our waiter was nice and attentive.
Mmm, Yuzu. I've dined here several times, and always leave satisfied. Wish I could rate a 4.5 (Yelp, you must add a half-star option!), for I am in lust/love with several Yuzu specialty items. A few of my personal favorites:
1. Black Sea Roll: Tuna, super white tuna (one can never have too much tuna), salmon, hamachi, kani kama, sunflower seeds, masago, spicy mayo, sesame oil, black tobiko, scallion. A deliciously loaded specialty roll for only eight dollar bills, y'all.
2. Tuna Poke: Hawaiian tuna salad, avocado, green and white onion, Japanese chili pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil. Served in a beautiful display, and quite delectable. Bravo, Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill; y'all serve an exceptional poke. (Side note: Tuna poke may be one of the best dishes to exist.)
3. Pot River: A jumbo roll (and let me tell you, it is JUMBO) of tuna, super white tuna, salmon, avocado, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeño, scallion, tempura crumbs, green tobiko, chili sauce, wasabi mayo, sweet soy sauce. A zesty roll--with just the right amount of kick.
4. South Beach: Super white tuna, spicy tuna, mango, Japanese pepper, sesame oil, masago, spicy mayo, lime, red and black tobiko. The combo tobiko adds a nice finishing touch to this light, unique Yuzu specialty roll.
Also good options: Over the Rainbow, What's My Name and Very Spicy Tuna. (What can I say, tuna is bombdotcom.) In terms of the robata grill, you can't go wrong with the "Robata Set One" of pork shoulder, beef short rib and chicken satay.
As for restaurant atmosphere, Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill is a great BYOB spot for a group dinner or for a date. It is on the smaller side, so make sure to call in prior to ensure there is an open table. Service team is friendly and attentive. Wall decor is artsy. Old-school hip hop beats play in the background. Basically, if you'll enjoy jamming to Boyz II Men and Notorious B.I.G. while dining on delicious cuisine, iRecommend you check out Yuzu Sushi & Robata Grill today.
I love coming here for two reasons: 1. The food (obvious choice) and 2. It makes me feel kind of cool & artsy. Â Ha ha I'm kind of embarrassed to admit the latter but oh heck, who cares. Â I like that it's not located on a block with 8 million other sushi joints on a crazy busy street-- it's a unique restaurant, in an up and coming area, that has a very eclectic feel to it. Â
Onto the food...Or shall I say art? Either way. Â It's something that must be experienced firsthand. Â The Robata, delicious/fabulous/succulent meats on little wooden skewers, are a must have. Â My top two favorites are the beef short rib and the pork shoulder. Â I love these things so much that I'm thinking of going back soon and just ordering off the Robata menu. I could like 50 of them and be a happy camper. Â Perfectly cooked & seasoned every time I've been there.
When I said art before, I was definitely more so referring to the sushi aspect of my food experience. Â Their sauce designs are beautiful. If the chef offered a class on how to make them, I would sign up in a heartbeat.. they're that cool. Â The Pot River is my favorite sushi roll, with My Favorite Midwest Roll being the runner up. Â
The only thing I didn't quite love were the chairs in the restaurant-- reminiscent of those uncomfortable metal lab stools in my middle school chemistry lab, preparing to use the bunsen burners. Â Okay, okay-- I will say that although, they're not the most comfortable recliners-- they do work with the overall ambiance of the restaurant.
By far our favorite sushi place we've been to in Chicago!
The fact that you can make reservations is great. We usually haven't had the foresight to reserve in advance but have been able to get in with a little wait.
The sushi here is so fresh and delicious. We have tried all the large rolls that come with the crazy sauce art on the plate and even though the look of it is impressive (as are the rolls by themselves), the last time we went we decided to try the simpler rolls. By far, the simple rolls (such as Spicy Scallop and Alaska) were our preference. Sushi rice is seasoned perfectly and the rolls were amazing. Like I said, even though the sauce is pretty, their sushi doesn't need it and is perfect on its own with a dab of wasabi.
I've been to Yuzu twice now, and both times I've left incredibly satisfied, full, and happy. Let's start off with the reservations - easy. Easy to get into, and there's nothing like scheduling dinner day of and still being able to get your restaurant of choice. Don't get me wrong, Yuzu was still fully packed when I ate, but it wasn't a giant mess to try to get a table.
Let's talk about the food. First of all, the grilled skewers are amazing. Amazing price, and they definitely know how to grill. I don't think I've been disappointed by any of the grilled items, but the standouts have been the bacon wrapped scallops, the pork shoulder, and the beef. I enjoyed the sauces that came on the latter half, although I feel like they're a bit too generous with them; I've never been much of a sauce guy, the key is always in moderation.
Ok, they also have bento boxes. Oh man, I love bento boxes! They're basically the perfect food for me...rice, meat, salad, all presented in a convenient compartmented box. And the price! They start at $10 and go up to $14, and you're seriously getting A LOT of food. Of course, this never stops me from getting a couple of skewers on top of it all, but hey, I like my food.
I've also tried a few of the maki rolls, and the fish seems to be pretty fresh and tasty. But the real stars of the show here are the skewers and bento boxes...and those are worth the trip back multiple times.
Quick word about service - excellent. Nary a problem. Always a pleasure to go here. And street parking is ridiculously easy.
To sum up, Yuzu is easy - easy to get to, easy to park, easy to get a table, easy to order, and easy to leave full and happy.
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