Hira’s Cafe

They are closed, very very closed. There are no longer tables nor servers. If you want food, venture elsewhere for you will be met with a chained up door and be full of regret… And regret is not food. Get food my friend.

I love this place. It has just changed owners. The staff are super friendly and the food is delicious and reasonably price. I will definitely be coming back here. The tuna spicy rolls are a must!

I love this place! I live right down the street and for me and my boyfriend, this is where we get our sushi fix once every couple weeks. No, its not the best place in Chicago, but they’re reliable, reasonably priced, and every time we come here — whether its takeout or sitdown — we get excellent service. The servers and the lady that I am pretty sure owns it are so so sweet. Hira’s has only been open a year or so and lately they seem to be struggling so I hope I can encourage some Unilocalers to give it a try if you’re in the area.
I love their spicy crunchy rolls and last time I even asked for an extra side of their spicy mayo because it is delicious. My boyfriend almost always gets the rock ‘n roll, but neither of us has ever been disappointed when branching out from our normal orders. Their non-​sushi dishes always look amazing when we see other tables order them but we’re so addicted to their various sushi rolls that we still haven’t gotten around to ordering anything off the other sections of the menu! Someday we will, but now I’m craving sushi again. Please don’t ever go away, Hira’s Café!

I love the sangria sushi. The staff is always polite and friendly. I’m in here 2 – 4 times a month. I love this place!

This place is average. The sushi was good, but not worth going back to. The space is a square, open layout, with small tables scattered throughout.
There was only one server, and Jackie’s discreet actions on overseeing our table were hilarious!

I had always been weary of this place since its always dead when I walk by… turns out that is for a good reason. Who makes a sushi roll with seaweed which is completely inedible? The miso was lukewarm garbage with chunks of bland stems the size of a miniature American flag. The only saving grace for this joint was the wine… oh, wait… its BYOB. Save your money…

I ordered the Teriyaki Chicken bento to go. Everything was light and delicious. I was impressed with the portions for the price. Everyone there was very nice and they got my order ready really fast.
The atmosphere is really lovely, but you cannot tell that from the outside.
I also ordered a side of Mochi, which was also very good. They are a little more pricey.
I was sad that there were no one eating there when I came in (5:30p on a Sunday). It is a very nice restaurant and I’d like it to stay for a long time.

A-​Ok
No the best sushi you will ever have and not the worst. Just OK, middle of the road.
I would not recommend the appetizers, they are microwaved and not made in the house.
I have not tried the buffet options so I am not sure what they have but maybe that is the way to go so you can try all of their sushi and find the one. As for me I am moving on the quest for for better.

I found myself in Roger’s Park and stopped in here for a quick bite solo. I ordered three rolls of vegetarian sushi. One of the rolls came out kappa instead of kampyo, and the tempura sweet potato roll had cream cheese in it – the only time I’ve ever seen this. It wasn’t listed on the menu ingredients for that roll, and — more importantly — it wasn’t good. The rolls in general were poorly rolled and fell apart. Taste wasn’t that great. The waitress tried to correct for the mistake by giving me the roll I ordered for free and to-​go since I was in a hurry, but the chef didn’t start making the roll until after I got up to leave already. It fell apart completely on my walk to the train. Not such a great experience!

I’ve eaten here a couple of times when they fits opened. The sushi was ok — nothing special but not bad. This week they added an All-​You-​Can-​Eat option for $ 19.95 Tu-​Th and $ 22.95 Fr-​Su. So I couldn’t resist.
To begin with, there is a separate menu for the AYCE deal. As I’m flipping through I don’t see any nigiri listed. Just maki and apps. So maybe you just order nigiri off the main menu? Turns out no, «we’re not doing nigiri on the all you can eat deal… yet». Hmmm. I was tempted to leave but you know how it is when you get set on sushi it’s had to just walk away. So I figured I would give it a shot.
It is important to note that the night I was there there is only one sushi chef and one server working tonight. The place can seat about 40 people — all at tables. No sushi bar. This means that I should expect things will move kinda slowly as there are about 15 people here at 6:30pm on a Thursday. Ok, I’m patient and can do my Unilocal review while I wait :)
I start off with a miso soup which was pretty good. Hot with a generous amount of vegetation (seaweed, spinach, green onion) in it. Could have used a bit more tofu but overall, not bad.
Next I got the Steamed Gyoza (4pcs) described as steamed vegetable dumplings. I got 6 and they were pork. Watch out all you vegetarians! They weren’t bad either provided you weren’t counting on them being veggie.
I should note here that despite there only being one server, she’s doing a good job and is aware of the service being slow and apologizes for having to wait. Credit to her for that and trying hard to keep up and keeping pleasant at the same time.
The maki were pretty good. Rice is a little lite on seasoning but passable. The spicy tuna had good heat. The New York Maki was actually pretty good. I’m always a bit cautious about the crazy western maki combinations but as long as I stay away from cream cheese (really?!?) and all that mayo and sauce that basically kills any taste of the contents, then I’m usually ok.
Going to try one more round. This time a Shrimp Tempura roll, one of the special rolls Happy Together (spicy tuna, salmon, avocado, cucumber, spicy sauce, topped on a crabmeat salad & sunflower seeds, chefs sauce, sesame seeds) and a California Sunset (crabmeat, cucumber, lettuce, wrapped with fresh salmon & avocado).
Well the second round of rolls was pretty good. As before, nothing astonishing but fish is fresh — though not a lot inside the rolls. I should note that the shrimp tempura was a little heavier on the batter than I’m used to and they don’t have the tail visible. Usually it sticks out the end so you see it and don’t eat it but here it was inside the roll. I know some people eat it but personally it’s not to my liking so I do prefer it sticking out so I can avoid it.
So overall, it’s not a bad choice to come here for the AYCE deal — provided you are ok with just rolls. The selection isn’t bad and who knows — maybe they will eventually add nigiri. I think I will wait for that before coming back ;)
As for the 3 star rating, I would have gone for 2 because while it was good, it wasn’t great and very disappointing that there’s no nigir on the AYCE menu. But the server did a really good job for being the only one and the extra star is for her!

This is your run-​of-​the-​mill sushi and Asian place: not bad, but nothing I’d write an epic about.
I liked the atmosphere of Hira’s: it’s cute on the inside, the service is friendly (our waitress was adorable), and it was nice to sit by the window and watch people go by while I heard the chopping of sushi in the background.
I ordered the bulkoki bento box, which I thought would give me the best sense of what the restaurant had to offer. It was fine, but nothing to write home about. My girlfriend ordered the smokey bear roll and the sweet potato roll and really liked them, so maybe the sushi’s where it’s at. Since I’m in the neighborhood, I’d be willing to give them another try.

I love Hira’s! It’s good prices and good sushi. I love that it’s byob and I don’t end up spending tons of money on Asian-​themed cocktails.
I’m so happy we have a good sushi place in the neighborhood! And they have the honor of being the ONLY restaurant in all of Chicago that has egg rolls which both me & the husband like. (For those of you who care about authenticity, they also serve gyoza).
Also, there’s a roll with crushed Doritos in it. You have to try it. It’s so wrong, it’s right.

This place is pretty good. It’s not the best sushi I’ve ever had but I like it and I’ll definitely go back. I went here with my husband and my parents while they were visiting in March. I had a hand roll and three pieces of nigiri. I just wanted something light. The nigiri was fresh and they give you a piece of fish. I hate when places shortchange you on sashimi. The hand roll was quite good and perfectly spicy. My husband ordered a speciality roll and thought it was just okay. My mom had some assorted rolls and like them. My dad had the bibimbob and like it but I tried some of it and thought it was just okay. The prices are low so I’d definitely go back and try some other items. I hear their ramen is stellar but I just wasn’t in the mood that night. Once I go back and try it I’ll update my review and possibly add another star.
The only real problem was the service. Our waitress was nice but she brought stuff at different times. My dad and I had our food before anyone else. I don’t like that. The place was practically empty so you’d think they could’ve timed it a bit better. I’ll still go back. Try this place!

Love it! really good sushi, I can’t report on the other food offerings because I have yet to try them BUT the sushi is great.
Also the folks who work there are really nice people. I like nice people and nice people like me so it makes for an overall nice experience.

It was my first time here so I started off with a couple of simple rolls. I was not impressed. They didn’t look appetizing and it didn’t have much flavor. Next time I will get a better roll. If that is not good then I’ll def will not be going back. The server was fantastic, very nice :-)

Boyfriend and I have been here twice now and have had two pretty good meals.
On our first trip boyfriend ordered the Seafood Ramen and I ordered some sort of deep friend cream cheese and smoked salmon roll (I haven’t had a deep fried roll in like 10 years so I couldn’t resist). We ordered edamame to start. The edamame was sadly undercooked. Two more minutes of steam time and you’ve got it.
I thought the fried salmon roll was good (Im thinking the name had Miami in it somewhere?) but not OMG fried cream cheese goodness like Ive had some trillion years ago in high school. The Boyfriend liked his Seafood Ramen pretty well but didn’t think the broth was overly flavorful. I had a couple spoonfuls and though the broth was good and I really liked the noodles and seafood taste.
On our second visit we both ordered Miso Soup to start and the Beef Bibimbop. We both thought the Miso Soup was freaking excellent, It was well salted and very very flavorful, I could eat that soup all day every day. We also both really liked the Bibimbop. I think I liked it more than the boyfriend, again he complained that it was maybe a little bland. He completely doused it in whatever nondescript red sweet/​chili paste stuff they brought to the table and yet was unable to detect any additional flavor from this sauce (apparently its not pure sriracha and I think he was missing the heat). I used a more modest quantity of the sauce and thought it was quite delicious. The beef was tender, slightly sweet and flavorful. The chopped seawood had excellent flavor, the rice was so moist and so much better than just plain white rice. I’m assuming its sushi rice cut with vinegar and whatever other magical stuff. The fresh chopped veg added the perfect crunch and the thin strips of egg mixed in with every bite perfectly. I really could eat a huge bowl of this now (and you do get a huge bowl). I should also comment that part of the boyfriend’s minor disappointment stemmed from the pictures in the window displaying the Bibimbop as being served with a fried egg over top rather than strips of egg/​omelet. I would imagine you can order this dish and specify fried egg over top and I think we should next time. The whole dish is so good mushed together on your chop sticks, might as well add warm yummy egg yolk to that too.
Hira’s is inexpensive and clean with fast service and the staff is friendly. I’m glad to see people eating here when we go. I feel there is a duty to patronize new restaurants like this with honest, hardworking staff trying to make a living. I’d much rather eat at an establishment like this than eat at a gross chain like Leona’s around the corner.
We will definitely be back, I would like to explore their sushi menu more and I want more Miso Soup!

I was visiting Chicago this past weekend from Nashville and the weather outside was very cold, so I needed something to warm me up. I stopped by Hira’s Café and was so glad I did. The service began as soon as I entered the restaurant. The hostess immediately greeted me and was very kind. She actually turned the heating fan by my table on because I mentioned I was freezing. I ordered the Seafood Ramen (spicy), and it was just what I needed. It was loaded with fresh tasting seafood (scallops, muscles, squid, shrimp) and the ramen was cooked perfectly. The menu at Hira’s offers a nice selection and the prices cannot be beat would recommend Hira’s Café.

Big fan of their ramen — the seafood ramen is the best. Not sure about the other reviews criticizing the ramen, but I like it better then the ramen you find at Mitsuwa because Hira uses beef base over pork/​chicken.
I’ve only ordered the Brave Man roll, and it’s a lot scarier on paper. It’s really not as spicy as it sounds, but it does have a lot of flavor.
I’ll definitely be back to try other things.

Reviewing a new restaurant has a lot of weight. Especially on Unilocal since most people will look at star ratings rather than the review usually. This puts me in a position I usually don’t like to be in, to lie and help a new restaurant or actually just talk about the overall experience and hope the owners learn from the review.
So to be fair, the service was more than good, it was exceptional. Granted I was one of the only three people eating there but still, the server did her job well.
The two stars unfortunately comes from the food. The items I ate was the spicy tuna maki and the kimchi ramen.
The spicy tuna roll was… ok. Nothing to go home about but nothing that immediately makes me ask to get the check and take it all to-​go and throw it away in the nearest bin. As we all know regarding sushi: it is all about how one prepares the rice. In this case, the rice was cooked and chilled, that is it. The fish wasn’t too rotten and overall it was not bad for a cheap price in Chicago. The place is BYOB so bring some hot sake and glasses since they don’t have any.
I ate the ramen next, just to compare, unlike places in LA the items presented on the menu are fairly generic like «gyoza ramen» and «chicken ramen». I decided on the kimchi ramen and well, it basically tasted like Samyang Ramen powder with veggies and kimchi. For those who never stepped foot in a Korean super market, it just taste like ramen I could make at home and put more flavor and spice in it.
Where there might be potential:
Bibimbap is a Korean mixed rice and veggies dish. It means literally «mixed rice». It typically has spicy pickled radish, marinated string beans, cooked spinach in sesame oil and garlic, a specific kind of Korean brown root, chopped red lettuce, sesame seed oil, a fried egg, beef, and go chu jang (red pepper paste). I didn’t order this dish because well frankly Korean food is awful in Chicago BUT watching it be prepared, it seemed pretty true to the recipe. Perhaps if I come by again I will give it a shot. So if you stop by try out the Bibimbap.
The good: service, BYOB (No corkage fee), fairly cheap and reasonable prices
The not so good: The ramen

Had the gyoza ramen for lunch today, so yummy! The broth was salty and had a nice kick, they offered to make it less spicy. The gyoza were delicious!
The service was very good and fast, the waitress gave us a sample of the kimchee which was also tasty.