Hot Woks Cool Sushi

I food was good here. Always came out fresh and hot. I had a Bento box for lunch and I enjoyed it so much. I have been going to this restaurant for a couple of years already, and each time I come I always have different experience.
There are lots of changes with this place as time goes by, they used to be so excellent in their service before but now I can see a degrading quality of service. Anyway, food has always been so consistent in taste. My favorites are their great selections of sushi and Bento box.

Lunch wasn’t great, I ordered the chicken teriyaki bento box and it was all thigh meat chicken. My preference is white meat and most places will mix but this was just not what I enjoy. The three pieces of California maki was blah. The veggie tempura was greasy so I left didn’t bother after the first piece. I’d take Osaka up the block for simple sushi over coming back here unfortunately. The front patio space is great but the weather always was beautiful today so that helped the place a lot.

I ordered the cashew chicken dish. It came with roasted cashew nuts, hearty bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, pineapple and pea pods. A little on the spicy side but very good!

I did not particularly enjoy the sushi at this place. It didn’t taste fresh and had a dullness to it that made it easily forgettable. The spring rolls were meh. They were very sweet and had a heaviness to them that I didn’t like. The sushi rolls were not even worth writing about… Very blah.
Besides the mediocre food, the service was another issue I had with this place. My waiter was just rude as hell and I nearly walked out within the first 10 minutes of being there. My boyfriend and I ordered spring rolls for an appetizer and then I ordered one roll for dinner and he ordered two rolls. Not that big of a deal considering we hadn’t eaten all day and had just finished walking for hours. The waiter had the nerve to tell my boyfriend when he ordered, «Wow… You’re eating a lot…» He was ridiculously rude, judgemental, and stupid.
The one redeeming factor of this black hole of sushi suck was the really nice lady behind the bar. She was so sweet and is probably the only reason that I didn’t walk out on the spot. She’s the only reason this place gets two stars instead of one like it deserves.

When I was visiting Chicago, the sign of this restaurant stuck out to me so I finally decided to check it out. The inside seems really cozy, I didn’t expect the restaurant to be as big as it turned out to be.
Spicy Tuna Maki: This is usually my go-​to roll when I’m not sure about what to get. This one came with chili oil and avocado. Really good, perfect amount to satisfy a spicy craving. What was awesome was that this roll came with 10 pieces instead of 8.
Yellowtail Handroll: This HR tasted really fresh. I think next time, I’ll get it spicy but other than that, it was a good amount and was nicely presented.
Overall, I really liked this place. The staff was really nice and friendly. The prices are pretty good. I don’t have any complaints :)

What a doozy of a name. And a sign. Seriously, what’s with that branding? I’ve walked past this place approximately 429 times (yeah, I’ve been counting) during my time living in Chicago and would never dream to go in based on that tacky yin-​yang inspired sign alone. This place needs a branding update stat.
Fortunately, my roommate can look past those things and invited me here to get birthday dinner. I must say, that tacky sign visible from Cloud Gate doesn’t represent the quality of the food here! The interior was also clean and modern, and the patio area was nice despite the constant kling klang of Chicago’s homeless asking for change two feet away.
The fish was quite flavorful, and the rolls an on-​par size for the price. Service was also on point, and the waiter didn’t waver when I accidentally dropped a chopstick. Total Japanese restaurant faux pas. Ugh.
Hope to have an opportunity to come again. Perhaps on my 430^th walkby!

Excellent sushi, excellent service, super warm atmosphere AND it’s a chain! I was at the bean taking pictures and realized by the time I made it back to Naperville everywhere would be closed so I thought I’d give this place a shot. They are inviting from the get go. I ordered miso soup, Blackhawks roll, and octopus/​salmon/​yellowtail nigiri; all of which was amazing. The cuts of fish were done with one masterful swoop. I have seen other sushi places that saw at the fish. That just means your knife is dull! Not this place! i would gladly return to try other dishes! Till next time!

I’m a little on the fence about this place when it comes to sushi. I recently moved here from Los Angeles, where I used to eat sushi every week and have been looking for a good sushi place. I’ve tried a few places and unfortunately the sushi is often fishy. Luckily, I found this place. I have been here quite a few times. The staff is friendly and I’m always attended to in a timely manner. Their menu is a bit on the pricey side, but the food I have ordered is delicious.
I often order the Pad Thai which is pretty tasty. I’ve also had their miso soup and it wasn’t too bad either. I was afraid to order sushi due to all my previous bad experiences elsewhere, but I finally ordered some the other day. I came here during lunch time and although the place was busy I got a table right away. Fast service, which I always appreciate. I ordered a spicy tuna roll and a spicy salmon roll along with miso soup. The food came out in a reasonable amount of time, again something I appreciate, especially when the place is busy.
Both of my rolls were delicious, but I was surprised to see they were very tiny pieces. Almost half the size of what they normally are. I was disappointed by this because they were pricey and I left still feeling a little hungry. It pretty much felt as if I ordered an appetizer as opposed to a meal. Normally I get full on 2 rolls and a miso soup. I will definitely be returning as the food and service is good, but I am a bit hesitant on whether I’ll be ordering sushi again.

My husband and I were here for lunch after a morning of walking around Grant Park. The restaurant wasn’t terribly busy and we didn’t have to wait to get a table. Service was good for what we needed. Great value for the money. I had Maki rolls and the portions were bigger than I expected.
Good place to pop in for a quick lunch!

I came here for a late dinner with my friend. I had the tuna avocado salad and the Alaskan roll. Both were super fresh and flavorful. I got a nice amount of tuna and avocado in my salad. The dressing was also super tasty and had a nice, slight kick. The whole meal was fairly affordable. Good place to come if you’re hankering for sushi in the area.

Stumbled upon this place after visiting the famous «bean». My entire family loves sushi. My middle son wanted Chicago pizza, and was hesitant to come inside. After we left the restaurant, he had totally changed his mind. «Dad that was amazing». I love the black dragon roll. The mango pudding for dessert was incredible. The cold saki we ordered had infused apple. Highly recommend.

4 out of 5 stars!
I had my first sushi over 30 years ago and have had it at least once a week on average since. I also have over 2 million frequent flyer miles under my bum and have had sushi all over the world. Consequently, I believe I can speak to the quality and the experience of having dinner at a sushi restaurant.
Upon arrival the hostess was very attentive. As soon as she determined that I was not there for take out she gave me the option of sitting at the sushi bar, in the back dinning room, near the front window or outside. Being from out of town I wanted to people watch, but outside was a bit chilly, so I chose a seat by the front window.
The waitress was helpful and attentive. I had read online that sake was half off on Tuesdays and asked if this were still true. She immediately opened the menu to the sake selection and explained the difference in each of the selections. I like cheap hot sake, so I went for the $ 11 option — $ 5.50 after di$count. This was supplemented by 2 beers this evening. I was walking back to the hotel, not driving.
I started with a salad and a miso soup. The soup was warm-​hot, not hot-​hot, so I could enjoy it right away. The salad had a pleasant but unusual dressing on it, with some sort of Asian fruit in it that I have never had before. I put several bites of that Asian fruit away for dessert.
I ordered the sushi gold platter, substituting a regular tuna roll for a spice tuna roll. I ate as much as I could, but ended up leaving 4 pieces of the roll on the plate. The fish was fresh and was presented in a pleasant and appealing manner.
All in all, it was an enjoyable experience. I will definitely go back. Next time I may even try some of the non-​sushi type items on the menu.
n.g.

Their food is good. That’s their star. So good I still ordered even when I didn’t want to. The Crab Rangoon is the best, literally.
Customer service on the other hand? That’s negative five stars.
To start, their online ordering system is archaic, in that it doesn’t allow you to save your payment information, throws away your order all the time, and at the very end might just stick out it’s tounge and blow raspberries at you.
«Sorry, your order can’t be completed at this time please call the restaurant.»
Their staff is completely powerless to solve any problem. After explaining my problem and the fact that I was having difficulties and had spent a lot of time already, and additionally that I was trying to use the coupon they sent me via e-​mail, they matter of factly stated we don’t honor that in the store, only online. At that point I asked for the manager and got Mike.
Now a manager at a restaurant is usually trying to ensure that things run smoothly and that customers leave happy. Mike doesn’t care about your happiness. Mike breaks happiness across his knee. Finally, after telling me he didn’t care if I had a coupon, and throwing away my order for delivery away once, he then confirms my order for pickup. Mike doesn’t take back talk, not from employees (i’m assuming), and certainly not from customers. Mike hangs up the phone when his sloppiness with an order results in a customer getting upset. Oh and he throws your order away. If Mike had a whole truck full of f@$!s he still wouldn’t give you one. Mike has no business in customer service.

We had planned to eat at another nearby restaurant, but it turned out they were closed on Sundays. We hiked the 2+ blocks here and were seated immediately. The restaurant fronts on Michigan Ave., roughly across from Millennium Park /​Art Institute.
I ordered the Massaman curry, which was fine (I finished it). I don’t recall what my wife ordered, but she finished her dish also. My daughter had been craving Ramen and opted for a Panang noodle dish here. She was underwhelmed, but it may partly have been disappointment that the other place was closed.
It is also close to the subway (Monroe on the Red Line, IIRC).
If I were alone and in the area, I would consider a return visit.

I went during the lunch hour on Friday but the waitstaff sat us efficiently, our food was served quickly and was delicious. I suggest the Akira specialty role (just the right amount for one hungry person during lunch). I also liked their tea selection (the jasmine raspberry tea is very sweet and I don’t think it’s freshly brewed but I could be wrong). A nice selection of decent saki and I think they may be BYOB? I would go back — u like the rice texture here and I go to a lot of sushi restaurant la hoping to find the right combination of rice texture with the freshness of the fish, I was pleasantly surprised. Great for groups.

Loved this place.
The ambiance is intimate and quaint. Notwithstanding, the atmosphere is casual. It’s located a few doors down from the Shake Shack.
The customer service was perfection. The guy serving me was prompt, friendly af and attentive. Scores.
I ordered the pad se eew and a glass of their Oregon based red (can’t remember the name of it, and this was only a few minutes ago LOL) and it was very good. All that for barely $ 20 bucks. Yet another score for this place.
The entire was tasty and just the right amount of spice. They were a little skimpy with the shrimp, but otherwise the dish had lots of flavor and character. I’d order it again.
All and all, I’ll definitely be back.

HWCS is a great place for the sushi samurai and the beginner Asian cuisine grasshoppers alike.
Our fun family night started at the Art Institute right across the street for free museum night on Thursdays from 5−8pm.
I then asked my nieces and nephew where their favorite places to eat were. Being in their early teens they didn’t have much to say but Steak and Shake and being of Asian decent sushi.
I married Irish so my Irish niece said, I’ve never tried sushi, so we thought since we were starting off the night expanding our cultural minds in the Art Museum why not extend it to our bellies.
As I turned the corner to set up parking, my niece excitedly pointed out, «Look! Hot Woks, Cool Sushi.» So hence, dinner plans were made after our museum walk.
As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by a friendly host and seated quickly at 8:20pm. Seems a later night bite on a Thursday night is a good time to get seated quickly.
The restaurant is long and narrow with tables close together, so be careful not to accidentally sit on a tourists prized souvenir bag as your snugging yourself into the booth. I’m being sarcastic here, from personal experience.
Now to the food ordering, since it was one of my niece’s first time to have sushi, we went basic Asian and started her off with a California roll. We added petite egg-​rolls and crab Rangoon to the appetizer list. All arrived quickly and were satisfying to the pallet, including our sushi grasshopper.
We decided to share a couple «safe» main dishes and ordered a dragon roll that has shrimp tempura and chicken pad Thai. Both dishes were delish and also all «cooked,» yet again to satisfy our sushi 101 beginner’s lesson.
A nice touch to the place were art on the walls with detailed descriptions included in the menu.
Overall, it was a great experience for family night and gave 4 stars for service and food, minus 1 due to the seating arrangement.
I would definitely recommend the place and will return to try other menu items with my sushi samurai friends and try more adventurous «raw» options.

This was the second time coming to Hot Woks. First time was over a year ago. Not as good as I remember it.
The service was great. Seated immediately for lunch without a reservation. Server was attentive and friendly.
The food was very average. I ordered the Tom Yum soup. It was fair. The chicken tasted old, and the broth tasted like it was flavored with lemon juice rather than lemongrass. Also, there was no cilantro in the soup. Far from authentic. Not at all spicy either.
Ordered their sushi special called Fuchsia. It was also very average. The sushi roll was black rice wrapped around spicy shrimp with tuna on top. The flavor was good and shrimp really spicy, but the center was lined with something (seaweed maybe) that was completely unchewable.
Last, we used to be able to book this place on Opentable, but that service is no longer available.
Overall disappointing. Probably will not return.

Came here again because it was the closest sushi place to the Grant Park Music Festival and my friend needed to take a train out of Ogilvie.
Ordered the Harajuku sushi and was sadly disappointed. It had jalapeños in it, which should’ve stopped me from ordering it because what kind of sushi place has jalapeños? It just was sad. I don’t know how else to describe it.
The worst part of this place is that it’s advertised as a sushi place but the sushi is so bland. And all their «spicy» options are mostly flavorless or have jalapeños in it.

After traveling to Chicago on a bus trip with the Taste of Chicago as the main focus, the only thing that caught my eye was Hot Woks Cool Sushi as soon as I stepped off the bus. Carole H. and I made a beeline for HWCS and I ordered a rainbow roll and crab Rangoon. The crab rangoon pieces were nice & big and served with a nice duck sauce (I think… or sweet sauce of some sort). The rainbow roll was nice and big and really hit the spot for that afternoon’s sushi craving. I’m so glad we stopped in there and it was such a convenient location.
The service was nice… the hostess and waitresses were very attentive and accommodating.

Bei meinem Sightseeing Rundgang in Chicago bekam ich so langsam Hungerund ehrlich gesagt, bin ich nicht so ein Fan von amerikanischer Küche mit Burgern usw. Deswegen halte ich immer Ausschau nach Asiatischen Restaurants.
In der Nähe des Millenium Parks auf der Südseite des Chicago Rivers fiel mir das Restaurant Hot Woks Cool Sushi auf! Jaaasehr gut! Genau dass, was ich jetzt wollte.
Schnell einen Blick auf die Speisekarte geworfen und ich war überzeugt. Gerade mittags gibt es tolle Lunchspecials wie z.B. eine Bento Box mit Hähnchen oder Teriyaki Rindfleisch für US-​Dollar 9, — inkl Suppe.
Des weiteren gibt es tolle Wokgerichte wie gebratene Nudeln, Fleischgerichte oder Tofuspeisen. Ebenfalls gibt es eine große Sushitheke, wo das Sushi frisch zubereitet wird.
Meine Bentobox war wirklich sehr lecker, die Kellner nett und auch das ganze Restaurant machte wirklich einen sauberen und schönen Eindruck ich komme wieder!