Kyu Ssam

I’ve been here twice and ordered take out once. Decent sized takeout portions compared to what they give when you eat there. Food has been consistently good, but the service is not. The first time I went, my friend and I were the only table and there was one server who was slow, but also strangely impatient. She also argued with me about what my food was served with. The menu said the pork lettuce wraps came with rice, instead of wraps I got shredded lettuce and no rice, not sure what happened there. The pork was delicious, but I asked for the rice because shredded lettuce is not a vessel for shredded pork. The server insisted it did not come with rice, and even went back to kitchen to ask the chef. I referred her to the menu and insisted that it did come with rice (I didn’t even mention the shredded lettuce, seriously how do you call that a lettuce wrap?). Service was much improved the second time I went. The server (different woman) was great! Favorite things on the menu are bulgogi and the BBQ pork lettuce wraps (despite the shredded lettuce). 50% off signature rolls on Friday is also a fantastic deal! Pass on the ramen though.

0 Stars.
I ordered the Sushi Combination — Sushi Ume. It has this description:
Sushi Ume
5 pieces sushi, mini Godzilla maki $ 11
Screw up #1:
I call and ask what 5 pieces of sushi means. The woman on the phone doesn’t know, so she goes to ask the sushi chef. She comes back and says that the 5 pieces are just the Godzilla Maki — as in, the entire Sushi Ume is just the Godzilla Maki. I point out that the Godzilla Maki is listed elsewhere on the menu for $ 9, so that doesn’t seem to make sense. She agrees, and goes back to talk to the sushi chef.
Screw up #2
She comes back and says the 5 pieces is a roll of my choice. I ask for spicy tuna, and she says it’ll be ready in 20 mins. I hang up.
Screw up #3
She calls back to tell me that it’s actually 5 pieces of the chefs choice. Fine.
Screw up #4
Once I get it an bring it home, the 5 pieces are actually sashimi. Not what I wanted. The tempura in the Godzilla Maki is cold and soggy.
Basically, they managed to screw up every aspect of this experience. I definitely will not be coming back.

Where to begin? The sushi was actually good, and I will say that upfront. But everything else was super bad. To start with the air conditioner was broken, which we did not initially realize because the door was propped open. When I told the server that the air conditioner was definitely broken, she seem to be in another world in big denial. for the service, there was only one server, and I don’t think she actually worked there. She knew nothing, and would disappear for long periods of time. She mentioned they were understaffed, and that is an understatement. The service was very slow, and when we finally did get our food, the soy sauce containers had no soy sauce in them and were crusted over and not very clean. Since I wanted to leave after eating, I did ask for the bill right away, which was incorrect when it was brought to me. I had to stand up, walk to the sushi counter, and get the sushi chef to actually find the server. Luckily, she had not gone to her other job and he found her and we were able to get out of there in one piece. When I asked to speak to the owner, shockingly, he was not there Allegedly his name is Bill, so Bill, if you are reading this, I think you have some improvements to make immediately or you will not be in business by this time next week.

Can I just say this place is AMAZING!!! Its BYOB, very reasonably priced and DELICIOUS!!! I drive all the way from Midway to get my sushi fix, totally worth the drive… and then some.

Great food and service. Casual spot great ambiance. I had the lunch special bim bop. It came with 2 choices of soup and salad and the main course for 9.50. Have good ramen deals too.

We tried Kyu Ssam again – but this time via Über Eats. It was a much better experience than eating in the restaurant. It was quick, the portions were sizable and the food was good. I had the same dish as before, the BBQ pork lettuce wraps.
We will definitely stick with this route versus eating in the restaurant!

Totally worth the ½ price signature maki Friday. It’s 3.5 star sushi, OK service but great specials. If you’re looking for a cheap and decent sushi night this is your spot in the city. $ 40 with tax and tip for 5 rolls is hard to complain about!

I went again, but this time earlier on a Friday and service was great. Additionally, the sushi was equally amazing.

You won’t notice it walking by, but the food is really good. 3 stars b/​c the service is lackluster. It takes a very long time to get some of the rolls and even longer to get a check. If you’re not in a hurry it’s a great little place. Good special on Fridays as well. BYOB.

More like a 2.5. Tried this place out for their 50% off Friday sushi night. Prices were great, but the sushi was really the poorest quality that I have had since I moved to Chicago. We ordered 5 different rolls and thought 2 or 3 were pretty tasty, however, the maki barely had any actual fish in it. It’s mostly all rice and sauces. So, basically we left feeling stuffed from rice. Our bill was unbelievably low, which was a plus, but there are just too many better sushi spots nearby…

Authentic. Korean. Food.
I was born and raised Korean, growing up on Korean food, before it gained any popularity. I don’t know of another place in the city that has Bu Dae Ji Gae, so that’s what originally drew me in to check this place this out. I can only speak to the Bi Bim Bap and Bu Dae Ji Gae, and they were great — really flavorful ingredients, a generous amount, and well-​priced. Seaweed soup also comes with the lunch specials (which makes it more legit) though you can have the miso soup as the other option as soup. I plan to return and try some other items on the menu.

Great food. Variety of Korean and Japanese. Super nice owners. The 4.50 $ ramen bowl can’t be beat, it’s huge and hearty!!!

This was such a delightful experience. Soup, salad, and an entrée for $ 8.50! Not to mention it was delicious. So glad a restaurant like this is in our neighborhood. I plan to frequent here. :)

This is my favorite sushi spot. The half price rolls on Friday are amazing! It’s also BYOB & the Korean is all Amazing as well. I would suggest this little hidden gem to anyone!

Ordered through Grubhub, food arrived way before schedule. Got the steak teriyaki, philly roll, and pork tacos — all were really good. Not sure why their reviews on Grubhub aren’t higher. We’ll definitely order from here again.

This place is tucked away in Ashland, but I really enjoyed my dinner here. I’m not a fan of sushi, but after seeing that they had Korean food, I decided to try it out. I mean, I love any place BYOB. The waiter was very friendly, brought us water, wine glasses, and took our order promptly. I ordered the beef teriyaki and thought it was really good. Nothing spectacular but I really enjoyed it. Came with miso soup which was good too. My only complaint is that once we got our check it took FOREVER for the girl to take it. After waiting 15 minutes and her still not taking our check we finally just figured out cash and just left rather than waiting for our cards to get run (there was only one other table there, so it’s not like she was busy). It was pretty frustrating, but other than that, it was a great place to get a bite.

I volunteer across the street, and saw the «$ 4.50 Ramen lunch special» sign too many times to not give in.
I went with a friend today, and we both can’t wait to make this a weekly thing. The lunch menu was smallish, but everything I’d want anyway. We both decided on the bowl of Ramen (with egg, scallions, onion, carrots, etc. Add meat for $ 1), and it was brought to us in no time. The guy (owner?) was amazingly nice, talked to us about the neighborhood, his restaurant, etc at length. The Ramen was amazing, I hope the Kimchee Fried Rice is a ¹⁰⁄₁₀ when I go back next week!
What really struck me though was the décor, it was very well-​thought-​out and chic, not what I was expecting from the outside (everything is a bit dusty from some nearby remodeling). This always speaks volumes for me, attention to detail is a bit thumbs up! Front and back of the house :)

Fantastic food, great times! We are always happy to stop by on Thursday nights for the BiBimBap special! Best deal in West Town!
Portions on GrubHub are also very generous for the price and we’re huge fans of the Gyoza and the Bacon-​Wrapped Kimchi!

So I’ve been checking Grubhub these days to find new restaurants. Gone are the days of going out and exploring. Maybe it’s the cold Fall weather which compels me to crave staying home, watch a little mindless TV and just talk on the phone. Am I getting old or boring? Well another time on this subject.
So Mr. Grubby found me Kyu Ssam? An Asian fusion with a strong Korean influence. Sounds tasty?! Also free delivery?!! Had to try it at least once.
Well…prices were normal to the area K restaurant industry but still annoyingly steep. I was starving so I ordered their beef soup and some spam side dish. Decent. Wish I had more beef. Already a bad sign.
As I was sipping, chomping and slurping the hour later cold order… I couldn’t help thinking of the days when K Food was considered good and affordable.
Don’t get me wrong this place met the standard in taste but overall it’s sad. Cuz when a new K restaurant opens, they’re faced with the option to either serve with real prices or inflated American cuisine prices. Almost every time it’s the later. I bet if some daring Restauranteur had the balls to go low and normal they will be a phenom with lines out the door rather than having to count your meat and vegetables like these other wannabe K fru fru joint are doing.
Will I try this place again? They are after all an oasis in the desert of probably when I’m starving. Good luck KS!

Kyu is back! The previous incarnations of this ever changing space sucked (except for the original, which we loved), but the current version is fantastic.
Its BYOB and the Friday night special is half off the signature rolls. Everything we had was great.
For whatever reason, the space just doesn’t lend itself to being trendy — so as long as this place continues to compete on price, and continues to let us get a little too BYOB drunk there, we’ll be back.
I wish that they had louder music playing, instead of the K-​pop playing from a sad TV. There is nothing more depressing than walking into an empty restaurant where you can hear everything. Get a nice portable speaker and turn it up!

If I could give no stars, I would. Ordered delivery and besides it taking over an hour and a half, what was delivered was inedible. Small portion sizes, bones in the beef that shouldn’t have bones and my dish looked like minced up garbage. My husband and I took one bite and threw it all out.
What a waste. I know they just opened, but don’t see them lasting long.

I would definitely recommend you go to this place if you are considering it!
We went there last night and the sushi was pretty darn good! The mini Godzilla was our favorite but they had some other interesting rolls. Other rolls we tried were the tokyo born, spicy tuna, and the rolling stone. All the rolls were tasty with a great plate presentation. All reasonably priced for sushi as well.
The team that was working was really nice. Sharen (sp?) was a great server/​hostess, the owner came out and asked about our meals, the sushi roller was friendly and answered our questions. This is a great addition to the neighborhood and I hope they thrive and do well.
I want to try some of the Korean fare so I will definitely be heading back. Oh and it is BYOB so it is perfect when Yuzu is packed. I’d say the only problem is that there isn’t a liquor store around the corner so come prepared. I mean, yes there are some liquor options in the Polish Square (thanks Alderman Moreno) and down on Chicago and Ashland so it isn’t like it is too far.

Everything here was delicious and the service was perfect. Their food presentation is really cool too. Luckily it is a 2-​minute walk from the apartment I just moved into so I will definitely be coming back frequently. They just opened so check it out!
Bonus: It’s BYOB!!!