Sai Cafe

BEST SUSHI IN THE CITY — and very reasonably priced.
*DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AT OTHER «HIP» SUSHI PLACES.
Everything was amazing: food was delectable, service was impeccable, and price was more than reasonable.
Great atmosphere, quick service, attentive waitress and manager. The vegetarian in our party loved her vegetarian sushi. Our peanut allergy friend could actually eat all of the food as they use no peanut or nut oil. The others in the party all enjoyed their food as well.
#6 on OpenTable for best restaurants in Illinois: definitely lived up to the ranking.

Ok, this restaurant review is loooong overdue, because I’ve been coming here for years, and it’s always the best sushi (sorry to Jimmy the owner that I’ve never written about them before).
My wife and I love sushi, and we’re not about trying different places around Chicago. In terms of freshness of the fish, and overall taste? We always come back to Sai. It’s all about the little details… like the delicate sauce for their cucumber salad.
I have a copy of a seafood cookbook by the late, great Charlie Trotter. Guess how he treats sushi in his cookbook? In his chapter on sushi, rather than photographing his own sushi creations, Trotter went over to Sai Café and took pictures of and described their sushi, and gave them props as being one of the best to prepare sushi. Really, can you get any higher praise than that of Charlie Trotter putting your food in his cookbook?

One of the best sushi restaurants I have been to in Chicagoland area.
We enjoyed our time chatting with chef Jim at the sushi counter, enjoyed and appreciated the food he prepared for us.
The fish was really fresh, the rice was soft, though I felt like it is still missing a bit of the traditional sushi rice components, but I really enjoyed every piece of nigiri I had.
The salmon gone wild had a very artistic presentation and wonderful combination of element. Never had chopped wasabi but the crunchiness of the wasabi added to the dish texture.
The black cod miso dish was just really tasty :)
Looking forward to going back for more.

We loved this place! Great fresh sushi. There was a very noisy table next to us
and the staff noticed and moved us! Great service all around.

Very, very good.
I feel like those three words summed up my entire experience extremely well but Unilocal won’t let me post such a cogent review. Thus the extra sentences.

I pass by this place all the time and I finally stopped in Thursday around 10pm as they are super nearby and they close at midnight and because… sushi…
The outside is a bit deceiving as I thought it would be small and basic inside or I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I loved the inside! It was nicely decorated and I felt comfortable at the same time. Boo and I were seated straight back from the entrance, at a table across from the sushi bar top. I enjoyed the curved bench. The other room looked very nice too. Being pretty late imo, many people were still dining. There were a number of dates, a few friend get togethers, and a number of regulars.
We got a couple maki rolls, soft shell crab app, tekka-​don, and a beef Japanese style fried rice. My tekka-​don came with a miso soup and that was very good. The soft shell crab looked amazing and it pretty much was. The vinegar sauce that paired with it was fine, just not my first preference. All the food came out at appropriate times. We enjoyed the fried rice… the highlight here though is definitely their sushi/​sashimi. All I can say is… quality! Their fish is super fresh and their rolls are made to perfection. On point with the rice to fish ratio and temperature and cook of the rice. I enjoyed their menu as it wasn’t overwhelming but had enough variety.
Since I’m a sucker for green tea anything, the green tea crème brulee was a no brainer. Boo got the chocolate mousse. While we agreed the chocolate mousse was good, it wasn’t amazing. That crème brulee though was sooooooooo amazing. Green tea flavor was enough for me to taste but not overpowering for my bf. You can taste the delicious eggy flavor as well. The textures were spot on! It was PERFECTION. Best dessert I’ve ever had? I think we have a winner!
Let’s not overlook Sai’s quality service as well! Definite 5 stars. We were seated and greeted promptly, regularly checked on, waters always refilled, server was helpful and friendly, and the owner I believe even stopped by.
Prices were very reasonable. You pay more at bs River North places that are subpar. I’d come back in a heartbeat if I wasn’t a frugal person in general. Definitely will be back next time I’m feenin’ for some quality sushi though.

This place was a wonderful sushi place. It was quiet and super clean. The staff was extremely nice and helped us figure out what to order. The spicy tuna was some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. We also got their signature dish and it was good too. My brother got some wine from Spain that he has a hard time finding and I got a martini. It was decently priced and I will be back.

Oh Sai. How your star has fallen. Sure, it’s still pretty tasty and I will never complain about winding up here with the power old-​school combo of KFG and KAM, Sai has started to rest on its laurels a bit too much for my taste.
Came in like a wrecking ball around 8p on a Friday night — business was brisk but not slammed — started with house salad + ginger dressing (duller than I remember) and the «salmon gone wild» (belly, salmon roe, flying fish roe, chopped wasabi) — the fish is still fresh, slightly sweet, and lush, but as K remarked, the portion size as diminished slightly over the years — then moved into the toro tartare (tuna + fresh wasabs, black tobiko, and yam chips) — tasty, nice mix of mushy and crunchy, but did my heart pitter-​patter with joy? No. In the past have loved the hamachi jalapeño, but I couldn’t get any other takers tonight so I had to pass.
Eased in to a salmon/​avo roll — as expected, was fairly nice — I mean, it’s hard to eff up that many glorious omega-​3s — but, the rice was a bit off in terms of texture and was so bountiful that it took over the delicacy of the ingredients wrapped inside — also hit a veg roll (spinach, cuc, kampyo, oshinko, asparagus), tasted fine, but again, the rice was running the show instead of what was within.
KFG hit the spicy white tuna crunch (roe, scallion, avo, tempura crunch), her perpetual favorite, and KAM went for the halloween maki (salmon, wasabi, tobiko, green been tempura) — both were well enjoyed.
Miso is $ 2, salads are around $ 7, the sashimi starters are $ 16 – 21, hot apps (yako tori, tempura, soft shell) range from $ 7 – 14, noodles around $ 12 – 15, non-​fancy maki are $ 7 – 10, fussier choices are $ 12 – 14. I don’t remember whether it’s one or two pieces per order of sush — most clock in at $ 3 – 4.
Overall, it’s still a fine place to get your raw on, but it’s no longer the belle of the ball.

I have been here twice. Loved it once and didn’t like it the other time. Overall, I am not crazy about it because the staff are not very helpful.

One of my favorite sushi restaurants in Chicago. As an LA native who uses quality of toro as a benchmark, this place is one of very few sushi restaurants in Chicago that serves the fatty tuna at market price and with good quality. The lychee martini is a nice complement to any dish you order!

Damn this place is good. The amount of times I’ve been here is kind of sad but it is really worth it. I’m always looking for a good sushi place and this is it. I’ve had almost every maki roll but my favorite is the shrimp tempura roll. Even the udon soup is bomb. If you can, try to get one of the cool window booth tables cuz the windows make you feel like you’re outside. Word to the wise– they aren’t open for lunch, but hopefully they will be one day!

We had a bad delivery and the owner could care less. The Sushi is solid but the service has been terrible. Last two times we had various problems. After being a customer for nearly 20 years I will never go back again. If you order for a delivery I wish you the best of luck that you don’t get a b%$@y delivery driver. He was even on time! Try Anna’s or some of the other options out there. I will miss their dragon rolls. Never found any better.

Came here for dinner awhile back.
The entrance to the restaurant took me awhile to find since the sign for the restaurant is on the corner of the building but the actual door is on the side.
The décor and environment of the restaurant was what you’d expect from a Japanese fusion restaurant though the lighting was a little too dim in my opinion.
Now onto the food, we ordered the Tako Sansai as an appetizer which had a very delicious marinade. The yakisoba was good but it wasn’t anything special. It seemed more like chow mein than actual yakisoba. The sukiyaki came in a regular bowl but I was hoping for a stone bowl so that the soup would still be kept warm. The actual flavors and ingredients were good though. The dragon maki was actually much better than any dragon maki I’ve had in awhile so I would recommend getting some sushi here.
The service was what I would want from a restaurant where they’re there when you need them but aren’t constantly around.
If I have the chance to come again, I’d probably try more of the appetizers and sushi.

Having experienced the best sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Fish Market, I have sadly become a sushi /​sashimi snob. So, me giving 5 stars to a Japanese restaurant is extremely rare.
Food:
For two people, we ordered the following:
— Seaweed salad — $ 7: your regular seaweed salad with pickled cucumbers. Nothing was wrong with it.
— Toro Tartar — $ 19: we wanted to order 2 slices of toro sashimi ($ 12 each) but was upsold the tartar instead. It came with what I believe were thinly sliced, fried lotus chips as well as black tobiko. The flavor was amazing, melts in your mouth amazing. We tossed everything together with a little bit of soy sauce. The toro did seem slightly cold for my liking, but overall the bites were really delicious.
— Sashimi entrée combo — $ 38: the entrée came with tuna, white tuna, escolar, salmon, and hamachi. I prefer buttery fatty raw fish, so really loved the escolar and salmon. Tuna was really fresh compared to other Japanese restaurants I’ve been to in Chicago. Hamachi was okay, I’ve had fresher. White tuna was also just okay. I didn’t get any «almost frozen» fish, or anything that was super fishy.
— Scallop handroll x 2 — $ 10 each — really amazing. I don’t have really good pictures of all the hand rolls because the sushi chef handed them to us one by one. The handrolls were definitely my favorite part of the meal. The scallop handroll had some kind of sweet mayo sauce and avocado in it, so rich and creamy, and great after taste. I’m not even really sure if this is on the menu, but I have seen photos on Unilocal and really wanted to try. $ 10 each is slightly pricey, but worth every single bite.
— Uni handroll x 2 — $ 14 each — My favorite, and just simply delicious. There was sooooo much uni in every bite and I couldn’t get over how good it was. Again, $ 14 isn’t cheap, but really yummy and worth it!
— Dragon roll — $ 14: your regular dragon roll. Eel tasted fresh and cooked with a good bbq flavor. No complaints.
Service:
— Service was amazing. I loved the hot towel at the beginning of the meal, and I think every other minute someone came over to ask us how our meal went. It was just one of those restaurants where everyone made us feel like we were the center of attention. We went on a Friday night and the place was not extremely busy, but there were also a couple of tables there, yet we still felt like the head sushi chef, the host, and the waitresses were really attentive.
— We sat at the sushi bar and I swear that every time we were taking a bite, the head sushi chef was staring at us to make sure we liked it, and if we had a slight complaint, it was immediately addressed. For example, during one moment I said, «Oh I want more ginger». Next thing I know, some ginger dropped magically onto our plates… kind of creepy but also amazing.
Overall, good experienced. For two of us, our bill came out to $ 140 plus tip. We really enjoyed it, and if I ever feel like splurging on toro and uni, I will know where to go in Chicago.

Double rice? The roll are so fluffy and the declaration of the plate was no good, a bit over price

Hands down the best Sushi in Chicago. I have been coming for years and they never disappoint. This is no frills fresh sushi done to perfection and I could eat it every single day.
Spicy tuna crunch never misses and the service is always super nice

Sai was a delightful little sushi joint. I have never been in a sushi restaurant with such welcoming, kind staff. We were sat down and taken care of right away. The waitress was very knowledgable and my green tea never was allowed to get cold. I kept it simple with the spicy tuna and crunchy white fish rolls. They were happy to make adjustments to our rolls (I add avocado to everything) and they didn’t even charge us. Thank you Sai Café, you are a gem!

Ok sushi. Decent wine list. Never had a bad experience. This isn’t a coastal city. Great neighborhood option.

The best Nabeyaki Udon I’ve ever had in my entire life. The noodles were outstanding and the broth was not too salty. Excellent service as well. Would definitely go back if I’m ever in Chicago again.

So on my way to watch Avenue Q up in the north part of Chicago and decided to stop by this joint as it was on the way for a quick Sushi dinner. The ratings were solid and it was conveniently located literally steps away from the subway line. The restaurant itself is in a nice neighborhood and the restaurant itself while on the outside looks kinda run down, the interior is nicely decorated. They had hanging chopsticks as decoration and it was pleasantly surprising. We were greeted promptly at the door and immediately seated at our table for our reservation made on opentable. After sitting down, we decided to order hot sake and choose what we wanted to order for food.
We decided to go with the spicy oyster shooters, fried tempura, sashimi plate, and a few rolls. This place is obviously a typical «Americanized» sushi joint and the fish was OK but nothing amazing. I also did feel the sashimi was really cold and slightly chewy indicating to me that it was probably frozen and served. The food items were fine again but the oyster shooters just tasted really spicy and the tempura is hard to mess up I feel. The highlight of the meal was definitely the White Tuna Crunch roll which was solid I would say but again overall this place had nothing amazing about it that would prompt me to go again. Again OK joint for a quick bite in the area if you are craving sushi

I live less than 2 minutes from this place have never ventured inside because it looks pretty shabby from the outside. After a year of neglecting Sai Café, I had a craving too strong to stay away. I’m sure glad I got over it because not only is the place larger and nicer than expected, the sushi is top notch.
We got the sashimi platter and udon to share between the two of us. The sashimi platter was beautifully done with thick slices of bright, colorful sashimi. Each piece was melt in your mouth delicious except two that seemed to be almost frozen! The udon was also very good with chewy noodles and crispy tempura on the side. I think the broth was a tad bit on the sweet side, but it was still delicious!
I’m so glad I ventured into Sai Café and will definitely be back. This is no bootleg AYCE low quality joint; though don’t get me wrong– I’m not saying I don’t love those places as well (Sushi Para II). Sai Café focuses on their quality and it definitely shows. Can’t wait to go again!

I walked in with a friend for dinner on a Friday and we were able to be seated immediately. The inside of the restaurant is a lot nicer than you’d expect when you see the outside and it is very relaxed with some zen décor and lighting. My friend and I both shared the tempura udon noodles and combination sashimi entrée (white tuna, another white fish, fresh salmon, yellowtail, tuna) and both were very delicious and satisfying. The tempura was nice and crispy, the broth had a lot of depth and was salty and sweet, and the noodles were chewy the way I like them. The sashimi was really fresh (my fav was the white tuna) and each piece was a nice size. This really hit the spot since all the sushi I’ve eaten lately has been AYCE and the quality is just not up to par to places that are a little more expensive like Sai.
Overall, it was a great meal that hit all the right spots! I will definitely be returning whenever I’m craving some fresh sashimi or in the mood to try some of their other delicious sounding dishes.

Years ago a friend told me that the world was divided into people who loved Sai Café and those who preferred Kamehachi. Sai focused on serving large pieces of fresh fish with minimal adornment. Big. Fresh. Fish. Kamehachi added extras like pine nuts and flavored oils.
I love Sai and will return again and again.

Been here several times including going to their sister restaurant hachi’s kitchen on california for years.