Bento Express

i’d give this place ½ a star if i could. this is not japanese food (the meal came with a fortune cookie?).
i had the chicken bento – chicken was ok but drenched in sauce. the brown rice was american grain not asian. the salad with ginger sauce was ok but the sauce was just the ground up ginger/​carrots without any actual liquid. the broccoli tasted like it’d been dunked in salt water (why?!). the limp and soggy (was it steamed then slightly fried? i don’t know) gyoza was a strange flour wrapper with a strange cauliflower filling (huh?). the miso soup had a ridiculous amount of green onion.
i was really disappointed. i went in reminiscent of bento shops in tokyo but should’ve known better when i saw no one was eating/​ordering there at the peak of lunch hour.
overall: i think this establishment is confused with what a bento box is supposed to contain.

Don’t bother. Just pony up for Sashimi Sashimi.
This place is in the old Ultimate Chicken Bar location and generally it seems to be as empty as its predecessor during all hours of the day. Given the quick teardown and build-​up of this restaurant, which happened all within under a week as far as I could tell, it’s probably the same owners trying a different concept. Why they would try to wedge into an already sushi-​crowded downtown is beyond me, but then stranger things have happened in town, like failed coffee shops being reopened as coffee shops.

As we were standing on Sherman, trying to decide between Jimmy John’s (had it for lunch) and Taco Bell (no thanks), I noticed Bento Express right in front of us, and we thought we’d give it a try.
I’m really surprised by all of these negative reviews. The service was courteous and quick, and our food was good. I had chicken, the bf had meat of some sort, both of which came with miso soup, salad, broccoli, and rice. And we got an order of egg rolls. The only thing in the whole bento box that I didn’t like was the salad, and that’s just because I found the pureed carrots weird.
Anyway, for the price, the food here is better than other places in Evanston where you can get the exact same meal (well, less food actually) for a whole lot more money (ahem, Kansaku). Maybe the ambiance isn’t the greatest for a sit down restaurant, but we ordered carry-​out. The place seems primarily designed for that.
It was certainly the right choice that night and I’m sure we’ll be back!

Total failure on the miso soup… salt… and water… more salt… and brown.
broccoli was dry and oddly crispy.
gyoza…is not.
service was eh. called me sir a lot and i flashed a wildcard. kind of tastes like Chicken bar left their frozen chicken behind for Bento to use.
I have always been disappointed by the lack of good rice bowl places in and around CHI. Still am.
portions are small for the price. 8 bucks? I know we are a private school but geez. Or maybe that is a result of the high rent. Menu is limited. food was cold by the time I got home. 5 mins.
teri beef was ok. if it was cheaper.
i see this place going the way of chicken bar.

No. Pass.
The concept is confusing. I think they only have teriyaki, and it comes with sriracha and a fortune cookie.
The execution is abysmal. Everything is bland or weird. I honestly don’t know how it’s possible to make bad miso soup… like, what corner can you cut for that? The only good thing is the salad dressing.
That said, if chicken teriyaki were 3 dollars cheaper, I would probably come here sometimes. But at eight bucks, I won’t be back.

Just tried this new place out yesterday! I’m a sucker for thai food… so I loved the chicken bento box. In addition to the bento box, it came with a cup of miso soup and 1 potsticker, both fresh. I was with a friend, who got the phở (I believe they call it the beef noodle soup) and with some lime, sriracha sauce, sprouts and jalapenos, it was fantabulous! Be aware that their phở portions are extremely large; enough to feed a family! Definitely a good price for so much food. I will be back :)