Dozika

Always great food and the service is friendly and inviting.

This review is from a vegetarian perspective… We came here for the maki, but planned to get some noodles and curry too. We asked the server if the Pad See Eiew was made with fish sauce and she said yes, so we ordered a curry. Then the server said that ALL the curries and the noodle dishes are made with fish sauce or oyster sauce, and that they can’t make the dishes without them. I was kind of surprised — most Thai places I’ve eaten at can just leave it out, and it sounded strange that oyster sauce is in curries, but okay, now I know this isn’t the place to go for vegetarian noodles and curry.
So, we got a few different kinds of vegetarian maki, thai egg rolls, seaweed salad, and tried one of the three dishes specifically listed as vegetarian — a «Mock Duck Tofu» with noodles. Mock Duck is actually seitan, not tofu, but I was happy that something there could be made vegetarian. And the maki was pretty good, especially the futo maki, which had a nice balance of radish, mushroom, and avocado. And the service was fast and polite — extra points to the servers for letting us know what had oyster sauce in it.

I love this place! It’s cozy and affordable. The food is great! Love to stop by with my family on Sunday during the happy hour.

The ramen is DELICIOUS! I have had the tonkotsu and the shoyu, but the tonkotsu is my very favorite! Tasty broth, big pieces of caramelized pork, topped with a poached egg. Doesn’t get much better. The bubble teas are powder, not fresh, which was disappointing.

I was going to give this two stars, but based on my experience, I thought that rating was too high and decided to give it 1 star. I ate here a couple nights ago with a friend. To start with, it was not busy at all, but after we were seated, it took forever to get service. When the server finally got to our table, she could hardly speak English, was very unfriendly, and kept trying to walk away before we were finished ordering, but I didn’t let it bother me because I was out having a good time. We ordered sushi as an appetizer, and they made a mistake (served us salmon instead of tuna), so we had to send it back, but I thought, no big deal. When our actual dinner finally arrived, my meal was ice cold but there were no servers in sight for me to inform. After a while, I was finally able to flag someone down and sent it back to re-​heat. When the server brought it back out for the 2^nd time, I tried it again and it was still cold! It was as if it was never warmed up at all. I told her it was still cold, and she said that most people eat tai food luke warm. (!!!) I have honestly never heard this before, not to mention the asked for them to warm it up. In addition, she offered no apology and by this time, my friend was almost done with her dinner, so I asked her to please wrap it up in a to go bag. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed with the service and won’t be returning.

Came here because the reviews seemed alright and was looking for somewhere that had some vegetarian options. Inside was pretty cute, but the booths were rather uncomfortable with hard backs and the tables were also quite low (I’m already a small person, so taller patrons must tower over)
I ordered the salmon teriyaki lunch special and the salmon was good because there was lots of sauce, but the tempura was soggy and heavily coated in batter, and the pickled cucumbers were almost tasteless. The dealbreaker was probably our server with the ponytail and glasses. I wouldn’t say she was… rude? But it didn’t seem like she understood common courtesy on how to treat customers. Every time we tried to talk to her, she would either have her back/​shoulder turned to us and avoided making any eye contact which was seriously so weird. Almost felt bad for ordering or asking her for a box because it just seemed like she just wanted to do her business and get out. She removed our miso soup bowls without asking and even though I was thankfully done, I obviously still had soup left and she didn’t even ask if I was still working on it. Same at the end of the meal. I still had quite a bit of food left and she would have just taken it away without asking or even asking if I needed a box *and she did* but I had to quickly mention that I wanted it wrapped before she whisked it away.
Will probably not come back.

Food was very good, kudos to the chef. Our waiter however lacked knowledge and enthusiasm.

Ive only had good experiences at dozika so i was surprised to see their avg rating was below 4. Their lunch specials are very good and great value too. Favorite thai restaurant in evanston. I actually live much closer to paragon siam but almost any day id prefer dozika.
Their pad thai, miso and crab rangoon are terrific as well as some of the japanese apps. Will continue to dine in and carry out here.

Went for happy hour and the prices were good, but the seaweed paper on every roll was soggy and chewy. Service is good though. Last call for happy hour was 15min before the end time.

I really love their happy hour which is on Sunday — Thursdays 3:30 — 5:30pm. There’s a great selection of rolls and nigiri that are ½ off. This happy hour makes it the best deal in Evanston! I sometimes push my lunch hour til this time so I can enjoy a delicious meal for a great price. Their rolls are not packed with rice but are a perfect combination of rice and fish. Their nigiri is also a great portion. I am absolutely in love with the unagi which is only $ 1.25 during happy hour. Other nigiri like hamachi and smoked salmon are also $ 1.25 and that’s the most expensive nigiri they have. Others like mackeral and salmon are $ 1.00. Their veggie rolls are as low as $ 2.25÷2.50 and a salmon advocado or spicy salmon roll will only put you back by $ 2.75. Name me another sushi place that offers this kind of deal and I’ll be your best friend! Til then, take my advice to come here to enjoy their sushi and I’m sure you won’t regret.

Good sushi. Had the dinner buffet. You need to select from a menu they give with some restrictions on categories. You need to finish what they serve to get more. Reasonable I would say. Costed around 26 bucks per person including tax. Well worth it if you can eat a lot.

Very good for the price! I got the Dozika Platter and Spicy Tuna Roll. The Dozika Rolls have gyoza, seaweed salad &/​or edamame, shumai, crab Rangoon’s. I loved the seaweed salad! The Crab Rangoons were a little small, but great. The Spicy Tuna Roll is good for only being $ 5. I have had better, but it was not bad enough it wouldn’t get it again. I love that delivery gives you small containers of soy sauce rather than just packets. Would definitely order again.

While the logo may suggest this is a noodle shop, I would describe it more as a sushi restaurant that also serves pan-​Asian food.
There are a number of interesting bento boxes available for lunch, and I like the fact that you can essentially pick your own sushi, sashimi and roll as part of one of them. The sushi was perfectly acceptable, better than a market but not gourmet. Certainly for the price it was good. The miso soup was excellent.
Service is friendly and the atmosphere is casual but nice enough.

*This review is about the service and NOT the food.
I had the sushi and it was rather okay… good enough to go to for convenience and not bad enough to never go again. And i’m only going off their vegetarian sushi.
Aa a fellow waitress I was really unhappy with a server that I had. My roommate and I had gone recently before and we had the same server. She was really snippy with us because we’re vegetarian and wanted to have (and PAY) for two ingredients to be combined together… how dare we? Then, we have (gasp) the audacity to ask for a side of spicy mayo BEFORE we finished ordering.
Needless to say it was apparent that asking for such outlandish things is a sign of a shitty person (tipper)…not true.
I don’t out everyday or even every week and when I do i’d like to be treated with respect and kindness, I understand everyone has bad days but to cause someone else to feel the same is just plain shitty.

Meh. 3 stars is a perfect rating. Food was ok, nothing remarkable and atmosphere is super casual, family friendly (maybe too family friendly as an employee? was working at a table on the side, while eating, while her child played on the floor with toys) and just nothing special.
Sushi was edible but certainly not the freshest and portions of fish were small. The miso veggie soup was begging for flavor and the chow fun was pretty much untouched by my kids although I didn’t mind it. They did love the tamago however, and gobbled up a few pieces each.
Service was friendly and fast although we dined at the senior hour of 5:30. Great for young kids but prob not where you want to go for date night.

I ordered dinner from here via GrubHub today and was just not super impressed. While the delivery was fairly fast and the delivery charge wasn’t awful, the food wasn’t amazing. I ordered the chirashi plate which came with miso soup. A GrubHub coupon also allowed me to get a free order of crab wontons.
The chirashi plate came with salmon, tuna, yellowfin (I think?), tamago, imitation crab, mushrooms, and pickled radishes. The sushi rice under all of that was well-​seasoned with vinegar. I wasn’t keen on the freshness of the fish — the tuna and salmon especially tasted softer than it should’ve been, making me think that it wasn’t at the peak of freshness. The tamago was delicious, however, very sweet and flavorful. I also liked the mushrooms and the pickled radishes as well.
The miso soup was nothing special, and I mean… the crab wontons were free, so. Three stars for free crab wontons and an okay selection of sashimi in the chirashi plate. Not sure if I would order from them again.

Had dinner with a friend to use our groupon! The Tonkatsu ramen was surprisingly delicious (or maybe I wasn’t expecting much at all? Authentic Japanese ramen is challenging to find…) While the broth was subpar, we were served generous portions of ramen ingredients like egg, fish cake, and bamboo shoots. The chashu pork was one of the best I’ve had in Chicago — exceptionally tender and flavorful. For ten bucks a bowl, the ramen isn’t bad at all. The lack of finesse in the broth is what keeps this at three stars.
Also tried the gyoza — a tad too greasy for my taste. Besides that, the menu looked pretty comprehensive. Might come back for the ramen.

After my experience at Dozika today, I told myself I HAD to write a review.
I ordered a mango bubble tea and the Dozika noodle (see pictures I posted).
I am VERY impressed with the customer service of this place. Immediately upon coming in I was greeted, even though it was at an odd time at 3PM in the afternoon. The lady who took my order was very courteous, she said «sure» on numerous occasions. I ordered my bubble tea to go and it came with a cup sleeve that had handles on it, how amazing and convenient is this? Tell me another place that has this! Perfect, because I was wanting bubble tea and was not looking forward to holding the cup in this cold rainy weather.
No item on their menu cost more than $ 14. Appetizers are average around $ 5 and are meant to be shared, generous portion. The ambiance is very nice and clean, does NOT have a distinctive smell like most dining places. Red walls and booths by glass plated window overlooking Dempster street. Black tables and fun mood lightings. I know they have half off sushi from Sunday-​Thursday 3:30 — 5:30…But when I was picking up my food around 3:35 there was still no one in there, maybe because of the weather? But usually people would JUMP on sushi special deals. A lot of coupons for this place, on their website (
) and on their carry out menu not to mention the many signs posted on their glass window. Not sure if this place is struggling business-​wise?
As for taste, I have always been sort of hesitant about the pan-​asian or asian-​fusion concept. Seems like a lot of places in Evanston are all about pan-​asian or what not. I think this is where the restaurant falls short, the flavors are not very distinctive in their food. My mango bubble tea tasted some what bland. Though the price is fair, for $ 3.50. My Dozika noodle looked really nice, I have to give them props for being the ONLY Asian place I’ve been to that actually used decoration in my takeout order. Shredded carrot and pieces of iceberg lettuce adorned my dish, so it’s almost like I got a side salad to go with my meal for free! The Dozika noodle was acceptable, but nothing jumps YES! I appreciate that their wide flat noodle was not all broken up as most Asian places that try to cook it jails and the noodle turns out gooey. This place rocks texture wise but flavor lacks. Maybe it is because that they are afraid of breaking up the noodle that the noodle is not cooked long enough and in enough sauces. The portion though, is pretty fair.
I think I will go back, because I had literally the best carry out experience EVER at any Asian places. Oh did I mention my silverware were wrapped nicely in a napkin with a paper napkin holder, cheeyah! And on top of that they also gave me a pair of chopsticks, just so I have the option between fork or chopsticks. Thank you for nicely wrapping your silverware and being so considerate because I hate it when restaurants just randomly sticks a plastic fork in your order and I am alway weary about how clean the fork is. I am also very happy with the take out container that my food came in, very sturdy and seals in heat well to keep my food warm.
I am excited to go back and try some of their other items, like the shumai appetizer or maybe crispy soft noodle.
THANK YOU DOZIKA for being so thoughtful and considerate! You scored big points in going toward being a successful restaurant business.
My only other complaint beside from the slightly above average food is I DID NOT EVEN KNOW THIS WAS AN ASIAN PLACE?! I don’t know if the name Dodzika hurt or help the restaurant. It’s great that it’s not another thair basil or Golden China or something but Dozika… the name is very unique but when we are trying to frantically find a restaurant, that name doesn’t necessarily register.
In summary:
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Ambiance: ⁵⁄₅
Food: ⁴⁄₅

So far I’m less than impressed. They appear to be very popular; cater to a lot of families with small children. But they are severely understaffed. Service is disorganized and frantic. Stood in doorway for 10min after informing of how many in party (1) while tables were empty but not cleared. Only 3 servers on and just seem to not have a working system to attend to customers.
Was finally seated at cleared table. No menu, nothing — another 10 minutes while the servers run around.
Eventually a menu arrives. Within a reasonable amount of time they take my order. No water. No tea. No question of what I would like to drink.
Miso soup arrives which isn’t bad — pretty standard. Ask for water — that shows up.
Ordered Shumai appetizer. Arrives lukewarm and the sauce is thick and very sweet. The «shrimp» inside is more like ground up shrimp which hasn’t been cleaned well. Bits of shell and crunchy things that probably shouldn’t be there. Would not get that again.
The arrival of the fish has fortunately redeemed this place. The fish is very good, well prepared and presented. The rice is very good, seasoned well and not too much which can be typical for some places who offer Chirashi.
I think the problem here is simply the waitstaff. Just not well organized and become frantic and «lost» when the place is full.
If I were just rating the fish, I would go 4 stars but because of the poor service I have to drop to 3. Service is an important part of the dining experience and this place simply falls short.
If your in the area then it’s not a bad option. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back. Perhaps if try get the service situation in hand, it would be different.

I hate knocking places… but my dining experience here was not memorable. If I could give it 2.5 stars I would, but I don’t think it’s worth 3.
On the plus side — their selection of Asian beers was legit, and their prices were very reasonable. But that’s where the good vibes stop.
I thought the service was lackluster, and by the way I was there on a night when it wasn’t busy. I didn’t feel that the waitresses were attentive at all which is a pet peeve of mine. And speaking of lackluster… I thought the food was ‘meh.’ We tried the Shrimp Rolls for an appetizer (too hot when they came out; and when they cooled down weren’t too tasty) Miso Soup (now this was on par with other spots; good job here) and the NY Maki Roll and the White Tuna Tempura Roll for the meal. I wasn’t impressed with either… I mean they were both bland with no flavor at all.
I may have been spoiled by various sushi spots in Chicago, but candidly I can’t see myself going back there.