Koya

Ok we went here because a friend raved about it so we had high hopes. First the good:
Great service. We were immediately greeted at the door by the host and seated promptly even though the place was very busy and the dining room was quite full of diners. A server immediately attended to us and asked if we wanted drinks. Great. Then we ordered the food:
More good: shrimp and veggy tempura was excellent. The Hawaiian roll was fresh and delicious! The California roll which is a good gauge of a sushi place I think was superb! The neguri was fresh and also very good.
Now the not so good: the miso soup was like dish water. It tasted packaged and soapy with rehydrated seaweed it seemed. The edamame also tasted frozen and I’ve tasted much better getting the packaged frozen edamame from trader joes. You’d think they’d focus on the simpler things and making them fresh and appealing but unfortunately not. Would I go back? Sure, I’d definitely try then again and probably skip the miso soup and edamame.

I will preface my review with the fact that I am not a sushi expert. I just know what I like, and sometimes I have to try a place several times before I know my go-​to dish.
I have been to Koya several times. A few for lunch and a few for dinner. I have liked (not loved) everything I’ve ordered. The last time I went it was for dinner with hubby. We go the fried egg rolls for app. He commented how great they were. I liked them too. They tasted fresh, crisp, not oily.
I ordered a bento box dinner. It is enough for two! They just kept bringing out more food when I thought I had my meal! Again… everything on it was fresh and good.
The only minor annoyance was this: I had asked for hot sauce or chili oil. The waitress brought it quickly in one of those tiny bowls. They charged me 50 cents for it. I didn’t know that until I got the bill.
I’ll go back and try some of the noodles dishes, maki, and more. I’msure I will find a dish that knocks it out of the park.

Excellent as usual. We come here often as the sushi, sashimi, tempura, etc. are great and the service is good too.

I went here for dinner on a Friday night with my wife and 20 month old son. It was fantastic. Great food. Great ambiance. Waitstaff was terrific (very welcoming, not pressuring, prompt). Menu is expansive but not expensive. Beer and wine only, but very reasonably priced.
I wouldn’t necessarily call it a kid-​friendly place because it’s cozy, elegant, and peaceful, but if your kid is good, and doesn’t scream, then bring your kid because he or she will love the food too. They do have high chairs, a kids menu, and crayons.
Already thinking about my next visit!

I’d rather eat sushi than any other food. We were spoiled by Uchi in Austin before moving here so I’m a total sushi snob. Koya is the best we’ve found in Highland Park. It’s small and very busy, so call ahead.

Bad experience. Hope, for the sake of this business, that this was an isolated incident. We were a party of 4 dining over lunch at noon. Service was extremely slow taking around an hour and a half from order to bill. The fish was flat out bad and was not fresh.

Great staff great sushi! People are friendly and kind and always says hi when you come in… The sushi is amazing! I only eat here… Moving out here to the suburbs is pretty boring nothing like the city Chicago but this place is cozy cute and always packed plus it’s right down the street… I always enjoy my meals here and the people who owns and works here are super awesome. :)

I loved the food and the menu. It had everything is want in a Japanese restaurant. I would have given it five stars but the service was so bad that I had to take a star away. First of all, it was supposed to be two courses, but they brought out my friend’s salad before everything. I ate it because I thought it was my salad that they had gotten wrong, then they brought out my sushi and my friend’s dinner. Then they brought out my other friend’s dinner, my other sushi and my friend’s salad. My friend’s dinner was supposed to be vegetable udon and it had a little shredded cabbage, a few shredded carrot pieces, and two pepper slices. Even though half of my review was negative, I liked the free miso and the free mochi and I would come back here again.

We love coming here it’s triply a hidden Jem, all though there are many local sushi places, this one is quant, and holds tradition. It is custom too be greeted when you walk into a restaurant in japan, they continue this here.
From the service, to the sushi to the desert. We often return here as regulators.
As they say in japan, Mata o ai

I’ve been to every sushi spot in Chicago. This one tops it.
The attention to service is completely over the top.
Definitely recommend this place, worth every penny, every bite.

From the outside, I was weary! But, as soon as my family and I walked in, the ambience was nice and made up for the outside appearance.
Ordered the beef bento and to my surprise, the serving size was more than I expected. We also ordered spicy tempura & loved it. Miso soup was delicious.
Great service, reasonable prices, delicious food.

Just a great neighborhood Sushi restaurant in the North Shore. The space is not fancy, and neither is the menu. The fish is fresh and they treat you like family. It is one of the few Japanese run sushi places you will walk into anymore. The prices are reasonable, and miso soup is included. The other Japanese fair is very good too. We had soft shell crab and it was excellent.
I would say though, that the reasonable pricing might come at the expense of fish content in the sushi, which would be my only criticism. But that seems to be a common occurrence in most places. Sushi does not equal rice.

So I love trying new sushi places out especially ones that aren’t that far from my house so I’m not sure if Koya is really new or just new to me but I was definitely excited to eat here. Coming in on a Saturday night the place was definitely larger than I thought it would be considering its on a strip mall. It is nicer on the inside than it looks on the outside. Plus it has like two rooms divided by a wall so definitely sufficient seating. However I still made reservations for a party of four for a Saturday night and I recommend that you do the same,
Upon sitting down, we got our table very quickly so yay for that. Our server was very pleasant and took our order very quickly. They give you this complimentary seaweed stuff that didn’t look too appetizing to me so I didn’t try it. We ordered a bunch of rolls and they were standard prices for regular rolls from $ 6-​$ 8 and the fancy rolls were from $ 12-​$ 18 pending on which one you got. We ordered our usual few spicy salmons and they were delicious but not too large in size but made just the way I like them. We also ordered a black dragon and a red dragon roll to try out some of their more unique rolls and I definitely preferred the black dragon but my only complaint is that for a $ 13 roll it wasn’t that big in size. Smaller but definitely tasty.
Overall, the service was very good and I think the owner even came up after we were done asking us how everything was. The rolls were super yummy and brought out in a timely manner despite the fact that it was busy inside on a Saturday night. The prices were decent but I wish the rolls were a little larger to go along with them. I will definitely be back when I’m in the area. It’s def in my top 5 suburban sushi places.

Koya did not disappoint! I went to Koya with my family after seeing so many positive reviews on Unilocal,and I definitely agree with the other reviews posted.
Location and Ambiance:
From the outside its nothing special, but inside its definitely home to a great ambiance.
Food:
We ordered a few different rolls, and everything we tried was great! They have a very extensive sushi menu everything is separated out nicely for what ever kind of sushi eater you are. Highly recommended trying some of their unique rolls!
Staff:
The staff was nice, and always kept my hot tea cup full which is always a deal breaker!
Overall, if you haven’t been yet I highly recommend grabbing some rolls from Koya.
Thanks,
Connor Brady

Update: Had to update this place and give it the last star. The service is amazing and my only gripe could only be they are not my next door neighbors. I highly recommend this place.
Coming off 2 years in Japan some may feel like I am hypercritical of sushi joints in the U.S. The fact that I am writing a review and giving it 4 stars should tell you what a little gem this is.
Superb service from the greeting you get when you first walk in. Free Miso Soup and seaweed appetizer and Mochi ice cream desert? Yes please!
I had sashimi/​nigiri sushi platter, which is what really won me over. Really good buttery smooth salmon and the color/​texture of the tuna tells you it’s going to be a hit.
Wife had avocado torch, fire dragon, and tataki crunch roll. All very very good.
The seating may be awkward cause you may be very close to other patrons. On the other hand it’s a relax environment so be friendly!

Located just off Old Elm by the railroad tracks, Koya is one of the only sushi restaurant I frequent on the North Shore. Not only has it expanded to double its original size and been repainted in a lovely shade of purple, but the variety of high-​quality foods is hard to beat.
Upon entering I’m always pleasantly greeted and immediately seated. I really appreciate that a small bowl of miso soup is served as part of your order. While there aren’t many vegetarian/​vegan sushi roll choices, there are quite a few appetizers that work, like classic edamame or agedashi tofu; my non-​vegetarian friends have nothing but praise for the sushi here.
Overall, totally worth taking the extra bit of time to find the storefront on the side of the strip.

I loved this place! Don’t be fooled from the looks of this place on the outside. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with friendly smiles and seated fast. The complementary soup is delicious and the sushi tastes fresh and flavorful and the prices are perfect! I’m used to paying double for my sushi at Wildfish. I am so thrilled I found my new favorite sushi place! Five stars for Koya!

This little place is so cute (but I hear it has doubled in size). My friend who is a neighbor to this place has been going for maybe at least 5 years. And with good reason.
He is a picky eater and is obviously a fan of this place. We started off with Spinach Salad and also Seaweed Salad. Winners there. Nothing spectacularly different — jsut good.
He got the American mean (salmon, tuna and Californai Roll). I got the Chirashi and he was jealous because it was really pretty. :)
We will be back! :)

Koya means secret restaurant in Japanese (not!). But one has to look for this restaurant to go there. From the street in a seemingly 50’s store strip (in Lake Forest!) by the train tracks, it doesn’t suggest pizzaz.
Walking in, there is jazz music playing and one is struck by the rich tones of the restaurant. While our visit was our first, it seemed that the restaurant had expanded recently (a good sign).
Quiet good style for the décor and the food.
Sushi spots have generally the same rolls and offerings. The test is freshness and the eating experience. Very fresh it seemed for us on a midday Sunday visit. The staff was attentive. By the time we were leaving, things were gearing into happy energy. A wish for a good day to us was made as we left. This restaurant was a good start.
p. s. In west Lake Forest, our go-​to Sushi place is Sushi Kushi Toyo. Another great sushi place. Their décor is newly refurbished and expanded. Light colors with bamboo – more modern. The cooks and servers are smiling, welcoming throughout. Is Lake Forest becoming sushi mecca?

Unilocal did us a solid with Koya — we were in the area & saw good reviews so decided to stop. As others have noted, Koya doesn’t look like much from the outside and is easy to miss. Once inside, however, it’s a small, cute place filled with friendly employees.
Because we visited at lunch, we took advantage of some of their specials. The Mister had the Koya combo which netted him 4 pieces of sushi, a spicy tuna roll, miso soup and some tempura for $ 13. The fish was fresh and he said it was among the best sushi he’s ever had. I had a Tataki roll which is shrimp, tuna and some other stuff — very fresh and delicious. Their spicy crab roll was actually spicy too.
I like that the menu isn’t overwhelming — the rolls are organized by cooked/​raw/​no rice/​vegetarian, etc and are more «traditional». You’re not going to find jalapeños or rolls set on fire with 151 here. If you’re not a raw fish eater, their tempura is absolutely delightful — the batter is light & crispy. And their seaweed salad is tasty too.
Service was fast & friendly and they give you a cookie at the end of your meal. (Yay!) I thought the prices were quite reasonable especially considering the high quality of the items we had.