Sen Sushi Bar

Good sushi and friendly place! The waitress was slow, but looks like she was the only one there. The sushi is delish the miso soup is fye and I love that its across the street from a 2^nd had furniture shop. Go, its very good!

I’m in Oak Park often for work, and of ice time for a 40 minute lunch, Sen is on my list! Their lunch specials are great and the nigiri and roll lunch special us enough to fill me up but not have that gluttonous feeling; I’m sure my bosses appreciate it since they increase my chances of productivity. Staff and chefs are very friendly and attentive without being watching over you. The quality of the fish is spot on: fresh, buttery, and she super white tuna literally melts in my mouth! The rolls don’t skimp on the fish and there’s the perfect (small) amount of rice. The chefs are also accommodating if I want to omit mayo, change up the type of fish in a given roll, etc. definitely worth a stop; however, it is small and can incision a wait on busy weekends. u

Every time I eat sushi, I run into the same problem. Do I choose what I really want, which is, nigiri and sashimi until I’m fat and happy but broke for the next two weeks or go for some simple rolls that’s more filling, making it more affordable for me? I ended up going for the latter because I was with a friend and wanted to keep the price down. We ended up ordering the Sen spicy maki which came with spicy tuna, spicy salmon and a whitefish maki for $ 20. In addition, I did order a volcano roll for another $ 12 making it a little bit pricey lunch for 2 people. After eating everything I discovered that I could have easily eaten another maki since the rolls were pretty small. The sushi itself was very tasty; my favorite being the spicy salmon and the least was the volcano rolls. Volcano rolls tasted a bit off. It wasn’t warm and it wasn’t cold and something seemed to be missing but I couldn’t figure it out. The salmon rolls were simple and very fresh tasting. I am really curious about the other items on their pretty expansive menu and shall return with a more adventurous appetite.

I really like this place— just wish the prices were cheaper. I’d come here more often if that was the case.

This place is sort of hidden and unknown but their concept is good, just wish the fish was a bit more fresh and properly stored.

It was my very real experience at a sushi bar. The staff was so friendly and helpful, their recommendations were right on and delicious. We’ll be coming back! Highly recommended!

My fiancé and I were searching for a great place to eat quality, affordable sushi, and we Unilocaled our way to Sen Sushi Bar. We did a bit of research and found out that they were in the Michelin Guide in 2012 meaning that the food had to be delicious. We thus set a Saturday date.
Parking was a bit difficult given that they don’t have a dedicated garage (at least none that we were aware of), but we managed to find resident street parking during the allotted hours. It was a cold, rainy walk, but the restaurant was within close proximity.
We entered the restaurant and waited a good seven minutes before we were even greeted or addressed. The restaurant was busy with customers though and there was only one waitress staffing the entire eatery. I felt a bit bad for her. She told us that she would be with us in just a moment and escorted us to a table.
Given that we did our research beforehand and we didn’t want to leave with a gaping hole in our wallets, we decided ahead of time to get the lunch bento served with soup, salad, California roll, rice, and tempura. However, it took a good ten minutes before we even got water and several minutes later before anyone paid attention to us to take our order. Again, there was one waitress so the wait was understandable, but every time a plate passed our way, my fiancé had that oh-​so-​jealous-​hangry-​glare on her face.
Enough complaining… the lunch bento was definitely delicious! It was served with a hefty portion of rice, assorted tempura (shrimp, kombucha, bell pepper, onion), six pieces of California roll, and salad drizzled with miso ginger dressing. My fiancé ordered the New York Steak teriyaki (medium rare), and I ordered the pork katsu. The pork katsu was definitely tastier as it was served crunchy and crisp with a slathering of pork katsu sauce. The steak was cooked to temperature, but my fiancé did note that her slices of steak were very thinly cut. It also wasn’t as flavorful as the teriyaki sauce was lost.
I try to base it solely on the quality of the food when writing a Unilocal review, unless there are a few minor detractors or a major distraction. In this case, the service wasn’t at its’ best, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt given that it was during peak lunch hour and score them a 3.75 out of 5.

Sushi and puke is very fresh. The only down fall is that the space is small and gets packed after 8pm. There are coat hangers in the back so there’s nothing fall into the isle.

We tried this based on Unilocal reviews and it was well worth the trip to Oak Park. We came during off hours so were able to get a table. I liked the wide variety of sushi. I especially liked that there were so many vegetarian options, so I could have something other than the usual kappa maki. My husband ordered rolls off the menu and said everything was fresh. The sushi we had was delicious and really nicely plated. The only downside is that the menu has very small print and is on dark paper. In the dark restaurant, we had some trouble reading it.

Fresh, delicious, high quality sushi! My fave spot! Pricier but worth it! Beautiful Zen décor… only con, small, tight space.

It is always a pleasure to come to Sen Sushi. The only drawback is that it seats around 30, so your best chance for no waiting is an off time.
The staff is friendly & delightful. Our server was quite helpful in exposing a few of the dishes were deciding on.

Guys, food is great! Service is awesome! Please get some wifi. Reception sucks at the sushi bar.
Thank you. Loyal Customer

Definitely a new found gem in Oak park. My boyfriend and I usually go to the city but with the first snowfall we were craving sushi but didn’t want to drive to far. We had the Ghostship no cream-​cheese which was great as some other reviews stated it can be to much. We had a California roll and Ginger-​zing which were phenom! It’s cute and cozy and verily intimate which I love. Definitely have a new place close to home. By the way my Ginger-​tini was fabulous!

Intimate space, full bar, vegetarian rolls that are DELISH !! Great service. Only 5 tables & a sushi bar so come early!

I absolutely love coming here! The wait staff is always quick and friendly. The food is great at a very reasonable price. Try the bento box at lunch time. –AMAZING!!!

Good service!
The tables are always clean
All of staff are Thai and really friendly
Delicious :)

I’ve only come here during lunch to take advantage of their great bento box lunch special. It comes with miso soup, salad, tempura, california maki, protein of your choice, and rice. The tempura batter is light and crunchy, the california maki is done really well, and the meat options are so-​so. I’d pass on the chilean sea bass, it was a bit dried out. The salmon is okay, but also a little dry. I think I enjoyed the tonkatsu the most. You can’t beat the price!

Tucked away on Oak Park Avenue, I had no idea this place even existed before I became a member of the Unilocal community.
We came here on a Saturday night. Luckily we beat the dinner rush and got a seat without reservations around 5:30 p.m. The place was crowded with lots of middle-​aged suburban couples out enjoying a small meal.
To start, we ordered the takoyaki (fried octopus balls topped w/​mayo, bulldog sauce, and benito) for $ 6 and the Sen Spicy Maki Set for $ 20. The octopus inside the takoyaki was very tough, and the batter was very disappointing. It only came with four balls, which was a little disappointing considering how cheap you find these things in Japan.
As for the sushi, I would say that it is very standard and Americanized. I love to be able to taste the freshness of the fish and the individual grains of rice when I eat sushi. Unfortunately, for the bulk of the meal, I found myself constantly needing to dip the maki in soy sauce in order to make the roll taste good. The high-​end maki rolls at neighboring tables looked killer. They were nicely decorated and had lots of sauce to compliment the generally dull fish.
Overall takeaway: I might have to come back to try the fancier maki rolls. They look well made and the flavor combinations sound very interesting. However, if you are looking for quality, authentic sushi, this is not your place. The fish and rice could definitely be improved.

Walked in for the first time and realized this place is really tiny! Good thing I beat the crowd and got the last available table. I was seated right away and while I waited for a drink and food menu I took in the décor. It’s simple but yet very nice and elegant for the establishment. It took a few minutes but I did finally receive a menu and list of available drinks and specials.
I reviewed both lists and decided they are pretty extensive and lots of great choices. I ordered a lychee martini which was a special that day and it was delicious. I would have ordered 5 more if I could.
We ordered the ahi tuna poke which is an all time favorite of mine and a real test of the freshness of the fish. It was amazing and the tuna couldn’t have more fresh.
We ordered a few rolls and they are also delicious. My favorite was the Red Dragon Maki… I could eat that all day.
We skipped dessert but maybe next time I will save room.
Bottom line– this place is worth dine in or carry out. i am ready to go back!

This place is small, intimate, and cute. We were a party of three on a Thursday night for a bday celebration 3 weeks ago. We didn’t have to wait for a table but the place was steady. The prices are a little high but not over the top, definitely worth the quality, fresh taste, and nice presentation. I loved the drinks. The two waitresses taking care of us were great and very helpful. Variety of what we tried:
Appetizer
–asparagus beef –delicious
–Shrimp & vegetable tempura– good
–miso soup– good
Drinks
–guava tini– delicious
–mango tini– very good
–lychee tini– very good
–pomegranate tini– delicious
Sushi
–Futo veggie maki– very good
–Sweet potato maki– delicious
–Nigiri entrée variety– very good
–Chicago maki– good
Dessert
–Green tea crème brûlée — good
–Sorbet/​gelato trio– red bean, mango, passion fruit– delicious