Bayou Express

Still love this place — I had to add an update because I have now tried many things on the menu and I have never been disappointed. My husband said its the best Mongolian Beef in the area– we order it extra spicy and its GREAT! I also love the shrimp fried rice. Sushi or Chinese you just can’t go wrong here. Great service, great prices, great food!
MY ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Tucked away in the Peru Mall, this place is certainly a hidden gem! It is so exceptional because it is finally an ACTUAL sushi place in the Illinois Valley — it is not exceptional sushi but it is good, very good, and nothing like to what people around here are used to at the Chinese Buffets. Most of the rolls are cooked and it seems the crab might be imitation but it is worthy enough to satisfy my craving for sushi! The Chinese food is also good — I tried a sample. Spring Rolls were excellent. I have been here a few times for sushi and I have like everything I have had. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the area and want sushi — I like that they also serve Chinese because I can get my husband to eat here with me — he doesn’t like sushi, but he will eat Chinese. I have even gotten a to go order for lunch ;) Friendly services, reasonable prices and I will be back — I am sure!

Bayou express was our favorite restaurant. Every time we went to the mall we would have lunch. The last two time we went they had new employees higher prices and the quality of the food wasn’t up to their old standards. In the past I would recommend it to anyone even with the higher prices but the quality we came to expect is no longer there too bad

Sorry to be Debbie downer, but the sushi just isn’t that good. After looking in the sushi case and seeing the tuna and other selections not looking quite as fresh as I’m used to seeing in other parts of the country, I got what I expected. Imitation crab meat, reheated frozen shrimp, and fish that was just bland and fishy. It wasn’t as fresh as true four/​five star sushi restaurants provide.
While I understand and respect that it’s in Peru mall, I think the restaurant to be much cleaner. When I walked in at lunchtime I got nervous when I saw for employees sitting in the back when they could have been cleaning.
Sorry, I guess I just watch too much Robert Irvine and Restaurant Impossible.
With all that said, they were extremely accommodating during my time in the restaurant. That gave the second star.
I will not be returning, nor do I recommend eating here.

My boyfriend and I came here tonight after reading previous food reviews. We were very surprised that our food was cooked to order just like in a regular restaurant. We had the beef teriyaki, orange chicken, fried rice & chow mein which were all wonderful. We plan to come back again.

Decent sushi considering the area with plenty of other food for non sushi types. Very friendly and fast service. A bit pricey but sushi usually is. I would return, and have!

Very surprised to get decent quality sushi in a mall food court restaurant. I ordered three rolls and enjoyed all of the very much. I will definitely go back again. Hidden gem for sure.

Favorite chinese restaurant in the IV! May not be a buffet, but the food is amazing, and everything is decently priced.

It is nothing fancy since it is in the mall but it is the best Chinese food in the area.

Yummm. This place is a hidden gem. Do you like sushi? Then go here because it’s actually good! They even have deep fried rolls. Our favorite is the King Kong. The owner is always here and he is very nice. An a+ on customer service. Fried rice is delicious as well.

Love, love, love this place for sushi. Super fresh sushi all the time. You can sit and watch then make your sushi. I have eaten other things but they are not made to order.

Each time I’ve eaten here, I’ve had the sushi. It’s always fresh, delicious, and reasonably priced. The customer service is also superb. The workers are prompt, polite, and genuinely care about your dining experience. This is one of the only reasons why I ever go to the Peru Mall anymore.

Hands down, One of my favorite places to eat in the Illinois Valley. The food is always cooked fresh to order and the staff is super friendly and genuinely appreciates my business. Only one other restaurant in the area (Monari’s 101) makes me feel as welcome!
For a mall joint, the staff checks on us repeatedly to ensure the food is good, drinks topped off, and we have everything we need. I get better service here than many fine restaurants in Chicago.
The food is always cooked fresh and even though it’s served on plastic plates, it’s appealing and has good presentation. Servings are large and we never go away hungry. And if you aren’t sure what you want, they’ll give you samples.
Like sushi? This place has an excellent selection and always made fresh as well.
We eat here regularly with the family and even on Friday night date night. Never had a bad meal. Our favorites include the Spicy Beef and Orange Chicken. Our favorite sushi roll is the spicy tuna roll. You can’t go wrong with those!

What a pleasant surprise! The food was freshly prepared and delicious, our sides of veggies were cooked perfectly, and the egg roll was really good. The staff was friendly, helpful, and the service was excellent. I never tip in places like this, but I sure did today. They deserve it! Will definitely be back!

Customer service ⁵⁄₅. They are very friendly and personable. Prices are great and they make your food fresh! I recommend the orange chicken or general chicken. The crab ragoon is delicious as well. Nice atmosphere.

The sushi is well worth the visit. It is the best local sushi around in these small parts. The service was nothing to sneeze at in my opinion.

I ordered orange chicken but there is no orange zest in the sauce. It instead had cracked red pepper, and what looked like small traces of sesame seeds. This left the sauce tasting similar to a dulled down version of General Tsos chicken with a HEAVY salty aftertaste. Some pieces were overcooked making them chewy. It wasn’t bad i’ve definitely experienced worse but it was very much lacking any definitive freshness or sweet taste one would expect from Orange Chicken. I wont be ordering it again soon.
TRY IF YOUR HUNGRY BUT I WOULDN’T RECOMMEND IT OTHERWISE
I also ordered other items:
CALIFORNIA ROLL: Don’t know Sushi very well but it seemed to be about what i’ve experienced from other restaurants. Looked to be well made and presented. Imitation crab meat was used so not really gourmet but good for the price.
CRAB RANGOON: It had a decent portion of cream cheese but was lacking any sweet flavor or crab meat chunks. Basically tasted like I was taking a bite straight from a cream cheese stick inside of a rangoon shell. DON’T RECOMMEND THIS
FRIED RICE: The best thing out of the entire experience. :-) Loaded with fresh colorful veggies, moist and clump together nicely so i could eat it with chopsticks. WILL DEFINITELY ORDER THIS AGAIN!
Sweet and Sour Chicken: Decent sauce, its cooked with the chicken leaving it a little soggy for my texture preference. Usually its served on the side everywhere i go. The addition of fresh green peppers, onions, and pineapple helped the flavor go along way giving a little extra crunch. DONT RECOMMEND THIS ENTREE AT ALL
As Derek G. said in his review the food was basically Meh

Impressed every time I go to Bayou Express. The sushi is good but the service is outstanding and makes me want to go back over and over again.

Very friendly staff, the Chinese food itself is decent. The real deliciousness is found within the sushi. DELICIOUS! Fresh and quality ingredients, can’t go wrong eating here.

I ate here last night. It was so nice to have a sushi place in the Illinois Valley area. They aren’t fully stocked, but as their restaurant catches on, they will be able to give different cuts of fish. They only have rolls for now, but hopefully will be fully stocked and able to serve a full Nigiri and Shashimi menu.
The fish was good and hearty and fresh. I had the Peru and the Spicy Tuna rolls. They were both good.
I will be back! The chef advised they will be serving a miso soup soon. He also advised that if you are going to bring in a big party to call a few days ahead and they can get more fish in stock to serve a full menu and can order what you want (I see red snapper, yellow tail and others in my near future)
Sure there are better sushi restaurants in the suburbs, but you won’t get any better around here!

Sushi in the Illinois Valley that doesn’t come from a Chinese buffet? Be still my heart.
The Chinese food seemed decent given the samples we had, but the sushi’s the star here for me. Considering the area, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. The single raw roll (spicy tuna) we had didn’t taste at all fishy. The cooked rolls – especially the shrimp tempura and fried sweet potato ones – were delicious and spot-​on compared to similar rolls I’ve had numerous other places. And I can’t even begin to express how much I loved that Tropicana roll. I LOVE fruit rolls, but stuffing it with fried banana and cream cheese? WIN. It is made with nori instead of soy paper, which seems kind of strange, but trust me – it works.
The service was phenomenal and the entire staff incredibly friendly. The décor’s nothing to write home about, but not surprising. Prices were reasonable for the sushi considering the quality. That said, the Peru Roll strikes me as a bit overpriced at almost $ 11 when the crab was of the imitation variety. If that roll is any indication, I’m guessing anything marked as being crab (with the exception of the soft shell crab) is most likely «crab». And if you’re serving sushi, don’t use those packets of nearly flavorless Chinese soy sauce – Kikkoman soy sauce is a must!
Far better than the sorry excuses for sushi you’ll find at the buffets. Kind of an odd addition to the area, but I think it’s great introduction sushi as all but like 3 rolls are cooked; and outside of the 3 rolls with eel, all use otherwise very familiar ingredients. This place is definitely going to be a regular spot for me to get my sushi fix when I’m in the area.