8 New Japanese Restaurants to Check Out in Chicago

With its colorful plating and playful marriage of sweet and savory, Japanese food remains one of the most popular cuisines, whether it’s a casual sushi bar or a multi-course omakase experience. Japanese fare is found all over the U.S., including Chicago, which welcomed many new  Japanese restaurants within just the last six months. Combining ingredients common in Japan (such as seaweed; yamagobo, Japanese pickled burdock root; ponzu dipping sauce; and wagyu, a breed of cattle) with fine-dining techniques, these are the most coveted reservations for fall, with theatrical flourishes both on the plate and in the ambiance.

“Japanese cuisine resonates with Chicago right now because people are craving intentionality and experience-driven moments. It’s a cuisine rooted in respect for the ingredient, connection to the seasons and an unwavering dedication to the craft of cooking,” says chef Brian Lockwood, partner at Boka Restaurant Group, which debuted Midōsuji last month. “In a city that values craftsmanship and authenticity, that kind of quiet precision feels both refreshing and deeply relevant.” 

Like in other cities, omakase experiences are still trending—the tasting menu is at the chef’s whim and the ambiance is more eclectic than stuffy. “People still crave creative, beautiful, and delicious food, but they don’t always want to commit to a four-hour tasting menu with white tablecloths and a formal, sterile setting,” chef Mari Katsumura of Shō tells Observer. “Omakase feels more personal and dynamic: it’s interactive, guest-facing and a little faster-paced, while still delivering a high-end experience.”

That said, each of these restaurants adopts its own interpretation of Japanese food. At Big Bird Sushi Bar & Thai, for example, Thai food is just as prominent as Japanese, celebrating two Asian food cultures simultaneously. “People are craving balance—freshness, simplicity and artistry on the plate. There’s beauty in how Japanese cuisine highlights pure ingredients and seasonality. We blend that precision with bold Thai flavors,” says chef Sivadol Ketmanee. Similarly, Osaka Nikkei pulls from Peru to further influence the menu.

Borrowing influences from Japan can also be a way for chefs to play around with ingredients, textures and plating. “Japanese food is having a moment because the craft, the art, the history and the innovation behind it resonates with Chicagoans. There’s this respect for simplicity that connects with how a lot of us like to cook and eat now,” says executive chef Luis Hernandez of Hiro Izakaya. 

Below, check out eight of the most exciting new Japanese restaurants in Chicago. 

Midōsuji

• 12 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603

With just two nightly seatings of eight seats each, this omakase-style restaurant, named after a boulevard in Chicago’s sister city of Osaka, is perched on the second floor of the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel. Open since September, it’s in the former Milk Room speakeasy in the 132-year-old Venetian Gothic building across from Millennium Park, and honors its 1930s roots by merging existing wood-beamed ceilings with fresh tweaks like custom cherry-blossom wall coverings, a gingko-leaf motif throughout and a hand-carved walnut bar. Chef Brian Lockwood, formerly chef de cuisine at three-Michelin-star Eleven Madison Park, consulted on “The Bear,” training actor Jeremy Allen White in the kitchen. While the menu here changes daily, past dishes were sansho pepper duck, and a crab salad with daikon and miso egg yolk, and hand rolls stuffed with seasonal ingredients. The à la carte cocktail menu is just as unique, folding in Japanese ingredients like lemongrass and sesame, resulting in fun drinks like the Tomato Water Martini, and beverage pairings can be tacked onto the meal, too.

Shō

• 1533 N. Wells St., Chicago, IL 60610

In August, Roister alum Adam Sindler opened his own restaurant, continuing the tradition of his great-grandmother’s Kamehachi, one of the city’s first sushi bars since opening in 1967 and immediately next door. With its sleek black-and-red décor, Shō Omakase features a cocktail lounge and 12-seat chef’s counter behind a velvet curtain, for an omakase experience, in an Old Town dining space inspired by Tokyo lounges and vinyl culture. Mari Katsumura, who comes from the now-shuttered Chicago location for the Michelin-starred Yūgen and watched her parents weave Japanese and French influences into their Chicago restaurant (Yoshi’s Café in Lake View) for nearly four decades, orchestrates the 10-course tasting menu.  The fare is not exclusively inspired by Japan; it brings in other global influences, too. For example, milk-bread grilled cheese with quail egg as one of three starters in the first course; chutoro in tomato sauce with mitsuba, Japan’s version of parsley; and umami cotton candy in a hand roll.

Big Bird Sushi Bar & Thai

• 3581 W. Belden Ave., Chicago, IL 60647

This cozy neighborhood spot debuted in August on a corner in Logan Square and checks all the boxes for date night, late-night bites and family-friendly dining. The menu is a mix of classic comfort-food items like Tom Yum soup, Pad Thai and Panang Curry plus nigiri selections and a few dozen signature maki rolls. Sports fans will want to order one of the five Sport Signature Maki, created in honor of the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. Chef Sivadol Ketmanee’s whimsy extends to sushi rolls paired with sauces that are literal works of art on your plate, depicting spiders and octopus, for example, and the sushi rolls also unique, such as Shadow Dragon, Snow Storm and The Secret Life of Mr. Mushroom, with truffle oil, shiitake and enoki mushroom tempura.

Hiro Bar + Izakaya

• 1600 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60622

Specializing in Japanese small plates, this restaurant opened in West Town over the summer, with categories on the menu such as “cold,” “raw,” “sandos” and “robata,” which is cooking over a hearth per the tradition in Northern Japan. The restaurant aims to be a bridge between Tokyo and Chicago, with influences from both Japan and the U.S., resulting in eclectic items like a twist on New Orleans’ favorite dessert, Bananas Foster, where a miso sauce is paired with it, or a beef burger topped with Japanese honey mustard and served with togarashi fries, flavored with this popular Japanese spice blend. Unique cocktails include a sesame ginger martini or accoutrements like lychee pearls, black garlic or roasted nori syrup woven into a drink.