Kyoto Review - Lincoln Park - Chicago - The Infatuation

"Nothing makes you feel like a local more than having your go-to sushi spot. It’s one of the clear signs of being settled. You know your nearby Divvy station availability patterns, you’re on a first name basis with your favorite CVS cashier (what up Curtis), and you’ve got a reliable sushi spot. Sushi restaurants are notoriously difficult to judge by their covers, so settling on your go-to requires a decent amount of trial and error. And in Chicago, finding fish that actually tastes like it came from a body of water isn’t easy. But there she is, Kyoto, shining like a beacon on one of the frattiest, darkest strips in the depths of DePaul. Kyoto looks and feels like your average local sushi spot. It’s set below street level on a block of salons, bars, and takeout counters, so if you walk by too quickly, you’d easily miss it. But inside, it’s pretty lively. On the weekdays, it’s a great place to casually feed your date a crunchy salmon roll, and on the weekends Kyoto is filled with groups taking full advantage of the BYOB privileges. They really cram the tables in there too, so hopefully you brought enough Sapporo Lite to share with the people next to you. What really makes Kyoto stand above the rest, though, is that their sushi is really damn good. You can stick to your safe spicy tunas and edamame here, but we’d suggest branching out. After all, you’re probably going to be back." - Claire Schlafly