Hot Woks Cool Sushi

Nice menu with all the Japanese and Chinese dishes you crave. Went there with a big party (two families with kids) and lots of special orders (vegan, gluten free, no cruciferous vegetables, no nuts, etc…) and every dish came as requested. Flavors were mostly good, a few staples (egg rolls. Fried rice) were a bit bland. But the sushi was all great and fresh! Particularly the vegan sushi rolls were all tasty and plentiful. A good place for a large and picky party!

Food was great. Ordered a cashew chicken pad Thai and Thai Basil for our main entrees. Flavor was really good. Also ordered salads and they were very good too. It’s dog friendly also.

If you think this is a tourist trap, it's not! I've seen this place for MANY years, but never tried. The location of this place is right in front of the Millennium Park. We happened to be in the area and tried it. The food was nothing fantastic, but it was freshly made with fresh ingredients. We had a Spicy chicken ramen a silver sushi platter. The salmon avocado roll was really yummy and all the nigiri sushi was delicious. The ramen was good, but not awesome. Kara age was so blend. The dish was not hot (temperature) The price was very reasonable for being in the heart of downtown. I would definitely recommend it! Why not 5 stars? I only give 5 for truly exceptional case.

Great find a few blocks from our hotel and near Millennium Park. Very reasonable prices especially for downtown Chicago. Delicious food, friendly service. Nice atmosphere, though we did takeout. Photos of food taken in low lighting at a different location — food pics would be much better it taken at restaurant table included in pics. Highly recommend.

Sushi can take awhile sometimes but they have always warned us about the delay before ordering. However it’s worth the wait the food is delicious. Service is great and always friendly. Really cool spot on Michigan Ave. It’s 100% worth the stop!

Incredible place to have a fine Asian meal prior to the symphony! Everything was amazing. Today it’s our pre-jazz dinner celebrating the Year of The Dragon!

delicious food and such kind servers! there’s a whole vegan/vegetarian section on the menu, which i really appreciated. my friend had a severe nut allergy and they clarified whether every single item on the table had nuts/possible cross contamination (without us even asking them to do that) so that we knew what we could share. they also gave us pens to complete the christmas activities on the kids menu😁 SO nice!!!

Their Ramen Tom Yum tasted like salty soap. The other six dishes we ordered had the sauce in an amount that killed the flavor of all the ingredients, making me question their freshness.

Totally our first time dining at this restaurant. Ordered several Maki Rolls: California Rolls x 2, Dragon Roll, Shrimp Tempura Rolls x 5, a Philly Roll, Spider Roll, and a Spicy Tako. Asked for a House Salad and a Thai Iced Coffee, too. Food taste - 4 out of 5 Stars Food portion - 3 out of 5 Stars Food quality - 4 out of 5 Stars Food prices - 3 out of 5 Stars Table Service - 4 out of 5 Stars (House Salad was forgotten initially) Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 Recommended for some of the rolls and definitely the Thai Iced Coffee!!! Portions are kind of small, though. We had 5 Adults in our party, so 11 orders of the rolls seemed like an ample amount of food for all of us in our party. If we wanted, we could have honestly ordered a couple of more rolls, but we were full enough and satisfied with what we ate...

This is so Chicago: Chinese people running a sushi restaurant with Mexican guys making sushi in the back. Love it. But there's always a give and take in authenticity; something's definitely lost in translation. Japanese tourists will come here and instantly tell something's off about different things, so if it's gourmet, real Japanese sushi you want, this probably isn't the place. Where they lack in realism they made for in top notch service and a cute interior right off Michigan Avenue. Their menu is huge and offers dozens of items that aren't just Japanese. Just beware that they're a dinner-before theater place and are not open past 8:30. The only miss I could tell from what I had was the "seaweed salad"--the quotes are on purpose. It was a small dab of seaweed on a large amount of mixed greens. WHAT? Yeah...never before have I had wakame on curly endive, spinach leaves, and topped with carrots. No way was it worth $6.95. The cucumber salad was fine, though I've never seen cucumbers diced into little pieces in any Asian restaurant--Thai, Korean, or Japanese. This is their interpretation. OK, fine. The real winner was the vegetarian Mega Vega roll--a roll so smothered in savory sauces I had a hard time tasting ingredients inside the roll, but since this was vegetarian, I was ok with that. Let my tastebuds be sizzled.

We stopped in for lunch while hanging around the city and had a peacefully tasty meal. Being early lunch time it wasn't very crowded and we were seated at a table right near the front. It is a nice place with some unique artwork. There are a bunch of tables and everything is clean with a bit of modern flair. Our waitress was very attentive and our food came out relatively quickly (and hot!). Additionally, our water glasses were kept full the entire time. We had a few sushi rolls between us and the quality was fantastic. Everything was fresh and delicious. I learned that the lunch special is the way to go, such great bang for your buck given the portion size. We were in need of a sushi lunch and Hot Woks delivered! In the future, we'll definitely come back.

What a wonderful ramen place across from the Millennium Park in Chicago. We came here for lunch on a Saturday and got a nice table with natural light. Their ramen is generous in portion (delicious but I couldn't finish it) and beautifully presented. Their poke bowl is also very nice. The place is casually but tastefully decorated (not upscale but inviting). Clean toilet is a plus!

On a day spent wandering the city, we came across this spot. Being right on Michigan Ave, I assumed prices would be outrageous. Surprisingly, no! Staff did a good job of kicking out someone attempting to beg patrons for money. Sushi was decent. The service was friendly. It is surprisingly a large restaurant too.

In the city for the day, and as we start looking for lunch, we sushi and instantly have to try. You see, we're always looking to try different sushi places. After 20k steps, we're hungry! We walk in and are instantly greeted by the host (who is super friendly). We get a nice seat by the window and enjoy the view. I went basic: California, tuna, and spicy tuna. For regular, non specialty rolls, the prices were surprisingly low. I thought they tasted good, a little chilled and not too fishy tasting. The restaurant is a lot larger than it appears. Being in the front, I didn't realize how long it extends to the back. There were customers frequently in and out, so it seems to be a nice spot right by where all the tourists walk by. I'd like them, and I would for sure come back if I'm in the area.

Good food, nice server, perfect night to eat outside. The salmon poke bowl was delicious ! The pad kee mau noodles were good too with a little kick to it.

Stopped by for dinner. Nice simple ambiance. I got spicy crunchy tuna roll as an appetizer, which was quite tasty. I guess it was made with brown rice, I couldn't quite figure it out, but still, it was good. My main dish was spicy garlic ramen - quite tasty, served with large amount of chicken (dark meat), lightly fried and resembling tempura. Good service, prompt, attentive. Restaurant has a credit card surcharge, so you might want to bring cash.

This place was. A nice surprise. I know a lot of folks like to go to Chinatown in Chicago for Chinese food, but we were near Millennium park and in the mood for Chinese food. So we checked this place out. It is not a terribly large place, but there was still pretty decent amount of seating. There was not any wait here. I order Yakisobo and my wife ordered Pad Thai. The portion sizes were nice and the presentation was good as well. I enjoyed the meal as did my wife. It was tasty and filling.

Expedient service. Like no personality, just quick about getting orders and bringing them out. Which I can understand being in the location they are in, they must move fast. But stop and be friendly, it goes a long way. We ordered a bunch of stuff and I tried everything. All was great!! We had: Chicken Fried Rice- fresh and flavorful Crab Rangoon- delicious Gyoza - ok not memorable Fukudome - tempura shrimp roll, ok Spider soft shell crab sushi roll - gross Tempura shrimp sushi - delicious Orange chicken - so good! How this small list ended up being $180 I don't know but there was 6 of us. Shrugs The passion fruit jasmine tea was delicious.

Restaurant was recommended by a local. They seem to be very short staffed. I was seated in the front and only saw one waitstaff for the first 20 minutes. Another waiter came by after 30 minutes and apologized for the wait as he'd been in the back with another party. He was very nice. I was finally able to order and they were out of certain food and drink items. My food arrived after about 10 minutes. The pad Thai was very fishy tasting and lacking other flavors. The vegetarian mega roll with black rice was really good. 3 stars given long wait time; lack of food items. Pad Thai gets 2 stars. Mega Roll gets 5 stars

After spending a day at the Art Institute, we were famished and looking for something more than a sandwich at a reasonable price point given that it's the Loop. When we arrived, the seats at the front were all full, so we thought we'd have to wait a while. The restaurant goes pretty far back so they have more seating in the back; we were seated right away (as was the family of six that came in just before us). They have a large menu, including dishes from other East/South East Asian cuisines. They also have a good amount of vegetarian options, including some really inventive ones I've never seen before. I do wish some of the appetizers (such as gyoza) had vegetarian counterparts, however. We split the vegetarian spring rolls which were perfectly fried and delicious. I got the cucumber salad (which was very fresh) and three types of vegetarian sushi: avocado, sweet potato tempura, and asparagus tempura. The tempura on the asparagus was perfectly cooked, and the sauce on the sweet potato was great. I wish they had a cucumber avocado combo roll though! My partner got the vegetable soup which was HUGE. It was chock full of veggies (a weirdly large amount of baby corn though) and he said the broth was pretty good. He also got the vegan sushi which we both enjoyed, although because of the spicy mayo, he said it reminded him of Burger King. The food came out quickly, and our server made sure to take care of us and keep our water glasses filled even though they were pretty busy. Our final bill came to around $61 tax included, which is a great deal for downtown! We'd go back.

This place has good food and a great ambiance! I got the spicy basil, but replaced the chicken with tofu and it became an absolutely delicious dish for a vegetarian! There's some vegetarian options and this one was specifically very good! The sushi gold was also good and is served with miso soup before which is nice! The food, overall, was good but the service was a bit slow!

I came here to try the sushi donut and I was pleasantly surprised. I have tried other formats of sushi before (sushi burrito, sushi sandwich) so I was excited to see how the donut would be. I got the Triple Donut and the Firecracker signature maki, along with a Thai Iced Coffee. The sushi was delicious. At first I wasn't sure how to properly eat the donut, but the kind server suggested I either cut it with a knife or lift it up and eat it like a regular donut (in case you're wondering too). It was a crowded spot on a rainy day but the service and food was fantastic. .

One of the worst and bland Japanese food I've had in my life. Although the staff were friendly, be aware if you're expecting authentic or even decent tasting food.

I was looking for somewhere quick to eat for dinner Labor Day weekend and this was the perfect spot. We got sat immediately and as soon as you're ready to order they're ready to take it, so we ordered soon after we were seated. I had the BEST vegetarian roll I've ever had and I almost went back again the next day just to have it again. Highly recommend if you're looking for some quality food and quick service.

Great service and price for sushi. My partner and I came during a weekend lunch and got seated right away. The menu had plenty of options to choose from and we got the Akira ($15), Black Dragon ($15), and Smoked Salmon Maki ($8). All in all, it came out to around $50 for the two of us and we were very satisfied with the food. The seaweed was a little tough for me and there could have been more sauce, but I liked the food and would likely come back again. My favorite was honestly probably the smoked salmon maki. It is simple, flavorful, and affordable, but I really liked the other two signature makis too. Based on other people's reviews, I would probably stick with their sushi, but a table next to us got the Pad Thai and it looked super good with big portions.

Not bad for a small family owned business off of Michigan Ave. This restaurant isn't the biggest so for most time's i've gone, we have waited for 5-20 minutes but it wasn't to bad of a wait. Service was okay, they are very quick and get right down to the point. We felt rushed to order after them giving us 2 minutes of time to look at the menu. Food on the other hand is very tasty. The bento box come's with a miso soup as well which was phenomenal. For the price of the Bento box, you get more than you pay for which is great. Roll's have never been a disappointment as well and are alway's tasty. Price as well, lower than you would expect for a sushi restaurant. A cool place to check out for a quick meal!

Super fresh and tasty sushi! We had to wait about 30 minutes which wasn't too bad cause they were so busy! Service was great and the prices are awesome for such good rolls!

The food lacked flavor, we ordered Tom yum soup which had absolutely no Tom yum flavor .... It tasted very tomatoyee.... When I asked for fish sauce with the chillies they said they didn't have it though the place serves Thai cuisine. The 2 stars are for the spicy basil chicken which was flavorful We didn't really enjoy the spicy ramen.... We wanted to try sushi but after all the dishes we tried we didn't want to be dissatisfied/ disappointed again

I've only ever ordered the sushi here, and it's been very good every time. The rainbow roll, dragon roll and nigiri are all very fresh. The sauces are delicious, and the plates are beautiful to look at. They have high bar tables in the front and banquet seating further into the restaurant. Service is quick and efficient.

I was pleasantly surprised by this spot. The poke was large portions and very fresh, sushi was good and service was friendly. For a medium priced, casual option for families I would definitely recommend!

Great bento box! Service was excellent! Went with 2 friends that are regulars here. They order enough sushi for the whole place and had lots leftover. I will definitely go back!

Hot Woks Cool Sushi is a #Asian chain that has multiple locations in #Chicago primarily in the downtown Loop area. This specific location is off of Michigan Ave so very high traffic. They have a pan Asian cuisine, which means they serve #Japanese #Thai #Chinese dishes among others. I love their locations but the food just tends to be just ok for me. Personally, I think you can find better quality Asian food in other parts of the city so I think you are trading location for convenience. However the service is incredibly quick and super friendly and you get your food very quickly. Despite the high traffic location, you can actually easily have conversation in there! Tempura, mini egg rolls and yakisoba featured in my photos.

Great food, and fast delivery. I recommend this place. The cashew chicken and Szechuan chicken are particularly good. Don't forget the mini eggrolls.

While exploring the city, I came across this restaurant that's located across from Millennium Park. They were pretty busy, so I took that as a good thing. There was a small amount of seating outside, which was full, so I sat inside. Very nice decor and environment. I decided to order the Tonkotsu ramen and salmon avocado maki. All was delicious! The ramen had a somewhat light, flavorful taste (if that makes sense..lol), and was very filling! Whenever I visit the Windy City again I would definitely visit again.

The sushi were good especially and the Thai tea was amazing. Great place that is literally downtown.

Incredible sushi in a very popular and touristy Chicago area. You can basically see the Bean from your table. As sushi places go, I would say that for the location and taste, the price was affordable and worth it. My only small issue was that we ordered two sake bombs and were charged $30. I understand what the issue was. They sell Sake Kits which means you get a full HUGE beer and a service size of sake that would easily serve two or three people for a shot or two. Having ordered two, we had multiple sake bombs per person (two people total) and it definitely wasn't necessary. Ultimately I would have liked to have been told that they serve the bombs that way, but I do also believe I would return if given the chance!

Hot Woks Cool Sushi is located on Michigan Ave near Millennium Park. I've been here twice and the service here is very nice and I've received my orders very quickly! I've only ordered the Ocean Trio Poke Bowl and the first time I had it, it was so delicious! Good amount of fish, vegetables, and rice! Sauce was also really good. Unfortunately when I came back for it the second time I visited, it wasn't as good. They added way too much sauce, which was drowning the rice. Pricing was pretty average. Although I can only speak on the poke bowl, I would say Hot Woks is a good option for sushi in the loop for affordable pricing and good service.

Inventive menu with plenty of options for anyone, located right by Millennium Park. It was difficult to choose what to get, but I had to try a sushi donut (the Triple has 3 kinds of fish), and also got tuna avocado and salmon avocado maki. Wow- amazing fish, perfectly creamy and ripe avocado, rice was seasoned just right, good portions and fair prices! After a day wandering the Art Institute, this place hit the spot. My mom got a basil noodle dish that she also loved. Our only complaint is that the couple of tables by the doors get cold, so next time we'd prefer to be seated further back.

Gave my son the worst food poisoning EVER!! We spent the whole night at the Hospital. Save yourself & find some other place!

I placed a take out order at the restaurant. The waitress was pleasant and took my order immediately. I waited approximately 8-10 minutes for my food, which to get something fresh is worth it. I ordered the spicy basil chicken. It came with chicken, peppers and a thin brown sauce. It also comes with a side of white rice. Now if you love spicy food like I do, then you will love the flavors and the heat on this dish. If you are not big on nor can tolerate spicy food this is not the dish for you. It was extremely fresh and extremely spicy but very tasty.

Festive environment. Quick and nice service. Tasty food and good drinks! Just happened to pick this place for dinner with my family and turned out to be perfect! Everyone was pleased!

I brought my daughter here before seeing the symphony for a special night in the city. The food was OK. I had the sushi burger because it sounded interesting. The taste was good near the top, but it was very awkward to eat, and the flavors near the bottom were not so great- very bland in parts because there's not a variety of flavors like there is on the top of the sandwich.

Love this place! Come everytime I'm in town. It can be busy but i always get good food. Their pepper steak is to die for!

Overall: Hot Woks Cool Sushi is not the place to go for traditional Japanese food, but it is a good crowd pleaser with interesting rolls that are decently priced and stir frys for anyone not into sushi. Food: 4.5 Vegetable Delight: Fried tofu and an assortment of vegetables were stir fried in a garlicky sauce. The sauce was well balanced, and the vegetables were well cooked. It's a good dish for any vegetarians. Mango Chicken: They use chicken breast that is battered and fried to the perfect crisp. The sauce is similar to orange chicken with a balance of sweetness, savoriness, and tartness but it has a nice mango flavor. Black Dragon: This is a shrimp tempura roll topped with unagi (eel) and avocado, and it uses black rice. I appreciate how well the black rice was cooked since some restaurants will undercook it. Standard Rolls: The Spider Roll and Salmon Avocado Roll are excellent versions of some standard rolls at any sushi place. I did not like the shrimp tempura roll though since it literally had nothing inside of it except for shrimp. Service: 4 The staff has always been pretty good. They are patient while you decide what to order and answer any questions that you may have. Ambiance: 4 The restaurant is pretty narrow at the front so tables are close together, but it does widen in the back for more room. There are also a few tables in the patio for outdoor seating during warmer seasons!

Every time I come to Hot Woks, the staff is always polite and they are always trying to balance between a busy atmosphere and make sure you are getting what you need. I really respect and appreciate that! Thank you :) I am often a solo diner so I haven't had a chance to try their bigger dishes like the Thai curry (i heard is pretty good) and their sushi. I often get their bento box or their Poke bowls because of the variety of food I get to eat. I also like how crispy and full their cream cheese ragoons are! Hot Woks Cool Sushi can get very busy with large groups especially on the weekends as it is conveniently close to the Art Institute of Chicago. Weekdays are easier to get a sit and faster service though if you come around 6 - 8 pm it can be a wait for your food as I have noticed it gets quite popular in those hours.

Yummy food and friendly service. I'm a huge fan of their little egg rolls & pepper steak

Location and hot sake !! It is our go to place to get drunk on hot sake. We ordered vegetarian sushi and the place had some really good options. Decently price and great service!

House salad with lychee was our favorite part. Sushi was average in taste but very filling. Food took a while to arrive, but was plated very nicely with good attention to detail. The prices were great, especially for downtown Chicago. Good ambiance, no loud music blaring, not overly crowded in the evening. We were seated promptly and the waitress checked on us frequently. Overall it was a good experience.

This is low key asian spot with a wide variety of Asian dishes that cover sushi, some teriyaki dishes, and even some thai food. The food was ok, not bad for a rushed hungry tourist walking around Chicago, but definitely a high cuisine. The service tho was excellent, very kind and sweet people, if I could I would give a 5-star there. We tried the pepper steak it was ok, the rich bean sauce was delicious; we also tried a bento box, this one was a bit flakey, the teriyaki sauce and the rice for sushi rolls could be improved :)

I swear, this place never disappoints! When I worked in the area I ate here often, so it was great to see the food is still as tasty. I started out with the spicy wings (first time having them) and O-M-G.. they were DELISHH!! Perfectly crisp, the sauce ratio was just right, along with the level of sweet and spicy. Not to mention, the wings arrived piping hot just how I like to eat. Now on to the sushi: Mount Fuji NEVER disappoints-- try it if you can't decide which one to get! Surprisingly, the Mega Vega has a GREAT taste, and in my opinion, hard to believe that it consist of only veggies. I'm not a fan of beets, so I encourage anyone who's skeptical to give it a try. Lastly, the Firecracker: it wasn't my favorite, maybe because the roll is deep fried, but if you're into the sushi tempuras, this may be the one for you. Highly recommend and this is a place I'll continue to eat at when in the area.

The food was impeccable. My only complaint we didn't receive spoons for our take out for the soups we ordered.

I've been here a couple times and I'm never disappointed! The food and staff are great and I would definitely go again. Any of the sushi with salmon tastes really fresh and then chicken is spices beautifully! We also got the gyoza and mango cheesecake which were both delicious. They have vegetarian options as well so it's great for any group.

Hot Woks Cool Sushi is seriously the best-- affordable, high quality, great service, amazing food. Everything was priced so well and a great bang for your buck with all sushi cravings (My sushi dinner was only $20 AND I had leftovers, what??). I dined in here with my friend and our experience was superb. As a vegan, I had so many food options, plant symbols marking friendly options on the menu. I ordered the sweet potato roll and the smokin vegan signature roll, and my friend ordered the spicy garlic ramen. Food reviews below! Smoken Vegan Roll 11/10 - SO GOOD!! At only $10 a roll, this HUGE roll is seriously a steal with 8 big pieces stuffed with yummy filling and drizzled with this crispy potato tempura. Wonderful presentation and amazing flavor. Can't recommend this roll enough! Sweet potato maki 9/10 - Very solid! Everything was perfect. Soft potato, nice unagi sauce, crispy tempura, and a great rice to potato ratio. Bravo! Spicy Garlic Ramen 8/10 - Amazing! Soft noodles, tons of toppings, perfect boiled egg. Not as well priced at $15, but it comes with a side of chicken which justifies it. Everything about this place is wonderful. I definitely want to come back to try the sushi donuts! (Though, I hope they consider adding a vegan sushi donut option as I was unable to order one). Attentive service and kind staff. The ambiance was very nice, no reservation needed as they seem to have a lot of space and take walk-ins. Don't miss out on Hot Woks Cool Sushi for affordable and amazing asian food and great ambiance!

Came here for a casual dinner. The ambiance of the restaurant is very cozy; it feels modern and fresh. The waitresses were very attentive and food came out at a good time. However, I thought the Pad Thai was a little bland for my taste even with lime added in.

Every college student down town come here at least once. I've been here time to time and enjoyed my experience each time. I went here with friends recently during their busiest dinner hour. If you need to wait, keep in mind the entrance is a bit small so you'll have to stand close to random people. I usually go for any of the bento boxes since the portion and taste is great. Today I wanted to be experimental and ordered the Black Pearl Tuna Poke. It was ok; it was a bit too sweet for me. But I did like the purple rice so I can't complain. The service is good. The waiters made sure to check in on us and refill our water despite being really busy. Would come again!

My husband and I came here before catching a matinee at the CIBC Theatre. I mainly picked this spot because of the location. It's right down the street from the CIBC and right across the street from Cloud Gate (aka the bean). Another reason why I picked this spot it because of the great vegan options. We had the tofu steak, the sweet potato roll, the vegan roll special they had for Chinese New Year (I believe it was called the eye of the tiger but our waitress called it a vegan Philly) and the pad Thai. Everything was delicious but the sushi rolls were by far my favorite. One thing to note is the hours listed online was not correct. We went on Sunday and they didn't open until 11:30 am. Also, as of when we went (early Feb 2022) we needed to show our ID and vaccine cards before we could dine in. Overall, great food and fantastic location! I highly recommend it!

The service here was very good--it was outstanding. I came here for the sushi, thinking an okay place not too far from the Palmer House. The sushi was actually unfortunate (in an extreme). I actually wrote on the bill "Service = A+ Sushi = C+" I don't mean to be a brat about it but the food was truly not great...but I did not get sick. My next sushi trip will be to 312 Fish Market. I will give them a rating also (later) for comparison.

This is my absolute favorite safe spot for a lunch or dinner in Chicago! If I am looking for consistent quality and perfect portion sizes, I am coming to Hot Wok Cool Sushi to see what's new on the menu! I have never had anything that wasn't great, but the Akira Roll and Spicy Salmon are the rolls I always come back to! You can't go wrong, but those leave a lasting impression as favorites for me. Portion sizes are also great where 2 rolls per person is definitely a fair gauge and will leave you very full! Wait staff is also very kind and attentive, and the Thai iced tea is great if you want to treat yourself! I have only been to the Michigan Ave location because it's so convenient, but I do hope to visit the others eventually because it's the best value sushi I've had in the city. If you are driving, Spot Hero is probably your best bet for the area. It will be worth it, though!!