Joto Sushi

Everything is AMAZING here. My partner and I had a dinner reservation right at open, and we couldn't have asked for a better experience. The manager Mina is a joy. She is so fun, and gave us a little taste of their very own barrel distilled Malört(not something we can typically be convinced of lol). We had a great time with her. Our server Sam is a rockstar. He had the best recommendations from the menu, and he was great to chat with. We started with miso soup and two happy hour hand rolls, the spicy scallop and salmon avo. Both were fantastic, and the soup was very flavorful. Next we ordered the Dry Aged Kurashi Setto. At this point we knew we picked the right place to celebrate a birthday. Since Jōtō specializes in dry aged fish, specifically tuna, we had to try the chutoro, both with and without truffles. Plain it was phenomenal, but the truffles took it to a whole other level. My partner is a huge fan of hotate(scallop), so we ordered a piece each. And then he ordered another because of how good it was! The Katsuo Chutoro crudo was my favorite dish that we ordered. The vinaigrette could be poured into a cup to drink, and it complimented the chutoro perfectly. We ended the birthday with sweet potato mochi and yuzu cheesecake, which were both astounding. The sweet potato mochi really took us by surprise! With our meal, we had Tozai Well Of Wisdom sake and it truly was the perfect pairing with the sushi. Overall, this is top 3 one of our favorite sushi experiences. Every piece was better than the last, and it was honestly hard to stop ordering. With all 16 items, plus tax and tip, our meal came out to just over $300. So worth the service and food. We're already planning our next visit. Thank you Mina, Sam, and everyone else for the amazing night! We'll see y'all again soon.

An all rounder spot for sushi from quality, flavor, service and vibes plus all day happy hour on Monday. We had our fill with the dry aged sushi and maki (their specialty). We got three sets: kurashi set, ora king salmon set, and bluefin tuna set (service), and the big tekka roll on top of that. My favorite were the otoro and marinated salmon. One was creamy and rich and the other was savory and umami. The shiso gives the tekka roll a bright crisp note balancing the mouthful bite of tuna. We had great drinks there as well with the snow maiden sake, lychee martini, and black manhattan. They are dry and not overly sweet either. Definitely will come back for more! Service was amazing! They were so kind to explain the menu and accommodate our questions/ requests. They have both indoor and outdoor seatings, a welcome casual vibe with high quality food service!

Oh everythinggggggggggggggg hit. I’ll be back so quick. 🙂‍↔️ the watermelon punch was crisp and refreshing. Off the happy hour menu I tried the spicy scallop hand roll and the grilled steak skewer. They had that grill going on the sidewalk chile!!!! I ate both those up so fast. Delicious. À la carte I sampled the karaage and the hamachi tiradito. The spicy honey…. Woah. Changed my brain chemistry. I cleaned the whole tiradito plate no leche left behind. It was so good. Everything was phenomenal but the yuzu cheesecake really did it for me. I will definitely be adding Joto to the dessert rotation. No words. Thank you to Jas, Mina, and Kaitlin who made me feel welcome and taken care of. Yall will be seeing meeeeeeeee!!!!

Cozy little spot that has a dual face: front half is a sexy aesthetic while the back half is some left over street art / urban Japanese style. The service was incredibly polite, quick to clean up (some of the sushi orders took a little longer, but likely tied to the fact that we were in front part and has no visibility to when sushi bar orders are ready). Melt in your mouth sushi (had salmon, o toro and steak and egg). Dry aged sushi also a bit of a new angle for the high end sushi landscape in chicago. Gyoza were fully fried but tasty. Edamame was tasty but a little sweet. Spicy tuna over crispy rice and spicy tuna hand roll were a little sweet as well - prob wouldn’t order again. The grilled skewers from outside grill were phenomenal (steak again a tad on sweet side). Overall very tasty and will be returning.

I seldom write reviews, but even before we left the restaurant, we knew we had to! We went here last night for the omakase experience, and were served by chef Aaron and waitstaff David. The two of them provided some of the best service we’ve ever had, making the entire experience so personalized and tailored for my partner’s birthday. We have also frequented a few omakase experiences in Chicago, and the dry aged fish is truly an incredible and unique touch- this has been our favorite one to date by a landslide! Mouth is still watering thinking about the bluefin and Spanish mackerel! 12/10!!

Food was great - we went for the happy hour and really made the most of it. The old fashions were perfect. The perfect blend of alcoholic and sweetness. The food itself was awesome, we had the hand rolls and they were so good!

I have tried a few fancy sushi spots in Chicago and Joto is a contender for one of the best. What sets them apart is their process of dry aging their fish right when it arrives. It reminds me of how a steakhouse ages their meat. And we know "dry" is not a word we would use to describe that. The fatty tuna is exceptional. The eel has amazing flavor. The small bite apps of tuna and crab is comfort food you will crave. And the Japanese style street meat off the grill brought me back to our time in Tokyo. Yum yum yum! The cocktails and sake go well with our selections. And cheesecake for dessert. Great service and recommendations.

Excellent drinks (even Bourbon Malort), terrific maki. Crab bites were amazing and don’t skip the edamame. Service was personable, knowledgeable and made sure we had a perfect evening. Easy access from the train stations, great spot!

I've been coming to Joto Sushi since when it was still called Jinsei Motto and it's one of my favorite sushi spots in the city. The fish is fresh. No need to touch the soy sauce provided, the chefs brush on the right amount of tare (sauce) for each nigiri. The small bites are each excellent and I love that they have a Robata grill to round out the experience. The cocktails are unique and exciting, and I'd come just for those. The menu is priced well, competes around the cost of Momotaro around the corner. The vibe here is more energetic and clubby, perhaps caters to a younger crowd. In the summer you can eat outdoors and avoid the loud music if you prefer. Service is excellent and attentive. Overall I'd say if you ever considered Sunda or Roka Akor definitely avoid those and come here.

Ambiance - cute sushi spot behind distillery, casual/upscale depending on your group, they have dining tables and omakase counter seating Service - chef took his time to prepare each piece of our sushi, didn't feel rushed Food - fish was overall fresh, their dry aged fishes definitely stood out

Ordered a few items for delivery and my general consensus is that this place is overpriced for what you are getting. That said, everything was packed very nicely. I loved the tako tako roll. The crab bites were good, but not worth the price in my opinion so I wouldn't order it again.

Checked out Joto with some friends on a Tuesday evening. The vibes were low key and our server was very helpful and attentive. We started with the crispy tuna bites, which were fine, but a bit underwhelming compared to similar versions I've had elsewhere. The tomato salad with seaweed I really enjoyed; it included white seaweed, which I've never tried, as well as red shiso/perilla. We had the Kurashi Setto next--a tasting of the aged nigiri offerings; it was delicious. Our server offered to increase the setto to accommodate three people, which we really appreciated. We concluded with a couple of rolls (Futo and Prism), which were also good. If you want to drink sake or wine, there is a selection, but the sake in particular felt really overpriced (having purchased some of these bottles before). All in all, a nice evening though. I would definitely focus more on the nigiri and unique dishes for maximum satisfaction.

Definitely never coming back here. Insane prices for okay food and on top of that, they'll scam you. I am not sure why any standard sushi rolls like spicy tuna need to cost $15-20 or even 4 pieces of tuna bites. It all tasted like standard sushi restaurants items to me. The interior gives you more of a bar feeling with high tops instead of a formal dining experience. I am so glad I checked my statement a couple days later because the server apparently changed my tip amount. I caught it and called the restaurant and all she said was she'll refund the incorrect extra amount and "talk to the server." Unbelievable.

Love the atmosphere of front dining room and back room is more casual. High quality sushi all around !

If you're looking for affordable but high quality omakase with the added benefit of interesting cocktails and malort, this is the place for you! FOOD: We came here on a Monday night (the 2nd ever) to try their all day happy hour and omakase industry night prices. The fish was absolutely incredible... they dry age everything which makes things not only sustainable but also gets rid of the fishy taste that some people don't love about sushi. I personally really appreciate the "fishiness" but for those of you who have friends who don't like sushi because of that point then this is the place to bring them!! The table side omakase is 13 courses plus a dessert and I think the last 4 that came out (ootoro, chutoro, wagyu, etc) were the absolute most amazing of the bunch. DRINKS: We ordered a couple cocktails and one sake bottle through the course of our meal. The cocktails are quite interesting given that they use their own distilled spirits for a lot of them including Malort so it wasn't our favorite but they were all fun to try!! All in alll, if you're looking for an affordable yet high quality omakase to try this is the place for you! One caveat is that we tried their 14 course option on Sunday Tues Wed ($125pp) but their Fri Sat option is 19 courses ($195pp).

Came here for happy hour and was blown away by how good the food was! Ordered the spicy scallop and shrimp tempura hand rolls along with a variety of nigiri. So delicious. Service was great! Place was casual during the day but also can be a total upscale vibe in the evening.

Located side CH Distillery, Jōtō Sushi is all about serving up dry-aged sushi and Japanese cocktails. The menu offers starters, dry-aged bluefin tuna (nigiri or sashimi), maki rolls, nigiri/sashimi, and and extensive beverage list. They also have an omakase experience as well as a tableside omakase. We wanted to focus on the nigiri, so we ordered: +the otoro nigiri +the chutoro truffle nigiri - with shaved white truffles +the otoro otoro caviar - topped with platinum osetra caviar +the Steak & Eggs nigiri - with A5 wagyu +the Kanpachi nigiri - dry-aged Japanese amberjack +and, the Hamachi nigiri - dry-aged Japanese yellowtail The space is dark and casual, with limited metered and garage parking available. Staff are friendly, and reservations were easy to make! +dry-aged nigiri +friendly service +reservations accepted +metered street and garage parking

Amazing Sushi Experience! Our server was Shigé, he was very friendly and personable. The omakase menu was worth it, and my wife and I eat a lot of Sushi. Chef Jamel came to our table and even recommended some of his personal favorites. We enjoyed everything and look forward to coming back!! One of the best Sushi spots in all of Chicago!

Really great experience overall. The food was delicious, the service was friendly and fast, and the place had a nice cozy vibe.

My wife and I were visiting from Burbank, California. We highly recommend this restaurant. The food was amazing and such a great atmosphere. Our waitress Alina was so professional and a sweetheart. So if you go. Ask for Alina to be your waitress. But, if you don't get her I'm sure everyone else is just as amazing. Thank you for a great experience Jōtō.

Jōtō Sushi Bar is such a cozy gem--perfect for a chill drink and some seriously good bites. I stopped in for happy hour and was pleasantly surprised by how creative and flavorful everything was. I started with the watermelon punch--refreshing and fun--then grabbed a shrimp tempura hand roll that hit all the right notes: crispy, savory, and super fresh. From the binchotan grill, I tried the steak and salmon kama--both grilled to perfection with that signature smoky flavor. It's a great spot to unwind, try something new, and enjoy quality food in a relaxed setting. Definitely coming back for more!

EDIT/UPDATE: Moved from 1 star to 2 stars, because management/ownership followed up after I reached out via their contact us link on their website. I appreciated the follow up since the hospitality in-restaurant was markedly absent. Seems like it was a rough night, and there may be some growing pains. Hope they can get it figured out, but don't really have an interest in going back. Was interested in trying the new sushi concept inside CH Distillery and booked a date night with an 8PM reservation through OpenTable. Upon arriving, we were told the table we reserved was not quite ready, and we could order cocktails at the table by the door while we waited. We decided just to wait, and after 10 minutes, we were told our table would not be ready for another 30-40 minutes. We decided not to stick around until 8:40 for an 8:00PM reservation. You're a new concept Joto team... I think you might want to get these kinds of logistics figured out... No apology from your staff. No acknowledgement of the eff-up. We weren't going to stick around for 30 minutes, but there was no effort to even attempt to reconcile. Pretty disrespectful experience. No plans to return. Good luck Joto.

Decided to look for a swanky sushi spot nearby and stumbled upon CH Distillery | Jōtō Sushi. We sat in the back room and were met with wonderful service. We started with crispy tuna bites, crab bites, chicken karaage, edamame. All of which were delicious. We moved on to trying their dry aged nigiri, which they are known for. We got Otoro tuna, Hamachi nigiri, and a chili salmon roll which were flavorful and melt in your mouth good. I don't always drink malort. Almost never, but I was having Chicago handshakes the entire time as CH Distillery distills malort. Only $9 and our server was kind enough to throw in one on the house. The vibes in the back room are nice for a date night or dinner with friends. warm, clean, back room distillery vibes. I'll be coming back no doubt.

We popped in to Joto for some drinks and a snack - we will absolutely be back for a full dinner! The drinks were great BUT the food was 10/10. We ordered the carpaccio salad and the Katsuo Chutoro. The salad was a flavor bomb - the yuzu vinaigrette was to die for. The katsuo were a bit of home with the hint of Japanese curry. The team are great as always - kind and welcoming! The refresh with decor was also a pleasant surprise - it's so chill and lowkey (in the best way).

Terrible service. Rude waitress who seemed like she did not want to be there in the back room. Seemed unknowledgeable about menu items and didn't even acknowledge the thank yous during or when we paid the check on the mobile POS. Would not recommend this place to anyone.

This place is great! First it has a very cool vibe look in the back room! staff was great (I am so sorry I forgot the waiter's name. He had a lovely accent. He was awesome!). Also the general manager Choeun Park was great. The food was out of this world. The best sushi ever! Will definitely be back! Thanks we really enjoyed our experience

Terrible service at the bar , waitress had a terrible attitude. I've been there before and it was nice but I had a terrible service experience last time . I'll never step foot there again .

JOTO is all time. Have been to multiple omakase settings in Tokyo, Australia, etc. Spent tens of thousands on sushi. This is one of the best. It's an unassuming omakase counter in the back of CH distillery. All time sushi. I don't understand how it's not better known. Get it while you can.

Great food with great drinks. The atmosphere is nice on both sides. Back side is intimate/speakeasy and the front is a bit more lively and lounge like.

Went here on Saturday to check out the rebrand. JOTO is in the back room of CH distillery which makes for a very cool vibe. My husband and I ordered the- crispy spicy tuna bites, crab bites, classic setto of nigiri, spicy bluefin tuna roll; and scallop roll. Would order them all again, the mix they use for the spicy tuna is our favorite we've ever had. Baby sharks drink has to be mentioned as it is a classic there. Our waitress was very attentive!

This my favorite new sushi spot. They have amazing rolls and nigiri. They have great apps esp the crab bites and ebi balls. Their sushi is FRESH and you can tell they use high quality ingredients by trying their rainbow roll, where most places use low quality crab and they are clearly using very high quality. It's a new place and I honestly feel like it should be super busy every night! Easy street parking and for what you receive prices are very fair. Def try it if you're looking for a new sushi place or just love sushi.