Kamehachi

Meeting up with some locals who frequent this establishment all the time. Super glad they brought me here. I would venture to say this is the best sushi place in Chicago. Fresh ingredients that have a pop of flavor in every bite. The menu has a wonderful variety and from what we had it was fantastic. Customer service was amazing, great staff, from the front of the house to the back. Loved the atmosphere. Definitely if you're in the mood for sushi you must stop here, you will definitely enjoy it

Ordered wine and the glass had lip stains on it. And the Food was simply not good. The sushi and nigiri combo costs about 50 bucks and was poorly made. Shrimp was chewy and fishy and the fish was cut far too thick (pictured- yes that’s the side view) and was served on ice which in my humble opinion is not ideal. Plus the rice was stale, AND the wasabi was dry and look aged. Nothing was fresh. They comped the wine and gave us 10 percent off the sushi but then gaslit us about the food and told us how long they’ve been at this location. Absolutely nothing against the people but if you want to spend a lot of money on good food go elsewhere.

So delicious, fresh, and fast! I live near here and this is a new “go-to”. The staff is also so friendly! I'm excited to try out their game show experience sometime soon.

Great spot for a light dinner. Everything we tried was great. The sushi was fresh and well made. The grilled chicken was great too. Drinks were refreshing. Everyone was attentive and friendly. Overall I would come back!

We came here because of the Google reviews, and this casual Japanese restaurant did not disappoint. The food was excellent, the atmosphere lively, and Ishi’s warm service made our dinner on the outdoor terrace even more enjoyable. Great value for money. Highly recommended!

We decided to try this place for a date night dinner before going to a show. The food was excellent. fresh and flavorful, and our server, Bolero, was the best! She was extremely knowledgeable about the menu, along with how the food tasted and made suggestions that were spot on. She is everything as a customer would expect. Overall, it's a great dining spot. Thanks!

Kamehachi was amazing! The sushi is some of the best I've had. Salmon nigiri was smooth and buttery. We ordered a special Maki Mono with crispy rice it was the best. Service was attentive and courteous. Definitely will be back 👍🏼

Recommend: enjoyed it overall, place looked great inside and nice patio. Service was good but was a bit slow for us. The food was great recommend some items below that I had. The momiji drink was great, also the tales of wasabi maki, and the spicy edamame (very good portion, enough for 3-4 to share). Also, I particularly like the eggplant skewer, would definitely recommend all that. The truffle soba noodles (with chicken) were really dry, they majorly lacked in more sauce of some kind or oil (maybe i should have added more soy sauce), but I would not get it again. Overall it was good and I will return.

Love the noodle bowls! Staff was funny and very nice! Will be back!! The black cod sounds delicious!

Overall I think it's ok. My friend got sweet potato and tempura sushi. She said her sushi lacked flavor and the sweet potatoes were not roasted. I got the Tempura udon it was good but I've definitely had better. The broth was over saturated with soy sauce. The vegetables looked beautiful and were almost perfectly cooked. The shrimp were a little fishy as well. The price was great the Tempura Udon was $18. My total seemed like they already added tax and tip but they didn't bring a paper receipt, it was on a handheld device, so I'm not sure. I believe it was almost $23 which was definitely more than tax but I planned on tipping $5 anyway because I only got one thing so I just tipped extra. NIU Japanese Fusion Lounge on Illinois street has way better Tempura Udon and their sushi roll "The Sexy Mexican" is my favorite! They do need to work on their desserts sadly. This place was decent I know I made it sound a little bad but it's not it's decent for an American take. I just eat Japanese food a lot and I've been to Japan so in comparison it's mid.

Okay sushi; annoying service. I was dining by myself tonight and when I do, I realize you're not the priority. Loud big groups get the attention, I get it. So I look for places that are welcoming, quiet, and that I can hideout with drawing attention to myself. This looked like a good place. The main server was good and didn't completely forget about me, which is all I can ask. What bugged me was the moment I put my last piece of sushi in my mouth, others rushed over to take my plate and hustle me out. Fuck let me fucking chew what's in my mouth before you make me answer and get out. I don't smell bad, I don't look bad, I'm at the end of the bar bothering nobody. There is nobody waiting. Can't I eat the last piece in peace before you kick me out?! Sushi was okay. Too many rolls had spicy mayo for my taste. If it was down to the sushi, I might come back. Combined with how I was hustled out, no way I'd come back, even with a group

I ordered some rolls for a lunch out by the lake on a warm day, which I highly recommend! I was not notified when it was ready for pickup, but it was on the table when we walked in. All the sushi was packed together nicely in a single box which made it easy to share. I highly recommend spicy tuna and spicy salmon rolls if you like fresh fish. Both the rolls were not too spicy for my taste but had great textures and flavors. I wasn't a huge fan of the tempura rolls because they had a weird county fair old fried taste.

I came here on a weekday for their happy hour. You can't beat $5 for a plate and the drinks were great. The bartender was nice and helpful. I loved the takoyaki, gyoza, spicy tuna roll, seaweed salad and fried green beans. The bar can get crowded so get here early. The highball drinks were refreshing on a hot day.

Edamame was very salty and not spicy. The tales of wasabi and negi hamachi were not very good. Service was fast and good. Wouldn't come in again

Kamehachi in Old Town, Chicago, is my new foodie crush! The place is buzzing with good vibes, and the staff is like the culinary dream team. Now, let's talk about those skewers - the chicken and steak ones? Hello, flavor explosion! I felt like a skewer connoisseur on a taste adventure. The whole experience was so much fun; it's like Kamehachi threw a party, and my taste buds were the VIPs. Can't wait to go back for another round of tasty shenanigans!

Came here for lunch on a Friday since they have lunch specials. Walked right in and there was hardly anyone in the restaurant. I ordered the Nabeyaki Udon. I was disappointed with the lack of flavor but extreme taste of salt. The side of veggie tempura came with sweet potato, onion, broccoli, and a few other fried veggies. They were SO oily and I ended up not feeling well for the rest of the day from them. Given these two items and my experience at this restaurant, I don't feel a need to ever return here.

We wanted to give this five stars and just couldn't bring ourselves to do it after the host was so dismissive and unwelcoming. We almost left right after that interaction but we had our hearts set on sushi. Aside from the cold entrance, the ambiance of the restaurant was fun and joyful. The fish might be the freshest we've had in Chicago and the food came out quick. We ordered the pork gyoza and 6 rolls, everything was delicious. The pricing was also reasonable and our server was courteous and knowledgeable about the menu. We didn't have any drinks but the cocktails at the other tables looked great.

This restaurant was great! Food, atmosphere, and service were all excellent. The food was fresh, authentic, and flavorful. The dining area was dimly lit with nice music and had a more upscale feel. The outdoor seating was more lively and casual. The staff were attentive and friendly. This place definitely sticks out as one of the better Japanese restaurants I've tried.

Good food, ambience and service. We enjoyed the sushi and maki. Everything was fresh.

Sigh. There's an old saying that you can't go home... Have been to Kamehachi for years in several of its locations in old town, Streeterville, and even Northbrook. 25+ years later, we returned with our sons for a pre-Second City dinner. The good news: the room -- perhaps it's fourth or fifth iteration in Old Town -- is still super cool, sleek, and hip. There appears to be an upstairs and there was ample outdoor seating as well. Bar looked fun and well attended. Server was fabulous as well. Attentive. But the kitchen let him down... The bad news: food service was unbearably slow, portions kind of meager for the price point, and an old favorite (wasabi shumai) gone from the otherwise pretty solid menu. Apps were lovely -- a seaweed salad, gomma-ae, and tempura vegetables. Premium maki were 4-5 pieces; regular maki were six. Nigiri was solid. I have no issue with paying up for good sushi -- which Kamehachi always had been -- however the combination of their shrinkflation (smaller portions at equivalent pricing) and the interminably slow kitchen left us with a bad taste. Looked as though there were only four sushi chefs working in a crowded space; perhaps a capacity problem? There are myriad great sushi restaurants in the city. Sad to see one of the originals disappoint like this.

This place was pretty bumping on a Friday night around 7pm. Our server kept disappearing for long stretches but other teammates tagged in to clear our plates and take our drink orders which was a nice surprise. A little pricey but definitely tasty and typical of the area. Perfect for grabbing a casual sushi date night before heading for some comedy across the street.

Ambiance is awesome! They have great sake selections, friendly staff, and good sushi

if you're looking for a casual-yet-elevated sushi spot, this is the place!! my favorite thing was definitely the uni shooter - the uni was so fresh and the cucumber, (ponzu?) sauce + shiso combo with it was perfect. the rolls and tonkatsu were solid too. what we ordered: - chicago crazy roll (tuna, salmon AND yellowtail!!) - spicy scallop deluxe - uni shooters - chicken yakitori - tonkatsu

Great sushi, noodles, and shrimp! I will be a returning customer in the near future as someone in the local area

This place was awesome! The Suishi was fresh and tasty! The beef Kabobs were delicious! The service was great as well. We had a group of about 13 people and they serviced us well. All of our food was perfectly cooked and served with a smile.

Great location on Wells and nice ambiance! We celebrated a birthday and they brought out a very nice dessert. The menu was big and the food was good!

In the city on a Monday evening. We decided on Sushi and decided on Kamehachi. I heard the food and drinks here are very good. We had a party of 4. We were seated right away. It was very quiet which was great for a Monday late night dinner with kids. Once we ordered the drinks came to our table right away. Did not disappoint. Appetizers right after with our main course in the end. Everything was perfect and on time. Very fresh with a great presentation. Definitely on my list if I'm in this area and I'm craving sushi.

Nice variety of Asian food, nice service, and big selection of sake. We started with an aromatic Konteki sake. They had east coast oysters so we started with a half dozen. Terrific Brine flavor and I ate mine plain. We shared shrimp tempura which came in a nice setting. Some gyoza and spicy tuna roll finished our meal. Our server, Bolero, was helpful and terrific!

Food is excellent. Service is also very good. They even had my sunglasses that I left‍

We walked in on a busy Friday night around 8 o'clock and only had to wait a few minutes before my boyfriend and I got seated. The service was a little slow only in the beginning, but we didn't mind since we didn't have a reservation. - We could tell they were busy. When our server took our drink orders I just HAD to try the High Saki Flight. I enjoyed all three of them! Food wise we ordered: - Spicy Edamame - Wow, fantastic! Definitely don't skimp out on these. So much flavor! - Gyoza - Perfectly cooke!! - Yaki Soba (pan fried noodles) - I added beef and it was delicious! - Chibi Sashimi - Even though I knew it wouldn't be the best fish because of the pricing and it being an appetizer, I was still a little disappointed. I've had better... - Blazing Red Dragon - My boyfriend ordered this and he wasn't a fan...I personally thought it was good. It definitely wasn't a wow factor but I enjoyed it.

When I think of Chicago, I don't think of sushi so I feel like there's no reason to be overly harsh on this place. It's neither overwhelming good or bad. The servers are always nice/polite. The atmosphere is moody/dark. Perfect for a date night or night out with friends. The drinks are alright -- there's not a lot I find myself wanting to drink on the menu as I'm typically a fruity cocktail girl.

Update- I am updating my original review from 1stars to 5 stars because of the customer service I received after a manager Tom from corporate called me not even a day after I posted my review apologized for the experience we had at dinner and offered me a gift card for the entire balance of our dinner. In addition the gift card was hand delivered to our front desk. I will absolutely come back here because I think the food is very good the service I just found to be really bad and I think that was just a one off night. This kind of follow up is definitely the kind of place I will come back to and give this place a chance again. But again the food is exceptional. ---------------------------------------------- I came here on Friday night with my husband and my father-in-law and our two year old we live 10 minutes away on Lakeshore Drive so we have been here a few times. The service was absolutely horrendous. I had a 730 reservation and they seated us at the front table with our stroller. It took 20 minutes to get drinks and put in appetizers I asked the waitress if she could please bring a side of rice and some edamame for our two year old because he needed to eat ASAP, my husband and father-in-law both got their salads but our child got nothing. I had to beg again saying that our kid was going to have a meltdown if he didn't eat something anything just a side of white rice I didn't think that was too much to ask. We ordered a bunch of appetizers, soup, salad, Gyoza, and beef. They came at different times and in weird order. I had to ask a Busser for silverware and that took forever also so I just drank my miso like a mug instead of using a spoon at this point the waitress has not taken our dinner order yet. We were ready for our dinner order about 10 minutes after we sat down at finally 9 o'clock at night STILL one had taken our dinner order. I tried to flag our waitress numerous times I mentioned it to the host that we had not place d our dinner order yet and the busser or both of then said OK I finally grabbed our waitress and said, can we put our dinner order? She looked at me and nodded and ran off, I finally had to flag her down again and she looked at me and said what are you missing? I said our dinner she said your dinner never came ?? I said no you never took our dinner order. The look on her face was priceless. She had a completely blank look on her face and she said oh no I'll put a rush on your food. We placed our dinner order and she affectionately touched my father-in-law's arm. I'm assuming because she thought he was Paying, which was not the case I was paying! Our food finally arrived and at that point we just wanted to get the hell out of there. She brought the bill over and said sorry about that didn't comp a drink nothing and by the way she never offered refills so we had to keep begging bussers to get a second refill of any drink. A good waitress would've at least brought out a dessert or comped our sodas we weren't drinking alcohol, so wouldn't have been that big of a deal. $200 and 2 1/2 hours in the restaurant we left still hungry and really irritated.

We had a baby shower and had Kamehachi do the catering drop off....the food + platter presentation was amazing and delicious! They had something we all could enjoy from vegetarian to raw to cook to even gluten free!. Lisa P. was our contact and she was great from providing everything we needed and great suggestions....all the ladies wanted their info! Thanks for making this a special event :) * can't wait to use you for our next gathering!

We found this Sushi cafe while walking on Wells in Old Town Chicago. We came in because of a sandwich board out front. But the place was empty. We sat at the bar to get a drink and a bite. The server gave us a menu of sushi and rolls that would be upwards of $100 if we ate them. We were just looking for a nibble and a sip. They aggressively pushed the menu, but we declined and just left for $28 + tip for 2 glasses of white wine. I'm not sure what this place is, but I wouldn't go there for food. You would have to break out your gold bars.

Food is very disappointing. Not sure why shiu ma is served on a bento plate for Japanese food. Ordered the new zealand king salmon nigiri and it didn't even taste as good as regular salmon. Also ordered steak and there was so much sauce in there that it drowned out the steak taste

The only place I'll eat sushi because I know it's fresh. I love that it's three generations of Japanese women owned. The staff is great the ambience, beautiful and it's the same whether you're in the old town location or in Northbrook. I flavors are delicious and authentic

Great place for raw fish Sundays. Not too packed was easy to get a table. Love their patio. Staff was attentive. Food is pretty reasonably priced. Lots of sushi and other food options. Not a super fancy place but great for more of a casual but not sketchy sushi/asian meal experience

Prices have gone way up, the fish portion amount of the sushi seems to have gone way down. Hamachi crude was good, everything else was so-so. The dragon roll with eel tempura barely had any actual eel, but it had lots of skin inside the roll. At $22, it's a ripoff. Drinks are overpriced as well: Japanese beers are around $12, sake is way more expensive. DO NOT order mixed drinks here, the bar does not know how to make a quality cocktail. This place was great for so many years, it seems like they are just after the $$$ now. It's a shame, because this used to be the go-to spot for sushi in Old Town.

We came for an early dinner on a cold day. The space has a nice vibe. Attentive friendly service. Conversational acoustics. Massive menu. Sushi, rolls, bowls, entrees We had a great fried oyster special with a nice dipping sauce. Seaweed salad and a vegan roll. All really good starters. Also enjoyed a very good ramen abundant with noodles veggies and flavor. They substituted pork belly with grilled chicken. Another order was the tofu noodle vegan dish. Interesting drink program. Will be back. Would be fun with a large group. Sharing.

Came here with a colleague for a late lunch. 1. Restaurant was not busy. However; server took long time to even bring water... Uncaring servers 2. Ordered: tempura veggie, sushi, noodle soup Sushi was ok (2 starts for it) Tempura veggies was way to oily Huh. Noodle soup was terribly over salted !!! Never again and won't recommend There are many options along Wells st

This place has a special lunch menu and a huge interior with lots of seating! Very cool spot to grab a bite inside. As others said, the waitstaff seem to be quite busy, so you might have trouble flagging folks to pay your check or get water refilled, etc. The food was a solid 4/5; as expected. Appreciate the serving size of the bento box!

Quite tasty fish and excellent drinks Our family dined here recently and enjoyed a mix of sushi, sashimi, fried bits (agedashi tofu and shrimp tempura), and veggies (multiple orders of goma ae). All were quite good and some of the fish in the Sashimi Dekai were truly excellent. I and my wife started with a pair of cocktails, a Jupiter and a Tokyo 75, both of which were excellent. We then moved on to a sake flight to go with our fish. And our son was very happy to discover they had various flavors of Ramune (though sadly, no Calpico). The service was reasonably good. The space is somewhat cavernous, though warm woods and subdued lighting helped alleviate this and made the restaurant more welcoming.

Ordered through doordash for delivery and tried it for the first time as it has so good rating from huge reviews. The food arrived and was appalling. The portions were way smaller than I had thought - not an issue as photos from fans might not show the actual size - but the most horrific thing is that the salmon used for its salmon rolls was dried, cold, and frozen ones. That for a Japanese outlet, and as an Asian customer, this is a huge mistake and completely write off from the future list. I hope people will get smarter in enjoying Asian food. 5 thumbs down!

I had their agedashi tofu and veggie roll! Was pretty good. Nothing super special but I feel like it's a place where you'll typically be satisfied atleast. Cute place to sit in and enjoy.

Kamehachi is the perfect, causal date-night sushi spot in Old Town! Our waitress, Bo, elevated our experience with drink and sushi recommendations. The Special Salmon roll hit the spot! 10/10!

We went here for dinner on a Monday night, and while the food was delicious, the service was not great. Our drinks didn't come out until well after the appetizers were dropped off, and it took a very long time for our server to come back to take our order. Then my meal came out relatively quickly but my husband's meal never arrived. The server never came back to check on us until I flagged him down after my meal was nearly finished. My husband's meal never ended up being submitted, so his meal didn't arrive until after mine was done and my plate was cleared. We spent the whole night just watching each other eat! And our server never came back to ask if we wanted another drink or anything. The saving grace was the food itself. I got the chicken katsu and my husband got the California and passion rolls. I am sure that they are short staffed and the servers are stretched thin, but it ended up being a frustrating experience.

Overpriced for mediocre sushi. Service was not great. Only one server for the entire restaurant.

What a wonderful lunch! We wanted to brunch at a different nearby cafe but was a 2 hour wait so we came for round 1 of our lunch and decided to only grab coffee at the cafe. I've been here for dinner at this location and at Northbrook so I knew what to expect at Kamehachi and today's experience didn't disappoint! 1- very welcoming walking in. The hostess welcomed us to the restaurant and sat us in the back. The lighting was dark, set for romantic mood. Although it was daylight out, there were no windows in the back. 2- extensive lunch menu. There were many options for lunch that we didn't know what to pick! We got Niban bento box which is chicken teriyaki along with rainbow, unagi, and spicy tuna roll. 3 of us shared but it was plenty of food for us. It was delicious and came out with good timing. 3- service was excellent! Although there was only 1 server, she was on point! 4- complimentary birthday mochi. I've already gotten our bill but asked server on the side if they do anything for birthday and we got mochi. My mom absolutely loved it!

I've been here a few times and am never disappointed! The atmosphere is inviting and elevated, the food is delicious, and the staff is knowledgeable and helpful.

We had a great experience here! I've had carry out from here before and really liked the food, so when we had friends visit from out of town we decided to try to dine in. We made a reservation for a Friday night and it was pretty busy. Our server was so helpful. He took a menu and marked all his favorites and suggestions for us to look at which was helpful because the menu is pretty large. His choices were pretty spot on. The only drink any of us liked was the purple one in the pictures (I don't remember the name), the others were not very good. However, the food made up for this. We started with spicy edamame, rock shrimp and spring rolls which all were so good. The edamame isn't too spicy but very tasty. Everything tasted fresh and good quality. For our meals, we had various rolls and noodles and I don't think anything was left at the end. This place is cozy for a date night or fun for groups in one of the large booths.

I've had some Kamehachi items at the Batsu show upstairs, but this was my first time dining in the restaurant. We came here on a rainy night, so we weren't able to sit outside but there is a nice patio area. Our service was fine. We got glasses of wine and some appetizers to start. The rock shrimp was tasty, but the japanese spicy chicken wasn't spicy and was extremely pink on the inside... As for our entrees, the salad was huge and filled with fresh veggies- such a great deal! I also got the tales of wasabi roll, and this was tasty as well. The specialty rolls are kind of pricey for the small size, but other than that my dinner was very satisfying and left me pretty full. I definitely suggest this place for a nice sushi night in the old town area. It's excellently located on wells street in the heart of the action. Just watch out for the pink chicken though....

Dined at Kamehachi twice. The first time I was alone and ate at the bar in the early evening. I started with gyoza pan-fried pork potstickers. Those may have been the best I ever had. The sushi was very good as well and the bartender was friendly and the ambiance was excellent. The last time was Monday, July 11, 2022. I was with my family in the mid-afternoon. Service was spotty as the hostess doubled as the waitstaff. Gyoza was not quite the same but the sushi was very good. I like Friend's Sushi on Rush or State, but the ambiance at Kamehachi is much better. I would recommend Kamehachi as the food is good and the ambiance is excellent.

I was told this was the first sushi restaurant in Chicago! Started out with the Asparagus Beef Rolls. Really delicious and unique. And some Gyoza which was pretty standard. I would have loved to try some of the raw rolls but couldn't due to my pregnancy. The Rainbow Roll looked especially tasty! My sister got the Spicy Tuna Roll while my husband and I enjoyed a California roll and the Tempura Shrimp.

Downgrading my long-standing 5 star rating to 3 only because not only do they no longer serve the lunch menu on Sundays anymore, but even their super-delicious ramen soups are out! Must be new management. So sad for us since we're only in Old Town on Wednesday nights and Sundays all day.

Very disappointed with the quality of fish offered here. Every piece of my nigiri lacked flavor to the point where it was almost bland, espically the uni which is not pictured here. Equally unfortunate was the low quality rice which did not taste the way sushi rice should. Service was great!

Back in 1969 Kamehachi on Wells was across from Second City. Sushi was not the well-known culinary favorite in Chicago that it is today. Based on a review in the Sunday Tribune, my husband and I decided to have an adventure. That decision led to a lifelong romance with sushi. Often we were the only non-Asians in the charming and intimate original restaurant but the staff was both helpful and gracious, and the food was fabulous! It's been many decades since I was in Chicago and I am very pleased to learn this wonderful little restaurant has grown and prospered.

Shakespeare's King John warned against guilding the lily, or over-embellishing things that were already fine. That's how I feel about Kamehachi. The food is simple, direct and tasty. When Kamehachi was at Wells & Schiller, the simple decor and modest prices fit the food perfectly. A few years ago when they moved up the street, the food remained the same but the restaurant design became more upscale, trendy and exclusive. (See my pictures) They have a fancy bar. They have Asian antiques. They have live music. And, oh yeah, it became more expensive as well. So, the food is good but not nearly as good as the decor. It's probably a good place to impress a date if they are not foodies. At Kamehachi prices, the sushi should be top notch. Instead, it's just solid and simple. We eat here sometimes because the location is convenient but it is not my first choice for sushi in the Windy City. See my other reviews.