Sai Café

maybe more accurate to have this place labeled as "asian fusion" than sushi. - interior has the most confusing decor. cocktail bar vibes the moment you walk in. however, the rest of the restaurant has a chinese restaurant vibe with family style tables, the chairs, chinese decor. - sushi is not that fresh. the sushi rice is subpar at best. the miso soup needed more mirin. not authentic. I think given the price of the sushi (higher than expected), the quality needs to be a LOT higher. I had walked in thinking this was more comfort/ budget- level sushi prices but price-wise, it was similar to that of japanese/ sushi only restaurants. (a roll was 15-20$, sushi dinner combos 35+). I can get higher quality sushi combo dinners at other resraurants for the same price (e.g: Umai in chicago). - service was fast though.

this is hands down the best sushi restaurant in the chicago area. the new location is beautifully decorated with an interior stone wall and outdoor seating. the food was specially designed and prepared so it looked as good as it tasted. my new go to japanese restaurant for every special occasion.

They have big menu for sushi and great interior space

We arrived close to closing time, but the staff accommodated us. My gf, got back from Japan last week and the food was as great as anything in Tokyo. (She's been there 5 times) I'm sure the staff wasn't super happy about our late dinner, but we appreciated them. A fabulous restaurant.

I've been to Sai Cafe many times and I always sit by myself at the bar. I frequently see other solo women dining at the bar and I even notice a few who must be regulars. There are also always groups at the tables, but I like to run in and have a bite before my appointments on Halsted or Armitage. They are always so friendly. The food it outstanding. I always opt for the sushi or sashimi and it is always extremely fresh and tasty. I always have a sauvignon blanc, as well. I do have a severe shellfish allergy and they always take care to mention to the chef. It is very clean, as well. I highly recommend Sai Cafe and will be back again and again!

Great quality fish, sit at the sushi bar if you can, you might have your sushi prepared by the owner Jim. We always enjoy our time here, friendly staff & quick and attentive service. Neighborhood gem in LP.

Very good foods. It is fresh and delicious.

First thing that you notice when you walk in is that the restaurant is very very clean. Friendly staff and quick service. We ordered a couple of rolls and it was very delicious! If you are looking for high quality sushi you should definitely check this place out!

My first time here was 10 plus years ago, the food was delicious back then, it is still delicious. We had tempura appetizer, it was done just right. Nabe Yaki Udon Noodles, flavorful broth and good chew on the noodles. My husband had the sashimi entree, he liked everything on the plate and said it tasted really good. I had the Nama sake-don, fresh salmon over sushi rice. It was delicious, the fish had the right amount of fat and the pieces were large. It came with miso soup, which was yummy. My son had the tekka-don, fresh sliced raw tuna over sushi rice. I had a piece and it was really good. Large pieces with great chew texture. All the raw fish tasted very fresh. The decor was new and elegant, since they just recently moved to this location. The servers came by often to check if we needed anything. This is a must try place.

Ate there last night & it was very disappointing. Got a salad to start & the ginger dressing was sour, too much vinegar maybe. Next we had gomae and the peanut sauce also tasted bad. My dinner companion felt the same. Had a couple of rolls & pieces of sushi that were fine. Owner/manager type stopped by our table to ask how we were and I started to tell him about our salad & gomae but he just walked away without listening to me. Funny but not very professional. I will spend my money elsewhere.

Our families favorite sushi restaurant in Lincoln Park for over 20 years. The newlocation is spectacular. The staff never changes so they must be very happy. I mean it's literally the same people for 20 years. And that is saying something yo! We go quite often. Details: our personal favorites are the ginger salad and the volcano roll.

Totally wish that I had known about Sai before because this place is amazing!! Situated in Lincoln Park, Sai features a wide variety of Japanese dishes, including great sushi maki rolls and seafood dishes! We ordered the hamachi jalapeno and salmon gone wild appetizers, along with the grilled miso black cod and the salmon on fire sushi roll. Everything was delicious! The fish was so fresh, and the flavor of the perfectly cooked miso black cod was so delectable!! Along with a refreshing lychee drink, the whole meal was fantastic. Cannot wait to come back!

Updating my review to give Sai a well-deserved 5 stars. What ultimately changed my mind was this: Sai provides excellent food for a fair price with stellar service and a lovely ambiance. I enjoy myself every time I come to Sai, and am so so glad I ever gave it a try. Every menu item I have tried ranges from good to great, and that includes sushi, hot appetizers, cold appetizers, etc. The staff is very attentive, fast, and kind. I do not think I could ask more out of a dining experience. Would recommend! If you check out the menu and this is within your price range for sushi, give it a shot! You will not be disappointed. My favorites: - Creamy Scallop Maki - Agedashi tofu - Grilled black cod - Soft shell crab

Even though I have moved away from Chicago, I come back often and this place is #1 on my list of restaurants. Good quality fish. Nice selection of cooked dishes, as well. The Black Cod is delicious. Great wine list. Good service and the new location is really beautiful.

Quality fishes and efficient service combine with an understated decor and friendly staff to make this place stand out. All good. Not a budget option, as you might expect.

After living so close to this spot for the past year, my partner and I decided to stop by and give it a shot! Atmosphere: 5/5 - upon walking in, you're welcomed right away by not only the server staff, but also the chefs and owner! They were all so amazing, gave great recommendations, and overall fantastic Food: 5/5 - we tried a few different things while we were here. To name some of my favorites is the Nigiri (very fresh), the Gyoza (even my boyfriend liked it and he's picky), the Udon (had plenty of meat and the flavor was amazing) and the Flaming Salmon was to DIE FOR! Those are some of the best things to get in my opinion, plus having it paired with some warm Sake is even better! Overall, this place will now be my go to Sushi spot close to home. Since it's literally a crossed the street from me, I'm sure they will see me quite a bit :)

I think sai café is a great Asian food place to go to, their spicy tuna crunch sushi is AMAZING, I love it. The staff is really nice and they are not a slow restaurant. The place is pretty small but it is nice. It's a very nice place to go out to dinner. The environment of the restaurant is not the most amazing but it is reasonable. They have a decently sized menu with many Choices from ramen to sushi.

Outstanding always. Great service, fish, ambience etc. can't go wrong. Sit at the bar like a man

Great neighborhood sushi place. Always reliable and fresh. Owner and servers are friendly and attentive.

Sai cafe is just fantastic. Our whole family loves to come here. Everything is just absolutely amazing. The sushi is phenomenal. Gorgeous ambience inside and Sai is just the nicest, almost always in the house walking around and making sure everything is fantastic.

My friends and I were craving sushi so we naturally took to Tik Tok to see what places we could try. Sai Cafe came up a few times and to our surprise, there was a table at 6:30 on a Saturday night! We booked it. We started with the miso soup and the gyoza. Both were very good! I will say- the online menu has the miso soup listed for $2, when the in person menu has it listed for $3 so that was interesting. The gyoza was crispy and well flavored with a wonderful dipping sauce. We shared an order of the veggie yakisoba, which was great. We all ordered some modified rolls and our waiter made sure the rolls were made perfectly. The salmon avocado was delicious, as well as the shrimp tempura roll. I noticed they had an Omikase experience which I would be interested to try next time. Overall- we ordered 6 rolls, 2 miso soups, 1 gyoza and 1 yakisoba and our total was $100 for 3 of us. I felt this place was reasonably priced and offered wonderfully fresh fish and delicious food!

A very solid 3 star in my humble opinion. I've decided to give my personal rating to places based on a few criteria's: Location: not a busy street, we were able to find paid street parking easily, not far from downtown. 4/5 Menu: food variety vas great, variety of appetizers was nice, though my friend was unable to find non-alcoholic beverages. I'm 3/5 Flavors: it was good, but nothing special, I was expecting more, the maki rolls were too big with a thick layer of rice. 3/5 Interior: very cute place, not overwhelmed with furniture and other decorations, felt cozy. 4/5 Price: I would say, that comparing price and quality, this place is slightly overpriced, though I didn't mind paying this much if I liked the food. 2/5 Service: the servants were good, no special treatment, but we didn't expect any. I also wanted to say thank you for being open on Christmas Eve, overall I think it was a nice experience, maybe I will come back again if I will be in the area.

Jim and the staff are impeccable. Had our 1st date here in 2007. Today we celebrate 12 years married.

Yes! It's delicious and Yes! It's also fun. Meandered through the sushi and sashimi offers, following the suggestions of the chefs at the bar where we landed. And Yes! Would go here again in a heartbeat. Good value for money and the atmosphere and neighborhood are terrific.

The food is excellent, the pricing not so much. I ordered online from the menu on the restaurant's website, dated February, 2024. When I questioned the difference, which I considered an overcharge, I was told that they had not updated their website, but that the paper menu in the restaurant had the real (higher) prices. At their prices, there is no excuse for not keeping their website pricing current. One expects a restaurant to honor their website pricing. Here, apparently not.

Sai is our favorite sushi spot for date nights and for our family of 5 with 3 teenage boys that love to eat sushi. Tommy, the owner, and his staff are lovely. The sushi is some of the freshest you can find. We love Sai and always recommend it to our friends. Their new location on Armitage is beautiful!!

All of the sushi and rolls featured high quality seafood, and were expertly assembled and beautifully presented to the table. I used to eat here a lot when I lived in Chicago but it had been a number of years since I visited, but I am happy to report, they are still serving great high-quality food.

The service was great. The sushi was amazing. It was super fun to watch the chef's cook at the sushi bar. Very good vibes and music! MHB, Age 11

The staff and chefs are super friendly, but I got two sushi rolls and both were ok, not great, not offensive. My rolls were falling apart and disintegrating in the soy sauce. The spicy tuna was not at all spicy. The hospitality is A+, but the food leaves a lot to be desired for.

If sushi is your thing this is a great place to try. They have been in business for a long time and they know how to do sushi very well. The service is always friendly and they have a good sake list as well. I love the raw fish, and I've been with others who have ordered cooked meals that were also delicious. Their creamy scallop is one of the best I've had in the city.

Super over priced for the quality of fish and dishes. We started w a cucumber salad which was ok, but have had better. We then had a few nigiri pieces which for me, the size of the fish on the rice is a make or break. These were big pieces, which were a bit dry. Better options in the city for the price. 100%.

we have been going for twenty years top notch sushi amazing food and service! tom & renee congratulations on the new location

Been coming to this place for 16 years, in fact it's where I had my first date with my wife. thanks Jim and staff!!

We have been coming here for years, and Sai never disappoints. Recently went here on a Friday night date. We were able to walk in and get a table right away. I have never had a bad piece of sushi from here. Everything taste amazing. Pro tip, make sure to order the house chopped wasabi

Love the new location. The restaurant has a nice calm vibe and the staff is very welcoming. The sushi is excellent. And, there is a nice selection of cocktails and wine. I would definitely recommend this place.

Service was extremely quick and kind with high quality Sushi. Servers were extremely sweet and cared about guests. Inside views felt like a 5 star restaurant but with inexpensive sushi! I highly recommend!

This place has the best goo mai, and their Chilean Sea Bass is excellent! Their miso soup is good ( little salty) and the edamame is good too! Service is consistently good and the atmosphere is nice too!

Wanted to love it, food was decent (I've had better sushi). Unfortunately the service was horrible. Felt rushed the entire time, waitresses were rude and rushing us to leave. Restaurant was nearly empty but it was obvious they didn't want us there. My friend went to the restroom and the waitresses wouldn't stop looking at me and telling me to have a good night even though we hadn't finished our dinner. Also expensive for the portions given. You can get better quality and quantity elsewhere.

It was super expensive for not a lot of food that didn't taste very good either. $10 for a seaweed salad. $11 for lettuce salad. The tempura udon noodle soup only came with one shrimp unlike most other restaurants which gives you three. The broth was just pure soy sauce, super salty with no flavor at all. Dinner for two cost over $100. Not worth it.

Sai cafe is legendary to the Lincoln park area and is an OG sushi restaurant that is a must try. We had a buffet of options with my family.. I had the Seabass entry which was super fresh and had a great miso soy glaze. I Would definitely order again. The tuna is top notch and some of the freshest I have ever had. We had the tuna poke and sushi both are great, but you have to try the poke it's excellent. This is a family owned restaurant and Jimmy the owner really cares for his employees and neighborhood. With the food being as good as it is, you have to checkout Sai Cafe!

Friendly service. Fresh sushi. We always manage to get in without a reservation. The whole family loves -- it's our sushi staple and we'll return.

I was a regular at this gorgeous spot back in the mid-2000's. I hadn't been back for years after leaving the city and was delighted to find that it is still as INCREDIBLE as it used to be. The service is top notch - chefs and more are still the same as 15 years ago! The real treat is the fish! I travel for work and have yet to find sushi this beautiful and paired with delicate but present sauces that compliment the velvety protein so well anywhere outside of Asia. The fact that the owner is able to stay in business and maintain the same staff and gorgeous product for decades (and through a pandemic) is testament to the quality of the operation.

We enjoyed the food was very good. I was impressed with the service. We will definitely go back.

Food was excellent and the staff were extremely nice. The cafe itself was very calm and it was very clean. I would definitely eat here again!

Amazing food and a great space to gather in. Kind and helpful owners and staff. Can't wait to return.

Sai is a beautifully decorated and welcoming restaurant in the Armitage Halsted area. It is never as busy as it should be, probably because of its side-street location. The staff is amazing and remember us every time we come, remembering our likes and dislikes without even telling them. Their nabeyake udon is the best we have ever had anywhere. Sushi is fresh and inventive amd the menu changes periodically so you can try something new. Their food price and quantities are comparable toi any sushi restaurant in the city or suburbs.

My three stars is not because the food is bad. Just the opposite. The food is good. It's the customer service and the host staff. My partner and I came in on a Thursday night when it was slow and it almost seemed as if they were mad that we showed up. And when I asked if I could have fried rice instead of white rice the host is just said flat out no. I don't mind paying a difference. Ridiculous. WTF happened to customer service everywhere???

Spicy tuna crunch no chop. That's all the needs to be said. Mr. C

Sai cafe delivered on our sushi needs on this fourth of July (I know....very un-American). The spot is in a great location by the Armitage stop and has a very clean environment. The service is also great and quick. We had the Salmon Gone Wild appetizer to start, and it was delicious. This dish consisted of very fresh, thick cuts of salmon with their house made wasabi. It was a great refreshing appetizer. We also ordered a few rolls- Unagi Maki, Halloween Maki, and Rainbow Roll. All were excellent and fresh. Very good fish quality too! Overall, our experience at Sai Cafe was very satisfying. I was very content with the fresh salmon cuts. Yum!

Love this place! My favorite sushi restaurant in Chicago! The service is always friendly! Food always fresh!

Sai Cafe has probably the best service in Chicago--the team is incredible in anticipating what you need, whether it's sushi, wine, or tea. Amazing! As for the sushi and other selections, they're fresh and yummy. Can't say enough about how great the sushi and service are!

Great and polite staff, clean environment, peaceful ambiance, pretty good food!! 4/5 - would definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for a casual dinner with friends or alone! Rolls are about $17-29 so not too terrible but also not cheap.

Jimmy is the best and the sushi is phenomenal. We come here when we're craving good sushi and don't want to risk trying someplace new

We ordered Sai Cafe for take out a few weeks ago and walked over to Lincoln Park to pick it up. It's a little hidden, but I would love to come back and sit inside sometime. We initially wanted to try Sai for the sushi, but after looking at the menu, we were turned onto some non-sushi items. We definitely got some sushi, and thought it was pretty good, but what I really ended up enjoying with the Nabe Yaki. I thought the udon in this dish was perfectly cooked, and would love to come back and get it hot.

Sai Cafe is one of the best sushi places in all of Chicago. The staff is so nice, and their service is great. The sushi was delicious, highly recommend the volcano roll. Overall, great experience.

Perfect blend of fancy and neighborhood joint. Try the jalapeño hamachi. Buy the chefs a beer!

CONS: - Got food poisoned - Alerted them to a food allergy, but they included the food anyway - Food quality is atrocious. Spicy tuna rolls had almost NO tuna (false advertising). Photos included - Awful customer service - Food took 2 hours I got very sick after eating here, and their spicy tuna roll has virtually no tuna. It's mostly spicy mayo and egg roe. I have included photos. It's a disgrace to sushi chefs and aficionados. Additionally, I have a food allergy and let them know IN WRITING to avoid that food. They included it in almost everything ordered, and I only found out by taking bites out of them all. Awful customer service, where they did not take ownership for their mistakes.