The Omakase Room at Sushi-San

The best omakase i’ve had. This place deserves some Michelin stars. Its located on the second floor of Sushi San! The staff will walk you upstairs Chefs were very attentive to detail. The entire dinning area is a like a stage. The chefs were very interactive. Reservations required since they have limited spots. Love the pandan coconut drink at the beginning. Very refreshing. Good services. Best quality. Highly recommended.

Absolutely unique exquisite experience. I’ve tried many omakase including in Japan but the experience at The Omakase Room was above and beyond. Each course was a masterpiece, highly recommended!

Very fun experience. The service was extraordinary. From the call the day of, to being greeted at the front door and the service during experience. It was cool to go through the speakeasy door past the regular packed restaurant to go up to the private room for 10. It was all great. A lot of tastings don't have enough food, but we were actually full after the Omakase Room at Sushi San. I had the wine and sake tasting and everything paired perfectly. Things I would not normally drink were fantastic.

This meal was the best meal of my life. Mike and the other chef were amazing. The whole staff was accommodating, knowledgeable, and professional. Everything about this experience was perfect and warrants the price tag. I cannot wait to come back, just an excellent well thought out omakase. The pictures do not do the taste justice.

I visited the Omakase room a few weeks ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. Everything from the food, to the presentation, to the service was absolutely amazing. I'm already saving up in order to return. Hopefully I can make here at least once a year if not more. The only thing was that I wasn't sure if I was allowed to ask question or not as the room itself was very quiet and the chefs were both so in the zone. We got to take home a menu at the end as well which was really nice because then I can have a reminder of which dishes were my favorites since it was a lot of information to take in overall.

This was our first time dining at The Omakase Room at Sushi San and we can't wait to return! The experience they curate is phenomenal. Prior to being seated for dinner, we were warmly welcomed by staff and presented with a nicely arranged cocktail menu. The seating area was quiet and comfortable, and when it was time to be seated the staff escorted us to our seats. We opted for the sake pairing and these were some of my favorite sakes so far. It was a pleasure watching our chefs work. We've dined with Chef Michael Graffeo before and were so thrilled to be able to see him work and to be presented with one amazing dish after another. Delicate yet filling, artistic and beautifully presented; this will be among the great Omakase offerings in Chicago for sure.

Truly one of the best meals of our lives. We celebrate our anniversary at a top Chicago restaurant every year … from L2O to Alinea to Smyth to Schwa. This year we chose the Omakase Room to bring us back to a Japan trip from last year. Until now, I had been hesitant to splurge on omakase in Chicago. We did one once and it just was the same stuff on the restaurant’s menu. Here, though, you have a restaurant purpose built for the show, and the dedication and creativity to make it happen. The intimacy of only ten diners, all enjoying the same thing at the same time, was very unique. The space is inviting, the staff extremely attentive and knowledgeable. And of 17 courses, we loved 16. That’s a pretty amazing hit rate. We also liked all the paired sake, and wish we knew more about Japanese whisky with such an amazing list of hundreds of bottles. We especially enjoyed the tuna tartare with osetria caviar, the bonito, Chutoro, all three sashimi fish, and of course the waygu. Chef Kaze explains it all including how to best eat it, and steps back to allow diners to enjoy each bite.

By far the best Omakase experience I have had in a long while. The wine and sake pairing were perfect and a great value with the meal. I could not possibly get photos of every dish as 18 courses is a lot and we were having fun. Great staff. Felt fancy without being stuffy. Will be back!

Honestly I went here to compare it to other omakase places in Chicago and it is pretty damn good in terms of quality, execution, and ambiance. The service and attention to detail is impeccable, very high tier and similar to what you would get in japan without anything being overly flashy or pretentious. The seafood quality is great and the cuts are generously portioned (which is such a painpoint if you're in Chicago and look at other places). The only thing that is slightly painful is the price but I would go back on occasion or when the seasons change because the menu is a bit seasonal depending on the time of year. Also ginger was delicious, they get it right and its better than other places which is a small point to make but lowkey essential as a palate cleanser!!

First omakase experience in the US and have to say I was impressed! The staff was incredibly attentive, and the chefs were phenomenal - shared a ton of detail about each course and created a memorable experience from start to finish. The cocktails and sake were another bonus. All around solid experience and would recommend.

Chicago is a city that does omakase very well but this place in particular is phenomenal. The omakase experience begins by being escorted to the upstairs portion of Sushi San where you are able to enjoy a pre dinner drink if desired. The ambiance is cozy, modern, dimly lit. The actual seating area for dinner is a 10 seat counter that provides for a very intimate and fun experience. The best part was watching chef Kaze Chan's mastery with the ingredients, many of which are imported from Japan. He is truly an artist. Other staff members were very attentive as well. The 18 course experience truly provides a variety of different tastes, textures, flavors. From start to finish it was a beautiful symphony. Definitely consider the sake pairing as well- they have a great selection offered. Definitely worth the price for the experience provided!

This is one of those experiences that you should definitely do before you die. If you like sushi. If you don't like Sushi, it's probably not for you. 16. Individual courses hand prepared by a Japanese master chef and his assistant. Each ingredient, specific, deliberate, and with a thorough explanation. Presentation ambience are immaculate. It is very pricey, but absolutely one of those things you should do. I never knew something like this existed until my wife took me and I can't wait for our next time !!

My Fiance and I have been to a handful of Omakase's in the city, and had high hopes for The Omakase Room, but unfortunately it fell short on everything but the service. Start with the good: It is a beautiful space, the servers are incredibly attentive and are really there to make sure your experience is flawless - and they do. The bad: This is not a traditional Omakase in any sense of the word. They lean so far into trying to make the menu "special" that they serve many dishes along the way that make no sense at all and mask the fish. A bowl of sushi rice with an eggplant sauce and shaved truffle? A melon that they spend forever telling you about how special and expensive it is only for it to be hard and flavorless? The first dish served - a cup of warm egg custard, uni, and roe was one of the most disgusting textures I have ever experienced. The price? For two people, two drinks each, we spent $750. Absurd - go to Kyoten Next Door and save yourself $100/seat and have a true Omakase of nigiri simply prepared that really let the fish shine. The Omakase room is overpriced and under delivers. If you are going to spend the money for an Omakase experience in Chicago, there are at least 5 other places I would recommend you go before wasting your money here.

Amazing omakase experience! I've been a long-time fan of Sushi-San and in particular their lunch specials so I was excited to try the omakase. We arrived around 30 min earlier to our reservation and grabbed a drink in the main dining room. The servers were nice enough to expedite our orders and brought our drinks upstairs to the omakase room when our reservation came along. Note it is a separate tab so we did have to pay for our drinks before heading upstairs. On the second floor, we waited in the lounge and were treated to a sweet green tea drink to sip while we waited. Once we could head into the omakase room, we were greeted by the chefs and I was immediately impressed by the ambiance. It is more contemporary than traditional omakase rooms with hip hop music, blush velvet chairs and gallery style lighting where above each sushi plate there is a spotlight. This made taking pictures easy as there was the perfect ledge to display and capture each piece of sushi. Every single course was divine! We started with a complementary glass of sake, toasting with the chefs which set the stage for a great dinner. My favorites included the Otoro Tartare with Caviar, Hokkaido and Santa Barbara Uni Gunkan, Otoro w/Caviar and Snow Beef Japanese A5 Wagyu. I loved that there were some interesting twists on classic nigiri including Yellowtail Belly w/Banana Pepper, Maitake wrapped with Salmon, and Uni Ice Cream. While we didn't have a menu during the dinner, we were presented with the menu as we were heading out after we finished and it was a wonderful surprise to see the chefs' signatures on the menus as well. The service and food were spectacular and would definitely come back for future celebrations!

An amazing sushi experience right in River North. The room is an unexpected high class beautiful oasis hidden behind the secret door (not that secret but it sounds good right?) on the second floor of sushi-san. Starting from the drinks at the lounge, it's such a welcoming experience and the servers there are amazing. Then leading up to the 10 person sushi bar, you feel pampered like no other as it seems like the waiters and waitresses outnumbered the patrons. Sushi wise, it wasn't the most amazing experience I've ever had but it was very very good. I can't even describe what came out so I'll let the pictures do my talking for me. For the special occasion of my beautiful partners bday, it was totally worth it but for a pure food experience my guess is I could find just as high quality for a more reasonable price. Not sure I'd go back but loved my only trip there!

// Summary Amongst the best sushi omakases in Chicago, with a personable sushi chef that makes it more than just a meal, but an experience. // Experience I originally came in with a pairing with the omakase, but changed it to a non-alcohol pairing since I went a bit hard the night before. Glad they were able to accommodate without any issues, as some places may not be so willing. Each dish was wonderful in presentation and flavor, and the progression was on point. Now did it merit a full $250/person price range? I don't necessarily think so - but it didn't necessarily detract from my enjoyment of the mastery of the chef to give us a fabulous experience. // Service Service was impeccable and the sushi chef had an enjoyable sense of humor that is not necessarily common amongst his peers. His story-telling about particular fish and also recalling some of the stories with his "regular" patrons made it an entertaining evening. // Ambiance The Omakase Room is upstairs from the main restaurant. They have a waiting room / lounging area where they seat people to wait for the full seating of folks to arrive. In the waiting room, they get you started with a nice and refreshing drink and a hand towel to clean your hands. Overall, the decor is simple and homey for you to enjoy your meal. // Convenience Booked online through Tock with relative ease. It was super easy to get to, and was a nice walk from where I was staying in Fulton Market.

An intimate dining experience from the moment you walk in the door. Prep, presentation and food all contribute to a memorable evening. For those who like to take food pics, this place has amazing lighting and each diner gets their own lazy Susan so you can rotate your food around to get the best angle for your photo.

WOW. I have been to my fair share of omakase's but this makes the top of my life. You walk into a hustling loud casual vibe of sushi San to be taken upstairs to a classy sophisticated waiting area where you can start with a cocktail only for the curtains to be drawn opening up to a beautiful counter for 10 people. The sushi chef was very interactive and made it a fun dinner, the group we were sitting with was also a blast so the whole dinner was fun. 18 courses of the most delicious sushi and other Japanese specialties including mostly fish flown in from Japan. The cocktails were to die for I ended up loving the Japanese old fashion. Overall was an amazing omakase experience and I would forsure go back. Our waiter told us the chef changes up the menu almost every 4-6 weeks so it's worth going back for a different food experience.

This was my first omakase, and I was very delighted by the overall experience. Your reservation starts as soon as you walk through the doors of the Omakase Room, which is upstairs of Sushi-San. While loud downstairs, the upstairs is a lot quieter, giving it a cozy and intimate feeling. Inside the Omakase Room, you are welcomed into the lounge initially, where a server provides warm towels for your hands, and a drink menu to peruse. As a side note, the drinks on the menu are not complementary or part of the package price. Unless you are celebrating a special occasion as indicated by your reservation notes, you may be offered complimentary champagne, which my partner and I gladly accepted as we waited for the rest of the evening to unfold. As the remaining guests trickled in, we sipped on our drinks, and were eventually seated in the 10 seat sushi bar, which surrounded the master and partner sushi chef. The small number of seats/patrons, along with one server being assigned to each party, made my partner and I felt very taken care of throughout the entirety of the evening. Our server in particular seemed very knowledgeable about the drink offerings. My partner ordered a few cocktails to pair with the sushi, and I myself opted for the spirit-free cocktails. I appreciated how the cocktails were also omakase style (bartender's choice). So while I didn't know exactly what would be coming next, I was made aware that whatever drink it was, it would be curated to intentionally pair well with each "course" (2-3 sushis at a time). In terms of the 18 course omakase, I really enjoyed every single dish. However, I personally felt like my experience was very raw sushi forward. I do love raw fish, but it was one after the other, which personally made me feel a little sick after awhile. I personally wish the raw dishes were broken up a little, but maybe that is just how omakases go. Though, I will say, they do provide a dish of ginger for you to cleanse your palate after each dish which is nice and refreshing. My only complaint is the price point. After dining here, and evaluating other omakase options in the city, it seems that there are comparable spots with similar offerings and same number of courses, but at a portion of the price. I guess I'd have to try those other spots before making any further comments, but from first glance it seems to be a bit overpriced. Overall, I highly recommend if you're looking for an elevated omakase experience, and are not too concerned about the cost.

A lot of food. Barely got to finish halfway.... Fish were fresh, good rice, but a lot of condiments were added.

My SO took me here for my birthday - as a huge fan of omakase/sushi, I didn't have high expectations (Chicago is not the best when it comes to sushi). But I was pleasantly surprised by how good/fresh it was! And the service was impeccable (they literally walk you to the bathroom). Already have another reservation coming up next month - definitely recommend!

Excellent service and quality fish! Liked the change of pace with the cooler more modern ambiance over the usual traditional atmosphere that is more common, felt lighter, more approachable, and more fun overall.

Truly one of the best dining experiences. Everyone is incredibly attentive and knowledgeable. Some of the best sake and sushi I've ever had. Definitely recommend and very worth it.