Ukai Sushi & Ramen

The sushi at this restaurant is not only delicious but also exceptionally fresh, showcasing vibrant colors and artistic presentations that make each dish a feast for the eyes. Each piece of sushi bursts with flavor, highlighting the quality of the ingredients used. Additionally, the service is consistently outstanding; the staff is attentive, knowledgeable, and always ready to offer recommendations, ensuring a delightful dining experience every time.

The sushi at this restaurant is not only delicious but also exceptionally fresh, with each piece expertly crafted and visually stunning. The vibrant colors of the fish and the delicate presentation make every dish a feast for the eyes. Additionally, the service provided is top-notch, with friendly and attentive staff who ensure that your dining experience is enjoyable and memorable.

They are so generous with portion here. I’ve never been served such thick sashimi! The fish is all delicious and melts in your mouth! Service is kind and attentive.

Fantastic place to try Sushi’s. Infact I would say it’s amongst the best sushi’s in town and is total value for money. However other dishes I tried like the ramen ( pork based) and dumpling appetizers were good not great. Especially the appetizers are best skipped. The decor is par for the course for a BYOB place and pricing. The service is excellent and quick as well. Highly recommend if you are a sushi fan. For everything else , it’s par for the course. I like trying new places which means there are few places I end up going to back to. However this is one place I’ll go back to for the sushi’s.

I went on Thursday morning right after they opened. Very welcoming and warm place to eat alone imo. I got the classic Godzilla Roll which I get at all sushi places plus a mango roll. Mango and Strawberry in sushi is underrated, I love the combo. This place didn’t have strawberry but they had the Mango Tango Roll and they add a mango sauce to it. Next time I will order two Mango Tango instead of 1. I also got the crab ragoons, they were pretty good too but not as good as other places.

The food was ok, The ladys attitude was not the best,I asked for fresh Wasabi and she was upset that I did,they did not have any. Overall, it was just ok.

Ukai has been one of my favorite sushi restaurants for a few years now. They are an affordable, quality, lowkey sushi spot with a delicious menu and great selection of fish. I've never had something that I didn't love! The service is great, and it is BYOB which is always fun. Couldn't recommend this place more!

The atmosphere of the restaurant is great. The sushi is very fresh, and the ramen tastes delicious. The service is fast, and I will definitely come back. The Christmas tree is beautiful.

Ukai is my favorite sushi spot in Chicago! The service is always amazing and I often order for takeout as well. I've never had anything that I didn't love on their menu. They offer a wide variety of fish and everything is extremely fresh and tasty. The prices are affordable and Ukai is BYOB which makes for a fun dine in experience! I have recommended this spot to all of my friends and everyone loves it just as much.

Great sushi spot!! Got delivery from here and it was very good, fish was fresh and the rolls were very full with minimal rice. Will return!

Ive driven past this place a million times. Well today my wife and I dectto check it out. When we walked in we were greeted by a very welcoming staff. We were seated right away. The food was amazing. This may be my new go-to for Japanese food in the city. The sushi was perfect. The ramen was very good. My wife said her udon was fantastic. As I was looking around everyone else was ordering sushi so now I have to go back. Overall this place is great. Prices aren't bad at all.

So pleasantly surprised! Don't be fooled by the very unassuming neighborhood sushi spot... all items had really fresh and generous cuts of fresh fish. Will definitely come again to check out other menu items. Service to order was fast but food was slow to come out, seemed a little backed up but pretty good crowd and significant walk in / pick up traffic while we were there. - chirashi - loved the yellow fin tuna, the super white, the roe and the salmon. Surprised no regular tuna but all cuts were fresh and generous size - ocean roll - we both landed on this roll bc it sounded interesting and it is something I'll def get again - salmon nigiri - portions were huge, this should have been a two biter - seared super white nigiri - generous cut - spicy tuna roll - good kick and generous portion Super impressed with w quality and def recommend if you're in the area (right by Belmont stop)

Maybe we came on an off night, but the service was pretty slow and the food was so-so. We waited around 45 minutes for our food and I had to remind the server about my diet coke. I ordered the pink lady, which seems to be their signature/most popular roll, but it was nothing special. I will say it was filling though.

Great neighborhood sushi that has weathered the pandemic and gotten even better with time. Fish quality is generally excellent, and the tempura is not too greasy. We usually do takeout-- boxes are packed nicely. Turnaround time is fast, and they have always been accurate with my orders.

the restaurant is spotless, and the service is excellent. The sushi is incredibly fresh and has a wonderful flavor.definitely come back

Really a great find in Lakeview. Great quality and tasty sushi! Very affordable and all 3 times I have been there service has been great!

Ukai sushi is really tasty! I will say the lunch special is totally worth it as you get a good spread of food to taste. Every thing was very fresh and tasty. I will say the service was kind of slow but, the taste of the food made up for that.

Great value for your money and a respectable selection. You can get great prices for cuts that are often obscenely expensive at American sushi restaurants, such as toro/otoro sashimi. I always recommend classic, traditional rolls above the over-engineered designer rolls, and Ukai does a great job with these. They are simple and delicious, as sushi is meant to be. Visit here if you're looking for a good experience and are tired of sushi being triple the price it should be. Great spot!

This is our go-to sushi spot! It is BYOB so it's fun to great a bottle of wine and sit inside and there is tons of seating and it is nice. The service is fantastic and everyone is very sweet. The menu is huge and super reasonable and you get soooo much fresh fish in the rolls. Love this place!

We arrived during the week not long after they opened. I believe we were their first customers. The place filled up while we were there. They also do a bustling take out (Door Dash, Uber Eats, etc.). I ordered the Tuna Tartar to start. It was so fresh and delicious. This was the start of a dinner full of me making yummy sounds. The tortilla chips served with it seemed odd. I've had a somewhat similar dish in California and they had house made taro chips. That would be special. Still, the tortilla chips didn't detract from the flavor of the tuna tartar. It was a winner and I'd order it again and again. The fish offered on the Sashimi Platter was delightful. It was fresh, beautifully cut and presented and melted in my mouth. It was another yummy sound experience. We wrapped up dinner with the Mille Crepe Cake. I ordered strawberry. Mark ordered mango. Both were delicious, but the mango had a bit more fruit filling. The restaurant was decorated for Halloween. The ambience overall was understated and comfortable. Our server, who was the only person attending to customers in the restaurant as well as managing takeout orders, was attentive and sweet. She never let us see her sweat. On our next visit to Chicago we will eat here again.

Delicious! Excellent sushi for the price! The crispy rice sushi was my favorite of all we ordered! It was BYOB so brought in a nice white to share!

I'm obsessed with this place! Great for lunch - affordable and fast. Portion is good and they're always playing music of the early to late 2000s, which is amazing!

I came here because I was craving Chirashi and a lot of the sushi restaurants in Chicago were closed. It turned out to be a really good decision because their chirashi had great value (so much fish for what I would say is less pricy than what I've typically seen). They seasoned their rice with seaweed and I was surprised that they included things like the ginger, avocado, and pickled radish when I've usually only seen fish and egg on typical chirashi bowls. The fish had good texture and tasted really fresh so I was definitely impressed! The friend that I went with got a Playgirl roll and liked it as well but I didn't try it so I can't speak to how that tasted. The environment is really clean and it was quiet when I went. The workers there were super friendly as well and there are cute drawings on the wall (assuming from younger fans of the restaurant!) Overall, definitely recommend this place if you're ever craving sushi. I will definitely be returning :)

Really good ramen with flavorful and tender tonkotsu. Solid rice bowl and sushi. We really loved the tuna tataki roll with shrimp tempura. Very clean space with lots of room. Good servers including one who ran outside the restaurant to return a left behind phone.

We got takeout and it was quick and ready on time despite arriving to a packed restaurant. We loved the freshness of the rolls and my favorite was the godzilla I can't wait to be back and get it again. Good amount of fish to rice ratio and a very fair price. We will be back!

Ordered take out because of the really fresh lunch special! Two rolls or the poke bowl are both perfect lunch portions for $13-$15 dollars. Online ordering was very seamless, and the food was ready within 15 minutes. There was also a smooth pick up process, so no complaints! Poke was simple but very tasty because all the ingredients were fresh/crisp. I also loved the spicy sauce included. I also really enjoyed the sweet potato roll and spicy salmon roll. Both were simple but very well executed. The sweet potato had a little crisp which was great! Will definitely return for the full dine-in experience.

We walked passed by this place a couple of times before. So when we wanted to dine on Japanese food, we decided to come here on a Tuesday evening. Good decision. I ordered the Shrimp & Veggie Tempura Udon Noodle Soup. The vegetable tempura tasted delicious. I liked how the udon came in a soy broth with 2 pieces of thin fish cakes. The soy broth tasted a bit on the salty side. Joseph ordered the chicken katsu with curry sauce. He said it tasted good. It took about 15 minutes to get our orders. But worth the wait. Near the entrance, customers could pick up their online orders next to the sushi bar. A good place to go on a date, bring friends or have dinner with family.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much when I walked by since it was kind of empty, but I was pleasantly surprised!! The fish tasted fresh and they didn't skimp out on the fish either. My boyfriend and I got the crunch roll and the pink lady, and they were HUGE. One roll will fill a normal person up. However we're big eaters and ended up ordering another pink lady to share. I do only recommend this place if you like rolls. I haven't tried the sashimi/nigiri yet, but if I do, I'll update the review. The value for what you get is pretty good.

This is my new favorite sushi place, the Miami role is insane. I created a yelp account to let people know how amazing this restaurant is.

SO yummy!! this place was empty and idk why cause the food is FIRE and there are soooo many good options (ramen, sushi, rice bowls). we were seated immediately and the staff was super friendly and waited for our whole party to come before taking our orders. the restaurant is well lit and the vibes are high, GOOD AF MUSIC

We came back here for the first time in a long time. While Ukai isn't our go-to spot, it is convenient. The last time we came I remember thinking it was overpriced and smaller portions; this time I was pleasantly surprised to learn this has changed. Ukai is BYOB so we walked in with a bottle of sake to share. Service was a little on the slow side so I wouldn't recommend visiting if you're in a rush. We came during the week for dinner. There was us and 4 other tables and it took us 10-15 minutes for anyone to come talk to us after we were seated. If you need a server I recommend flagging them down. We ordered 2 rolls and nigiri (see pictures). Due to smaller portions last visit, we opted for full rolls instead of half rolls. We also got the gomae as a starter. We love the gomae here, but the portion size is still on the small side. The rolls were HUGE. We ended up taking some home since we were a bit ambitious with the ordering. There was lots of fish, which I love. A little too much sauce on the rolls for my taste, but it's easy to wipe off. Overall I was happy with the Bears roll and Hawks roll. The Bears roll was my favorite, but I'm biased because I LOVE salmon! The nigiri was decent - the ika was normal sized but the scallops were HUGE! I couldn't get over it - I've never seen scallops that big. While the texture and size was good, the scallop didn't have the sweetness I'm accustomed to. The squid was okay - I appreciated the scoring and torch on it. Overall, I'd come back again. I'm glad to see that they beefed up the portion sizes!

Excellent experience at this restaurant last night. Came here with a group of friends. This restaurant is in Lakeview East, and there's plenty of street parking available. It's also BYOB - I wish we had know this beforehand! The group ordered multiple appetizers including the chicken gyoza, which was delicious! I also ordered the Tako Sansai for my starter, which was a marinated octopus salad and tasted fresh. Then, for my main course, I chose the Pink Lady specialty roll. It came with salmon, avocado, scallions, and rolled up in pink soy paper and torched salmon. It was absolutely delicious and very filling. We received great service, and our waiter was friendly and attentive. The prices were similar to other sushi restaurants in Chicago (1 specialty roll cost $17, appetizers were around $7). Overall, I recommend this restaurant and look forward to coming back!

Great spot for sushi. The rolls were massive and the fish was fresh and flavorful. Came for a Thursday dinner and the place was pretty empty, so we were served pretty quickly. The server provided excellent recommendations based off what we had already ordered. Personally, I enjoyed both rolls that we ordered and they were drastically different from each other in flavor. However, the place was a bit pricey at $17 for a specialty roll. I would personally not go again, but it was a great experience.

Excellent sushi in a nice atmosphere. Byob, so you can take a nice Champagne, the perfect sushi match, without running up the tab. The fish quality is excellent, and the sushi chefs were very fast here. Rolls are quite large, so bring a healthy appetite and a big mouth! We liked the hamachi jalapeno appetizer and the Sox roll the best. You can also get certain rolls in half portions. The Cubs roll was a nice way to finish.

Probably one of my favorite spicy tuna rolls! Everything is always fresh here! Tried the Mexican roll and it was very good, just wish it was a fresh jalapeño instead of a pickled jalapeño. Still very good, just threw me off!

We wanted a BYOB sushi restaurant walking distance from Konbini & Kanpai, and this was absolutely perfect. Service was great; they were so nice and warm and attentive. We had the Ocean Blvd roll, fatty salmon and escolar nigiri, yellowtail jalapeño, and ramen. It was genuinely all very solid and reasonably priced. It is a corner space with lots of windows and more romantic lighting near the back. They also have tons of canvases that look like they may be painted by local school kids? All in all, we finished every single bite with no notes and will be returning soon!

Truly love this place. Been going here to eat or ordering delivery from here for years, and we love it. Nice people, fresh ingredients, great food. We love Ukai!

Solid sushi here small cozy not much of a wait. I don't thing there's anything amazing but pretty decent.

A bit out of the city but really delicious sushi! This place is pretty small but not super crowded when we came in. Plenty of sushi options to choose from! We got 3 rolls. They are decent size so we probably could have just done 2, honestly. The Ukai Dynamite was my favorite! Finished off with green tea and mango mochi ice cream. More of a local spot since it's a bit outside the city, but would definitely recommend!

Pros: ambience, shrimp dumplings Cons: slow service, ***SUPER-SIZED*** special rolls I've been to Ukai before and have never had a bad experience until last night. I'm hoping it was a one off but honestly we were so disappointed I don't think we'll be back. The ambience is great - and was a big reason why we decided to go there instead of another sushi restaurant on Sheffield that tends to be very crowded and loud. Ukai is much better if you're looking for a quieter evening with ample space between tables. Another positive last night was the shrimp dumplings - delicious! Now for the cons. The service was very slow. And it wasn't that busy. I guess they may have been short on staff in the kitchen but even so, it took a **long** time for the food to arrive. And when it did, WOW! Let's just say our key takeaway from the evening was SIZE MATTERS! I'm not sure what the story was with their special rolls last night but they were MASSIVE and **impossible** to eat. Way too much but I guess if this is just how they do things, my recommendation would to stick to one. And I'd probably also recommend getting any spicier sauces on the side. The rolls we got weren't presented on the menu as though they'd be exceptionally spicy but our (very full) mouths were on fire!!

Got Tekka Don for my 95 year old mom who was in the hospital. Born and raised in Japan, she loved the way it tasted and how it was executed. Great service! Nice and clean inside! Forgot to post this stunning dish!

The food is delicious and there are several vegan options. Great place to go before the theatre. I highly recommend this restaurant!

I've dined here once and done take out from here recently. I love that fact that they are BYOB. It's right by me, so it's a solid sushi spot that you can bring your own drinks too. The inside is really a relaxing environment when the lights are dimmed. The first time I dined here, the lights weren't really that dim, but I noticed recently when I picked up dinner after walking here from my place, the ambience with the dim light looked so relaxing. As far as the food. I really do like the sushi here. Every sushi roll that I've tried here has been fantastic. The reason why I took off a star is because more recently we had Japanese chicken katsu curry and and a teriyaki bowl and both of them were very whatever! The curry was like liquid-y and was not at all similar to the consistency of a typical Japanese chicken katsu curry dish. Definitely not even close to how it should be. It didn't feel authentic at all. Other than that, everything else has been good! I would strongly suggest the sushi here for sure.

Order was done quick. Very quick, less than 10 minutes, we ordered one Tonkotsu Ramen and Rainbow Sushi (8pcs.) Sushi are something out of this world, melting in mouth, fish is very fresh, rice is perfect. Ramen - same story, one bowl and you are full. Very rich taste, 10 put of 10. If you come for food - it's the right place!

We ordered delivery through DD, and it arrived 10 mins early. We ordered Full Moon Roll, Santa Fe Temaki, Ukai Dynamite, Chicken Katsu Curry, and a Spicy Miso. The flavors were just okay.. Not bad, not great. It was disappointing our Full Moon Roll was missing, and for $8, there was only one Santa Fe Temaki. The Ukai Dynamite was 5 pieces, and while it's nice to know the crabmeat was fresh... We didn't appreciate all the hidden hard crab shells -- Chew with caution, or you might chip a tooth! 3 of the 5 pieces had at least one shell! The Chicken Katsu Curry was heavily breaded, and the Curry was a tad watery and no potatoes.. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed, and we'll be hesitant to order or dine in.

Excellent service and the staff wear masks. I love this in food service it elevates the concept of hygiene and food which our society has seemed to lost. The sushi is good. Many options and substitutions for dishes available.

A-Okay of a sushi spot! Wouldn't say it's the best sushi I've ever had, but certainly wouldn't say it's the worst either. For the price point ($8-$9), you get about 5-6 pieces per order which I think was okay in terms of the quality and freshness of ingredients. We had a coupon from the mail which saved a roll so that was nice. Anyways, it is a BYOB spot, so feel free to bring the booze and turn up. Street parking on Belmont is available at $2/hr. Not sure I got much more on this one. Overall sushi is just okay, but would be a great spot to hit with a group and bring along the booze on a Friday or Saturday night. 'Til next time, cheers!

lunch special is a steal! great taste and amount of food for the price. It's the best deal in Lakeview and Lincoln Park area.

I ordered Ukai for pickup a couple days ago for the first time to celebrate a promotion--little did I know I'd have two things to celebrate. I'd say that I've tried a decent amount of Chicago sushi restaurants, and I feel comfortable saying that Ukai is top 3, if not the best I've ever had in Chicago. I ordered the Bears and Cubs half rolls partially for the fun names, but mostly based on the uniqueness. The Cubs roll for obvious reasons with the fried mozzarella, and the Bears roll because of the salmon on salmon. While the salmon on salmon isn't particularly creative, I feel like I hardly see rolls like that with SO much salmon (and such high quality salmon) for such a low price. Both rolls were creative without being gaudy and generous without any sacrifice to quality. The Bears roll was all sauced up, and packed with non-spicy and unseared fresh salmon. The roll was fresh, rich, and incredibly flavorful. I was hesitant about the Cubs roll because I've fallen one too many times for the daring trendy rolls that amount to a cute little Instagram picture and not much more. I was delightfully surprised by the Cubs roll--it was lightly fried enough to lightly melt the cheese without making a mess. And the naturally mild flavor of the cheese actually worked in favor of the roll, because it was able to add texture without adding any overwhelming notes. Loved this restaurant! They'll absolutely be seeing me again soon.

I've been Ukai a few times over the years and most recently visited during a weekend trip to the Windy City. I would say that my experiences have been pretty average. Nothing crazy exciting and nothing absolutely terrible. Things to know: It's BYOB! I know a lot of sushi/Japanese restaurants throughout Chicago do this but it's always nice to know in advance. That way you don't find yourself scurrying over to the corner store in the middle of your meal. They also have a pretty stellar check-in offer, which gives you fifteen percent off your order. However, this special is only offered during the week (Monday through Thursday) and for dine in only. Either way, score! When it comes to the food I've had a variety of items off their menu. I love miso soup and tend to order it just about anytime I see it on a menu. There miso soup seems to be a rather small portion compared to other places I've been to. I was left wanting more. The shrimp tempura appetizer was tasty and was an excellent starter for the evening. The ginger salad was a good size and another good way to start your meal. The dragon roll is pretty solid and you get exactly what you expect, shrimp avocado, cream cheese, etc. I definitely enjoyed it! The overall ambiance is very nice. I love how dimly lit it is, the deep red accents, and the variety of different seating. They have tables, booths, and the bar available to sit down at. Pro Tip - Be mindful of where you sit. We were sat towards the back and there just so happened to be a back door right next to our table. This is where staff would come in and out of for delivery orders and my friends and I were left freezing. It was the middle of winter and every time someone came in or out a just gush of freezing air would smack us in the face. It was rather distracting.

Service was terribly slow. Two tables next to us asked the waitress to check on there food and they took forever to take our order. When we ordered and our food came, I had to ask multiple times for soy sauce and utensils because they kept forgetting I asked. Also, the food was just ok. Not super flavorful. Overall, it seemed like they were short staffed and prioritized takeout orders.

The quality of the sushi is quite poor. We bought a bunch of different roles and they were all very bland. The fish was just OK, not tasty at all. Just very bland. It didn't seem to be terribly fresh. I get much better quality fish when I order poke from a local place. The rice in the sushi is a disaster. It's so overcooked that it turns into a yucky, mealy mess in your mouth. Proper sushi rice has a toothsomeness and each kernel is distinct. Thus, you never wind up with a gooey mess. One sushi roll had lettuce in it, and the lettuce was brown on the edges in some of the piece. The guacamole didn't taste fresh either. The gomae had some strange white powder in the container with it. It was weird and we had no idea what it was. The sauce that goes on the gomae also has a really unpleasant flavor. Sorry, but this wasn't good enough. Will never order from these folks again. They simply haven't properly trained their staff in Japanese cooking techniques, which are nuanced and complex and require more than the average line cook.

This review is not for food we couldn't order. We drove 40 minutes to try Ukai Saturday 10/2/21. We were not able to book a table online, and confusion abounded about when they are actually open. Their website claims they are open from 9-5 Monday through Friday which is obviously wrong, and their hours of operation are vastly different on Yelp. So we put it down to technology difficulties, and took a chance. I walked in the front door at 11:50 and asked a young gentleman if they are open for lunch. He was the only person in the place I could see, and the lights were out. He said not yet, they open at noon. I said "that's 10 minutes from now." He got frustrated and rudely blurted out "there's no one here." So we left and went to Sushi Mura, never to return. So if ownership is reading, you folks have to get your act together. Get your hours straightened out, and get your employees to not act inconvenienced by customers trying to support your restaurant.

I got the shumai, miso soup, and 4 seasons roll and all 3 were amazing! They gave a generous amount of sushi for the price and the fish was so fresh! Sushi tasted very high quality and better than most sushi restaurants.

I'm so glad I found this great BYOB sushi option in Lakeview. My parents came into town to take my friends and I out to dinner, and we had a nice fun meal here. Comfortable seating, dim lighting for a night out, and a great quiet but not too quiet atmosphere. Our service was quick, though my only complaint is that one of our rolls took a while to come out after the rest of our food. We ordered some appetizers, including the shrimp tempura, spicy miso, and seaweed salad to feed our group of 6. We also ordered the sashimi boat platter, which combined with a few rolls was enough to feed our big group comfortably. The rolls we got, in ranking order in my opinion are the unicorn roll, spicy rainbow, lobster, hawks, volcano, dragon, and shrimp tempura. I loved how the fish to rice ratio in these rolls were pretty high. My parents also enjoyed the tempura udon and thought it was better than most. We also got some mochi to end the meal, and this was a crowd pleaser for dessert. Overall, I would definitely recommend this spot, as the BYOB option made it quite affordable considering the fish quality was excellent.

Holy wow, Ukai. This was one of the best delivery experiences I've ever had. My go-to spot was closed, and I wanted sushi. I ate here one time like 6 years ago and remembered it was good, so I ordered on a whim for a treat-yourself kind of night. Got a Philly roll, a half a Bulls roll, and a spicy pork ramen. I can be fussy about ramen, so this was a risky move from a place I don't know well... I was not disappointed. The order came in TWENTY MINUTES! The ramen was still piping hot and delicious. The broth was thick, pork was tender, and just all around great. The Philly was solid (a standby) but the Bulls roll? Had me speechless. This was seriously a great experience. Thank you Ukai for making my night!!

This was my first time at ukai and I was pretty impressed. I got the miso soup to start and it was the best miso soup I have ever had, the tofu bits were small which I enjoyed and it also had edamame in it. My friend is vegetarian and there were plenty of options which was super nice. I got the ahi tuna appetizer which was very spicy and unexpected. The best part was the viva Chicago roll which I would definitely recommend. The service was on the slower side which I was say was the only down side to the experience.