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Categories: Asian Fusion, Sushi Bars, Japanese
Neighborhood: LakeviewBring your own bottle of wine for a low corkage of $2/person . All martinis are $5 every Sunday - Wednesday.
Half off wine every Thursday
Southport (Brown)
Mon. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Tue-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Ah, yeah. Kind of a weird place to find ourselves last night. (Monday)
My boyfriend and I decided to grab some food before heading to a movie at the Music Box. We parked our bikes right by the theater and figured it would probably be a good idea to stick close by so we'd have more time enjoy dinner before the show. There aren't a ton of options over there and I work at a bar, so pub grub wasn't my first choice. The bf had an hankerin' for sushi - hence, how we ended up at Lips.
We hadn't even really noticed the name, we just saw that it was an Asian Bistro, so when we walked in, the place definitely took us aback a bit. First thing I noticed is that everyone there who wasn't working, was female. Big groups of ladies sharing rolls and drinking bottles of wine. The walls are total lipstick shades out of the 80s. Faux tealights on the tables.
We sat down, got our menus and the $5 martini list interested me, but I opted to just get some green tea (which was really good, and not too bitter). I wasn't feeling as hungry as the bf, so I got some mochi instead. $5 for two small pieces of cut up mochi ice cream (not the best deal). The bf said his sushi was tasty, but the rolls were much smaller than places we've been to before.
Honestly, I don't think we'll ever come back to Lips, but it has nothing to do with the service (which was friendly and fast). It's just not that great of a deal for the trek (we live in Logan Square) and the atmosphere and creepy lips pictures are a little off-putting.
I came here with my boyfriend on a random Monday night. We both love sushi and have been trying every place within the area of my new apartment. We ordered three different types of rolls to share. Unfortunately two of the rolls were covered in spicy mayo (which I usually LOVE) however this spicy mayo was so spicy my lips were burning and I couldn't enjoy the fish. I guess I just wasn't expecting it to be that hot seeing as I've had a lot of sushi with spicy mayo on it before. Even besides the spicy mayo debacle the rolls were just okay.
Other then that the service was just okay too. We were one of only three groups in the whole place but our waitress was very slow and we had to flag her down to order more drinks (after our glasses sat empty for a while). I think she much would have preferred to Facebook with her friend sitting at the bar on the laptop.
The saving grace of this whole meal was the $5 martini special. They were very good and very strong :)
An awesome time.
Went to Lips for a friend's birthday dinner. Amazing food -- and inexpensive to boot! Their boutique maki rolls were DIVINE; I'm a complete and total convert.
More, it's Bring Your Own Wine. I think everyone in the party brought a bottle, so needless to say everyone was pretty lit by the end of the evening. For a table of 15, it basically broke down to $30/person with gratuity, appetizers, and entrees!
It was an awesome experience, the staff was exceptional, and the decor is super cute! Complete and total recommend.
They were also having $5 martinis which sounded great, but it was probably to everyone's benefit that we just stuck with our wine. :)
So, you know that saying "you get what you pay for?" ITS TRUE! Lured in by a Foodler coupon that said 40% off (its actually 35%). My honey and I decided for a lighter alternative to pizza and wings for watching football. My honey enjoyed his chef's choice sushi/sashimi platter very much although disappointed by the lack of wasabi to accompany. I agree the salmon was like butter. We also ordered some California rolls which were strangely watery. The edamame were both over and under done, obviously poor microwaving skills. Finally, there was the Spicy Korean BBQ Pork, which was supposed to be seared pork (spicy right?). Neither spicy or seared, the pork we were served was incredibly fatty. Not tasty, not flavorful. Overall a completely mediocre experience
Underwhelmed might be the best way to describe my visit to Lips. Like most people who have reviewed i was intrigued by the name and by the signage. I was also eager to catch up with a friend and I think that was really the most interesting thing about my night.
With all the glowing Yelp reviews I really thought I was in for a treat and to top it off they had $5.00 martinis that were actually really strong. All seemed to point to a great dinner.
Apparently I was mislead a bit. The rolls are small and they are a little skimpy with the fish. The sashimi is also on the small side but I believe here it would be the better value. I remember the prices seeming cheapish compared to other places I've been and apparently that is reflective of the sizes of the rolls and the fish.
I hate to jump on the Lips isn't all that bandwagon, however, I find myself there anyway. Come on and join me! I'll point you in the direction of some pretty delicious places...much better than Lips.
Though it is good sushi, it also didn't blow me away. My fave in the city is still a tie between Coast in Bucktown and Tank in Lincoln Square. That being said....
Lips has a strange name. I don't get it, nor do I really want to. It sounds dirty to me. I don't know if I'm allowed to state that (the obvious) but I just did! So there! They tried to tie it all in by painting the walls red, having red bar stools and a collage of photos of women's lips, smiles, teeth. Still.... kinda creepy for a sushi place. Maybe it's too hip for me though and I just don't get it.
That being said... the ambiance is cool. It is hip and trendy. It's fun. Probably a fun date place or even girls night out restaurant.
The food itself is tasty. It's a great neighborhood spot with a touch of pizzaz!! And I feel like the staff has always been really kind and helpful and informative and "johnny on the spot" about their jobs.
If you are looking for a nice date night sushi place that won't break the bank, (It'S BYOB!!!) or a fun Thursday night girls night out... I'd recommend this place.
They have a major leg up on other sushi restaurants in the city that fall into the "hole in the wall" category and have virtually no ambiance or decor- but good sushi. This place has better than "good" sushi and really fun exotic ambiance! And when dining out, I do pay for ambiance.
We had Tendon ( Shrimp and vegetables tempura covered over sushi rice) and Chilean Sea Bass( Blanched spinach, chili garlic cream sauce.) It was tasty.
We were at Lips last weekend night and I have to say it's a great little BYOB ($2 corkage / person) sushi place that we highly recommend!
I came here for my birthday dinner a few weeks ago with a reservation for 10 people at 7:30. 3 of the 9 guests accompanying me were on time and 2 of them cancelled last minute due to traffic. The staff was very patient with my shitty guests being an hour late on a Friday night. They didn't neglect us or get short with us, so I made sure tip the server extra well as a thanks.
On to the foodz!
I got the steak with smoked salmon nigiri and a couple cocktails. I think my total (not including tip) was about $30. This is not bad at all for a decent cut of steak, nigiri, and more than one alcoholic bevvy.
Everyone else seemed pleased with their food, too.
Okay--I have to update my review, which before was good but now it is darn great. I went last week and brought a relative who was in town and she wanted sushi. I took her here as I knew it wouldn't be crowded and it wouldn't hurt my pocketbook too much paying for both of us. I don't remember what rolls I had the first time I went but the rainbow roll, which we both had, and the red samurai, were absolutely amazing. She actually ordered another rainbow roll it was that good. I had the super fatty tuna and red snapper sashimi and was again very impressed by the quality and freshness. Maybe it was my expectation of "okay" going in that I was blown away, but now I'm really looking forward to my next visit!
I admit my opinion might be jaded as I was a huge fan of Once Upon a Thai, which Lips replaced,… Read more »
My boyfriend and I always drive by here. I always thought they're name and they're logo were intriguing. I Just love the logo-design (since I'm a graphic designer). On Valentines day (last night), My boyfriend took me here. It's really am amazing restaurant, It's designed very well. The staff are all extremely friendly. Since they were so busy we were sat in the back where all the lips photos are hung on the wall. We ordered Miso Soup, Some Rolls for each of us, Saki, and a Valentines Martini, Which I don't remember what was in it exactly i remember yogurt peach snaps and vodka in other-words it was excellent. The Miso Soup was extremely good. The rolls were perfect usually places I've been if you go when they're busy the rolls are always falling apart, these were perfection. They had all of they're rice colored pink in honor of valentines day. Food on a Scale from 1-10 was about a 9.
Definitely a place we will be returning to.
OK, so I (we) tried it again, and it didn't disappoint. Everything was good, Tiger Roll, Spicy Scallop, Dragon Roll, pistachio ice cream dessert. Superb.
The service is top notch as well. Out waiter "T" and the manager Kent treated us very well. Wish I could give an extra star.
I actually signed up to review this place. EXCELLENT sushi. I was initially panicked when I saw that… Read more »
The new sushi restaurant named Lips? The name alone was too intriguing to pass up. Making a reservation was our first plus, considering they were turning people away because of the extensive reservation list. Grace, our server, recommended some delectable rolls, including the White Tiger and Strawberry. Both excellent. My recommendation would be the Crab Cake appetizer. I savored every bite.
Everything we tried was so fresh, which is difficult to find in the Midwest. Definitely worth the price. Rolls range from $5-14. Martinis (at least on the Saturday we were there) were only $5!! To sum it, great service, wonderful sushi, cozy atmosphere. I know I will be back, sooner rather than later.
Lips.....?? Hmm, I still don't get it. In fact, I almost didn't come here just because of the name. If you can get over the name of this place, you'll be in store for some pretty average sushi.
We just wanted a light dinner so we went straight to the maki and picked out 3 at random: Spicy Bullet, Hawaiian, & Sundae.
Their presentation was beautiful! The maki rolls were all arranged on a gorgeous platter. However, for the price (I think they all range from $5-14) I don't feel they stood out from all the other sushi restaurants out there quite honestly.
But, here is what makes it worth going: $5 martini special. Everyday(!!!) Sure it's not Grey Goose vodka....and they aren't strong either, but for $5 you can't be too picky ;)
I do want to come back & try some other dishes (like their lamb) and also their appetizers sounded pretty good, too. If anything, I'll have another pear martini.
Decent sushi place, and while some people might not enjoy giant photos of sprinkle covered lips staring down at them, I kinda like it! Go gimmicks!
Unfortunately, the first thing I noticed here was the odd menus. They are put together with heavy staples and very difficult to read - all 3 in my party missed the specialty maki page for the first 5 minutes of looking at the thing.
The $5 martinis were a pleasant surprise, and since no one informed us that this happened every day, we felt like we happened in at exactly the right time! My friend ordered the Cosmo Diva, which was my favorite, followed by the Fuzzy Navel (Peach? Berry?)
The sushi was just fine and arrived in a timely manner. I'm used to large pages of sushi menu including all the basic rolls - however, maybe you can order stuff thats not on the menu if the ingredients are clearly present?
I liked that they rolled the spicy mayo for my spicy philadelphia roll into the roll. I've never previously encountered a place that does this - revolutionary!
I was really excited to eat here, especially when I saw the lips on the wall, but that excitement was cut short when they sat my boyfriend and I literally in front of the door! People had to squeeze in back of us to get out, and the frequent blast of arctic air was not fun!
We were warned that there was going to be a wait once we sat down, but I never expected to wait 45 minutes for our appetizer and another 15 after that for our food! The restaurant was only half full!
Our waitress was out of it and the menus were really strange and difficult to read.
The only thing that's preventing me from giving this place one star is the food. We got a tofu appetizer that was delicious and three different rolls that were equally good.
Needless to say, I will not be going back here unless I see that it's totally empty. Maybe that way I'll get a spot away from the door and my food will come at a reasonable time.
This place has a contemporary vibe, which only on occasion works to its advantage. On a weekend night - when the restaurant is packed - it's a great place to spend the evening. However, if the restaurant is vacant (as it tends to be on weeknights) then if feels like you've arrived too early at a nightclub.
The sushi is great, and the menu provides a diverse selection. Prices are a little inflated since it's in the Southport Corridor. This means that specialty rolls remain comparable to other places, but simple rolls tend to be overpriced and there is a $2 corkage fee per person for BYOB.
I am a sushi junky. I know good sushi when I eat it. This place has good sushi. It is a B.Y.O.Wine with a $2.00 per person cork fee. Nicely decorated and casual, fun, romantic, nice music, nice looking, and small. The best was the drunken roll. All rolls were excellent. Spicy Tune roll was tasty, but tuna was a little mushy, not firm. Great miso soup!
Pleasantly surprised. Quality sushi in the neighborhood at a decent price, and they are BYOW (wine only for a $2/person corkage fee). I deducted a star because the host/bartender does not know how to mix drinks, but the BYO makes up for it. The sushi is well done and very tasty. Sashimi was fresh and high quality as well. Next time we know not to expect good drinks, and will bring our own instead. I've seen mixed reviews about the drinks - I don't understand the people who give extra stars for a cocktail that is "easy to drink" - that just means you overpaid for juice or water. When there is a martini list, the drink is expected to be strong. With the exception of the classic martini I had, the martinis our table had on both occasions were weak, with too much fruit juice. The cosmo in particular was overpowered with cheap triple sec and cranberry juice. Stick with a standard highball mixer, straight, classig martini, or better yet, bring a bottle of wine yourself.
i sorely miss once upon a thai but it's nice to have another sushi option in the neighborhood...
this is MUCH better than sushi mura a couple storefronts away. as mentioned by other yelpers, some creative rolls and many of them fairly priced for the ingredients. my friend ordered the strawberry roll which we were told is one of their specialties - maguro, super white tuna, strawberry and unagi sauce. although not on the menu, i requested a sweet potato roll which they made to order. i've had better but it was nice to be accommodated. the service was okay - our server was being shadowed by a newbie so it got a bit confusing. we did not make reservations on a saturday night and were seated fairly quickly although the dining area was dotted with several "reserved" signs only to be removed later in the evening.
i feel like this "bistro" tries too hard to be too upscale and should just focus on good food and service.
it's comparable to rise but more conversation friendly.
just an update on the byob sitch - it's no longer free but $2 per person and as mentioned, byo WINE.
If you like a good sushi experience, this is the WRONG place for you! I was so excited to see a new sushi restaurant in my neighborhood and I gave it a few tries but my curiosity has run dry. The food is decent at best, the mixed drinks were too strong, and the seating was awful. My girls and I had to sit by the door/window even though the place was basically empty. While the service was good, it still did not makeup for the bad vibe. Plus, the music was way too loud, a sad attempt at making a boring place seem "trendy".
Overpriced, even by trendy Southport standards. The service is s-l-o-w which may be explained by only one waitress working, but the food took a very long time to arrive as well, despite the fact that the restaurant was fairly empty, and also the fact that we didn't order anything that required cooking. The asparagus beef appetizer was fine but not worth the $8 price tag for a few thin pieces of beef (skirt steak at that - a cheaper cut), and our sashimi orders were of good quality but very small. I'm not a big eater and I was barely full after an appetizer and the Chef's choice of sashimi. I also miss the Thai place that was here before, like another reviewer posted here. I predict this place won't last long, but who knows. Another point of annoyance, aside from the slow service and stingy portions, was that they attempt to create a club-like ambiance by playing trance music too loudly- why? This place is not a chic place, it should just be what it is, which is neighborhood sushi place.
Best Uni in Chicago
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Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Sushi Bars
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