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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Near West SideClinton (Pink, Green)
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I was in Chicago for business recently and a friend took me here for dinner. Having been introduced to some real sushi nazi's in California, I've come to base my opinions of a sushi restaurant solely on the freshness of the fish.
Their hamachi and Uni was about as fresh as I've tasted anywhere. Some sushi restaurant owners will buy their sushi all from the same supplier to get a break on the price (usually 20%). I learned that Meiji doesn't follow this practice because they are selective about where they get each fish...the guy that has good salmon, doesn't necessarily have good hamachi.
The result of this is incredibly fresh fish, but at a slight premium...you get what you pay for, afterall.
The decor of this place was very open and modern. I actually prefer the non-descript sushi places, but the decor at Meiji fits the bill if you're looking to make a impression.
I was told they have a lounge upstairs as well, but only open Thursday-Saturday. I would love to come back here again when I am able to follow-up a great dinner with some scotch upstairs at the lounge.
Terrible, terrible terrible service on top of good-but-not-great food guarantees that I won't be returning to Meiji in this lifetime.
We got in pretty early, sat down in the sparsely populated main room, ordered our drinks, and waited. A little while later, we ordered our food. And so we began to wait.
And wait.
The two entirely incompetent waiters who took our orders as lethargically as possible and picked up our tiny plates as soon as we put the last morsel of food in our mouths (and, quite literally, not a second after) were stubborn, uncooperative (more on that later) and entirely inattentive, in one case leaving one of my fellow diner's drinks waiting on the bar RIGHT NEXT TO WHERE WE WERE SITTING and not delivering it for 20+ minutes (this was only after we asked the bartender if we could get the drink).
Food was even longer in coming than the drinks, and though the fish was fresh and well-prepared by the chef, it was not worth waiting for.
When the diner who had her drink delayed so long had one of her dishes mis-delivered and requested that it be replaced with the proper dish, she was disdainfully told that "[it] might take a while" by the haughty and imperious waiter at the table at that time. We then decided to not request the replacement, tired of our experience of waiting. (What's all the more stunning is that other tables who came in after us were being served a lot more snappily, much to my and my fellow diners' (unvoiced) ire.)
By the time the check came, we were still hungry after being served elfin portions of food and unhappy with waiting for it. We spoke to the manager, who spoke politely with us but did not act especially gracious or conciliatory. We were charged for the mismade food that was sent back, and we've resolved never to go back. With good reason, no?
I assented to a first date's impatience, so we fled from a 30-minute wait at Avec to an empty Meiji, which may be better named as "Sloppy Seconds" or "Runoff" given how much of their business must be from folk who failed to get into a Kahan restaurant.
Let me put it this way: Um, no. Let me qualify by noting it was a Sunday--but that's still not enough of an excuse to pass muster. The rolls are Rube Goldbergian contraptions, typical of the Chicago paradigm: lots of shit in and on top; lots of shit tasting in your mouth. The rice was the wrong temperature and lacked the distant vinegar note necessary. Sauces were sickly sweet: like eating a ball of sugar.
But, then, my bad: I had to try the roll with strawberry bits on it (the "Ichigo" or something like that). Unbelievably gross.
This is precisely why I don't eat in restaurants like this. I'll stick to Katsu and Itto, thanks.
People thought this was:
As a monthly tradition, my friends and I go to a new sushi restaurant in the search of finding some of Chicago's greatest places. My friend suggested Meiji and of course I checked out the reviews on Yelp before we left. I went there knowing that their fish was fresh and it was on the pricey side.
Since it was some what of a decent evening, we ended up sitting outside. Their patio section was very nice though I could have done without the men who were spraying what seemed to be fertilizer right behind me !
We ordered both the regular and spicy edamma as an appetizer. Both were good but nothing special (In fact I couldn't tell that much of a difference). We each ordered a fun drink, I ordered the Meijitini and it was pretty good. I ended up ordering the Fire Dragon roll which had tuna that is marinated in a chili sauce and topped with avocado and unagi. When the sushi came out, I can honestly say it was the ugliest plate of sushi that I have ever seen!! I don't know if I was turned off from the beginning or what but I had a hard time getting through it. I did sample my friends sushi and theirs were definitely better.
I would have given this place 2 stars based upon the food but the service there is really great. Our server and the buser were very friendly and made the stay pleasant. The menu is very limited but the menu says that they will make other rolls that are not on the menu. And it is pretty pricey. I had one roll, one drink, a bowl of miso and my bill was over $30.
I would be willing to give it another try but would never order the Fire Dragon again. I would also go with someone who is paying for me :)
People thought this was:
Meiji has a nice little patio and decent sushi, but with so many other options in Chicago I don't think I'll be back. I usually have to narrow down my choices at a sushi place but the menu at Meiji is too limited for that. If you're in the area, I'd recommend going to Sushi Wabi instead.
YUM,
I really thought this was the bees knees. Yes, I said it. The sushi and service is great here, and I love all of the modern woodwork.
I would really recommend all the sushi here, I know that is bad to say. They bring it out in a timely manner, almost too quickly. I'd like to see them kind of layer your sushi..like if you order 3 at one time, the shouldn't bring it all out at the same time. Is there a sushi rule for that?
West Randolph is great for food and drinks and you should def. stop by here to enjoy the sushi at the atmosphere. Valet if you want.
People thought this was:
Oh my. No, no.
First of all, I have a theory about chicken. The theory states that no matter what is done to a piece of chicken, no matter the sides accompany it, no matter the golden dust that's rained down on it, no matter the diamond crusties that sparkle it...it should NEVER cost more than $20. Ever. It's frickin' chicken.
So, $25 for Teriyaki Chicken is abominable. Tragic, really. Especially when it's unimpressive to say the least. Limp little sides, a cup of rice and...$23.50 worth of chicken? No. You lose!
Sushi? Eh, ok. Also very pricey for the quality. My sashimi (tako, toro and hamachi, unagi) were adequate at best.
Hello, Sushi Wabi is down the street...why on earth would anyone go to Meiji? Besides if you can't stand the wait at Blackbird...even then, I say get your walkin' shoes out and head west, for real.
Service was tentative, and space is nice enough. However, it's extremely overpriced (even for this 'hood), and ya know, I just can't forgive overpriced CHICKEN.
Moving on...
People thought this was:
I've been here a few times and this place leaves a bad taste in my mouth - both literally and figuratively. I really didn't like anything I had every time I went - everything tasted a bit off. And nothing else was special enough about this place to draw me back.
People thought this was:
Let me get the positives out of the way first - the sushi here is good quality. I don't really think it's on the same level as some of Chicago's top sushi offerings, but it's very fresh. Our table tried the uni, amaebi, fatty hamachi, salmon, and madai in nigiri form and they were all good. I also found the waiters very polite and the service attentive. Based on the sushi and service alone, I would easily give meiji 3*.
One of the problems is that they were out of a lot of premium sushi. They didn't have otoro or fatty salmon, for example. That's a shame because their menu does list quite a bit of premium sushi (like the uni, amaebi, and fatty hamachi I mentioned above). Restaurants get big +'s in my mind for offering these, but if they are out of stock...
And unfortunately, the non-sushi items were rather questionable. We ordered the edamame, tuna tataki, and asparagus ribeye roll; I also had the chawanmushi. The edamame and ribeye roll were both good (not that edamame can be messed up), but the others were disasters. The seared ahi is actually heavily breaded; some texture contrast is great but this was ridiculous. I mean, I love Chicken McNuggets but not with my sushi-grade tuna, please. And the chawanmushi was basically a soup, which was totally disappointing. The non-sushi items were also incredibly small in portion size - which is even more unacceptable given the general lack of refinement in preparation.
I did not partake in any of the makimono my table ordered, so can't comment on that. Overall though, I found the experience disappointing despite the good service. I'll stick to the sushi if I come here again, but there are better options and better prices in this city for that.
People thought this was:
My friend suggested we go here one night after work when I had a sushi craving. I usually like to go to Sushi Wabi but she had a bad experience there and didn't want to go back. We met at 6pm and did have a reservation but didn't need it. I couldn't believe how easy it was to get a table here on a Thursday night after work. By the time we were done though the place filled up so I suggest a reservation if you plan to go around 8 or so.
I love that all the maki rolls here are regular size. None of the giant rolls that you can't fit into your mouth. They were accommodating and made me a spicy tuna roll even though it wasn't on their regular menu. The waitress was very helpful making suggestions and everything we tried was great.
Even though I had them make me a spicy tuna, we also got the Ichigo roll which is similar, but that one blew us away. The use of strawberry on top was really unique and made it stand out.
I can't wait to bring other friends to this place!
Nom Nom
The sushi was delish, and the place was posh. the decor was tasteful.
The good:
Sushi was fresh!
Sushi was spicy (i enjoyed the spice)
The decor was lovely, it set a personal ambiance, making the restaurant cozy and making the conversation between me and my date possible.
The service was attentive
The bad:
A bit pricey, but the quality of the fish was great.
As attentive as the service was, it seemed they also were waiting for us to leave.
It was a good date place. I'd recommend it for that.
People thought this was:
Fish is fresh and very tasty. I and husband already try Meiji 3time but wait for our meal was 30-40 minutes every time.
Maki-mono is really good taste and Sushi as well but never go back to this place cuz takes a long time to get food. (even drink...)
We told to manager but nothing change. Need more Suhi chef.
People thought this was:
You will get a very East meets West contemporary experience dining at Meiji Sushi. Expect tall ceilings and minimalist decor, with dining tables that are close together.
Food is excellent. The menu is not extensive, with good reason. You can get a reasonable sampling of different appetizers, rolls, and raw fish. Can you get every single item you would expect to find in a Japanese restaurant? No. But do you need to in a modern, hip, and trendy place like Meiji? Probably not.
Their manager is very hands-on and always stops by your table to check on your meal and find out how your experience was. They have good servers - attentive and willing to make suggestions and recommendations. They are casual and friendly, so you don't need to be pretentious and pretend that you know your sashimi if you don't. You are there to have a good time and they will facilitate that.
You can get traditional Japanese cuisine such as Chawan Mushi, Wakame, Broiled Hamachi neck/cheek, Tempura, and all your regular Maki rolls (that they don't put on the menu - except for a note that common maki are available upon request). And you can also get their specialty sushi rolls such as the White Dragon, which combines almonds and jalapeno peppers as toppings, the Ichigo, which utilizes strawberries, the Sake Sunrise that combines salmon skin and seared salmon, and the Haru, which uses a daikon wrap in place of sushi rice...to name a few.
They have a nice selection of Sake too, and when you order a glass, they place the glass in a small black box, and then fill your glass to the brim, letting a little liquid overflow into the black box as a sign of Nippon generosity. And yes, it is acceptable ettiquette to drink up the spillage from that little black box.
I do wish their wine and beer selection was more extensive, but what they do serve actually goes well with sushi.
With outdoor seating in the warmer months, you can't go wrong with a trip to Meiji.
I went here with my girl friend and we were both very disappointed. Our wait at the bar was fine considering we did not have reservations. But after that it was just stupid !
It took them a good 15 minutes to come to our table and take our order. The appetizers did not arrive for almost half an hour. No one stopped by. The head waiter was busy flirting with some ladies on the next table..which is gr8..but he should have looked around to see if people were waiting for so long for their food. Finally he caught us waving at him, smiled and send us something that we did not order.
Our main course arrived, along with our appetizers .
The sushi was very good. I ordered the fire dragon and loved it.
The check arrived before we were asked if we wanted anything else.
I have no intention of going back.
People thought this was:
IMO - the best sushi in chicago.
the food is fresh, the servers are knowledgable, and the ambiance is comfortable. the owner is almost always present and mingling with his guests and you can sense the level of care in this contemporary, sweet restaurant.
as a neighboor to avec & blackbird, this japanese restaurant's trademark is probably it's neatly, "follow-the-rules" rolls. in traditional japanese sushi, the amount of rice is supposed to be minimal, and meiji simply follows the laws of sushi. Tightly packed rolls, with the least amount of rice, cut and laid out to perfection. If this were a designer, it would be the Chanel of sushi. Tradition meets the present, yet has one-foot in forward motion, setting the standard for the next.
it is one of only 3 restaurants to achieve 3/5 stars from the highly secretive and genius critic, Phil Vettel.
Dress code is business casual and the ambiance is comfy and warm.
valet is available and the bar has everything you can imagine.
dessert - the variety platter of mochi ice cream will leave you gasping because of it's unique flavors - from lychee to wasabi.
We checked out Meiji last night with a friend who's visiting from out of town. Overall it was a great experience - the service was very thoughtful and friendly, so even though we had to wait by the bar for a table for 15 minutes it didn't put a damper on our evening. Plus, it's a gorgeous space! The high exposed ceilings and the dark wood panels definitely made the place hip, but not too hip if you catch my drift. And compared to Avec 2 doors down it was way more chill and I was glad for that.
I would recommend the Sake Sunrise and Honey Fire maki, and the drinks are worth trying out too. So while I think the food is way better at Mirai, I am very impressed by the service and we had a great time overall.
People thought this was:
I've been to Meiji three times over the past year and have been consistently impressed each time. The strength of Meiji is its inventive and tasty (and huge) rolls. My current favorites are the White Dragon and the Fire Dragon. There is also an all-veggie roll wrapped in soy-paper that was unique for its fresh taste.
In terms of freshness and creativity of the chefs, I'd put Meiji up there with Sushi Wabi and Mirai. My only criticisms: the appetizers are medicore, at best. The edamame we ordered was stale and lukewarm. The miso soup was bland, and the tuna was so-so. Hence the four (not five) stars. Also, the prices are in Mirai territory (most rolls $14-16) but not quite up to the level of quality.
Service was excellent - speedy, efficient, and helpful. I'll definitely go back.
People thought this was:
i've decided that more and more often i am underwhelmed with the sushi in chicago.
my friends and i decided to eat here, after our original plan to dine at avec (just 2 doors down) was foiled, due to the typical long wait (and evil 25cents/8min meters).
we tried five rolls: the ichigo, fire dragon, shogun (w/o cream cheese), haru & white dragon. all were much spicier than anticipated. you know how restaurants claim things are spicy, but they never really are? well meiji pretty much just adds sriracha to everything. while i love sriracha, i would rather not have it take over the flavor of all parts of my meal. it's like having a cheeseburger with a side of cheese-fries, and washing it all down with a cheese-shake.
sushi wabi's better (and just a short walk down), or mirai.
People thought this was:
Hands down the worst sushi place I've ever been to. I know it is easy to be fooled by the presentation, and the flock of staff that try to attend to you, but trust me... it's a hoax.
The funny thing is, it seems as though they invested a lot into the interior design and presentation of the place. But the food is terrible, the staff that I encountered seemed close to incompetent, and the price was ridiculous. I will elaborate.
We ordered martinis. Lycheetini was alright, but how can you go wrong? I ordered an extra dirty Stoli martini. It took at least 10 minutes for them to take the drink order then another 10 to bring it over. I finally get my drink, and take a sip. It tastes like fruits and olive juice. The waitress is clueless as to what is going on. I ask them to take it back and bring me another. Takes another 10 minutes, and she comes back not with a drink, but to tell me that they only had Stoli Raspberry so the bartender had made an extra dirty martini with.. Stoli Raspberry. I am in a little bit of shock, and ask for a Ketel One. It takes another 10 minutes, she brings it over. It's not even dirty. I sighed and just drank it, losing more and more hope in the upcoming meal...
Now, I know the menu is deceiving. It seems like they spent some time into try to infuse creativity and experimentation with different foods for the palate. Do not let this fool you. We ordered two special rolls that sounded good.. first off, the fish in the roll was old. It was not suitable as sushi fish. I could taste that they used the fish that was too old to serve as sushi to mash it up into spicy tuna and cover up the nasty taste with all the sauces. There was nothing that could cover the taste of old raw fish. It was disgusting. The roll size was also ridiculous. The presentation of it was also very messy. The roll wasn't wrapped correctly, and there was rice all over the place. Now the most important part of all - the rice tasted like they had not even taken any time to season it properly. The most important part of sushi is the rice - I seriously could not understand how they served this crap.
The manager came by and graciously asked about our experience and meal. I felt like it was hopeless to give them any insight on the food itself, as I probably would have gone on ranting about it without being able to stop myself. I did explain the drink situation, as that was tiring enough and she brought over an actual dirty Ketel One martini. She put it on the house. (Uh, yeah.. not enough.) I could tell she was trying to exert herself, so I give her credit for that, but if you want to be a successful manager at a successful restaurant, you might want to try working on the food quality and taste to serve first.
We probably spent about $150. It was probably the worst meal and experience I have ever had, and the price is abso-fucking-lutely ridiculous. I wouldn't pay $10 for the meal itself. Actually, no one could pay me to go eat there again. It was abominable.
People thought this was:
What a wonderful place to enjoy an evening "Post Avec, Fabulous Dinner Experience" cocktail.
We just stopped in for a few drinks as we already had dinner but the passing food looked pretty awesome!
Ambiance - check
Service - check
Cocktails - check
Why don't keyboards have a 'check' sign?
People thought this was:
Sushi has always been my culinary cohort and when celebration is in store a Japanese restaurant is on the itinerary. As a little girl living in Los Angeles sushi was as common a meal as our waiter or waitress was an actor or actress.
Each year I've celebrated my Birthday, maki in tow, so I was pleasantly surprised when my date presented me with dinner reservations at Meiji.
Meiji has a swanky "east meets west" contemporary decor. High ceilings, muted neutrals, and an immense use of modern wood accents.
The staff was accommodating and left us with the proper amount of breathing room. Not to mention supplied us with a complimentary glass of sake at the end of our meal. Served in a traditional Japanese cup and placed inside a wooden block, filled with even more sake, the drink represented an abundance or overflow of gratitude.
The food was a direct representation of their motto "enlightened sushi." Try the Ichigo Roll: spicy unagi, masago, jalapeno tempura, and avocado topped with togarashi, spicy tuna, and strawberries and the White Dragon: unagi, toasted almonds topped with super white tuna, avacado, and jalapeno.
Disclaimer: While I LOVE spicy the use of jalapeno can be a little over powering and mask the taste of the fish. I'd opt to forgo it.
People thought this was:
Being an optimist, I rarely am discouraged by a restaurant - but Meiji sure made an exception. I went last night on Valentine's Day to catch up with a couple friends. We had a reservation and yet the wait was abominable. Yeah, it's Valentine's Day but 45 minutes?! The staff kept saying five minutes, but if they know it'll be more like 45 minutes then they should be upfront about it. Then the wait for our appetizers was 30 minutes. However, only two of the three we ordered came out. The first was intentional. The second, which was edamame, was brought out after they claimed they didn't hear that it was ordered. The third, the same story but that appetizer wasn't available. To appease us, they gave us some seared tuna that tasted like chicken mcnuggets. (Nastiness taste aside, how could they give that dish to us right away but take forever on the others?) I still don't understand how all three of us requested an app one at a time and the server not recall having taken two of those orders.
The long wait and incompetence of the staff put me in a bad mood, but I tried very hard not to have that affect my opinion of the food. Bias acknowledged, I still don't think it's worth it. At least the decor is pretty. You'd think you're eating good sushi with those wooden menus and modern furniture - but the sweet unagi douced sushi makes me think I'm in a Japanese version of PF Changs.
Now I've been here a couple times before but here's the thing... Meiji is on restaurant row. It is surrounded by amazing restaurants like Blackbird, Avec...hell, Sushi Wabi's across the street! The service at ANY restaurant along this strip should be top notch. But perhaps that part of Meiji's downfall. The competition leaves this restaurant merely pleasant only when it isn't at capacity. Despite a good server to table ratio, Meiji clearly cannot handle a full floor. With better food at it's neighboring restaurants, it can't even justify a wait. It can fully function resting its laurels on mediocrity and a half-full floor.
All of the guys next to us were apologizing to their dates about how bad it is. Poor dates. So moral of the story...for a drink at the bar, good. For a Tuesday night, good...if you aren't there to adore the food. For any special occasion or time when you think it's busy, save yourselves!
People thought this was:
Wow, they play with pairing fruit and fish in almost all of their rolls and it ends with an incredible result. Try the Ichigo, the Philly Crunch, and the Honey Fire. GET A LYCHEETINI!!! They're awesome here. I love sushi and this place is one of my top 3, for sure.
Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. He was born in 1852 and ascended to the throne in 1868 at the peak of the Meiji Restoration when the power was switched from the feudal Tokugawa government to the emperor. During the Meiji Period, Japan modernized and westernized itself to join the world's major powers by the time Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912. What does this have to do with my review? Absolutely nothing. But at least you learned something new today.
My sister and I had lunch here and our experience was mixed. They only had one sushi chef on duty so it took forever to get our order out. The waiter and hostess were nice and apologetic about everything, but it doesn't change the fact that a brotha gots to eat! I thought some of the rolls were mediocre but the nigiri/sashimi chef's choice was good (see photo). It's pretty much a business crowd during lunch. Valet only costs $4 on weekdays.
People thought this was:
The decor of the restaurant is beautiful. I've been here a few times, and it's gotten a lot better now after a few growing pains. LOVE the fresh ground wasabi. Interesting mix of fusion rolls with authentic sushi. It's pricey, but I really do love the atmosphere and service.
Drinks are YUMMY too.
People thought this was:
Beautiful room, courteous staff, trendy location so why were we 1 of two tables in the restaurant on a Tuesday night? Perhaps because the food is, well, it's ok.
We got the miso soup...good...split a couple rolls...good. We were both still hungry but no other rolls on the menu looked good (neither one of us are big salmon fans and salmon was in about 65% of the rolls). Besides the place was pricey and as I mentioned before EMPTY. So we cut our losses, paid our bill and trotted down to a crowded Avec, where we bellied up to the bar and began our second meal of the evening....yum.
People thought this was:
Good sushi in a chique and comfortable atmosphere. This place is not extraordinary but it is pretty good. The sushi was tasty and fresh. The service was good as well. Overall I would definitely recommend this place.
I am not a fan of dressed-up rolls. You know, those intricate works of art with about 20 ingredients all rolled together. True sushi connoisseurs know this is not how rolls were intended to be done. I want to taste the fish, damnit. Meiji makes that very difficult to do.
Granted, you can order "standard" rolls if you go off-menu, but come on, stop trying to be so over the top and just focus on the fish.
Staff is incredibly attentive, and the wakame salad is quite good, but on the whole, skip this place and head down the street to Sushi Wabi.
The food is pretty tasty, but not quite exceptional. Their Fire Dragon rolls were quite lovely, but Haru was quite a bit less so, with an indistinct taste and even less pleasant texture.
Their rice on the nigiri was still warm, and not prepared properly. The cut of fish was too large for the size of the rice, upsetting the balance. The rice also did not separate well in my mouth, spoiling the mouthfeel.
It's also telling that their waiter continuously mispronounced many items, causing me to question his knowledge of the foods.
Their desserts were quite nice, however, and their sake list, though small, was a pick of nice selections. However, please refrain from drinking wine with sushi. Most of the wines there were quite inappropriate, and would've caused the fishiness to permeate the palate.
People thought this was:
I like fancy/crazy rolls but this place had just so-so rolls. The only roll that stood out was the white dragon (the almonds really added a nice texture).
The service was ok but I didn't find it as attentive as other yelpers have described.
I am not one for the "trendy" sushi restaurants, but this is one place that I love. The staff is great, the owner walks around, asks you how your meal is going etc. The restaurant is small enough where you feel like you can get anyone's attention if you need something.
The sushi is expensive, but it's great. It has combination of tastes that you may not expect to be good, but when you eat it, you know they put a TON of thought to it. They have the standard rolls, so I'm just going to give you a highlight of the one I didn't really like and the 2 favorites.
They have this roll that is an appetizer that has the sushi wrapped in a cucumber...I like the idea of it, but there was sooo much fish (which isn't a bad thing) but you kept chewing and chewing and chewing long after the other flavors were gone.
Their spicy tuna is great. Unlike other sushi restaurants where they make the tuna spicy with a spicy mayo, they flavor it with chili oil. It's amazing. It's really spicy and it's sooooo good.
Also, they have this one roll with a crunchy rice outside with a straberry and jalepeno. It is awesome. It is such a werid combo of tates that works so well.
People thought this was:
stopped by while waiting to be called for dinner at avec next door. good thing, it was an 1.5 hours before we got called.
first thing we noticed was how pretty and small this place is. even the washroom was very nice...dramatic lighting ftw. we had some cocktails, the wife enjoyed the lycheetini. the appetizers were ok. asparagus rolls and some tuna takaki i think... i was in the washroom staring at myself in the mirror while the food was being ordered.
the place looked upscale but still felt comfortable. the cocktails were good and small sample of food we had was a-ok. i'd come back to check out their menu.
I took my husband here for his b-day after reading some great reviews on Yelp.
If you're not into sushi, don't go here, they basically have nothing else. Luckily we both love sushi....especially super white tuna which happened to be the special. YUMM!
They are no longer BYOB, but they were nice enough to let us drink the wine we brought since they told me on the phone that I could bring it.
I'm not giving it a full 5 because I wish they had a better dessert selection.
People thought this was:
My friends and I sat at the bar while waiting for our dinner reservations next door.
We enjoyed a few beers and a friendly bar tender.
Since I am from California I am a bit of a sushi snob so I decided to sample one piece of tuna. It passed my standards! Very fresh.
Went to Meiji for lunch about a week ago. It's a pretty small space. Luckily it wasn't even 1/2 full. The waitstaff was especially nice. MUST ORDER the tuna tataki as an appetizer. It was delicious. My lunchdate and I had 2 orders of this!
Shogun......a bit too big and too many ingredients for one roll.
White Dragon.....server's suggestion and it was delicious.
Will definitely return for lunch or a weeknight dinner, as I'm sure this place gets uncomfortably crowded on a weekend evening.
People thought this was:
You people are crazy. I find this to be the best tasting sushi in Chicago. Albeit I haven't tried the standard rolls, but their specialty rolls are to die for. Four rolls to try and love...
Honey Fire tamago, shiitake mushroom, masago, yuzu sauce topped with tempura flakes, spicy crab, unagi, jalapeno, red tobiko and sweet chili sauce
I would never try this, but a friend went with us and ordered it. I took the Jalapeno off and this was SO GOOD! I reccomened everyone to try this, if you don't like spicy foods just take the jalapeno off the top. Delicious.
Futago spicy salmon, spicy tuna, masago and cucumber topped with tuna and salmon
Philly Crunch smoked salmon, wasabi cream cheese, scallions, and cilantro wrapped in wonton skin and topped with spicy salmon
Haru tuna, yellowtail, salmon, blue crab meat, no rice. wrapped in daikon and topped with sunomono dressing.
They also make things that aren't on the menu. There spider roll is amazing!
This place is pricey, but I feel it's worth it. You can order three rolls between two people and be stufffed!
People thought this was:
It's a very hip and trendy place to go. I do like the decor.. but don't expect stunning sushi. It's more like... fusion sushi that is more Americanized. I'm actually think their sushi chef is white or Mexican. So if you're looking for more traditional fare.. this is not the place for you. The sushi is good.. but I can't remember any that really stood out.
The service was good though. The drinks are okay.. what I'd expect for a trendy restaurant like that.
People thought this was:
Seriously the best sushi I've had in years.
The only reason I deducted a star is because the interior felt cold. The ceiling was super high, the decor too sparse and concrete-ish, and the tables were way too close to each other.
But every dish was absolutely delicious. And the wooden menus were cool. I was with a tall, handsome, charming man, and they let us sit next to each other, side-by-side, essentially taking up two tables. How nice is that?
People thought this was:
VERY friendly staff. The hostess, the waitress, and the managers go around to ensure that your stay at Meiji is welcomed and enjoyable. All the staff have a smile and our waitress was very nice and helpful with our orders!
The sushi was yummy, but expensive. Maybe I had poor choice of sushi compared to everyone's ratings here, but the sushis I ordered (Futago, Fire Dragon, White Dragon, Yuri) was all right. They aren't the best that I've ordered at other sushi places, but it's still tasty. The setting is very nice. It is a nice place to go on a date. I went there today and it's Valentine's Day. You have to make reservations on special occasions like today in order to get a table. If you go without reservation, you have to sit by the sushi bar. Good thing my boyfriend reserved one!
One good thing I learned about myself while dining at Meiji this weekend.... contrary to popular belief, my love surprisingly can not be bought. Try and try they might at Meiji, but bribery does not a 5 star review make, at least in my book.
Always in search of the new fresh sushi catch, I love to sample the latest and greatest in enlightened Japanese culinary wonder. Meiji has been on my list to try and I ventured out there this past Friday night especially excited to try the Ichigo maki with spicy unagi, avocado, tempura jalapeno, spicy tuna and strawberries. You read that right... it's some of the most inventive sushi in Chicago, you'd be excited to try that too! So on a Friday night I was surprised to find that Meiji was busy, but certainly not packed... especially when we had such a hard time getting a reservation yet tables in the restaurant sat empty for our meals entirety - a little disconcerting.
The problem I really had, however, was the service... our poor server was just having a very off night, and he knew it. I'm sure the management of Meiji want us to appreciate their meticulously appointed modern and chic decor.... but I don't need 20 minutes with no server, no drinks and no mention of a welcome to do that. Send someone over...... please....... for the love of God! After the extended wait and asking twice where our server was, he finally comes over, tail between legs, and bearing free miso soup. Hmmm, I guess the gesture is appreciated, but my boy doesn't like miso soup, so really we're still at square one. Moving forward and very hungry we order some sashimi and a hot appetizer. Out comes the sashimi first and then wait, wait, wait again.... where's the Apple Soy Chicken I wonder? Oh, well he must have totally forgot all about it because he just kept asking if we were ready to order more. Past the appetizer stage at this point we order three more maki, the first two brought out were quite tasty, delicious, in fact. Unfortunately the third was missing. So here we are waiting. Again. When Mr. Severdude finally comes over, this exchange takes place:
Serverdude: Are you ready to order anything else?
Me: No, I'm still waiting for my Sunrise Maki.
Serverdude: No, you don't have anything else coming out.
Me: Yes, I do. I ordered it and it hasn't come yet.
Serverdude: No you don't, because I didn't put that order in.
Me: Oh. (With very confused look on face and furrowed brow to match)
Serverdude: Do you still want it?
Me: Yes that's why I ordered it.
Serverdude: (With tail back between legs) OK let me see what I can do.
So Serverdude goes to confer with Managerdude just a few feet away from our table. There's a lot of pointing and confusion that seems to occur, but at no point does Managerdude in fancy Armani suit ever come to address us himself. No apologies, no reparations, just finger pointing; didn't Momma teach you that's not polite??!!
We finally get the Sake Sunrise maki which was truly fantastic, and in addition to the wait-induced 6 martinis we've consumed, we're ready to bolt. But we can't go just yet, here comes another free dish (a mochi flight) to our table. Too little, too late were my thoughts precisely. Free soup and free desert are a nice touch and better than nothing, but excellent standards in service that don't require those kinds of accommodations are even better.
I would try Meiji one more time for those delish rolls and I feel a different server could have changed our evening entirely (the table next to ours appeared to be getting fawned over by their Serverdude). But for now, my sushi heart is still pure and extortion-free. Unless, of course, you've got some free Saketinis to throw my way??!! Any takers??
People thought this was:
Neighborhood: Near West Side
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Near North Side
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Noble Square
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Near West Side
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Near West Side
Category: Lounges
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