Papajin Chinese & Sushi Bar
Categories: Chinese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Wicker Park1551 N Milwaukee Ave
(between Damen Ave & North Ave)
Chicago, IL 60622 (773) 384-9638
46 reviews
Neighborhood: Near North Side
"Sorry to all the people that had a bad time here. It sounds like it wasnt the food, but the service. I ate here tonight with 2 people: The…" read more »
72 Reviews for Papajin Chinese & Sushi Bar
Love you papjin!!! Great appetizers and wonderful sushi. Love the ambience and the servers are really sweet. Couln't ask for more!
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I actually like this place. They had a few selections for veggie sushi rolls - we tried the chicken tempura which was very pleasant surprise. The sweet potato roll was yummy as well. They sure didn't skimp on size. We ordered potstickers as appetizers and also a Chinese dish for each of us (total of 3). Bad move, one might have been enough. The portions were surprisingly really big.
I really liked this place and I would totally come back.
Papajin is probably the restaurant I've eaten at in Wicker Park the most over the years (now that Asiana cafe gone). It has pretty good Chinese and passable sushi. Its more "white tablecloth-y" than most Chinese places and may have aspirations of swank. The interior is nice, its reminiscent of a modern hotel bar or Japanese restaurant with neon lights, and in the summer opens up to the street. Sitting at the sushi bar is not bad either. The Crispy Duck is delicious, almost up there with Hong Kong Bays. The Japenese options are ok, but their Chinese menu is a bit better. Prices are higher than normal for Chinese, but its really set up as a sit down place, so its forgivable. Food is better than avg Chinese take out. They do a decent take out business nevertheless. Parking is godawful in this neighborhood.
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Amazing fresh Chinese and Sushi. Both times I've been here have been great. The veggies and meat are super fresh and the spicy calamari app was the best but is definitely hot!!
Great classic chinese, and tasty sushi, in a very nice environment. Love the Mai Tais. Very nice sidewalk seating in warm weather.
Sorry, but I did not enjoy too much. Not the most shiteous chinese food I've ever eaten, it just wasn't good. It's mediocre I guess. It tastes a lot like they just season their food with salt. The restaurant's vibe was fine. No children around, mostly couples or groups of 4, the place never filled up which is fine. Good service. The lights were dim and can be a good date place. The person I was with tried to pull the romantic shit on me but I put a halt to that, I think the lighting and decor in the place encourages that kind of behavior. Cute guy though, most men in Chicago are. Semi-busy since it was about dinner time on a weekday. I had a few good stiff drinks before the food came out, probably because I started to realize, - did I just get tricked into a date tonight?! Those drinks came right when I needed them. I felt like I should of ordered sushi from the sushi bar instead, which was totally desserted but glad I didn't after reading some of the reviews about their sushi.
Here's what I realized that night:
A nicely decorated, dimly lit restaurant most likely will serve so so sometimes shitty food. Maybe to distract from the crap on the plate. A dingy dirty ass restaurant can sometimes serve you some of the best you've had. That only applies to chinese, vietnamese, mexican places.
Guys use trickery to get you to go on a date with them sometimes and you're put in the awkward position of pointing out all your flaws to hopefully have them be extremely repulsed and say NEVERMIND. That doesn't always work by the way. Alcohol makes you a lil oblivious to their advances.
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I order delivery a lot from this place (well for the past 4 years). Usually takes about 45 minutes. My favorite is their shrimp tempura roll. It's huge and very good. Oh and they have the best unagi cucumber rolls. If you are willing to spend a little more....try the dragon roll and the dancing eel roll.
The Chinese food is just so-so, and I wouldn't recommend the sushi at all. Every piece of sushi and sashimi I've had from Papajin has had that generic, grocery-store sushi flavor to it. It doesn't taste perfectly fresh, and if I'm going to eat sushi, that's what I want.
I've given this place a couple of chances, but I won't be going back.
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With apologies to Bob Seger. . .
"If the sun
Ain't shinin bright
And the moon the moon
Won't shine for you tonight
If the stars in the sky gone away
And you feel
Feelin real slow down today
If life gets hard to understand
And the whole thing is getting out of hand
Come to (PAPA-JIN)
Come see your (PAPA-JIN)"
"If you need a pacifier
Call me anytime
I'll try to be your satisfier
If you feel Like a horse
Blazin' at the bit
Call my number
Anytime night or day
I'll get ya fixed
If life gets hard to understand
And your whole life is way out of hand
Come to (PAPA-JIN)
Come see your (PAPA-JIN)"
But why come to Papa when Papa will come to you? Their delivery is super fast and the food is great. They deliver west of California. They have great vegetable dishes that DON'T cost $11.00. Notice the fine print on the menu--if you have ordered over a certain amount you get a free egg roll or a California roll, but you HAVE to ask, they won't give it to you automatically. Beware some of the spicy dishes, or you may get the fire down below.
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My GF and I go here about every 2-3 weeks. The Chinese food is amazing. Better than 9 out of 10 places in Chinatown. I highly recommend the orange dish, and the green beans. The service is consistently very good, and they've had mostly the same wait staff for at least the last 4 years. It's never crowded, and the cool jazz makes for nice eating jams. I heart Papajin.
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it's our requisite Chinese take out (ok, delivery, have never stepped foot in the place....nor ordered their sushi, leave that for Bob San). Still, have ordered from here dozens of times and have never been disappointed.
Standout starters and dishes are as follows:
Egg Rolls, not greasy (usually) and similarly, not laden w. a bunch of cabbage filler. 4/5.
Miso Soup. 4/5
Chicken or Beef Satay (you can't go wrong with either). Absolutely, positively the best in Chicago. You're doing a major disservice to yourself for not at least trying one or both. 5/5
General Tsao's Plate (combo, shrimp/chicken/beef) is my personal top dish, followed closely by the Kung Bo Plate and the Szechuan Stir-Fry...5/5 and 4/5 respectively.
Sesame Crispy Plate is decent and is pretty much their Sweet & Sour Stir Fry dish with some sesame seeds thrown in...both get a 3.5/5.
The only thing I haven't liked was their Vegetable Stir Fry and that was b/c of the white-ish (and quite bland) sauce, not to my liking at all...2/5.
Fortune Cookies (which I rate and there are differences) are also a bit lacking with a 3/5.
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Dear Papajin:
Yes, you are average Chinese food, and yes I do forgive you for your ill-fated rendezvous with sushi and your over-priced dishes (wicker park rent, yo).
However, why must your sesame chicken be so addictive? Is it the crunchy noodles? The sweet and savory sauce? How you managed to nail the consistency and texture just how I like it? I'm hooked, otherwise I would have dumped your ass for sure.
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While the entrees seem a little pricey, they'll feed 3 hungry people. The tofu in the Kung Pao was nicely fried, and they're generous with the fresh vegetables, but it was decidedly un-spicy. Veg dumplings (eggless!) are individually enormous, and there were six of them. The portions here are out of control.
The veg maki is disappointing, so I would avoid sushi here, stick with the larger plates, and share. Also, do not order cocktails. They are syrupy, weak, and expensive.
I'm looking forward to checking out the Japanese noodle dishes. Tips on whether they're all cooked with fish-based dashi? I'd hate to get my hopes up...
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This is a takeout review... we ordered garlic chicken with beans and mooshu chicken on one of those subzero nights when we didn't want to lose our parking space and were starving. Papajin delivered in so many ways.
Portion sizes were huge, so that we got three meals out of each entree. Ingredients were fresh, laden with crispy green beans, zucchini, lettuce, and herbs, so that despite inhaling our food ex post facto there was no feeling of being a human pinata. I welcome the snow this weekend as it will lead to an inevitable call back.
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My friend and I were really hungry by the time we go to the restaurant and luckily it wasn't busy. I thought it was only sushi it was mainly a Chinese restaurant.
It seemed like they only had 2 waitresses for the entire restaurant (the place was pretty big) but the service was pretty fast. I ended up ordering shrimp stir-fry and my friend got 3 rolls. I really wanted to get egg drop soup but they only offered servings for 2 (which made no sense to me) so I decided not to get it.
In about 15 minutes, we got our food and it was good! I really liked the shrimp and it had a lot of taste. The plate was a very good sizee and it was filled with a variety of veggies (carrots, onion, mushroom, green pepper, snow peas, etc). It also came with a big plate of white rice.
My friend liked the rolls and but they weren't anything special.
I would come back here if I'm in the Wicker Park area but I'm not going to go out of my way to come. The total bill was $30, which isn't bad!
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I give this place 4 stars for what we use it for- mainly delivery basic chinese food. The portions are very large and the ingredients are very fresh. We regularly order steamed dumplings (not the best dumplings in town, but very good and served with the right sauce, not just soy sauce), chicken fried rice (a portion too big to feed just 2 of us!), various types of lo mein (again huge portions heaping with vegetables), gomaye (nice appetizer portion), and hot and sour soup (perfectly spiced). Delivery is always quick and friendly. I've not had sushi here, but why would I when I've got Bob San and Mirai just a few blocks away?
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Go here for the Chinese food (not the sushi)...I had the sushi once and was very disappointed their delivery service is impeccable...always fresh and hot. We love the Tofu/Vegetable soup, the mu shu, the broccoli stir fries.....the veggie egg rolls are also suburb....we do delivery here all the time and are always pleased
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Quite possibly the worst sushi I've ever had. I've had grocery store sushi that far surpassed Papajin's in terms of texture and taste. The rice was dry and utterly flavorless. The unagi sauce was equally flavorless and had a watered-down taste to it. Who would order sashimi from here?!? The quality of the fish wasn't even suitable for maki. I threw sushi in the garbage after paying $50 for a meal for my boyfriend and I. Just terrible. I've lived in Japan and have eaten some amazing sushi- this wasn't even sushi: It was rice with some skimpy pieces of fish, and it was awful.
We also ordered sesame chicken- which should be renamed ketchup chicken- it was overly sweet and bright red in color. It turns my stomach just thinking about it. We ordered (overdone, cold) crab rangoon with no crab meat to be found, just a quarter of a teaspoon of cream cheese inside.
We also received one (!) fortune cookie.
I wouldn't order from here again even if I was held at gunpoint. I may as well have torn up a fifty and set it alight. HORRIBLE.
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Feeling lazy & hungover tonight, I ordered in from Papajin. I've been ordering from here for a long time and the Chinese is always consistently decent, but the sushi - oiy! Why, why, why do I fall for this every time I order from here? Because I'm an idiot, apparently. Hope springs eternal, what can I say?
Fella had the garlic chicken, which was quite tasty. I had the hot and sour soup (pretty good) and the aforementioned dismal sushi. The spicy shrimp tempura roll was badly rolled and drowning in sauce, the California roll was standard, but the Boston Roll - I swear, I think the tuna was off, it smelled and tasted funny. Wooh - I only ate one piece, guess I'll find out how bad it was in a few hours. That being said, I've had edible sushi from here, but it is SO hit and miss that I wouldn't even bother.
$34 dollars and 1/2 the food went into the garbage, so 4 stars for the fast delivery and well prepared Chinese, 2 stars for the sushi and one huge lesson FINALLY learned by me - no more cross-cuisine sushi!!!!
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This USED to be our go-to place for Chinese delivery. We had been customers of theirs for around a decade, and over the past few years noticed that the quality of their once-fantastic Chinese food suffered since the addition of the sushi bar. Furthermore, they do not care about their customers, and the service is (almost) laughably appalling. I would rather order from other Chinese restaurants in the area that actually respect their customers and do not rely on their trendy location and a reputation they can't live up to anymore. There is food as good and (much) better elsewhere.
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The only reason this place gets the additional star is because I didn't sit here and eat and I didn't have any sushi. My roommate and I decided that we'd try a different Chinese restaurant rather than our preferred Chinese restaurant, and we were hugely disappointed. I put our order on the phone for delivery, and apparently we didn't qualify for some free stuff because they had upped it up to $30 instead of the $25 where we were over at $28. We did qualify for the free eggroll though. Delivery time was okay. The eggroll was a little less than mediocre, and the crab cheese were okay. My General Tsao's chicken was ridiculous. There were six huge chunks of chicken in there - I'm not asking for them to cut my meat up in bite size pieces but I had to cut them up. There are a lot more vegetables in proportion to the meat, and I think I just ended up eating the vegetables. Needless to say, I'm not ordering food from here ever again, and this is the last time I'm going to be swayed by the stupid Red Eye or MetroMix about good Chinese in Wicker Park. I basically lost my appetite, and felt like I wasted money. Talk about bad taste in my mouth.
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Papajin is my default sushi joint when I'm out and about. The Spider Rolls are some of the best I've had, and everything always tastes fresh. It's easy to let your eyes get bigger than your stomach there so beware. The service is tricky. We went on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon and our server had the whole place to herself (about seven tables) so it was slow. Other times I've been there and it's been easy and attentive.
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Good Sushi, good service. Large Diverse menu.
Very pricey - however it is Sushi in Chicago which is a kind of oxymoron!
Reccomend for cooked sushi pregnancy cravings.
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We stuck strictly with the Chinese entrees for our night at Papajin. We loved it - ordered the sesame chicken/beef/shrimp and the garlic green beans I think. Appetizer of crab rangoon. Two glasses of plum wine. Our entrees were very tasty and I felt this was one of the best Chinese food experiences we have had.
Our service was fast though I stupidly left my cheap sunglasses on the floor and the waitress stepped on them accidentally. I seem to lose all my sunglasses in Yelp-reviewed restaurants - last pair I lost in Quaker Steak and Lube (Madison, WI).
The weather was majestic. We sat in a table next to the open sidewalk doors. It was amazing watching the pedestrian circus as we ate.
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At some point during our Wicker Park excursion, we realized we were drunk and starving. Sushi sounded like a killer idea to everyone who was not me - as I had never HAD sushi before.
So Jen suggests going to a place that does Chinese food AND Japanese food.
Oh man. If I could remember the names of all the little raw fishy treats we had, I would totally share. The tuna was outstanding. And the yellowtail rolls were really nice and subtle. Everything was awesome and tasty and reasonably priced.
Don't order the Reisling, though. Not a good wine at all - this is the first and only thing I have ever sent back in my whole life.
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I haven't tried the sushi yet, but I can say without hesitation that the Chinese dishes are worth the bus ride across town. The meats and veggies are fresh and tasty, and there are lots and lots of tofu options. In fact, the portions are so eye-poppingly enormous that I usually get a tofu dish to keep things on the light side.
P.S. Papajin is perfect for dinner dates. The dining room is polished and upscale, and the service is really impeccable.
P.P.S. If you're having trouble snagging a dinner reservation in this neighborhood, give Papajin a call. It's a big place, and it seems like they're never totally booked.
Service isn't always great and certainly not the friendliest, but this is the only place I know where they will combine meats and not charge you a full entree price. For example, you can get orange beef, chicken, and shrimp, for around $13. All other places charge for the price of 2-3 orders. I usually dine-in and have to help the waiter or waitress do their job, but the food is delicious.
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The service was a bit slow, the food was worth the wait. I've had their chinese food before and it's really good. This time around we decided to try their sushi. We were very happy with our meals. We tried some of the specialty rolls and we all agreed it was great sushi for the price and location. We also had a couple of maki rolls that just hit the spot. We recommend this place anytime.
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Overpriced sushi, but friendly staff and fairly good food. Much of what you are paying for is the look and the location of this joint. However, hands down, the food is fresh.
I order sushi for delivery from Papajin nearly every week. It's not the best sushi I've ever had, but it is consistent and fresh...plus they always get me my food within 45 minutes. I really like the spicy shrimp tempura roll here. Rainbow, dragon, and spider rolls are good as well. The unagi sushi is generally over-cooked.
I agree with another reviewer that the duck is a travesty. Don't order it. The other Chinese dishes are par for what I would expect from a take-out Chinese spot. Visually they don't look as fresh as other places I've been, but I've always been happy with the taste.
Delivery tip: they offer a free eggroll or california maki based on your order total. Also, they recently begun adding a $2 delivery fee.
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this place turned me into a chinese food eater again. I wouldnt touch the stuff, but this is great. the mongolian, and sechwan are greata. also, the green bean dish as well as the eggplant is to die for. also, the chow fun is delicious! they have a surprising dish, the calamari, and it is the best, you would never guess
as far as the sushi goes, I find it serviceable, with a few special items. If you didnt like it the first time, i suggest trying it again. plus, they deliver west of kedzie! yeah. Go Papajin!!!
and the sake isnt too pricey.
It's a Sunday night ritual - Papajin delivery. Usually delicious and speedy. When I've dined in person loved the ambiance. Very extensive menu and I like the pictures!! Try the peanut soba noodles - YUM!!
I finally made my way to Papajin the other day because my friend Katy is visiting and we wanted some sushi. I had heard pretty good things about this place, especially that the prices were reasonable. We each ordered our own rolls because Jason B. was along and he eats his weight in sushi, seriously!
I had the boston, yellowtail, and tempura green bean rolls. They were all pretty good. My only complaint is that the pieces were tearing a bit, but they still tasted the same. I was just happy to not pay $9 + for a roll of sushi. The miso soup was just okay. I have had better.
The service was a little slooow, but good overall. We ended with some red bean ice cream, which featured some whipped cream and a cherry--Yum! I'm not sure about the chinese entrees, but they featuerd many pictures on the menu. It looked good.
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Finally, a sushi place that has toro! I don't know why, but I keep walking into places that have run out of my favorite fatty tuna treat, or just don't have it on the menu. Papajin has it, and that makes me smile.
The edamame appetizer is excellent. Mmm, soy. I had a few pieces of sushi for dinner, and was very happy with the color, flavor, cut, and presentation of everything (why do I always feel like I'm reviewing gemstones when I talk about sushi?). The toro was my favorite, but the hamachi and hokki gai are great, and the unagi is better than any I've ever had.
There's a wine on their list called Xplorador. I'm no connoisseur, and I'm also pretty sure you're not supposed to pair red wine with fish, but it's pretty much my new favorite merlot. Ever. Also, the name sort of reminds me of Dora the Explorer, and I giggle a little bit.
This place is a perfect example of what a touristy area does to sushi. This was bad! Sorry Wicker Park but your neighborhood is just too full of douche bags that enjoy paying for overpriced crap. Whether its food, clothes, furniture or rent...
There are way too many places in the city to go to, so unless your sushi is great....don't bother.
For the record between the three of us we ordered:
Spicy Tuna
Spicy Octopus
Salmon
Mongolian Beef
Unagi...
All bad.
I've eaten here a couple of times and, of all of the wonderful places to go out to in Chicago, this is not one I'd pick. HOWEVER, they DELIVER, more importantly TO US on the western edge of Logan Square, So we order from there ALL THE TIME.
It's very good Chinese take-out (much better than your average local hole-in-the-wall joint that litters your porch or vestibule with menus every week), though a bit pricier. That they actually deliver sushi is what nailed it for me, though. To get a nice cut of raw fish on a cold and snowy night when there's no way I'm leaving the house is truly a luxury. Their Japanese menu is short on selection, but it has the staples and they are of decent quality.
Certainly it'll be more expensive than other delivery options but, short of hiring one of those companies that will deliver you food from anywhere - at a VERY high premium, it's definately one of the best. Where we live, it IS the best.
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My family used to order dinner from here about once every 3-4 weeks or so, and while it was good, it wasn't stellar.
The fried rice is ok. I think they put too many peas and carrots in it. I like it when the rice is darker in color and more flavorful. I feel like there is something lacking in Papajin's rice.
The egg rolls are decent.
There's one dish that they put way to much sauce on. It looks like soup! It might be the garlic chicken or something (though I can't remember).
The Mongolian beef is great, though. Yum! It comes with crispy noodles and white rice, and has a GREAT flavor. I could eat it every day for lunch (figuratively speaking, of course; I'd probably get sick if I ate it everyday -- literally).
The prices are about a buck or two more than most other chinese places.
Don't get me wrong, the food is good for the most part. It's edible, and it's tasty overall. But I've had better.
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I really wanted to love this place since there are so few Chinese food options in the area. But honestly, the food is just average. I went with a friend and we just focused on the Chinese food rather than ordering sushi. The egg drop soup wasn't very authentic. They threw a whole bunch of random stuff like huge chunks of tofu in there and it threw off the taste. I probably won't be going back.
Sometimes you're just a sucker for some rice and that's how my roommate and I ended up at Papajin the other night. We sat outside which is obviously a good time on Milwaukee and from what I actually paid attention to, the inside was nice. I had the vegetable soft noodles which was good but I should have asked for it to be spicy, but that's just how I like it. However, the mushrooms in it were of the WEIRDEST consistency I've ever had, sort of like a wet tire, and unfortunately with their fabric napkins I had to force through it and swallow it. GROSS. My roommate had the orange chicken plate and the chicken chunks were HUGE and of very good quality, he said he enjoyed it very much. I'll definitely go back!
I enjoyed dinner here with friends and would probably come back if I was in the 'hood but I wouldn't make this a destination dining experience.
Sushi was ho-hum. The fatty tuna was good, but it's good at a lot of places. Lots of specialty rolls, but I don't think there was anything here that made it stand our from a variety of other places.
The service was good. They have a full bar and some good mochi flavors for dessert.
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