Sunshine Cafe
5449 N Clark St
(between Catalpa Ave & Rascher Ave)
Chicago, IL 60640 (773) 334-6214
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 4:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: None
63 reviews
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
"This place gives Coast a run for it's money! Coast is usually PACKED (im thinking bc it's BYOB), so we tend to venture over to Blue Fin to…" read more »
44 Reviews for Sunshine Cafe
One of my Chicago favorites! My best friend told me about this place a long time ago, and since I always make an effort to go there. The food is just GREAT. Its Japanese home cooking. The owners are really nice and waiters and waitresses are always sweet. The Tonkatsu is my favorite, the meat they use is of high quality. The udon is out of this world.
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Honestly, I've never had Japanese food outside of the extras you can find at sushi restaurants. I decided to come here and figure out what Japanese cuisine was like other than sushi.
First impressions (and I had read about this in other reviews), don't expect to be welcomed upon entering. You can of just wait until they come talk to you, they don't really acknowledge your arrival regardless if they see you or not. The space itself kind of reminds me of eating in your grandmother's house, you know in that, nothing is really modern way yet it feels ok bc it's cozy.
Upon being seated, we were given two menus, the regular and their specials. Nothing really jumped out at me. I decided to go with something I was familiar with, tempura udon. I also tried the special calamari appetizer as others have commented that if it's available, get it. The udon was fairly standard, nothing special. The calamari was basically the tentacles which the server did note in his description, it was just lightly floured. Nothing special. I also tried some of my friend's gyoza, I didn't really care for it much. They pretty much fell apart once you lifted it up. Overall, the tastes were very delicate and I think my taste buds are used to being shocked here and there.
Overall, a good bargain but I didn't leave wanting more.
Interesting place. Very simple home cooked Japanese food. Quite good.
Fake wood paneling and fake brick. I am sure the decor has remained unchanged since they opened; which I assume was a while ago.
My dining party started with the gyoza, pickled vegetables, & shumai. All were nice, though I would have preferred more of the Japanese pickes in the pickled vegetables. Very nice dipping sauces for the gyoza & shumai.
For dinner I had the mackerel which was a delight. It's served with the skin, lightly salted with a light sauce. Fresh lemon and radish is spread atop it, to perfect this great dish. I loved it.
My companions had the Tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet), Sukiyaki, & A hot vegetable soba soup. Everything was absolutely marvelous. I really need to come here more often.
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UUUUUUUUUdon!
Never, ever disappointing and the best damn katsudon I've had in Chicago.
Get there early cause they tend to run out of the specials.
I was ecstatic to find such a hidden gem in close by Andersonville! Although I preferred the saba shioyaki over the salmon shioyaki, I thought they were both amazing. When we ordered, the waiter told us how he liked to prepare the saba. "Turn it over, squeeze some lemon, add the daikon oroshi with soy sauce on top" So he was very helpful, polite, and seemed like he had lots of pride in the restaurant. The saba has just the right amount of oil, firm, charred to perfection so that I could savor the skin. It brought back fond memories when my grandma would cook me some shioyaki in Japan. Portions were just right and made me want to go back for more.
Although they can improve upon the decor, with these prices and great home cookin, I'm not going to care. Actually I take that back, I think the atmosphere is just right. If this place had design like Sushi Samba or Japonais, it just wouldn't fit with the homestyle cookin.
Almost all the customers knew the waiter by name. I'll definitely be a return customer very soon.
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I had a salad with cold tofu and miso dressing. Not knowing what to expect, I still have the taste of it in my mouth, two days later.
A salad with uncooked silken tofu should not be that good.
Perhaps it was the courteous service. Perhaps it was the Formica ambiance. Perhaps I was ravenous. Perhaps it was the present company. Any number of factors could have tricked my tongue into enjoying it, but I'm unwilling to ask those sorts of questions right now.
Though they are not very vegetarian-friendly (and don't get me started on the gluten), I found a few menu items with promise. Next time I'll take my own soy sauce so I don't have to eat dry eggplant.
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This place has been a neighborhood favorite of mine for at least 8-10 years. During long study sessions, Chicken Teridon was my comfort food, along with some yummy Shumai. I'm only sorry that I don't live a couple of blocks away anymore. The service is very friendly, the prices are better than reasonable, and I've never been disappointed by any of the food that I've ordered there.
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So, what's not to like?
1. The music they play here will put you to sleep.
2. The seating/decor could use a little bit of help. I mean, just a little bit!
What is not to like about this kind of place? It is not pretentious. Good food and good people serving it. Complimentary green tea is a keystone of a good japanese restaurant. Who charges for green tea?!!
I took my bf there last night and I arrived as hungry as a horse. We started off with the hiya yakko- cold tofu with an assortment of toppings: grated ginger, bonito flakes, and thinly slices green onion. You top your tofu with all of that goodness and pour a little soy sauce over the whole thing. Delicious. Such simple ingredients that delivers such an amazing complexity of flavors. Now I said I was hungry so we also ordered gyoza (done perfectly as any good japanese gyoza is....heavy on the vegetable mixture, must be pork filling and served with ponzu with a little spicy chili oil). They were piping hot and inspired me to make my own batch. Then on a whim, I tried the fried smelt appetizer. for 4.50 you get about 10 fried smelt. Prettty tasy morsels.
For our main meal, I had the saba shioyaki served with a heaping mound of grated daikon. SOOOO Good. My bf had the Katsu Don and I think he even purposely saved a bit so he can take it to lunch today. Too cute that boy.
For all that food, the bill came out to 32 dollars.....what a deal.
For the price, the quality is amazing. The decor is nothing to call home about, but the main star is the food.
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Honestly I wish I could rate this place higher, esp b/c I love Japanese home cooking at a very reasonable price. Perhaps b/c I've been discussing a lot with friends recently that food, particularly ethnic food, in Chicago just isn't on par with the coasts. Part of it is the expectation I suppose after reading all the glowing reviews here, but really Sunshine Cafe, while doing the cooked dishes better than all of downtown Chicago, was pretty plain.
I ordered the potato croquettes on everyone's recommendation - which was solid. They had a special of squid calamari that evening which was slightly battered, but not entirely fried and that was decent. For my entree I settled upon the sukiyaki - awesome that there was this option, but again, it was good but not great. My friend tried their chicken teriyaki (yea, I know, I know). Something about the texture of the chicken was different in a good way, but it wasn't like melt-in-my-mouth delicious.
I think in the end what Sunshine Cafe offers is diversity from your typical Chicago Japanese restaurant. It is homely and a mom and pop shop - although my friend claims she saw that the chef was Mexican (not being racist, just an observation for Japanese purists) - but it wins you over by default b/c these options just don't exist downtown.
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Delicious, authentic, Japanese home-style cooking. I LOVE Sunshine Cafe. I have been here a while ago, but decided to revisit to let my boyfriend experience this wonderful little restaurant. First of all, the staff is very friendly, making you feel right at home. The tea is perfect and so is the miso soup. My boyfriend ordered the udon with beef and vegetables...he loved it. I tried something different (I always order katsu don) and ordered the mackarel and it was delicious. The waiter explained to me the different ways to eat the mackerel, and I thought that was very helpful! I love that this restaurant is just 3 blocks away from me! The prices are also great, they're not expensive at all!
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I am going to have to come back here, so I'll just say a few things about some of the things I tried:
1. Potato croquettes- These things are stupendous. Now, I like Cuban-style ham croquettes which, I grant, some people might find absolutely disgusting. But consider the two basic ideas present in there, which are the crispy outside and the hot, creamy, and savory filling. Substitute panko for regular bread crumbs and potato for (cheap and gristly) ham, then cook it like you give a damn about quality, and you have the potato croquettes.
2. Vegetable nanban yaki- It's a whole lot of really well cooked tofu and assorted vegetables (mostly bean sprouts, onions, and cabbage) separated into two very large piles, both atop a sauce. The sauce is clearly the star of the show. This is not to say that the whole thing wasn't prepared perfectly or that the vegetables weren't crispy and flavorful. But the sauce, damn. What a perfect combination of spicy, sweet, and sublime (as in, it exceeds all bounds of your imagination in its magnitude, allowing you to represent to yourself your infinite vocation). It also came with some rice!
The whole meal was far too cheap. I don't care what the place looks like inside, at least it's not like an interior designer threw up their ego all over the walls. You can't just wipe that up.
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This is a great little secret that's so authentic, it probably scares a lot of people away.
Forget the typical coy ponds and pan flutes... plastic food samples and pictures of the menu items are more typical in Japan. Wood paneled walls, industrial carpeting and flat fluorescent lighting cap off an ambiance that can only be described as "well, at least the food better be good." It usually is great.
Come, BYO and leave your prejudices at the door. This place is special.
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YAY SUNSHINE CAFE! Authentic sukiyaki, fantastic service, my date and I had a perfect dining experience. Definitely going back. It reminded me of my vacation in Japan many years ago - plastic food in the windows, ftw! Prices were excellent, food was excellent, I love it here.
Don't go looking for sushi or trendy food, that's not the point. The point is grandma's cooking, Japan-style. Seventeen thumbs up.
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The food is good (we ordered the udon, tilapia, and potatoe croquette), but the croquette is overrated. The chicken in the udon wasn't very good (I should have ordered the vegetable udon instead). I'm an udon nazi and I was very hesitant about this place at first, but the udon was cooked perfectly. However, the broth was only okay. It seems as if most of the customers are returning customers as everyone who came in hugged the owner and whatnot. This isn't the best Japanese food I've had but the prices are decent and the owner is nice.
well its not the most romantic eating spot on the blook, In fact I felt a little weird taking in my wine. Not really an enviroment for drinking. But the food is amazing. I was so impressed and content with my udon noodles and tempura veggies on the side. yummy.
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YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE ...
Love this place to death. There is nothing bad on the menu. It's all prepared with love and deliciousness.
My fave is Oyako Don ... chicken strips sauteed in a slightly sweet sauce with egg and onions over rice. Sooooooo comforting.
Try the fish too. Shioyaki style is so much more interesting than Teriyaki and especially good with makerel (saba).
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I knew this place was good when I felt like I was eating my grandma's japanese home cooking -- and i'm not even Japanese! That's just what it is: great japanese home cooking. No frills. I've been to Tokyo a few times and this place reminded me of some of the small dives I went to in Japan, where the locals go for a good warm meal. I've had the udon and the pork katsu and they were both very good. I can't wait to come back here for the udon when it's freezing cold out. The perfect meal. I will be back a lot.
Edit: Been back there few more times and have not been dissappointed. You must try the mackerel and salmon both shioyaki style. They are godly.
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It's a Japanese restaurant with authentic Japanese food!! Seriously not easy to find those in this country--this place is fabulous.
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I've been hearing about this place for months now and finally had the chance to go last night. It was great!
I started out with the tofu salad and an order of gyoza that had a surprisingly spicy dipping sauce. Both were simple and well executed dishes.
I followed that up with the broiled makarel (Saba Shioyaki) it was recommended to me and didn't disappoint. It was perfectly cooked, light and flakey - I only wish there was more as I inhaled it along with the rice and cucumber salad.
One more thing - this place is BYOB and doesn't have a corkage fee.
For the price, this place is definitely worth the trip. I'm looking forward to heading there when the weather is cold - those udon noodles looked excellent too!
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This place is amazing,. I went there, got seated with my date, and we just ate... i got the saba shioyaki, and it was delicious. It was so good, that neither of us spoke during dinner.
Its really grandma's cooking, so no sushi and such that you find at those other fancy restaurants. Prices are great and food even better. I am pretty much excited for the next visit.
(they used to open for lunch, but not anymore)
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Welcome back Sunshine Cafe!
They were closed for 3 months over the summer but now they're back.
I have nothing substantial to add that hasn't been said, I just want to pile my five stars onto the count.
I used to come here for lunch but it's dinner only these days. We had a nice early dinner there on a Friday night. It's a single storefront, kinda small. Every perimeter table was taken with older japanese familes, all obviously regular customers. The staff was giving everyone a warm and sincere welcome. It was very pleasant and friendly.
We had their special seaweed salad appetizer with squid, very tasty. Had their trusty Oyako don for my main. It's a bowl of stir-fried chicken with onions over white rice. The sauce is a little sweet and savory and it's very delicious. I eat the pork version in the winter (katsu don.)
This is a casual unpretentious place that doesn't really need any hype or exaggerated praise. Excellent food, good value, friendly service.
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I kind of wish that I could speak to the authenticity of this place, because it would make me seem that much cooler or somehow make my white skin seem less pasty.
Alas, all I can say is that my wife and I had a huge meal of potato croquettes, udon and nanban yaki for about 20 bucks, it was all really delicious, and I hope to eat here more often this coming year. Usually I am all about the BYO, but in this case I am glad I skipped, as a warm complimentary cup of green tea on a cold Chicago night is just what the Dr. ordered.
Remember those family friend dinners you went to when you were little, potluck variety, basic tables and heavy chairs lined up around them.
Green, astroturf-looking carpet, brown walls.
I could even picture a screen door swinging behind me as I walked in.
Flavors are strong, but appropriate, I can always tell by how thirsty I am, and I wasn't. I ordered the oyako don, and still have half leftover for lunch!
I am excited to come back in the colder months, I love udon noodle soup!
The staff is very friendly, and I saw many people dining by themselves.
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I am so happy that Sunshine Cafe has finally reopened. I have been waiting to try it out, since I first learned about it right before they closed last October.
It's good, homecooked Japanese comfort food. No sushi - just the deliciousness of sukiyaki, tonkatsu, udon, etc. Not a huge menu, just the basics - which they do extremely well.
Friendly staff, but they close a bit early - 9pm, even on Fridays!
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This place reminds me of joints in LA Little Tokyo. Family fronts just serving food they know how to make best. There is nothing here about pish posh sushi, yet foodwise they serve comfort homestyle relaxation. and it's comforting to find that the grandmas here serve the food with no problem (trust grandmas' instincts- otherwise they'd be croaking on shit that be ill). I've seen solo diners here which is no matter because the service tends to treat you as family.
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I'm asian (as you can tell) and I'm not saying that I have better taste buds, BUT ... I'm asian. For better or for worse.
I love this place. I recommend the mackerel over the salmon. Potato croquettes are great -- the sauce they come with is delicious-yum-yum.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes hole-in-the-wall restaurants and authentic Asian food.
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The best Japanese home cooking in Chicago and it's GONE. Every time I walk by the darkened storefront, it's a dagger through my heart. Why, God, why? The fact this place is now closed has seriously made me reconsider moving out of Andersonville. My quest for the perfect bowl of unadon continues.
Mourn u b4 I join u Sunshine! *pours out a 40*
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Simply Love this place. Sunshine is one of my favorite restaurants on the Andersonville North Clark strip. It's affordable and the food is really good.
It was closed for a while, I belive to family stuff, but as of last weekend, the open sign is back. All is good in the world.
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RIP SUNSHINE CAFE, I will leave this review up as a tribute to your greatness:
If you are ever feeling blue, or like your personal health has taken a nosedive, go to Sunshine Cafe. Order my favorite meal. Have a sip of green tea and then start with the Gomae. Be amazed that cooked spinach could taste like that. Procede to a gentle cup of miso (on a cold day drink it from the bowl and warm your hands at the same time), then eat the Norwiegan Salmon. Notice how the skin is UNBELIEVABLY crispy, marvel at the moistness of the fish. Pay the bill, note how it is less than $15. Feel smarter than all the people paying the same price or more for crapy food at chain outlets. Remark to yourself how it only took 35 minutes to treat yourself to something delicious. Think of me. Your guru.
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This past fall, I was going through a dark week of the soul and took a mental health day off work. Feeling shiftless, and remembering Sara M's endorsement of this place below, I picked up the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which I was then reading, and headed for lunch at Sunshine Cafe, hoping it would pick up my spirits. Verily, a year with Freud couldn't have done more to cure what ailed me. The udon noodles were both delicious and medicinal. Two little Japanese grannies dined behind me, on what I suspected was their weekly lunch date; one of them expressed worries about how the early cold snap might be affecting her favorite squirrel. My small cup of complimentary green tea was kept hot and full. It was perfect. I stepped out into the bracing air restored.
Hoping to relive this experience a couple weeks later, I walked to Sunshine Cafe again, only to find an "On vacation" sign in the window. No reopening date was specified and, at last check, the sign was still in the window. Is this the demise of the magical Sunshine Cafe? I can only wonder if I caused this to happen by my choice of reading material that day--a sudden, prolonged, and mysterious vacation is straight out of a Murakami novel. This case calls for a metaphysical detective; I can only hope the cafe's proprietor isn't at the bottom of a well. In any event, I will always have my memory of that one life-restoring bowl of udon to cherish.
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This is place isn't your normal japanese place. 1st of all there is no sushi (well there is one califonia roll..). If your ok with not having sushi (which you should be because the resto of japanese cuisne is amazing you will love this place.
The sukiakee is great, the soups are amazing, the teriakee salmon/chicken is very good. In fact i can say ive had almost everything on the menu and never been disapointed. I would definitly go to this place and recomend it to anyone.
BYOB by the way. And cheap as well
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A couple of good friends of mine took me to this place last week. They live just right down the street from it and have raved how godo the food was.
It was closed for awhile, but with one phone call it was confirmed they were open for business!
The place a small and very quaint. The owner and staff were very pleasant. My friends have been to this place previous times. The menu is not overwhelming for a Japanese place. Which I enjoyed. But overall the food at this place is inexpensive and fantastic! Will definitely be back to this cute little place.
We happened by Sunshine Cafe one day while looking for a Japanese place to eat. I was surprised to find that Sunshine Cafe's menu was mostly home cooking - they have a variety of noodle dishes, donburis, etc.
This cafe was like a mini-trip to Japan and it made me completely nostalgic. We had limited options since a lot of the food has meat in it or is made with meat broth but what we ordered was delicious! I specifically remember the potato croquettes - delicious with its panko breading! I hope to go back soon and give it 5 stars!
If you're really interested in more than just sushi - in actually trying Japanese food then I highly recommend Sunshine Cafe
I like this place. Something about the way their food tastes, makes me think of gourmet cooking. I called for the Fried Mackerel. and my husband called for Tonkatsu were both good. I wouldn't say the food was to die for, but it was delicious. The service was awesome. People working there were extremely courteous. I would go back or recommend it to anyone.
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This is a small Japanese restaurant in Andersonville that offers homestyle Japanese cooking. I ordered the beef udon soup and it was big, flavorful and satisfying! If you are looking for sushi, this is not the place to go. They don't have raw fish and only have one kind of roll. They have the dishes like udon soup, tonkatsu, and rice dishes. The food is fresh and well-prepared. The decor is lacking, but it is the food that have the loyal customers coming back here. It is BYOB and the prices are reasonable.
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Chicago Tribune (10/20/06) gave it top billing with a 4 Forks review today in it's CHEAP EATS column ( AT PLAY Section) - so look out for crowds and a possible (if temporary) downturn in quality and service.
The reviewer pretty much LOVED everything about this place and everything on the menu as well (he just wishes the Oyako Duburi "had been made with chicken thigh" instead of breast meat.
Note that 4 Forks is their highest rating and they almost never give it!
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so my grandfather had this throat cancer thing, which required this chemotherapy thing, which precluded his eating solid foods for awhile. well, he got over it. but being in his eighties he didn't bounce back as quickly as would a youngster, so for the longest time he had trouble tasting anything. swallowing anything. enjoying anything but sunshine's pork udon.
before the throat cancer thing, we'd stop in an occasional weekend or so for dinner, after shooting pool. all he ever ordered was pork udon. it's good. it's healthy. slides down easy, so i never worried about him choking.
after the throat cancer thing, i'd just stop in to pick up noodles for gramps, but now i go for myself. everything on the menu is good. appeteeze yourself some gomaae. tofu salad. tempura's just right, all the donburi are good, all the udon. sukiyaki on a cold day, all the everything else, anytime. plus, the staff is kind, accomodating and johnny-on-the-spot.
unlike trendy sushi picks of the week, sunshine has mainstay japanese american soul. it's a family joint with homey flavor. it's quiet. it's byob. it's one of the few places in chicago one can still find tablesful of multigenerational buddhahead families joining for lunch or dinner. it's nice.
but don't take my word for it, try for yourself.
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Sunshine is one of my favorite restaurants on the Andersonville strip. It's affordable and the food is really good. Most of all, the staff is extremely friendly, adding to the place's cozy, homey feel. Some of the best plastic food wrapped in Saran wrap you'll ever see displayed in a window too.
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If you are looking for a trendy sushi restaurant, this is not it. The Sunshine Cafe is a family owned and operated restaurant which offers home-style Japanese food in a cozy / kitchy setting. The food is always warm and tasty and the service - friendly. It is a great place to take a friend for a nice quiet meal and a good conversation.
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