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Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: LakeviewMon-Sun. 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
"Flaming Maki is the best sushi I've ever had :) Great selection of Sake, too. Nice place, pretty classy. I'm def. not returning to my…" read more »
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I've been a fan of this place for awhile now and really enjoy eating there. As a BYOB you can't do much better, it's right up there with Tango Sur and Las Tablas as BYOB's.
Overall their sushi is very fresh, tasty, and not too overdone. I personally enjoy the godzilla roll and many of the classic maki rolls. Their nigiri and sashimi isn't as good as Coast or Mirai, but it's definitely more than serviceable.
The atmosphere is always bustling with people and makes it feel like it's a place to be seen but without the pretension. It's got a nice decor with a variety of seating.
Usually I find it pretty easy to get a table if you time it right, but it can be a bit crazy at times. Thank goodness for the bar next door to sip on a cocktail while waiting.
The only reason I don't give it a 5 star rating is that sometimes the service leaves a bit to be desired, but the food keeps me from complaining.
Tried to order takeout on a sunday night, and service was atrocious. I called in, a woman took my order, but as I waited for her to confirm my order, she apparently set down the phone...and walked away. For 5 minutes. All I heard was restaurant noise in the background. I hung up, and walked over to place my order.
I explained what happened, and got an apology from the host, but that was it. The girl who I presume took my order gave me a "look." I should have just walked out but I didn't....anyway, I get home to discover that the tuna avocado roll I ordered very slowly and clearly was missing the tuna. Oh, but I did get charged for the tuna when I looked at the bill.
Thanks for the good memories Wakamono, but I'll never go back. I'll go to Toro from now on.
This review is actually a 4.5/5. I went here on a wednesday night with 2 friends and I was quite… Read more »
Have you heard the rule never to have sushi on a Tuesday night? I have, but I never believed it until now. Twice in the last month I have ordered Wakamono, once on a Tuesday and once on a Wednesday. I have to say the Tuesday dinner stunk!
On the Tuesday, I called in my order for delivery. I wanted the Snow White roll and the sweet potato roll. Once I told the Wakamono employee that I wanted the Snow White roll she informed me that they didn't have it. That should have been a warning to me that whole Tuesday thing was not a myth. When I got the sushi I was even more frustrated. It wasn't quite right. They fish was more chewy than normal and the rolls tasted like they had been siting around in a luke warm room for a while. What a 2 star night!
With the Wednesday order my friends and I ordered in several different kinds of sushi. We ordered a spider roll, the peter parker, a kani chung and a few others. All of the rolls we had that night were amazing. They tasted so fresh and so good we stuffed ourselves. In my book that nights sushi was a 4.
Based off of those two experiences I feel I can only give Wakamono a 3. Its a sad day in sushi land........
- Great sushi. The rolls are creative, but not so over run by mayo or other such ingredients. I would recommend the Emerald Roll.
- Atmosphere is fun but casual. If you have time, grab a drink before or after at the bar next door. I usually have an Asahi with Sushi, but the martinis are worth it at the bar. Neighborhood feel. Vibe is sort of Colorado Lodge meets Japan.
Bumpity bump to 5 fabulous fish stars!
Because I don't live anywhere near Wakamono, I haven't been back since my most excellent sushi experience in the spring, but I was at a friend's house in Lakeview last night and since I'm on this crappy diet, my dining out options are pretty limited. I can, however, have sushi (as long as it isn't the fried/cream cheese/mayo/tempura variety sushi).
One quick trip to http://grubhub.com garnered the knowledge that my sweet, sweet Wakamono delivers! OMFG. Thank you, Grub Hub. You're off my shit list.
We dove into the spicy tuna roll and the California roll. Yeah, yeah. I know. Not the most exciting options, but I know they're good and they don't have all of the "bad" sushi components I'm trying to avoid.
I dug the California roll (yay veggies), but the real star was the spicy tuna roll. Just the right amount of heat combined with a most excellent, non-fishy tuna made for pure sushi bliss. Wakamono also does a great job of making sure their sushi roll slices are bite sized, so there's no issue with the roll falling apart while you're trying to eat it. Sloppy sushi? No thanks!
Finally, the take-out presentation was immaculate. Our fish arrived chilled, our miso soup was piping hot, the wasabi and ginger were in cute little tin foil packages and the soy sauce came in these teeny tiny little bottles. Much easier than dealing with ripping open packets of soy sauce, eh?
Wakamono - I give you 2 giant sushi thumbs up!
Wakamono technically translates to "youth" in English, but I think it should be "new favorite sushi… Read more »
If you go here and have a bad time or are with a real jack arse you can always take em out with the cast iron tea cups...
This is my new local sushi place and I love it. My favorite is the dragon roll since I am a huge fan of eel and avocados.
They have a large assortment of maki rolls in addition to my favorite dragon and all are interesting and sapid. If you don't like sushi but still want to go they have a full bar and are also BYOB - double fun...
Other reasons why they get five stars aside from their sweet location down from my place are as follows:
cloth napkins
nice ambiance
reasonable prices
good lighting
friendly staff - quick too
*Oh I forgot about the tea cups! So yeah if you order tea it comes out in the heaviest cup ever made from cast iron. The sucker weighs a ton. The lil kette it comes out in is also cast iron. So again, if you are with a terrible date or an annoying friend and want to liven it up just throw either the cup or the kettle at their dome and make it a fun night. Either that or just steal a marble rye from a random 'old bag' as you walk home down Broadway....yeah I watch Seinfeld too much.
I like this place alot - you should too...
This place will make lots of money. Not only because of the fabulous food but because I doubt they pay any electric bills with how dark it is in there.
The food is spectacular. We started with a cold appetizer of tuna and avocado dip with wonton crackers that was absolutely superb and exactly the type of inventive dish that you need at a sushi place to make you remember it.
Then we moved on to the crown jewels of the place and ordered some rolls, 3 rolls to be exact. The oh la mango roll, the kani chung, and the peter parker. All 3 are completely different, yet all three came out beautifully. They were presented so well you almost couldnt pull yourself to eat them and ruin the art on your plate. But we got over that real quick and dug out. Each of our rolls was flavorful to the point that it was hard to pick which one we wanted to pick at next. A great establishment and I'll be returning soon.
this place is perfect for a date - it's not too expensive and the sushi is amazing and fresh. i love the potstickers. I'm a vegetarian so I can't speak for the fish, but they still have plenty of veggie optins. There is a great salad roll that comes with the tastiest ginger puree. The service is also excellent.
Beautifully designed to make you feel like you're eating in a small corner of Japan...and, it's an incredibly good price for quality sushi. It is worth the wait, and to pass the time you can hang out in the Chinese bar room, which looks like a still from "Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love" film.
The only complaint is that while the staff is helpful, they can rush you through dinner.
Looking for a place with large rolls that have interesting names? Wakamono is your place. I love the Peter Parker roll, which has soft shell crab, and I've never had jalapeno miso soup before this, and it was quite tasty, until I burned my lip with a jalapeno.
It isn't cheap though, 3 rolls, 2 orders of miso and 2 cocktails were about $75. Maybe it's because I'm used to suburban Detroit prices, not Chicago. Great treat though.
What can an out-of-towner who stumbled upon Wakamono say that the millions of other reviews haven't?
We got into Chi-City late Friday evening and dropped our stuff off at a friend's apartment in the neighborhood. Roommate's boyfriend used to live in the area so we decided to head to Ping Pong for dinner. Their sign said they closed at 11:00 and since it was 10:45 we decided not to press our luck. We noticed the cute place across the street was busy (both inside and out on their patio tables) so we figured they'd probably be open later.
Well, the host sure didn't say anything, but our waitress seemed a little alarmed when she approached our table and asked if we knew they closed at 11:00. We sure didn't, but we were starving and promised we'd order and eat quickly. Our bottle of wine came soon thereafter and the sushi flew out right after that.
My avocado roll (I'm a veg-head so I go with the veggie rolls) was SUPER fresh and stuffed with big chunks of avos. Mmm. I'd say pass on the Salad Roll. I should have asked for the brown rice to be subbed for regular sushi rice, but I didn't want to ask our girl for any changes that late at night. It came with a really tasty spicy sauce, but the roll just wasn't my favorite.
This place is CUTE. Service is great, the dining area is dim and sexy and the food is incredibly tasty-face. Hopefully I can visit again with more than 20 minutes to experience it all. And don't forget your apple gummy at the end of your meal!
Wakamono is perhaps one of the best sushi restaurants in Chicago. Their sushi is supreme and the rest of their food, from the miso soup, to their salads are extraordinary!
Their service is really good and love how they put love on every detail; from decoration to how they serve their dishes.
Try their miso soup! It's like no other I ever had!
I didn't see the plum wine on the menu but I asked for it and it was really really good!
If it gets to loud inside, sit outside while weather allows. Although, some nites is not to crowded.
Love it!!!!!!
I've been going to Wakamono once a month for over a year--best. sushi. EVER. I've had sushi all over the east coast and all over Chicago, and I keep coming back here. The service is PERFECT and the chefs are amazing. This place also played a strong role in my boyfriend's proposal to me...they served us a GORGEOUS meal, complete with flowers and hearts made of strawberries and grapes AND a complimentary dessert. I will always choose this place for my sushi fix.
This place is so cute! Came here last night with the BF and everything was delightful. The place, the service, and the food! We ordered the wakakmono roll, the mango, the emerald, and the sweet potato. All were delicious. We ordered a bottle of Riesling that was actually French White Wine. It was still very good. We skipped out on the dessert because we were stuffed, but definitely plan to go back. I can't wait to try the other special rolls and appetizers. It's BYOB-friendly!
We went there with good friends at 6pm on a Saturday night. There was an open table and we were told that they were keeping it open in case a larger party showed up. We waited and watched. The table stayed empty for the entire time we waited for a smaller table. The host and and the manager were two of the most obnoxious people EVER. Arrogant and rude doesn't cut it in the restaurant business.
AWFUL. AWFUL. AWFUL.
This place is pretty awesome and I've taken friends here on 2 occasions first being attracted to this place because of it's affiliation next door to Wangs Bar which with it's red dark moody lighting, perfect for having a drink before dinner and then walking into right door way which is Wakamono. The service was pretty great just not stellar which is the only reason I rated it 4 stars but that could be because while we were finishing up I noticed the girls were watching our table too closely which was distracting. I'm sure they didn't mean any harm but it does make people feel like you are rushing them to finish soon. I know the standard is to clean clean and take away once each item is done but should be done so more vaguely rather than soo obvious.
When being told that we were going to try out a place called "Wakamono"- one idiotic thought immediately came to mind:
"I hope no monkeys are actually harmed..."
(My limited Spanish can tell you that the word for "monkey" is "mono")
To my knowledge, neither monkey nor ape has been whacked here- and that is just another good thing to add to the list of delights. I really liked this place!
We normally have a problem going out for sushi. That problem tends to differ depending on if we either a) don't have a lot of money to spend and therefore leave hungry, or b) spend a lot of money in order to be satisfied, but somehow don't feel that it was completely worth it.
Here- both problems were solved for us. I DEEPLY appreciated Wakamono offering a maki sampler that allowed me to devour four chef selected maki rolls for around $20. Worried that I would be given something cheap and skimpy, the sushi chefs selected a nice variety for me to try and I left completely stuffed! Plus- the maki were delicious.
Bonus points for giving me a roll with grilled fresh water eel. Very good!
If you come here- try out the sweet potato roll. It is worth the hype.
Wakamono is one of my old trusties. Although, the first couple years I went here, I could not remember the name for the life of me. I would always say, "Let's go to that yummy sushi place on Broadway that starts with a 'W' and ends with an 'ono'..."
What's great about this place is that it's casual enough that you can just stop by without planning a night out, or you can make an evening of it with a group of friends or a date. There can be a wait for a table, but I think the worst I ever experienced is 15 minutes. It's also BYOB which always helps make that bill at the end of the meal a little lighter.
The food itself is delicious! My favorites rolls include: snow white, dragon, peter parker, white tuna avocado, godzilla, and unagi avocado. It is all presented nicely and easy to share with others...so play nice.
Totally random, but they play a great mix of hip-hop music from my high school years in the background . It makes me smile when I'm eating a bite of sushi and then all of a sudden start humming "Hypnotize" by Notorious BIG. Good times.
Not only does Wakamono have fabulous martinis, they also deliver sushi straight to my front porch! It's a little pricey, but worth it. I'm a huge fan of the miniature to-go soy sauce bottles. The spicy tuna roll was really outstanding, usually not one of my favorites. Godzilla roll was good... zilla. Awesome awesome awesome miso soup, some of the best I've had. Wakamono, I wakawill be calling you again soon!
The first time I ate here I hated it. This same phenomenon happened to me when I tried to other Asian places (both just down the street in fact) - Ping Pong and Cafe Blossom.
This is when I discovered the hidden truth: Asian food should not be eaten outside in Summer months. Well, at least my palate feels this way. Something about hot weather just makes sushi, well, wilt.
I decided to give Wakamono a second try because I LOVE sushi and this place is just too close to my house for me not to enjoy it. I went back a second time and well, the rest is history.
Wakamono is absolutely delicious! The fish is fresh and there is a good enough variety of maki where you don't feel underwhelmed by a lack of options and you don't feel overwhelmed by too many. Cute names like the Kani Chung roll give the place a humorous feel.
My sushi philosophy is this: the more lines on a menu a roll's description takes up, the better it will be. Nigiri just isn't my thing - I want to struggle fitting that roll in my mouth.
If simpler rolls are your thing try the spicy white tuna roll. Spicy tuna rolls are a go to - but spicy WHITE tuna just kicks it up a notch.
If you're going for the first time I would recommend going on a weekday evening. Weekend night waits can keep you standing for over an hour and that might give you a skewed view of the place. Start your meal out with some edamame - I'm not sure what they soak it in, but it's good. Oh, and HELLO - it's BYOB. It wins.
Ready for this one? It will be a long one.
A couple months back, two friends, my husband and I enjoyed a dinner at Wakamono. Food was great, service was great, from what I can remember.
A couple of us (6 total) wanted to get together for dinner, so I recommended Wakamono again. One of the girls had mentioned that she had a terrible experience the last time she went, where she waited over an hour when clearly they were one of the first to arrive. A couple parties who came in after her group clearly knew the hostess, as each separate group came in giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Despite this, I loved there food and wanted her to give them another chance. I called around 6:45p Saturday to ask for an idea of what the wait would be as they don't take reservations. They said they easily could sit a table of 6 right away. I asked if I was to come in at 7:30 what they thought it might be - 15 to 20 minutes tops they said.
My husband and I went in a little after 7:30, thinking we could at least put our name in and hopefully be seated by 8:00p. I went to put in my name and whoa and behold...the wait was now 45 min. to an hour. Not bad, fine, we'd at least be at our table by 8:30p. We went to the bar and ordered a couple drinks until our friends arrived. Come 8p, all 6 of us were in the bar. My husband went to check on our wait at about 8:10, and they said they had seated 2 groups of 6 ahead of us, and we were next. Another 15-20 min.
Now it's 8:45p and we are still waiting. I decide that I will go check. I got to the front, and there is another host. I tell him my name, explain we've been there since 7:30p and ask what the deal is. Apparently there is going to be another 30-45 min wait. Yes, 30-45 minutes. I am really confused, and ask how that's possible, and his response was "it's a saturday night, we get really busy". There isn't even a 2-hour wait at CHARLIE TROTTER's, PLEASE. I get a little pissy, obviously, and as he's fumbling through the wait list, I see my name crossed out. I ask why my name is crossed out and he cannot answer. Obviously someone made a mistake, and they continued to seat others before us. The original host comes back in, asks whats wrong, and looks completely confused. He then goes, "Hmm OK, give me 5 minutes".
I go BACK to the bar. 9pm, he comes by and let's us know "even though our name was crossed out, it doesn't matter because there is still a group ahead of us" ok, bs, fine, we dont' even care anymore. They sit us at 9:15p, almost 2 hours later, and probably about a $75.00 bar tab just for waiting on them, even though we have 7 bottles of wine. Nice free money for these guys.
We're seated, service was pretty shitty, food took a long time, but as expected, food was great.
But I'm not done - when were were first seated, they took our bottles of wine - all 7. One of which, let me explain, was one of the couple's bottles of wine that was given to them as a recent wedding gift only 3 weeks ago.
We drank and drank, and suddenly toward the end of the nite, our hostess let us know that somehow one of our bottles 'went missing' but we could pick one out of their crappy wine list. We did - however, realizing that the 'missing bottle' was the wedding gift. Really crappy.
Now, I understand that mistakes happen, but here's the even crappier part. When the husband of my friend who had just gotten married was coming back from the bathroom, he took a peak in the kitchen and saw their wedding bottle of wine, sitting on the counter IN THE KITCHEN, with a couple sips left, cork on top.
When he confronted the wait staff about it (by this time it was midnight and we were pretty much the only ones left), they all look confused and immediately came up with 100 excuses.
So - all in all - we will never go back there EVER again. Can I please have 5 hours of my life back?
We sat outdoors, enjoyed excellent service and the following food
Miso with jalapeno.
Fire Dragon roll: spicy tuna wrapped with freshwater eel, avocado topped with red tobiko, unagi sauce
Snow White roll: super white tuna, almonds, avocado, masago, mayo
White tuna jalapeno maki
Two beers each. The bill was totally reasonable.
I'll be back. (reserving 5th star to see if it's good again and I want to eat inside, which I did not look or go in at all)
Whoa! Hi. So, what's with all the hype? Man, I feel weird when I'm a dissenting opinion, but I've got to say, this place is not that great. The service, I have to say, was great - attentive, nice. But it pretty much stopped there.
The salmon teriyaki was alright - the salmon was cooked perfectly (just barely raw in the middle) but the sauce was SO cloying and thick, it overpowered any fresh, wonderful salmon flavor. The rice to accompany it was so heavy with vinegar, I couldn't eat it, and I'm a girl who has grown up eating rice with at LEAST two meals a day. I love my rice, I LOVE RICE!, but I couldn't eat this.
The rolls - kani chung and rainbow - have to be rated separately. The kani chung rolls were off the hook. Yum, perfect, will definitely get those again if I ever have to go back. The rainbow rolls, unfortunately, were not that great. I think the creator was not thinking thoroughly when he/she was dreaming up this particular roll, because, while the flavor was okay, the roll just turned into mush in my mouth. There should've been some cucumber, carrot, something with crunch to give the roll an even balance. Not just lots of mush put together in a pretty way. The other downside to lots of ingredients in a roll is that the flavors all roll together... I couldn't tell you what I was actually eating even if my life depended on it! What a waste of good fish!
Oh... and the jalapeno miso soup was alright. I love spicy food and miso soup, so the two together should've been good, but I left feeling ambivalent about it. Meh. Two mediocre dining experiences within the same week. Save me from my neighborhood!
One thing I have to note... what is up with all the really loud club music pumping through the restaurant? Ping Pong does that, too, and I'm not a huge fan. I like to hear my companions speak... can't they turn it down a little? I sound like a curmudgeon, but I'm okay with that. If people really want to feel like they're in a club, go to a club.
So your a lakeview east resident and are in the mood for asian food or more perticularly ......sushi. your choices are endless around here, there seem to be asain restaurants everywhere. Wakamono is one that stands out in my mind. Every dinner I've had there as been great. I also like the setup of the place as well. Overall a must try if you live in the area.... order the calamari you won't regret it
Went to Wakamono at the recommendation of a friend of a friend, who raved that the sushi was the best in town. We sat inside since it was raining...enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant, very sleek and sophisticated. I'd really like to sit outside next time, they have a nice little area set up. Our server was rushed and inexperienced, she spilled beer on my friend's skirt without apologizing and continually tried to take our half-full Sapporos away with her.... $5.00 corkage fee too.
Loved the godzilla and dragon roll! We also had the spicy tuna and the Oedipus roll- these were not the best I've ever had but definitely not the worst. Pretty solid. Would come here again or order take-out for the sushi. And Wang's located next door looks like a little Asian dive bar that I'd love, definitely want to check that place out soon.
Oh Wakamono how I love thee! Why aren't you in my neighborhood but instead so far from me? If only we could be closer to each other so I could have you every day. Mmmm.
At this point you realize that I love the food here. The scallop app is divine and I like to keep the spicy sauce to dip my sushi in after. So so good. If I had to choose between rolls then I would say my favorite roll is the snow white roll with super white tuna, almonds avocado oh my!
I wish they delivered to me but the don't (big sighs). I hoped that when I moved from River West to East Village they would but alas, still no. The sad thing is they deliver to only a few blocks away. I tried to pull every trick in the book such as, "but you've delivered to my address before", and "I'll stand on the corner of the street" to, "please please I'll pay extra!" but no. I'll just have to wait till next time I'm in Boystown. Ultimately is worth the trip though especially because I would be one broke biatch if they did deliver! Go fill belly full of sushi and thank me later.
Well, well, well, my new favorite sushi place in Chicago (thanks for the suggestion Brett!). Sadly I am out of their delivery radios. Oh well, I don't mind making the trek up north to pick up Wakamono's yummy raw fish.
Like every other sushi place in Chicago, it is not cheap ($70ish for a full meal for two). However, the rolls are creative, the fish is fresh and taste is just amazing. Worth it, in my opinion, for a great dinner.
My favorites include their jalapeno miso soup, gyoza, sashimi platter (the large is nice for splitting), the yellow tail jalapeno maki and the spicy trio roll. My boyfriend was a big fan of the sweet potato roll (tempura sweet potato and cream cheese) and the yo lo mango roll (spicy salmon and asparagus wrapped with mango).
Yum yum yum. I am very happy to have found such a great sushi place where I foresee myself spending a good chunk of my paycheck. I am looking forward to my next experience here- take out or dine in!
Wakamono...
You walked in to my stomach, you left with my heart and yet I sit here with a big smile on my face.
The raves I have heard from so many friends, (Brett D, Colleen C, Erin P to name a few), as well as this being the go to place for sushi for my girlfriend. Lofty goals my friend... lofty.
Walking over we had no reservations, but we managed to score an outside table for our group of four. We had brought two bottles of wine, unfortunately since we were sitting outside, no BYOB for us. Sad face. However with their excellent fully stocked bar, the frown turned upside down. Our service was great right off the bat. Always attentive, always around when needed and patient with us as we tried to decide appetizers and our main dishes.
We rolled on with our ordering, a smattering of three different starters and about two different rolls/sashimi for each of us. We started with the tempura chili calamari something I was felt slightly conflicted. The baked scallops in a lemon mayo sauce was great, the best of the three starters. The scallops were tender, the sauce was so good, the girls all asked that we keep the small bowl of sauce for their rolls later on, definitely a must try if Although the squid was well cooked, the accompanying sauce was more sticky sweet with a hint of heat then what I was hoping for more heat with a slight sweetness at the end. Good, but not great. The tuna avocado with won ton crisps was good, but something I see over and over again is the mayo based sauce, which was a little too much for me. I wish I could see this dish with some more soy based sauce as I have at other places. Although the mayo tends to bring and hold this dish together, I was hoping for a little different twist from Wakamono. Why?
Because the rolls were twistedly awesome! That is all the complaining I have for them. The two rolls I had, the Godzilla roll was delicious and I was fending off chopsticks left and right. Really good flavor. Really great textures and certainly a mouthful of tastiness. You would think with the shrimp tempura, the crab, the wasabi, cream cheese and three other ingredients it would all be too much, (how they were able to roll it all together shows the skills the chefs have), but the over all flavor won me over. Then we look at the maki mexicano roll. Hmm Mexican and Japanese rolled in to one... I don't know... but I do know now it was making me roll around in heaven. Being a fan of cilantro, I was happy to see a plethora of it along with jalapenos, (aye caramaba!), along with some tasty yellowtail tuna, avocado and a sneaky hint of lime. Such a tasty unexpected combo. Loved it. I did try the simpler spicy tuna maki roll, flavorful but fairly balanced.
The inside decor is low light, lovely with a splash of possible romance. The outdoor area, although right on the street, with plenty of foot and wheel traffic driving by, it was a great place to sit and have a great time with friends.
I may have walked by this place many of times, but I will be walking in to this place a lot more from now on.
consistently excellent sushi. it takes a lot to get me to venture outside my walkable world of bucktown & wicker park, and wakamono is totally on my list of taxi-fare-worthy locations. the atmosphere is very chic without being pretentious, the food is always delicious (my fave is the emerald roll), and i LOVE the piece of wrapped candy they give you with the bill.
i was going to dock them for the new $5 per bottle corkage fee but, i can get over it.
When done properly, fresh, innovative spins on familiar classics are fantastic. Take, for example, Exhibit A: http://www.youtube.com...
Now wipe the saliva off your chin. Videographer : Mariah Carey :: Wakamono : Sushi.
This review has been on my list to complete for months now. The highlights from my first visit: Kani Chung Roll with fresh crab meat hand picked out? Fantastic, and beautifully prepared. The Emerald Roll of yellowtail, asparagus, cucumber, avocado - again, great, and points for presentation. Finally, Wakamono Roll: lightly torch-seared tuna & salmon over shrimp tempura, unagi, spicy sauce, daikon sprouts. As their signature roll, I was a little disappointed because it wasn't anything unique, but it too was delicious.
Overall the fish was very fresh, the place was hopping, and we BYOB'ed like mad with a ton of wine. The corkage fee is $5/750mL, a small price to pay for cheap imbibing en masse.
On my second visit two girlfriends and I had some time to kill beforehand while we waited, so we had some drinks in Wang's bar in the left room. The Lychee Martini is beautiful and apparently a great drink. I settled for a Kirin Light.
For appetizers, we split a Crisp Shiitake Ravioli with Pork & Shrimp and some Edamame. The ravioli were savory, but definitely more like fried dumplings than "crisp" ravioli. As for the sushi, we ordered the Peter Parker Spider Roll, a Dragon Roll, and a Salad Roll...all of which were great. Don't be put off by the high price per roll, as each are pretty large in size. My personal favorite: the Salad Roll. Though it had no fish, it still tasted fantastic - tomato, avocado, spinach and brown rice in a fresh ginger sauce that was perfectly savory.
Music was fun but not intrusive, and it was a full house on a Sunday night (we waited for half an hour for our table). But when a restaurant executes and presents dishes well, it's understandably popular, just as this trendy Lakeview locale is.
The food is lovely.
Serive. Oh lord where do I start. The previous yelp about missing wine bottles doesn't surprise me. It happens A LOT THERE. Oh and don't plan on enjoying your meal UNLESS you tell them right away "I WILL BE HERE AWHILE. DO NOT RUSH ME"
You might as well spell it out. They will push you out as quick as they can.
The servers are horrid. Rude, Rude, and Rude! The male host is super nice though! Love him.
I went with some friends and the server took so long to bring our wine to the table that our dessert had come and gone. She then tried to say they don't "allow" wine after the meal. Well i'm a bit of an HBIC so I let her know that we ordered our wine BEFORE the dessert and that I wouldn't apologize for her slow service. She was very irriated that she had to give us our wine post food removal from the table. That shouldn't have been a discussion in the first place. You screwed up, just bring the wine out and let us finish our meal in happiness with one another.
All in all Wakamono. Get better servers. THE SERVERS YOU HAVE ARE RUDE.
Okay, so the food was good and I'd return for that, but the atmosphere leaves a bit to be desired.
Waiting 2 hours or so for a seat? Worth it, if Wakamono were the only sushi restaurant on earth.
Waiting in their loungy bar area thing ("Wang's") with graphic pictures of very well hung guys all over the mens room? Awesome, just like the kitschy Asian decor.
Sitting on a backless bench seat in what felt like a very cramped dining room? Fine, I suppose, though by the time we sat down I was ready to grab some fish from the koi pond and make my own roll.
Service was attentive, though they did manage to goof up one of the four orders. Prices are average, food is decent. But that bar area, whoa, what a trip.
The host needs a few sips of his own hot sake to loosen up and be less prickish though. I have no problem waiting, even listening to the same two oonka-oonka beats over and over (and over and over and over, my god make it stop) but then to be rude is a bit much.
Maybe next time it'll be a to-go type of night.
I believe in second chances.
I believe that delivery does not indicate an overall dine-in experience.
I believe in the power of raw fish.
I believe I stand corrected. Sigh. Yes, you heard me.
MUCH improved when sitting at one of their rustic looking wood tables, surrounded by a buzzin' Boystown crowd. (Seriously, Tuesday night and not an empty table in the hizzzzouse, but not to fret...tables turn relatively quickly).
Ok, so elements not able to be derived/judged from delivery:
1. Swell martini selection from neighboring/adjoined Wang's. I sampled the Green Tea and it was...zen-magical, ooooo ahhhh, yep. Orchid to boot? Well done, Wangy's!
2. Decor: sleek, yet warm. Browns abound, classy, sophisticated. Indeed.
3. Still BYOB. Way to be Waka...offering a full bar and still indulging BYOB'ers scores you a few points most def.
4. Dance party in the bathroom. Seriously, they pump that music in full volume, so have some fun doing your biznassssss. ;) Joking, but it's terribly loud...and consequently hilarious juxtaposed to the chill vibe of the dining room.
5. Stellar service, friendly, knowledgeable, quick...
6. The sushi tastes good. Bonus! (delivery, no no). I had the Chef's Sashimi 10 piece: divine. I have no idea what most of it was, but the tuna, salmon and super white tuna baby was fanfishingtastic.
7. Hot hand towels before the meal, or if you spill soy sauce all over yourself...score!
8. Cucumber water. Why don't I do this at home!? It's so simple, yet perfect. Again, a great touch.
Ok, so yes...I stand corrected. I still will never order delivery but I would most definitely return to Wakamono....with a trip to Wang's before/after for the trifecta of taste.
For delivery, this is a Waka-no-no. :(
Now, I understand sushi delivery can be a bit dicey. I do.…
Read more »
After a particularly dour day at work filled with cranky judges and unsatisfied clients, I was in desperate need of some friendly faces, food, and a lovely cocktail.
Lucky for me, I'd made plans with some fabulous ladies at an allegedly fabulous restaurant...that served cocktails. Hooray for my mad clairvoyant planning skills!
One green tea martini for this girl starting to make the world seem a bit brighter, for sure. Zen in a glass, I'm telling ya. Not too sweet, not boozy tasting, just a simple drink adorned with a flower.
We started with some edamame, and I had some miso soup. I loved the big chunks of tofu in it, and it reminded me that the one thing that makes a hard day better other than a cocktail is a hefty dosage of salt...miso soup always does the trick!
We ordered a few rolls and some sashimi, all of which were beautifully prepared and very fresh. The snow white roll was lovely, as was the godzilla and the Kani Chung. And the spicy tuna packed just the right amount of heat. What I enjoyed about the rolls was the fresh, clean taste. The proportions of additives were just right, packing the right amount of flavor and accentuating the freshness of the fish, rather than overpowering it.
Service was slightly slow, but friendly enough. Starting with a warm wet nap was a classy touch, for sure. And dining with several people, we were able to pay with three different cards and cash with no problem.
I also enjoyed the simplicity of the decor, however the volume of the music in the bathroom was slightly alarming. Really loud! Seriously, if you need a break from eating or get a little carried away with the cocktails, come have a dance party in there. The mirrors are perfect for checkin' the booty bumpin' from all angles.
It does get busy, but put your name in, enjoy a cocktail at Wang's next door, and relax. It's all zen from here.
They're lucky the sushi was pretty darn good. Until my food came, I was leaning towards a three, based on liking the trendy atmosphere and prompt service, but feeling shocked and disappointed at the $5 per bottle corkage fee - the first I've encountered at Asian BYOBs in the city. But...the sushi was fresh, the flavors clean, and overall very very good. I had the Snow White roll, and it was excellent. I'll definitely be back to try the rest of the rolls!
Wow! This place deserves 10 stars!! My partner surprised me one night last week and took me here for dinner. We sat outside. I was just blown away by the service and the food. Our server was so friendly and we were well taken care of. The food was amazing! Started off with two of the vegetarian sushi rolls. One was filled with sweet potatoes, the other one was a salad filled roll. Both were incredible. Then on to the salad and miso soup! Outstanding there too! For our main course we had teriyaki tofu, that was also very good. You have got to try the plum wine, that just topped off the meal! Definitely one of my favorite places now to go.
Seriously, one of the best places for sushi I've ever been. Super fresh fish, awesome atmosphere and hot towelettes :) Try the Godzilla roll and the Yellow tail jalapeno roll.
My boyfriend had a serious hatred to sushi, after a bad experience, and he even liked this place!!
Wang's, the bar attached next door, is a great place to hang and get a drink while waiting for your table. Dark, red, and decorated in vintage Japanese art, its a stark difference to the more organic feel of Wakamono. Expect to have a drink or 2 here, because it seems like there is always some sort of a wait for the deliciousness of Wakamono.
I liked Wakamono. Some rolls impressed me more than others, but in general, I thought it was a nice spot to grab some sushi.
We got a bunch of rolls to share among us, so were able to sample a ton. My friend was in love with the Peter Parker roll, but I'm not a fan of cream cheese in my sushi, so I was less enthralled by it. I did like the tempura crunch though. My favorite roll was the Yo La Mango roll. It was slightly spicy, with slices of sweet mango on top... mmm perfect. Another spicy one to try is the Maki Mexicano, which has got jalapenos in it. It's also generous with the cilantro, which I liked, but isn't everyone's cup of tea. The Kani Chung roll was also good, which features crab (and asparagus!). I also ordered a spicy white tuna roll because it was on special ($1 less than it usually is), which was a nice no frills maki.
Service was good, and I liked the hot towelette you get when you first arrive. Our sushi came out relatively quickly, no easy feat considering we had so many rolls on order. I think the prices are fairly comparable to other sushi restaurants, and the fish was pretty fresh. There isn't a whole lot of seating, and we were able to grab a table right away at 6:30 on a Sunday, but by the time we were done dining, there was a bit of a wait at the door.
Oh, Wakamono.
I hate do to it. Really, I do.
But, I'm downgrading you one star. *sigh*
Nadina D. decided she wanted to have her birthday dinner here. Yes, there were 11 of us. Yes, Wakamono is small and ALWAYS crowded. But, c'mon. They told us the wait would be '10 minutes' at 7:30. But, 10 minutes passed and another 10 minutes passed....Yeah, we were seated an HOUR later.
They originally told us that we could be seated at the two larger tables by the windows, but....clearly, that didn't happen. They claimed that our entire party wasn't there, even though we all were! So, instead, they sat people that were waiting significantly less than us. Shady.
Waitresses here are generally surly. That hasn't changed. Plus, they didn't give us menus until we were seated for like 10 minutes. But, they did make a nice gesture and gave our entire party glasses of champagne - on the house.
Food is good, though, as always. The Fire Dragon and the Mango maki (both $12) are really good. Plus, they gave us each a separate plate with our respective orders...so, that was nice. But, not nice enough to make up for the bitchiness earlier in the night. The hostesses really need to get a clue!
So, please don't consider coming to Wakamono is you have a big group. You'll just give yourself and your party huge headaches. A max of 4 people is best.
BYOB - $5 fee/bottle.
I love this place! The Wakamono and Fire Dragon rolls were sooo delicious and reasonably priced… Read more »
Hey, Wakamono? Thanks for the worst dining experience I've ever had. If I were being forced to come back, I'd find the nearest dull butter knife and stab myself in the sternum, repeatedly, until I punctured something important.
Remember us? We were a happy party of six calm, eager, and hungry diners. We bought drinks (6) in the bar while we waited (30-40 minutes). Everything was going great. And hey, cool fog machine!
We sat down. "Corkage fee, ten dollars," the waitress said, pointing at our bottles of wine.
"It says on your menu that the corkage fee is $5?" we inquired.
"Your bottles big," she explained.
We point out: "There is nothing on the menu, or online, that stipulates different pricing for different bottle sizes."
Waitress shrugs like she has no idea what could be wrong with us, yeah because who wouldn't want to pay $10 to uncork a $12 bottle of wine? We're not idiots: if that were an established policy (Coast, for example, has a detailed BYOB policy on every page of their menu) we would have went with it, fine. But this seemed a little fishy, so we decided to ask about the 100% markup of what was PRINTED ON YOUR MENU.
So a manager comes over. We were all super intimidated by his giant dragon necklace and crossed-arms. "WHAT?" He yelled at us.
A brave member of our party stepped up to discuss the corkage fee with him. The rest of us carried on dinner conversation, leaving the two of them to work something out.
I'm thinking any more than two minutes is too long to be discussing a FIVE DOLLAR discrepancy of something that DIRECTLY CONTRADICTS what is printed on your menu. I'm also thinking hey, there's six of us, we're about to spend a lot of money on sushi, just spent money in your bar, do we really need to argue about five dollars? Why don't you work with us? Maybe we compromise, how about $7.50 corkage fee since you didn't print it on menu?
Nope, we're told (among other things) "You don't HAVE to eat here."
Although this was rude and he literally rolled his eyes and flipped his diagonal bangs at us, we didn't feel like getting up and starting the whole Friday night wait over again. So we agreed to the $10 corkage fee and sent one of our bottles off to be uncorked.
Then we laughed, and because they were so rude to us for asking about something, again, that was printed on their menu, we make jokes like "let's not try the blowfish ha ha" and "good thing gratuity is included ha ha."
At this point, the bottle has been uncorked, poured, and we are raising our glasses in a toast, discussing what to order and other relevant new topics, when a second manager comes over, and yells, "I'M GOING TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO LEAVE."
This new, tight-flesh-colored-tee-wearing, manager shouts that he is worried about our "attitude" and some mysterious "threats" he overheard.
We are all floored. FLOORED. Half of the table didn't even know what was going on. Was this still about the corkage fee? Yes. Now he wanted to talk about it, as well as somethings he heard (while eavesdropping? what?)
A lot of things are said. We remain calm and still maintain having only one person out of the six speak at a time, trying to avoid a scene. I am silently sipping my wine and listening to things like:
US: "Are you kicking us out because we questioned something printed on your menu? You do realize that we just agreed to it? See we're drinking?"
MR. MANAGER: "We heard you were threatening to take the corkage fee out of the waitress' tip."
US: "How would we even do that? Gratuity is included."
Mr. Manager, meet Logic. Also, perhaps you should check your wiretapping devices?
US: "I've never been treated like this by a restaurant before."
MR. MANAGER: "Oh really? Maybe we've never had CUSTOMERS like you before!"
Oooh nice burn, Mr. Manager!
US: "I guess we should have listened to those yelp reviews about the rude service."
Mr. Manager: "YELP YOUR HEART OUT! YELP YOUR LIFE AWAY!"
Will do, Mr. Manager, thanks.
Meanwhile, during all of this, the waitress comes over and puts the $10 corkage fee bill on our table.
I shudder to think of what might happen if you say, send back a roll here. Has anyone done this? What happens? Do they cut off your hand? Do they listen to everyone's conversation and make accusations accordingly? Is this communist dining?
They ended up comping our $10 corkage fee, but considering I didn't even finish drinking one glass... I don't know, I guess that was the highlight of the experience?
Anyway, I'd rather spend an evening licking a public water park locker room floor clean than be subjected to this freakshow again.
Best Uni in Chicago
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
wednesday and thursday…
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Category: Sushi Bars
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