An intimate, higher quality sushi restaurant in the heart of chicago. I was craving sushi this day and my meets were met at friends sushi. I got the volcano roll and I am glad that I did. Not only was the presentation beautiful, but the sushi was exceptionally delicious. The restaurant is more fit for 2-5 people as the sections are small. It would be very intimate for a first date! The service was okay, nothing outstanding, but we were seated very shortly which was a plus. read more

Friends Sushi - Volcano roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Good service, and great cocktails. We also had the tuna tartare as well as come gyozas. The place is slightly small but it feels cozy. The food was fine, I expected more for the price. I cannot say this has been the freshest sushi I have ever had. First time in Chicago so I'll keep looking! read more

Friends Sushi - Volcano Black Shrimp Tempura Kappa (Cucumber) MAKI Spicy Rollspicy - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We were hungry for a quick bite and this spot was on the way back toward our hotel. We were seated right away, they were not busy in the early afternoon at all. The hot wings sushi was meh, a slight fishy essence if you know good sushi, you know what I mean. The volcano roll was yummy - enjoyed having lobster in my rolls! Favorite was the seared salmon nigiri. I could have eaten 12 of these. Drinks were tasty and good serving for the cost. Try the Asian peartini (refreshing) and the lycheetini (sweeter)! read more

Friends Sushi - Menu - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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What a cute sushi spot! In a great part of the city, easy to find street parking on a weeknight. It was quiet inside, Japanese tv on which was fun to watch. The food--great. Service--great. Our waitress was so lovely and sweet. Our son loved her so much he wanted a photo with her and she let us take one! Would love to come back next time we are in the area! read more

Friends Sushi - Sweet waitress with my son after dinner! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food 10/10. Special mention for creamy spicy tuna and fire dragon, will be coming back just for those rolls. Service was great! Waitstaff very nice, and even gave us complimentary mochi at the end! Atmosphere: cute and cozy. Definitely will be coming back! read more

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Good miso soup taste with tiny friendly tofu cube and some seaweed. Thick slightly dusty crust, light bonito flakes, not too salty broth, a bit of a sour edge on the fried tofu. Had the sashimi plate-Truffle on tuna is fascinating, haven't had that with fish before. The scallop, was perfectly fresh. Fascinating shorter grain rice with a light crunch and sweetness. They done good here read more

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We were craving for sushi and found this place on Yelp through the highly reviews. Came by on a Friday lunch and we were the only party there. Restaurant has nice decors, clean, and has lots of seating. Feels very modern with the white furniture. Service was fast and staff was nice. Can you handle roll: 4/5, creamy roll with salmon and avocado, unagi on top Unagi Nigiri: 3.5/5, heavily drenched in sauce, too salty Spicy salmon roll: 3.5/5, solid salmon Although the food was solid, I don't think it's worth it for the price point and how much food we got. $20 for the basic roll that has 8 pieces. Worth a try but would not come back. read more

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Great service and food. Our table tried at least 10 items and everything was really good.

Was visiting from Denver and needed a night 1 dinner spot that would satisfy after a long travel day...this hit the spot! Yummy sushi and service was great! The spicy miso was full of flavor and not too spicy. The "Truffle Me Softly" roll was yummy! Felt like it was good value also. Would definitely recommend! read more

This place was nothing short of amazing! All the workers were extremely friendly and delivered great service. The ambiance is cool and futuristic. I really appreciated Friends playing a bunch of electronic music! It's fun to go to a restaurant that plays my favorite music--it felt like a cross between sitting down to eat and being at the club haha. The food was delicious. I got the spicy miso soup and a fire dragon roll. The addition of spice (I think it was chili oil) to the miso soup was very nice and different. More places should do this! The roll was great too. It was pretty big and the ingredients seemed fresh. Overall, this is a cool place to go for sushi! read more

Friends Sushi - Fire Dragon Maki - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Awesome service and a great menu with a nice variety of options. Everything tastes so fresh

Best sushi ever! We were visiting Chicago , though I'm from Chicago , but I've never found this gem until now! Fabulous and fresh sushi and specialty rolls. Such a great staff and service ! Highly recommend! read more

OG sushi spot in Chicago downtown before everyone opened. Had the best time eating off of this 1000 pound tuna fresh delivered from Japan Highly recommend the nigiris here. Really beautiful cuts and the crispy dragon roll or soft shell crab rolls Service is incredible and ambience is great. Dimly lit, perfect for date nights read more

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Food was great! Service is outstanding! Best sushi around!! I love the atmosphere here!

Yelp usually doesn't do me wrong but we must've picked the wrong things. We walked in and my partner mentioned a foul odor that turned him off. My nose was stuffy so I couldn't smell anything. Even though restaurant was half empty, they squished us in a corner right next to this other 2 person table. Ordered the fatty tuna as a gage. Came with canned truffle and gold leaf but I tend to think when you do that (put extras) with sashimi, you're trying to mask something. The tuna wasn't fantastic but it wasn't bad and it was a decent sized slice ... but it was 2 pieces for $25. The Alaskan maki is supposed to have lobster and salmon. You could barely taste (or find) the lobster. The rice itself had no taste and texture was bloated/overcooked. The Umi roll was smothered in mayo and fried stuff and I think it's what made me feel sickly/ nauseous. The amount of shrimp tempura was very weak and I think even the green onion was old because it had no flavor. The wasabi was spicy and okay but I didn't like the ginger too much- sickly sweet and not very crunchy. Overall... service was fine and food was fine too. But you can get better sushi in the city elsewhere. read more

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I've been coming to Friends Sushi for almost 20 years and recently having moved away from Chicago and not being back in the city in some time, I was pleasantly surprised in the last two years that nothing has fallen for this wonderful establishment! If you're looking for consistently, well done and well executed, fresh sushi, look no further than Friends Sushi in the Gold Coast behind what used to be Saks Fifth Avenue in the Chicago Place shopping center. So wonderful. Yum - the food, atmosphere and staff are always first rate! read more

Friends Sushi - Yakuza on right and Summer on left - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Tasty rolls and nice ambience! The waygu sando was an amazing appetizer, I wanted more of it! read more

Friends Sushi - Wagyu Sando - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I was not a fan of the rolls -- too much cream cheese or other stuff in them. But the nigiri was absolute top notch, brushed with soy and wasabi like a high end sushi restaurant. And incredibly fresh and delicious. read more

Highly recommend this little gem The setting is such a vibe for friends or even intimate date. Place is small but the decor is beautiful ! Stumbled upon this place by recent yelp reviews and I had to try it. The sushi rolls are fairly priced, but the flavor of the sushi is on point! Huge shoutout to the chefs making the sushi super sweet and friendly. One tip make a reservation because they are busy, we got lucky to have seats at the bar. Definitely try this place and try the dragon roll! You guys got yourself a new regular ! read more

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Solid sushi spot with a very unique interior. It's very white and like curvy is the best I can put it. If you're taking a date here, I'd suggest trying to see if you can sit in the back end of the restaurant along the wall for a little more privacy. We were sat in the front (3 of us) and it felt a little cramped with other people sitting by, but just a a little warning in case this is a deal breaker for you. I found the sushi here to be excellent honestly. You do pay for it. It's a bit on the higher end, which makes sense considering you're in River North. I'd definitely come back here and also really excited to know that Friends also opened a Hot Pot location right next door! Can't wait! read more

Friends Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I had never been here but I am a big fan of their menu for the most part. Such a huge variety of nigiri I've never seen before. I was excited to try these new dishes like the hamachi and the seared fatty tuna. The interior is a bit basic and plain but it's not bad, and I like the little flower thing they have in the ceiling. It's dim and small. It does smell a bit because the kitchen is in the same area as the dining area. Plus it's a small restaurant, but it's bearable. Soy sauce bottle is very fancy, most of the ones I see are the kikkoman ones. Service was good and they are very quick and polite. Nothing much else to say besides the fact they are handsome! The sushi was pretty good, very soft and warm rice. Other places I go to the rice is usually cold, so it being warm was nice for a change. The seared fatty salmon was amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone since it's cooked. Overall this place is pretty good, and I would come back once and a while. read more

Friends Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Good sushi!! The interior is an interesting vibe, but a cute place to meet a friend for dinner! They have a lot of fun roll options too. The creamy spicy tuna was delicious, just which it had more of the crunchy stuff on top. Would go back! read more

Friends Sushi - Creamy Spicy Tuna Maki - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

One of my favorite sushi places I have been to downtown!!! Every roll I got was delicious. Amazing espresso martinis, honestly probably one of the most smooth I have ever had. The service was excellent. I love the vibe, super dark inside. We spent over 2 hours here and just chatted. It was the restaurant's anniversary so at the end of our meal a little girl gave us slices of cake. Super cute. Don't miss out on this place!!! read more

Friends Sushi - Espresso Martini - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Nice feel, very friendly staff. This was the best surprise since we've been in Chicago, intimate setting and very dim lighting (light on phone helps). On to the food, starting with the appetizer which was the Scallops, big portion that was seared to perfection, melts in your mouth, definitely our top 2 appetizer. Red spider roll was awesome, but the Volcano roll was over the top, the lobster was fresh and warm with a kick of spice, just delicious. What a find, and the value was amazing. read more

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Service: was so good! The bartender was great and gave great suggestions Drinks: I ordered the cloudy sake and it was amazing, sweet and kinda tasted like coconut Food: we ordered the spider roll, tempura tuna, spicy salmon, dragon roll. The spicy salmon roll was my favorite! It has lemon and it made it so tasty Ambiance: cool place and like the decor read more

Friends Sushi - Red Spider Maki - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great sushi spot at a modest price. Has a few outdoor spots and a nice quaint indoor seating. Service was attentive. The seared fatty salmon (sashimi) was a unique standout. 3.9/5. read more

Friends Sushi - Seared Fatty Salmon - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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gyoza: very good. maki roll size is normal, not oversized, which is good. dragon roll: not very good, tasted kinda mushy. too much crunch. maybe not enough eel sauce? red spider roll: average. not great, not bad. read more

Friends Sushi - california roll, 2 dragon rolls, red spider roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I ordered for takeout in-person at 5pm on a Thursday. I originally tried to place my order over the phone, but they only accept pick up orders online or through third party apps (Uber eats, etc). Once placed, the order took about 15 minutes to prepare. For 4 people we ordered gyoza, spicy tuna, spicy salmon, rainbow roll, and the sake maki. The portion sizes were extremely small and the fish was okay quality. We were all a little disappointed especially for the price. read more

Also has udon tempura, which was my favorite part and I ate before getting a photo. Overall nice sushi, lovely staff and a decent space. Good option for sushi in the area! read more

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Great sushi! Got some sashimi and a few rolls and the fish to rice ratio was perfect. The plating was really nice for the combos and it's a great location to go in the city. Would go again! read more

Friends Sushi - sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The worst sushi place I ever tried. Probably Chicago is not about sushi but look their Philly were literally three times smaller comparing any places in LA. The rest: Alaskan, creamy spicy tuna and devil tuna have literally no fish at all..... We paid over $100 for white rice. Amazing. read more

Friends Sushi - No fish - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The sushi was tasty, but almost every piece of maki was unlike the last--totally uneven in terms of cuts, filling, and amount of rice. The tempura was a little heavy and greasy, and the cocktails were all way too sugary. The hamachi was the best thing we ate, though the fish was cut a little thick for this pretty standard dish. The tofu agedashi was essentially flavorless, poorly cooked (the center was cold) and underseasoned--almost an insult to agedashi. read more

Friends is a chain/franchise with a few locations around chicago. I stopped in for lunch. Their dining space has seen better days. Every single chair was peeling & patchy. The stainless steel chair bottoms were rusting. They kept the lighting so dim I was struggling to read the menu and I could still see it. Not the most appetizing space. I get a lot of folks are doing takeout right now and it doesn't make sense to invest in a physical space that's probably constantly under capacity... but honestly that dining area probably shouldn't be open. Ordered a Philly roll with fresh salmon & an avocado roll. Arrived on mismatched plates with splintery chopsticks. Both rolls had gaps and fell apart as I was eating. Just really underwhelming. I felt it was overpriced compared to other places, especially when you consider what the dining area looked like. On the positives, TV was showing an interesting food show I hadn't seen before and the staff were following good covid and general food safety, lots of hand washing. Time to recieve food was about average. Drink menu with alcoholic Boba beverages looked innovative though I didn't have a chance to try as it was lunch. read more

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Found this place on Yelp, small unassuming restaurant tucked away around the corner from Rush street. I ordered the Big friendship roll and the salmon avocado Maki roll and washes it down with Sapporo. Portions are cut evenly, the salmon pieces were all good pieces not the ends you would find some sushi restaurants hide in their rolls. Big friendship roll had a bit too much sauce than I prefer on a roll as it takes away the flavors of the contents. Nice touch to add slices of apple in the roll. Good move. read more

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the food was great! I definitely recommend the the black shrimp tempura. service was also very good!

Probably one of the best sushi spots that we ate at in Chicago. It's a small restaurant about 8 tables inside. It was nice bc it wasn't too big and it felt cozy. Server was attentive and nice. I ordered the spicy scallop hand roll, ikura sashimi, Can you Handle it, and Never say rolls. My favorite was the Can you Handle it. It was sweet, savory, and creamy. Spicy scallop handroll was also good. It had big chunks of scallop and a good kick of spice. Menu isn't that big, but good selection. Would definitely come here again if in town. read more

The salmon maki was delicious, as was the Notorious V.E.G. The service was attentive and the atmosphere was cozy and festive.

Great fresh flavorful sushi! We LOVED the hamachi special as well as the agadadhi tofu and summer roll and the sake nigiri was so soft and melted in your mouth! YUM!! They even gave us complimentary desert of a matcha tirimisu and matcha mouse! Loved it! read more

100% yes!! I ordered to-go and was floored by how good it was. The wait for a table was over an hour and understandable. The quality of the food was that of a $$$$ restaurant. I did go into the place to pick it up and it ambience was quaint be great. Sorry it was so good I started eating then remembered to take a picture. read more

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My husband and I were walking by and decided to stop and check the sushi out, we didn't have a reservation but the hostess offered bar or outdoor seating since it was a bit improvised and they were booked. We are fans of seating at the bar and specially when we get to see how all the sushi is prepared. Amazing. We order the UMI, Fire Dragon, Nigiri and Volcano, we were shocked with how great everything tasted. Could not get enough (we order 2 volcanos to go because it was our favorite!) we also tried the mosco mule and bee's knees, which were delicious. We had two rounds of each and finished off with some sake which one of the staff members helped us choose since we had not tried it before. We obviously fell in love with this hidden gem, loved the spot, the music, the food, the staff and overall felt super glad we found it. For sure will be returning and letting all of our friends know. read more

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