Indie cafe has easily become one of my favorite local restaurants. The staff is super accommodating and incredibly friendly. I'm a Red Curry man, so I typically stick to that entree - food is delicious and very well priced. This place can get busy, so make sure you give yourself some time. It's small(er) but they have plenty of seating and the wait isn't typically too long. Also, try their cocktails or share a bottle of wine. You won't be disappointed. read more

my family gets indie cafe several times a month. we all have our go to favorites and they have a huge menu with lots of choices from fresh sushi, to typical pan asian takeout favorites, to creative + inspired dishes that are super accessible. there's even a great variety of healthy selections that fit within my mom in law's cancer diet! the best part about the food is the spice level and seasoning is intentional! my usual is panang curry with tofu and the heat level is oh so enjoyable - serious perfection read more

I am a fan of the food at this place. But why the 4 stars instead of 5 - service or lack thereof. We found this place, thanks to yelp, on a Tue evening. They have patio seating, so we decided to sit outside. The place had a quite a crowd considering it was a Tuesday evening. That just assured us of our choice to dine here. After being handed our menus, the waitress disappeared. We had our orders ready and we were getting quite ravenous. No sight of anybody to come take the orders. I went inside and flagged down a waiter and he came to our table and took our orders. Everything we ordered was fresh, delicious and bursting with flavor. But the food itself took a long time to arrive. Maybe they were having an off night with regards to service. But the food here is great. It is indeed a hidden gem, and I would love to visit this place again. read more

I love the ambiance here, it's pretty decent for an asian restaurant. The food was inexpensive and the staff was rather friendly. My friends and I order basically everything on the menu. It's typical thai food and sushi that taste all the same everywhere else. It reminded me of a place called Butterfly that I went to in the city. Their Thai Samosas were yummy! I would love to go back for more, and it's a great place to bring a date. Oh yeah it's BYOB! :-) read more

Love love love Indie, one of my go to spots... I've introduced many a friend to this place, even ate here for lunch AND dinner in a single day once (the hostess recognized me, yikes!).. Great pad thai, LOVE their rolls, great selection of drinks... I'll be back again soon... read more

This place has amazing sushi and Thai! Their variety of sushi rolls is amazing and their Tom Ka soup is the best I've had EVER! I find myself craving it often. It has the perfect mix of lemongrass, coconut, chicken, and veggies. The place is also BYOB which is nice!! They also have great ambience with the most unique art on the walls. It's like eating inside an art gallery. Super cozy! LOVE THIS PLACE!! read more

Even though I have had better sushi elsewhere, it is nice to have Indie Cafe in the neighborhood. The sushi is not bad at all but the quality has been inconsistent. Strangely enough only with the more basic rolls? The Pad Thai and Rama Chicken are very good. I also like the fact that they have lunch specials. Nice atmosphere for dinner. The lighting and music is just right, the staff always friendly and the clientele a fair representation of the neighborhood. read more

It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It was "okay". The atmosphere could have been cozy, but the music was a bit too loud. Normally I don't care, but you had to yell for the person across from you to hear you correctly. And also, that's normally not a problem, but when you have twenty people on one side of the room, it gets REALLY loud. Loud enough that I think that's why the waiter got my order wrong. I ordered sushi, and I get a plate of fried noodles. "Look, it's fine, whatever. Just tell me what this is." "It's drunken noodles." "But...what IS that?" After a while they took it away and told me that they'd bring me I actually ordered, I just needed to wait for it to cook. (Why did it take ten minutes to think of that, I wonder?) The sad thing is, the maki was actually decent. I mean, good enough for me to want to come back and try other things that they had on their sushi menu. But the night was just unpleasant enough that I don't want to go back. And if it helps, the noodles that they brought me looked pretty standard, too. You can get the same thing at Summer or Thai Grill around the corner. And you don't have to argue with the waiter over loud music if they get your order wrong, either. read more

My boyfriend and I are HUGE sushi fans. I crave fresh raw fish all the time- maki or sashimi, whatever. We were immediately sat which was great. However, I am still not used to the city style seating, i.e. sitting right on top of the other people next to you. I felt like I couldn't hear my boyfriend and the couples on either side of us were talking very loud. It was not very private...But, okay no problem. The menu is HUGE! I almost had to get out of a piece of paper to write down all the items that I was interested in just to narrow it down. I kept forgetting the names! I love thai, but really just wanted a whole maki celebration. So we ordered miso soup- very salty! as a small appetizer. Then we just dove into the sushi- we ordered the Summer Time roll, Spider roll, Dragon roll and spicy tuna roll. All were excellent. Very big, hearty rolls- nothing dinky about them. Fun to eat. Fresh tasting fish. I wish the avocado had more flavor in some of the rolls. The soft shell crab was delicious. I took off one star for: slow service (we wanted something else but weren't even checked on), extremely close proximity to other customers, and prices were a little high. However, their rolls are made very well- looks great, taste great and I will definitely be back. I would love to try other appetizers, desert maybe, and some thai! read more

I've heard great things and finally got takeout from here. Even thinking about this food makes me think 'gross' and squirm. To start, there was no rice included w my curry order...which is unfortunate bc the only good thing in the order was the panang, but I had nothing to put the sauce on. The sushi roll seaweed was soggy. The sushi rolls were warm, eww. Even the soy sauce tasted foul. They packed my salad in with the hot food so it was like steeped from the hot food in the bag. (Why not put it with the sushi, since that bag was almost empty and sushi was at least warm, not hot?) One of the worst takeouts I've had in Chicago. Disappointing. Oh, and2 sushi rolls, curry and pad Thai was $40! Boooo read more

Beautiful. Really beautiful presentations of Thai and sushi. Four of us did a lot of plate sharing, so we got a lot of sampling done. Some very creative menu items, including novel cocktails with Asian influences. (I notice a lot of reviews describe this place as BYOB, which must be old news.) The room itself is not beautiful, the outdoor seating is unattractive, and some of the artwork on the walls is interesting-but-creepy, but I wouldn't take away the fifth star for that, because the food (reasonably-priced, BTW) is, well, beautiful. read more

I feel a little bad writing this review for what may have been a unique experience, but I hope to forewarn others just in case. I went to Indie Cafe with a friend on her recommendation. The maki sushi I had there (Quebec and Spider) was the worst I have ever eaten. I don't know exactly why that was, but it tasted off and felt strange in my mouth. The fish kind of glistened and looked puffy. Secondary to the awful maki, the staff was awkward, like they didn't know how to serve around guests at a table. They kept refilling my water glass, though, which I really appreciate. Not a big deal, but it bothered me. I thought it was kind of pricey and "a lot of cute" with little substance. The crab rangoon, however, was absolutely delicious. read more

Yesterday I ordered Indie Cafe when it was a cold Wednesday and I had to work late and they responded pretty ably to my interest in a delivery of some kind of reasonably priced stir-fried vegetables and chicken with rice dish. The sauce my veggie delight with chicken was cooked in wasn't overpowering and the chicken did NOT taste bad! Let's see ... yep! That's basically all of the checkboxes, right there! Also, the food was still pretty hot when it came and I did not have to put it in the microwave. I can't really overstate how important this is to me. Uh, I'm going to be eating it lukewarm the next day - I'd really prefer to have it hot the first time, thanks! I actually APPRECIATED the fact that delivery took an hour - take as long as you like, as long as the food is hot when it gets here, please! read more

I have enjoyed this restaurant for 5 years. I tend to get the fried rice and had considered it one of the best restaurants in Edgewater. Recently, when ordering takeout the quality suffers and the rice seems dryer. Hopefully, it's better in store. read more

Love love love this place. I order delivery from them all the time. Best sushi. Love their signature curry dishes.

I get Indie delivery a lot, living in Rogers Park. It's fine thai fare. The free appetizer when you spend $20 is a nice bonus. I wouldn't say it's my favorite, and the thai dishes lack a little of the flavor potency of others...but it's great for easy thai delivery. Entrees reheat well, Golden Triangle fried tofu appetizer...not so much. read more

I've had sushi all around the world but this is by far the best place I've ever eaten sushi at, its also BYOB. This is a great place for a date night. The staff is beyond grateful and very attentive. The atmosphere is amazing. read more

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My dinner was very sub-par. After reading the great reviews on yelp I had my expectations up accordingly. For starters we had miso soup which was good. Then 3 rolls - Spider - which was nice. A little dry but nice and soft. Not spicy though. Dragon - was not very good. I love eel, but the broiled shrimp that tasted like bland rubber didn't do justice to the eel. Summer Passion - was the worst. The salmon didn't taste fresh, and overall it was very plain. If the fish (tuna and salmon) were high quality it would have been enjoyable, but in this case i had to use soy sauce to make it edible. Instead of desert we chose to try another roll Spicy blue crab - which was decent. Not spicy. Overall I can see how the decor, coupled with byob and cheaper prices would be an attraction. But it's impossible to compare Indie with places like Kaze - both of them have 4 stars on yelp. I would recommend it as a cheap sushi craving fix and to people who like cooked fish (eel, shrimp, crab etc) with cream cheese, tempura. Definitely not for fresh fish lovers read more

I would give Indie 3.5 Stars if I could. It's not amazing, but it's good. This location is close to my place, so it scores points for convenience. It's a small place, but very nicely decorated. They have cute little menus in these individual metal covers. Sushi is plated very decoratively. The waitresses here recommended the fried shrimp wraps for $7... pretty good. Seaweed salad was served in a martini glass with some masago. Very pretty and tastey. Sushi was regularly priced, pretty decent. We had three rolls and paid about $45 for three people. Not bad. Try their specialities, very yummy. Ask the waitress for sushi recommendations. They knew what was fresh and made very good recommendations. Very friendly and nice. Didn't try any of their thai dishes so I can't comment on that. I would say this is a good place to head to when you have a craving for sushi but you have a friend who doesn't. Something for everyone. It's cute as a little date spot. BYOB keeps you safe financially. Don't expect the best sushi ever. Not for these prices and especially not this far away from the ocean. You're going to have to pay to transport fish that quickly out to these parts. No reason not to try this spot if you're close by. I'll definitely go back. read more

While my client was getting fitted by Brandie T. (http://www.yelp.com/biz/beyond-the-reflection-chicago#hrid:cNCuoXibj5t-27k3q_z3EQ) earlier today, Brandie mentioned crab rangoon from "Indie" so I went to check them out for dinner. Now how awesome was it that while I was waiting for my to go order, I was asked, "Would you like some water while you're waiting?" by 3 different servers?! Now that's service at it's best. The crab rangoon smelled so good that I couldn't wait til home and ate it all within 6 blocks!!! Yikes! Eh... I guess I can play the pregnancy card on that one? Ha! read more

I heard about indie awhile ago but went back and forth with going because word on the street was that it was BYOB and then it wasn't and then it was...so I finally checked it out and it is indeed BYOB! Phew. For appetizers I went with the fresh spring roll and golden triangle (tofu tempura with sweet n' sour sauce). Both were awesome. The spring roll in particular was fresh and stuffed with different vegetables. Totally enjoyed it. The golden triangles were pretty wild. For my entree I went with the vegetable delight and to be honest? Not really all that. It was tofu, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and peas. The food wasn't bad but the sauce was awful. No flavor whatsoever! On top of that, there was a lump of white rice. I'm turning into a hater of white rice. Can't stand it! Towards the end of the night, it felt like we were being rushed. We had half a bottle of wine left and the servers (multiple) kept coming back to see if we put our money down. Constantly. Now, I used to be a server so I know how frustrating it can be, but the place wasn't closing anytime soon and we had plenty of wine left over. Anyway, no big deal I guess. Loved the atmosphere and music of the place. Chill and relaxed. Enjoyed it. Would I run back? No. Check it out? Why not, it's in the neighborhood. read more

I love sushi and this place. I took my girlfriend here on our first date even though she had never had sushi before and now she begs me to go here. Its a BYOB which makes it an awesome place to have a romantic place to have a fantastic meal and a bottle of wine. Or if you prefer the man date and just like sushi, I have even seen some bachelors sling a 24 pack in here and bro it up. Hey, I can't hate on em when I'm there because they know good food. It's a combination of mostly Sushi and Thai food that leaves you wanting more. So don't worry if you don't like raw fish, there are plenty of choices on the Thai side that will help you out. For starters, get some rolls of your choosing (I suggest the Philly or vegas rolls). move on to the main dishes and go for some curry plates is my reccommendation. Hot n Spicy is always done nicely for me. I have never tried any of their desserts so I can't give an honest opinion on what it would taste like. The atmosphere is what you would expect it to be like...trendy. I saw the movie Lost in Translation and thought about going to Indie. I never thought I would say watching a Bill Murray movie would make me want raw fish, but when you think about it they do both stink if you wait too long to consume. The music they play makes you feel like you sat through one long song that reminds you of swimming underwater. The atmosphere relies heavily on uncomfortable looking furniture and dark mysterious lighting. The wait staff is usually very nice and happy, but sometimes takes a long time to bring out your order because they have a small kitchen and smaller staff. Be patient though, the food is awesome. The 20 bucks a full meal and tip, you can't go wrong with trying this place out. Once you have this, you will pull a Jeremy Piven and eat way too much of it. read more

What shall I say? I went to Indie cos' of the great reviews on Yelp...but like the French say "Comci-comca" and the Singaporeans say "so-so only lah". It was erm...OK. I was famished after a 3 hour session in the gym and was ready to gobble. We ordered the Yakisoba, unagi (eel-my fave!) sushi, hamachi (yellowtail) sushi and the spider maki. It was bad at all but it definitely WASN'T mindblowingly fantastic and definitely NOT 5 stars. (The fish wasn't as fresh as I expected) Let's just say the presentation was better than the actual taste. read more

I am a sushi addict and cannot ever get enough! My friend lives up in Edgewater and turned me onto this BYOB sushi restaurant about 2 years ago. Now I live in the Ukrainian Village, so getting up there does not happen as often as it should. What this place becomes to me is a fun adventure with a great end result! It takes me a good hour to get up there from where I live, but the jaunt is SO worth it. By far this is my favorite BYOB sushi restaurant in the city. Indie's specialty Maki is to die for. There are generally 1-2 special Maki rolls that do not appear in the menu and from what I've been told, those rolls are being beta tested before adding them to their regular menu. Alongside the tasty Maki rolls, their wait staff is very attentive to everyone's needs. I am never left waiting long and that speaks volumes to me as a customer. It means that everyone gets the attention they deserve to make this restaurant one of the best in our fine city. The dim lighting and atmosphere are also strengths behind a dining experience at Indie Cafe. The mood is seductive, so this place is great for dates. Plus, the whole notion of this restaurant being BYOB is just smashing from the date angle. I've never been here for lunch. Maybe one of these days... I also have never tried their Thai food. Seriously...the sushi is to die for and it takes me a good hour to get up there. I am generally on a sushi mission. Maybe some day I'll try the Thai. For now the sushi is some of the best inside Chicago that I've ever had!! read more

I have yet to order in for Sushi so I may rate higher at a later date. Here is what I have ordered twice for delivery... Tofu Pad Thai: $7.75 Miso Soup: $2.00 Each time the Pad Thai was flavorless and dry. A good amount of Tofu with minimal sprouts, scallions, carrots, cabbage. Dry, dry, dry... no flavor. The Miso Soup tasted good but had teeny-tiny pieces of Tofu. Teeny-tiny. One definite plus....FAST delivery! Overall... I have been a fan of Ben's Noodle & Rice on Bryn Mawr near the red line. To me... their Tofu Pad Thai is perfect/consistent EVERY time. It's been 5 years now and they haven't missed a beat with me. read more

I'd probably give this place 4 stars if the order had been done correctly. I'm sure it was just happenstance, but when you order sushi takeout, I don't check to make sure they put the soy sauce in. Soy sauce is a pretty integral part of sushi. Once I figured out the mistake, I had to go back. They really didn't pay much attention to me, just gave me the soy sauce and I was on the way. I don't know what more I really wanted; I was just grumpy making a 2nd trip. Ok, part of the blame should go on me, because for some reason, I was out of soy sauce at home. The food was good. I like the edamame a little saltier, but the specialty rolls were good. Seemed like reasonable prices. I'd order from there again. I hate checking my order in front of the staff, but maybe I should make a habit of it. read more

Indie Cafe is the best. Thai. Food. Ever. Seriously. Their curries are amazing and the noodles are excellent. I recommend the Green Curry with Tofu or the Drunken Noodles with Tofu. You will enjoy it. read more

Delicious, fresh, and great flavor! I'm never disappointed when I order sushi from Indie.

Wow, I don't know where to start! I had this place recommended to me by a friend, and the four of us headed out one night in April for my first Indie experience. I LOVE that it's BYOB...bring a couple bottles of wine and you're set for the night (no corkage fee). For appetizers, they have the most dee-licious crab rangoon I have ever tried! The edamame is also tasty. I tried the Basil chicken thai entree, which is ground spicy chicken w/peppers and onions over rice...absolutely delicious! On another visit I tried the sushi (now..I was very afraid of sushi and was reluctant to try it, but the boyfriend convinced me because he was such a fan of Indie sushi). I had the 'sunny crunchy', which is perfect for a sushi newbie like myself (and plenty filling!) The green tea ice cream is pretty tasty for dessert and served in a martini glass. The presentation of this food is beautiful and the prices are very reasonable. The decor is very trendy and seating is comfortable....I love you, Indie Cafe!! read more

Ahem... I was glad to convince my friend that a Thai and Japanese restaurant would be able to make great sushi. Now, I'm convinced that this will be his go to delivery place for sushi. This review is for delivery only, and they are pretty quick. The maki rolls are tasty and creative. We had the Philly Roll, Spicy Blu Crab, Una-Q, New York, Bangkok, Summer Passion. If you don't feel like sushi, there are plenty of other menu options. The prices are a little less expensive than some of the other sushi places I have been to. Looking at the website makes me want to go in and have a more complete experience inside the restaurant. read more

This is our go-to neighborhood spot for lunch or dinner. It's fun for a date or pickup. Their vegetarian sushi is good, especially the tempura. I also really like the spicy miso soup. The lunch special is a really good deal. Pickup is quick, but eating inside can take a little bit long. read more

Really cute ambiance, super friendly service, spacious seating, interesting art work, decent sushi but good sweet potato samosa and miso soup! large vegetarian sushi selection! read more

We ordered takeout from Indie last night. The pad Thai and basil chicken were both delicious and food arrived hot which is always a struggle with delivery. Crab rangoons are the best--actual filling instead of mostly fried wonton. Portions were smaller which was ok..we done need leftovers for days sitting in the fridge. Will definitely order or stop by in person another time. read more

This place is super cute and the flatware is adorable, but . . . I don't know. I wasn't as impressed with the food as all those who gave the place five stars. I came with a friend and we both loved their menu and were so excited by all the maki choices, so we ended up ordering four rolls (yes, we were that excited) and some good ol' pad thai. The rolls were good, but not great (not to the extent which they were named). And the pad thai was tasty, but not the best I've ever had. I was so hungry that night so I thought everything would taste amazing to me . . . but since it didn't, my only explanation is that either their food was off or my taste buds were. Still, it's a nice place and I'd most likely come back if I was in the area. read more

I don't really get the seeming trend of Thai and Japanese/Sushi at several places in this general area (north side). I do, however, have a strong opinion on how to make it work - great food! I've tried Indie twice and am already a fan. We gone early (with Grandma) and have had terrific meals. The curries are exceedingly tasty, the crag rangoon are much-talked-about for good reason and Grandma has enjoyed her Ginger Fish immensely. They also have a great touch with duck - have tried two dishes and they were both cooked perfectly. Finish the meal with their Mango with Sticky Rice. The mango is generous, and ours have been ripe and wonderful. Will be back when I am next in Chicago. read more

We stopped here for an early dinner last week with a friend. I had sushi, while Chris and our friend had Thai food. I got to taste quite a variety of dishes and everything was fresh and really good. We all loved the sweet potato tempura maki. I have had sweet potato maki rolls before, but this was so good because it was tempura and so freshly prepared. I also had a chance to taste the red curry with tofu and the beef Pad Thai. Both were very good. The sushi combo I had was really fresh and everything was nicely plated. We went fairly early, but it looks like it could get crazy crowded. It has that "trendy" look to it .... not pretty, but cool. I look forward to my next visit to try more items. I'll go early though because I am allergic to crowds. read more

I likey. We've only had delivery and both times it's been really quick. The first time it was Thai, tonight it was sushi. Both times really good. I like the Tom Yum and the Penang Steak was really tasty. The fish was very fresh. We only ordered nigiri and sashimi, no rolls. It's not cheap, but good quality. read more

I'm shocked and appalled that I haven't written a review until now because Indie has been somewhat of a sushi staple for me for awhile now. Here's the thing about Indie: I love their sushi. It's always tasty, fresh, and very well prepared and presented. I've just recently discovered some of their specialty rolls and it's like walking up to Disney World for the first time. It's wonderful. Because I've been going here a while, I can say confidently that sometimes the "others" of the dining experience: service, presentation, and consistency in food preparation can be hit or miss. It's generally always good...but there are times that the food has been really excellent and other times that it's just "well, that was okay, huh?" Overall, I go back because I know what they have done in the past. But sometimes it can be a little lackluster. And whatever you do, don't ever get delivery from this place. With that, you're just askin' for trouble. read more

Oh, Indie. I didn't realize just how much I missed you until I went back for the first time in awhile on Saturday night. There's ok sushi near my new home, but nothing tops the delectable rolls you always give me. It was my birthday, and you handled my group of 8 easily. The crab rangoon was a hit, as were all the thai dishes my non-sushi eating friends ordered. And the rolls I had? SCRUMPTIOUS. The caterpillar roll is the best, and the popeye roll ain't bad either. Your BYOB-ness allowed us all to leave with a nice buzz. What a wonderful way to start out a birthday celebration. Damnit, now I'm depressed. WHY CANT YOU BE CLOSER TO ME? *single tear* read more

How am I 2 years into Edgewater & have non idea Indie is the hottest thing in the neighborhood. I had the best maki I've had in my life recently at Indie Cafe. Great Thai dishes, excellent service, amazing sushi. Serves wine, sake & beer, yet still allows BYOB at a minimal price. Just when I thought the food scene in Edgewater was barely breathing. Indie to the rescue. read more

Indie Cafe - Excellent cut - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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