Best sushi in the area! Great service and always really nice. Outside seating is nice in the summer.

This will be my new go-to sushi place! We had a hard time deciding on what to get and ended up ordering a few rolls: ocean, dragon, Chicago fire, spicy tuna, and Alaskan. My boyfriend and I thought the makimono rolls were decent but we loved the special rolls. The service here is fantastic, the waitress was really friendly and kept on checking in on how we were doing. It's also BYOB! Can't wait to come back. read more

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Customer service good job on the lady's side The sushi was warm and no flavor $$$ was fair No bottles of water read more

I love coming here when the weather is nice out because it's walking distance from my sister's place, the fish is generous and fresh, and the service is nice and fast. The last time I was here, we ordered the daily special which was a tuna tartar - this was topped with a raw egg and scallions, on top of a pile of avocados, with wonton chips on the side to dip it in. Although it was delicious, the yolk made it a bit too rich for me personally and so I'd probably get an additional roll next time instead. I've also had the Chicago fire (which is awesome), the Hamachi roll (FISH FO DAYZ), spider roll (yum), shitake roll (nothing special...boo), salmon avocado roll (simple, but good), and dragon roll...and other rolls, but I was in a sushi coma at the time, so I can't recall the names. Kai Sushi is pretty casual in terms of atmosphere, and so while I probably wouldn't recommend this place for a fancy date, if you live in the South Loop, it's a solid choice to go for an easy and yummy lunch. P.S. Update as of 2/2015 - there is now a $3 corking fee per person if you BYOB! read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Their delivery wasn't so great but I came to try it out in person and my experience was much better! Service was accommodating and the waitress was very sweet and nice when we wanted to switch to indoor seating halfway through our meal. Lunch special is a good value at $10 for 2 rolls and miso soup. The rolls are tasty. Good neighborhood place not too far from the Loop. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Ocean roll and volcano roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Service: 5 Food: 5 This is a nice, hole in the wall sushi place that you would probably skip on yelp. DON'T. I came here last year and had the most amazing spider roll. So when I came back this year, I had a pretty high expectation. For me to give a 5 star the second time I go to the same place is not only rare but near impossible haha. Anyways the spider roll was crunchy, fresh and meaty! Now for those of you who do not know what it is, it's deep fried soft- shell crabs in a sushi roll. And it's delish. It's better than a shrimp tempura. Period. After having a spider roll from Kai, all the other sushi places seem to be below average because the crab was not meaty and not crunchy since its not fresh. Ok, I just realized that I wrote an entire paragraph on their spider roll. Most of their specialty rolls (chicago, volcano, ocean) are good too, the sushi chef is pretty generous with the fish portions. Each piece of sushi was 90% fish~~~ Great service, nice decor and yummy sushi. That's how all sushi places should be. Now, keep in mind you will have high(er) expectations of sushi after eating here. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Sushi as big as the menu logo, that's impressive - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It's a nice urban sushi spot in the South Loop. The rice/fish/vegetable ratio is spot on. As someone who not only loves sushi but has been to Japan multiple times, they know what they are doing. Sushi pricing is incredibly fair and the fish is of excellent quality. Servers are attentive, friendly, and accommodating. I had the salmon avocado roll and the sunset roll for lunch. Both were just incredibly refreshing. The staff did a great job checking in with me in a timely manner, brought me my food with great timing. I was on my lunch break, which I think they assumed and in no way did I feel rushed, but they honored my time in making sure I wasn't waiting around long. I will absolutely be back and can see myself becoming a regular here. read more

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This is our 7th or 8th visit in the last year and even though they were super busy we had a great experience. Our server, Zero (that's her name) who is barely 2 weeks into her job here was excellent! The rolls did not disappoint and it was a great meal. read more

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Cute little sushi place. We got the Texas roll, West Town and yellowtail roll. The sushi was nice, decently fresh. The service was fast and they were very attentive. Overall, nice little place. read more

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I've never been to a BYOB restaurant before. I so want to go back. The sushi rolls were absolutely amazing. So flavorful and delicious. Beautifully constructed. The waitress even brought wine glasses and opened the bottle of wine. We had the super crunchy roll, dynamite roll and a special roll with salmon belly. I really liked the dynamite roll. Personal favorite of the three but the super crunchy roll had a nice slow heat to it from the jalapeño. That was really good. The cucumber salad was very good and the orange for dessert was a perfect ending. Looking forward to coming back. We were in town for a concert and stumbled across this place. What a gem. read more

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When its warm outside I sat on the side walk and ate also brought my dog!! very few places that lets customers do that!! very nice service, and clean place. food was good and also just a nice place to sit and chill and hang out with friends! food was pretty good too!! they have sea urchins too!! read more

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Ordered the special spicy tuna, Chicago fire, and dynamite. Some of the best sushi I've had in Chicago. The customer service was great as well. I think what will take this spot to the top if a variety of better drinks were offered. But overall the sushi is AMAZING! read more

amazing sushi for fantastic prices! 4 of us went to eat and the bill was only about $50! the sushi was so amazing (especially the caterpillar and dynamite roll)!! read more

Great take out experience. Ready on time and fresh fish. Will be making this a regular on our list.

My girlfriend and me were looking for a reasonably priced sushi restaurant in Chicago. The reviews looked promising so we gave it a try. The service was very friendly and took good care of us. The sushi was absolutely delicious. Very fresh fish and ingredients for a good price value. The food was beautifully presented, although we had to wait a while. Our favorite roll is the GREEN TURTLE (salmon with avocado and mango). We can highly recommend this place! read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Left: Green Turtle (best); right: Spicy Tuna and Avocado Tuna (fresh) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Kai Sushi is my go-to place for fresh sushi! I order from them often. My favorites are the Salmon don, Salmon Sashimi, Super Crunchy and the Ocean Roll. The staff is really nice and I am always happy with my order. As long as Kia is serving food, I will be a customer! read more

3.5 stars. Solid vegetarian sushi with lots of options! My companion got the fish sushi and pronounced it "pretty good but not amazing." On the veggie side, I got a shiitake roll, oshinko roll, and a umeboshi roll. The shiitake roll was good, exactly what you'd expect (umami! Yum!). The oshinko was good but I wish they'd cut it into stick rather than doing whole chunks. The umeboshi was funky and different (I liked it but no one else did). Overall, a great place for vegetarians and vegans who want good options along with their fish-eating friends. read more

After a terrible experience at sushi sai a month or so ago, it came time again where I had a hankering for sushi on a week night after work meaning not energy, desire or time to travel too far north. I picked like 3 places for my girlfriend to meet me at and since she forced me to choose I picked a location closest to me commuting home. Lucky for me it was a great choice!!! I loved that this place is BYOB with no fee for parties w/less than 5 ppl. The sushi really is prepared with fresh ingredients! You can tell the fish is not days old. Because of this it doesn't come to your table right away, but it is worth the wait!! I think it's a good place to come for a super casual dinner in a small group or catching up with a friend. This place isn't for frills, however the seating is quaint and the lighting is DIM. They are definitely reasonable for their price and I'll be back! Everything I had was yummy! 1 star taken away because of the tight ass of seating & lightening that felt accidentally dim and not romantic like I'm assuming the goal is. I'll be back! I told all my co workers about this place, my boyfriend, and even my friends that live out of a state. Good causal sushi spot! read more

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Walked in a early Saturday afternoon for our "dinner". This has been on my list of places to check out since i saw good star ratings. Star ratings sell me along with pictures lol. As we walked in it was fairly empty which is cool with me, im assuming it was early and hot. We were greeted quickly and polite. They told us we could pick our seat. We were greeted with water & i believe a pretty small but very tasty cucumber salad. FOOD - Menu selection isn't huge but just enough to make selections. Our 2 appetizers and sushi that we ordered tasted amazing! DECOR/ATMOSPHERE - It is sort of small, i expected a little bigger but overall clean and decent light because of the large windows. I don't think they even had any lights on, on our visit. $$$ - Prices seemed average for sushi/asian STAFF/SERVICE - Our visit was great service from the staff. Overall pleasant experience all around. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I went on a Sunday night-probably around an hour before close. I ordered a chirashi and a dynamite roll. The food was actually very good. Great rice to fish ratio. However the service left much to be desired. I will give them a pass however because the guy said it was his first day The food: 11 big slices of fish over a generous portion of rice. The dynamite roll was good too. The sauces were also nice. I asked for eel sauce and spicy mayo. These were given free of charge-unlike some places that charge 1.00 per 2 tbsp of the sauces. I'll definitely be returning sometime. The place isn't big, but it offers outdoor seating for when the weather is nice. Location is not in the heart of the loop, so traffic isn't as hectic. Overall 4/5. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Dynamite roll. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Delicious sushi and appetizers at this tiny south loop gem. The menu is simple with a handful of unique rolls that have all been delicious. The Chicago Fire seems to be everyone's favorite, but the sushi appetizer and shrimp shumai are also delicious. Inside is tiny, seating only 30 plus 4 seats at the sushi counter. It's BYOB and has amble sidewalk seating in the summer. Dog friendly too! read more

Very good fresh sushi. Wonderful peaceful outdoor patio. Great weather, not that they controlled it. BYOB. A perfect evening, I would definitely return. read more

Favorite sushi place in Chicago. We've ordered a few times from here and even though it was take out, or was phenomenal. All of the sushi was very fresh and solo delicious. Honestly we've ordered about 10-12 rolls and they are all solid. Try them out asap. read more

Awesome little find close to the South Side with quality fish at a fair price. Surprised I overlooked this place in the past on my travels to Chicago. The uni was super fresh which is always key! Kai I will be back! read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place is a hidden gem inside a condo high rise in the South Loop area. Good thing my brother told me about this place. Pretty fresh fish I must say. Sushi pieces were large cut, draping over the rice. Small intimate dining with al fresco seating as well. Service was also accommodating. The manager stopped by us and a few others checking if everything was good. It's a BYOB! read more

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I think this place is alright. Don't expect to be blown away or anything, but if you need an ok sushi fix then go for it. I would come back but I wouldn't immediately think of this place. I went with three people and we ordered 3 rolls, 5 orders of nigiri sushi, and 2 orders of sashimi. Total came to about $36 per person, which is decent. I wasn't full by the end of it though. To begin with the rolls are very eh. They're not bad but there was nothing about them that made me think "OMG this is the greatest place ever and I have to keep coming back." The sashimi and nigiri were both good. I'm obsessed with yellowtail, and if you are too, they have reasonable rates for nigiri and sashimi so I recommend that you come here for this and not the rolls. The fish used tasted quite fresh and didn't have too much of the "fishy" taste finicky sushi eaters hate. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Yellowtail Sushi, highly recommend - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Good little run-of-the-mill sushi place. Not terribly imaginative, but the rolls that I had were very fresh and tasty. The jalapeño sauce that was on one of them was a neat little addition. They had a dessert special when I went was banana tempura with green tea ice cream and it was pretty awesome. Waitress was really friendly. It's a very low-key place, casual, BYOB. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Banana tempura with green tea ice cream-yum! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great service. Small and quaint location. I enjoyed the VIP and the OCEAN. I'll be back to try more of the menu. It was great for a night without cooking. Lots of locals came in, there was GrubHub and even a group from out of town. I enjoyed watching them make every thing fresh with genuine care for their craft. I highly recommend you check them out. It's worth giving them a shot. read more

Stopped here on the way to Midway because of its convenient location. Overall, I thought it was a nice spot for quick bite of solid sushi at a very reasonable price. Ordered the edamame and the Sushi Platter which was a perfect amount of food for a semi hungry individual. The rolls were all super tasty with good quality fish across the board. Would revisit again and hopefully enjoy the outdoor seating next time. read more

This is my absolute favorite sushi restaurant in all of Chicago. The Chicago fire, ocean roll and miso soup are my three must haves. The staff is fantastic and always remembers our order and will deliver in less than an hour just after a simple text message. Highly recommend read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Some of the best sushi I've had in the city!!! We had the Caterpillar roll and the Chicago Fire roll. Both were amazingly fresh and delicious! Kai is also BYOB, and you can't beat that!! I'm definitely coming back! read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Caterpillar roll and Chicago Fire Roll!! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Sushi done right! Presentation is first class and everything tastes fresh. Atmosphere is too casual for these prices. We had a bad waitress near the end of the day but that's no excuse for poor service. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Sunset Roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Dragon, Flaming VIP, dynamite This is our favorite little SLoop casual spot. Nothing fancy, decent sushi, BYOB (no corking fee), nice patio in the summer. It's a great casual date night spot read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I am so surprised that this place does not have more reviews. ... Easily one of the best sushi places I have been to. While their menu seems smaller than what you would expect at a sushi resturant, each of of rolls was well prepared. And so so so fresh....You could see that even with the first mouthful. To give you a clue on how good it was. .... my husband actually started singing after his first mouthful. And my sister who does not usually like traditional raw sushi actually enjoyed the whole meal. They don't have tempura listed on their menu but can make some if requested. No ramen. The focus is mostly on maki rolls, speciality rolls and sashimi. I loved their tuna tartare.... yummy read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Tuna tartar with quail egg abd spicy chips - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

first of all, i wanted to say that the service is great, even though it was a busy night, but we never felt neglected, the waitress will drop by to make sure everything is good, for service alone, i would give it 5 stars For the food, I would say this is very average sushi, nothing really stand out, but I guess given the price, it is supposed to be just a neighborhood restaurant. The rice's texture is not that good, and a bit too much rice vinegar. the fish quality is very much so so. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - green turtle and the sushi platter - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Just moved to the neighborhood and had to try out the closest sushi. This place has great service and very fresh fish. Great prices and can't wait to try more rolls. read more

I was craving sushi and decided to take a risk on my way to south downtown Chicago. Wasn't really a big risk since this place has 4.5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised! Pros: - super fast service - yummy rolls - decent prices Cons - not a lot of non sushi options like tempura or udon - this isn't the highest quality sushi, you get what you pay for - they don't serve alcohol If you're in the area - stop by and don't forget to check into yelp for 50% off your specialty roll. read more

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Kai Sushi looks like a fast food type sushi restaurant, which it probably is, but the sushi was surprisingly good! The bf and I bused/walked our way here in the rain last June, and it was worth it. The staff was super friendly, and I believe the serve who helped us had just visited SF so we chatted for a bit. As I said earlier, this place is definitely comes off as a place where you'd order to go rather than sit down and eat. The menus they give you when you dine in are paper brochure menus, like a to-go menu pretty much. No big deal, but We mainly ordered rolls and then a couple nigiri just to try. I believe we had the Ocean, White Tiger, Hamachi Special and Chicago Fire rolls. Unfortunately, I don't recall which nigiri we had -- scallops for sure, and it was good! The bf and I enjoyed Kai muchhh more than Umai. The sushi was fresh and all the rolls were delicious. Definitely recommend Kai Sushi if you're visiting, or living in, Chicago! read more

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Delicious sushi!!! I've become a regular patron at the $20-25 all you can eat/buffet sushi restaurants in the Chicagoland area. As I result, I think my taste buds have become accustomed to less expensive/fresh sushi. I forgot how great really fresh sushi can taste. I got a Volcano and Chicago roll. They were both delicious! I may have to take a break on buffet spots and visit here more often. When my friend and I arrived, the place was completely empty, which I would usually perceive as a red flag, but I already looked at the Yelp reviews so I expected it to be pretty tasty. I'm happy we didn't leave! Even though we were the only people dining at the restaurant, the service was kinda slow luckily I wasn't in a hurry. I'll definitely be back! read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - A quiet Thursday afternoon lunch. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I've never had anything bad here, but I do have a few favorites: the chicago fire roll has four types of fish and is fantastic. their green turtle roll has mango - it adds some sweetness to the roll that you didn't expect to be as welcome. They do take a little long to serve everything, which isn't necessarily bad seeing that I'd assume it's because things are fresh and made to order. The place is fairly small, so not the best place to go during the winter when the patio is closed. It is BYOB, so take advantage of that. Super convenient spot in the south loop. read more