Very friendly & fast service. The lobster mania & the rainbow roll were very tasty. You could actually taste the lobster in the lobster mania. The size of the rolls were just about right without adding too much rice which I consider to be a plus. We also ordered shrimp shumai that was also tasty as well as the sashimi octopus. Price is reasonable! Without being a restaurant for special occasions I think you wont be disappointed for a regular lunch. read more

Great quality fish! One of our favorites since discovering it during quarantine. We usually get the salmon don or tuna don. It comes with your choice of salad or miso soup. Good amount of food and the tamago on top is a nice touch. When my husband and I can't agree on a place for dinner, Kai sushi saves the day! We can always agree on delicious sashimi! read more

I needed to do some studying and I was hungry for sushi, I stopped by Kai to try it out and was not disappointed. The kind waitress recommended me the Hamachi Special because I love spicy seafood and it was So good! I also got the Lobster Mania and it was tasty as well. I will be back. read more

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

We were starving. Seated right away. It was really busy and really hot in that restaurant. It took a long time for the waiter to take our order and for the food to come. When they get slammed both inside and outside (on the patio) and there are only 2 waiters/tresses, then it gets hard to manage. We had the tartare, Toro, salmon roll, and sashimi. The sushi was good, very fresh! It was beautifully done. The tartare sauce had so much flavor. I'm not sure I'm a fan of it being served on chips.. But every restaurant does chips so that's okay. The Toro was fatty and I loved it! Overall, I wish the experience of waiting and being boiled inside didn't ruin our dining there. Not sure if I should give them another try. read more

I've never been disappointed here! The rolls are always fresh and the servers are friendly

Good Sushi and outdoor atmosphere next to the street. Server was friendly and informative about the sushi. They had a special that night of Salmon Belly but had to ask if they had any specials. For the rolls, loved the spicy crab. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Spicy Crab Roll, Alaska Roll (salmon,crab,avocado) - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Very tasty rolls & fresh fish, with good texture & color. I had Chicago Fire, which could've used a bit more jalapeño sauce, for my taste. Still very good. The service was fast & courteous, & the young man who waited on me (& everyone else in the place!) could not have been more pleasant. The place is BYOB, which I didn't know. He said I could go around the corner & pick up something at Jewel, which I did. Got back & my sushi was ready. He opened my beer & have me a glass. I used a Yelp coupon which gave me 50% a specialty roll. My server was aware of it & it was exceptionally easy to redeem. After the bill was paid he told me to hangout if I want, & he'd open another of my beers. Definitely recommended!! read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Precisely 37 places to sit & easy, with 4 spare chairs. High chairs for the kiddies too. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Kai Sushi is a one of the best sushi restaurants I have come across so far while living in Chicago for 2 years. The interior design is very bright and welcoming, from the outside walking in I was immediately attracted to the restaurant. This eatery is one of the best sushi restaurants I've ever been to. Me and my friend went here on a Friday night around 9 PM. We didn't make reservations but they still seated us within 10-15 minutes. They approached us within walking in the door and were extremely kind. Once we were seated they got our waters and gave us time to order. We ordered 3 specialty sushi rolls, super crunchy ($13), dynamite ($12), sakura blossom($8), and mango mochi ice cream($3.5) for dessert. The food came out quick and the chefs were on point with their sushi rolls; compliments to the chef. We also got a complimentary cucumber salad along with an orange at the end of the meal, both on the house. All 3 specialty rolls were so amazing that I couldn't pin point my favorite one. The texture and taste was so mouth watering and makes you come back for seconds. The cream cheese in the sakura blossom was such a good addition and made the roll really tasty. The tempura in the super crunchy was magnificent and indeed, super crunchy. The mango mochi ice cream was decorated by the chef with raspberry, strawberry, chocolate, and caramel sauces to go along with it. Delicious is all I could say about our meal. Not to mention the decent pricing for the food. The service was beyond amazing. They were constantly on point with asking if we needed anything or filling our waters when needed. When we ordered, one of the other waitresses thought we weren't taken care of so she asked if she could take our order for us. Super kind and generous. Our waitress Aigo was extremely keen on making sure we were okay, as well as the waiter who always tried to help whenever necessary. Kai Sushi is indeed a spectacular restaurant and has some of the best service and sushi rolls in Chicago. I can't wait to come back here. It's also BYOB which I did not know at the time so I will for sure remember this for next time. This is my first time visiting, but definitely not my last. Keep it up! Recommendations: Update the menu and make it more appealing for dine in customers!!!! And finally, clean the bathrooms more and maybe make it more modern by adding a few touches to it to make it look nicer. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Mango Mochi Ice Cream - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The portions are great and the sushi tastes fresh! I recommend the spicy crab, Alaskan roll, and shrimp tempura. I haven't tried their specialty rolls but I will next time. They give lots of ginger and wasabi too so no need to order extra. read more

The freshest sushi ever! Sashimi pieces are thick and melt in your mouth. Large variety of rolls. read more

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TLDR: the rolls here are absolutely delicious (5 stars) BUT they charged me more than what I signed for and will not respond to my follow-ups which is why I give it 2 stars. Please doublecheck your receipts and credit card statement to see if it matches up. When going through my credit card statement a couple weeks after eating here, I noticed they charged me $50 flat which is weird because my food + tax + tip was $41.91 (I have receipt evidence). I'm pretty sure restaurants are not allowed to round up? I contacted them multiple times but was ignored. I'm not upset about being charged 9 cents more but moreso upset at the principle of them charging more than what I signed for. If they rounded up for other customers, imagine how much extra money they're making. This place is right next to my apartment so I finally decided to give it a try after seeing the great reviews on Yelp. I came here with a group of 4 and we sat outside which was perfect for the breezy cool summer night. It's BYOB so we brought beer from our apartment upstairs. My boyfriend and I ordered 3 rolls to share - Flaming VIP, Volcano & Super Crunchy. Holy moly..everything was delicious and we devoured everything! The only downside is that it's a bit pricey since the special rolls are $12.95-$13.95 per roll so it came out to be around $25 per person. read more

Ate quite a few rolls there and took some to go. It was semi crowded but I felt like I was taken care of I even filmed some for my YouTube channel read more

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

Thoroughly, I mean thoroughly enjoyed this place. I went at a time when it wasn't busy and the young gentleman was so helpful along with the chef's to the customer's needs. From refilling water to opening the door for a lady with her child. The food spectacular! I went with 2 pieces of salmon, a Texas Roll, and and the Chicago Fire. I ate my whole plate, literally, I never eat all my food-sad but true- great experience. Check this place out! read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Delicious. Salmon, Texas Roll, and Chicago Fire. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I came on a Friday evening at 10pm to eat something before a late night showing of Kingsman. Walking here was a little uncomfortable because one suddenly enters a quiet and empty residential area after leaving hectic Roosevelt. Upon my arrival, I waited to be seated, but was ignored by all on staff waiters whom had all looked at me. At least the sushi chefs noticed me, and keep looking at me waiting for me to be shown to my seat. It was a little crises but the crowd was tapering off. It wasn't until one waiter was trying to clock off that one of the sushi chefs took pity on me and notified him to seat me. Thanks, chef, but no kudos to servers. I ordered the saltwater eel sushi and the caterpillar roll. I was craving eel, and felt that to unagi don would be to ouch for me this late at night. It was very delicious, with just enough of the sweet eel sauce. The saltwater eel was delicious, and I will come back for that. I wasn't very fond of the slow inattentive service not just at the beginning but also during my meal. Please work on that. The ding area is not spacious, so while you are preparing to close, please still pay attention to the fact that I am here and not your only customer. I was annoyed that because one party was friends with one of the waiters, they had what seemed to be better service. It was also kind of scary to hear what seemed to be a quiet scolding from the manager(?) to a server who was at the tail end of her shift. Please keep that in private elsewhere. Overall, I will come back and have plans to do so. Thanks for filling my eel craving!! read more

This place is great! Best sushi in the south loop hands down. The staff is super friendly and helpful. The Texas and Chicago fire is yummy You won't be disappointed with this place. read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Texas and sweet potato rolls - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Spotted on my drive back from work, ended up going there for a random dinner during the week. Fantastic seating arrangements outside with nice decor friendly wait staff. Ordered the Chicago Fire Roll, the Green Turtle, and Sweet Potato veggie roll. Very cheap in comparison to other sushi restaurants and it's BYOB. Total bill came out to be under 40 dollars and we were stuffed. Would recommend but be warned it's nothing crazy fancy. If you are looking for a solid sushi fix this is it! read more

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

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I've been here a few times and the food has always been good. I really want to give this place five stars, but today when I placed an order for pick up, I was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. 30 minutes later and still no food. I'm still sitting here while I write this. The restaurant isn't full. Lots of empty tables. Why am I waiting for my food? read more

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

Mediocre sushi for a fine price, sure. What they DON'T tell you, is that they charge a $3 corkage fee... for a place that's BYOB. While not unlawful, definitely unethical. When I asked the manager for the logic behind it, he merely said, "this is the rule, you can go elsewhere if you'd like." And while I love a good 'ol fashion "my way or the highway," banter, letting me know about this corkage fee when I called and tried to make a reservation earlier in the day would have been nice. Needless to say, I will continue to "go elsewhere" for sushi. You have lost my business, sir. read more

It was a quick stop on the way back to the suburbs and evem though we found out it was byob a little too late, this place is still delicious! We just stuck to the pieces rather than the rolls but even without their fancy sauces, it was still delicious! read more

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Great reliable sushi in south loop. Staff are very friendly. I usually get takeout but the restaurant itself and outdoor seating are very nice as well. Highly recommend read more

Really fantastic sushi! Super high quality fish, and it's an incredible value. Two pieces of their nigiri are often the same cost (~$5) as ONE piece of other restaurants' nigiri. And, this is not economy-quality fish either; it's the good stuff. Try the ama ebi! read more

This is the first time i went to kai sushi cuz its close to my apt building. We ordered Salmon roll, shrimp tempura udon, unagi don and banana tempura with green tea ice cream. Salmon roll is okay, fresh ingredients but nothing wow. Shrimp tempura is crispy but not greasy and soup based for udon is good (soy sauce). Unagi don, portion is quite big, around 10 pieces of unagi with avacado. Last but not least which WOW me that is the Banana Tempura w green tea ice cream. Taste so great!! Must try!!! Servers are really nice, but one thing, they have many specials which is not on the Menu (e.g noodles dishes, dessert) u gotta ask for it. Price is average. read more

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Good price! We came around 2pm. There was only one waitress, so it took awhile for her to get our order. They gave us small plate pickled cucumber. In 5-10mins, all of our order came out. We ordered Chicago Fire, Green Turtle, Super Crunchy and Hamachi Roll. At the end, they gave us a half of oranges, craftily placed. I don't see these rolls in LA, so it was interesting for me! read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Tasty green turtle roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place is just OK. I've been here a couple times with my husband. If your looking for a really good sushi and nigiri place, this is not it. But if you just want to have quick meal just to have something in your tummy, then go ahead. read more

I appreciated and loved every little detail in this small restaurant. I dropped by for an early dinner and the place was pleasantly chill. The waitress was very kind and helpful - I was asking stupid questions like is Chirashi big enough and she did her best to come up with an answer. I ended up getting Chirashi + 2 pieces of salmon sushi. The food really hit my sushi craving. All the fish pieces were very tender (and fresh enough), and the portion was reasonably satisfying. I'd love to go back soon and try the rolls that others recommend. read more

Ordered delivery from here and the food arrived fresh and on time. Sashimi Platter (5/5): the slices of fish were large and fresh Crab/ Scallop Roll (5/5): delicious, love the combination of flavors Eel Nigiri (2 pieces)--fresh and great flavors. Seaweed salad: good, but my complaint would be that the portion size is very small. It was very nice that the restaurant gave me 2 spring rolls for free with a happy face written in mayo sauce--cute gesture! read more

Kai was great. Went for the first time to meet up with some friends and brought along some first time sushi goers as well. Everyone was really pleased. The staff was friendly and the wait for the food was short. Pricing was definitely fair as well. read more

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

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Such a fun little spot! My friends and I decided to have a girls night out here an it was so much fun. This was our first time trying a BYOB restaurant out and I can't wait to try it again! Not only was it a fun experience, but the sushi was quality too. I had the salmon sashimi and that almost melted in my mouth. the texture wasn't the most fluffy, but the taste was just how I like it. They also had an assortment of rolls to try out. My good friend is allergic to fish (yeah yeah why go to a sushi place? because it delicious thats why lol) but there were a good amount of crab rolls and tempura rolls to try out too! I usually don't go for tempura rolls, but the tempura wasn't too overpowering in the sushi and I liked it quite a bit. The service was a little bit slow and I felt like our waitress was disappearing on us quite a bit, but I suspect thats due to the fact that it was a Friday night. I didn't see this as much of an issue because I was in good company. They o offer outside seating Overall a really fun place to try out. I can't wait to come back when Im back in town! read more

This is the best sushi deal you will find below Roosevelt. This is an "every day" sushi establishment that is fair with its pricing. My wife and I will order take out from Kai and easily save a couple bucks compared to closer sushi restaurants. The quality is good as well. Service is a little slow when things are busy. I don't often see this place being empty. So that should tell you something. read more

Kai Sushi is an amazing sushi restaurant in Chicago because both the food and service are amazing. In regards to food, they give each person a cucumber salad appetizer and a creatively peeled and cut orange at the end of the meal. The cucumber salad is quite flavorful and prepares your appetite for the entrees. Both my girlfriend and I had such a wonderful experience here that we came back for lunch twice during our spring break vacation in Chicago. My gf really appreciated the kind waitress and loved her useful recommendations on what rolls to order. For our first time here, we ordered both the ocean roll and the flaming VIP roll. Make sure to request getting the special sauce on the side of the plate because it's amazing! The rolls are also an extremely good value because the most expensive roll is usually $12.95 and each roll comes with 8-9 pieces of sushi. In regards to the ocean roll, it was made of shrimp tempura, avocado and topped with tuna. The gf thought this was the best roll, so it must be pretty amazing! Personally, I preferred the flaming VIP because it was made of spicy crab topped with salmon and sweet soy sauce. Honestly with either roll you can't go wrong! The ingredients are extremely fresh and you can watch the sushi chefs prepare your roll. In regards to our last visit, we ordered the dragon roll, the green curry beef udon (which was the daily special), and the Mochi ice cream for dessert. The dragon roll was also fabulous and was made from shrimp tempura (so good!), cucumber and cream cheese. It was topped off with eel and avocado. In regards to the green curry beef udon, it was an amazing value for only $9. It came with a large portion of beef and the curry sauce was not too spicy, but packed with aromatic flavor. If you ever see this on the daily special menu, make sure to try it out. Lastly, the Mochi ice cream dessert was an amazing dessert because you get a choice of two Mochi flavors: the GF and I went with red bean and mango. The Mochi was extremely soft and the ice cream filling paired extremely well to end off a perfect meal. Overall, if you are in Chicago and you are a foodie, you have to try out Kai Sushi. It's one of the best hidden gems of Chicago! read more

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Nice little sushi spot! We enjoyed the complimentary cuke salad and orange sections. The edamame was really fresh, as was the white tiger special roll. Check out the lunch special 2 roll menu choice for a good deal. Service was friendly and prompt, and it's easy to get here from the train. read more

This is our local place. Favorite! Really good food! Always fresh, fast service, friendly staff. BYOB and NO cork fee :) read more

Kai Sushi - South Loop - Sakura blossom, west town and volcano. All equally delicious!! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Kai is our go-to place for sushi whether it's dining in or delivery. We recently had the chance to dine in again, and the food, of course, is delicious--we usually order tempura, tuna tataki, flaming VIP, caterpillar, volcano and ocean roll. Their cucumber salad is refreshing, and their green tea ice cream is a must! I would give ten stars for the service, if I could, as it continues to be excellent thanks to gracious and warm staff! read more

The quality of fish was very poor. The sushi was clearly out of date. The color was off the taste was not good. I had concerns about getting a food poisoning from it. Didn't finish my dinner. Was very upset about trying this place read more

My experience here was good overall mainly because I really enjoyed the service. They bring you a little cucumber salad appetizer and end your meal with an artfully peeled and sliced orange. The server was attentive and brought the food out quickly, but the sushi left me feeling a little underwhelmed. Maybe I just ordered the wrong rolls, but a lot of their sushi includes cream cheese in it, which isn't my thing so I felt a bit limited by the options. The menu isn't extensive but there's a little bit for everyone. I always order my go-to California roll, and the ones here tasted like a cafeteria version, granted they are on the lower price point. I would suggest skipping this one. I also tried the dancing eel roll, which was my least favorite, I've never had a sweet sushi roll before and I'm definitely not a fan of the taste. My favorite was the dynamite roll, the sushi was covered with a warm layer of imitation crab mixture and tasted the best of all the rolls I ordered. Despite not being blown away by the sushi, I wouldn't mind returning. read more

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I love this place. Kai sushi is one of the best sushi places in the city. Everyone is friendly and beautiful atmosphere. They always offer daily specials, so take a look at it or ask it from the servers before you make an order. Green turtle roll is so amazing and delicious (the best one for me). read more

Service took forever (waitress did one task for one table then went in the back, one task for one table then went in the back.... Visit more than one table & make both our lives easier, girl!). Fish in the sushi was warm?? Like room temperature. Not sure they're up to code on this. But the sushi was tasty so, 3 stars read more

One of my new favorite spots. Some of the nigiri is only $2 per piece (including salmon) and is very high quality. The sashimi pieces were incredibly generous and very fresh. read more

This was our first time trying this spot and the sushi was delicious. Very friendly waitstaff and wonderful atmosphere with outdoor dining. I would highly recommend and plan to return. read more

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

I've been looking for a good sushi spot in the area. By far one of the best sushi restaurants I've had. This is now my go to sushi spot. I probably order food from her a few times a month. I've never dined in, I've only carried out. read more