Sushi + Service like whoa. How have I never been here before?! Hands down the best sushi place in Chicago, which I know 8,000 people have said before, but it's still true. Our server, Alan, was super attentive and wonderful. And the runner (I don't know his name, sorry) was fantastic. Their attention to detail is impressive and they were super accommodating when I forgot to tell them I don't eat mushrooms (even though they asked about allergies/dietary restrictions) until they put mushrooms in front of me. We did the omakase and it was delicious. There were multiple uni courses and it was sweet and briny and amazing. Save room for the last course (sashimi) because I did not and I was so sad! Green tea ice cream + azuki bean paste was so-so, but they're clearly not a dessert place. Probably makes more sense to skip dessert and go somewhere else. And they'll let you try a wine if you're torn between two bottles, which I thought was a nice touch. I made reservations through Yelp SeatMe (for the first time ever) and they called the day before to confirm, which I always appreciate. All in all, five stars. Go there. Go there now (but make a reservation first!) read more

The 10 course meal was phenomenal, they give you the choice of sharing the 10 courses and adding a couple extra dishes for 75 instead of 60 bucks. This was perfect for my girlfriend and I. The sushi is really unlike any sushi; the fish tastes fresh caught. Everything on the 10 course menu has so much flavor but our favorites were the orange rush, the mussels, and the escolar pearls. On top of the crazy good food the service here was great. The chef made us a special starter because we had to wait just a few minutes for reservation. Nothing but good things to say about this place. If you want life changing sushi, go here. read more

Get the Omakase!! My husband & I came to Kai Zan after hearing rave reviews from friends and it definitely lived up to the hype! The food was excellent & at 60/each for the Omakase tasting menu -- you can't go wrong! Our favorites were the orange Rush, Angry Crab & esscolar/maguro pearls. We will definitely be back!! read more

Omakase was amazing. Kai Zan was the perfect date spot. Each bite was delicious and the service was terrific. It's always fun to sit at the chefs table! We will definitely be back. read more

Possibly the most delicious japanese restaurant in Chicago. They are not a sushi only place. Especially good are the collar and the sliders. Love Kai Zan! read more

Hands down best sushi in the city. We sat in the bar and watched the chefs do their magic. The quality of the fish is first grade. Highly recommend. Will definitely be back. read more

Kai Zan is a special place that makes me happy I live in Chicago. I am not super adventurous but I really loved everything on their Omakase menu. Except maybe the raw quail egg shooter. That was a little too syrupy for me. I am looking forward to our next special occasion to come back. read more

AMAZING!!! Omakase all the way! This is a gastronomic experience! Kudos to the chefs! Will definitely go back! read more

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This is my favorite sushi spot in the city. Highly recommend any of the omakase options. The ingredients are fresh, the service is top notch, and the presentation is fantastic overall. I've been here several times and have yet to be disappointed. Street parking is pretty reasonable in the area. Five stars! read more

I have been to most of the omakase restaurants around Chicago and find this to be one of the best. It is priced very fair and has been consistent every time I go. I am giving it a 4 star as they tend to be a little bit heavy on the salt for the cooked dishes but everything has has been great. Sushi is always fresh and the service is quick and attentive. read more

Dined here last night -- was my life changed? No. Did I cry? No. Did I make some "this sh*t right here is amazing faces while pointing at my mouth"? absolutely. Make no mistake, this is a hipster establishment in a hipster hood. If you're not a total d-bag or clueless suburban soccer mom you should have no problem getting with the vibe Kai Zan sets forth. The staff was friendly, albeit a bit awkward, but it played into what felt like an artsy and creative atmosphere which matched the cuisine. When it comes to Sushi, freshness trumps any sort of creative fusion that a chef can offer. The fish here was very, very fresh... so beyond that the creativity and innovation are just a great bonus. The only other place in town that offers fish this fresh is the very traditional Katsu on Peterson. A very nice, focused beer selection was great. Some of the best beers Chicago has to offer are in the cooler (Krankshaft and Apex Predator) and nothing else. Again, it adds to the ethos of offering quality and no BS. They make a hard sell on the Omakase, but we went ala carte and were not disappointed. Not a cheap meal, expect to spend at least $60-75 per person with drinks. I will be back! read more

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!! Fantastic Japanese food. Great service! Love the location. I will become a regular here!! :)

The sushi was great and the $50/person omakase was excellent value for money. Both my date and I really enjoyed the food. Service was good (not great, but more than adequate). I did notice that our first few dishes seemed rushed like they were trying to turn our table quickly (as others have mentioned), but the pace relaxed a bit for the rest of the meal and we didn't feel like they were trying to push us out. Some of the dishes in the omakase are fairly spicy. They ask in advance if you have any preferences for the food, so speak up if you don't like heat. DRINKS ARE BYOB. There's a Dominick's on Chicago, just west of Damen, if you're in a rush and need to pick up a last minute beverage. I had my cab stop there on the way and I was in and out with a chilled bottle of white in ~5 minutes. read more

We had the Chef special menu and it was AMAZING! Gave me a chance to try stuff I never would have ordered for myself. It helped me try and love new sushi and other styles of dishes. Highly recommended and make a reservation it gets packed fast. Excellant service and the chef even came out to say hello! Loved it! read more

Fantastic, unique menu. Come on an empty stomach and get the omakase for a glimpse at what this restaurant does best. BYOB. Service was great. They gave us time to eat and enjoy. read more

Omakase! I got to say...Kai Zan has leaped into my top 10 restaurants in Chicago and I'll definitely be coming back. Fresh fish, creative preparation, and great service. read more

Our favorite sushi place in Chicago, by far. Been here 15-20 times. The Omakase is legit. Great combination of flavors and textures. Very happy they expanded and can seat more... More opportunities to enjoy now. Also love leaving a restaurant with only a $100 tab for two.. Doesn't happen often in Chicago. read more

Omakase all the way. My brother lives by here and told me about the omakase, but unfortunately for him his wife is not as adventurous with food so they ordered off the menu. The only downfall which is minor is that we were sat right next to the window so any time the door opened it was cold, but a small price to pay for the phenomenal culinary experience. The ambiance of the restaurant is ideal--I kind of felt like I was at a spa. Great for date night and you can't beat the quality, creativity and presentation of the food. Will definitely be going back! read more

Insanely good. Tonight we had the $90 Tasting Menu. There is a $60 tasting menu but tonight there was a special offering and it was worth it. I have had Uni a lot and heard it described as the "foie gras of the sea". I have never thought of Uni as foie gras ish but tonight was the first time I have had it so fresh that is melted on my tongue and it was amazing and did have a foie grasness about it. Maybe two courses were good, the rest were great or insanely good. The service was fast and knew their food. I have been to Koi in L.A., Blue Ribbon in NYC and Pod in Philly and this place smokes them all (better then Koi is not saying much, L.A. hype b.s.). This is an absolute must. Good luck on the reservations though! read more

Best sushi in Chicago. The fish is so fresh and delicious. Seriously, the quality of the fish is amazing and the place is clean. So happy to have found this place! read more

I am a huge fan of sushi and so when my foodie friend told me about Kai Zan and showed me the delectable pictures of uni nigiri I immediately made room in my schedule and prepared myself for lots of uni. But then we got there and could NOT find parking for the longest time. It was terrible---we ended up being 15 minutes late and they told us that we only had an hour and 15 minutes left to eat and so we better hurry. We had known about the hour and a half policy and tried our hardest to be on time but traffic and parking had worked against us that day. So we started out our meal totally frazzled and squeezed ourselves into the bar where my friend proceeded to order the omakase (because it looked delicious and didn't require making more decisions based on our time restraints). It was a lot of food and she really enjoyed it. Her favorites were definitely the amazing mussels that were broiled with some kind of sauce and the angry crab and orange rush sushi. I agreed with all of these assessments since the angry crab and orange rush were basically perfect little bites of food (their special nigiri) that were packed with flavor! I also loved the maguro pearls and escolar pearls. We were both disappointed to hear that they were out of uni that night but we still ended up having a delicious meal. The sushi was very fresh and cut well but a lot of the flavors seemed to keep repeating themselves (seemed to be a reliance on truffle oil and spicy mayo (though in moderation). Also we definitely kept checking our watches to see when we would get "kicked out". What made this more frustrating was the fact that our server disappeared for a long time near the later part of our meal and we were trying to order dessert while we still had time. But then when she returned she told us not to worry about going over our time and brought out our desserts with only 5 minutes of our hour and 15 remaining. So that was nice but we definitely would have preferred them to reassure us that there would be enough time since we felt rushed the whole meal... read more

Great sushi. Fresh fish. Unbelievable service. Our server's name was Erin and she was such a delight to have serving us. I recommend this restaurant to anyone that loves a delicious sushi meal. The chef's menu was the best! Thanks! read more

Best sushi experience I have had in Chicago. Amazing service. Melvin and Carlo are sushi gods. Melvin heard I liked uni and hooked me up on one of the rolls too! Went for my birthday and I will be back without a doubt. One of my first Yelp reviews - it was that good. read more

I refrained from reviewing Kai Zan for two years because I already have to wait long enough for reservations. Sadly Check Please and Zagat have done much more to add to that wait than my lowly review ever could. First let me say that this has to be the most friendly, unpretentious and approchable sushi/Japaneese restaurant in the city. Every time I eat here the staff is so friendly and helpful. You can genuinely tell that they all love to work there and want to share their restaurant with you. If you have never eaten here or are unfamiliar with what to order, I reccomend splurging and going for the omokase tasting menu. Try sitting at the bar so you can watch chef brothers Melvin and Carlo prepare the plates. It is truly an experience to watch and converse with these two artesians as they craft some of the best seafood plates available in the city. If you wish to order from the menu instead, I would say it's hard to go wrong with any of the fresh seafood choices, although I would implore you not to miss the escolar pearls. Enjoy Kai Zan, but try not to tell too many people, or you will be waiting outside on Chicago Avenue with me. read more

The chef's playground omakase was a great selection. The service was attentive and food fresh, inspired and absolutely delicious.

This place is amazing!! Very creative and so fresh! If you are looking for a place to have your typical dragon type roll's, this isn't the place. The mussel's, angry crab, and orange rush are a few of my favorite things. It can get pricey since you want to try everything so I wish they were still BYO. Service is great though and worth the $$ spent. read more

Great atmosphere and food. We did the chef's menu and it was out of this world. Service was swift and informative.

Spectacular fresh creative sushi. Value for omakase cannot be beat in the city. No longer BYOB, sadly :(

We have lived in Humboldt Park for 28 years and never dreamed a place like Kai Zan would show up within walking distance. Truly a tactile and sensual dining experience. The Omagashe is the way to go even for experienced sushi munchers like us, we were in protein heaven, a lot of food. Service was informative but respectful and we look forward to another visit read more

This place is a foodie's dream come true. The $60 omakase menu is quite possibly the best deal for food (not just sushi) in Chicago. The finale sashimi/sushi plate on that menu would be $60 alone at some other restaurants. We've come here many times and Melvin & Carlo have served consistently better food every time, if that's somehow possible. On occasion, they will get a fresh batch of uni in from Santa Barbara and IT IS HEAVEN. read more

KAI ZAN - Otoro & a heaping serving of uni served with a side of fresh seaweed - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is hands down our favorite restaurant in Chicago. Easily the best sushi we have had, and the service is excellent. Melvin and Carlo are masters of their art and really know how to accommodate their guests. Not enough stars to adequately rate Kai Zan! read more

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We really enjoyed every course except the mussel course, it was overcooked. Service was wonderful.

Had an amazing experience at Kai Zan. Get the Omakase (chef special). It was $65 a person and totally worth it. You get more than enough food and we had a great time trying every item that was brought out. Our server did a great job explaining what was in each dish. Also, is BYOB and there is a $15 uncorking fee. read more

I took a friend for a birthday dinner. Tuesday and Wednesday nights they have an early bird special for $35 each between 5-5:30. Must make a reservation. It was DELICIOUS and more food than we could finish. The quality was the best I have eaten, the flavors and freshness were amazing. The decor and service above reproach. Highly recommended! read more

My #1 spot in Chicago for sushi! Omakase is incredible. I appreciate their high standards for uni.

Always delicious and fun. Amazing sushi, we generally do one of the two tastings and I highly recommend going this way. It gives the diner a chance to sample the breadth of the restaurants abilities. Go now, go often read more

Went in for a quick bite without reservation, lucky me they have a spot open at the sushi bar. Ordered couple pieces of salmon nigiri which were amazing (have to order couple more pieces to take home for snack later) . Shitake Maki was amazing as well. read more

Yelp did not lead us astray on this one. Kai Zan was a totally awesome, unique experience. They basically mash up sushi with a pre-fix dining experience and the result is perfect. We did the 10 course tasting menu which is a total steal at $65/person. It is a BYOB with a reasonable corkage fee, so overall I felt like it was a great deal. My only caveat to people is that you do have to really love raw fish. Because that is pretty much every course. Suited me just fine, but if you're expecting a hibachi steak type entree, nope, courses 9 and 10 are just more raw fish. But the fish was excellent quality and variety, super flavorful and prepared in all sorts of ways with different garnishes and presentations. Service was on point, with the spacing of dishes absolutely perfect. We went with a group of 4 and had a great little private-feeling booth. All in all, the meal took 2 hours, which I thought was ideal. By the end we were full without being miserably stuffed, and delightfully tipsy from the bottle of sake and bottle of champagne that we brought. Highly recommend this spot! read more

Absolutely blew me away. My girlfriend is not a sushi person so it took some arm twisting to get her on board, but the folks at Kai Zan showed her the light. We ordered the omakase and each dish was both aethetically and palate pleasing. Completely raised my personal bar for sushi. read more

Omakase at Kai Zan never disappoints. From the taste and creativity of the food to the freshness of the fish and plentiful servings, it's always something we look forward to. read more