This was the first place I ever ate when I visited Champaign before moving here. It was more of a working lunch so I didn't order too adventurously, but the noodles I got were excellent and the soup was perfect. The wait can get a bit long at meal times - it's worth a modest wait - but if it's too long there are plenty of options in the area. read more

The best sushi restaurant in the CU area with relatively reasonable prices. Personally would recommend sticking with their sushi/nigiri/sashimi as some of their other offerings like ramen seem more like they're just there to fill out the menu. read more

Fantastic sushi at good prices. Quality ramen but the chicken teriyaki was dry and needed more sauce to make it more enjoyable.

New to U of I area and friend recommended this place. Sashimi and shrimp tempura is good! Nothing too special to this place since Japanese restaurants are everywhere in Chicago. For some reason it was super hot in there. Maybe the AC was broken. Wish they had a bigger order of just the sashimi. They only have the appetizer size or a combo with sushi :) read more

The sushi is served at room temperature which is amazing! I especially love their sashimi. It's a little pricy, so definitely don't come here all the time, but I'm so glad they opened this place up! read more

This place was great! They had probably the best hwe dup bop I've ever had, with bits of seasonal apple along with the more standard toppings. We also tried some sparkly Korean blackberry wine, which even though it sounds like it might be sickly sweet, is actually malty and refreshing and goes well with food. They also threw on an unexpected side order of chicken wings, which I thought were super-tasty and I don't even really like fried things all that much. Would eat again. read more

Hail Sakanaya. This is one of the only places I will ever go for sushi in Chambana. They always make sure to provide thick, fat slices of fish. Their ramen is yummy too. Atmosphere, of course, gets stars. read more

By far my favorite sushi on campus, I get the OMG roll every time, which is lit on fire and is delicious. Their sushi is very different compared to other restaurants on campus. The place is very small, but it's definitely worth a try! read more

Best sushi in town? No. Best sushi money can buy! So good, that after my first entree, I had to buy another. Friendly and quick service, great food, pleasant atmosphere, and they even divided the bill exactly how we wanted it (props to them, it was a little tricky). I'll never forget biting into my wings appetizer. The crunch was the most satisfying thing ever. The other dishes my friends and I got were healthy in portions, just the right amount of spicy, and absolutely tasty. Should have gotten a third entree but oh well. I don't write yelp reviews often. I felt obligated to write one this time around. read more

Quite possibly the best sushi in town. When factoring in the price, I prefer Oishi, but it is hard to beat the atmosphere and flavor here. Across the board, the place really excels. My only complaint would be the price, but it is really misplaced, considering what you are getting for your money. read more

Best sushi for the price in Chambana :) Their Udon noodle soup was also great. I would love to go back!

Excellent food and service... A+. Lee was an excellent server, strongly recommend for a very pleasant experience

Best sushi i have ever had, but then again, i'm not a sushi expert by any means. All I know is their food tastes very fresh, which makes a world of different with sushi. Take a date here, take a group of friends here, it doesn't matter, its got a very well rounded feel to the place. Get the Windy City or the Playgirl. Their udon and ramen are good also. Haven't had their sashimi yet though. read more

Great place, really nice servers. Sushi was fresh. Options weren't very vast but the quality and experience overall was great. I would return when I'm the area again. read more

This restaurant is very cute and aesthetic but quite small. The waits can get long to be dotted but always 100% worth the wait. Keep an eye out for hours they close after lunch and before dinner. Such a great place much order Willis tower read more

I visited UIUC for my cousin's graduation, and she recommended to have dinner at this restaurant. Food here was really delicious! Wanna visit again if I have a chance to go to Champaign. !! read more

Like their sushi and ramen noodles. Good place for couples/single diner.

My favorite Sushi place in town. I love their sashimi, sushi, they are so fresh. Tasted awesome. Ramen is also excellent. After eating here, it is hard for me to go to the other sushi places in town. read more

We came here for the wings. They were delicious! Half and half was great, so you get some spicy some not spicy. Good ambiance, and fast service. read more

I started coming here recently and everything is fantastic. The fish is fresh and there is a lot of variety. I rarely get appetizers, but the Willis Tower is amazing. I get that appetizer every time I come here. I also enjoy the K2 and spider rolls, as well as the Windy City roll. The chicken katsu and ramen is also delicious. After 9pm, there is a late night menu where there is fried chicken that is extremely flavorful. The only knock against Sakanaya is sometimes the wait time is extremely long and they don't take reservations. So keep in mind, if you want to eat at a high traffic time, sometimes you may have to wait upwards of an hour. read more

Decent ramen lunch. A bit pricey, but tasty.

We've been going to Sakanaya frequently since it opened couple years ago. I like their sushi rolls which have the right amount of rice (some places fail by putting too much rice in sushi rolls) and I think Sakanaya roll, VIP roll and Gold rush roll are worth trying. Hwe dup bap is also a good choice with a lot of vegetables and raw fish. Their pretty tasty food and the fact that there are not enough good Japanese restaurants in C-U still make us come here frequently however I do want to see them making improvements. They really need to change/add new items to the menu. I'm finding myself ordering the same sushi rolls too often just because there's nothing new to try. My most favourite menu item was the tuna tataki but I no longer see it on the menu. Their sashimi is okay and not the best. If you want to have ramen, Sakanaya is still the only acceptable place in town to go to but I have to say their ramen is just mediocre and overpriced. The broth is not flavourful and their ramen eggs are so overcooked that the yolk has a green ring. Ramen eggs are supposed to be soft boiled. You can get much more delicious ramen for the same price in Chicago (for e.g. Wasabi, Ramen Takeya, Ramen-san). read more

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I give it a decent rating bc the place is just too pretty and the servers super nice. However, the ramen was just ok, nothing special. Thats the only thing I had besides the octapus which was also not bad. Leaves a lot to be desired tho. read more

Yummy food and reasonable prices. Cute decoration and dishes. They had some special and different sushi rolls that are worth a try. I liked everything about this place and strongly recommend it if you want to have fresh and delicious sushi. read more

Really pleasantly surprised. First class sushi, right on campus, in central Illinois? Amazing! The decor is really nice, the service is top notch and most importantly - the fish / sushi itself is really great quality. We had some miso soup, hot sake, a couple of specialty sushi rolls (Sakanaya and OMG), a classic spicy tuna and shrimp tempura. Everything was delicious, fresh and well presented. This is certainly the best sushi place in town! read more

This place has really fresh sushi,but it can be pricy. They don't take reservations and they have limited dinning room so the wait for a table is really long. read more

Best sushi place in Champaign. The Willis tower is a must if you want an appetizer. I order it every time I go there. It is good for 2-4 people to share. I like sushi combination or sashimi combination. They are so great. Ramen is not recommended, which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. By the way, VIP rolls looks very fancy. It is with fire. But it tastes so so. read more

Sakanaya - Japanese Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Amazing noodle shop! I used to live in Japan, and this feels like going back for a visit.

Atmosphere was perfect, fast service, and great food!! I had the salmon poke bowl, edamame, and the Big Apple roll. Glad I found this place!

Love this restaurant. A little pricy but definitely worth it for the quality of the food. Have been here many times and service is always wonderful and attentive. I always recommend this restaurant to my friends who are looking for new sushi places in the CU. read more

This is pretty much the only restaurant in Campustown that meets both my sushi-loving Chinese mom and unadventurous American dad's standards, so we usually come here whenever they visit. The sushi is fresh and pretty good considering that we're in the middle of Illinois. The ramen is generally good, but there has been once or twice when it was a little too salty for my dad. The wings and other fried stuff are all delicious. The decor is nice to look at and the food is always well-presented. For those complaining about wait times, Sakanaya has an app that shows you approximate wait times, as well as lets you virtually "get in line" (basically make a reservation for ~20-60min later) and show up when they're likely to have a table. I took one star off because the staff seems to show bias depending on who's in your party. I brought a Mexican friend once in the afternoon when there were very few customers, got no service during the meal, and he had to physically flag down a server to get the check. The Korean friend I was eating with during their busiest dinner hours could barely finish her meal between the over-attentive server and chatting with me. I know y'all probably don't mean it but racism's not cool, people. read more

We ate here tonight for a friend's 40th birthday and had a great time! Pros: - Hip and fun atmosphere - Excellent service - Beautiful presentation - Everything was fresh Cons: - Seemed overpriced - Sushi was good, but not great. I thought the maki rolls were small. Others seemed happy with their nigiri. Hubby said the philly roll was delish.. - Not as wide of a selection of sushi as some other places. - Ramen was really good, but again, not $12 or $13 good. The broth could've been a bit more flavorful, but I wasn't unhappy with it. read more

This is easily the best sushi restaurant in Champaign. Part of that is the fact that it takes you out of Champaign and makes you feel like you're in a real city. The atmosphere is very relaxing and lounge-like. Our waitress was attentive, kind, and down-to-earth. I had the Gold Rush 1848 roll (grilled eel with gold leaf flake on top, gorgeous) and my boyfriend ordered chicken katsu. Both were excellent and we're looking forward to coming back soon! This place presents its food artfully. read more

I went there last week and the food was amazing. I haven't had much sushi in life but this was great. The staff was very welcoming and helpful. I wasnt so sure of which sake to have and the server gave me a nice description of each of them and helped me choose one. read more

I've been looking for Japanese cuisine restaurant at UIUC for the recent two weeks. It's a great place to visit if u wanna have sth special here read more

It was our first time eating here and had a great experience (we will definitely go back)! We eat sushi a lot, and wanted to try a new place, especially while the students were out of town. The atmosphere is great (you feel miles away from campus town on the inside)- very nice decor. Our server and all the staff were great- they brought us an appetizer on the house which was delicious (they came and explained what to do because we looked a little confused- it was a tower of rice, crab meat (I think), and spicy tuna (I think) with sauces and you mix it together- Mmm! The sushi was great- very fresh and a lot of variety! We picked from specialty rolls. I loved the kamikaze and playgirl, and we had about 3 others too- very filling. My boyfriend had the hot sake and I had the peach sparkling sake, and they were both great. Highly recommend going here! I'm not sure how busy it is when students are around (parking is a little far away as we parked on fifth street at meters, so may be harder when school is in session), but wonderful addition to campus town and sushi places in town! read more

Great place! Philly roll was outstanding. Kamikaze was really good but almost overbearing on the spiciness. Green tea tastes as if we're infused with soy sauce so I didn't drink it but I wasn't charged for it either. I'll definitely come back! read more

The best sushi, service, and ramen in Champaign. I absolutely love everything that is served here and I am NEVER disappointed. We are always treated well by the waiters, and they go above and beyond to provide excellent service. Their fish is fresh, and their sushi is prepared perfect every time. Totally worth the slightly high prices, but you do get what you pay for: high quality. read more

I have been here twice now and I have been blown away by the food and service both times. Staff is extremely courteous and attentive. The food is amazing! I've tried the OMG (the best), Philadelphia, Cali Crunch, California, Champaign-Urbana, Playboy (too spicy for my stomach, but still great), Miso Soup (which is just like any other miso soup), and the Chicken Teriyaki dinner (which comes with A LOT of food). I have nothing but good things to say about this place and even though I despise campus, this place will keep me coming back. read more

Nice sushi! I love the Champaign-Urbana. The price is a little higher.