I hadn't come here in a long while, so I suggested it to my friend at work for lunch. We went on a weekday around noon and there were only a couple tabled occupied. We were seated right away. Our server was pleasant I guess, but he was quiet and didn't say much so hard to tell. I wasn't super hungry so I just ordered a maki roll - the super crunchy. My friend had the Nigiri Special. Neither of us were impressed by our orders. They were just ok. In fact, my super crunchy roll was actually not very crunchy and lacked much flavor - it wall all just one note and needed something to wake it up. read more

It's always good. The soup, sandwiches, sushi, drinks. They need this artist back though. My favorite is the shrimp snd rice appetizer. read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Dragon - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Stopped by after visiting MSI. We had no issue finding street parking. Place was clean and the service was attentive. E adopted the Super Crunchy Roll. Asian salad was light and tasty, but I wanted a little more ginger bite in the dressing. My husband really liked his salmon burger and chips. My least favorite was the jambalaya. Veggies were bigger than the meat. Also the black pepper overwhelmed the dish. Also they serve Pepsi products-sigh. read more

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Chef licks his fingers when he prepares sushi, and the waitress went from lining the garbage can to preparing our Miso soup. Not one employee washed their hands in the hour we were there. read more

I mean, it'll never hurt to run up in the sit down for a quick martini and or wine special (wine by the bottle is half off on certain days) and of course sushi. I really enjoy how you can walk in and be treated as if you made a reservation and be seated quickly. They have a nice selection of sushi as well as martinis. I'm not sure how anything else tastes. I find it weird that they also have a more traditional style menu as well. Sushi is really all this spot needs to serve. Nonetheless, The Sit Down ain't never hurt nobody lol. read more

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I like traditions, but one I don't appreciate is being called "dear" by a young waitress who ignores me for 45 minutes until I finally give up and take my check to the cashier--and then addresses me as "dear" again. This kind of thing used to happen here, then it stopped and the service improved, then the service declined but without the condescending and inappropriate address--I am not a trucker a long way from home missing his mother--and now all the annoyances are back. I'd ditch it for the place across the street, but I like sashimi and this venerable restaurant unfortunately has a corner on that. It doesn't seem to be busy when I'm there, but from the service you'd think they'd just been descended on by a convention and were valiantly trying to cope. No thanks, "dear." read more

If you're looking for a quick, casual sushi meal, stop by the Sit Down Cafe. With friendly, fast service, a selection of creative rolls, and a nice cocktail and beverage menu, it's a great place for a casual lunch or dinner. It's somewhat utilitarian in decor, so ambiance isn't fancy, but it's a good option for a casual gathering. read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I ordered two rolls, neither of which was particularly flavorful. The Kamikaze roll was supposed to have white tuna inside. Instead, it had albacore tuna, or possibly mackerel. Whatever was inside this roll was not the white tuna I was expecting. The flavor was lacking. There was very little eel inside the eel roll. The $6 Blue Moon beer was just a small can. I will not come here again. read more

The outdoor seating area is great on a nice warm day like today when I went. I enjoyed the seating and the wait staff. The menu was a fun mix of Italian and sushi! Was it the best sushi I ever had, no. But it was pretty good and well done. read more

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Came to this Hyde Park restaurant recently and enjoyed the casual atmosphere. It still manages to have some pretty classy sounding drinks and food. The Sit Down is exactly that, a restaurant you sit at a table and you order from there. Has quite a big menu and many different cuisines to choose from and it can be hard making a choice. You can get pizza, sushi, and tons of other stuff. A lot to choose from seriously, and it can be hard to choose. It took us awhile to look through the entire menu. There's a cocktail list in addition to the food, so you can also get your drink on while eating from the large variety of options. It's about $13 for most cocktails. The Basil Martini is an herbal version of the classic, with cucumbers, lime juice, and St. Germain. For the food it has a lot to choose from. We got some of the maki rolls. It's about $5 for the cheapest. The Avocado Maki and Kappa Maki are among the ones that are vegetarian. Each tasted fresh. These came out fast and we thought maybe they came out too fast but these were good quality. Get some drinks and food in a casual atmosphere at some of the best prices around. It's a lot cheaper than many other places around here. This has cocktails, pizza, and sushi among other things. read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Basil Martini With Avocado Maki And Kappa Maki - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I came by for lunch with a friend on a Thursday afternoon. It was pretty quiet and empty when we came (not surprisingly given the time and day), so we were given the option of choosing any seat we liked. The menu was PACKED - they have so many choices it took us a few minutes to decide what we wanted. As my friend put it, she had never seen a restaurant which offered both pizza and sushi. They also had a variety of salads and sandwiches on the menu, as well as combos and lunch specials. I ended up ordering the feisty flamingo. The roll was packed with shrimp tempura and avocado, with a bed of spicy crab layered on top and a dash of a sweet and spicy sauce. It was really delicious. I found it yummy to pair it with the sweet ginger as well. Also, they added a cute flower decoration on my plate! The staff were also super friendly. Overall, I enjoyed my meal and would come again! read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Feisty Flamingo - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Walking in, I had a very large party and to my surprise, we were seated so very quickly. The ambiance of the restaurant, although it could be better decor wise, was very cute and very clean. The staff were also very nice and worked very quickly. Our food, despite all of us being there, came out tremendously fast. The wide variety of options was particularly helpful since my party had some picky eaters. The price of the restaurant is also very affordable (coming from a college student)! Overall, the Sit Down is very casual and a great place to grab lunch. read more

Back in 2024 to say this is the some of the most consistent service I've ever received. This place is a go-to for date nights of all kinds or when I need my sushi itch scratched. I love it, it feels like home. I still get the pepperoni pizza with basil, switch up the martinis every time, and I'm obsessed with the super fresh Chicago Fire roll now. The Kamikaze is good too! Love this place, 12 years later! read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Wine flight - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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When I'm in the neighborhood, I normally will go to/get my take out from Shinju (up the street from this spot) and I love Ryo Sushi, along with Hot Woks Cool Sushi when I'm downtown; have never had a negative experience at any of these spots. I met a few pals here recently for a weekend lunch. The restaurant was relatively empty, so our service was good (waitress was nice/very attentive). But the quality of the food/drink, horrible. How do you screw up a basic spicy tuna roll? Was so salty, I could barely eat it. I also ordered wine; teeny, tiny subpar over prices glass. I'm trying to figure out why my fellow Hyde Park neighbors continue to gush, go on about this spot, think that they have good quality food. They used to be good pre-pandemic, quality has massively gone downhill post pandemic. Take a pass on this spot; don't waste your money. read more

Get it to go! They will have 10 employees walking around and you still will wait 20 minutes for a waiter! Then the manager called himself looking at the camera to see if I was telling the truth. He didn't apologize but came up to me as I was talking to someone else to tell me NO it was 11 minutes. What? What Business class he experienced is a wonder! To wait to place an order when your restaurant is half empty with more employees than customers? But you want to go at the customer? This used to be my spot! But I find new ones all the time. I don't pay for this mess. He definitely knows how to make you feel he can survive without your patronage and without it he will have to! Been going for years! Never again. Restaurants in that block close all the time. Word of mouth is powerful! He will learn that. read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - This is how crowded they were for 20 minutes waiting on a waiter! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The Sit Down is my favorite Hyde Park eatery. I come for the vibes and food. It's calm and peace inducing. It's also delicious! The staff matches the vibes. This place is perfect. read more

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I ordered a Hyde Park roll and they honored my request not to deep fry it but to my HORROR the salmon inside the roll was cooked, yuck. I even checked the menu online after the fact and it did not indicate that it would be cooked (seared or in this case a fully cooked/chopped mass). I could not eat. So just be careful when ordering if your preference is raw fish. read more

The food is always good and freshly made to order. Great service and atmosphere. If you're looking for a nice and cozy lunch or dinner spot, The Sit Down Cafe is it. read more

I've been here twice and both times I left happy. The last time I came was at least 4 years ago, so it's safe to say they are consistent in their food. This past time I tried more than sushi. I would say, stick to the sushi here, but the apple and pecan salad I had was very good. It's a great place to eat in Hyde Park! read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - (From left to right) Super Crunchy Maki, Volcano Maki, and Hyde Park Maki - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I love that there are so many different food options. The sushi was pretty good in my opinion (4 stars out of 5), and the place has a cozy, low key vibe. The staff were also very kind and attentive. Be sure to bring your university ID if you have one for a student discount! read more

Good food and service. My go to for sushi in HP. Skip WF. Yummy Lychee Martini and lunch specials .

Came for lunch and was quickly seated. It was a nice restaurant that was very clean but had some background odor like a fish monger's store. I know they serve sushi, but I don't recall that strong at any other. Ordered Edamame and it came out very fast and was cooked really well. It was very delicious. I could have almost had a meal out of it. Next up, I split an order of the standard California Roll and it was right down the fairway. Just what you would expect and the ginger/wasabi were just as well appreciated. The highlight was the Chicken Club sandwich. It was way above and beyond what was expected. It wasn't really a sandwich. Maybe a panini or calzone would be more accurate. Whatever, it was a breading that was totally surrounding the meats/others as if it were all baked. Most importantly, it tasted great. The waitress was busy yet efficient. What I really appreciated was that the water guy was quite focused and our water rarely went down 1/4 of the way. That is ALWAYS appreciated. read more

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Nice little sushi spot, I was pleased with the taste and the service. Never been to a sushi spot with pizza on the menu. All the sushi was pretty decent and the prices aren't that bad. read more

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I am only basing my five stars off the Feisty Flamingo! I don't even like sushi but this is delicious!! It's tempura shrimp, avocado, topped w/ spicy crab mix sweet & spicy sauce. It's a little pricey at $14.00 but I don't mind paying for this deliciousness!!!!!! read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - My boo the Feisty Flamingo!!! It's heaven!!!!!!! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Convenient and flavorful, with a laid-back ambiance. However, the service, especially from one server, is consistently slow and unfriendly. During my latest visit, she dropped my miso soup with her thumb in it, and I noticed her dirty nails. Additionally, there was a bug in my water. Unfortunately, I won't be returning. read more

This is not a negative 3 star review, just to be clear. I went in expecting a 3 star experience, and that is what I received. I think, this was the worst pizza I have ever eaten in the city of Chicago. It is comparable to gas station pizza, but a little worse. Staff was a little disorganized, but they were super friendly. The Sit Down gets a high five for hiring young people and minorities. Seriously, thank you for making that a priority. As for the sushi, this was the most bare bones, greasy spoon, take-it-or leave it sushi I have ever had... and I loved it. Overall; good college town, dive diner. The Bad: Do something with the pizza... stop making it, or actually figure out how to make a crust. The Good: Sushi, I'll be back for more. Loved it. read more

Great service! The staff is wonderful and management too! The Seaweed salad was ridiculously delicious! And the jambalaya was as good as any you'll find in New Orleans! Thank you for a great meal and aa read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Ridiculously good jambalaya! - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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DO NOT GO HERE I got food poisoning really bad from their sushi. Vomited all night. Was wondering why we were the only ones in the restaurant on a weekend night, now we know why. read more

The service was not great. And the food was good. But it just wasn't giving the vibe that they wanted service.

Staff was very friendly. I ordered the volcano roll and the mango cherry juice everything was so tasty. Not too high in price either. Def recommend for a nice lunch date read more

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This place is subpar at best. Not realizing till I physically read menu that they serve Italian too. It's suspect. The miso tasted stale and the maki fishy. Won't be back. read more

My kids favorite place! They like the sushi and desserts! The service is amazing. It's clean and the other menu items are delicious as well. In good weather, can bring our dog and eat outdoors. read more

They've changed from byob to serving beer, sake and wine. They are only byob for wine and sake but charge a $5 fee, not mentioned on the website. Our bottle was a screwtop fyi. It was early (6:15) and the place had a smattering of customers. We got the fried soft shell crab sushi (the Spider, but 2 pieces out of 5 with actual crab), shrimp with rice, eel and jambalaya. Food was really good, our server was nice too. The mixture of cuisines was interesting. I'll try the pizza next time i'm in the area. read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food is great and so is the atmosphere. I also appreciate the speediness when bringing the food. The prices are within reason to portions served. I always have a great experience when I visit. read more

Wider variety menu than the name might suggest. Good service, good food, very pleasant surprise and worth a visit.

Spent 70$ and ate only 10$ worth..... sushi tasted old... couldn't even finish it because of some odd taste and smell. I deconstructed it to see what it was but it had to be the fish. As you can see in the picture. We had a sandwich (which shouldn't belong on a sushi menu along with pizza but what ever). It tasted like canned chicken (like metal. We didn't finish anything. 4 sushi rolls and 1 sandwich and nothing got finished.... I go for the 16-20$ rolls but this place wasn't worth 5 for one roll. Fix the menu and focus on one goal. Trying to please everybody isn't working read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Deconstructed sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This weekend, I had a lovely dinner at The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar. It's kind of strange they have sushi, along with a plethora of other non-Japanese regular-American-style cafe/diner items. Either way, I had salmon, tamago and quail egg nigiri - all of which tasted fresh and were delicious. They have many unique rolls, many of which have a Chicago or Hyde Park tie in in the name which is fun. Rolling was pretty messy, loose and cuts were not smooth but despite a not so elegant plating and construction, the flavor was still there. I had a wine flight of 3 reds for $8.50 which is about the same as a glass of wine - so why not try some variety!? 'Twas a fun thing to try some new wines. Service was attentive and very prompt....bordering on stalkerish. Our server was standing about 10' away because I guess we were taking too long to decide what we wanted to order. Also, while I was still eating, came to clear things for us. It wasn't anything horrible, server was very nice, just made us feel rushed a bit. Prices weren't bad, food was good and I'm sure a fabulous option for students nearby. Not a destination spot, but not a bad choice if you're in the 'hood. UofC students get 20% off with an ID! Lucky duckies! read more

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Eat Here! Delicious, fresh food and very friendly, quick service. I had A bowl of their jambalaya which was absolutely delicious but not real spicy if that's what you're used to and the others at my table had sushi. We had a very enjoyable dinner. read more

The Sit Down Cafe & Sushi Bar - Sushi Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Some of these reviews are super odd... there's no need to oversell or undersell The Sit Down. It's a casual, small place on 55th that has an extremely broad menu ranging from sushi to pizza to jambalaya, which - yes - is a weird choice and not usually indicative of high quality, but it's fine when you calibrate your expectations. They serve alcohol and have outdoor seating, which is nice. The service is fine. I will say that for it being a pretty casual place with such a wide menu, the house sushi rolls are pretty dang expensive at almost $15 a roll (for just okay sushi) and that does not include miso or salad as it does in most sushi establishments, so I think they could probably improve that quality. Anyway, it's a good neighborhood spot in a pinch; that's it. read more

This is a perfect example of a place that could be fantastic at one thing, but instead it is just okay at too many things. They have pizza. They have soup. They have sandwiches. They have pasta. They have sushi. It's kind of scary when you think about it, and part of me wants to submit them to Gordon Ramsay. But, they seem to do it very well. Unlike Shinju that is down the street, they have a bar...which always makes a place a plus in my book. As most people who know me will tell you, I'm all about the alcohol. Not in a drunky way, but just a 'loving my drank' way. Anyway, I haven't done anything but get sushi here. And it's been okay as long as you stick to the staples, like a tuna roll or a salmon roll. If you try one of their 'house' rolls, you could be gambling on that it isn't good. I've sent back a fair share of things. But, the place is beautiful and the drinks are good and as long as you know not to get too adventurous with your orders, you'll be okay. PS- they have these five dollar juice drinks that should just be removed from the menu altogether. My mom brought me one as I was getting my hair done at the salon just two doors down, and it was gross. Even more gross when I found out it was $5. read more