(312) 226-6060

804 W Randolph St (Halsted Street)
Chicago, IL 60607 41.8844 -87.6475

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Neighborhoods: Near West Side, West Side

Hours:

Mon-Thu 11:00am-2:30pm, 5pm-10pm

Fri 11:00am-2:30pm, 5pm-11pm

Sat 5pm-11pm

Sun 5pm-10pm

Price:

$

Last updated 7.09.09

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Diners Club, Discover, Visa, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Romantic Dining, Outdoor Dining, Lunch Spot, Date Spot

Cuisine:

Japanese, Sushi

Smoking Permitted:

At Bar; Section (weekdays only)

What People Are Saying About Starfish

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – Dark velvet banquettes, red and lime-green walls and bamboo accents give this lofty space an urban-organic feel. A stylish lounge and bar area is separated by a wall from the well-spaced tables and sushi bar in the main dining room. Lounge-type club music sets a cool mood; service is smart and efficient. – – The Food – Chef Andy Park has created a daring sushi menu, and his plates taste almost as good as they look. Starters like spicy tuna and salmon tartare and asparagus beef roll in teriyaki sauce are just about perfect. Maki choices are plentiful: Try…

Editor's Tips

The Extras:
For a healthy alternative to white rice, Starfish offers (by request) maki wrapped in black rice, which has less carbohydrates and more nutritional value.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. The atmosphere is not bad.
  2. What used to be a fun, hip, enjoyable place to grab some sushi is now a depressing, uneventful waste of time of money.
  3. This is definitely a good place to take a date, as the ambience is a little darker and more romantic, although going with friends is great too!
  4. Our waitress was friendly, the food was good, and the atmosphere hip.
  5. Great atmosphere, original rolls, and great drinks
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. Great atmosphere, original rolls, and great drinks
food quality
82.34999656677246% positive
  1. Great food!
  2. Anyway, the food was outstanding.
  3. The sushi was fantastic!
  4. Overall, the meal was good but did not warrant its price.
  5. While the food was good, the service was terrible -- it took quite a while just to get a waiter to our table.
  6. Had a few appetizers -- tuna and salmon tartare was very good and the wasabi tempura was awesome.
  7. Ask for the fresh wasabi.
  8. Having recently moved out here from Cali, I've had the pleasure of eating some great sushi.
  9. Our waitress was friendly, the food was good, and the atmosphere hip.
  10. Check arrives- full price for inedible fish.
  11. You must order the sushi maki with the seared smoked salmon on the outside and real crabmeat inside.
  12. Many other things went wrong, including numerous food problems, which I consider excusable, because the food was very good.
  13. like the bento box -great value ($21 for 9 pieces sashimi, 4 nigiri, mixed tempura & salad).
  14. Impressive new sushi joint I found and i'l definately be going back for more.
  15. place that I thought would be just like any other new sushi joint turns out to be one of the best sushi experiences I've had in Chicago!
  16. What used to be a fun, hip, enjoyable place to grab some sushi is now a depressing, uneventful waste of time of money.
  17. This used to be one of my favorite sushi places but I will never return again after last week's dinner.
  18. Portions were generous, but who wants lotsa bad fish?
  19. Great fish, bad music
  20. The fish is fresh but bland.
  21. It was a little dark for my taste, but the food was amazing!
  22. know, it sounds kind of gross and the texture was a little weird, but it was so delicious!
  23. fatty tuna over chopped crab meat is one of the best roll!
  24. By the end of our meal we all agreed that it was some of the best sushi we'd ever eaten!
  25. thought the sushi here was superb!
  26. The service was terrible, the place was almost empty, it took forever to get our sushi order and then some of the rolls we ordered were missing key ingredients and had to be re-made.
  27. thougt the fish was excellent for chicago(i mean it is all flown in frozen.
  28. rolled perfectly, everything fresh and good.
  29. The sushi we ordered was impeccable.
  30. Outstanding, fresh fish on the menu of this trendy sushi joint.
  31. Excellent sushi!
  32. This is one of the best sushi restaurants in the city, only second to Heat.
  33. Starfish is definitely now on my list for one of my favorite places to go for consistently fresh and wonderful sushi!
  34. think The chef really konws about sushi~ Fresh, fresh, fresh!
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. The menu is extremely creative.
  2. Outstanding, fresh fish on the menu of this trendy sushi joint.
  3. Starfish has a wonderful selection of both traditional and non-traditional appetizers along with a terrific variety of rolls to choose from.
overall
100.0% positive
  1. The service lacks: For the price (about $90 for two), I expect at least good service at a Randolf street lounge-type place.
  2. This is definitely a good place to take a date, as the ambience is a little darker and more romantic, although going with friends is great too!
  3. ps- great place for dates and people you want to impress.
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. This used to be one of my favorite sushi places but I will never return again after last week's dinner.
service
72.7299976348877% positive
  1. It is loungey in there, plenty of beautiful people dinning.
  2. ps- great place for dates and people you want to impress.
  3. Hip scene and good service.
  4. The service lacks: For the price (about $90 for two), I expect at least good service at a Randolf street lounge-type place.
  5. Though our server was pleasant, she was not particularly knowledgeable, ordered a different maki than we did, and was not able to accurately identify the sashimi we were served.
  6. The service was terrible, the place was almost empty, it took forever to get our sushi order and then some of the rolls we ordered were missing key ingredients and had to be re-made.
  7. The staff was extremely friendly.
  8. (O, the irony) Our waitress was an idiot, she burned herself on the table candle, breathed her bad breath right in my face and didn't follow our instructions.
  9. Our waitress was friendly, the food was good, and the atmosphere hip.
  10. amazing maki, disappointing service!
  11. While the food was good, the service was terrible -- it took quite a while just to get a waiter to our table.
value
66.66999816894531% positive
  1. Overall, the meal was good but did not warrant its price.
  2. like the bento box -great value ($21 for 9 pieces sashimi, 4 nigiri, mixed tempura & salad).
  3. The service lacks: For the price (about $90 for two), I expect at least good service at a Randolf street lounge-type place.
  4. Check arrives- full price for inedible fish.
  5. What used to be a fun, hip, enjoyable place to grab some sushi is now a depressing, uneventful waste of time of money.
  6. Portions were generous, but who wants lotsa bad fish?
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/13/08

Delicious Sushi

by lisagreen at Citysearch

I've been to Starfish 3 times. All three visits were great. I've discovered that it's normal for them to be "out" of something I wanted, like sake. But the meal always makes up for it. Last visit I ordered the tekka-don. I was living dangeriously, as I normally look for tekka maki. The menu said this was 10 pcs of tuna on rice, but it came 1/2 and 1/2 tuna & red snapper. I'm glad I was feeling adventuous. The plate was gorgeous, tuna and red snapper with caviar added. Yum. This was the first time I've tried the red snapper. My tuna intake has been seriously curtailed after this experience. I ordered an ice cream dessert. I have no idea what it was called, but it was cappucino ice cream inside some sort of squishy dough. I know, it sounds kind of gross and the texture was a little weird, but it was so delicious!

  • Pros: The BEST sushi.
  • Cons: Service can be slow, but they are very polite.
1 Star Rating: Poor

02/14/08

Worst Experience EVER

by llorch at Citysearch

I went to Starfish bc it's always looked appealing from the outside. I live 2 blocks away and didn't have any better idea, so figured- sure, give it a shot! Whoops. ick. ugh.

So - starts: we'd like a bottle of sake. They're having a 'special' tomorrow, so many sakes are unavailable tonight. Choice available- 3 of 12 or so.

My friend wants udon. Great- they have nebayaki udon. I like the bento box -great value ($21 for 9 pieces sashimi, 4 nigiri, mixed tempura & salad). So - we order. 10 Min later our waitress returns apologetically- udon isn't available. They don't have the broth for it. So, we get miso, it arrives smelling like fish, tasting like beef. My friend decides on a new meal - Shrimp skewers, Toro nigiri from the menu. No Toro tonight. Ok, Bluefin. No Bluefin. Give us another min. Tuna. Regular Tuna? yes. An order of shrimp skewers and 1 Tuna nigiri.

Bento box arrives. Ooh- nice selection! I pick up what I think is 1 piece of Tuna. It's 2 literally ripped in half- I thought someone already had a bite! Yellowtail - 1 piece split, torn. Salmon nigiri- discolored, almost brown. The shrimp? Half there - like someone took a bite. The Hirame looks like it was sliced with a spoon. Tai is two cubes. Tempura was dripping grease. The zucchini looked like LATKES! Thick and heavy batter, way too much. Salmon sashimi, my fav, was not cut through and has a 'tail' from being torn.

Asked for the manager. 10 min later, the 2nd waiter who had been buzzing around comes over, yes? The fish seems to have cut with a very dull knife, some is discolored, I'm not interested in eating more than I have (I left 2/3 of my dish - minus some tempura, 4 pieces of fish, and salad). Ok, I'm so sorry, let me see what I can do. 15 min. A long time to sit without eating. I ask to leave, he says 1 moment, I'll bring the check. Check arrives- full price for inedible fish.

PLEASE do yourself a favor, go across the street to Izumi.

1 Star Rating: Poor

10/09/07

Way downhill

by jlh67 at Citysearch

Not sure if Starfish is under new management or what but it has gone way downhill. This used to be one of my favorite sushi places but I will never return again after last week's dinner. The service was terrible, the place was almost empty, it took forever to get our sushi order and then some of the rolls we ordered were missing key ingredients and had to be re-made. Don't waste your time on Starfish. What used to be a fun, hip, enjoyable place to grab some sushi is now a depressing, uneventful waste of time of money. Go elsewhere!

  • Pros: easy to get in to
  • Cons: terrible food and service
4 Star Rating: Recommended

07/17/07

Dependable & well done.

by luvs2travel at Citysearch

Twice we have been saved from bad experiences by just coming here. We love Sushi, not training wheel's but real Sushi. There are trendier places that call their dishes Sushi, we call them as we see them... fruit roll-up's with lot's of sauce. We have found more traditional finds on the menu & the occasional surprise fish special, not to mention hard to find black rice (try it, you won't be sorry!). They also do a version of Poke that is pretty good, though Sai Cafe has theirs down to our taste.

The first time our server was really nice. He was very personable & spaced out our courses... which considering how some places push you out the door was a nice change. The second time our server could not have been better. She was filling in for the hostess, seated us outside & a few minutes later was our server. Considering our rough treatment down the road at a Chinese restaurant, she made the difference in our night.

  • Pros: great service, good quality, good selection
  • Cons: not as trendy as others.... oop's that's a pro
4 Star Rating: Recommended

03/18/07

Great atmosphere, original rolls, and great drinks

by insun at Citysearch

This restaurant was a great find. First of all, my husband and I didn't have reservations, so we went to the bar to get a drink. The asian pear martini was great- I could tell it was made with the Korean pear juice. We were seated relatively quickly, which was really nice. The rolls were good, and pretty original. Although we were not that hungry, and only ordered 3 rolls, it was a great experience. Our waitress was friendly, the food was good, and the atmosphere hip. Plus, you can check out the hookah bar next door after eating. It was a great experience all around.

The Details on Starfish

Place Categories:

  • best sushi
  • good food
  • terrible service
  • great experience
  • pretty original rolls
  • favorite place
  • bland fish
  • bad music
  • fresh everything
  • amazing sushi maki
  • great nigiri
  • great atmosphere
  • full price
  • pretty ceramic sake holders
  • great drinks
  • great start
  • awesome wasabi tempura
  • nice presentation
  • great value
  • pleasant server
  • fresh understatement
  • outstanding kamacazi roll
  • fresh fish
  • nice restaurant
  • favorite sushi places
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