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Food & Dining > Japonais
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- Neighborhoods:
- Central, Near North Side
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- Restaurants
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At a Glance
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94% ambiance
“Great atmosphere, Delicious food”
80% dessert
“We had the ginger corn soup, kani, tuna-tuna-salmon roll, some unagi roll, an amazing ahi salad of some sort, and this amazing dessert - homemade honey vanilla icecream over sizzling baked apples.”
80% drinks
“The food is pretty delicious and they have some great drink choices, especially the Lychee Martini.”
74% food quality
“The wait was long, the waitstaff rivaled Ed Debevic's (not in a good way), and the food was mediocre at best and in portions the size of your thumb.”
72% menu variety
“The waiter provided excellent recommendations in our wine selection.”
85% overall
“Worst of all, the women's bathrooms are a disaster, dirty and old toilet seats, a generally dingy environment with more of a "club" feel than a nice restaurant.”
100% return potential
“It has a nice trendy feel to it, but I would never return; nor would I suggest the restaurant to anyone else.”
55% service
“The lousy service received a $55.00 tip.”
39% value
“Save your money there are to many good restaurants in Chicago to waste it here.”
60% wait time
“The wait was long, the waitstaff rivaled Ed Debevic's (not in a good way), and the food was mediocre at best and in portions the size of your thumb.”
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Japonais
What Our Expert Scouts Say
March 10, 2013
I haven't been to Japonais in 6 or 7 years, but it's been getting some hype lately. So I went in for (an expensive) lunch last week and it was delicious. I recommend the lobster spring rolls, crab cake, spicy tuna and any of the rolls.
0
Heart
October 30, 2012
The buzz may have died down, but the good remains a cut above. Try the spicy mono maki.
0
Heart
Tips for Japonais
March 02, 2011
sigh.. still an old flame.
still love the ambience.
an old love flame... nice valet parking attendants
they let me stay late with my gfs more than once
their rock thingamajig is awesome
0
Heart
April 12, 2010
Indignant Rude Wait Staff and the Sushi was a C-. This is the type of place that a bunch of mindless Lemmings would go to be seen (ala Paris Hilton). Japonais is an embarassment as a Chicago restaurant. I've given many a second chance to a restaurant, but you literally couldn't pay me to go back to this place.
0
Heart
November 21, 2009
Rude service and overpriced. Japonais was my favorite restaurant when I first moved to Chicago from New York in 07. It has slowly been going down hill and has what New Yorkers call a "bridge and tunnel" crowd. The bathrooms are disgusting, the wait staff is rude and entitled, bus boys on the other hand are great. Food is not bad but sort of yesterday's news. The staff rush to take plates away. The crowd is filled with out of towners or large parties looking for the in place and the bar scene is like a bad club. Thumbs down.
0
Heart
November 10, 2009
Everything about Japonais is AMAZING.. I have been to Japonais 5 times since i have moved to Chicago and every time I can justify money spent on really good food. The Salmon Japonais and the Chilean sea bass appetizer are my favorites on the menu. The sushi of course is always good. If you have a wait, you can go downstairs to the lounge and have a drink and order apps. good place for groups or date night. Yum!
0
Heart
November 08, 2009
night club or culinary experience?. Cuisine remained inventive, superbly executed and presented, but the ambience and service had deteriorated considerably since our last dinner a year ago. The very loud music made it impossible to have a conversation even with the closest neighbor and considerably detracted from the culinary experience. Glasses and silverware vibrated with the music! Service was hurried and superficial, management seemed devoted to the night club ambience and did not seriously care about our repeated complaints. I was sorry to see the efforts and creativity of the culinary team ruined by the management team. This new "ambience" did not correspond to my memory of past experience here, nor to the description and press release ("Intimate setting"?) in the restaurant website. Seemed disrespectful not only to the customer, but also to the cooks and their team.
0
Heart
November 03, 2009
OVER RATED. I love Sushi! and we were so excited to try Japonais for dinner, it was recommended to us by a close friend. and it was a true disappointment. The nigiri lacked flavor, and the rolls were mushy and tasted like they had been covered in mayonaise. Grocery store sushi has more excitement than last nights spread. A very expensive night or bland mush. Would not recommend this to anyone. I am sure there are much better sushi places in the area... check them out unless you are looking for and expensive night on the town with very little flavor and loud music.
0
Heart
September 25, 2009
expensive but worth it!. My wife and I loved the recent meal we had at Japonais. It was an anniversary and the ambiance was amazing. Yes it was mucho pricey, but with the service and food I really felt we got what we paid for. would highly recommend!
0
Heart
August 22, 2009
Bad waitress, decent food. My husband and I went to Japonais tonight. We love to sit at the sushi bar. While in the past we have had impeccable service, tonight our waitress had a very bad attitude. She was rude when we asked questions, and was generally unprofessional. The food was decent, but not worth the price. Worst of all, the women's bathrooms are a disaster, dirty and old toilet seats, a generally dingy environment with more of a "club" feel than a nice restaurant. The level of quality of this place has gone down and pales in comparison to new rival, Sunda.
0
Heart
July 01, 2009
Love the food and atmosphere. Enjoyed many dinners with family and friends here. Always enjoyed everything we ate here. Price is the only drawback.
0
Heart
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Best of Citysearch
Won for:
Sushi
(2011)People Watching (2007)
Nominated for:
Sushi
(2010)
Japanese Food (2009)
Japanese Food (2008)
Proposal Spot (2008)
Sushi (2008)
Bar Scene (2007)
Small Plates (2007)
Sushi (2007)
Trendy Restaurant (2007)
Waterfront Restaurants (2007)
Waterfront Restaurants (2006)
Bar Scene (2005)
Exotic Drinks (2005)
People Watching (2005)
Trendy Restaurant (2005)
Waterfront Restaurants (2005)
Japanese Food (2009)
Japanese Food (2008)
Proposal Spot (2008)
Sushi (2008)
Bar Scene (2007)
Small Plates (2007)
Sushi (2007)
Trendy Restaurant (2007)
Waterfront Restaurants (2007)
Waterfront Restaurants (2006)
Bar Scene (2005)
Exotic Drinks (2005)
People Watching (2005)
Trendy Restaurant (2005)
Waterfront Restaurants (2005)