Fine Dining Sushi Experience?

[lawkitty]

My fiance and I are coming to Chicago in September and we have been trying to decide where to go for dinner on our final night. It is a Sunday.
We are from Minneapolis, and therefore are used to Cosmos and La Belle Vie being the finest atmosphere and very romantic. We really hope Chicago can top this...

My two top choices (and I know nothing about Chicago dining) are Alinea and L20 (mostly from reading reviews, etc.). However, if we cannot get reservations at either of those, we would love a memorable sushi/japanese experience.

What does Chicago offer for Sushi? Anything "out of this world" or "not like anywhere else outside of Japan"?

Thanks for any restaurant suggestions, I really appreciate it!

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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614

[nsxtasy]

Alinea started accepting September reservations on July 1. Call them RIGHT NOW to see if you can get a September reservation. It's a great place and a unique experience.

L2O is not a particularly difficult reservation to get. You should have no trouble doing so on Opentable.

I absolutely loved my recent dinner at La Belle Vie. Chicago's top high-end restaurants, in addition to Alinea, include Everest, TRU, Avenues, and Spiaggia (and, in the suburbs, Carlos). Three others that aspire to be considered in that group but which have disappointed me are L2O, Ria, and Les Nomades. One difference from La Belle Vie is that most of these are more formal, requiring or recommending jackets for gentlemen.

For a fine dining sushi experience, I recommend Shanghai Terrace, in the Peninsula Hotel. The menu is mostly regional Chinese, but they also have quite a sushi selection. It's not quite as formal as the previous group (e.g. no jackets required) but it's a very romantic, luxurious atmosphere.

[lawkitty]

I called Alinea, and GOT RESERVATIONS! Wooohoooo! So excited! :)

Thank you for your recommendations, and I will be sure to review my experience afterwards...

If we have time, I think we will try to get to Shanghai Terrace, as well.

Nsxtasy: so glad to hear you had a good time at La Belle Vie. I love that place!

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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614

Shanghai Terrace
108 E Superior, Chicago, IL 60611

[nsxtasy]

I'm so glad! Perfect timing, since they just became available! They usually fill up within a week or two of opening the reservations book, so you just got in under the gun. It's quite an unusual experience.

If you're interested in reading about my fabulous dinner at La Belle Vie last week, I posted about it and the rest of my trip to Minneapolis in your forum, in the topic whose title starts "52 Hours in Minneapolis". I started the topic as a query, and reported back about each of my meals there towards the end of the topic.

[lawkitty]

oh, how fun! I am excited to read about your adventures! Thank you again for the recommendations!

[chicgail]

I know that nsxtasy is not a big sushi eater and Shanghai Terrace would not be the first place I would think of for really good sushi.

And, while Chicago has some good sushi, it's probably mostly not "out of this world."

Some of the best places in town that you might like:
Sushi Wabi
Mirai Sushi
Arami
Katsu (which is far from where you will be)
Tanoshii (also not close)
Japonais

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Mirai
2020 W. Division St., Chicago, IL 60622

Sushi Wabi
842 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607

Japonais Restaurant
600 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60610

Tanoshii
5547 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640

Arami
1829 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

[nsxtasy]

>> I know that nsxtasy is not a big sushi eater and Shanghai Terrace would not be the first place I would think of for really good sushi.

Have you actually had the sushi at Shanghai Terrace, or are you just guessing? The sushi part of the menu sounds great. My experience with *all* the restaurants at the Peninsula - including the high-end Avenues, as well as Shanghai Terrace and the Lobby - is that everything is absolutely first-rate, from the quality of the ingredients, to the preparations, to the service. Shanghai Terrace is a truly romantic and luxurious experience, in a way that is rare among our restaurants other than the high-end haute cuisine places, and you just won't find at any of the other Asian restaurants in Chicago with the sole exception of Arun's. Even if you don't get the sushi there!

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Shanghai Terrace
108 E Superior, Chicago, IL 60611

[lbs]

Where is the sushi menu at Shanghai Terrace? Is it still offered? The menu on the website doesn't show it. I've eaten at Shanghai Terrace years ago - work paid! - and it was delicous but I don't remember any sushi then either. The space itself is very cool and you do feel like you are back in time.

http://www.peninsula.com/Chicago/en/~...

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Shanghai Terrace
108 E Superior, Chicago, IL 60611

[nsxtasy]

They've had it in the past, sometimes in a separate menu, but it's been there. It's possible they've discontinued it in the year or two since the last time I was there.

And kudos to you for finding their menu! For some reason I can never find it on the Peninsula's website.

[lbs]

It's a pain in the... to find it! But if you go on the website and click on restaurants, it will pull up all of them. Go to Shanghi Terrace and on the bottom of the picture of the room, there is "details". If you click on that, it will direct you to the menu. Kind of bad web design IMO. But at least no loud music blaring out of the website!

[nsxtasy]

I don't see where to click on restaurants - only enticements, lifestyle, concierge choice, and directories...

[lbs]

It's on the banner on top of the picture - Destination, Visting For,..... Dining.

You are looking at the banner underneath the picture.

http://www.peninsula.com/chicago/en/d...

It looks like the Lobby offers sushi/sashmi.

[ferret]

And while I don't doubt they do a nice job, the sushi/sashimi offerings are fairly pedestrian. Much what you'd expect from McCormick and Schmick.

[foodwhisperer]

Thanks for this list. When I saw a place named shanghai terrace as best sushi,I figured I would cancel my sushi urge for tonite. But glad to see your list.ive been to japonais and it was good ,way way better than Sunda. Japonica had opened in NYC and was not good at all,but was very nice atmosphere,thy have since closed. I guess I will try Mirai or Katsura. Or arami whichever is closest to River North area, unless someone gives me another one to try on my other post.im starving right now.

[ferret]

Katsu, an out-of-the-way restaurant on the North side, is probably the purest sushi experience in town. He has a more varied/unusual selection of offerings than your standard sushi fare. It's not "fine dining" in terms of ambiance (although it carries a fine dining price). And I have to say I'm not a huge fan but others love it.