Ekiben - Japanese Kitchen

This is a review for Ekiben Catering!

I really wanted to have Japanese food (specifically Onigiri) for a Studio Ghibli-themed baby shower, and reached out to several local restaurants. Ekiben was by far the most responsive and fairly priced!

Shasha was lovely and helped explain the prices and option recommendations. We opted to have the food delivered, and it was delivered exactly on time. Thank you so much! Everyone loved the food!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Such a nice Japanese spot! Tasty food,
chill atmosphere, good service. Perfect place to hang out and enjoy good vibes.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

I absolutely loved my experience here! The food was delicious, with fresh fish and beautifully presented dishes that showed real attention to detail. The service was excellent—friendly, attentive, and made me feel truly welcome. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is warm and inviting, the kind of place where you immediately feel comfortable and relaxed.

This is definitely going to be my go-to Japanese spot from now on. Everything about it—from the taste, the service, to the cozy vibe—makes it a place I can’t wait to come back to again and again. Highly recommended!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I want to start by saying that my first visit here was absolutely perfect. The young man who served us three weeks ago was kind, attentive, and made us feel truly welcome. The drunk noodles were delicious—so good they made me want to come back and share the experience with my family. 5/5 experience

Unfortunately, today’s visit 9/20/25 at 2:30 pm was a stark contrast.

My family arrived ahead of me and was seated in a corner booth, but my boyfriend is 6’2” and couldn’t fit comfortably. They asked to be moved to a different table, and from that moment on, the tone of service shifted noticeably.

When I arrived with my service dog, two women immediately approached me to say dogs weren’t allowed in which I’m sure the lady with light brown hair is the owner. I explained she’s a service animal, and they backed off—but the interaction felt abrupt and unwelcoming.

We placed our order—lunch specials with drinks—but our food arrived before our beverages, while another table that came in after us received their Thai teas promptly. I had to remind our waitress about our drinks. I also asked if the fan above us could be turned down, and was told it couldn’t be adjusted. We were offered another table, but had to move everything ourselves—soups, waters, the works—while staff watched without offering help.

Throughout the meal, no one checked on us or refilled our waters unless we asked. This was disappointing, especially compared to our first visit where the server was proactive and thoughtful.

One staff member even told me to make sure my service dog was under the table because “there’s other customers in the restaurant.” That comment felt unnecessary and dismissive.

Before my mom and aunt had finished eating, we were handed the check without being asked if we wanted dessert or anything else. It felt rushed, like they wanted us out. We stayed to chat, but each time a waitress passed by, she glanced at the check to see if we’d paid. When I asked for a to-go box, the waitress would walk away as soon as I spoke, not giving me time to also ask for napkins and a straw. I had to wait for her to come back again just to finish the request.

When it came time to pay, I was handed the machine to tap my card—unlike last time when the server handled it and gave us a paper to write in the tip. Given the uncomfortable experience, I left $0 on the machine. Then the woman with short hair came over with the paper and hovered while my mom filled it out. She even commented, “Just $2 for service?” I explained that the service had made us feel unwelcome, and mentioned the comment about my dog. Her response? “Sorry you feel that way.”

We had just picked up my aunt from the airport and wanted to treat her to a place we had loved. Instead, we left feeling uncomfortable and disappointed.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 1

We enjoyed the lunch offering alongside a little sashimi and miso. My kid devoured the onigiri (always a fan!). Sashimi was fresh. Service pleasant. The restaurant is a great option for commuters as it's conveniently located adjacent to the brown line.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

A little bit tricky to eat here as a celiac. After some back and forth, my server told me that the rice in the sushi and maki isn’t gluten free so really the only thing I could get was a sashimi platter and bowl of plain rice as even the miso soup that comes with that meal wasn’t GF. The sashimi was good but the rice was clearly the “end of the night” rice that had been in a pot for a long time and it was clumpy and overcooked. They brought me a small bottle of GF soy sauce to use.

I’m not sure if there was a language barrier issue here or if the sushi roll rice really does have gluten in it so celiacs be aware.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Went here for dinner on a Tuesday night. Had the Mixed tempura, salmon teriyaki roll, and the masago creamy pasta. Also tasted the panang curry.

The mixed tempura was good, the sweet potato especially.

The salmon roll tasted a bit off but not enough for me to worry, but I should’ve as I left with an upset stomach.

The masago creamy pasta wasn’t that good, didn’t taste fresh and I only got through a third of it.
We told the waitress and asked if we could get just the pasta comp’ed, she went to the back and came back with a 10% discount on it.

The panang curry was a pretty good curry, but the low quality and taste of all the seafood we had means we won’t be returning.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3

Lunch special is awesome, especially for the price, and the quality of food is always great!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

So so so yummy! Our server was lovely and the dishes were delicious. A lovely dining experience!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Delicious onigiri! Awesome, affordable, and big lunch special.

Food: 5

This food is so consistently delicious I am leaving another review on google. I order takeout here on DoorDash sometimes once a week. I get the fried rice with fried chicken katsu on top the avocado roll oshinko roll sweet potato tempura roll miso soup Thai ice tea. Those are my go tos but it’s all so good and SO CONSISTENT. every time it exactly perfect and delicious. Thank you to the chef and people working here for making me feel at home after a long day of work. Bless you Ekiben!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The bento box was just ok. Not worth the value.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

We live close to Ekiben and it has quickly become a favorite restaurant of ours. Everything we've had, especially the sushi rolls, has been delicious. The space is also very cozy and the staff are friendly.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went here for a quick lunch. Very friendly and accommodating service. Ordered a lunch drunken noodle special and a sashimi set. I was able to ask them to exclude the couple types of seafood I did not prefer even though it was a chef's choice, which was kind of them. Portions were huge for the sashimi making the price very reasonable. My husband liked his noodles with added katsu chicken as well.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food is amazing! Definitely try the onigiri and go through the ranger rolls. Immaculate.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5