This is absolutely my new favorite handroll spot in chicago. Run - don’t walk. Go before this secret is out.
Every single roll on the menu is delicious. Favorites are the salmon skin and the smoked specialty toro. Dessert is delicious as well. It’s a great restaurant for a date, night out with a friend, dining by yourself. The handroll bar is a great spot to post up.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Linnea Madsen
I had the pleasure of doing the lunch omakase, every bite was amazing and super well curated. My chef was super kind and created a fun experience for me. The quality felt super similar to the sushi omakase places I’ve experienced in Japan
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
James Lem
Cocktails were the highlight of dinner, served very quickly and had unique, exciting, flavors that elevated the experience. Fish tasted high quality, but quantity was slightly less than expected. The hand roll chefs choice was tasty, but all the topping were chopped up. Some of this would be expected, but some larger pieces of fish would have elevated the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Jeremy Yowell
Tamu was a top tier temaki experience in Chicago! We visited on a beautiful Sunday evening and got seated at the bar super quick with our reservation. The menu was quite large for hand rolls, with a nice variety of options. Every roll we received was delicious, well made, and pretty quickly prepared. The non temaki options we got were also great. I highly recommend the taiyaki dessert as well - we'd come back just for that! 5/5 for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris Kim
Great service ~ Excellent quality food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jada Stewart
Had the opportunity to try this lovely place today for their Omakase lunch special. Max was our chef and he provided a 10/10 experience. He described every menu item in detail and was very personable. I would recommend requesting him for an amazing experience. Everything tasted amazing and we will definitely be returning! The crab salad was amazing!!!!!! Hands down!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Xanh Quang
Very impressive handrolls. No accompaniments and they’re definitely necessary but if you just ask you can easily obtain ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.
The fish is done well. You can distinctly taste and appreciate the differences in each roll.
I’d definitely choose this place over Yokocho anytime so long as the price tag isn’t too much of a bummer. The seaweed though is a huge let down. It’s soggy with no crisp.
And the serving staff are a bit too attentive, coming by too frequently as soon as you finish something. It makes you feel rushed.
Miso soup is great. I would not order the taiyaki. Taiyaki has no business being deep fried and rather than a custard. It’s served with a crème diplomat. Which is a glorified whipped cream. It’s delicious! As whipped cream tends to be. But the taiyaki doesn’t resemble anyone’s image of taiyaki
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Anastasiia O
The best restaurant in Chicago so far! It was an amazing omakase set. HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! Everything starting from the host, to all staff , to the chefs and to atmosphere was 100 out of 100! Top notch!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jane Qian
We love the Omakase here! The chef is so nice, dedicated, and sweet.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ken H
Omakase recommends! Fish are so good! Melt in my mouth. Chief service is also good!
First time getting Omakase! It was actually super delicious and pretty affordable (relatively speaking lol). Service and restaurant atmosphere were great. Definitely comfortable bringing friends and family here in the future:)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jessica Hammersley
Incredible fish for reasonable prices!! One of the best sushi places I’ve tried in the city. Our sushi chef Roscoe was very friendly and so awesome to talk to. All very nice people.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Malaika Shuck
So delicious and underrated. It's so good I should be fighting for a reservation! I've only been to the handroll bar but its so wonderful. Everything I had was delicious, including dessert!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tammy Peng
My initial experiences with Tamu were very promising, and I became a frequent customer for both takeout and dine-in. Over time, though, I’ve noticed a decline in consistency—especially when it comes to takeout.
Let me start with the positives: the fish quality here is truly outstanding. When you dine in, especially at the sushi bar, the freshness and care in preparation really shine. The space itself is aesthetically pleasing and the staff are always friendly. It’s clear there’s potential for a top-tier experience here, and when things click, they really click.
However, the takeout experience has been frustrating. On multiple occasions, I ordered the $35 hand roll set and received it with the essential seaweed wraps completely missing. The first time, they were quick to offer a refund, which I appreciated. But when the exact same issue happened again, it took manager involvement to resolve, and I was eventually offered a complimentary set for next time. That kind of repeated oversight—especially for something as fundamental as the seaweed—feels careless, and it’s a shame given how good the ingredients are.
To be fair, sushi takeout in general is hard to get right, and Tamu is no exception. If you’re looking for takeout sushi in the West Loop, there are more reliable options. That said, I’d still recommend Tamu for dine-in only—just know the tables are quite close together, and my omakase experience, while featuring great fish, felt rushed and overpriced for what it was (we were the only ones doing omakase, yet still sped through each course).
Overall, this is a place with excellent product but inconsistent execution, especially outside the restaurant. If you’re going to enjoy Tamu, make it a sit-down experience. The sushi is absolutely worth savoring—just don’t count on the same magic in a takeout box.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Garrett W
Everything was really tasty but The Otoro was an amazing finish. Great sashimi sampler to start too.
This is absolutely my new favorite handroll spot in chicago. Run - don’t walk. Go before this secret is out.
Every single roll on the menu is delicious. Favorites are the salmon skin and the smoked specialty toro. Dessert is delicious as well. It’s a great restaurant for a date, night out with a friend, dining by yourself. The handroll bar is a great spot to post up.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had the pleasure of doing the lunch omakase, every bite was amazing and super well curated. My chef was super kind and created a fun experience for me. The quality felt super similar to the sushi omakase places I’ve experienced in Japan
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cocktails were the highlight of dinner, served very quickly and had unique, exciting, flavors that elevated the experience. Fish tasted high quality, but quantity was slightly less than expected. The hand roll chefs choice was tasty, but all the topping were chopped up. Some of this would be expected, but some larger pieces of fish would have elevated the experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Tamu was a top tier temaki experience in Chicago! We visited on a beautiful Sunday evening and got seated at the bar super quick with our reservation. The menu was quite large for hand rolls, with a nice variety of options. Every roll we received was delicious, well made, and pretty quickly prepared. The non temaki options we got were also great. I highly recommend the taiyaki dessert as well - we'd come back just for that! 5/5 for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great service ~ Excellent quality food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had the opportunity to try this lovely place today for their Omakase lunch special. Max was our chef and he provided a 10/10 experience. He described every menu item in detail and was very personable. I would recommend requesting him for an amazing experience. Everything tasted amazing and we will definitely be returning! The crab salad was amazing!!!!!! Hands down!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very impressive handrolls. No accompaniments and they’re definitely necessary but if you just ask you can easily obtain ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.
The fish is done well. You can distinctly taste and appreciate the differences in each roll.
I’d definitely choose this place over Yokocho anytime so long as the price tag isn’t too much of a bummer. The seaweed though is a huge let down. It’s soggy with no crisp.
And the serving staff are a bit too attentive, coming by too frequently as soon as you finish something. It makes you feel rushed.
Miso soup is great. I would not order the taiyaki. Taiyaki has no business being deep fried and rather than a custard. It’s served with a crème diplomat. Which is a glorified whipped cream. It’s delicious! As whipped cream tends to be. But the taiyaki doesn’t resemble anyone’s image of taiyaki
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
The best restaurant in Chicago so far! It was an amazing omakase set. HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!
Everything starting from the host, to all staff , to the chefs and to atmosphere was 100 out of 100! Top notch!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We love the Omakase here! The chef is so nice, dedicated, and sweet.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Omakase recommends! Fish are so good! Melt in my mouth. Chief service is also good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
First time getting Omakase! It was actually super delicious and pretty affordable (relatively speaking lol). Service and restaurant atmosphere were great. Definitely comfortable bringing friends and family here in the future:)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredible fish for reasonable prices!! One of the best sushi places I’ve tried in the city. Our sushi chef Roscoe was very friendly and so awesome to talk to. All very nice people.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
So delicious and underrated. It's so good I should be fighting for a reservation! I've only been to the handroll bar but its so wonderful. Everything I had was delicious, including dessert!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My initial experiences with Tamu were very promising, and I became a frequent customer for both takeout and dine-in. Over time, though, I’ve noticed a decline in consistency—especially when it comes to takeout.
Let me start with the positives: the fish quality here is truly outstanding. When you dine in, especially at the sushi bar, the freshness and care in preparation really shine. The space itself is aesthetically pleasing and the staff are always friendly. It’s clear there’s potential for a top-tier experience here, and when things click, they really click.
However, the takeout experience has been frustrating. On multiple occasions, I ordered the $35 hand roll set and received it with the essential seaweed wraps completely missing. The first time, they were quick to offer a refund, which I appreciated. But when the exact same issue happened again, it took manager involvement to resolve, and I was eventually offered a complimentary set for next time. That kind of repeated oversight—especially for something as fundamental as the seaweed—feels careless, and it’s a shame given how good the ingredients are.
To be fair, sushi takeout in general is hard to get right, and Tamu is no exception. If you’re looking for takeout sushi in the West Loop, there are more reliable options. That said, I’d still recommend Tamu for dine-in only—just know the tables are quite close together, and my omakase experience, while featuring great fish, felt rushed and overpriced for what it was (we were the only ones doing omakase, yet still sped through each course).
Overall, this is a place with excellent product but inconsistent execution, especially outside the restaurant. If you’re going to enjoy Tamu, make it a sit-down experience. The sushi is absolutely worth savoring—just don’t count on the same magic in a takeout box.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Everything was really tasty but The Otoro was an amazing finish. Great sashimi sampler to start too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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