Three of us dined at Yugen over the weekend. Consistency was lacking. Service started out stellar and quickly fell off midway. In addition to the 14 courses, the three of us opted in for the optional A5 wagyu. While my friends wagyu came out warm, mine was exceptionally cold. Once I informed them of the arctic wagyu, they quickly warmed it up. I won't hold the following against them however I would assume a restaurant of this caliber would replace the dish... instead they warmed it up. Not a deal breaker but it crossed my mind. The one course that stood out... The strawberry puff pastry with pistachios. Incredibly fresh ingredients made to fluffy perfection. I'm still thinking about it. Ironically, while it appeared there were unlimited staff members running around... On several occasions we had a difficult time getting a hold of one. I would say save your money but I have a friend who booked a reservation for next week. He informed me today that he received an email notifying him that his reservation was canceled and Yugen is now permanently closed. It just wasn't meant to be.
Paul L.
Service was - given the circumstances - perhaps understandably clunky. The food was bad. Two courses were so bad that we tried and then dismissed them without a second bite. Even the A5 wagyu was only okay. The "wine and sake" pairings were really just sake pairings (and one or two glasses of wine). We had lunch at Nobu before having dinner here. Nobu was exponentially better at a fraction of the price.
Eric P.
Overpriced and just not anywhere worth what they are charging. I spent $650 for two people, and honestly was thoroughly dissatisfied. I would never recommend to anyone. I can appreciate what they are trying to do but slapping a huge price tag on it doesn't make it good. It was creative but not intriguing or tasty enough for what they are trying to accomplish.
Elena W.
Alright so Yugen has 1 Michelin star, but they act like they are a 2 or 3 star, which is honestly such a mood lol. And as the saying goes, fake it till you make it. It was my first time in Chicago and I really wanted to try a high end restaurant there. Plus, it was my sister's birthday so I wanted to treat her to a fancy meal. Yugen was definitely fancy; we had their 14 course tasting menu and ordered beverages a la carte. My sister got two glasses of wine over the course of the meal: the Do Ferreiro Albarino-Sauvignon blanc and the Domaine de la Monette-burgundy. I don't drink alcohol so I asked for the Ichigo Gari cocktail to be made virgin, to which the wait staff replied they couldn't do that, so instead they bartender made me a mix between the Ichigo Gari and the Ichi cocktails. Really delicious, and I was happy that it was a unique cocktail that wasn't on their regular beverage menu. So about the food, it was really amazing in the beginning! My favorite courses were the chawanmushi, seaweed salad, and crispy red snapper (sorry, it was the only course that I forgot to take a picture of haha). But as the meal went on, my sister and I started to feel like the dishes were getting increasingly saltier with each dish. The crab rice was the saltiest of all! Loved that A5 wagyu beef though, super tender and juicy. Dessert was, unfortunately, disappointing. It's definitely unique, but I think the combinations were too unconventional for me. I guess I'm conservative when it comes to my scope of what I consider to be good dessert. But okay for example wasabi ice cream??? It was definitely creative but I didn't enjoy it. Since it was my sister's birthday, she was given a complimentary dessert which was a mochi doughnut with matcha ice cream and red bean paste. It was...really hard. I recently had mochi doughnuts from San Francisco's Japantown which were delectable, so you can imagine how disappointed I was in the mochi doughnut at Yugen. I probably would've thought that it was alright if I didn't have that measure of comparison though. Ambiance: great at the beginning! That's because my sister and I were the first party there. But as the evening went on and more people showed up, it became louder and louder in the dining room, making it really hard to hear my sister and converse with the wait staff. The wait staff also had to speak pretty loudly towards the end in order to describe the remaining courses to us. The lighting, decor, tables and chairs were really elegant and chic, but the noise just kind of put a damper on any relaxing vibes that I had at the start of the meal. Lastly, price. I paid $800 total for our two person meal here. Now, that would be pretty standard for a 3 Michelin star restaurant but not a 1 star. I probably wouldn't be as bothered about the price if I fully enjoyed the meal from start to finish, but I didn't. :( I really wanted to like this restaurant since it's led by a woman of color but I just didn't quite have the absolute best experience. I'm rating them 3/5 stars because I still enjoyed parts of the meal and the service was awesome. Truly felt like I was royalty during the 5 hours or so that I was there! Also, it was a really nice gesture of the executive chef to give handmade soaps to guests at the end of their meal. But I don't think I would come back or recommend this restaurant to my friends.
Eb K.
Straight to the point- 1. Food 10 2. Creativity/Plating 10 3. Decor/minimalistic 10 4. Drinks 10 5. Service 10 ( service was impeccable) 6. Ambiance 10 7. Price 10 (one could argue that price is low compared with other Michelin restaurants) Standouts for me were the soup, crab rice, sushi, and chawanmushi. I also love how one can peek into the kitchen as they have a glass wall. I visited on a busy night and the team there moved like synchronized swimmers. I would rate this as one of the top restaurants in the country.
My husband and I had a delightful experience at Yugen. We were celebrating his birthday and all the staff truly made it feel special. They give him a birthday card signed by all the staff and of course a birthday dessert with candle. At the end of the meal we also got some goodies to take home (2 little handmade soaps that smelled so good!). The food and wine pairings were phenomenal! The details in every plating was always a pleasant suprise and the wine that accompanied each course was absolutely perfect and balanced. My favorite courses were the crab rice, the raviolo and the wagyu for the entreés and the cotton candy for dessert. This place deserves recognition and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a restaurant where the food is not predictable and every bite is an explosion of flavor! The only criticism I have is that it was a bit too loud and we couldn't hear what the servers were saying most of the time but that got better as people started leaving. I guess it is not the restaurant's fault if people were loud. Thanks Yugen! We'll be back!
A journey through the creative mind of a story teller-chef, supported by a passionate crew. Each plate was a delightful surprise of flavors, textures, and visual composition, served in stunningly unique dish ware. We came away jealous of Chef Mari's childhood... our after school snacks were never so deeply rich! The drink pairings were surprising and precise. Morgan, the GM, could not have made us feel more special and her staff never ever let a water glass go more than half empty nor left a slightly soiled napkin go un-replaced. Thanks to Yugen for an unforgettable evening. Don't miss four seasons of bathrooms, especially winter.
CelticTiger
An excellent experience with delicious food and beverages, and a high standard of service. There was a great variety of tastes and textures amongst chef's selection which made for a very enjoyable experience. I also to advantage of the optional wagyu course which was superb. All wine pairings were excellent though a personal choice not to opt for the official pairings due to a preference against saki meant that the drinks portion of the bill was more than anticipated.
Soumam Debgupta
We went in for a 10 course dinner inspired by the spring flavours. The food and service both didn’t disappoint. All courses inspired by flavours from Japan with the three dishes that stood out for me - 1) the carb rice with the perfect cured yolk bringing an unusual balanced flavour, 2) the raviolo flavoured with ginger and 3) the wasabi ice cream with strawberry pastry. The combination if wasabi in an icecream was unreal.Really enjoyed the evening and would visit again to taste the flavour of a different season.
The food went from not great to average. Nothing was memorable for a restaurant of that caliber. The music was too loud and the staff was shouting and we couldn't hear anything they were saying and you aren't given a menu because of covid. Not a great experience for one of the most expensive restaurants in Chicago and by far the worst high end dining experience that I'd had in Chicago.
The absolute best dining experience I have ever had. Every plate was made to perfection. My mind was blown multiple times by the flavors. I cannot wait to go back. I have been to several Michelin star restaurants in Chicago and this is by far my #1.
Nunya
Not at all with the price point. Would not only not recommend but I would actually diss recommend to anybody who was thinking of going here. If you really wanna overpay for food might as well go to Alinea. I like the idea that it is a female inspired staff and I respect what they're doing but it honestly was not worth the price.
PMPM
One of the best restaurants in Chicago now, I am sure the chef will get a second Michelin star soon. 3 hours of true delight. Highly inventive cuisine and super knowledgeable crew. Can't wait to return.
CNG
Absolute perfection!
It was an absolutely unbelievable experience. From the moment we stepped in, the attention to detail and the precision of every moment was immaculate. The service was impeccable, the food was some of the best we've ever had. The beverage pairing is an ABSOLUTE MUST! The way each drink compliments the meal is indescribable. We've been to many of the finest restaurants in the city and around the US and Yugen undoubtably cracks the upper tier of our list.
Three of us dined at Yugen over the weekend. Consistency was lacking. Service started out stellar and quickly fell off midway. In addition to the 14 courses, the three of us opted in for the optional A5 wagyu. While my friends wagyu came out warm, mine was exceptionally cold. Once I informed them of the arctic wagyu, they quickly warmed it up. I won't hold the following against them however I would assume a restaurant of this caliber would replace the dish... instead they warmed it up. Not a deal breaker but it crossed my mind. The one course that stood out... The strawberry puff pastry with pistachios. Incredibly fresh ingredients made to fluffy perfection. I'm still thinking about it. Ironically, while it appeared there were unlimited staff members running around... On several occasions we had a difficult time getting a hold of one. I would say save your money but I have a friend who booked a reservation for next week. He informed me today that he received an email notifying him that his reservation was canceled and Yugen is now permanently closed. It just wasn't meant to be.
Service was - given the circumstances - perhaps understandably clunky. The food was bad. Two courses were so bad that we tried and then dismissed them without a second bite. Even the A5 wagyu was only okay. The "wine and sake" pairings were really just sake pairings (and one or two glasses of wine). We had lunch at Nobu before having dinner here. Nobu was exponentially better at a fraction of the price.
Overpriced and just not anywhere worth what they are charging. I spent $650 for two people, and honestly was thoroughly dissatisfied. I would never recommend to anyone. I can appreciate what they are trying to do but slapping a huge price tag on it doesn't make it good. It was creative but not intriguing or tasty enough for what they are trying to accomplish.
Alright so Yugen has 1 Michelin star, but they act like they are a 2 or 3 star, which is honestly such a mood lol. And as the saying goes, fake it till you make it. It was my first time in Chicago and I really wanted to try a high end restaurant there. Plus, it was my sister's birthday so I wanted to treat her to a fancy meal. Yugen was definitely fancy; we had their 14 course tasting menu and ordered beverages a la carte. My sister got two glasses of wine over the course of the meal: the Do Ferreiro Albarino-Sauvignon blanc and the Domaine de la Monette-burgundy. I don't drink alcohol so I asked for the Ichigo Gari cocktail to be made virgin, to which the wait staff replied they couldn't do that, so instead they bartender made me a mix between the Ichigo Gari and the Ichi cocktails. Really delicious, and I was happy that it was a unique cocktail that wasn't on their regular beverage menu. So about the food, it was really amazing in the beginning! My favorite courses were the chawanmushi, seaweed salad, and crispy red snapper (sorry, it was the only course that I forgot to take a picture of haha). But as the meal went on, my sister and I started to feel like the dishes were getting increasingly saltier with each dish. The crab rice was the saltiest of all! Loved that A5 wagyu beef though, super tender and juicy. Dessert was, unfortunately, disappointing. It's definitely unique, but I think the combinations were too unconventional for me. I guess I'm conservative when it comes to my scope of what I consider to be good dessert. But okay for example wasabi ice cream??? It was definitely creative but I didn't enjoy it. Since it was my sister's birthday, she was given a complimentary dessert which was a mochi doughnut with matcha ice cream and red bean paste. It was...really hard. I recently had mochi doughnuts from San Francisco's Japantown which were delectable, so you can imagine how disappointed I was in the mochi doughnut at Yugen. I probably would've thought that it was alright if I didn't have that measure of comparison though. Ambiance: great at the beginning! That's because my sister and I were the first party there. But as the evening went on and more people showed up, it became louder and louder in the dining room, making it really hard to hear my sister and converse with the wait staff. The wait staff also had to speak pretty loudly towards the end in order to describe the remaining courses to us. The lighting, decor, tables and chairs were really elegant and chic, but the noise just kind of put a damper on any relaxing vibes that I had at the start of the meal. Lastly, price. I paid $800 total for our two person meal here. Now, that would be pretty standard for a 3 Michelin star restaurant but not a 1 star. I probably wouldn't be as bothered about the price if I fully enjoyed the meal from start to finish, but I didn't. :( I really wanted to like this restaurant since it's led by a woman of color but I just didn't quite have the absolute best experience. I'm rating them 3/5 stars because I still enjoyed parts of the meal and the service was awesome. Truly felt like I was royalty during the 5 hours or so that I was there! Also, it was a really nice gesture of the executive chef to give handmade soaps to guests at the end of their meal. But I don't think I would come back or recommend this restaurant to my friends.
Straight to the point- 1. Food 10 2. Creativity/Plating 10 3. Decor/minimalistic 10 4. Drinks 10 5. Service 10 ( service was impeccable) 6. Ambiance 10 7. Price 10 (one could argue that price is low compared with other Michelin restaurants) Standouts for me were the soup, crab rice, sushi, and chawanmushi. I also love how one can peek into the kitchen as they have a glass wall. I visited on a busy night and the team there moved like synchronized swimmers. I would rate this as one of the top restaurants in the country.
My husband and I had a delightful experience at Yugen. We were celebrating his birthday and all the staff truly made it feel special. They give him a birthday card signed by all the staff and of course a birthday dessert with candle. At the end of the meal we also got some goodies to take home (2 little handmade soaps that smelled so good!). The food and wine pairings were phenomenal! The details in every plating was always a pleasant suprise and the wine that accompanied each course was absolutely perfect and balanced. My favorite courses were the crab rice, the raviolo and the wagyu for the entreés and the cotton candy for dessert. This place deserves recognition and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a restaurant where the food is not predictable and every bite is an explosion of flavor! The only criticism I have is that it was a bit too loud and we couldn't hear what the servers were saying most of the time but that got better as people started leaving. I guess it is not the restaurant's fault if people were loud. Thanks Yugen! We'll be back!
A journey through the creative mind of a story teller-chef, supported by a passionate crew. Each plate was a delightful surprise of flavors, textures, and visual composition, served in stunningly unique dish ware. We came away jealous of Chef Mari's childhood... our after school snacks were never so deeply rich! The drink pairings were surprising and precise. Morgan, the GM, could not have made us feel more special and her staff never ever let a water glass go more than half empty nor left a slightly soiled napkin go un-replaced. Thanks to Yugen for an unforgettable evening. Don't miss four seasons of bathrooms, especially winter.
An excellent experience with delicious food and beverages, and a high standard of service. There was a great variety of tastes and textures amongst chef's selection which made for a very enjoyable experience. I also to advantage of the optional wagyu course which was superb. All wine pairings were excellent though a personal choice not to opt for the official pairings due to a preference against saki meant that the drinks portion of the bill was more than anticipated.
We went in for a 10 course dinner inspired by the spring flavours. The food and service both didn’t disappoint. All courses inspired by flavours from Japan with the three dishes that stood out for me - 1) the carb rice with the perfect cured yolk bringing an unusual balanced flavour, 2) the raviolo flavoured with ginger and 3) the wasabi ice cream with strawberry pastry. The combination if wasabi in an icecream was unreal.Really enjoyed the evening and would visit again to taste the flavour of a different season.
The food went from not great to average. Nothing was memorable for a restaurant of that caliber. The music was too loud and the staff was shouting and we couldn't hear anything they were saying and you aren't given a menu because of covid. Not a great experience for one of the most expensive restaurants in Chicago and by far the worst high end dining experience that I'd had in Chicago.
Restaurantji Recommends
The absolute best dining experience I have ever had. Every plate was made to perfection. My mind was blown multiple times by the flavors. I cannot wait to go back. I have been to several Michelin star restaurants in Chicago and this is by far my #1.
Not at all with the price point. Would not only not recommend but I would actually diss recommend to anybody who was thinking of going here. If you really wanna overpay for food might as well go to Alinea. I like the idea that it is a female inspired staff and I respect what they're doing but it honestly was not worth the price.
One of the best restaurants in Chicago now, I am sure the chef will get a second Michelin star soon. 3 hours of true delight. Highly inventive cuisine and super knowledgeable crew. Can't wait to return.
Absolute perfection!
It was an absolutely unbelievable experience. From the moment we stepped in, the attention to detail and the precision of every moment was immaculate. The service was impeccable, the food was some of the best we've ever had. The beverage pairing is an ABSOLUTE MUST! The way each drink compliments the meal is indescribable. We've been to many of the finest restaurants in the city and around the US and Yugen undoubtably cracks the upper tier of our list.