Delicious. Friendly staff and service. Perfect spot for a date. The Kabocha Pumpkin Ravioli IS A MUST!
Steve A.
I really like the interior design of this place, which, depending on where you sit, is an airy cafe, a bar, or a fairly intimate restaurant. Like most "fusion" places, they're not really doing a fusion of cuisines, but just offering more than one, in this case, Japanese and French, with a bit of American thrown in. My favorite dish was the mussels, which were served in a wonderful somewhat spicy broth that made a great soup, too. The tuna tartare was also excellent quality, and the tempura was light and not oily. The wine list emphasizes French wines, with some nice selections, but no bargains. Service was friendly.
Gabriel Ledezma
Very nice staff and food was good. Only issue for me was that the burger was a bit dry. Loved the Mac and cheese as well as the Japanese fried chicken!
L H
Nice little neighborhood spot, but nothing too special. No fine wines by glass, and the cocktails are hit-or--miss. The menu is uneven; who puts American "cheese" (low-quality milk solids & whey) on Waygu beef? The squash bowl is good, the cous-cous very spartan with parts that don't make a whole, the prices on these 2 seem a bit high. Service fine, but very slow.
Michael Pingel
My wife, daughter and I had a wonderful experience while eating at Yoshi’s while visiting Chicago from Indiana this weekend. The appetizers and sides and drinks were so fascinating, that we didn’t even get a main entree. I love-loved the muscles , especially with the fresh lemon grass and coconut milk! I had an oyster shooter with sake and a ginger cosmopolitan. The home made spicy pickle chips were Devine as well as the homemade potato chips. We asked for some pickle chips to take home , they were so good. My wife and daughter adored the mushroom soup. My wife also enjoyed the Smokey Brussels spouts salad. My house salad was perfect. Lastly the Gluten free orange cake was so refreshing and moist. Karen our waitress was very kind and helpful. I highly recommend if you are in the area.
Connor Ringel
Yoshi's house martini, dirty, and a Wasabi-blue cheese Smash burger for my last meal please! Delicious food and great service without feeling stuffy. Yoshi's is a weekly must when you live in Lakeview!
Joel R.
I've been thinking about Yoshi's Cafe since I was a kid, but I was very underwhelmed by my experience there. Unfortunately the night we went the service was very slow, we waited about 30 minutes before we were able to order and another 30 before our food arrived. It did not seem particularly busy that night. We ordered the Spicy Tuna Temaki, the Grilled Veggie & Couscous dinner, the Wagyu Burger and the Lava Cake. The spicy tuna temaki is pretty good, a combo of sour pickles, tuna, rice, crunchy tempura and mayo. You get to wrap your own temaki, it's a fun interactive appetizer. I think hands down the go to at Yoshi's would be their Wagyu Burger--it's a solid burger and feels competitively priced for what you get. The couscous dinner on the other hand seems pretty overpriced for what you get. The lava cake is nothing to write home about. Overall Yoshi's is a little overpriced for you get, but the burger is definitely worth it.
Kutskurina
Yoshi’s presents a “touch-free” menu, so diners awkwardly scan their phones at table. Thankfully masking conventions were observed. Not mentioned on the website: Yoshi’s has free parking. Too bad we wasted 15 minutes (and several dollars) circling the block for a spot. As for the food: the menu is odd. There are interesting appetizers but some aren’t easily shared yet too large for one. Choice of entrees is limited. Two in our party settled for a tuna salad for dinner. The skate entrée was great although ½ the quantity of capers would have been sufficient; it was served with no sides, just a big tasty slab of fish. Others at our table were pleased enough with the tonkatsu and burger. As someone who enjoyed Yoshi’s several years ago, this time was a letdown. Far too expensive for the reward.
Mary S.
This was my "go to" 20 years ago. Tonight I went back and had a wonderful dining experience! Why was I gone so long? Pate was spot on and beautifully served. The sauces were smooth, unique, and flavorful, excellent service, beautiful room with clean modern lines. We started with a cacophony of appetizers! This in addition to pate, we had tempura vegetable, Japanese fried chicken, and Stracciatella Cheese & Heirloom Tomato Salad. The sauce with the. Hi Ken was amazing. The double patty wagyu beef burger was delicious. It was presented with onion rings and homemade pickles. I could have eaten two! The gluten free orange cake was delicious, we also had the lava cake and the panna cotta. So glad we rediscovered this gem!
Kymberly Akouris
Love love love this Japanese American upscale atmosphere Cafe. The food was imaginative takes on old classics with DIY Sushi roll and a variation on pork katsu. The seared tuna was delicious. The desert rounded out our evening nicely with espresso and lemon tart.
Great food and excellent customer service. Really nice people who care about their customers.
William Bedgood
Amazing service and the most excellent food in Boystown.The wagu smashburger is the best I've ever had! Excellent service with great linen tabletop service.
Mac P.
My boyfriend and I absolutely loved Yoshi's Cafe! The patio with the twinkling nights was super cozy for a rainy Friday night. A true hidden gem of Lakeview. We had some dirty martinis with blue cheese AND wasabi stuffed olives to start. The drink was top notch and shaken table-side. We also shared the tuna tartare and the stacciatella salad as our apps. Both were 5/5 and would absolutely get again! For the entree, we had to split the "Chicago's Best" burger. Let me tell you...it was up there with The Loyalist! Juicy and packed with flavor. Definitely one of the best burgers in the area. Highly recommend Yoshi's for a special occasion or just a fun dinner out! Can't wait to go back.
Stratton100
Delish. France meets Japan in this lovely oasis with a tidy, creative menu. The hostess (owner?) made me feel instantly welcome as a table of one, as did the entire staff. The flash fried whole branzino was the tastiest and most beautifully presented version of this increasingly popular Mediterranean Sea bass I've had anywhere. Highly recommend the refreshing house martini with wasabi stuffed olives and saki.
Delicious. Friendly staff and service. Perfect spot for a date. The Kabocha Pumpkin Ravioli IS A MUST!
I really like the interior design of this place, which, depending on where you sit, is an airy cafe, a bar, or a fairly intimate restaurant. Like most "fusion" places, they're not really doing a fusion of cuisines, but just offering more than one, in this case, Japanese and French, with a bit of American thrown in. My favorite dish was the mussels, which were served in a wonderful somewhat spicy broth that made a great soup, too. The tuna tartare was also excellent quality, and the tempura was light and not oily. The wine list emphasizes French wines, with some nice selections, but no bargains. Service was friendly.
Very nice staff and food was good. Only issue for me was that the burger was a bit dry. Loved the Mac and cheese as well as the Japanese fried chicken!
Nice little neighborhood spot, but nothing too special. No fine wines by glass, and the cocktails are hit-or--miss. The menu is uneven; who puts American "cheese" (low-quality milk solids & whey) on Waygu beef? The squash bowl is good, the cous-cous very spartan with parts that don't make a whole, the prices on these 2 seem a bit high. Service fine, but very slow.
My wife, daughter and I had a wonderful experience while eating at Yoshi’s while visiting Chicago from Indiana this weekend. The appetizers and sides and drinks were so fascinating, that we didn’t even get a main entree. I love-loved the muscles , especially with the fresh lemon grass and coconut milk! I had an oyster shooter with sake and a ginger cosmopolitan. The home made spicy pickle chips were Devine as well as the homemade potato chips. We asked for some pickle chips to take home , they were so good. My wife and daughter adored the mushroom soup. My wife also enjoyed the Smokey Brussels spouts salad. My house salad was perfect. Lastly the Gluten free orange cake was so refreshing and moist. Karen our waitress was very kind and helpful. I highly recommend if you are in the area.
Yoshi's house martini, dirty, and a Wasabi-blue cheese Smash burger for my last meal please! Delicious food and great service without feeling stuffy. Yoshi's is a weekly must when you live in Lakeview!
I've been thinking about Yoshi's Cafe since I was a kid, but I was very underwhelmed by my experience there. Unfortunately the night we went the service was very slow, we waited about 30 minutes before we were able to order and another 30 before our food arrived. It did not seem particularly busy that night. We ordered the Spicy Tuna Temaki, the Grilled Veggie & Couscous dinner, the Wagyu Burger and the Lava Cake. The spicy tuna temaki is pretty good, a combo of sour pickles, tuna, rice, crunchy tempura and mayo. You get to wrap your own temaki, it's a fun interactive appetizer. I think hands down the go to at Yoshi's would be their Wagyu Burger--it's a solid burger and feels competitively priced for what you get. The couscous dinner on the other hand seems pretty overpriced for what you get. The lava cake is nothing to write home about. Overall Yoshi's is a little overpriced for you get, but the burger is definitely worth it.
Yoshi’s presents a “touch-free” menu, so diners awkwardly scan their phones at table. Thankfully masking conventions were observed. Not mentioned on the website: Yoshi’s has free parking. Too bad we wasted 15 minutes (and several dollars) circling the block for a spot. As for the food: the menu is odd. There are interesting appetizers but some aren’t easily shared yet too large for one. Choice of entrees is limited. Two in our party settled for a tuna salad for dinner. The skate entrée was great although ½ the quantity of capers would have been sufficient; it was served with no sides, just a big tasty slab of fish. Others at our table were pleased enough with the tonkatsu and burger. As someone who enjoyed Yoshi’s several years ago, this time was a letdown. Far too expensive for the reward.
This was my "go to" 20 years ago. Tonight I went back and had a wonderful dining experience! Why was I gone so long? Pate was spot on and beautifully served. The sauces were smooth, unique, and flavorful, excellent service, beautiful room with clean modern lines. We started with a cacophony of appetizers! This in addition to pate, we had tempura vegetable, Japanese fried chicken, and Stracciatella Cheese & Heirloom Tomato Salad. The sauce with the. Hi Ken was amazing. The double patty wagyu beef burger was delicious. It was presented with onion rings and homemade pickles. I could have eaten two! The gluten free orange cake was delicious, we also had the lava cake and the panna cotta. So glad we rediscovered this gem!
Love love love this Japanese American upscale atmosphere Cafe. The food was imaginative takes on old classics with DIY Sushi roll and a variation on pork katsu. The seared tuna was delicious. The desert rounded out our evening nicely with espresso and lemon tart.
Restaurantji Recommends
Great food and excellent customer service. Really nice people who care about their customers.
Amazing service and the most excellent food in Boystown.The wagu smashburger is the best I've ever had! Excellent service with great linen tabletop service.
My boyfriend and I absolutely loved Yoshi's Cafe! The patio with the twinkling nights was super cozy for a rainy Friday night. A true hidden gem of Lakeview. We had some dirty martinis with blue cheese AND wasabi stuffed olives to start. The drink was top notch and shaken table-side. We also shared the tuna tartare and the stacciatella salad as our apps. Both were 5/5 and would absolutely get again! For the entree, we had to split the "Chicago's Best" burger. Let me tell you...it was up there with The Loyalist! Juicy and packed with flavor. Definitely one of the best burgers in the area. Highly recommend Yoshi's for a special occasion or just a fun dinner out! Can't wait to go back.
Delish. France meets Japan in this lovely oasis with a tidy, creative menu. The hostess (owner?) made me feel instantly welcome as a table of one, as did the entire staff. The flash fried whole branzino was the tastiest and most beautifully presented version of this increasingly popular Mediterranean Sea bass I've had anywhere. Highly recommend the refreshing house martini with wasabi stuffed olives and saki.
The best cocktails and food!