50 Best Japanese Restaurants near Des Plaines

“There was absolutely nothing that could have been better.
This is one of the best experiences aive had at a sushi place, period.
The staff greeted me with smiling faces, were attentive without being obtrusive, and genuinely seemed to care that I was satisfied throughout the meal.
The food? Probably the best I've had anywhere around Chicagoland. Not kidding; I felt compelled to write a review after, which isn't every day.
Great location only a minute or 2 off I-90, as well, so I will most certainly be back!

Edit: stopping back again another day, I was impressed at the amount of effort the waitress took trying to find something to suit me and my guest, who didn't have much experience with sushi.
Our meal was fantastic, and suited both of us well. Also had a great presentation, which I generally don't take much note of.

Same opinion as before - one of the best in the area.

Parking: The lot is small, and it is easy to drive past. Not their fault, but be advised it may be difficult to park here at peak times.“

“Really cute Japanese place close to the airport, our actual plan was to get Halal pizza from Girodano’s but had to change our plans and the wife picked this place at a walking distance.

Her favourite thing was the “spicy fire” appetiser, which is made with cream cheese, jalapeno and salmon. We also had the spicy ramen noodle soup and the yakisoba (another noodle dish but stir fry).

Cozy ambiance inside and the service is really good too. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to have sth asian“

“Absolutely delicious! This is a gem of a place that I would go back to time and time again if I lived in the area. Fish is flown in from Japan and the chef has worked in restaurants all over the world. Everything we ordered was fantastic- highly recommend!“

“I'm from California and I'm a big fan of Sushi. I've eaten expensive sushi, cheap sushi, all-you-can-eat sushi, all sorts of sushi, and Tekka Sushi just got it right for a price that's actually not expensive, but also not cheap at the same time. The ingredients are high quality ingredients with amazing taste. I would recommend this place to friends and family 100%. Excellent high quality place.“

“Some of the best sushi I have had anywhere.

Edit: 1 year later and it was even better than my last time. The fish is incredible and the chefs know exactly what they are doing. Fantastic flavor combinations and one of the rare places they actually put some wasabi under the fish on nigiri- no soy, ginger, or wasabi needs to be added. Definitely give it a go.“

“豐富美味價格合宜，算是道地日本拉麵。服務很好，工作人員很友善！“

“Always a dining experience for my tastebuds. The service, the food, the ambience. You couldn’t ask for more. The sushi rice is, hands down, the best we’ve ever had. Questions answered, recommendations given, new adventures with unknown cuisine. This is our go to for the authentic taste of Japan.“

“Very nice, hardworking staff and delicious food! Love this place and highly recommend!! 😋👍“

“Delicious poke bowl! Fast delivery!“

“the food is yummy / authentic japanese ! the service is great ,“

“Manooben is the cutest little hole-in-the-wall! It's cozy, homey, and owned by the sweetest Korean mama and papa. The kind of place that makes you feel at home. The name of the restaurant is an acronym for maki, noodle, and bento lol. So cute.

I tried the hand roll combo. Two massive hand rolls, packed with fresh ingredients, and a bowl of homemade udon that hit all the spot. The broth was simple but flavorful. It was clean and refreshingly light. The hand rolls were absolutely perfect. I'd go weekly for this combo if this place was near my workplace.

I also tried the spring train maki. The texture and flavors were solid, but those rolls are so fat and hearty, it will fill your whole mouth with every bite. You can really feel the love from the papa chef with those fat cuts.

Lastly, I tried the sashimi rice (Hwedupbap). The bowl was massive, and I wanted one at home so bad. This dish is also very simple, fresh sashimi over rice, drizzled with their homemade sauce. I love a good homemade sauce. I ended up squeezing that sauce onto every bite cause I love my food saucy.

Such a small place, full of love! I can't wait to go back.“

“LOVE THIS PLACE !! ALL TIME FAVORITE RESTERAUNT THE FOOD IS AMAZING ! THE STAFF AND PEOPLE WORKING ARE EXTREMELY NICE AND MAKE YOU FEEL WELCOMED AND TAKEN CARE OF !! LOVE THIS PLACE SOOO MUCH. A MUST GO PLACE, THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE RESTERAUNTS BY FAR, ME AND MY BOYFRIEND LOVE THIS PLACE ? THE OWNER/MANAGER IS SO KIND AND ALWAYS TAKES CARE OF US, SHE IS A BEAUTIFUL SOUL❤️ WE LOVE THIS PLACE ! WOULDNT BE THE SAME WITHOUT THE STAFF ✅? FOOD IS WONDERFUL AND PRICING AMAZING EXTREMELY CHEAP FOR AMAZING QUALITY. EVERYTHING IS DELICIOUS“

“Folks, this is the real deal. All the food was great. I'm pretty sure the chef is Japanese. I say so because they have authentic items like Nira Tama and Kampyou Maki (both fabulous, by the way) that you won't see on the menu at other places. They also had Iichiko (wheat shouchu (think vodka)), and they were happy to make me an oolong wari. Loved it!“

“perfect foods...great decorations.. nice price...“

“Royce chocolate and cookies is located inside of mitsuwa along with several high end vendors and shops. Royce doesn't disappoint. Paris was extremely helpful and went over all of the offerings that Royce had. I ended up getting the variety pack because I couldn't make up mind. Great gifts for the adventurous tongue and even for someone with a sweet tooth. The have adorable pink gift bags to make it for a quick pick up. I absolutely recommend the fromage blanc chips, they are delicious and daring at the same time!“

“The widest selection of Sushi grade seafood Ive seen on a menu in a Long time- all very fresh and very generously portioned! Octopus and salmon Sashimi were the dessert orders from our kids 😂 We will definetly be returning, and highly recommend. Servers, Host, Owner, entire staff was extremely attentive- and to top it all they were happily and safely able to accomodate my childs severe dairy and peanut allergies (first sushi experience for him, and we Love seafood, so huge win for the whole family 🙌🏼)“

“Awesome vibe, the atmosphere is spectacular and the service is exceptional! We got ramen which was very nice. You can add or take away from any of your choice ramen. We also got a cucumber salad, their fried chicken and kimchi, all very good.You order everything via an iPad, even order water. Very cool services. We will definitely be coming back for the sushi next!“

“Excellent food and service!! Highly recommend!“

“A Big Shout Out to Happi Sushi in Highland Park. We were lucky enough to try a number of their apps and rolls. Every single thing we got was SO delicious 😋. Their sushi was fresh, tasty, and so yummy. The apps are unique and full of flavor. We just love this family owned restaurant. The staff goes above and beyond for each patron. Please try Happi Sushi, Friends. You will not be disappointed!!“

“Warm, cozy, and slightly upscale. The izakaya has karaoke rooms available for rent, but the vibe of the place is great for ordering a few beers, some karaage, and whatever's on special (check their Instagram).Don't forget to bring something to read. They use great coffee beans and have good pour over technique if you get a cup of coffee to cap your meal.Haven't checked out any of the live Jazz or classical music but it sounds interesting!“

“They always have the best service here. My wife and I have been coming here for nearly a decade now and we have never had a bad experience. They are always very accommodating and help my wife who is Vegan. Hanabi is the best.“

“Good food for a great price. Service was fine, not friendly, not rude, but very quick and competent.
Trust me on this, get the noodles, oh yes yummy. And add veggies, very satisfying. Hubs agrees.
I was happily surprised by the amount of well made food for the price. And made quickly.“

“We love this place and we will going to miss it“

“First time going here was amazing, staff was great and very respectful, and don’t even get me started on the ramen, everything about it was amazing from the taste to the look. But yeah honestly great place to grab ramen.“

“First time going here was amazing, staff was great and very respectful, and don’t even get me started on the ramen, everything about it was amazing from the taste to the look. But yeah honestly great place to grab ramen.“

“Overall food was really good. Some apps not worth it for portion size/taste. Sushi was good but a bit lackluster. For this vibe and place of "chicagos first sushi" i was expecting a bit more flavor/presentation but still tasty. Drinka were good but thw bottles of sake seemed way overpriced. Service was great too. A little disappointed that i had included that we were celebrating a birthday and our table candle wasn't lit and no treat or little dessert was offered for the birthday person at this type of restaurant.“

“Love this place. Very fresh sushi!“

“I’ve come here a few times now since they opened and I can confidently say it’s some of the best Japanese food I’ve ever had. There takoyaki especially is the best in the city, probably in the Chicago area in general. I’ve had both their spicy tonkatsu ramen and black garlic ramen and the black garlic is my favorite of the two but they’re both very good. My wife tried their lunch special recently and was a huge fan. I’m hoping to come here for years to come so do yourself a favor and give them a try.“

“Fresh, Fresh, Fresh Seafoods! Great Service! Tasty foods.“

“Akai Hana has been in business for over 30 years, and the steady traffic means the sushi is fresh and safe, offered at a good price. However, the ambiance is lacking, with an outdated, cafeteria-like vibe and cheap-looking menus. It’s a solid spot for a quick, no-frills sushi meal, but not the place for a special dining experience.“

“I took a few moments of respite from my quest to be a great person to go to this great Japanese-influenced food place.
The meal I had was very good and inexpensive. It was a very good ramen. There were also good fried ingredients, the fried egg was crazy as the young people who are hungry for crazy things say. However I give 0/20 to the fried fish.
But I still give 19/20 to the whole meal which was super banger.
The only downside and one point less is that there is clearly no place to eat your super yum meal: "(please think about putting more chairs or tables or benches or anything (not a suitcase or a mini pistachio, neither of these would be useful in this situation)

Banco for this place yum.
Goodbye UwU

Vegetarian options: Rice and miso“

“They had yakitori, which I tried. I ordered the chicken thigh, pork belly, and sausage. Everything is cooked to perfection and smells good from the charcoal fire. The pork belly is my favorite because of the fat, the meat was crispy and tender. I ordered the karaage don (mayo & poached egg) as my main course. I believe the teriyaki sauce was overdone. As a result, the chicken lost its crunch.“

“Great sushi. Friendly service. Consistent quality.“

“awesome sushi place it was yummy“

“Love, love, love this place! After a long time, Teriyaki Madness has finally reopened! Long thought to be gone for good they opened just this past weekend and the food is just as good as ever.

Fresh, hot and hella delicious. Can't recommend the Spicy Chicken bowl with rice n veggies enough, and be sure to try the chicken potstickers.

The staff were nice and friendly and the restaurant clean and in good order. Be sure to stop by if you are in the area!“

“Always yummy !!! Love their salad, sushi, ramen and sake especially.“

“My food was very yummy, the staff and service was also top notch!“

“Very good quality fish. great service“

“Great food and beautiful restaurant ambience.“

“Food was excellent. Highly recommend.“

“Love this place. Great sushi with great prices!“

“Parking: There is a parking garage directly under the restaurant, taking the elevator up brings you right next to the patio. There were plenty of parking spots.

Wheelchair accessibility: The two sets of doors into the restaurant are not automatic, but the restaurant is very wheelchair accessible otherwise, and parking in the garage below, you're able to take an elevator up easily.“

“Amazing quality sushi!! Very friendly staff!! 10 stars“

“I find some of the low reviews here baffling. I think some people may be confusing this restaurant with other Chinese restaurants due to its rather non descript name. Make no mistake, the food here is excellent and punches way above its price point.Coming in the first time I was pessimistic. It seemed your standard pre prepared food menu ready to dish out quickly to the lunch crowd panda express style. I quickly became a huge fan after eating large well prepared portions I would expect from a normal sit down restaurant. Yes it's your standard generic fare but made so much better.Great food, great price. Appreciate these places, the owners care about making something good.“

“I had come from a con going one nearby it was a Saturday but it was not busy at all we got a our food very quickly it was so good. I ate it very fast. the portion sizes were very nice and the staff was very nice. They could've been a bit more attentive to us but overall very nice.“

“Just ordered BNK today for carryout and was so pleased with the portion sizes and the food was so fresh and made to order! I'll be back!“

“Ordering through this restaurant is an introvert's dream. You mainly order through a kiosk and I was able to customize my order to my liking. Looking back, I wish I had added more curry to my dish.I got the chicken katsu curry w/ extra rice, 10 gyoza on the side to share and a water bottle. Food was fantastic and I actually took home leftovers, (which were fantastic leftovers btw). I spent about 30 bucks on my food, however you're near Chicago, so what do you expect?Others complained about wait time, however I came with a group of people, so it worked out as I was able to locate a table while I waited for my food. The kiosk also asked for my phone number so to text me with my order number and to tell me when it was ready.“

“I love a place where you can pay with a single $20. This is not that place. It's very filling, if acidic, keeps you full for a long time, but you pay the downtown Oak Park tax.
The Boba tea is good, but not great. Once The Wolf opens, go there for tea instead“

“I’ve seen there place my whole life and never went till today. It was really good and had awesome staff. Sushi 10/10 will come again.“