Great experience overall. Miso butter mushrooms, soy marinated cucumbers, lamb gyoza, and ikura were a few of our favorite dishes. Zak (manager) joined us at our table to welcome us and offer personal recommendations, Katryna provided excellent service, and Jason crafted a fabulous Lychee cocktail! Weâll be back
I wanted to like this place. The entire experience was odd. The staff is unexperienced servers who are trying their best but come off as over-trying and way too many touch points to the table. The fish is terrible. The non-fish items are much better than the fish. The ambiance is NOTHING like what is shown on their website; the complete opposite actually. The website seems as though this place is the hippest newest spot. It's not. Unfortunately, trust the 1 star reviews on here and choose somewhere else to go.
Site reservation page is unclear that omikase is available exclusively after 7 and only at 7:15-7:30 pm. Otherwise there is a bar menu that prevails. I was disappointed that sushi on the bar menu is limited. After making clear I was present to have sushi I was advised of the limitations. After we ate from the bar menu, I was advised that I could choose certain sushiâs from the omikase menu. I was full and too late. Life is sufficiently complicated already and Hinoki might adopt a clearer reservation communication so diners can know what to expect. Bar food I had was good but quite salty.
Amazing food and service! The omakase menu is very traditional where each sushi tasted great with a strong focus on the fish.
By far one of my favorite dining experiences in Chicago so far. It's off the beaten path, but don't let that fool you. The bar is absolutely beautiful and each dish is so well thought out and such high quality. I highly recommend the Omakase experience! Everyone is incredibly kind and passionate, it really takes it to the next level. We just got home and I'm already planning our next visit.
The entryway is unassuming, even mysterious, as has become somewhat commonplace with modern venues. What I was wholly unprepared for was the expertise and passion of the staff, elements that brought the experience to somewhere different from my expectations. Many places know where their ingredients came from nowadays, and many of those know what those ingredients afford their dishes, but Hinoki tells a story through its craftsmanship and menu that serves to increase your interest with each visitation. You will describe to your fellow guests how you thought you were eating one thing and ended with another. You will be baffled by brilliant bouquets of sake matched against three-piece storytelling vignettes of sushi. Your staff will guide you through the streams and fields of Japan throughout your flavourful adventures. Be slow and be attentive, because Hinoki Sushiko is taking you somewhere profound.
The service is the best ever received from any restaurant! Thank you! We will be back!
I have never written a bad review but oh man, this was an unfortunate dinner. We arrived and the staff was visibly stressed and anxious. The restaurant was full but not out of the ordinary to warrant this vibe (one of our party saw a waiter throw chopsticks angrily to the floor while walking to the bathroom). They were out of avocado, spicy crab, spicy tuna, and wasabi (???) which severely limited their already small menu. We ended up having to bring out own drinks that had been sitting ready at the bar back to our table ourselves and the service was generally very slow. The food arrived haphazardly and to the wrong people. It was truly just shockingly bad. The manager was very nice about it, sent out some freebies, but it was definitely a bad place to spend a birthday dinner
I've been to sushi restaurants all around the world. I've had good sushi, I've had cheap sushi, and I've loved both. I did not have a good experience, and couldn't even complain because our waiter was never at our table! We ended up accidentally going during restaurant week, and the deal didn't look too enticing to us so we opted for the regular menu. The lamb gyoza were good, but the other appetizers were all quite average (green beans, shishito peppers). Chirashi bowl was an excuse for reusing leftover cuts marinated nicely, but poorly done. Plenty of restaurants have good ways of reusing fish that don't include ruining a standard entree. Spicy Soft Shell Crab was the only good Maki we had, but even then it was only on par with other restaurants. Only redeeming sushi was the Tako nigiri, but at $12 a piece I'd go elsewhere. I didn't take photos of the food as I usually do as their lighting was so poor that it was nearly pitch black and was too dark for even my fancy low light camera. I'm down for an intimate romantic experience but we were in the middle of a large room with a bar, just simply in between lights in the dark. Will not return Do not recommend
Me and my cousin went in restaurant week, food from the menu was great, delicious, and came out pretty quick. I always want to go to hinoki because of the decor. I ordered off the res week menu and the sushi was delicious.