Sakanaya Restaurant

Loved the Playgirl sushi here! Although I am a fan of the Kofusion atmosphere, the food quality, preparation, and taste is superior here at Sakanaya. Do yourself a favor… go there after the semesters end so you don’t have to wait.

Before trying out Sakanya, I have had sushi thrice at some good restaurants. I’m not a big fan of sushi but still like to try different kind of sushi. I really wanted to try Sakanya after reading all the good reviews. I went here along with my husband at late dinner hours. Only 3 tables were occupied at that time. Our server seated us and handed over the menu. We were ready with our orders, but there was no one to take them. All the servers were chatting at the reception desk and not even one bothered to look at us. We waited for 15 – 20 minutes, before someone came to take our order. As I had checked in on Unilocal,I got a complimentary miso soup deal, which I told the server. I ordered I love sushi, sea urchin (nigiri/​sushi) and shumai. After 10 minutes shumai came, it was nice. Then 5 minutes later sushi came. I wondered where the soup went. So I asked a passing by server about the soup who called our server. I asked her about the complimentary soup to which she replied, «can I see the deal?». When I showed her that, she made me feel miser for using that deal. Anyways, soup came and it was good. Sushi was fine, but the roll which came in the platter did not taste good. Also, I did not like the sea urchin one.
The food was fine, though I can’t say the same about service.

Having tried almost every at least halfway-​decent restaurant around campus, we finally decided to give Sakanaya a try — and we even got so lucky that we did not encounter any line whatsoever when coming in. The time we saved there got quickly taken away from us when we were waiting around 10 minutes to get our orders taken. I guess there might be a slight correlation between this and the waiters blindly looking straight in front of them instead of looking around for guests that might be ready to order or to pay — no hard feelings.
Eventually, we decided to go for the Una Don: Grilled Eel served in a bowl of rice with vegetables.
The free water was served in a gracefully designed vase with nicely designed cups — that really added to the atmosphere. Also you get served some soup along with your main entrée — the soup itself was nothing special, but it was for free, so I leave it at that.
The main entrée itself cut both ways, so to speak. The eel was super delicious and I could have devoured a lot more of that. Being accompanied with the typical sushi sauces as well as wasabi and pickled ginger, the entire bowl tasted more like a dissected, big piece of sushi roll. This can be good or bad, depending on what you expected. Since I deliberately did not go for the sushi, but for this dish, should say enough with respects to what I had expected. Nonetheless, the entire flavor and taste was satisfying and I would recommend it because of the eel served with it. However, be aware of that the description «[…]with vegetable» should not be taken literally in the sense of that serving something with three small pieces of ginger, a tea spoon of wasabi and two small pieces of carrots and yellow pepper already counts as serving something «with vegetables».
The atmosphere is upscale, which I liked for a change if you are used to dining in more «casual» places as you find them all around campus. That comes with a more upscale pricing also, of course.
Don’t get me wrong — this place is definitely worth a visit and I enjoyed it, even though this review might sound a little negative. I just had the above described dish and this review is based upon that and the atmosphere I encountered. I cannot speak for the sushi and the ramen they serve, which is said to be really good. Given that, I will certainly come back to try those dishes out and reconsider my rating — but for now it’s a good and solid 3 stars.

Best sushi for the price in Chambana :) Their Udon noodle soup was also great. I would love to go back!

Nice service. Ok sushi. Probably one of the better sushi restaurants in urbana champaign area.

I started coming here recently and everything is fantastic. The fish is fresh and there is a lot of variety. I rarely get appetizers, but the Willis Tower is amazing. I get that appetizer every time I come here. I also enjoy the K2 and spider rolls, as well as the Windy City roll. The chicken katsu and ramen is also delicious. After 9pm, there is a late night menu where there is fried chicken that is extremely flavorful. The only knock against Sakanaya is sometimes the wait time is extremely long and they don’t take reservations. So keep in mind, if you want to eat at a high traffic time, sometimes you may have to wait upwards of an hour.

I’ve been here 4 or 5 times, and have been wowed every time.
Sakanaya makes some of the best sushi I have ever had. The fish comes from a good supplier in Chicago, and it always served at an optimal temperature where the fat from the fish is just starting to melt and the rice is a little warmer than body temperature. This sushi is legit, and you should eat it as soon as it gets to your table to preserve that perfect temperature balance. I recommend the simple stuff like nigiri, sashimi, chirashi, or hamachi rolls, but their crazy rolls are fun too.
Their chicken wings are incredible. Korean style fried chicken is one of the most underrated foods out there, and Sakanaya has it down to an art. Sweet garlic sauce saturates crispy skin and batter that has puffed out and separated from the juicy meat. These wings are perfect in every way and should be on your bucket list. If you’re a student, pick up some wings on a night out!
They also have a very creative selection of appetizers. The Willis Tower is a fun one. Its fish egg, spicy tuna, crab, avocado, and sushi rice layered in that order from top to bottom with some sauces on the plate. Its kind of like a big california roll.
With their high quality food, friendly and helpful service, and interesting menu items, Sakanaya really is an elite restaurant.

Wow I can’t believe this is in Champaign Urbana! The freshest most creative and delicious sushi imaginable. Served in beautiful plates in a chic setting. Even the green tea is exceptional.
The only problem is the place is small and there are no reservations. You have to get there the moment they open or have a long wait.

The hwaedupbap is really good :) highly recommended if craving for healthy and filling meal :) tonkatsu ramen is pretty good, especially it’s broth! :) lastly the Willis tower was a bit greasy for me but my friend and sister enjoyed it ;;

I liked it here and it’s a great addition to Green St. It is a bit cramped for space and that also makes it kind of loud since it’s almost entirely college kids. We had to wait 15−20min to be seated but we were notified of the wait as soon as we walked in (and it was an accurate estimate). I wasn’t terribly impressed with the more expensive rolls, not compared to other sushi I’ve had. Since their most expensive roll was $ 18 it’s still pretty darn cheap.
If I were in the area I wouldn’t hesitate to pop in for a few classic rolls, which are around $ 6. With access to a car, however, I’d prefer to head to Kofusion — much better atmosphere and I think the sushi is better too (though it’ll cost more).
…oh I miss when Miko was a thing.

When I get the desire to brave the crowded, Keystone light drenched, sports bar filled campus town and get a little hungry, Sakanaya is definitely one of my go to places. Great sushi and great ramen. Kind of expensive but that’s what I get for living in the midwest. It’s filled with a bunch of modern lighting and furniture, if you’re into that sort of thing. And the host takes your name on an ipad so that’s like, cool, right?
PS
There are better sushi places in town that aren’t Ko Fusion.

I was craving sushi, and Sakanaya appeared to be the best choice in the Chambana.
We arrived right before they opened for dinner, so we were sat before there was a line. We ordered the seaweed salad as an appetizer. For entrée, we got the «I love salmon» plate, as we were not very hungry.
Got the seaweed salad, and it seemed like it’s just pre-​packaged seaweed salad with a cherry tomato on top. Tasty, but not too special.
For the main entrée, the salmon plate (see pic for details). It was good, but not great. Honesty, the best part was the gochujang ketchup they had on the salmon roll.
Sakanaya is relatively good in Chambana, but not great if compared to other places I’ve been to.

I came here on impulse for lunch last week. I’ve heard so many great things about it but with it being on campus, I was waiting for a slower night. I initially just wanted to get some ramen to go to satisfy my massive ramen craving I had. When I asked for some ramen to go, they informed me that they do do take out but that they can’t do ramen to go. I decided to come in later and boy was I happy that I did! I ended up trying the Willis Tower appetizer which is this deconstructed sushi «tower» with tuna, roe, coleslaw, avocado, & rice. The fish was amazing and super fresh and I couldn’t stop eating it. I also had a mojito which was certainly tasty but a little on the boozy side. I ended up ordering the miso ramen which was also pretty amazing. My only gripe was that I felt like the pork and egg were a little over cooked for my liking. Also, this place is teeny tiny. Total seating comes to about 30 people. So, I would not try to come here on a typical busier night. Calling ahead or having a back up plan might be the way to do it!
I can’t wait to come back here for some sushi! This might be my new favorite sushi spot in town!

I stopped in with a friend for lunch during the work day. What should have taken one hour took almost two. The food took too long to arrive and later the check did too. The menu is small, but well chosen. The green tea has a lovely roasty flavor; it was well brewed.
I had the spicy shoyu ramen and my friend had the tekka don. She was very happy with the tekka don (eel and veg over rice). I liked the ramen pretty well. It had a spicy broth with just a hint of richness. I’d like more depth in my broth, and more tenderness in the meat in the bowl, but I was pleased that the dish wasn’t tame.
For a small, campus-​town restaurant, this one has a calm, grown-​up atmosphere. It’s clean and quiet with quality food. The prices are not low, but the value is decent.

Fresh and flavorful. A must try if in the area.
Sakanaya exceeded my expectations. I would never expected sushi in Chambana to taste better than most sushi in Chicago for a lesser price. This is not to say the menu items are within the average college students budget, but a California roll at a $ 5-​$ 6 is not bad. But if you’re like me, you want and crave the prober items which were pretty reasonable.
I love Sushi $ 25 (10 pc sushi) — 5 stars
Tuna Tatami $ 12-​$ 14 — 4 stars
Willis Tower $ 12– a serious show stopper; 5 stars
(My favorite item)
Miso Soup, free with Unilocal check in — 5 stars
Ambiance — 5 stars
Service — 5 stars; the hostess takes your name and number. If you leave, you are sent a text message when your table is ready

Great place on campus for fine dining sushi. The menu is full of great options and the fish is very fresh. It is a bit expensive for on campus dining but definitely worth the money. Everything is full of flavor and you pay for the quality. The presentation is also great and the service was fast and helpful.
Restaurant is small so wait time for a table is long but if you use the app NoWait you can get in line through the app and see how long the wait is until your table is ready and you will get a text when it is.

Besides the new six-​pack dorm building, upgraded computer center in the Illini Union, Panda Express on Green Street and new dining halls being built AFTER I graduated and thus making me feel like a chump, this restaurant being a new addition to Green Street is the cherry on top! Thanks, U of I, thanks.
If you’re a college student taking your girl (or guy) on a hot date and want to impress but don’t have a car, THIS is your spot. Make sure you bring $$$$. It’s not for the cheap.
It’s small, trendy and a bit romantic on the inside. You pass by the sushi bar on the way in with seriously the cutest sushi plush dolls sitting inside the display. Try staring into one and being able to say no to its face.
So, now what?
— Order the Sakanaya roll! Sooo good!
— *****Make sure to check in on your Unilocal app to get your completely free miso soup***** (which was really good)
Definitely hit up this spot if your wallet allows it!

I must have been hangry bc when I was when I was quoted a 20 min wait at 5:30 on a Thursday, I was half deflated-​half irritated and for a flash, thought about a plan B for dinner. It’s great that Sakanaya’s business seems to be thriving!
By the numbers…
40: approximate number of guests the small restaurant seats.
10: actual number of minutes I had to wait for my table.
1: check-​in on Unilocal that’ll score you a free bowl of miso soup.
14: dollars it’ll cost ya for an order of bulgogi, and let me tell you, was I craving bulgogi that week! Entrée also comes with soup, bowl of white rice, salad, 2 little dumplings, and 2 pieces of sushi. Boom.
Nigiri: not a number, but fun to say, and I thoroughly enjoyed my yellowtail and fatty salmon ones ($ 3 – 4 apiece).
Waitress Sophia was so pleasant! Glad Unilocal tipped me off to yet another fine establishment. Last note: you won’t find street parking on Green St. Look on the side streets, but make sure you have coins to feed the meters!

1. This is a sweet lookin’ spot: There’s wood everywhere, and it’s got a nice chill atmosphere and proper seating. Aesthetically speaking, it’s above and beyond most of the sushi joints we have in this town.
2. The ramen, oh god, the ramen: I didn’t personally order any, but I kept stealing bites of my friends and wow, it was so tasty.
3. The sushi was alllllllll amazing! My friends and I all ordered a few different rolls so we could sample them all and I still couldn’t pick a favorite because everything was so freakin good.
If this place weren’t on campus, I would be there often but it just gets a bit busy with students sometimes. Even then, still totally worth it!

Delicious!
We decided to go out for sushi on a Tuesday night and heard good things about Sakanaya.
The restaurant is pretty small on the inside, but well-​decorated and very modern looking, I felt like I was at a fancy place downtown or something!
We started with miso soup and a bokbunjajoo Korean raspberry wine. The soup was simple and good, but still nice because we got it for free by checking in on Unilocal!The wine was fantastic, I’ve never had anything like it and it had a sweet flavor to it that separated it from western wine I’m used to drinking.
I absolutely had to get sushi and my roommate was pretty set on ramen, so we ordered a Sakanaya roll and the shimp tempura ramen. My roll was superb! I believe it was salmon, crab salad, avocado, scallion and fish flake. Good feedback from his ramen too, which was a huge portion!
Overall I thought the food was good but perhaps a little pricey. The atmosphere was unique but a little cramped for our (really) little table of 2.
Authentic food in a cool atmosphere on campus, which is kind of hard to find but it comes at a price.
Strong ⁴⁄₅.