Circle Sushi & Grill

Amazing BYOB sushi spot in Lincoln Park.
We started with eggs rolls and were brought complimentary crab ragoon. It was by far one of the best I’ve had in Chicago. It was crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside.
We ordered several rolls different rolls but the spicy shrimp and the godzilla rolls were my favorites. They didn’t have too much rice on the outside and were filled eith excellent flavor.
At the end of our meal we were given carrot cheesecake slices too. They were amazing!
Not only is there sushi on the menu but there are several main entrees and sides too. ~~which means I’ll be back for more!

Very friendly service and some great freebies (crab rangoons and dessert) as well as tasty sushi! The sushi is not the best I’ve ever had, but still good. The OMG roll was definitely my favorite with some mild spice and great flavor.

We ordered 6 maki rolls and all were really solid. The OMG and don’t make me cry were two of our faves. Tom yum was really good too, and loaded up with tofu, which was great. It’s byob which is always awesome.
The service was top notch. We were provided a free crab Rangoon app that was really delicious and two free desserts which were also fantastic. The service and treats on the house were the cherry on top of an already great meal!

All I want in life is a good red curry, and Circle delivered an amazing one earlier than promised. Very excited to have this within delivery radius.

Great BYOB sushi in the north clybourne corridor. They gave us free spring rolls which was nice ! Sushi was great. seaweed salad def a nice upgrade with shiitake mushrooms added… service was excellent. Will definitely be back when running errands in the area…

All sushi places have four stars and two dollar signs, and this place is no exception. The octopus appetizer had really good, interesting flavors, even if the meat was a little chewy. They should make a salad that’s just whatever is going on at the bottom of that plate. Maki rolls were over-​stuffed and very good. The curry had great sweet-​spicy flavor and a good variety of veggies. Overall it was a great dinner, made even better by great service.

We walked into a deserted restaurant for lunch and bottle of wine. Yep, it’s BYOB, yep we were drinking at 1:30pm. The server could not have been more unhappy to see us. She actually seemed downright pissed. Minus the crabby waitress the food was awesome not to mention the quality 90’s jams playing in the background (those random songs you haven’t heard since your Junior High NOW 8 CD). The sushi was fresh and tastey. The pineapples in the fried rice and cashew chicken were just right. No fortune cookies but it’s not like you eat them after reading your fortune anyways. I’d get takeout for sure!

I visited here the other night, after a show at the Steppenwolf Theater. We were just looking for a light dinner and a drink. We learned this place is BYOB, which I do like, just wasn’t prepared with a bottle of wine.
We had a couple sushi maki rolls and some nigiri sushi pieces as well. The sushi was okay at best. I’m so tired of low quality sushi at medium to high prices. I’m more than willing to pay for good sushi, just please offer better quality! It’s becoming harder and harder to find quality sushi as we now have a sushi restaurant on every corner.
I did note fake crab in our rolls and the yellowtail wasn’t very good quality. It was fresh, just very low grade quality. I think this place is Chinese owned and I do believe they are cutting some corners on quality. Bottom line, save your money and go to a better place, you will thank me later!

I went to this little BYOB last night for dinner with three of my girlfriends. I arrived earlier than the others and the hostess was so pleasant and sat me before they got there and offered me fresh cucumber water. Overall our server was pleasant and friendly and didn’t rush us.
I had the super white tuna sashimi and philly roll. Both were fresh and delicious. One thing I noted about all my friends’ sushi rolls were that the centers with the fish were super thick so you actually were getting more «meat» than rice. Overall great rolls!
Lastly, I don’t know if this is their common practice or they were just feeling friendly, but they gave us a free appetizer (chicken egg rolls) and free dessert (caramel chocolate pieces).

My sister and I stopped here before seeing a show at Steppenwolf. The restaurant was clean, the wait staff were friendly and attentive, and the prices were good. The sushi was just ok. I liked some of my rolls more than others. I wouldn’t say I would never go back but I am not rushing to get there.

Probably one of the best lunch specials in Lincoln Park. Get the ROBATA — Set A. Awesome — grilled steak, pork and eggplant with rice, soup and mashed potatoes (kinda like potato salad) all for $ 10.95. I don’t rave over restaurants but this food is fantastic!

OK, I’ve been working in this neighborhood for a little over a year and have been looking for an alternative to the four places I go to too often. The boss suggested we take a walk over to Halsted and North under the L tacks and look for a Kebob place he knew of. Instead we found this place across the street from Steppenwolf and wow our new goto Place.
We both ordered the Robata A, maybe not expecting much and the waiter asked us to sit down and wait. A few minutes latter the Chef came out and handed us each a brown paper bag full of what I was to learn was nothing but Goodness.
On the walk back to the office, I was commenting on how heavy the bag was and thinking for $ 50 at Whole Foods the bag would weigh half as much. Hum ?
At the office the boss got started with the Miso soup and exclaimed how great it tasted, as if it was home made. I opened my bag and unpacked all the food and unwrapped the beef and pork. He was still going on about the soup. I took my fist bite and said this is «Fantastic «. We both couldn’t believe what we had found, a restaurant with in steps from the office with a chef that cares and get this «reasonably priced «in the heart of Lincoln Park no less.
We ate and ate and ate everything from the bag. The food, all of it, was fantastic. I won’t get into all the nuances of the texture of the food or the flavor, I’ll leave that up to the reader. From someone who has traveled to world over and over, this was a great find. I’ll be back and often. :) :) :)

Great place to go before the theatre and service was wonderful!
Red curry was on point– spicy enough to make your nose run but sweet enough to make you go back for more. Thai tea was a good balance of cream and tea.
Service– waitress offered a free dessert when one guest at our table didn’t like her dish as well as taking it off the bill. They even offered to hold our leftovers during the show! I was so impressed!
Would come back if visiting Chicago again

Went for Lunch on a Wednesday around noon, we were the only ones there. The hostess/​waitress greeted us… although I think she was the owner. We asked to sit in a booth near the window, but she unobligingly retorted «no I don’t feel like walking back and forth»… we sat and she gave us a menu. When she came back with the water, she quickly tried to scamper away but I had to stop her just to give her our appetizers order. She quickly turned and tried to jet again, and I had to stop her again to ask her for some sodas, again she was ready to bolt when I had to stop her to ask about the lunch specials. Which I am glad I did cause for $ 9.99 for 2 rolls (albeit slightly modest in size) and soup it was a steal despite the service up to this point. But the service was a nuisance, I mean just imagine every sentence or question someone is ready to run away… despite the restaurant being empty, not like she had anything to do! Ok so you get it… 1 star knocked off for service. Next up the food. The fried scallops we got as an appetizer came out in good time and was tasty, the batter was slightly heavy and slightly over fried imho. But was still good none the less and for 6 – 7 $ for 5 medium sized scallops, not bad and id consider getting them again… that is if i ever returned (the price is the only tempting part… but i’d still rather spend another 20 bucks and feast at Yuzu’s!). The waitress lady bussed our table in good order which I greatly appreciate and this was the case throughout the meal. Miso soup arrived soon after and it was pretty good. Shortly after, our sushi came: 2 negi hamachi rolls, spicy salmon roll, spicy scallops roll, and a bonus spider roll (which was not part of the lunch order special list of rolls). The seafood seemed fresh enough and was tasty, my issue that I take with the sushi in general was the seaweed seemed as if it was sitting out for a just a bit too long and may of been a tad bit too ripe. If you ever had old seaweed in any dish you would know it gets quite chewy and my jaw muscles got tired just eating this sushi. My last gripe with the sushi itself was with the spider roll, so thinly sliced that i could barely eat it with a fork as it was falling apart. I ordered this roll from the reviews I read on here and I have no clue what anyone is talking about as it was nothing special… at all. Ive saved the best for last… the hair in our sauce that decorates the plate. Disgusting. But we just didn’t dip anything in there so didn’t ruin our experience but i probably would of lost my lunch had I found that in my mouth with some food. We got our check, which was only $ 40 (not including gratuity) for the 2 lunch specials (2 rolls + Miso Soup), Spider roll, and Fried scallops app. Not bad at all for sushi, but I just wouldn’t go back.
I rather spend an extra 20 bucks and goto Yuzu or Kai sushi.
So in summation.
1 star off for service
1.5 stars off for the food, but in this case I rounded down because they do not get the benefit of the doubt in my mind.

everything is just ok. Come here for a quick dinner while waiting for my iPhone to be repaired in the Apple Store nearby

The food was excellent and the price was even better. It was nice to have a restaurant open late and not seem to rush the guests out. Even better they gave a free helping of shrimp egg rolls which delicious as well. Definitely recommend! (hint: the Fire Circle is to die for)

Came for Sunday lunch. Not busy. BYOB!
Décor — Dimmer light. Modern. Clean.
Had Maki rolls — quite good. Fresh!!! Had Philly, Spicy Shrimp, Spicy Tuna, Chuncky salmon, Shrimp Tempura, Maxican. Only one I didn’t care for was Maxican– needed a lil more flavor (maybe a spicy chipotle sauce).
Service– she was great! Smiles and frequent — yet not overbearing.
Parking was not the greatest but we did find a spot. Few theaters around here so would like to eat there before a show and check out the vibe then .
Lastly — bathrooms — downstairs and super
Clean!!! So important.

This place has really gone downhill since my first stellar reviews! They stopped giving the free appetizers or desserts, which is fine — but was a nice little treat to look forward to.
Most recently I ordered delivery including a salad (it’s only 4 blocks away but I hurt my ankle– hence the laziness). I paid $ 3 delivery plus a $ 2 tip. When the driver arrived he demanded for me to come down my 2 flights of stairs and abruptly hung up before I could ask him to come up.
When I went to open the package the salad was wilted and the lid was not secured, resulting in most of it spilling to the floor– being un-​eatable.
Def will not be offering delivery from here again

BYOB. Good value. Common dishes. Quality of dishes ‘may’ fluctuate depending on whose working in the kitchen and at the sushi bar.
CUP OF SHRIMP TOM YUM ($ 5) — 4 small shrimps. Perfect portion. Decent broth. I hate rough chop veggies and the Cook got lazy as 1 – 2 mushrooms were sliced and the rest are an entire button.
SPIDER MAKI ($ 8) — good price and portion. Invokes truth in stereotype that Thai-​owned sushi establishments are always doused in sauce.
VENUE — clean, organized, dark romantic with thomping dance music.
SERVICE — eager, decent as long as you don’t mind food check shove on table without checking for dessert.
I look forward to $ 7 lunch specials and test my food quality tolerance.

I like this place. For what it is — which is a hole in the wall, cheap, sushi/​Thai lunch spot — it’s pretty great compared to other options in Chitown. First of all, it’s almost always empty since most of their business seems to be conducted via delivery and take out. So if you’re looking for a quick and quiet spot to grab lunch during the weekday and not have to wait on a table, this place is perfect. It’s right off the red line, so I pretty much eat here whenever I have to venture in to Lincoln Park during lunch to run errands.
Their lunch specials are pretty awesome. I’ve had their robata as well as their basil stir fry and both are reasonably priced, a ton of food, and pretty tasty. The stir fry is not oily at all, a light sauce with a lot of flavor and fresh veggies. The robata was PLENTIFUL. Huge skewers, rice, salad, soup… I definitely couldn’t finish. I had their sushi once and that was also more than adequate.
I’d say Circle probably does Thai a little bit better than they do sushi when you take in the value. There are other sushi places around where you can get better quality for the same price. But it has become one of my favorite Thai places around due to the lack of oilyness and a somewhat more natural Thai flavor instead of being overtaken with soy sauce.
Side note: their tom yum soup is surprisingly one of the best ones I’ve had. packed with flavor and tons of vegetables. It comes with any of the Thai lunch specials and I highly recommend.
Service is quick, and I can be in and out in 30 minutes easy. Also, they take Amex, which is rare for these types of places and a nice perk.