Lips Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar

I love Lips. While I too am biased as it is in my hood, it is also the best sushi in my hood — and there is plenty of competition. The staff is pleasant and the drinks are great. My favorite was the night I went with two friends — the guys at the sushi bar told us to tell them what we liked and didn’t like and they would put together a platter for us — it was one of the best most memorable sushi experiences I’ve had.
The sushi at Lips is great. I LOVE the Sundae roll. The sushi is very fresh. The temperature is always cold. I have been many times and have never had bad sushi there. I have been with many people, and they’ve all wanted to go back afterwards.
So for a hidden neighborhood gem, I highly recommend Lips. I don’t think it’s open right now, but I’m looking forward to going again.

Tried Lips after purchasing a Groupon and was very pleased with the deal.
I loved everything we ordered except the spider roll. Godzilla roll was the bomb as well as the Sundae roll – the sushi was very fresh. Oh, and the seaweed salad and fried rice were both great as well! Service was a bit slow, as some of the negative reviews detail – but acceptable. They had nice outdoor seating, although we sat inside.
Sushi was all very good – this place isn’t super close to my house, so we probably won’t be back much, but definitely a good meal!

We had a perfectly fine time here. It was dead on a Sunday evening. We got seated right away, and the server was very friendly.
The pan fried dumplings were a delicious start. The Rainbow and Philadelphia rolls were as tasty as I have had from other businesses.
With so many choices out there, I would not go out of my way to come here, but it is a good choice if you’re in the area.

Went here with 2 friends. I ordered the salmon teriyaki, my friends ordered the chicken pad thai and the other ordered tofu pad thai and a crunchy maki for us to split. Let me start off with the good. My salmon teriyaki was good. Big portion, the skin was left on the bottom so it was nice and crisp, and it wasn’t dried out. It came with rice and some onions and asparagus and was only $ 16. My friends kept trying my dish and saying that their dish was just average and that they had better. The crunchy maki was good too but nothing special.
Now for the bad, and that was service. We had our orders taken right away however it took them at least 30 minutes or more to come out. My dish and the tofu pad thai were the first ones to come out and the chicken pad thai came out 5 – 6 minutes after. It was not a busy night either. There were maybe 4 tables including us sitting outside, none were inside and it seemed that other tables were annoyed at the food wait also.
In conclusion, I would probably eat there again if I’m around that area, but I would keep in mind that the service is slow and I would stick with ordering the salmon teriyaki again.

I should point out my biased love for Lips since it is in my ‘hood. Actually, it is practically in my apartment as it approx 10 ten steps from my building. We get take-​out every week or two lately, and we probably eat in once every couple of months just to switch it up. I will say that there is another sushi place just a block away — Sushi Mura -(let’s say 15 steps from our apartment) that we used to frequent more… but for past few months it’s been Lips all the way.
Reasons why Lips has become our go-​to:
1. their Spicy Tuna rolls — sooo much better than other in the neighborhood… and better than most I’ve had thus far in the city for that matter. Unlike tiny spicy tuna rolls with seaweed on the outside, rice, and a small spicy tuna center, there are plenty big and stuffed with tuna, rolled in seaweed and rice on the ouside as it should be. Plus they very perfectly chop up the tuna with the spicy mayo.
2. online ordering! We order online and pick it up within 20 – 30 mins.
3. FREE spicy tuna roll with $ 20 purchase when you order online. This should really be my #1 reason!
4. They give us containers of eel sauce and spicy mayo for free everytime we get takeout. Not sure if this is standard or if we’re just special
The prices for regular rolls are good ($ 4 – 6), but some of the specialtly rolls are pretty overpriced ($ 14). This is on par with the other sushi joints in the area and around town, though. Sometimes we just load up on the basics to get more for less $ (Spicy tuna, shrimp tempura — which is drizzled in eel sauce btw, philly roll, maybe the aslaskan with salmon/​avocado, or hamachi.)
Fav specialty rolls:
–Godzilla — double shrimp tempura, avocado, cream cheese, masago, green onion, spicy mayo & topped w tempura crunch ($ 14)
–King Crab Asparagus — king crab&asparagus, cucumber, avocado, — tempura fried! topped w eel sauce and wasabi mayo ($ 10)
–Sundae — California roll covered with tuna, avocado, topped w black tobiko & wasabi mayo. ($ 12)
misc: miso soup is good and generous portions, veggie/​shrimp tempura app is fab!, crab rangoon dip w wonton chips is good but heavy… noodle dishes are good but small portions.

I really love this place. For the same price as most other sushi places in the city, you get a lot more variety, it’s byob and they always have $ 3 sake bombs, which is a great deal!
I like everything I’ve tried, but my personal favorite maki rolls (and the reason I keep coming back all the time) are the Hawaiian roll, the Strawberry maki and the White Tiger (my personal fave).

I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I kind of liked this little Chicago Sushi restaurant. Is the ambiance and setting as ornate as Tsunami Sushi, downtown? Probably not. Having said that, I thought Lips has very fresh, well prepared Sushi rolls and the service was nice.
We stopped by Lips a week after the Great Chicago Blizzard of 2011, so the weather was cold and the restaurant was pretty empty. Once inside, I was smitten by the dark room, with colorful artwork on the walls. At the bar, two young Asian women were having a drink while surfing the Internet. Perhaps the restaurant has WIFI, but I’m not sure.
We were seated near the wall, underneath the colossal lips montage. The tables are a bit close together, with bench seating against the wall, with wooden chairs on the other side of the table.
A very nice waitress promptly came over and asked us if we wanted drinks, and took our order. I will say that the service was a bit slow, but perhaps that was because there was only one waitress on the floor on such a slow night.
We are big sushi roll fans, so we opted for the rainbow and Hawaiian roll. Oh yes, we also ordered the edamame as an appetizer. Within minuets, our server brought out the edamame, which was warm and quite fresh.
The sushi itself was very good. I thought the pieces were artfully put together and the taste was a good as any other Sushi bar I’ve been to in Chicago.
We did not use a Groupon voucher or any other kind of on line discount to pay the bill. The bill was about somewhere around $ 40 dollars, which included three rolls, two non alcoholic beverages and the appetizer.

It’s after 11:00, we’re in Lakeview, and craving sushi. Then we remember we have a gift certificate for some place called «Lips» and vaguely remember them having late hours. After calling to confirm they were indeed open late, we giddily headed towards the restaurant. And so begins our evening of bleh…
While my guy looked for parking I headed into the restaurant to get a table. I walk up to what appears to be a hostess station and feel as though I’m crashing an employee party at the bar. Finally one of the gals looks up from her drink and asks me if I need a table. Biting back sarcasm, I nod and am seated by a young man that appears annoyed by my presence.
We sit for a while and are finally approached by a server who quickly takes our drink orders and rushes off. After returning with some hot tea and water we are able ask a question. We wanted to make sure the items labeled as «king crab» were not imitation crab as we had previously experienced at multiple sushi restaurants. With a combined air of annoyance and arrogance she replied that, «if it says king crab it’s king crab. If it says imitation crab, it’s imitation crab.» Jeez. Sorry for asking sister.
The meal…
We ordered the tuna tartar and 2 pieces of king crab (kani) nigiri. The tuna tartar is presented in a martini glass that is filled with shredded beet. Unfortunately there was zero ponzu sauce on the tuna and avocado because it was all at the bottom of the glass with the icky beets. We had to order a side of the sauce (to the annoyance of the waitress) and while we were waiting we picked out a disappointingly small portion of tuna and avocado. The dish was at least 75% beets (and note the menu mentioned NOTHING about the horrible beets). Unfortunately the beet flavor penetrated the delicate flavor of the tuna. A major failure. The kani was mediocre. The pieces themselves were decently sized, but the meat was a bit flavorless and on the dry side.
Anecdotal interjection… as we’re eating our appetizers we notice the only other table of patrons becoming more and more agitated. One of them finally storms over to the staff bar party and comes back with some sweeteners. I’m totally jealous. Not only did I need a refill of my tea, but I had to fish-​out a crumpled Splenda packet from my purse.
Back to the meal…
We ordered the King Crab Asparagus Roll, Shrimp Tempura Maki and the Boston Maki. In terms of flavor the rolls were fairly decent. Nothing amazing, but fresh enough (we’ve had some pretty scary sushi experiences). The issue came with trying to chew the rolls. The nori was so chewy it was as though our rolls were wrapped in rubber bands. It wasn’t just bad… it was inedible.
Our no-​where-​to-​be-​found waitress finally appears and I attempt to explain the nori issue. Apology? Nope. I got the «hmm, I don’t know why. We haven’t had any complaints.» Really? The nori could outlast chewing gum and you’re going to blow me off? Oh, and I never got that refill on my hot tea.
Weird staff + weird service + weird food + weird atmosphere = 1 star.

It’s just OK. The prices are great and the atmosphere is good. The sushi just wasn’t as good as other spots in the area. Don’t get me wrong it’s not bad… Just not great. BYOB really helps though. Maybe a nice spot to try if you’re on a budget and craving sushi.

We just moved to Chicago and live about a block away from this place, so I really wanted to like it. But this was honestly one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve had in awhile. I can’t figure out why this place has so many great reviews… we were so disappointed that we actually went out in search of bar food after our dinner here.
First, we had their spring roll appetizer which was beyond terrible, practically sacrilegious for anyone who’s a true spring roll connoisseur. It was an un-​fried roll filled with «grossness and failure» according to my boyfriend. To top it off they added thinly sliced egg and drizzled a sickeningly sweet mango sauce. Gross. Epic Failure.
The sushi was not much better. We ordered a spicy shrimp tempera roll and one of their specialty rolls, the White Tiger roll. The shrimp roll was average but the specialty roll was poorly conceived and not well executed. The inside of the roll needed something to give it some texture, it was all mush and not very fresh tasting. For $ 13 a roll I expect good quality sushi. Not muddled flavors.
It’s possible I would go back in to try some of their hot dishes, but not very likely. At least it was BYOB…

I went for dinner last week and was happy with my experience. The specialty rolls were AWESOME, whereas the basic rolls were just okay, but I guess you get what you pay for. They had a good beer selection, and I guess Tuesday was 5.00 martini day, which explained why there were more drinkers than eaters in the restaurant when we arrived. I also had the Miso soup and Edamame which were both average, nothing too notable, and the Seaweed salad which was incredible. I will probably skip the other items and have two of those next time along with some specialty rolls.
Either way, I was overall happy with the restaurant and will likely be returning. I also love that its close to the Music Box Theatre, great spot to grab a bite before a show!

I liked this neighborhood sushi place in the Southport corridor. We went with some friends who live nearby, and the staff recognized them immediately and made us all feel welcome. The food mixed some nice flavors and filled me up.
There’s a lot on the menu ranging from special sushi rolls to cooked rice and noodle dishes to lamb. I’m concerned that the restaurant may have too much on the menu to do it all well, so I’d like to see them focus more narrowly on sushi and a few asian dishes to make sure its always fresh. They had also run out of dessert … which can also happen when you have a long menu.

This place is what I’d expect if McD’s served sushi.
My friend and I went there on a random night. Both of us were so hungry that we would have eaten anything. The first few bites were just satisfactory enough to satiate the need to continue living. After we realized that we weren’t going to die from starvation, we started to actually taste the sushi and it was bad. I really wanted to like this place but there was nothing to like about it. The service was really very slow and there was no one else in there and one sushi chef. (wtf?) The décor is so weird. I expected lips to be part of the décor but they are like inappropriately sensual — almost sexual — lips on the wall. A few of them have something dark on them — it looks like they dipped their lips in an ashtray. Gross.
I will not be returning.

Ordered carry-​out from here last night and was underwhelmed. It’s not that the sushi was bad, it just wasn’t great. I’m of the mindset that anywhere you go in Chicago for sushi is going to be pretty much the same as far as quality and taste is concerned. This place, I don’t think that I would order from again. The spicy tuna was as to be expected but the Drunken roll that I ordered just didn’t do it for me. The miso was tasty and had a lot of seaweed (which i liked) but not much tofu.
To sum up — there are plenty of other sushi options and I’m gonna stick to those.

I really wanted to like Lips. Really, I did. The sushi place I liked in my neighborhood closed down, and I liked their prices and selection. Unfortunately, I will never go back.
I arrived at 6:30 on a Thursday night (½ priced wine). I was the only person there until my friend arrived 5 minutes later. The ambiance was not so good. It was way too warm in the restaurant, and there was no air flow, so it was really stuffy. We had to ask the waitress to turn up the air. She said she would, but it didn’t feel much different in there. The music was a weird mix of techno and pop alternating back and forth. I ordered a martini off the menu, and the waitress had to tell the bartender what was in it. It showed when I got the drink. Not very good. I switched to wine after that.
We ordered a few maki rolls, which weren’t rolled very well. They fell apart on us, making it difficult to eat. The fish didn’t taste bad though, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt.
That is, until 2:30am when I woke up feeling horrible and burping up the taste of sushi. My stomach was not happy with me. So, I went and laid on the bathroom floor hoping I would pass out or throw up so my stomach would settle. I didn’t end up getting sick, but I’ll never go back to Lips. Ever.

So, it’s been a year since my last review here, and I must say, it still kicks ass. Great rolls! Fresh, tasty, good sushi. The service is excellent.
Give this place a try. No better place in Chicago. As good, maybe, but not better!

Do not discriminate based on the name. Yes, there are giant lips on the walls, but for the right price I can look past that. Loved it because I was able to make a last minute reservation for a group of 7 on a Friday night (Coast, I’m looking at you). It’s BYOB, which automatically makes me happy, AND only a $ 2 corkage fee for the entire table!
We tried a good amount rolls and everything was delicious. A nice variety of traditional and unique specialty rolls that were a hit with the group. I’ll give the Hawaiian role (unagi, avocado, macadamia nuts and mango) a special shout out. The prices are great, reasonably priced specialty roles. I’d give it 5 stars, but for me that would be putting it on par with Kaze, which it was not.

My boyfriend and I always drive by here. I always thought they’re name and they’re logo were intriguing. I Just love the logo-​design (since I’m a graphic designer). On Valentines day (last night), My boyfriend took me here. It’s really am amazing restaurant, It’s designed very well. The staff are all extremely friendly. Since they were so busy we were sat in the back where all the lips photos are hung on the wall. We ordered Miso Soup, Some Rolls for each of us, Saki, and a Valentines Martini, Which I don’t remember what was in it exactly i remember yogurt peach snaps and vodka in other-​words it was excellent. The Miso Soup was extremely good. The rolls were perfect usually places I’ve been if you go when they’re busy the rolls are always falling apart, these were perfection. They had all of they’re rice colored pink in honor of valentines day. Food on a Scale from 1 – 10 was about a 9.
Definitely a place we will be returning to.

The new sushi restaurant named Lips? The name alone was too intriguing to pass up. Making a reservation was our first plus, considering they were turning people away because of the extensive reservation list. Grace, our server, recommended some delectable rolls, including the White Tiger and Strawberry. Both excellent. My recommendation would be the Crab Cake appetizer. I savored every bite.
Everything we tried was so fresh, which is difficult to find in the Midwest. Definitely worth the price. Rolls range from $ 5 – 14. Martinis (at least on the Saturday we were there) were only $ 5! To sum it, great service, wonderful sushi, cozy atmosphere. I know I will be back, sooner rather than later.

Lips??? Hmm, I still don’t get it. In fact, I almost didn’t come here just because of the name. If you can get over the name of this place, you’ll be in store for some pretty average sushi.
We just wanted a light dinner so we went straight to the maki and picked out 3 at random: Spicy Bullet, Hawaiian, & Sundae.
Their presentation was beautiful! The maki rolls were all arranged on a gorgeous platter. However, for the price (I think they all range from $ 5 – 14) I don’t feel they stood out from all the other sushi restaurants out there quite honestly.
But, here is what makes it worth going: $ 5 martini special. Everyday (!!!) Sure it’s not Grey Goose vodka… and they aren’t strong either, but for $ 5 you can’t be too picky ;)
I do want to come back & try some other dishes (like their lamb) and also their appetizers sounded pretty good, too. If anything, I’ll have another pear martini.