Yoshi’s Cafe

We gave Yoshi’s another try, mostly because they graciously gave us a generous gift certificate to apologize for our last experience. They redeemed themselves completely. The ambiance in the back room was great and our server was knowledgeable and attentive. Everyone enjoyed their meals and the food was fresh and came out piping hot which I love as often restaurant food is lukewarm. The fluke was perfectly cooked and on a bed of delicious homemade pasta. We also enjoyed the desserts especially the Milk bar and the opera cake.
It is a statement to their quality how long this restaurant has been around and now I feel like we had a true Yoshis café experience. We will be back!

What a wonderful treat. Our first time here, we have wandered by for years and are truly sorry this was the first time we looked at the menu and went inside.
Excellent service, perfect food, and an exquisite presentation.
The Japanese Pumpkin Vegan option was as great as it can get!
Will be back. Sooner rather than later.

My boyfriend and I have been wanting to come here for a while and figured restaurant week was the perfect time to do so! Seriously delicious and perfect experience from start to finish. Great service, everything we ate was impeccable. I would recommend this place to anyone.

My partner and I had a wonderful dining experience… From the steak to
The Rosemary Chicken. it was superb. the Owner (female) was highly attentive. the cocktails were marginal. the waiter Paul had a lot to, be desired,
Aloof, cold, non personable and highly inattentive. the previous review of him
Is accurate. he was rushed, no communication. the African American busboy
Was excellent… He was far more attentive and PLEASANT than the waiter
Paul…Overall, the food is excellent… Service poor!

We had a birthday party in their semi-​private room and it couldn’t have been better. They created a family-​style menu for us and even made a custom cake. The food was uniformly amazing.

The food was good, it wasn’t great — doubtful if it was worth the price, but it was good. However, Paul, our waiter, did a terrible job of hiding his dissatisfaction at our party not all ordering drinks and only a handful ordering desert — not a «thank you» at any point in the ordering process, food delivery, etc. His nonverbals — he would drop the plates back onto the desert tray, his gruff warning that the plate was hot, etc. did not create a hospitable dining situation. This was my second, and final, time at Yoshi’s.

Yoshi’s is certainly top notch. For years we walked past this place and really paid not attention. That was our first mistake, the second being that we don’t go enough. Reservations at times can be challenging but that comes with the territory of really being the only restaurant of this kind in the area.
Service has always been spot on and the recommendations/​suggestions have never led us astray. I tend to be a steak person and I have not been disappointed. The portion sizes are appropriate where you feel satisfied without the need to be rolled down the street in a wheel barrow after.
It can be on the pricey side but the meal and service are well worth it.

I’m tempted to go there every day because I live very close.
I love their food and staff there are wonderful.

I came here with a group of friends to try the Thursday prix fixe menu. Although the menu is small, the choices are well thought out and offers up a decent meal, especially because the entrée I had initially wanted was on the menu. I ordered the salad, salmon, and apple tart. I do wish the dessert offerings were better for the prix fixe because the regular dessert tray is so appetizing, that I almost ordered a second dessert!
I have to say the service was a little slow getting our orders and bringing the various courses. We there there for a loooong time. Plus, the complimentary bread and (random) hummus came out with our first courses, rather than in the beginning when we were sat there waiting for forever. And the bread was just bread, nothing to dip it in, nothing to spread on it. The wine list is nice, but it is quite expensive, especially for such a small glass of it. We each only had one glass and the waiter seemed like he really wanted us to have more. Not for $ 11.50.
The salad was amazing. I’ve not had such a simple yet such a delicious salad like that. The lemon vinaigrette was the perfect complement to the fresh greens. My salmon was also delicious. I ordered it medium and it was cooked perfectly, and sat on a bed of polenta and tomato sauce. It was a light, yet thoroughly satisfying meal. My dessert of apple tart was also healthy-​seeming, as it was made of more apples than tart, and the dab of ice cream on top was small, yet flavorful. Nothing more was needed, in my opinion. I like feeling full, yet not stuffed with the guilt of the type of food I ate.

Service was great, place is very clean and beautiful. I ordered the Wagyu Burger for $ 17.99. At that price point, I expected a better hamburger. But it wasn’t bad. My only complaint is that the fries were gross. They were beneath the level of what you’d get from a cheap hotdog stand.

Had a wonderful meal again in Yoshis last night. The snapper is just excellent and the ambience superb. Started with two of the sushi plates and our waiter Dennis ensured the appletinis kept flowing. Finished with an espresso martini. For me Yoshis is like a home away from home :-)

OMG!!! Is all I can say! How have I not eaten here! I’ve live down the street from Yoshi’s for years!!! Tonight I Met some friends for a bday dinner. We started off with Tuna tartar & oyster shots…½ price bottle wines, we had 2 bottles, the soup: corn soup Yyyyuummmmmmmmyyyy!!! The into our entrees!!! I had their Rosemary Chicken-​DELISH!!! The bday boy had the 16oz steak, another had snapper & another had the Korean style steak salad… Everyone enjoyed their entrees… We all shared & tasted each dish. Our mouths & tummies were in HEAVEN! Dessert-​OMG OMG… I can’t even find words to describe how delicious it was!!! It’s pricy but worth every cent!!! Tuesday’s are ½ price Martinis, Wednesday’s ½ price bottled wine, Thursday’s the have a 3 course meal for $ 25.00!!! I will be a regular from here forth… I’m going back tom for more!!! BON APPETITE!!!

Quality food that’s great when someone else is paying for it.

Have wanted to go here for 25 years. Due to circumstances I was staying Lakeview for a week and Yoshi’s was in walking distance. Small but lively restaurant with a nice bar in front of kitchen. Sat at bar and Fernando the bartender was the best! ½ price martini night didn’t hurt either. Only had the tuna tartare, mushroom soup and and warm Brussel sprout salad but that was plenty and delicious. I can only imagine how good the entrees would be. I loved it.

Exceeded my expectations. Delicious and beautifully presented. Tuna tartar is amazing. The mushroom soup was the best I’ve ever had and desert was so tasty. The Korean steak salad was very yummy as well.

I went to Yoshi’s Café after hearing rave reviews from a friend of mine. What initially peaked my interest was that this restaurant has been around for 30+ years, which say quite a LOT for a restaurant in Chicago.
Well, it certainly shows! From initially placing my reservation to being seated at a comfortable corner table, service was fabulous from start to end. Everyone from the attentive, informative waiter to the busboy that continuously filled our water glasses and changed out place settings without being disruptive of conversation, demonstrated quality service in a restaurant that’s been in the business for a while.
The food itself was absolutely delicious! We started off with tuna tartar, which was the best I have ever had. The waiter told us that appetizer has been on the menu since the restaurant opened and it shows. I ordered the fish special, the black cod. This dish was so delectable and just melted in my mouth. It was easily one of the best fish dishes I have had in a while. It was cooked in a tomato-​based sauce, linguine, and vegetables.
My husband had the burger that we’ve heard so much about. His one word was: Amazing. It was described as a Wagyu beef burger with a fried green tomato, pickled vegetables, cheddar or brie cheese, and various other ingredients. It was huge and he gobbled it up, telling me it was easily one of the best burgers he’s had in a long time. It came with a side of truffle fries.
We were feeling adventurous and also tried dessert (although I don’t know how we managed!). We ordered the crème brule and had complimentary chocolate mousse as well. WOW. No words can really describe the juxtaposition of both amazing desserts.
Drinks were a wide selection of wines and a few unique martinis – yum!
PLUS Yoshi himself came and stopped by all the tables to see how the guests were enjoying their meals – if that is not service, I don’t know what is! What a great sign of a quality restaurant!
All in all, we DEFINETELY will be back! We had an amazing dinner that I am still thinking about now…

Cocktails were on half price which was cool (only $ 5!) but they weren’t really anything super special.
Service was welcoming and fast. I had the burger (with Brie) and fries. Was tasty but didn’t blow me away. The fries again, were good but nothing to write home about.
A solid choice and pretty cheap (all in came to $ 30) but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go there again.

Yoshi is a long running reliable restaurant with consistent high quality service and delicious food. They often change the selection on their menu but same great variety of choices for everyone — meat lover, weight watcher, vegan and etc. You won’t be disappointed.
I recommend their special menu, normal with seasonal ingredients. Give them a try!

My father has one rule for family food outings — he will not accompany us to Japanese places as he says «why would I pay someone to not cook fish for me?»…so…he takes an enlightened approach… thus, I was HIGHLY confused when he suggested we try Yoshi’s for din last night — I mean, yes, it’s actually mostly French/​American, with a kiss of Japanese inspiration, but I figured even that was enough to scare him off… but he met the señor Yoshi himself, who convinced him to try it, so we bundled into the car, and a-​dining-​we-​went.
Yoshi’s is a Chicago institution — I think it’s been open since the mid-​1980s, and given that 30y in the resto world is like a billion in human years, I was expecting it to be a bit tired, and while the dim lighting and fake flowers are a bit passé, overall, it doesn’t really matter b/​c the food has aged nicely. Rolled in on a Saturday night and the place was bustling — note, a) get a reservation, and b) if you’re going with anyone who is eligible for the senior discount at the movies, ask to be in the back room, which is a quiet respite from the slightly louder front section.
Started with tempura green beans, edamame, tuna tartare, and grilled calamari. Standout was the tartare — tuna was fresh and mild — and the bed of guac on which it was served was a cool, luscious complement — though if you’re not a «mush» texture person, make sure you load it onto one of the chips that accompanies it, or else you’ll think it’s gross. The yuzu/​sake/​jalapeño/​oyster shooter also on the plate was a bit random, but happily slurped by yours truly. Citrusy, spicy, salty. Yum.
Grilled calamari had a nice spring to it, but didn’t send me over the moon — the balsamic reduction needed more bite and my tentacles were a little overly charred, erring on gassy-​tasting. Other starters include a duck liver mousse, hibachi waygu, a few salads, and two obligatory maki rolls… though honestly it’s not a place I would order sushi. I’m sure the quality is good, it just seems forced.
For mains we went with the bouillabaisse (loup de mer, lobster, cherrystones in a miso butter broth), the skate wing/​trout special, and the black cod bento box (served w tofu, hoshimenji shroom rice, cinnamon-​y gobo, and miso kampyo) — Stevo loved his ‘baisse — and it was an effing monster of a plate — like two people could be happy with it — the fish in my bento box was flaky, moist perfection — and the gobo and kampyo were banging, though the rice and tofu were less flavorful/​successful — and my mama was suitably pleased with her skate and trout.
I sampled everything — and it’s interesting — the flavors that he puts in each dish are really more an amalgamation of Europe (beet beurre blanc, cornichons, etc), with the occasional nod to his country of birth (shiso micro greens, wasabi remoulade) — but it’s really not a Japanese place, which is okay — the food was great, the portions are huge, and the presentation is gorgeous in a 1997 way (carved veggies, etc) — somehow, all of these disparate parts come together and the meal was quite pleasant.
Save room for dessert — the chocolate mousse w berries was simultaneously light and decadent, as was the ubiquitous molten chocolate cake with espresso.
And, before I forget, service was ace — our waiter was the most lovely man — he’s been with Yoshi for 22y — and not only was his knowledge of the menu really helpful, it was pretty cute to see the real love they have for each other.
Ummmm din for 3 w/​hella apps, four glasses of wine, three entrees, and three desserts is… idk…pricey…I think you can drop $ 100/​pp here without even thinking abt it — though if you’re not throwing down for apps/​dessert, most entrees are around $ 30, so you could get away with doing it more cheaply — probably plan on at least $ 50/​pp, incl tax/​tip.

A friend recommended that we come here. It’s a cute little place on the corner of the streets. We sat outside on the patio.
They brought out bread with hummus and salsa, which is definitely a step up from the standard bread basket with butter. Both dips were great and the waiter even brought us more as we were finishing the dip.
I ordered the Roasted Japanese Kabocha Pumpkin. It’s completely vegan. The entrée actually was an entire pumpkin stuffed with vegetables. The apricot sauce was very unique and not too sweet or sour, which I liked. The pumpkin was the perfect texture — soft but not mushy.
I also ordered the Truffle French Fries. I know french fries aren’t hard to make but the truffle oil was super good.
They have a wide variety of desserts, which the waiter brings out on a platter to show you. They also offer espresso.
Tip: If you aren’t vegan or have any dietary restrictions, definitely go for the $ 24.99 prix fixe menu. It’s such a good price for a starter, entrée, and dessert!