Nine Japanese restaurants and shops in Chicago that offer a true taste of Japan

Okonomiyaki—savory cabbage pancakes made with meat and veggies, sometimes called “Japanese pizza” due to their customizable toppings—are the star at this West Loop spot. This comfort food is served with your choice of proteins (including octopus with honey chili gastrique, hot smoked salmon belly, 21-day dry-aged slow-cooked beef and more), then topped with Osaka-style add-ons like cheese, egg and spicy mayo. Flavorful dashi, aonori and nagaimo round out the traditional flavors, but okonomiyaki pancakes are designed to be endlessly customized. Dream up your own or try the chef’s flight of three mini pancakes, which pair perfectly with the sake flight.

This restaurant showcases some of the Japanese influence on Filipino cooking, featuring Japanese ingredients including shio kombu (salted kelp made with soy sauce, mirin and sugar) in their tuna kinilaw. They also use fresh yakisoba noodles in their Bam-I, a Filipino stir fry made with meat and veggies. Named for Cebu, a Filipino island perhaps best known for its crispy roast pork, the meat-heavy menu is one of the few in the nation to showcase the island’s flavors. Save room for Cebu’s Halo-Halo, shaved ice made with sweetened condensed milk and served with ube jam, palm sugar jelly and jackfruit.

With only six seats and three seatings every night (at 5, 7 and 9pm), this Michelin-starred omakase restaurant’s reservations go faster than you can say “I leave it up to you.” Put your full trust in Chef Park, whose 16-course tasting menu changes daily, depending on the season, what’s available at the market and his changing whims. If you score a table, expect appetizers, dessert and a showcase of the very freshest fish tailored to your individual preferences. A night might include king salmon, abalone, mackerel and more. No matter what’s on the menu, Chef Park plays with temperature, knife skills and seasoning to create an unforgettable meal.

Izakaya, a traditional style of Japanese restaurant that feels like a cozy, casual pub, literally translates to “stay-drink-place.” With a relaxed vibe, good drinks and small dishes made for sharing, TenGoku is a restaurant that invites you to catch up with family and friends. Choose snacks from their extensive menu including fried Karaage chicken; comforting bowls of ramen; kushiyaki skewers made from chicken tsukune meatballs, kimchi pork belly, unagi and more; and a rotating array of the chef’s choice from the sushi bar. Pair it all with sake—bottles of sweet, sparkly Nigori and smooth Daiginjo shine—and stay a while.

At this intimate 12-seat restaurant, Korean ingredients combine with Japanese technique for an innovative “beef omakase” experience. By approaching the diverse flavors, textures and cuts of beef as if they were an array of fish, the rich heritage of both popular and lesser-known beef dishes are celebrated. Instead of traditional Korean banchan, you’ll find small dishes that complement each of the courses served; on the menu, you may find yukhue, seasoned raw beef served with egg, along with yukpo, a dried beef snack; tenderloin; rib eye; rib cap, tteokgalbi short rib patties; beef bone gomtang soup; wagyu sukiyaki and more.

This mom-and-pop shop specializes in Japanese snacks, craft beer, wine and sake—and you can sit and sip your selections at one of their casual tables. Everything is sold individually, so you don’t need to commit to a 4- or 6-pack to find your new favorite drink. Owner Jun-Jun Vichaikul, a certified sake professional, curates the award-winning collection of sake and Japanese wine. He also has an extensive assortment of Japanese whisky, gin, shochu, Okinawan awamori and more. They host pop-ups for Asian-American small businesses, so you never know what you’ll find when you step inside.

Tea sommelier Agnieszka Rapacz visited Japan on a tea-tasting mission five years ago. There, she fell in love with Japanese teas, brought them back to her Chicago shop and the rest is history. At her award-winning teashop, she offers authentic Japanese teaware and organic teas from Japan. Matcha lovers will find the green stuff with both sweet and savory notes, and her best-selling loose leaf sencha or shade-grown, umami-forward gyokuro sourced directly from Japanese tea growers might be your new favorite way to wake up in the morning.

ICHI’s fast-casual Japanese menu offers ramen with homemade broth, donburi rice or salad bowls, bao and more. Run by two moms, the food is inspired by what they cook for their families: comforting, satisfying and healthy meals, using the same ingredients they use in their own homes. Everything is designed to be customized, so you can choose your ramen base (spicy chicken, tonkotsu pork or veggie miso), and then pair it with your favorite protein. Their donburi bowls come with white rice, brown rice or salad and can be customized with toppings including pork chashu, beef yakiniku and tofu with veggies.

Onigiri, filled rice balls wrapped in seaweed, are a staple food with deep roots in the Japanese culinary tradition. It’s found in convenience stores all over Japan, evoking nostalgia as a homemade snack packed with love by mom. Onigiri Kororin is bringing those memories to Chicago, where they stuff their onigiri with grilled yuzu salmon, black garlic and miso tofu, spicy chipotle tuna mayo and more. After starting as a pandemic-era delivery-only brand, they have expanded to serve their onigiri from stands in farmer’s markets and music festivals, catering, and onigiri-making classes where you can learn to cook rice to perfection and form the iconic shape of the rice ball like a pro.