Sushi Para, Palatine [& Chicago]

Anyone ever been here or heard anything about it? A friend of ours goes there often and loves it. It's all you can eat, which makes me a little concerned, but if he's never gotten sick I trust it. He wants to take us there in a couple weeks, so any information on it would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sushi Para
1268 E Dundee Rd
Palatine, IL 60074
(847) 202-9922

I've eaten here twice, maybe thrice, only b/c it's a long commute from the city; Incidentally I ate here first prior to their opening of Sushi Para II located on Clark St.

At the time, I thought it was a fabulous find; Fair all-you-can-eat offerings.

We patronized Sushi Para II twice immediately after it opened, but stopped going fairly early since it is often over-run by DePaul students.

Dinner's a better deal than lunch b/c of the offerings available for only a few bucks more. We used to like the spider roll (sans unagi sauce - it can be rather cloying when drenched) and spicy tuna. The nigiri selection is small, but they DO include hamachi - beware that the rice base is huge; I feel more so at Palatine Sushi Para vs Para II (although both will make you eat tons of rice).

Incidentally, I'd go with the maki as they seem to have less rice than the nigiri, AND the fish used for the maki are the same pieces as their nigiri (they actually "chop" the sashimi pieces down) vs "fish" scrapings; At least this is the case at the Sushi Para II (we sat at the bar and watched the chefs work).

This place is owned/run by mainland Chinese. The wait for food is excessive (also another reason why we don't go anymore) even though their chefs are working at light speed; I'd recommend ordering a full platter with your first order.

The gyoza are machine-made pre-frozen stock and not worth ordering.

P.S. - Be careful of counting how many pieces each "roll" comes with before ordering; I had friends who made the mistake of ordering the Fashion Roll which I believe comes with a mind-numbing 12 pieces - can be quite a chore to choke down 12 pieces that you don't like. They will charge you for any pieces you leave behind.

I went once and likely wont be back.

FYI -- The whole issue of charging you for any extra food left on your plate... It is not legal. I would just order what you want, as they advertise as all you can eat. When the bill comes if they try to charge you for extra, just pay the normal all you can eat amount plus tax and tip and tell them to feel free to call the police if they want to collect more money from you.

/obligatory mention that although I am an attorney, this is not legal advice etc...

We go to Tianlai Chinese market directly next door all the time. Was wondering about Sushi Para. I guess i know now.

abe_froeman wrote:Anyone ever been here or heard anything about it? A friend of ours goes there often and loves it. It's all you can eat, which makes me a little concerned, but if he's never gotten sick I trust it. He wants to take us there in a couple weeks, so any information on it would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sushi Para
1268 E Dundee Rd
Palatine, IL 60074
(847) 202-9922

I've been here twice and thought it very good. Fresh Fish. However, the service was slow, so plan on that.

Some members of my extended family go here about every 8 weeks and swear by the hand rolls. However, they LOVE leisurely lunches and can offird to spend 2 hours at lunch.

I'm guessing that this Sushi Para is the predecessor to one of my favorite sushi places Sushi Para II. I can't speak of Sushi Para, but Sushi Para II's all you can eat offer is really a great value. All the sushi is made to order and is generally pretty tasty. I am the type who can eat a great deal of sushi, so for me this place is a wonderful alternative to more expensive sushi restaurants. If Sushi Para is as good as Sushi Para II your dinner will be money well spent.

Sushi Para II
2256 N. Clark, Chicago
Tel: (773) 477-3219

I've been there a whole bunch of times, it's delicious usually... just a side note, we went and had something like 20 leftover pieces and figured we would pay a fortune for "not eating" them... but they only charged us $7 extra.... so it's not as big of a deal as one might think... plus you can always ask for extra napkins if you want to get crazy and throw some smushed up rolls into your purse=)

I ordered Sushi Para 2 for the first time a few weeks ago. It was inedible. I'm not sure what I was thinking -- they have a sushi buffet! I don't advocate spending a fortune at trendy sushi spots, but the other extreme is worse.

Try Green Tea instead. It's right down the street. Or Toro, a few blocks north.

lk wrote:I've been there a whole bunch of times, it's delicious usually... just a side note, we went and had something like 20 leftover pieces and figured we would pay a fortune for "not eating" them... but they only charged us $7 extra.... so it's not as big of a deal as one might think... plus you can always ask for extra napkins if you want to get crazy and throw some smushed up rolls into your purse=)

Maybe I'll just bring a ziploc bag! What a crazy policy. Anything to scam a few extra bucks, I guess.

Thanks for the info everyone!

abe_froeman wrote:

lk wrote:I've been there a whole bunch of times, it's delicious usually... just a side note, we went and had something like 20 leftover pieces and figured we would pay a fortune for "not eating" them... but they only charged us $7 extra.... so it's not as big of a deal as one might think... plus you can always ask for extra napkins if you want to get crazy and throw some smushed up rolls into your purse=)

Maybe I'll just bring a ziploc bag! What a crazy policy. Anything to scam a few extra bucks, I guess.

I think "scam" is a little harsh, and since it's such a small amount, it obviously isn't about the couple extra dollars. I'm sure it's intended purely as a deterrent to people who are only going to eat six pieces but build a massive platter of 50, which I'm sure happens all the time. I kinda feel like that's what you're getting into with the all-you-can-eat business and the additional charge is tacky, but I'm sympathetic to the owners. It has to be frustrating to see so much waste, even divorced from the monetary loss involved.

abe_froeman wrote:Maybe I'll just bring a ziploc bag! What a crazy policy. Anything to scam a few extra bucks, I guess.

And here I always thought the motive behind the rule was altruistic. Basically, encouraging the diner not to needlessly waste such a dwindling resource as fish.

It does lead to some confusion, though. The first time I went there, my companion didn't realize that you could order the sushi gradually throughout the meal, and instead ordered an obscene amount all at once, trying to find the sweet spot between getting your money's worth and paying the penalty. He overdid it.

Tortfeasor wrote:
FYI -- The whole issue of charging you for any extra food left on your plate... It is not legal. I would just order what you want, as they advertise as all you can eat. When the bill comes if they try to charge you for extra, just pay the normal all you can eat amount plus tax and tip and tell them to feel free to call the police if they want to collect more money from you.

/obligatory mention that although I am an attorney, this is not legal advice etc...

I am also not an attorney, but I believe if they say there is a charge for leftover food, then they can charge it.

Tortfeasor wrote:The whole issue of charging you for any extra food left on your plate... It is not legal. I would just order what you want, as they advertise as all you can eat.

I believe a precedent can be found in Simpson vs. Captain McAlister of The Frying Dutchman Restaurant.

After I found sushi para 2 I have a hard time going anywhere else. Usually when I go I eat about 20 pieces of salmon nigiri, and one order of edamame, and smile as I realize that this at any other sushi joint would be 45$+

I don't have any motivation to go anywhere else because the fish is fresh and although there is alot of rice I don't really mind when the salmon thickness per slice is more than resonable for an all u can eat sushi joint. (compared with for instance todai) Anyhow due to my simplistic sushi tastes, (salmon nigiri and maybe a few tuna) there is no need for me to go anywhere else.

Betsy wrote:

Tortfeasor wrote:The whole issue of charging you for any extra food left on your plate... It is not legal. I would just order what you want, as they advertise as all you can eat.

I believe a precedent can be found in Simpson vs. Captain McAlister of The Frying Dutchman Restaurant.

"Tis not a man, tis a remorseless eating machine!"

Yeah, do they warn you somewhere that they charge you for uneaten food? I guess in that case it would be legal, dontcha think?

dudefella wrote:I am also not an attorney, but I believe if they say there is a charge for leftover food, then they can charge it.

Let me check the date on my ARDC card ... OK, yes, I am still a lawyer. And so, here's my lawerly 1/50th a buck's worth: I agree with dudefella that if they inform you what is the deal before you sit down to partak, namely that you pay extra for pieces you don't eat, and you sit down and partake, then you have a contract, just like they taught me at Ye Olde Lawe Schoole of DePaule: Offer + Acceptance + Consideration - Illegality = Enforceable Contract. So far as I know, there's nothing illegal about a condition in a contract for food purchase requiring consumption of said food. Maybe annoying or small-minded, but not illegal.

I tried Sushi Para after a visit to Tianlai. My friend and I just had dumplings and shrimp shu mai, but they were wonderful -- especially the shu mai. It's been a while since I had this treat, so I don't know if it's really great at Sushi Para, or if it just tasted good after a long absence. But I left wanting to learn how to make it.

I will say that it was interesting to note that my friend and I were just about the only women in there. The place was absolutely packed with young Asian men -- all there for the all-you-can-eat sushi, and it was being dished out in vast quantities, I must say.

Another reason for the rule that you finish what you order at many all-you-can-eat sushi places is for those unscrupulous individuals who decide all-you-can-eat sushi for <$20 is equal to all-you-can-eat-sashimi by leaving behind all the rice pieces.

I've always been disgusted when I see people do this.

The real question is, what would be the reaction of a Chicago police officer summoned to arrest someone for failure to pay extra for uneaten sushi?

Yesterday, my friend brought me for lunch to Para on Dundee. We were a little late, about 1:20, so there was no wait.

I thought it was pretty good. We did NOT do the all you can eat but instead chose a lunch special of 3 rolls and 2 pcs sushi. You get to choose what you want, both on the individual pieces and the rolls, which is different than many (suburuban) spots at lunchtime where they usually give you a cucumber roll as part of their "specials."

There is a lot of rice on the rolls, but they were definitely full sized and loaded with fish. Not sure the tuna was the best I ever had, but I will say there was a LARGE quantity in that roll. I really liked their spicy mayo. I didn't care for the dressing on the salad, (salad is $1 additional, as are a few other things) too salty while I usually prefer more ginger, and it wasn't a great portion.

I did like that you can choose whatever you want from the list. Much higher quality than Todai though you obviously don't have the dessert and hot food options. I will definitely go back.

My brothers and I had a great time at Sushi Para, Palatine tonight! $17.99 all you can eat is a great deal for people like us who can put down a lot of food lol They offer a pretty wide selection of appetizers, nigiri, and maki, but the three of us stuck with maki because it seems that the nigiri comes with more rice than the rolls. My favorite rolls were the Michigan roll (spicy tuna and tempura crunch inside with orange tobiko outside) and the Volcano roll (spicy yellowtail, spicy tuna, and spicy salmon inside with orange tobiko and chili sauce on the outside). The rolls came with a lot of fish and not too much rice. My brothers and I thought the fish on all the rolls (i.e., also on rolls where it didn't come chopped up such as the rainbow roll) were very fresh! I also liked how the Michigan, Volcano, spicy tuna, and spicy salmon rolls didn't come with the cucumber and avocado filler. Other rolls we demolished: eel, spider, shrimp tempura, American Dream roll (shrimp tempura, tobiko, cucumber, eel, and avocado), Mountain roll (avocado and cucumber inside and tuna outside topped with Chef's spicy sauce), Pop Up roll (spicy salmon, crab, shrimp, cucumber, avocado with tempura crunch and tobiko outside). We walked in at 7pm tonight (Friday), and the place was near capacity but we got a table immediately. You can order multiple rounds and for each of the three rounds, we never waited long. Although this place isn't on the same level as Kuni's or Katsu, if you have a craving for maki (especially spicy salmon or spicy tuna!), you should try here lol now I need to drink some tea and digest...

I don't know what took me so long to get to Sushi Para. A suspicion that all-you-can-eat sushi couldn't possibly be any good? But it was! Perhaps not the most brilliant I've ever eaten, but perfectly good, very fresh tasting and made to order. For $18.99.

Three of us devoured the platterful above and another just as large at the Lincoln Park location. They also have one in Bucktown and a fourth spot called Sushi Sai in the Loop (costs a bit more there, our waitress said).

The salmon was especially notable, silky and wonderfully flavorful. We also tried several salads and appetizers (included in the price). The gyoza were unremarkable, but the sunomono was superb.

http://www.sushiparachicago.com