Kyu Sushi

Living in what another LTH Forum poster called "the sushi desert that is West Town," I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Kyu Sushi last year, to complement our two Butterfly locations as a nearby sushi option. I've only eaten there twice, takeout both times, and both times have been...underwhelming.

The rolls are very small, explaining why they are so cheap. The menu is filled with "experimental" saucy, mayo-y, cream cheesy, fruity, fried maki rolls. I'm not a snob--I'll eat these too, but I like more basic fare. I've tried a fair selection of nigiri (sake, escolar, hamachi, unagi) and some regular maki (unagi w/ cucumber; Alaskan; spicy shrimp)--and, like I said, it was underwhelming. The nigiri was fine--by no means the freshest or best pieces but not fishy or bad either. The rolls were small and mostly rice and, really, nothing I'd order again. To be fair, the second time I went was shortly after their Groupon deal, and the place was noticeably slammed--they kept me waiting an extra 20 minutes after I got there 15 minutes later than my pickup time, without so much as an apology. Good for them to be busy, but maybe recognize those people you're keeping waiting too. I do really like their gyoza--the two homemade sauces (I'm assuming) are great, especially the creamy wasabi concoction.

As a fledgling restaurant, I'm more than willing to let them iron out bumps if it means they'll turn into a good sushi option in the WT hood. I suppose I'm just seeing if others have had similar experiences, or if mine were an anomaly and I should give them another shot...

Kyu Sushi
939 North Ashland Avenue
Chicago, IL‎
(773) 772-5985‎
http://kyusushi.com/