Friends Sushi

These guys are the best. I’ve never been to the restaurant, only ordered online.
Their miso soup is warm and comforting, I love their spicy tuna roll (simple and delicious), their creamy spicy tuna has tempura on it, and is just what it says it is, creamy and fantastic
The delivery time always says 60 minutes online, but I’ve never waited more than 45, even on busy nights. Give them in a try!

Excellent sushi, very reasonably priced. The atmosphere is intimate, lights are low, service is super quick. Had four different rolls and my wife and I couldn’t decide which one was best. Will be back!

Great hole in the wall place. We waited half an hour for a table for two on a Saturday night. We were seated at the bar and got to watch the sushi chefs work, always a bonus. The fish was fresh and there was a good selection of sushi without all the frills of spicy sauce and tempura flakes (can you really call it sushi at that point anymore?).
The kitchen food however, was a miss — boyfriend ordered chicken teriyaki and it arrived lukewarm at best. The sauce was too runny and just an all around disappointment.
Drinks and service from the bartender was great — would return again but don’t order from the kitchen, stick to the sushi bar.

Stopped in for lunch today. Very good sushi & Sake! My server was very pleasant. Would definitely recommend and will be back.

Excellent sushi place. Feels like your in a lounge bar, white small tables, dim light, dancy music, it’s different and nice.
We ordered the dragon maki (I specified smaller pieces and they listened), yakuza maki, shrimp tempura, and the salmon with teriyaki sauce. It was all delicious. No complaints I’d come back any time.

My boyfriend and i were out downtown shopping and needed somewhere close by to eat for dinner. We looked up nearby restaurants on Unilocal and came across this one. It seemed as though most people go by reservations. We stopped in around 7:30pm & had to wait roughly 20 – 30 minutes.
FOOD — We started off with a appetizer (grilled calamari). My first time trying it grilled and i was in love! Far better than breaded. The dipping sauce that goes along with it also tasted great! We ordered 3 different sushi order’s (can’t remember names but we picked from popular ones we saw here on Unilocal) none were disappointing at all, although i doubt i can get disappointed by any kind lol.
DECOR/​ATMOSPHERE — This was a pretty small and cozy place. Décor was (moderate style) & clean. I liked restaurants that have dim lighting & this place was dim.
$$$ — Pricing was about average for sushi.
STAFF/​SERVICE — Everyone was polite and attentive. I even got apologias for waiting a couple times which is always nice. Our food got to us quick and our server was attentive as well (checking on us and picking up our plates as we finished our food to the point of getting the bill).

Very delicious, grilled calamari, edamame, plum wine, cozy, philly roll, crispy tuna with (avocado, cream cheese $ 2 add on) bill came to $ 56 that’s not bad we’ve enjoyed ourselves to the fullest, one thing is our waitress sat down for her lunch, I don’t mind but it’s weird, I truly don’t mind, more people need a break not in your face though.

Friends is a cozy place with dim lighting. Waiters were very kind and well-​mannered. All the food we ordered was very fresh and tasety. Miso soup and dragon maki were my favorite. İ definetely recommend this place.

Un buen lugar para degustar sushi, el servicio es rápido y el local a pesar de ser pequeño es muy cómodo, pidan el Maki friends, con un sake frío ikaze

This place is so hip it hurts. It’s a tiny, cramped hole in the wall with dim lightly making it a very intimate sushi experience. The atmosphere gave me all the feels from the killer music playlist to the romantic lighting.
My dinner date and I split three of the rolls, Black Shrimp Tempura, Crisp Creamy and Friends. The Black Shrimp Tempura didn’t offer us much flavor, but we chose that roll as a way of balancing out the other two rolls. The Crisp Creamy was full of unique flavor. It was topped with parmesan cheese which was new to me and quite delicious if i do say. Friends was my favorite! It had a kick to it, but it offered so much to my tastebuds that they didn’t know what to do!
The service was wonderful. They were very efficient in making their sushi. We ordered and received our meal about 10 minutes later! That’s pretty good time for a sushi place.

Shereene M and I checked out Friends one cold Chicago night and her review pretty much covered it.
I give it 5 stars because I thought the sushi menu was innovative. I’ve been to several sushi restaurants and I felt the ingredient combinations of their rolls are VERY unique. The only thing we ordered that I did not like were the soft shell crab buns. But the sushi and the shrimp chips app was bomb. See ya soon, Friends!

What an interesting place. I was recently in Chicago for a conference and my boss suggested this spot for dinner. Since I wanted something light, this was a perfect choice. It was a quick walk from our hotel. But we had to look around quite a bit to find the restaurant once we found the corner provided in our directions. You walk up a few steps and enter the restaurant. So crowded! Man they pack you in there like sardines. I was seated in the aisle and it sucked having to watch out everytime someone was walking by. The tables were so small, as well. I didn’t like the atmosphere at all to be honest.
We ordered edamame to share. Very good. I also ordered aspargus beef roll. Mmmmm. I am not a frequent sushi eater, but I am getting used to it more and more. This was an excellent choice for me. Our waitress recommended this over the bun since she said the buns were quite small. The price was affordable and would definitely visit again given this and the great execution.

Very meh.
Disappointed but really nice place. The décor is pretty nice. I got the octopus sushi and a yellowtail sushi that contained some cilantro in it. They were both just okay but nothing spectacular. The service was great but I wouldn’t want to come back here again… nothing amazed me. It tasted fresh enough but the octopus was chewier than I would have liked.

What a nice hidden gem off of Rush! And what great prices and food too. So glad I came in here at 6:15 with a girl friend. Best time to come will probably be before 7 regardless on the size of your group! They don’t take reservations. It’s been awhile since I have seen a creative sushi menu. The place is intimate with dim lighting, white seats all around. Many people were in ‘after work groups’ or on a ‘first date’ to a small gathering of friends.
I started off with some hot green tea (the flavor was very light) but that’s okay because it was less than 3 dollars. I also had chicken soup and my friend had miso soup. Both soups were not salty, filled with great broth flavor, and my chicken soup was shredded, breakable, and there was tons of chicken in there! For 6 dollars it was a perfect way to start.
I wasn’t watching my calories so I ordered a creamy spicy tuna roll. Yes, it was spicy — and that’s exactly how I wanted it. They didn’t binge on any of the ingredients. Nicely cooked rice, a flavored mayo sauce, a good amount of tuna filling and lots of it. I was impressed. For 10 dollars, you will get your fill. So choose what sushi you want wisely!
Service was great. Quiet, quick, and friendly. Will come back.

Nice modern décor.
Great location.
Intimate seating.
Reasonably priced rolls for being steps from Mag Mile.

What an interesting place. When you walk in it totally looks different from what you expect. We came in around 5:30 on a weeknight and we were able to get seated right away. The service is really great and the food came out quick so we were a fan. We found some free (I think!) parking on Rush down the street, otherwise you can probably make it work within the $ 4 1 hr meter.
What we had:
Shrimp chips app– delish!
Soft shell crab buns– meh, I’d skip it
Friends roll– yum! my fav
Crazy winter roll– good as well
Jazz Roll– very good!

I’m a sushi roll lover so I couldn’t leave my visit to Chicago without trying a place. My friend settled on this one from reading reviews.
The place is small but cute and stylish. The seats were surprisingly comfortable and almost felt like you were at a modern home.
We started with some waters. I really feel like water should always come with lemon! Takes away the tap watery flavor and the water here definitely had that taste.
We reviewed the menu over and over trying to finalize our choices and landed on three:
Fire Wing roll to start with. It sounded great on the menu but it was so basic – not worth the price. I wouldn’t get it again. Lacked combination of flavors that I look for in a roll.
Big Friends was next. This one was very delicious. Had a great combination of flavors and texture. I would get this one again and highly recommend to others.
Can You Handle It? was our final roll we shared. I love spicy food and this was a spicy roll. I liked it but not too much. I would say if someone sounds intrigued by it from reading it on the menu then you should try it. If i come here again I probably wouldn’t get it again.
There were other rolls that I would try if I could fit more down my belly. I noticed that a lot of rolls included cream cheese which I’m not keen on much of that.
The service was interesting, I couldn’t really understand the girl that was serving us. I wanted to ask questions but that wouldn’t have gone smoothly. It seems fairly popular as it started to fill up on a Tuesday evening after people were getting off work. Also the weather was perfect on this day!

Our last night in Chicago with nine girls, and we were looking for something on the healthy side near our hotel for our last meal.
This isn’t necessarily a spot you can make reservations and arrive early to enjoy a drink at the bar, especially not for a gaggle of hungry girls. Our table wasn’t quite ready yet when we got there a little early but they appeased a handful of the girls with edamame. It has this almost retro-​futuristic Star Trek, I could be on the inside of a boat OR a spaceship feel with nice comfy white chairs.
Our waiter was very sweet, and we did our best not to be «those girls» and pooled our requests together so only one person was spouting off the order which was about 10 or so rolls, a handful of appetizers, and dishes. One thing I think that would benefit this place is the paper sheet menu that they do in other sushi restaurants to tic off your order, but maybe that’s just not their bag.
Thank you to my fellow Unilocalers for the photos of some of the great sushi rolls to help us make our choices. Top rolls were the Friends Roll and Devil’s Tuna but I think they did a great job with your usual rolls like the Rainbow roll, and have two options for spicy tuna rolls, creamy and crunchy, which I like! For ordering that much it came out in a timely manner, and we were all able to fill up. I did think the Yuzu Ceviche was a little small for the price, but had some of the girls that wanted to order it anyway. Not much for sharing for more than two people, just an FYI!
Our bill was around $ 50 per girl for apps, food, and drinks. I would say Friends Sushi is great for a few friends, but you’re pushing it when you get past 6 hangry girls since they are a smaller space!

Overall: Mediocre sushi fare for high Chicago prices. Ordered a roll that was a little too sweet…
Food: I got the Mad Maki and the Triple, which I shared with my girlfriend. The Mad Maki was weird… It came with like 8 pieces and was drenched in eel sauce and spicy mayo. Like the roll was soaked in a puddle of the sauce on the plate. It also had a weird sweet flavor, almost to the same tune of candy. The Triple was a lot more normal but wasn’t too satisfying.
Friends Sushi is a weird place. It was packed outside with people waiting on the Sunday night that I went but they seated us immediately. The interior is like a futuristic space bar. I was nervous that the fish would taste like freeze dried space food. Instead, one of the rolls came out to be soaked in sauce. I felt my blood sugar rise after eating a few pieces. I basically ordered sticky rice with candied eel sauce for 15 dollars.
Maybe the other rolls are better here but Friends Sushi was definitely underwhelming.

What a little hole in the wall! I did not expect this place to be as good as it was! The outside is definitely deceiving.
The hostess and the waitresses were so sweet to us. We started off with the seaweed salad $ 5. Really tasty and refreshing. I also ordered the Unagi with cucumber. The texture and taste was on point. Unagi was rich and buttery.
We also got the Deluxe Sashimi Combo (comes with Miso soup). OH SO GOOD AND WORTH IT. The pieces of sashimi were fresh, perfect size and the quality was kind of amazing. So yummy I would definitely come back.

We came here with last minute reservations prior to our comedy show. We wanted somewhere close, but casual and this place was it! Almost everything here is white; the walls, furniture, and sushi bar. Gives an illusion of a larger space because it’s in a narrow building. Cute space overall. Restroom includes a TV. What was playing on it? Some spooky ghost show. There was a large mirror in that restroom. Definitely not a great combination. :P (I kid)
My companions and I ordered spicy tuna rolls, chirashi bowls, and a couple of nigiris. Chirashi bowls come with miso soup in a large mug. Their chirashi «bowls» are huge here! The only difference between the small and large chirashi bowl is sashimi count. The large has three more. Both came in a platter with sashimi placed in rosettes. Though the sushi was fresh and I wanted to love it, but it was A-​OK for me. This would be a great place to quickly satisfy sushi cravings. Service is fine. Better for small parties. Parties four or more, be prepared to feel cramped.