My husband and I went to Japonais tonight. We love to sit at the sushi bar. While in the past we have had impeccable service, tonight our waitress had a very bad attitude. She was rude when we... More

My husband and I went to Japonais tonight. We love to sit at the sushi bar. While in the past we have had impeccable service, tonight our waitress had a very bad attitude. She was rude when we asked questions, and was generally unprofessional. The food was decent, but not worth the price. Worst of all, the women's bathrooms are a disaster, dirty and old toilet seats, a generally dingy environment with more of a "club" feel than a nice restaurant. The level of quality of this place has gone down and pales in comparison to new rival, Sunda. Pros: Good food Cons: Run down bathrooms, rude waitress, overpriced
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Enjoyed many dinners with family and friends here. Always enjoyed everything we ate here. Price is the only drawback. Pros: Everything is done well. Cons: Price

Enjoyed many dinners with family and friends here. Always enjoyed everything we ate here. Price is the only drawback. Pros: Everything is done well. Cons: Price
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OK! THIS PLACE S*KS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Came here with my wife hungry and ready to eat a meal. What I ordered was a steak but what I got was about five small thin slices of beef and some sissy... More

OK! THIS PLACE S*KS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I Came here with my wife hungry and ready to eat a meal. What I ordered was a steak but what I got was about five small thin slices of beef and some sissy decorations of sauce and parsley around it. The bill was $185.00 plus tip for a bottle of shiraz a steak and an order of fish for my wife. Ok it was more like a goldfish covered in a few pieces of lettuce. We ended up eating McDonalds afterwards. Bottom line If your hungry then don't eat here. If you want to waist your money or listen to some soft sissy food critic then eat here.
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This upscale restaurant has great food, drinks, and eye candy. The canopies on the river in the summer can't be beat, and the crowd is always dressed to kill. If you want to get dressed up and... More

This upscale restaurant has great food, drinks, and eye candy. The canopies on the river in the summer can't be beat, and the crowd is always dressed to kill. If you want to get dressed up and have a chic night out, this is the place to start!
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I am so sick and tired of the incompetence exhibited by the staff and sushi "chefs" at this place. If I order a salmon and cucumber roll, inside out, and easy on the rice (with emphasis on the last... More

I am so sick and tired of the incompetence exhibited by the staff and sushi "chefs" at this place. If I order a salmon and cucumber roll, inside out, and easy on the rice (with emphasis on the last part), I fully expect that my $7.75 roll will come out as ordered. However, on each of the three separate occasions on which I have dined at Japonais, they have been unable to get it right. Instead, that pile the rice on and give very little fish. This is unacceptable for the price. I would much prefer to spend $6.00 per roll at Coast or South Coast where they understand english and care about satisfying their customers. The other day, my wife had to return her salmon roll THREE times, only for them to **** it up each time. It is quite apparent that management at Japonais has no interest in providing quality service and food, but is more concerned with staying "trendy" for the bags that frequent there after hours to drink in the lounge. I will not visit Japonais again. Cons: Very little fish to rice ratio. Poor management.
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I absolutely LOVE Japonais. The atmosphere is upscale and fun. The lounge downstairs on weekends has a DJ and a more exciting decor with an open patio when the weather is warm. The sushi is always... More

I absolutely LOVE Japonais. The atmosphere is upscale and fun. The lounge downstairs on weekends has a DJ and a more exciting decor with an open patio when the weather is warm. The sushi is always good, I recommend trying their specialty rolls especially the Kani Nigiri.
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sushi tastes the same to me whether is $50 or $200. Japonais is good but not that good. The decorations are cute and set the right mood but I would rather save the money thanks.

sushi tastes the same to me whether is $50 or $200. Japonais is good but not that good. The decorations are cute and set the right mood but I would rather save the money thanks.
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Birthday night started off great....it was my first time at Japanois with few of my friends. Food was good, atmosphere pleasant, and serive nice. We decided to have drinks downstairs at the lounge... More

Birthday night started off great....it was my first time at Japanois with few of my friends. Food was good, atmosphere pleasant, and serive nice. We decided to have drinks downstairs at the lounge after dinner. The 3 of us sat in the bar area talking and laughing for about 30 min. After a drink we left upstairs to get our car from valet and noticed right away that we didnt have our camera. My friend rushed back downstairs and everything was cleaned off....including the Birthday envelope I had left with money. They claimed that nothing was there and assumed maybe someone walked by in that 2 minutes and took it. The catch was that no one was down there except 2 elderly couples in the corner talking. The bus boys and some manager was standing by us the whole time while we were there. It made no sense that within that time frame both the $300 camera and envelope with money was gone. Bar cleaned off, garbage searched, and items nowhere in sight. We spoke with another manager who instead of taking action she gave us the "We are not responsible for lost or stolen items, here's my card, and we'll call you if it turns up"! The only people near us that whole time were the bus boys who were cleaning near and around us before, during, and after. Im the last person to point fingers and accuse, but that situation made no sense. You couldnt miss the camera and envelope. I would have liked to seen something done at that moment when it was reported. Not treated as if it was our problem and that their employees would have never done such a thing. Very sickened by this experience and will never go back! Just look at the other reviews yourself. Your treated like a child and not a customer who, by the way, spends well over $100 each. I am disgusted and frustrated!
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I loved the food at Mirai (Japonais' sister restaurant), and always ordered the tuna tuna salmon and spicy mono. With that said, I have taken my boyfriend to Japonais a few times, however with the... More

I loved the food at Mirai (Japonais' sister restaurant), and always ordered the tuna tuna salmon and spicy mono. With that said, I have taken my boyfriend to Japonais a few times, however with the lack of quality customer service by the wait/bar staff and management he has grown a strong hatred for this infamous River North sushi spot. Its such a shame because I love Mirai, but I live in the River North, and we cannot even enjoy one single night at Japonais without feeling judged or becoming upset. If anyone is looking for Japonais' sushi, go to Mirai! They offer the same menu (with some additions and exceptions like the rock) without the pretentious atmosphere. Its my favorite sushi restaurant in town and I always take advantage of the upscale dining lounge upstairs. Don't waste your time, money, and energy investing in a restaurant that does NOT deserve to be open! If there are any good reviews on this site, its probably because the managers posted them or made their staff do it. Oh, yes and one more thing...they recently got busted a little over a week ago for flies in the kitchen and on the prepped food. YIKES! Pros: tuna tuna salmon, spicy mono, kani nigiri Cons: everything else
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I've dined at most of my fair city's finest places. I have also been to several real Asian restaurants. I've been to Japonais a couple of times for cocktails but never ate there because everyone I... More

I've dined at most of my fair city's finest places. I have also been to several real Asian restaurants. I've been to Japonais a couple of times for cocktails but never ate there because everyone I know has told me it is average at best. I had a friend in town. She had read about it in and wanted to try it, so we went. Lets start with the positive aspects, the decor (It is a beautiful place with atmosphere) and the Host and Server were polite. That's it. Now, let me share the negatives of my experience. We started at the bar where I was served a drink in a broken glass the cut my lip. With bloood running down my chin, I brought the issue to the bartender?s attention. She gave me a napkin for my cut, replaced my drink and she may have mumbled "sorry" but she said it and turned and walked away so fast that I couldn?t tell. This was at 5:15 pm . They open for dinner at 5pm, so it wasn't like she was busy. I think she really didn?t care. My friend was so taken by the atmosphere that she wanted to stay for dinner, so we did. Now lets talk about the food. The potions are ridiculously small. That wouldn?t have been an issue if the food was great, even good, but it was just bad. The Lobster Spring Rolls and Crab Cakes had a nasty freezer burnt taste. The Maki rolls were falling apart, had little meat and were dry. 3 of the 5 the Oysters Gratin seemed to have no oyster in them. The Koby beef tasted like skirt steak. I like skirt steak but the entree cost $75. Similar steak is available down the block, on a bun, with fries and a drink for $8. Better Asian food can be found throughout the Chicagoland area for half the price. Don't go to Japonais. Pros: Place looks great Cons: Just bad food, and I love Asian food
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