The Omakase Room at Sushi-San

The Omakase Room at Sushi-San seats just ten guests around a single counter for an 18-course Edomae-style menu. Chef Kaze Chan, who trained under Shozu Iwamoto, heads the kitchen; the restaurant is Michelin-listed. The menu is presented with English explanations throughout, and a sake pairing is offered alongside the courses.

The space sits at 63 W Grand Ave in River North, Chicago, and operates Wednesday through Saturday evenings, from 5:30pm to 11:30pm, with no service listed on Sunday through Tuesday. Given the ten-seat counter, the room functions as a single service rather than multiple dining areas, which keeps the pacing and interaction between chef and guest consistent throughout the meal.

Reservations run through OpenTable, linked directly from the restaurant's website. Given the limited seating, advance booking is advisable, particularly for weekend dates. The restaurant falls into the luxury price tier, consistent with an 18-course Edomae omakase format at this level of seating and sourcing.

The kitchen also includes Master Sushi Chef Shigeru Kitano and Chef de Cuisine Michael Graffeo, who trained under Kitano locally in Chicago. The team has described sourcing ingredients through a direct relationship with a supplier connected to Tokyo's Toyosu Fish Market, with an emphasis on wild, line-caught fish. For those tracking Chicago's counter-dining scene, this is one of the city's recognized Edomae rooms, distinguished by its single ten-seat format and the tenure of its lead chef, who has worked in Japanese cuisine in Chicago for close to three decades.