Itoko

I met a friend here for dinner and it was lovely! The servers were very attentive and helped us when we were undecided on what to order. The ambiance was great sitting on the patio. I didn't go inside but their patio seating in the spring or summer is very enjoyable. Their Aperol Spritz was great - probably one of the better ones that I've had. My friend and I split the edamame and gyoza, and both were delicious. My favorite dishes were the Tako Kato and the Sliders. I could have had a meal ordering those dishes repeatedly and I would have been happy. I definitely hope to return soon. Itoko is a gem!

A group of us made a reservation for lunch on a Saturday, and I do recommend doing so! The dining area was quite loud and lively with patrons, but the staff remained friendly even if the service was a bit slow.My original plan was to order the "Steak and Eggs" but to my surprise, the side of kimchi fried rice it comes with contains fish. Additionally, the steak itself has a marinade that has fish. As a non-fish person, I had to pass.Instead, I ordered a green tea (not listed on any menu, you have to ask about teas), Miso, and the Chicken Katsu Don.Green Tea: Specifically a kuchicha tea. I was surprised when it came out in a mini pot rather than a single cup. The pot is enough to steep 2 cups of tea. Had our table known that in advance, we wouldn't have gotten one order for each of us! Very clean, light flavor.Miso: I got the vegetarian version because (I assume) the original has fish in it. This was my first time having a miso soup with tofu that wasn't silken. The tofu looked to be fried (?) Not terrible, but I do prefer silk tofu in a miso. Lots of seaweed and good flavor, though!Chicken Katsu Don: This had a banger taste, but I wish the dish was on a plate rather than in a bowl. The piled individual ingredients made it difficult to cleanly select what I wanted to eat. I also wish there was more chicken just because it was so wonderfully crispy with a flavorful sauce. The ratio of chicken to everything else was lacking.

To celebrate my daughter's acceptance into a prestigious tech program in Tokyo and send her off in style, I figured what better place than Itoko? This exquisite restaurant, located in Lakeview, is bathed in calming neutral tones, minimalist wall art, soft lighting, groovy music, excellent service and amazing food. Our party of four arrived on a Thursday evening and were seated promptly. We already discussed what we wanted so when our beautiful and friendly server, Brenna, arrived, we were ready. The two adults (my daughter's BFFs mom and I) ordered the Dragon's Milk...an aggressively yet refreshing blend of prairie organic cucumber vodka, nigiri sake, mint, white pepper and lime) designed to get you where you wanna go, FAST. Our daughters ordered two mocktails (I don't remember the ingredients cuz I was more concerned with my own beverage) which they enjoyed immensely and made them feel "grown up." So, now onto the food. We ordered the yama and momomaki rolls, the Oshima ramen and the prime striploin to share and the "house" graciously sent us the bluefin tuna. We devoured every delicious bite and still had room for more. Since we couldn't decide on just one dessert options, we ordered two. The blueberry kakigori, a scrumptious shaved ice dessert topped with ginger crumb, blueberry jellies, freeze-dried blueberries and yuzu whipped cream. That and the donatsu, a deep-fried donut filled with chocolate ganache and topped with powdered sugar and maple flakes were UH-MA-ZING!! Itoko is the sister (or "cousin", since Itoko means cousin in Japanese) to Chef Gene Kato's legendary Momotaro restaurant in Fulton Market. It 100 percent delivers as a place where families, groups and couples can come and have a great meal in a sophisticated yet, down-to-earth setting. I'll be back!

My brother suggested this place, so we took a 15-minute ride from downtown to give it a try, and it exceeded our expectations!The rolls were small but incredibly fresh and satisfying. The spicy cucumber was tasty but could use a bit more spice. The spicy chicken had a real kick to it; if you're a fan of spicy food, definitely order it! It's packed with flavor. However, the Tantan ramen had a strange bitter aftertaste that didn't appeal to me or anyone else at the table, so we only had a few bites.Now, the desserts were absolutely incredible! We tried all three on the menu. I can't recall their names exactly, but one was a donut with matcha whipped cream, another was like a raspberry sorbet, and the third was a pudding-like treat with a hint of lemon at the bottom, topped with white chocolate pebbles for a crunchy texture. Each dessert was delicious and light--no guilt involved! I'd return just for those desserts alone!

We had been meaning to go here for awhile now because it looks so cute and we've heard good things! We got seats at the sushi counter so we could watch them cook, but you really couldn't see anything because there was a little half wall in the way. We had three people so it would've been better to just get a table. We did get an extra snack, the shrimp ceviche, because we sat at the counter though and it was really good. Cocktails were yummy, too!Starting with the seafood, the otoro was decent, but a little boring. I think we should've done the nigiri instead. The Ebi Tom Yum was really good, but felt a little over priced. The price is just for a single one so it was $33 for the three. The spicy tuna roll was really good, but again, nothing too different from your common spicy tuna roll. The Yama roll was by far the favorite dish for everyone at the table. The shrimp and crab were really good and the cucumber balanced everything nicely. The negima was my next favorite dish. Even though it wasn't quite as pretty to look at as some of the other dishes, it was soooo tender and juicy. We wanted to split it between three and it was so soft that we were able to cut through it with a chopstick. I did also enjoy the beef chahan and it was cool how it sizzled, but we probably left it in there a little too long and started getting some bits that were a little crispier than I would've liked.

Went there for lunch. Pretty decent food. The steak and eggs was good, the Japanese breakfast was basic-ish - it was lacking the elaborate Japanese-ness and only had a few ingredients. Ambiance is fine.

been meaning to try this place for a hot minute and glad i finally did! i came here on a date and the vibes were just right. the interior is chic and welcoming & the service was on point. our server recommended the shinjuku garden to drink & it was amazing. if you like mezcal, definitely get this! for food, we ordered the seasonal special soft shell crab, branzino, chicken katsu, and the TCD tuna toro. i think 4 plates were appropriate for 2 people. i couldn't possibly pick a favorite dish - they were all splendid! everything was cooked to perfection and seasoned very well. i thought the chef did an excellent job with adding a pop of freshness to the fried dishes by incorporating pickled veggies and peppers. i will certainly return!

Whole team lovely and hard working. Some food excellent, some okay. Generally clean, though sticky areas leading upstairs. Great vibe, busy but not "shouting to your dining companion" noisy. For better or worse, no recommendations or upselling. Dietary restrictions asked only after first course. Sake menu is fabulous. Overall lovely night out but not a blow- you-away evening.

A fascinating place and experience that is great for any celebration. We made reservations with a note that we were celebrating our anniversary, and they made special "Happy Anniversary" menus for us that we got to keep. It was an awesome gesture that started our experience off on the right foot. We got a few hand rolls and a shared 3 course meal along with a few drinks. The hand rolls were delicious and were presented in a cute way. Each hand roll is filled with top tier fish that makes you wonder what kind of fish they have in Lake Michigan (just kidding). One of the hand rolls has crispy garlic chips in them which was a nice touch. The Shishito Peppers was a popular dish on yelp. It was an okay dish. I was hoping to taste more of the black garlic mayo, but I didn't get much of it at all. The Chirashi Don was incredible and should be considered for ordering by everyone. The tuna was the star of the dish as the texture was silky and buttery. The Apple Pie was awesome as well. Can't go wrong with this 3 Course set. The drinks fell a bit flat for us. The Dragons Milk wasn't what I expected and tasted kinda funny. The hibiscus cocktail tasted watered down. I did grab some wine afterwards which they had a wide selection of. Thank you Itoko for a great experience.

Despite other reviews, we actually had a nice time at Itoko tonight! We came at 5:45, were seated promptly, and everything else went pretty smoothly until we left. My drink as well as our food order came out quickly (our server let us know ahead of time that certain dishes would arrive at different times because they come from separate kitchens), but there wasn't much wait between items. We ordered the hand roll trio, A5 maki, beef chahan, sake nigiri, and the donatsu for dessert. All the food was actually really good, and my husband and I agreed that we both would want to come back here. I feel like I base my price points around the salmon sashimi at every restaurant we go to. Faroe island salmon is going to be an extremely common offering throughout the city, but I loved the glaze/light sauce that they put on it here and appreciated the lack of surprise wasabi underneath the fish between the rice (this is one of those things that personally ruins the entire nigiri for me). I do wish that we were checked in with at any point during the meal to see if everything was okay or if we wanted another drink/to order anything else. Our server had left a menu at the table in case we wanted to order more, and we had planned to order two more nigiris but the next time we saw her, she brought out the dessert menu and quickly left, so we just ended up not ordering the nigiri or another drink. Also, there were a lot of ants crawling on the wall next to us and eventually found some on the table. Nature happens, but I'm SUPER scared of bugs, so it was pretty unpleasant when I noticed haha. Overall pretty decent, it's a very busy area around the restaurant, so I'd recommend arriving early to look for parking especially with so many other shops/train station/permit parking only side streets/etc.