Fulton Market
16-course | $130 | 7-seat
Omakase Takeya, a 7-seat, 16-course omakase-only sushi bar, is located underneath the highly frequented ramen shop, Ramen Takeya. The creators of Ramen Takeya and Wasabi opened Omakase Takeya back in 2018, entering Chicago’s young and rapidly growing omakase scene.
Going into Omakase Takeya, I had the unfortunate timing of a severe mouth injury; however, having already made our reservations far in advance and looking forward to the night, I decided to suffer through the pain and enjoy all 16 bites regardless.
Upon arrival at Omakase Takeya, or rather, Ramen Takeya, we were shown the waiting area for omakase reservations. Once everyone was present, we were guided down a set of stairs leading to the basement. Entering the room, the space was nice and cozy, yet far from claustrophobic. We were pointed to our pre-determined seats where the behind-the-counter sushi action was already underway.
The experience started off strong as chef Hiromichi Sasaki presented the night’s impressive sushi cuts to each individual diner; perhaps one of the coolest, and last, interactions we had with chef Sasaki. However, the lack of conversation was well compensated with the gift of witnessing Sasaki’s impeccable skill and form. With over three decades of craftsmanship, watching Sasaki work was mesmerizing to say the least.
Courses came out one after the other without too much pause. While Chef Sasaki was preparing the nigiri, he was assisted with the small plates, as well as with a kaiseki portion of the tasting.
Some of our favorite dishes of the night were the chawanmusi – Savory egg custard, the managatsu – silver pomfret (a first time for this fish), the kaiseki which consisted of smoked young yellowtail and miso glazed cod, akami and foie gras – lean tuna and duck liver, and the seared A5 wagyu.
Overall, the meal was good but not outstanding, and the cooked food may have in fact won us over this omakase.
Omakase Takeya at a glance
Rice: Good. The rice, while no complaints, also failed to blow us out of the water.
Fish: The fish quality was great but cut way too thick for our liking. Mixed with a mouth injury making chewing a bigger task, we felt multiple pieces required too much chewing. We also thought a few too many pieces were torched. On a better note, we were so impressed with our first experience tasting silver pomfret.
Vibe: Omakase Takeya has a fun speakeasy feel, and a calm ambiance.
Experience: The close seating made for some great conversation with our omakase neighbors. While we would have loved more conversation/ explanation from Chef Sasaki, we had a great time conversing with those next to us.
Value: Compared to other Chicago omakase restaurants, we left Omakase Takeya the fullest.
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