Umai Japanese Kitchen & Sushi

It can be tough to find quality sushi in Chicago without feeling like you need to check your bank account before ordering. Enter Umai: a spot in the South Loop serving reasonably-priced Japanese dishes in a space that might have you asking yourself if there was a sale on wood. The restaurant feels like a showroom for West Elm’s lighting department, and is intimate enough for a date but won’t make a group of coworkers feel awkward about being there together. The usual sushi combinations appear on the menu, along with a variety of ramen, udon, and dishes like katsukarē. Those are good, but for something more interesting, order the signature maki which have fillings like lobster salad and toppings like honey miso or white truffle sauce.