The Omakase Room by Kanemaru provides the ultimate date night sushi experience

Ready for the ultimate date night, Chicago? The Omakase Room by Kanemaru provides an unforgettable dining experience for a romantic date night any time of year, right in the heart of Chicago’s bustling River North neighborhood.

Our team recently had the most exquisite time reviewing The Omakase Room’s 16-course menu. This intimate dining experience only seats 10 guests at a time and is led by the magnificent Executive Chef Shinichiro Kanemaru. 

This experience at The Omakase Room is curated impeccably, with tentative service by the waitress and absolutely every detail thought of. When first seated, we were given little warm hand towels to clean our hands before tasting the various cuts of sushi, many of which are supposed to be eaten with our hands. We also had the honor of experiencing a short masterclass on the art of using chopsticks by Chef Kanemaru himself. 

During this culinary journey of traditional Japanese sushi, we were able to taste everything from salmon roe and sea urchin to sea eel and fatty tuna.

The full order of the tasting menu is as follows:

1. Today’s Soup/Small Appetizer

2. Medium Fatty Tuna

3. Two Kinds of Sashimi

4. White Fish

5. White Fish 

6. Red Tuna Marinated in Soy Sauce

7. Mini Salon Roe Bowl

8. Sea Urchin

9. Scallop

10. Shiny Fish

11. Fatty Tuna

12. Fatty Tuna Hand Roll

13. Sea Eel

14. Egg Omelette

15. Miso Soup

16. Matcha Ice (Dessert)

To further enhance our tasting experience, we tried the absolute smoothest sake on the menu and a high-end Japanese whisky called Yame Eight Goddess, which was aged for 10 years. I highly enjoyed the sake, though the whisky had too much of a punch for me; however, some of our more whisky enthusiasts thought it was very smooth and tasted like honey.   

I can’t recommend this place enough for those who love sushi and it easily became one of my favorite Chicago restaurants. These were probably the freshest cuts of sushi I’ve ever tasted in my entire life; plus, the opportunity to watch the chef make and explain what you’re eating adds to this intimate culinary experience.

Book the full Omakase experience for $195, plus tax; drink pairings and additional cuts of sushi nigiri are available for an added fee.