Chicago, IL · Sushi · Family Travel · Around $100 for Four
We had just come from a Cubs game, the Cubs won, and all four of us were starving. That is not the moment you want to be waiting forty five minutes for a table and then another thirty for food. So when I tell you the best thing about Sushi Plus Rotary Sushi Bar is that we were eating almost the second we sat down, understand that on this particular afternoon, that was worth a lot.
But it turned out to be more than just fast. The fish was fresh, the flavors were good, and by the end Josh was eating like a grown adult and Emily had happily worked through two California rolls. For a hungry family of four, this was a win.
This article is not sponsored. We paid for everything ourselves, and we didn’t tell the restaurant we were going to write about them.
Getting There, and Walking In
Sushi Plus sits on North Broadway in Boystown, and I will start with the thing that stresses me out most in that part of the city, which is parking. We found street parking directly across the street, so it was one crossing and we were at the door. In this neighborhood I will take that every time.
Inside, it is a proper rotary sushi bar. There is a conveyor belt running past the seats with plates going by under little domes, TVs on the walls (the game was still on, which the kids appreciated), and a Tokyo street mural that leans into the theme. It was an early dinner and it was hot outside, so the room was comfortable and not slammed. When you walk in, you are going to want to grab a seat right along the belt.
How It Actually Works (This Is the Fun Part)
Here is the setup, because it is genuinely fun and it is the reason a place like this holds a teenager’s attention. There are two ways to get food. The first is the belt itself, where plates just cruise past and you grab whatever looks good. The second is a tablet at your table where you order anything you want, and it comes out on a top track riding a toy Optimus Prime truck that pulls up right at your seat and stops. Josh had a great time with that. So did I, honestly.
We did a mix. We ordered some things on the tablet and grabbed the rest off the belt as it went by. One thing I really liked is that the belt plates are not full rolls. They are smaller portions, a couple pieces at a time, so you get to try a bunch of different things instead of committing to one giant roll. For a family where everyone likes something a little different, that works really well.
The Food
We worked through a lot, so I will hit the ones that stuck with me. The gunkan were the highlight. We had a spicy crab, a sake poke, and a spicy scallop, all fresh with real flavor, not just sauce doing the work. The sake poke was the one Vika and I split on. I really enjoyed it. She felt it leaned too much toward poke instead of a regular spicy salmon, and it had a strong hit of sesame oil. Still good, it just depends what you are expecting.
That is actually the thing I want to flag. The spicy mayo here was good. A lot of places, you get something that basically tastes like Thousand Island with a little sriracha stirred in, and it drowns everything. This was not that. It tasted like it was supposed to be there. When your spicy mayo is actually good, everything it touches gets better, and that was the case across the board.
The spicy tuna maki was very fresh and had a nice kick. I would call it mostly clean, though it does have tempura in it, and that crunch takes away from it being a truly clean spicy tuna. The kanikama nigiri was simple and did the job.
The one to talk about is the Mexican Maki, the big mixed fish roll. It is very spicy. It has jalapeno in it, and I usually enjoy jalapeno, but the first piece I ate as is and it was so spicy that I ended up pulling a piece of jalapeno out of the next one. It has chili oil too. I liked it, but I will be honest, if you are not into really spicy rolls, or you do not like jalapeno, I would skip this one.
We also grabbed a couple of baked rolls off the belt, one topped with spicy mayo and one with a baked shrimp and scallop kind of dynamite topping, and those were warm and rich and a nice change of pace from all the cold stuff.
We added an order of steamed gyoza off the tablet, which the kids went for. The stuff that matters underneath all of it held up too. The rice was tasty, seasoned right, and the fish was fresh, the kind of fresh you can actually taste. I am not going to tell you this is the most refined sushi in Chicago, because it is not trying to be. But for what it is, it delivered.
What We Paid, and Why It Matters
I include this in every food article now, because I think it matters and most places do not tell you. The way it works here is pay by plate color. There are six colors and six prices, from the cheapest white plates up to the priciest pink ones, plus the tablet items ring in by name. You can see your total climbing as you stack up plates, which I actually like.
Here is why the price is the real story. Not long ago we did an all-you-can-eat rotary sushi place and walked out having paid over $150. This time, for the four of us, we came in around a hundred dollars, and we left full and satisfied, but in a good way. Here is what I mean. Because it was pay by the plate, I did not keep grabbing extra rolls just because they were already paid for, so I left full without that overstuffed, slightly sick feeling you get at an all-you-can-eat. Vika actually felt she left a little less full, also in a good way, because she stopped when she was done instead of eating to get her money’s worth. Nobody left hungry. Everyone left full, just the good kind of full. That is the comparison I keep coming back to. You pay for what you take, and if you are a family that does not want to eat competitively, that is a much better deal.
What we paid: our subtotal was $90.40, and $100.12 with tax, for four people. That covered the gunkan, the maki and nigiri, the gyoza, and a stack of plates off the belt.
Would It Work for the Family? It Already Did
Usually I have to imagine whether a place would work for Josh and Emily. Not this time, because they were both there. Emily is not an adventurous sushi eater and she was perfectly happy with two California rolls, which is exactly what I want, a place where the pickier eater has an easy option. Josh, on the other hand, ate like an adult and got into the ordering, the truck, the whole thing. The format does a lot of the work here. When the kids can grab what they recognize off the belt and order the fun stuff on the tablet, nobody is bored and nobody is waiting.
One more note for the parents. We only drank water this time, since it was an early dinner and it was hot out. But the bar looked really nice, and there is some Japanese whisky on the shelf. Under the right circumstances, I could see Vika and me coming back here on a date night and actually ordering a cocktail. Good to know that option is there.
The Verdict
Fresh fish, tasty rice, spicy mayo that is actually good, a fun format the teens genuinely enjoyed, easy parking right across the street, and a fair price that beat the all-you-can-eat place we compared it to. For a hungry family of four coming off a Cubs game, Sushi Plus Rotary Sushi Bar did exactly what we needed it to do. We would go back, and I think a lot of families would be happy here.
Want to see the belt and the little delivery truck in action? Here is a quick short from our visit.
Common Questions About Sushi Plus Rotary Sushi Bar
Is Sushi Plus Rotary Sushi Bar all you can eat?
No, and that is the whole point for us. You pay by the plate here, not a flat all-you-can-eat fee. You take what you want off the belt or order it on the tablet, and your bill is whatever you actually grabbed. For a family that does not want to eat competitively to get its money’s worth, that worked out to a better deal.
How does the rotary sushi and tablet ordering work?
There are two ways to get food. Plates ride the conveyor belt past your seat under little domes, so you just grab what looks good. For anything specific, you order on a tablet at the table and it comes out on a top track riding a little toy truck that pulls right up to your seat. The kids loved that part.
How much does it cost for a family of four?
For the four of us, our subtotal was $90.40, and $100.12 with tax. We left full and satisfied. Not long before this we did an all-you-can-eat rotary place and paid over $150, so this felt like real value.
How does the pay by plate color pricing work?
Every plate color maps to a set price, six colors and six prices, from the cheapest white plates up to the priciest pink ones. The tablet items ring in by name. You can watch your total climb as you stack up plates, which I actually like, because you always know where you stand.
Where is Sushi Plus, and is there parking?
It is at 3219 N Broadway in Boystown (Lakeview East), an easy walk from Wrigleyville. We found street parking directly across the street, so it was one crossing and we were at the door. In this neighborhood, I will take that every time.
Do you need a reservation?
I cannot speak to their reservation policy, because we did not call ahead. What I can tell you is that we walked in for an early dinner right after a Cubs game and there was no wait at all. I would guess it gets busier at peak times, but for us, walking in worked out perfectly.
Is it good for kids and families?
Yes. Emily is not an adventurous sushi eater and was happy with two California rolls, and Josh got into the ordering, the truck, and ate like an adult. The format keeps everyone busy, so nobody is bored or waiting. It worked really well for our family of four.
Have you been to Sushi Plus, or do you have a rotary sushi spot in Chicago we should try next? Drop it in the comments. We are always looking for the next one.
