Shakou Sushi Restaurant Review (Park Ridge, IL, Chicago Suburbs)

Shakou is an outstanding sushi restaurant in Chicago suburbs.  No wonder they got the Open Table’s Diner’s Choice award – this place is exceptional in every regard.  Stunning decor, beautifully presented and delicious food, excellent service – Shakou Sushi is the place to be!

I’ve been to Shakou Sushi original location in Libertyville before and absolutely loved it!  They are so successful that they expanded and opened three new locations in Barrington, Park Ridge and St. Charles.  Shakou Sushi restaurant rivals upscale Downtown Chicago sushi restaurants – without the hassle of driving Downtown!

This time we decided to check out the newly opened Park Ridge location – all these pics are from Shakou Sushi in Park Ridge.  On the day we went there, it turned out there was a Taste of Park Ridge festival going on with crowds everywhere – so much for the convenience of the suburbs :)  Luckily, Shakou Sushi offers a complimentary valet parking – yay!  Seriously, we were so excited, as without that valet parking there’d be no chance we’d get a spot on the day of that Park Ridge fest!

When you walk into Shakou Sushi, you’ll be stunned by its decor.  The pictures don’t do it justice!  The chandeliers are amazing!  Maybe I need to get one of those chandeliers for our house ;)

Wanna lounge?  Looks cozy!

Shakou has a full bar and their drink menu has every drink imaginable!  Different kinds of wines, beer, sake and specialty cocktails – sky is the limit!

Here’s the good old mojito – Bacardi Dragonberry and fresh lime juice, muddled with mint and blackberries, finished with a splashed of soda.  This mojito was awesome!

Here’s our Sunomono appetizer – squid, octopus, shrimp, surf clam, daikon radish marinated in sunomono sauce and marinated cucumber.  Look at that flower – what a nice touch!  This appetizer is so beautiful, and so full of flavor!

Next comes Gyoza – Japanese dumpling served with gonzu sauce.  These gyozas were perfect – browned, tender, with such flavorful filling and awesome dipping sauce!

Here’s the Soft Shell Crab appetizer – Sapporo Beer battered soft shell crab with lemon soy sauce.  Crab with beer batter – just gotta try that!  This was the crispiest juiciest soft shell crab ever – amazing!

Here’s the bowl of hot miso soup – so good!

And here comes the sushi!  Shakou has such creative special sushi rolls, they are like works of art!  Shakou’s special rolls are huge – they have 10 loaded pieces!  If you are also ordering appetizers, 1 roll per person is more than enough for the main dish!

This is a Sunny Hill roll – crab, cucumber, avocado and spicy mayo topped with fresh salmon, sweet miso sauce and sesame seeds:

Here’s the Ocean Drive roll – tuna, yellow tail, avocado, cilantro, green pepper and spicy mayo, wrapped in soy bean paper and topped with freshly squeezed lime juice!  We vacationed in South Beach last year right by Ocean Drive, so we just had to get that Ocean Drive roll – it’s so yummy!

Here’s Flaming Hamachi roll – spicy tuna and cucumber topped with fresh yellow tail, jalapeno, tobiko and ponzu sauce:

And here’s my favorite roll – the Black Widow roll! Black rice, lightly battered fresh water eel and avocado, topped with tempura crunch, sauteed scallops, tobiko and unagi sauce.  If you go to Shakou Sushi, you just have to get this roll – it doesn’t taste like any other rolls, it’s so unique, so memorable, so outstanding!

A piece of Black Widow roll is about to be eaten – I’m now hungry just looking at that pic!

Shakou’s sushi combination for 2 or 4 people is served in a form of a boat!  Those sushi boats are huge!  We didn’t get the sushi boat this time as we opted for individual special rolls, but next time I’m trying the boat for sure!   Here’s the picture I was able to take from the back of a waitress carrying the sushi boat to another table:

As a mother of three, I was amazed at how kid-friendly Shakou Sushi is!  Yes, there is lots of stuff to eat for picky eaters :)  First of all, there is not just sushi – Shakou offers traditional entrees such as chicken, salmon, sea bass, steak, lobster and shrimp.  Also, Shakou has kids menu with children’s favorites such as chicken fingers and fries, mac and cheese, cheese pizza, California roll, chicken teryaki and kids bento box.  At Shakou, there is truly something for everyone!

Here are the California rolls that my kids love – and yes, that’s a kids menu under them :)

Shakou Sushi has 4 locations – Park Ridge, Libertyville, Barrington and St. Charles.  These pictures are taken at the Park Ridge location at 30 S Prospect Ave. Park Ridge , IL 60068, phone number 773-441-9900.  Whatever location you choose, you just can’t go wrong with Shakou Sushi.  Enjoy!