Japonais

We frequently stop along the river for our of town guests while taking the scenic river cruise. This used to never happen, but it seems that each time we visit Japonais in the summer of 2012, the service gets poorer. The staff is more concerned about who texts them than being attentive to paying guests. And most concerning is the lack of care - they just don't care about the customer - you have to constantly ask for water, drink refills, napkins, silverware, another round of drinks, etc. We asked for the bill. It arrived at the patio in the server's one hand while she stared at her cell phone screen in the other hand. I asked, "Is the tip or text more important?" Her response: "Huh? Oh, sorry. Tipping is 20 percent." My response - we left her nothing. We won't be returning.

Japonaise was once at the top of the culinary scene in Chicago. Sadly, from my last visit, there is a significant decline in the service and food. Staff not engaging, helpful and unable to provide timely, reliable food presentation.

Although the food at Japonais is very good, I will never go back.....I took my mother here a about 5 years ago and she still raves about her meal, I took her back in May 2011 and the music was so loud that we couldn't have a conversation at all. We had to shout across the table and even then we couldn't hear each other. I asked if the music could be turned down and of course the answer was no......The food although still good it was no longer exceptional. Because of this I will never go back and will never recommend it again.....I no longer have a favorite restaurant.......As a side note I have a friend who had the same experience I had but on a date, she will also never go back.

I have been to Japonais many times and have never been disappointed. I had friends in town this week and they wanted good sushi. We ventured to this wonderful atmospheric place and truly enjoyed our meal. The waitstaff was very attentive. Keep up the good work. You have a forever customer.

Is this the cheapest sushi place in town? Definitely not. But Japonais has some of the best sushi I have ever had, especially at this price point. More importantly, it has the atmosphere, menu, and sake to impress your in town guests. Order the sake and an assortment of maki and appetizers and you won't be dissapointed (or hungry as some have suggested).

wow, i have never had bad sushi until now! i think i would have been better off getting sushi from the grocery store. not to mention it was SO overpriced. and the service was POOR! during the 3 hours i was there, honestly i only saw our waitress 3 times.

How sad to see a once great venue decay to such abysmal depths in both quality and service. Having been a good and loyal customer from the beginning, I am sorry to say that Japonais has deteriorated in every way. My experience there a couple of weeks ago is a good, if tragic, example of this. The filet mignon (which I've enjoyed many, many times before) came out burned to a crisp and as leather. No one bothered to check on us to see how our meal was (we were on the outside patio), and I literally had to carry my plate to the host stand and wait for a manager to come out. By the time they had re-cooked it (the restaurant was practically empty), my guest was completely finished with her sushi. Under the circumstances, any fine restaurant would have comp'd the filet or at least offered dessert on the house, however not only did the manager not offer to do so even after I actually requested that she do so (and after mentioning my long-time patronage), but she actually informed me that she didn't have the "authority" to do so. Instead, she handed me a card with the director of operations number on it and told me to call her. It was a pretty shocking experience and one that would never happen at the many other fine restaurants in Chicago (imagine this happening at a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, such as Joe's? not a chance). Since then, I have left multiple messages for her, none of which has been returned.Japonais is tired and worn down, and they are hardly endeavoring to "up their game" in light of the struggling economy and recent competition from much hipper new venues such as Sunda. Based on how they are treating their loyal customers, they deserve what they get.