Japanese Whisky and Sushi in West Loop

By The Editors
October 21, 2014 9:00 am

For the laymen out there, a brief lesson in Japanese etiquette:

Business cards are presented with two hands.

Karaoke is sung with gusto.

And you never turn down a drink.

And when in Chicago, you always, always take your client (or your lady) to Momotaro, the Boka Group’s exquisite new take on modern Japanese, taking reservations now.

From the same team who brought you Balena and Girl & The Goat, Momotaro is three levels of Japanese mid-century modernism topped by a private dining room reminiscent of a 1960s Tokyo boardroom.

Downstairs: a dimly lit (and sexy) izakaya bar. Peep the exotic whisky selection

You could get sozzled down here and go as limp as a Japanese salaryman.

But this is not advisable.

Because upstairs there’s mind-blowingly delicious sushi from Jeff Ramsey, whose stint at the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo made him the first and only American to earn a Michelin star outside the U.S.

His Jack Mackerel smoked with 1,000-year-old cypress is a good place to start.

But the entire menu deserves your attention. See it right here.

Bon shokuyoku.

Photos: Derek Richmond and Barry Brecheisen

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