{"id":84415,"date":"2025-07-22T23:20:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T23:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/84415\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T23:20:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T23:20:19","slug":"sho-omakase-will-open-in-august-along-wells-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/84415\/","title":{"rendered":"SH\u014c Omakase Will Open in August Along Wells Street"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adam Sindler and Mari Katsumura represent royalty when it comes to the rich history of Japanese restaurants in Chicago. In 1967, Sindler\u2019s family founded Kamehachi<\/a>, the city\u2019s first sushi bar, before planting its flag in Old Town along Wells Street. Katsumura\u2019s parents started the pioneering Yoshi\u2019s Cafe in Lakeview with Yoshi Katsumura combining French and Japanese cuisine into something special. The restaurant was a fixture along Halsted for 39 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe claimed he invented wasabi-mashed potatoes in the \u201890s,\u201d Mari Katsumura says of her late father with a laugh. \u201cI love spreading that rumor and perpetuating that story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sindler has brought on Katsumura as chef to open a new restaurant along Wells Street inside the same space that housed his family\u2019s restaurant. SH\u014c<\/a> is scheduled to open on Tuesday, August 12, at 1533 N. Wells Street, giving the two a canvas to show Chicago their brand of omakase. Katsumura, now rejuvenated after her work at Michelin-starred Yugen<\/a> in West Loop, will offer a six- to eight-course omakase for about $145. There will also be supplements. SH\u014c will offer the menu both at a 12-seat sushi counter and the restaurant\u2019s four tops. The meal won\u2019t be 100 percent sushi, which is often a misnomer.<\/p>\n

When it comes to Japanese cuisine, Sindler and Katsumura admit that Chicago often lags behind the coasts. Katsumura feels it\u2019s harder to compete in the Midwest as the region is limited when it comes to fresh seafood. That\u2019s something that 2024 James Beard Award-winning chef Hajime Sato<\/a> of Sozai in suburban Detroit faced before he closed his restaurant earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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SH\u014c\/Mistey Nguyen<\/p>\n

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SH\u014c\/Mistey Nguyen<\/p>\n

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SH\u014c\/Mistey Nguyen<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a glut of omakase<\/a> restaurants<\/a> opening<\/a> or that have<\/a> recently debuted. Katsumura points out that most of them \u2014 if any \u2014 don\u2019t have Japanese chefs or owners. She feels that \u201c39 years of eating Japanese food\u201d \u2014 mostly cooked by her parents \u2014 gives her a unique perspective on the cuisine, which is why courses like a reimagined chawanmushi with truffled dashi custard and cauliflower foam, accompanied by Osetera royale caviar, and shaved summer truffle will shine. Hand rolls are also making their way through Chicago. SH\u014c will riff on those with a build-your-own course that emulates caviar service with numerous add-ons available.<\/p>\n

Still, the two are careful as they don\u2019t want to gatekeep culture. Sindler points out that he is both Italian and Japanese. He also mentions Sushi by Scratch<\/a>\u2019s Phillip Frankland Lee, saying the chef \u2014 who isn\u2019t Japanese \u2014 presents the culture and cuisine as he sees it. At SH\u014c, Sindler says while respecting tradition is important, adhering to authenticity \u2014 however that\u2019s defined \u2014 is not.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are inherently Japanese in terms of how we grew up,\u201d Sindler says. \u201cThe food is personal in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sindler designed the space and added several nods to music. Joining them is GM Preston Smith, currently the sommelier and assistant general manager at Beity<\/a> in Fulton Market.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

SH\u014c\/Mistey Nguyen<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

SH\u014c\/Anthony Tahlier<\/p>\n

Entering the restaurant business wasn\u2019t a given for Sindler, who washed dishes at Kamehachi as a teen before going off to explore art and music. The latter is shown in how SH\u014c approaches its food. It\u2019s not so much a progressive menu, but a mixtape. This is a collaboration between two like-minded Japanese Americans who grew up in Chicago. Although their families are from parts of Japan, the common ground was so strong that Katsumura, an award-winning pastry chef, even welcomed Sindler\u2019s input on the dessert course.<\/p>\n

Sindler ended up working at the Alinea Group\u2019s Roister before returning to the family business during COVID. Kamehachi has had numerous locations in Chicago, including one at the corner of Wells and Schiller (most recently a Broken English Taco Pub). They vacated that address in 2011 and moved to where SH\u014c will debut. The new restaurant\u2019s name is a shortened version of the Japanese word \u201ckeisho,\u201d which translates to inheritance. The traditional lore attached to the name involves a family passing a katana down through generations. Sindler says it symbolized the torch being passed: \u201cIt\u2019s three letters,\u201d he says. \u201cI think it\u2019s powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

SH\u014c<\/a>, 1533 N. Wells Street, opening on Tuesday, August 12, reservations available via OpenTable<\/a><\/p>\n