Best Japanese Restaurants in Highland Park

From start to finish—wow! We had an amazing dinner at Golden Gai at the counter. Dishes we tried: - spicy cucumber salad - ginger salad - scallop roll - rickrolld roll - salmon nigiri - toro nigiri - fried soba noodles (mushrooms were insane!) - yuzu tart for dessert Everything was stellar with unexpected flavor twists at every turn. We also loved the unique stoneware and glassware! All staff we interacted with were warm, friendly, and personable. We’ll be back!

Delicious food and great service. We liked the decor, but would appreciate real chairs with backs rather than square cubes. Our backs were sore when we left.

We have been here several times before and have never been disappointed. We cannot resist the fried tofu. We also love the shrimp tempura but we skipped it this time as we wanted to also get a “large plate” entree. My wife enjoyed her teriyaki salmon. My tuna was great. We shared the salad and the pretzel dessert. I am disappointed that the miso Halibut is no longer on the menu…. We will be back though! Thank you Alec - our server.

If you’ve never been to an omakase before and you are with someone who is new to raw fish, this is a good decent intro spot.

To be honest. It was the only place that I could get a reservation for six in at the last minute. They did accommodate us well. When I did arrive, the place does have an old musty smell. It was virtually empty with only a few tables seated on a Saturday night at 7 PM. The waiter that took our order was a tentative. Our chef was very good as well. Unfortunately, I left there, and I was still hungry after getting the imperial twin New York strip steaks. in a pinch again, I surely would go. But it would not be my first choice.