"Mari Katsumura’s Michelin-pedigree omakase counter in Old Town, twelve seats and $155; book it for a solo dinner with patience."
Twelve seats. Ten courses. $155. SHŌ opened in August 2025 next door to Kamehachi at 1533 North Wells Street in Old Town, the work of fourth-generation restaurateur Adam Sindler and chef Mari Katsumura, who won a Michelin star running West Loop’s Yūgen. The menu is omakase with a sense of humour: a quartet of opening bites includes Japanese egg salad served in a cone before the sushi begins. Pairings add $95 for sake or wine, $75 alcohol-free.
Mari Katsumura grew up at Yoshi’s Café, her family’s Japanese-French room in Lakeview, then cooked through Grace, Blackbird and Acadia before taking Yūgen to a Michelin star within nine months of opening. At SHŌ she runs a ten-course omakase that treats tradition as a starting point, not a rulebook. The opening zensai quartet is the tell: Japanese egg salad in a cone, a corn-cream croquette, tomato confit with ponzu jelly, and a milk-bread grilled cheese stuffed with quail egg, yamagobo and shaved katsuobushi. Then the nigiri, and a build-your-own hand-roll course where slices of fish, duck and wagyu arrive with nori, a soy dropper, wasabi and pickled ginger.
The menu is $155, with a $95 sake or wine pairing. Twelve seats, one counter, at 1533 North Wells in Old Town, open since August 2025. For the wider field, see the best sushi restaurants worldwide.
One counter, twelve seats, dark and music-led, closer to a listening bar than a hushed sushi temple. Lighting is low, the playlist present but not loud enough to drown the chef’s narration, and the seats are spaced so a solo diner is not pinned to a stranger. A few four-tops and a private space for six to eight sit off to the side. There is no dress code; smart-casual fits the room. Sit at the counter.
Book SHŌ for a solo dinner because the counter is built for it: you face the chef, the ten courses give you something to do with your hands and your attention, and the music carries the room so you never feel stranded. Reserve a single seat and arrive on time. See the Chicago dining guide and the best restaurants for solo dining.
Not for a quick bite or a big talker: it is a two-hour seated omakase at a counter, the pace is fixed, and there is no à la carte fallback.
Yes, if you want chef-driven omakase rather than a sushi-bar à la carte. SHŌ pairs Mari Katsumura’s Michelin pedigree with a playful ten-course menu, and the egg-salad cone and the build-your-own hand rolls are the signatures, for $155 before pairings. It is one of Chicago’s strongest new counters. See the Chicago dining guide.
Fairly hard. SHŌ has twelve counter seats and one seating focus per night, so it books on Tock two to four weeks out, with weekends going first. There is no phone line; reserve online and prepay. Solo seats at the counter are often the easiest to land late, so check back for single openings.
No dress code. SHŌ is a dark, music-led room where smart-casual fits perfectly; a collared shirt or a nice top is more than enough. There are no jackets and no sneakers ban. Old Town runs relaxed, so dress for a good dinner out rather than for formality.
There is no ordering: SHŌ is a set ten-course omakase at $155. Add the $95 sake or wine pairing if you drink; the non-alcoholic pairing is $75. Tell them about allergies when you book. Dishes you will be served include the egg-salad cone and the build-your-own hand rolls.
Reserve on the SHŌ site (Tock). Prepaid; 12 counter seats.
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Where SHŌ ranks among the counters built for a table of one.
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