"Mari Katsumura's music-themed omakase counter in Old Town — a ten-course, $155 menu that ends in tonkotsu ramen. Book it for solo dining."
Ten courses, $155, one counter, and a soundtrack that matters as much as the menu. Shō opened in 2025 in Old Town, at 1533 N Wells Street, as Mari Katsumura's reimagining of omakase — Japanese technique loosened with global ideas and set to a deliberate playlist. Katsumura earned a Michelin star running the kitchen at Yugen before this, and at Shō she trades the white-tablecloth hush for something younger and louder without dropping the precision.
Mari Katsumura built her reputation at Yugen, where her cooking earned a Michelin star, and Shō is her looser, more personal follow-up. The ten-course menu changes seasonally and runs well beyond sushi: hot and cold preparations, composed plates, and a couple of interactive courses that are the talking points. One is a coffee cotton candy and egg yolk that collapses into a sauce when you add soy; the finale is a deliberately un-fancy bowl of tonkotsu ramen, ultra-rich, spiked with housemade togarashi, Iberico ham and a quail egg, with charred broccoli rabe to cut it.
The tasting is $155 a person. A sake or wine pairing adds $95, a non-alcoholic pairing $75, and select courses can be upgraded with premium supplements. The Infatuation reviewed it as a fresh remix of the form, which is the right read — this is omakase that takes the food seriously and itself a little less so.
Shō is a design-forward room built around the counter, darker and moodier than the typical omakase white box, with the playlist pushed up so the music is part of the meal rather than background. The counter is the main event — you watch the chefs build each course — and seating is limited, so the energy stays close. Lighting is low and warm. Dress is smart-casual; this is Old Town, not a formal Loop room. The pace is brisk for omakase, and the soundtrack keeps the tempo up.
Book Shō for solo dining because the counter is designed for it: a single seat faces the chefs, the ten-course menu means you never have to negotiate an order, and the music gives you something to settle into rather than an empty chair across the table. Solo diners get the same show as a party of four and arguably a better one, since the chefs talk to the counter. For a night out alone in Chicago that feels like an event, it is one of our picks in the Chicago solo-dining guide.
Skip Shō if you want quiet conversation or a traditional, reverent sushi omakase — the music is loud by design and the format leans playful, not purist.
Yes, if you like omakase with personality. Shō is Mari Katsumura's music-themed counter in Old Town, and she earned a Michelin star at Yugen before opening it. The ten-course, $155 menu blends precise Japanese technique with playful, interactive courses and ends in a bowl of tonkotsu ramen. The Infatuation rated it a fresh take on the form. It is a strong night out, especially at the counter.
Shō is hard to book because the counter is small and there are limited seatings. Reserve weeks ahead on Tock or OpenTable, and target weeknights, which open up sooner than weekends. There is no realistic walk-in option for the counter. If a date is fixed, book the moment the window opens; cancellations occasionally free up seats closer in, so it is worth checking back.
The dress code at Shō is smart-casual. This is an Old Town counter with a younger, music-driven mood rather than a formal dining room, so neat everyday clothes work — no jacket required. You will not feel out of place in a nice shirt and jeans. The focus is the food and the soundtrack, not dressing up, though most diners come put-together for the occasion.
Dinner at Shō is $155 per person for the ten-course tasting menu. A sake or wine pairing adds $95, and a non-alcoholic pairing is $75. Select courses can be upgraded with premium supplements, which push the total higher. Budget around $250 to $300 per person with a pairing and tax, depending on what you add. The set menu is the only evening format.
You do not order at Shō — it is a set ten-course omakase. Expect a mix of hot and cold preparations and two interactive courses: a coffee cotton candy and egg yolk that turns to sauce with soy, and a finale of rich tonkotsu ramen with Iberico ham and a quail egg. If you drink, the sake or wine pairing at $95 is the way to follow the menu's arc.
The counter is small and seatings sell out weeks ahead; weeknights are the best shot.
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Shō's counter ranks among the best seats in Chicago for a meal alone in our ranked guide.
See the Chicago solo-dining ranking →