Ron of Japan
| Address: | 230 E Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611, USA |
| Phone: | +1 312-644-6500 |
| Site: | ron-of-japan.com |
| Rating: | 3.7 |
| Working: | 5–9PM 5–9PM 5–9PM 5–9PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 4:30–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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Priscilla Alvarez
Ive only had one other hibachi experience. Hibachi isnt really something I crave. Anyway, a couple of family members of mine were just RAVING about Ron of Japan and how much they were craving it. In all fairness, Im always a bit skeptical when someone hypes a restaurant that much (cos they really were hyping it to be the best.food.evar!), so I told them Id join them the next time they go. We went this past Saturday, and had reservations for 8pm. We checked in with the hostess and told them everyone in our party was here. First thing we noted was how relatively dead it was. It was Easter weekend after all. We sat down at their bar/waiting area and started with drinks. We had the "Super Duper Mai Tai." It was pretty decent. Im not a fan of sweet mixed drinks like that so I wasnt expecting to be wowed by the drink. We were sitting there chatting when we realized we had been waiting for over 20 minutes. My brother went to ask them how much longer for our table. The hostess said she was waiting for our entire party to show up. Never mind we told her everyone was there when we arrived...she passed us up at least 4 times when calling other people. It was about 35 minutes after we arrived that they finally sat us at a table. Luckily, we had our own table (6 of us total). I was told that most of the time they try to squeeze in a full 10 people per table, so maybe they were waiting for others. Regardless, thats silly, especially on a slow night. Anyway, we all ordered the steak and lobster entree and added extra salads and rice. One entree is more than enough to be shared between 2 people. Its so much food! I really enjoyed the steak, and the eggsauce on the lobster and rice was good. Our chef wasnt too chatty, but was definitely engaging. Our waitress was really nice and was on top of refilling our drinks. Overall, the food was good, had lots of flavor (especially the steak!), but for the experience it was JUST OKAY. Not the most amazing meal Ive had, but its worth checking out. Definitely over-hyped by my peeps.
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A Private User
This is really one of the best places to go for dinner in Chicago. It is really different than the typical places you will find. I have been going there for over 35 years. The food and service is first rate and the atmosphere is just plain fun. Do not expect a meat and potatoes type restaurant this is steak/lobster/shrimp food rice and soup and salad. It is difficult to describe the eggy sauce that they put on the lobster and shrimp it is so rich you will hear your veins start to harden when you eat it. It is a extremely eggy hollandaise sauce that must be tried. The lobster tail that is served is smothered with it . It is just so rich and yummy it is just superb with lobster. The shrimp is an appetizer and the sauce is served with it as well. I am in seventh heaven when I go there as I always get the Lobster. The meat is always extremely tender and juicy. If you have never been to a restaurant that cooks the meal before you this is a must go place. Over the years they have added KOBE beef and some other cuts as well. You will not walk away hungry but you will not be stuffed either. You will be just trying to figure out when you will be coming back for another adventure. We used to go there once a month but the food is so rich that you will probably come back at least twice a year. I just love the place as you can have a group of 5 or 6 and they will put another 2 at your table (usually). The one thing I miss (and I understand why but...) is the food preparer in the 70s & 80s used to bounce knives on the grill and just generally put on a great show. They seemed to have stopped this, I am guessing because some up tight people where complaining about it. HOGWASH!!! The chiefs are all trained in Japan and could not make a mistake. This is a place where you can bring out of town guests and show them what a great town restaurant wise Chicago is! Definitely 5 stars.
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James Jennings
I wont waste my money or time here again! I decided to order carry out. This was my first time dining at this restaurant. Almost $40 for 2 California Rolls and Shrimp Frird Rice...while the price isnt necessarily an issue, the serving size was sparce and unfilling. It definitely wasnt $40 bucks worth of food. The shrimp was not fresh and the rice was kind of dry. I asked the door staff for a few extra Soy Sauce packets and, after maybe 5 minutes, was handed 1 packet and told "this is all I could find." Really?!?!? Overpriced food and you dont even have condiments supplied. I was very dissapointed!
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Sam Winn
Food is absolutely terrible. Fried rice tastes like a mashed up old hamburger in flavorless rice and all the proteins you can get (my boyfriend and I had scallops, chicken, crab and shrimp) were competently flavorless and all they do is put this sauce on top that resembles nacho cheese from a gas station. To top it off, they give you ice cream at the end, so I ordered the sherbert thinking how could they mess this up? Welp there was a hair on it. We paid, I tipped extremely well as it is not the servers fault, and left. I will never return.
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A Private User
This was the worst dining experience Ive ever had. Traditionally we celebrate my daughters birthday at a Japanese restaurant, starting 16 years ago at Ron of Japan when it was a fun, delicious experience. The food was bland, lobster horrible, service non-existant. Being a party of 8, gratuity was added to our bill. The waitress rolled her eyes at us when we asked for an ice tea refill. The cook- they used to be creative- barely cracked a smile. Our bill was over $600 (no alcohol). A better celebration experience would have been at McDonalds.
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Woolly Manmoth
RONs is by far the best Japanese in the city. I have been going to Rons for 20 years and make any excuse I can to go. They always have the highest quality cuts of meat and seafood and since they cook it at your table you can see how choice it is. They dont mess around and distract you with tricks while cooking because the food is so good it speaks for itself. The egg yolk batter is magical, and while difficult, it is best consumed in moderation. We always valet, but I have been lucky enough to get a spot on the street a few times.
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Nicholas Winn
This is the first time Ive been to a Japanese place and left hungry. The food portions are small and the prices are high. Dinner for two with one drink each was 140 dollars. Where I come from, Denver, Colorado, this would of cost half that and been much more filling. Food quality wise, its good, again, not worth the crazy prices though. Wait staff seemed to of forgotten us in the back, only came to refill our water once.
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A Private User
I have been kicking around the idea of trying this place for quite some time. Well, I finally gave in tonight. This place is aweful and grossly over priced. I had rather eat at Burger King than eat here again. Absolutely nothing about this place wowed me at all. If you decide to go after reading this, you are on your own. The only reason I gave it 1 star is because 0 stars is not an option.
