SushiSamba Rio Restaurant Review

504 N. Wells St. (Grand Ave.) Send to Phone

See and be seen fusion spot that also has a pretty people-populated rooftop patio.

SushiSamba Rio Restaurant is one of our 2012 | Top 10 Chicago Sushi Restaurants | Top 10 Chicago Lounge Restaurants |

Cuisine

Open

Lunch & Dinner daily, Brunch Sun.

Features

Private room(s)
Full bar
Reservations suggested
Entertainment
Outdoor dining
Open late Tues.-Sat.
Parking lot
Casual

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Dining room at SushiSamba Rio, Chicago, IL

This sprawling alliance between Japanese (the sushi part) and South American (the samba part) quickly gained---and has since maintained---a following. Itâ€™s not easy getting everything right in this kind of arrangement, but often the kitchen succeeds. We like the creative rolls---try the Pacific with king crab, avocado and Asian pear wrapped in soy paper with wasabi-avocado crema. But we also dig the more restrained options, like the grilled, spicy shishitos with sea salt and lemon or the robata platters, which may include skirt steak with Malbec butter or ishimoto-glazed prawns. At the same time, weâ€™ve also enjoyed sea bass skewers with starchy Peruvian corn and braised short ribs, served in a sizzling cast iron pot with Japanese wild mushrooms. Not to be missed, too, is the brunch, which features everything from Japanese breakfast to toasted spice cakes with yuzu-pickled berries. For dessert, indulge guilt-free in the delicate, refreshing fruit tiraditos, paper-thin slices of fruit with flavored â€œpearlsâ€™; we especially like the mango with mint and pineapple with coffee. Or, get the pear custard, baked in an iron pot, served with vanilla bean ice cream.