Kamehachi is a sushi restaurant with two locations, one in Northbrook, and one in Old Town on Wells Street. For this review me and my team are staying within the boundaries of Chicago and heading to the Old Town location. As my team and I made our way down to our destination one thing that stood out to me was how many people were out walking the streets and packing into bars. We may be in a global pandemic, but the good citizens of Chicago are still going out on weekends. Prowling the streets like junkies waiting for their next soybean fix!

We made reservations for 7:30, then, naturally showed up at 7:45. I’m Chicago’s #1 edamame blogger, me and my employees show up whenever we please, and the restaurant thanks us for it. Upon entering the building you are greeted by a large brick wall on your right side with tons of Japanese writing on it. Now, my Japanese is admittedly a bit rusty, but I believe what the writing said was something along the lines of “Welcome Edamamaster, you honor us by dining here!”

The rest of the restaurant is similarly Japanese-modern themed. The bar on the left upon entry lines the entire front of the restaurant and is proficiently stocked with any liquor, wine, beer, or sake that you may desire as their alcohol list is pretty robust. Towards the back of the restaurant we have a couple more dining rooms lined with booths and some small tables in the middle. 

Now, I know what you are all wondering “Is this restaurant Covid-safe?” To my best knowledge it appears that they are following all the necessary precautions for maintaining a healthy eating environment while minimizing the risks to catch the world’s most popular disease! The tables in the central area have been spread out pretty wide. And the booths are only seating one in every two, meaning there’s way more than 6 feet of room between each table. Servers are all wearing masks and keeping a healthy distance from the table while taking orders. And most importantly, there are signs on the door stating that patrons are required to wear masks upon entry. With winter fast approaching and patio seating no longer being available Kamehachi seems to be taking indoor dining seriously.

Now when you start looking at the menu you may be a bit overwhelmed at first, in addition to Sushi they also offer many more types of dishes including Gyoza.

But let’s jump into the big deal, the reason we are all here today. The edamame! Kamehachi is one of the brave restaurants that dares to serve more than just your sea-salt-standard. They also include spicy edamame on their menu. Tossed in Garlic, Butter, and chili oil this edamame is packed with flavor!

One thing you will notice is that this edamame is juicy, it’s almost swimming in that chili oil. But when you get past the initial spice and the robust flavor of this take on edamame, you can tell from the first bite that it is perfectly cooked. The outer shell breaks open at the slightest bite and willingly yields the bean within. Perfectly cooked and absolutely packed with flavor, this edamame is everything that you could possibly ask for, and more.

It’s worth noting that after our appetizers had finished the waiter brought out free Miso soup for us. Now, this isn’t the first time I have been recognized as Chicago’s #1 edamame blogger and have been paid tribute with free food, probably won’t be the last either. However, I need to make one thing clear here, the integrity of my blog comes before all else. I do not take bribes like free soup into account when giving out my ratings.

The aforementioned soup did serve as a perfect segue from appetizer to entrée, for just as I was slurping down the last of it, our plates of Sushi arrived. I got my standard Negi Hamachi roll as well as one of the signature rolls, the Mayflower.

Both rolls were highly satisfactory. With the negi hamachi a staple that would be difficult to mess up, and the Mayflower which was absolutely packed with fishy flavor!

As the plates cleared, me and the team washed the meal down with the rest of our Sapporos. I slipped my sleek new business card into the checkbook and we made our way outside feeling fulfilled, bellies full. It’s been a long boring year with everyone staying inside because of Covid, but, if you do need to go out. I recommend Kamehachi as a safe and delicious place to grab some spicy edamame. I’m leaving Kamehachi with a triple pod rating and naming it the best spot to grab edamame in 2020.