Review: Chicago’s sushi master returns with lovelier and cheaper Kyoten Next Door

I’m sitting at the sushi counter at Kyoten Next Door and feeling completely weirded out. It’s only partly because of the food. I had just downed a piece of raw hamachi so buttery, it dissolved into nothingness in a fraction of a second. This vanishing act left me to marvel at the distinct grains of rice — tender, warm and spiked with a splash of vinegar.

But if this is owner Otto Phan’s second restaurant, how can it be such a pleasant, well-run operation? It started the moment I opened the door. Did someone just greet me with a hello and walk me to a comfortable lounge area? What are all these meticulously positioned light fixtures and color-coordinated decorations on the walls? How can Kyoten Next Door be approximately 10 times nicer than the last time I visited its sister restaurant Kyoten, yet cost much, much less?

Phan landed in Chicago back in 2018 on a mission. The Texas chef opened Kyoten in a random, unmarked storefront in Logan Square, declared it would be Chicago’s best sushi spot and openly yearned for Michelin stars. Phan was undoubtedly brash, but his drive sounded real. If that meant ignoring details unconnected to the food, then he would. I still think about the pristine fish I sampled five years ago, but I also remember how the room had all the ambience of a bare-walled bachelor pad.

The original Kyoten has changed a lot since then. It underwent a monthslong remodel in 2021 with the help of designer Su Yang. Phan also shifted Kyoten’s focus to only wild-caught fish, which had a huge impact on the cost. When it opened in 2018, a seat at Kyoten went for the then-unheard-of price of $220 per person. Fast forward five years, Phan still doesn’t have that Michelin star, but seats now go for $440 to $490 per person, depending on the day.

So it’s a bit shocking that a 15-course meal at Kyoten Next Door goes for only $159. “Kyoten became a very expensive restaurant,” Phan said. “It made sense to take over the space next door and provide a more affordable option. Plus, as you mature and you get old enough, you want to train more sous chefs and provide opportunities.” This explains why you won’t find Phan behind the counter of Kyoten Next Door, but you will find the very hospitable Jorge Villa and Mugi (who goes by only his first name).

Smartly, Phan asked Yang to help design the new space, and the result is even lovelier. Expensive sushi restaurants tend to pass off a frigid and steely atmosphere as artful minimalism, but Kyoten Next Door exudes a calm warmth. Though not quite at the absurd level of precision found at The Omakase Room at Sushi-San, it’s still a pleasure to spend a couple hours here eating mostly raw fish.

Along with the lower price, Phan wants customers to know the key differences between his two restaurants. While Kyoten throws in plated dishes along the way, Kyoten Next Door keeps it simple. “Kyoten Next Door is purely a sushi restaurant,” Phan said. “It’s nigiri, nigiri and nigiri, with a roll and tamago.” Next Door also uses a different kind of rice (it’s slightly smaller). It also utilizes numerous farm-raised seafood options, including salmon from New Zealand, which Phan adores. “Some fish farms are doing really good things, and you want to promote them,” Phan said. “The waters around New Zealand are incredible.”

Wherever it comes from, the salmon that starts the meal is luxuriously rich without any flabby greasiness. The meal races forward from there, moving from the firmer masu (sometimes called cherry trout) to the sweeter madai (red seabream). By the time I reached the aforementioned hamachi, I was nearly in a trance.

Where most omakase restaurants wind down the meal with a succession of progressively fattier cuts of tuna, Kyoten Next Door brilliantly subverts this by putting them in the middle. “If you just go lightest to heaviest, it’s going to be really boring,” Phan said. “People can be too full to appreciate the most prized pieces.” Chefs with long tasting menus, take note.

The leaner, crimson akami tuna has a smooth and tender texture that’s also remarkably savory. Compare that with the toro, which had so much fat it melts on contact with your tongue. The next course amps up the fattiness even more, as the chef places an absurdly rich, though slim slice of wagyu on top and torches it until funky, beefy aromas whirl around the room.

From here, fat becomes less important than texture. A plump, juicy and sweet scallop, scored on top to fit neatly on the rice, comes next, refreshing your palate. The aji, Japanese horse mackerel, sports a shiny silver skin, along with a firm, toothsome bite. Then comes uni, wrapped up with rice in crackly nori. Bad uni is a mushy, muddled mess, but this felt like a rush of cooling saltwater.

By the time I downed the tamago, the traditional eggy dessert to a sushi meal, I was convinced I had just experienced the best omakase in Chicago. There were no theatrics or elaborate toppings, just bite after pristine bite. In my head, it was even better than the meal I had at Kyoten five years ago.

But what does that mean about its much more expensive sister? Is Kyoten Next Door actually the better option, especially if you’re just looking for a traditional sushi experience? Or has Kyoten improved that much in five years? If it’s the latter, wouldn’t that make Kyoten one of Chicago’s best restaurants?

I’ll let you know how that goes next.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com

Kyoten Next Door

2513 W. Armitage Ave.

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kyotenchicago.com/kyoten-next-door-now-open

Tribune rating: Three stars, excellent

Open: Wednesday to Sunday, 6-9:30 p.m.

Prices: $159 per person

Accessibility: Bathrooms on first floor

Noise: Conversation friendly

Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.