TABLES FOR TWOSAKANAYA403 E Green St. Champaign (217-344-1400)

SAKANAYA IS DEFINITLEY THE place to go when in the Champaign-Urbana area. My boyfriend, Matt, came across a chic little place when looking for a nice restaurant to eat at while I went to visit him at school. This restaurant is walking distance from the University of Illinois campus. When you first walk in, you see the sushi bar/ kitchen where they make all of their food. The inside is very clean, the lights are dimmed, and the dcor is simple, yet beautiful. The walls had this silver wave-like pattern with a blue spotlight on it, which resembled a body of water. The ambiance was calming and soothing. There were paintings of sushi and various fish on the wall. Our table was close to the entrance, so I didnt really get to explore the entire restaurant, but from what I could see, it was a pretty small place. When we walked in, they asked for my phone number and name so they could text me when our table was ready, but I never received a text. Instead, an employee wearing too much eye make-up called my name when our table was ready. It was extremely busy, but the wait moved quickly. T was so loud, that I could barely hear my own conversation. The menu was easy to read, because all of the meals were spread out on just two pages. The cups they give you for water are so petite and cute. You are only given chopsticks to eat. Everyone gets miso soup, which is made up of tofu, green onion, and wakame. I was excited to try it, and enjoyed it very much, along with other customers. I only ate/drank the broth, because Im not a big fan of tofu. I left the blocks of tofu. The staff was super friendly and the service was quick. I ordered California Roll Sushi. It was filled with crab, avocado, and cucumbers. I was very pleased with it, although, they could have done a better job with the presentation of the sushi. As you can see in the picture above, the rice looks a little messy on one of the pieces of sushi. It was plump, yet light, flavorful, fresh, and just the right amount of squishy. It didnt fall apart when it was lifted it off the plate with my chopsticks. The Shuyo Ramen was excellent. Some of its ingredients are pork-based soy broth, bamboo shoots, pickled ginger, dry seaweed, wakame, and chasu. I dont know what half of that is, but it was excellent. The stringy noodles were my favorite. The texture was gummy and doughy. The presentation of the food on solid black dishes accentuated the vibrant colors of the fresh vegetables. It made the food pop.One of the weaknesses was not bringing our food at the same time. My food was brought about five minutes later than Matts food. Since he waited for my food to come before he ate, his food got cold while waiting for mine to come. Im sure the kitchen was overwhelmed, so we were understood the delay.I will definitely come back when I am in the area. Sushi is one of my favorite foods, and this is the one of the best restaurants Ive eaten sushi at. -- Daniella Ballarino

Lunch and Dinner ($10 - $20 Entres)Mon-Sat: 11:30am 2pm, 5pm 1amSun: 5pm 9:30pm