Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.
Shame on us. Woow Sushi in Algonquin opened its doors in 2013 and even though he repeatedly drove past it, Jim being the moron that he is, never gave it a second thought. It was only after repeated recommendations that he came up with the brilliant idea to check it out. Welcome to my world…
Woow Sushi
780 S. Randall Road
Algonquin 60102
(847)458-5211
www.woowsushi.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 North to Algonquin, East to Randall Road, South to Restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 20 minutes
This is an unassuming restaurant facing Randall Road across from the Target parking lot. When we opened the door and walked in, our jaws dropped to the floor and I said, “wow.” Nancy being Nancy, said “No, Woow.” It was so beautiful, it felt like we walked into a five star restaurant. Where should we begin? The décor can be described as very chic. Everywhere you look, you find something that makes you say wow (no, Woow). This includes faux fur walls, numerous lit up columns, a bubbling water partition, and an architecturally detailed ceiling. This does not resemble your typical Japanese restaurant at all.
We became hungry little campers this afternoon as we were reading their ginormous menu. We started our meal with two appetizers, namely the Gyoza (6) for $5.25, and the King Crab Rangoon (4) for $4.95. The Gyozas were perfectly cooked. The crab rangoon was the best we’ve ever had; you could actually taste the crab and all the other ingredients. This was a far cry from the usual blobs of cream cheese contained in most crab rangoon.
Jim wanted to try their Tom Yum Soup (just because he liked the name) for $6.25. This turned out to be a bucket of spicy shrimp soup with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, lemon grass, galangal, and Thai herbs. He was amazed to find there were three large shrimp floating in his soup. This was delicious, but he wished it would have come in a cup since this was a lot of soup.
Nancy ordered one of her favorites, the Tempura Shrimp Lunch Special. This was three shrimp, five pieces of vegetables, a salad with ginger dressing, a small California roll, three Shrimp Shumai, and steamed rice. This huge platter of food was only $9.99. Nancy upgraded to fried rice for $2 more which was absolutely delicious. We never heard of Shrimp Shumai either. They resemble shrimp tater tots, and I loved them, but Nancy not so much.
Jim wanted his cooked sushi as usual, so he ordered off their lunch specials, 3 Rolls for $11.99 with soup or salad. He chose the salad with ginger dressing since he already ate a bucket of soup. For his three sushi rolls, he picked the Boston Roll (shrimp and avocado with a dollop of mayo on top), Shrimp Tempura Roll (with eel sauce), and the Sweet Potato Roll (fried sweet potato). These were large rolls that were prepared beautifully.
This restaurant is not only a feast for your tummy, but also a feast for your eyes. You’ll have to experience it for yourself. Our eyes were bigger than our expanding waist lines, so we had to take home a doggie bag. It’s nice to have a restaurant of this caliber close to home.
The price for ordering too much food was $49.41, but at least we have lunch for another day.
Dining Duo Tip: Order one item at a time and when you’re finished with that, then order another. If you don’t do that, food will be coming to your table faster than the candy on the conveyor belt in the old “I Love Lucy” show.
FYI: Handicap Accessible.
Jim’s take: Honestly, all of the food I ordered was fantastic. I could make a meal out of Nancy’s Shrimp Shumai.
Nancy’s take: Everything I ate was delicious, but the California Roll stayed at Woow. I don’t eat anything rolled in seaweed!!!
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