Sushi by Scratch Chicago: Speakeasy Omakase at the 10-Seat Counter
Sushi by Scratch Chicago is the kind of night you dress for without overthinking — a hidden 10-seat counter, a welcome cocktail before the first bite, and chefs working close enough that you can watch the knife finish a piece of hamachi. People chase Sushi by Scratch Chicago for the speakeasy energy as much as the sushi: you ring in, settle into a dark, wood-warm room, and spend a few hours letting inventive nigiri do the talking.
Why people chase Sushi by Scratch Chicago
Chicago has no shortage of omakase counters. What makes Sushi by Scratch Chicago feel different is the theatrical quiet of the entrance and the playful seriousness of the board. Husband-and-wife chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee brought their California Scratch Restaurants concept here with a clear point of view: treat sushi as a from-scratch tasting, not a museum of orthodox rules.
You are not wandering a sprawling dining room. You are one of ten. Three seatings a night keep the room intimate without turning it into a selfie free-for-all. The pull is proximity — chefs in ties and aprons, warm pendant light, bottles glowing behind the bar, and a sequence that moves from canapé to nigiri to a dessert bite that still feels like part of the story.
What does the Sushi by Scratch Chicago experience feel like?
Arrive early if you can. The house invites guests 30 minutes before the reservation for a complimentary welcome cocktail and canapé service — a soft landing before you take your seat at the counter. That buffer is half the romance: you transition from Milwaukee Avenue into a darker, slower room, meet the pace of the night, and start eating before the formal seating even begins.
Then the counter takes over. Place settings wait under woven pendant lamps. Knives rest. Fish comes out of wooden boxes. The room is designed for watching — not as a spectacle, but as hospitality. Conversation dips when a piece lands. Phones stay down for a minute because there is something better happening two feet away.
That is the speakeasy trick of Sushi by Scratch Chicago: the night feels secret without feeling precious. You get the dark wood, the bottle wall, the chefs working in concert, and enough humor from the team that the room never turns into a library whisper. Come for the hidden-door romance; stay for the bite that makes the whole table go quiet.
What does Sushi by Scratch Chicago taste like?
The public menu language is simple: a chef’s-choice progression of nigiri-style sushi plus one dessert course — roughly 16 nigiri bites and a closing sweet, framed as a 17+ course evening once you count the welcome bites. Beverages, premium supplements, and extra bites (when time allows) sit à la carte, so the night can stretch or stay focused depending on how you want to drink.
Signature touches that diners and press keep naming are the house’s real personality. Hamachi gets painted with sweet corn pudding and finished with sourdough breadcrumbs from Kallas-Lee’s bread — sweet, crunchy, and a little California-meets-Midwest in the best way. Aged bluefin shows up with fresh wasabi and Lee’s own soy. Albacore wrapped in sake-soaked nori lands with ponzu, wasabi, and crispy onion. Dessert often closes on Kallas-Lee’s bright Matcha Bon Bon — lime, white chocolate, shortbread — a clean last note after all that fish.
Fish for the program is flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market, then reworked with from-scratch sauces and textures that refuse to be anonymous. If you have done the ultra-traditional Chicago counters, this one feels freer: still precise, still intimate, but happy to put corn pudding on hamachi and mean it.
Who is behind Sushi by Scratch Chicago?
Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee are the chefs and owners behind Scratch Restaurants Group. Their Chicago room is part of a multi-city sushi concept that started as a California obsession and landed on Milwaukee Avenue with the same appointment-only intensity. Lee’s path includes serious Chicago kitchen time earlier in his career; Kallas-Lee’s pastry and bread instincts show up in the breadcrumbs and dessert.
The house Instagram — @sushibyscratchrestaurants — is the public feed for plating stills, mood, and reservation nudges. Follow it for appetite, not for gossip. The argument is always the piece on the board.
Where is Sushi by Scratch Chicago, and how does the night run?
Trust this address: 415 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60654, inside NADC — River West / Milwaukee Avenue, not a downtown hotel lobby. Street parking exists, but a rideshare is the calmer move for a night that starts with cocktails and ends with a late seating.
Seatings start at 5:00 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. nightly on the house schedule. Maximum capacity is 10 guests per seating — that is the hard ceiling, not a soft suggestion. Guests of all ages are welcome, but everyone eats the tasting; there is no children’s menu and no casual a-la-carte sushi bar path. The house politely declines mushroom and fish allergies or aversions and does not offer a vegetarian menu; gluten, dairy, and shellfish restrictions are the accommodations they publish.
Published price for the Chicago tasting: $185 per person, plus a 20% service charge. Budget drinks and any supplements on top. Cancellation language on the Chicago page is firm: cancellations inside 48 hours are charged the full menu price, so calendar the deadline the moment you book.
How do reservations work for Sushi by Scratch Chicago?
Keep this light and practical. The live “Make a Reservation” path on the official Chicago page currently routes through the house booker (SevenRooms). Inventory is scarce because the counter only seats ten — treat an open date as something to grab, not something to debate in a group chat for three days.
Per the house FAQ, reservations are released on the 1st of each month for the following month’s dates. Private buyouts and special timing go through Events@scratchrestaurants.com. For day-of questions, the Chicago line published on the site is (872) 870-0200, with email at SushiChicago@scratchrestaurants.com. Confirm times, party size, and any dietary notes on the live booker before you celebrate — platforms can shift, and the house site is the safer compass than an old screenshot.
Why Sushi by Scratch Chicago is worth planning for
Because Chicago nights this small are rare without feeling stiff. Sushi by Scratch Chicago gives you the hidden-door romance, the welcome drink, the counter theater, and a tasting that is allowed to be inventive — corn pudding on hamachi, house soy, a matcha bonbon for the road home. It is not the city’s most expensive omakase, and it is not trying to be a lecture. It is trying to be a memorable room.
If you have been saving a celebration, an out-of-town guest night, or a “we finally booked something special” Tuesday, this is the shape of evening that justifies the calendar invite. Ten seats. Three seatings. A board that keeps moving. Pair it with a walk along Milwaukee afterward or a nightcap nearby, and you have one of those Chicago plans that feels intentional instead of improvised. That is the whole pitch.
Sushi by Scratch Chicago FAQ
What is Sushi by Scratch Chicago?
Sushi by Scratch Chicago is an appointment-only Japanese omakase counter from chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee, located at 415 N Milwaukee Ave inside NADC. It serves a chef’s-choice nigiri tasting with a dessert course for a maximum of 10 guests per seating.
How much does Sushi by Scratch Chicago cost?
The published Chicago tasting is $185 per person plus a 20% service charge. Drinks, pairings, supplements, and extra bites are additional.
How many seats does Sushi by Scratch Chicago have?
Each seating is capped at 10 guests at the sushi counter. The house cannot take more than ten for a single seating.
What time are the seatings at Sushi by Scratch Chicago?
Seatings start at 5:00 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. Guests are invited 30 minutes early for a complimentary welcome cocktail and canapés.
How do I book Sushi by Scratch Chicago?
Start on the official Chicago page and follow the live “Make a Reservation” link. The house FAQ says inventory for the next month drops on the 1st of each month. Confirm your date on the live booker before you plan around it.
What should I know about allergies at Sushi by Scratch Chicago?
The house declines mushroom and fish allergies or aversions and does not offer a vegetarian menu. Gluten, dairy, and shellfish restrictions can be accommodated — contact the restaurant ahead of time.
Sources and further reading
- Official Chicago page: sushibyscratchrestaurants.com/chicago
- House FAQ: sushibyscratchrestaurants.com/faq
- Instagram: @sushibyscratchrestaurants
- Condé Nast Traveler review: Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Chicago
- Eater Chicago opening coverage (2023): LA’s Sushi by Scratch comes to Chicago
