Complete Mitsuwa dining guide: 13 sweet and savory Japanese eats and drinks at Chicago’s best food hall

Mitsuwa Marketplace has changed a lot since our last dining guide in 2018. The Arlington Heights location of the Japanese American supermarket, a mini-chain founded in California, got a makeover. The food court added new stalls, some with sweets and others with savory foods, including bites on sticks.

You might be thinking, “Wait a minute. I saw something about a food hall?” The supermarket identifies its dining area as a food court. I say it’s the closest thing the Chicago area has to a true food hall, and the best compared to any in the city.

[ Editor’s note: We get it. It’s a question on everyone’s mind: Is it safe or prudent to dine out right now? To help you decide, see our story. ]

It’s no luxury destination. Nor is it like a Tokyo depachika, the department store basement culinary wonderlands. You will find flickers, though, of dining experiences as beautiful as those I’ve had traveling across Japan.

Our new complete dining guide to Mitsuwa focuses on the 13 restaurant stalls and food shops, listed alphabetically, each with my favorite recommendation. The market is small. More specialty than supersized, and tends to run out of stock anytime but the weekend, unlike mega Asian markets like H Mart, which carry Japanese products too. You can see some of the new Mitsuwa market in our photo gallery above.

Itadakimasu. Let’s eat.

B-Bee Crepe & Boba

Sweets lovers and haters can still find happiness together through Asian desserts. Traditionally, they’re not that sugary — even the modern crepes and boba drinks at B-Bee. The latter are deliberately dairy-free for any lactose intolerant patrons. Try the grassy shiratama matcha crepe ($7.45) garnished with green tea Pocky sticks. You’ve had waffle cones, but maybe not a conical pancake. Get in there and you’ll discover a warm, griddled crepe cradling a big, cool scoop of matcha ice cream, surrounded by shiratama, fat and chewy mochi-like pearls, all just sweet enough, and big enough, to share. 224-875-7577

J.sweets

A Japanese friend may have tipped you off about the newest confectionary at Mitsuwa. They may have raved about the colorful mochi, a rainbow of flavors filled with whipped cream or ice cream. What they may not have shared is that J.sweets transports you to a depachika wagashi shop with traditional confections. Take a small, woven shopping basket in hand, then carefully add status brand bonbons, where the packaging is as important as the contents. Strawberry wrapping paper hints at the jelly within. Choose seasonal sweets like sakura waffles ($3.75), pink and crisp cherry blossom cookie cream sandwiches only available in spring. 847-258-4797, jsweetsstore.com

Lady M

That’s no lady behind the luxury cake boutique Lady M. Hawaiian Ken Romaniszyn opened the first store in New York, and it now has locations across Asia. The monogram stands for the Japanese mille crepe cakes, here with 20 handmade, paper-thin pancakes layered with featherlight pastry cream. Start with a signature slice ($9), the caramelized top as iconic as Louboutin red soles. Delicately sweet, perfect for dessert or tea time, this treat will spoil you for frugal takes. Save up for a whole cake, big and small ($55 for a 6-inch, $90 for a 9-inch), or try a green tea slice next time, when you’re over the sticker shock. 312-625-3333, ladym.com

Mitsuwa Nagomi

The lunch-crowd regulars know to hang around the cooler right behind the registers just before noon. That’s when the market staff rolls out the best sushi and bento boxes. There’s a changing array of budget-friendly items all day that disappear fast. Try the vegetarian combination sushi ($7.99), a glorious gluttonous assortment with tender egg, hearty inari (seasoned fried tofu), crisp cucumber and crunchy takuan (pickled daikon radish). If you prefer sushi certainty, custom order party platters with your choice of seafood over vinegared rice from Japan by calling two days in advance. 847-956-6699, mitsuwa.com/ch

MaMa House

You might not think about eating Korean food at a Japanese food court, but when there’s dolsot bibimbap ($9.79) done well, you should get it. The ajummas (aunties) at MaMa House fill a sizzling hot and heavy stone bowl with steamed rice, bulgogi beef and a cornucopia of vegetables, all topped with a fried egg. Make sure to ask for some kimchi and gochujang then mix it up to taste, trying not to burn your mouth on the luscious crisped bits, though they’re so irresistible. Do note: It’s cash only, and it’s the only place to get hot drinking water at the market. 847-690-9886

Pastry House Hippo

The morning staff at the bakery inside the market can barely keep up with the shokupan. They run perfectly rectangular loaves through the slicer, set medium, thick and ridiculously thick at Pastry House Hippo. Some crust-free slices become sandwiches with fillings ranging from katsu pork cutlets to potato salad. I’m obsessed with the egg and fruit sandos ($3.50 each). With a can of warm coffee from the case it’s the cutest comfort food hug of a meal. Take a tray and tongs to select your own melonpan buns or curry croquettes, or ask for cream cakes in the case. 847-228-5435, hippobakery.com

Re Leaf

The young baristas behind the counter of the only coffee and tea cafe in the food court don’t ever seem to see as much action as their restaurant neighbors. I was a little skeptical when one said that most people preferred their matcha latte ($4.25) cold, but he liked it hot. I went with hot and was rewarded with lovely latte art on green tea so subtly sweet and refreshingly vegetal that Starbucks by comparison tastes like a syrupy Shamrock Shake. Re Leaf uses dairy milk by default but plant-based alternatives are available. 847-228-5435

Royce

Technically the name of the Japanese chocolate company is ROYCE’. But our rules say we shouldn’t use all caps and confusing punctuation. To further clarify, there’s no relation to Rolls-Royce either, surely a coincidence with that other luxury status brand. Though coveted for pricey boxes of nama chocolate, essentially chocolate ganache truffle squares dusted with cocoa powder or matcha, the big bars offer more affordable tastes, including a fragrant rum raisin. The signature Potatochip chocolate ($17), though, delivers an oddball, high-low, sweet and savory, creamy and crunchy, cross-cultural classic. I do wish the gift wrap was prettier than plastic. 312-625-3333, order.royceconfectusa.com

Santouka

Legend has it that on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of Japan, founder Hitoshi Hatanaka said to his family, “I’m going to make delicious ramen.” Chicagoland ramen fanatics have long found refuge at this local outpost of Santouka, where one of the few great bowls was once found. Try the original dish: salt (shio) tokusen toroniku ramen ($13, medium). Noodles and their specialty white tonkotsu pork bone soup are served in a signature small, medium or large blue bowl. Thick slices of roasted pork jowl (chashu), fish cake (narutomaki), bamboo shoots, black wood ear mushrooms, scallions and a sour plum (umeboshi) come on a side plate. It’s still one of the best in the Chicago area, but it’s cash only. 847-357-0286, santouka.co.jp/en/shop-foreign/usa/foreign01-007

Sanukiseimen Mugimaru

Though this stall is best known for thick and slippery udon noodles served in broth, order the mentai butter udon ($6.45), aka MBU, instead. You shall receive a bowl lightly sauced instead of soupy, topped with a scoop of impeccable pollack roe and a pat of butter. Slide down the cafeteria-style line at Sanukiseimen Mugimaru for tempura by the piece, possibly chikuwa (90 cents), a fried fish cake stick. Add scallions and panko crumbs to taste, then dash to a table to slurp down the dish so delightfully evocative of the sea that you’re wondering how to make it at home. 224-875-7164

Sutadonya

Macho men may dig the aggressive signage about the sutadon ($8.49), or stamina, bowl: “This bowl most popular in Japan!!!” But I like the spa vibe I get with the quivering onsen tamago. The super-soft egg, traditionally cooked in hot springs, snuggles into the namesake garlic pork bowl at Sutadonya. It’s filled with silky onions and steamed rice as much as fatty ribbons of tender meat. After a few bites, you might be thinking it’s time for a cuddle. A tiny cup of crunchy pickles and a few dashes of shichimi togarashi, the chile spice sprinkle, will perk you back up. 847-707-4142

Tokyo Shokudo

Where the dearly departed tempura masters Tendon Hannosuke once stood, a force has risen. The owners of the new, critically acclaimed Chicago Ramen quietly opened Tokyo Shokudo early last year. It has flown under the foodie radar with little interest. Run. It’s that fan-freaking-tastic. Their aptly named maze-soba ($9.49), an actual modern Japanese mixed noodle dish, is served dry except for a sauce with shoyu and lard. Thick chashu, mixed vegetables, fried garlic and scallions hide soba noodles so life-affirming, I’d eat them plain. Instead add a little vinegar, shichimi and raw garlic too, because life’s short, but hopefully long enough to try everything on the 64-item menu.

Toritetsu

The new cornerstone of the food court replaced the relocated in-store sushi and bento cooler with an import from Japan last summer. Toritetsu specializes in yakitori, grilled chicken skewers. The yakitori juu box ($9.85) includes four skewers with tsukune (chicken meatball), negima (chicken and scallion skewers), grilled chicken thigh, and kawa (chicken skin) — plus rice, pickles and miso soup, the trio essential to a traditional Japanese meal. You can grab and go precooked skewers and karaage fried chicken too, but skip the premade takoyaki (fried octopus balls) steaming in plastic boxes. 847-378-8694, tori-tetsu.com

Mitsuwa Marketplace; 100 E. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights; 847-956-6699, mitsuwa.com/ch. Open daily; market 9 a.m. to 9 p.m; food court 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.