Last night was my first dinner at Renga-Tei in a very long time and I'd agree that it's holding up very well over the years. I stuck with nigiri and a bowl of miso soup. The soup was delicious. The nigiri was mostly impressive too. My lone complaint is that I was not particularly impressed with their anago. But otherwise, tasty fish, deft seasoning and handling of the rice and a very enjoyable meal. I particularly enjoyed the fried shrimp head served with the sweet shrimp (if not offered, make sure to request). Renga-tei may not be a place that's ever going to knock my socks off, but that's just fine. It certainly has never let me down. Now I need to return soon for some of the hot items.

I've been living near Renga Tei for the past year during a house remodel so I've been in with some frequency. This place reminds me of the many mom and pop Japanese restaurants in Lakeview when I was growing up. They were usually family run and sushi was not often eaten by non-asians, who tended to go the tempura, katsu, stew route. Renga Tei has the same vibe complete with families from grandma to kiddies all enjoying.

The mackerel collar is wonderful when they have it, the tempura is a reason to eat fried food and their nigiri is very respectable. I always check their specials board to see what they're doing and I'm never disappointed. They're not on Katsu's level, but they cover all the basics. If you don't want mayo rolls and "tinis" this is your place.

mbh wrote:This place reminds me of the many mom and pop Japanese restaurants in Lakeview when I was growing up.....If you don't want mayo rolls and "tinis" this is your place.

In the mid 1960's my mom would take me to Naniwa, which was on Belmont close to the old Toguri's. We'd have mackerel nizakana because my West Side Irish dad would gag for three days if mom made that in the house.

I too hate mayo, even if it's Kewpie, on my raw fish and seafood.

mbh wrote:They're not on Katsu's level, but they cover all the basics. If you don't want mayo rolls and "tinis" this is your place..

While I agree not Kastu level, Ellen and I have been Renga-Tei regulars once every month or two for 20-years. Sushi/sashimi is levels above most Chicagoland offerings, cooked foods terrific and they have a deft hand with a fryer.

Renga-Tei, count me a fan!

We go once a month or so on Monday to Renga-Tei, tonight was particularly delicious. Started off with Abe-Mochi, puffy deep fried rice cake topped with grated daikon mixed with bonito flake and slivered nori. Chewy starch encased in crisp, right in my wheelhouse.

Abe-Mochi



Entree I had Yellowtail collar, meaty, rich, moist, little nooks and crannies of pure deliciousness.

Hamachi kama



The bride had Negi Hamachi rolls and shrimp tempura, two of her favorites and, along with endless green tea, we were bought out crisp candied sweet potato strips with sesame seeds for dessert, which had us thinking where have you been all my life.

Gratis Candied Sweet Potato



Renga-Tei, count me a fan!

So delicious...

.

The tuna tataki...



And the wonderful Salmon collar...



And our pre-reserved Uni (last time they were out)

For all my times at Renga-Tei--and I've been dining there since 1980 when it was Koto--I have never sat at the sushi bar. I know, I could have the same items that boudreau ordered at the table, but it sure looks better up there at the bar. Nice pics!

This place is soooo friggin' boring!

























I mean, yeah, there are some daily specials, but otherwise nothing ever changes. Like me, you probably agree that's a good thing.

Sorry, haven't been here in forever. Dumb Question; is Renga-Tei in L'wood still open?
It looks like it, but I thought they closed a long time ago. Hallucinating?

The closure a few years back was only temporary, due to structural damage to the building. They have been back to business as usual for a while now.

No particular reason but it had been a couple of years since we’d been here. Nothing has changed and that’s a good thing. We had a really solid meal. It was a bit quiet, probably due to weather. Our 7-year-old started with a California roll (didn’t share even 1 piece,) followed by a kid’s Tonkatsu meal. It came with miso soup, 3 cucumber rolls and fresh fruit. She’s also recently discovered Ramune soda (at Miku in Lincoln Square,) and was thrilled to have one here. Husband had the beef teriyaki and I had the Bento C. Absolutely delicious eel. I always feel so comfortable in this space - mentally and physically. It was a good reminder that we should go more often.

Renga Tei busy as a bead salesman during Mardi Gras 1pm Monday lunch. Might have been the holiday, either way wasn't expecting a 20-minute wait. Well worth the short wait, service didn't falter, fresh, delicious, mixed tempura lunch-box set for both of us, negi hamachi maki for the bride, couple of saba nigiri for me as starter.

Miso soup particularly tasty and tempura hit the spot, light and crisp. I was in the mood for Evanston Chicken Shack but, rightly, didn't think the wife would go for fried chicken.

Renga Tei, count me a Fan!

G Wiv wrote: mixed tempura lunch-box set for both of us

What's in the upper-right corner? With the sesame seeds I'm guessing goma ae?

JoelF wrote:What's in the upper-right corner? With the sesame seeds I'm guessing goma ae?

Si. That's Spanish for yes.

Renga-Tei is offering carry-out/curbside service as well as limited delivery. They've posted their menu on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/RengateiJapanese/menu/

Terrific, dine-in lunch at Renga-Tei this week. Crispy-moist Tonkatsu bento that came on a bed of micro-shredded cabbage alongside a couple of different salads and sauces, including some delicious cured fish, a small portion of a California roll and small bowl of just-tender-enough steamed rice. My companion and I also split a spicy tuna roll that was quite tasty. Service was great. They were not busy and the vibe was mellow and easy. Only about 10 minutes from the office, I need to remember to do this more often. And as mentioned upthread, closed Tuesdays.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Terrific, dine-in lunch at Renga-Tei this week. Crispy-moist Tonkatsu bento that came on a bed of micro-shredded cabbage alongside a couple of different salads and sauces, including some delicious cured fish, a small portion of a California roll and small bowl of just-tender-enough steamed rice. My companion and I also split a spicy tuna roll that was quite tasty. Service was great. They were not busy and the vibe was mellow and easy. Only about 10 minutes from the office, I need to remember to do this more often. And as mentioned upthread, closed Tuesdays.

I wish our Saturday night dinner was as enjoyable as the weekday lunch about which I posted above. I'm really just looking at this through the lens of my other recent restaurant experiences. Second trip was ill-advised and it just made me sad.

I get it. Things are tough right now but it'll probably be a while before I return and when I do, I won't waste weekend time on it. I think weekday lunch here is the better choice, all things considered.

=R=

Delightful Renga Tei lunch, arrived 5-minutes past open, 11:35am. First customers, friendly greeting, good service and a surprisingly high $ value lunch. Started with an old favorite, saba nigiri and off to the races. Three of us lunched nicely for under $100 with some leftover for a light dinner.

Should point out Renga Tei was packed when we departed. They do a great business.

click to enlarge

Yes, there was gari on the plate. I snapped it up when the mackerel hit the table.

Renga Tei, count me a Fan!

Via Facebook, current chef/owner retiring after 33 years. New ownership to carry on under the same name - Renga-Tei.

LynnB wrote:Via Facebook, current chef/owner retiring after 33 years. New ownership to carry on under the same name - Renga-Tei.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=69 ... 7598397464

https://www.facebook.com/RengateiJapanese/

Came here to post this from Nextdoor:

For those folks who have been patronizing RENGA-TEI Japanese restaurant at the corner of Touhy and Crawford, its owner/chefs of 32 years, Mr. and Mrs. Yamada, are retiring, and have sold the restaurant to Naoki Nakashima, of Naoki Sushi. Our family always enjoyed going to Renga-tei for its authentic, quality home-cooked Japanese comfort food and sushi. It was consistently good value.

My understanding is that for the time being the menu and staff will remain the same, and gift cards will be honored by the new owner. There are some plans to renovate/re-decorate the restaurant. I'm kinda sad because it's the end of an era in the restaurant life of Lincolnwood/Skokie.

Has the sale happened, or is there a chance for a bunch of us to do a last blowout?

JoelF wrote:Has the sale happened, or is there a chance for a bunch of us to do a last blowout?

Hey buddy--

Apparently it's a done deal as of June 1. Last day appears to be this coming Tuesday. They will close for 2 weeks and re-open under new management.

Whether the fare will be the same, or even similar...it never is, is it? But there's hope. I remember back in 1980, leafing through the back pages of Chicago Magazine, in search of blurbs on new restaurants to try. And Koto stood out, as a non-teppan-yaki entrance to Japanese cuisine. And in the same building as the eventual Renga-Tei.

In the mid-'70's, I had worked for about a year as busboy, then parking attendant, at Tanikaze Steak House on N. Lincoln, now (I think) home to Via Veneto. It was there--and I was in high school--that I developed a love for Kirin beer on tap & the sukiyaki that the chefs made for the help in the back of the house at the end of a long night. Those chefs--all brought over from Tokyo-- taught me all the indigenous swear words as well. What fascinating times!

At any rate, we started frequenting Koto late in 1980. It was most definitely a mom-and-pop operation, Mr. & Mrs. Yoshimura--I think that was the name. They were gracious and absolutely loved my parents, plying them with their signature plum wine gratis at the end of every meal. We exchanged Christmas presents & cards for years. The food was stellar, albeit with only about one-third of the menu choices that Renga has. Beef teriyaki with just a little grilled fat on the perimeter--like you'd see on a steak--was incredible. And I learned to love saba shioyaki--the mackerel--as well as my all-time favorite, their rendition of beef sukiyaki.

In the late 1980's, apparently the husband developed a chronic disease where he slowly was losing his eyesight. His wife soldiered on, and I would see Mr. sitting in the back, stoically on a straight-backed chair, wearing sunglasses & with a somber look on his face. Eventually, the stress got to be too much, and I believe it was in 1991 when Chef Yamada--who I think was a chef at Koto--took over.

As the new Renga-Tei, he did a most excellent job of carrying on the 'comfort food' tradition, and his expansions to the formerly limited menu were almost all winners. Absolutely dug their version of ikura don--hot white rice topped with those orange pearls of salmon roe--a flavor explosion! A friend of mine raved about their homemade potato salad.

We are looking forward to trying Naoki's incarnation, hoping he pays proper homage to the chefs before him.

jnm123,

Thank you very much for your thoughtful post. It's one of the better things I've seen here in some time.

deesher wrote:jnm123,

Thank you very much for your thoughtful post. It's one of the better things I've seen here in some time.

Appreciated. When I heard about the end of Renga-Tei, the memories flowed from 40+ years ago...my parents...so many dinners with friends & colleagues. The conviviality of Koto-then-Renga was almost an anomaly--it was like a Japanese coffee shop where one could sit for 2-3 hours, solving the world's problems while lingering over hot green tea and red bean ice cream ad infinitum.

Renga Tei is now open! The food tasted about the same which for my family is a good thing. Prices went up a little but that was to be expected. Menu for right now is smaller but will be expanding in the next few weeks. As we finished our dinner the new owner
came over and introduced himself. He was gracious and humble which was refreshing.
Renga Tei back in our weekly rotation!

Still closed on Tuesdays?

A report from an esteemed friend of Japanese descent who frequented Renga-tei weekly: "still excellent...menu pared by 50%...no salmon oyako-don, but server says they plan on slowly returning old favorites to the menu. And we noticed most of the previous staff, including sushi chef, were back..."

jnm123 wrote:A report from an esteemed friend of Japanese descent who frequented Renga-tei weekly: "still excellent...menu pared by 50%...no salmon oyako-don, but server says they plan on slowly returning old favorites to the menu. And we noticed most of the previous staff, including sushi chef, were back..."

Thank you!! Much like the recent Barnaby’s alarm was put to rest, this is very good news!

Audrey’s birthday is next weekend. After much thought and a bit of back-and-forth*, she finally decided on Renga Tei for her birthday dinner out. I was so surprised you can now reserve a table via Open Table.

We haven’t been here since the “before times.” This place made a big impression on her in her toddler/little kid years so I have my fingers crossed that she won’t be disappointed.

*(Runner’s up were Pequod’s, somewhere for Hot Pot, and The Duck Inn.). Kinda glad she didn’t go with Pequod’s as that place will likely be a zoo for the next several months….