Itoko

Itoko is a Japanese restaurant at 3325 N Southport Ave in Lakeview’s Southport Corridor, opened by chef Gene Kato on March 1, 2023. The menu splits between sushi, temaki hand rolls served on crisp seaweed with warm rice, and robata skewers such as negima chicken thigh and beef tsukune sliders. The bar centers on cocktails, highballs and sake, and the name means cousin in Japanese.

What to know

• Gene Kato is also executive chef of a Japanese restaurant in the Fulton Market District.
• A three-course Southport set costs $35 at dinner, and a two-course version is $25 at brunch.
• Reservations are taken online and by phone.
• The restaurant received a 2025 OpenTable Diners’ Choice award, according to the restaurant’s site.