We came to the restaurant twice. I found it by reading reviews. I also checked to make sure it was an authentic Japanese restaurant. It was indeed a real Japanese chef. Not only is the chef Japanese, but he's also the senior master chef. We ordered a few appetizers, sushi, and sashimi, and it felt like we were eating raw fish non-stop. I don't care because I loved it. Our appetizers were agadashi tofu, vegetable pickles, hamachi kama, gyoza, shishito pepper, and yakitori. The entrees were sushi and sashimi, of course. I thought the Chef gave us nice pieces. Great cut and pieces, perfect! We liked the first night better than the second. We thought we got better cut and pieces the first night. The restaurant is pretty big, with two dining sections. The first night, we were seated in an area where we couldn't see the sushi bar. The second night, we sat by the window in the exact location of a sushi bar. Our waitress, who made a reservation and took care of our table, was fantastic. Perfect food and service!

It's a cute place that feels welcoming and is nicely decorated. The staff is so friendly and the food is great. We ordered a bunch of appetizers (Croquettes, Takoyaki, Pickles, Assorted salad, Katsu, Unagi Tamago, beef tongue) that were all tasty. I highly recommend ordering the beef tongue with garlic. There was so much flavor in it. Hands down my favorite app. If you're really hungry, get the bento box. This way you get a little of everything plus soup and rice. The portions are generous and the food is delicious. Definitely worth checking out.

As a seasoned business traveler, I've eaten Japanese cuisine from every part of the country and Kurumaya is 1000% in my top 2, only behind Nobu in Vegas. The food was fresh and so flavorful. Service was excellent and price was reasonable! Will 100% come back. 10/10

Came here for lunch after the Pirate Cove. The restaurant offers lunch special from Monday through Saturday although they take the last order by 1:30. We ordered chirashi and Saba bento box which both came with salad and miso soup. The quality is decent for both sets and the price is reasonable. Service is also very quick. They seem to have daily specials for bento set.

We were in the area and I had Kurumaya bookmarked for awhile so decided to finally try it out. We came on a Saturday around 6 PM for dinner and were able to snag one of the few tables left. Shortly afterwards there was a line out the door. There is no kids menu so we ordered chicken karaage (3 pieces), salmon onigiri (fully cooked), and croquette (4 pieces) for our toddler which was more than enough food. I had the chirashi don which came with a side salad and miso soup. Hubby had the Kuramaya bento box which came with choice of meat (he chose beef), tempura, assorted sashimi, miso soup, and salad. Everything was good but probably enjoyed the few bites I had of the chicken karaage (flavorful and juicy) and croquette the best. The chirashi was good but would have liked it if there were more fish pieces rather than shrimp, tamago, and imitation crab sticks. Overall, the food was good and I would like to come back and try other menu items.

Very popular with the lunch crowds, Kurumaya Japanese Kitchen provides a very focused menu specializing in Bento boxes, all with very low prices and large portions. Our aunts invited us to a Thursday lunch , so the five of us met around the time the kitchen opened for lunch (11am). It has its own dedicated parking lot, which got pretty crowded by the time we left. Our aunt had been there before, so they specifically asked for seating near the back where there is seiza style seating (floor seating with leg crossed)...though we all sat with our legs dangling...since the seating is a bit elevated, a group can sit together with some choosing to sit cross-legged style (I can't do it very long...my legs fall asleep). I couldn't decide between the Chirashi and the Maki plate, so my aunt encouraged me to get both. The Chirashi ($15) was a sample of nine different ingredients, served on a bed of sushi rice. All the sashimi was of decent quality with good mouth feel, sliced thin. As expected, i really liked the sweet shrimp and octopus with the smoked salmon being the one I would want more of. The Maki plate ($10) allows you to choose 3 rolls out of choices of California, Boston (check), Alaskan, Philadelphia, Spicy Tuna (check), Shrimp Tempura (check).. It's a mini roll (so 4 small slices), and all tasted similar to me. Both came with a small salad (fresh vegetables, ginger salad dressing), and bowl of miso soup (large pieces of seawood and tofu...really enjoyable on a cold day). Both are a great bargain. My wife got the beef teriyaki bento ($12), which came with rice, miso soup, side salad with iceburg, a california roll, 1 piece of shrimp tempura, potato croquette, an egg roll, and seaweed salad. The egg roll was out of place here, and wasn't very good...but the rest was spot-on. Note the portion of the beef teriyaki is small, comparable to the other dishes, really meant to be sampled. Other choices were daily special B: grilled salmon cheek, fried squid, beef on tofu, and pork and vegetable soup (along with white rice)...all for only $12. Shrimp Tempura ($12) came with various vegetable tempura, rice, miso soup, side salad, and macaroni salad. Chicken teriyaki was similar to the beef bento box, and was also very much appreciated. There was so much food, that a lot of it wasn't finished, but nobody left hungry. There really wasn't anything that we ate that wasn't prepared well, and everything LOOKED beautiful. The variations of textures, temperature, and sweetness really does make a Japanese bento box a go-to choice if you want rice but also variety. I did end up finishing both of my platters completely and got to sample other dishes. The sushi rice was excellent, and my aunts commented how much they liked the regular medium grain white rice. Everything was good. Service was excellent throughout, making sure our tea carafe was full for self-pour and that our food tasted good. With great value and very good tasting Japanese cuisine, Kurumaya is a great choice for a Japanese themed lunch.

We came here as a group of 7 on a Saturday for lunch around 11:30 AM. The restaurant was already filling up fast at that time. Service itself was good and quick. We got our items ordered and food delivered pretty rapidly. However, it seemed like the servers were pretty busy so one of them let me go grab a to go box myself since she did not have any hands to do so. The lunch menu was a bit limited but they did have a couple of specials in the front. I ordered the SABA SHIOYAKI KURUMAYA BENTO BOX. The box came with a lot of variety of items. Everything was very tasty. However, the saba was a little dry unfortunately. All in all, a great, affordable option for Japanese food in the area.

12/01/23 - My wife and I celebrated our 27th anniversary here on the recommendation of my buddy. Very good food Japanese owned. This area around Arlington Heights & Elk Grove Village are home to many Japanese Companies & Nationals. Many of the people in the restaurant were speaking Japanese. All of the Entrees come with/miso soup, salad & rice. My wife ordered the chicken teriyaki entree for $15. I ordered the Kurumaya Gozen Bento Box. As an entree it comes with/your choice of beef, salmon or chicken teriyaki. I chose the beef teriyaki along with/the miso soup, salad & rice. In addition there 8 pieces of sashimi (3 maguro), 3 hamachi & 2 pieces of sake. I also got a small order of shrimp & vegetable tempura, all for $25 (Such a Deal I have for you). I found this to be a very nice relaxed ambiance. The food was pretty good but the service was a little slow. Overall I give this restaurant 4 1/2 stars 5 for the prices 4 1/2 for the food 4 for the slow service Will I go back again? Absolutely when I'm in the area. They have a lunch & dinner serving

Three words: UNAGI PASHIMAKI TAMAGO (the egg rolls with grilled eel). Get this appetizer -- you won't regret it. Hands down my favorite part of the meal. The pieces are pretty big and it's a little brothy and it's just so good. We got the beef bento box and the cold soba with tempura and both main dishes were also solid. The bento box is big portions and very filling (see pic). I'd like to go back to try everything else. But for me, the tamago was the show stopper!