An izakaya is a Japanese businessmen’s bar featuring sake, beer and comforting finger foods. Five years ago, you’d rarely find one outside of Japan. In the last two years in Chicago, it seems like hundreds have opened up, yet the current izakaya crop has been mostly made up of unimpressive storefronts serving subpar sushi and watery noodle bowls that barely rate better than Top Ramen. That is until the Slurping Turtle opened its doors in River North.

Slurping Turtle is regaled with towering cinder block walls, white veneer banquettes and Ikebana-like flower arrangements — a feng shui-meets-Russian gulag aesthetic. It is built for a generation that gets its prurient kicks on the Internet.