I initially heard of Bar Futo when the James Beard award list was released. A Japanese-inspired restaurant with yakitori/binchotan grilling wasn't something that I could find easily and had to visit. I sat at the chefs counter, which gave you a full view of the kitchen, dinner and a show. The menu had a lot of options, from the skewers to raw dishes, to noodles and bowls. The cocktails and drinks were also fun and inventive. They even have a Toki highball machine which made the absolute best highball I've ever had! All the skewers I tried were delicious and really filled you up. At the end, the kakigori (Shaved ice) was also monstrous and such a treat. Overall, loved everything about the place and would certainly return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Big Mac, Shaved Ice, Yakitori Pork Belly
Peggy Janthanit
Best izakaya/yakitori place I’ve ever been to and I’ve lived in NYC and Hong Kong — we stumbled upon this place on our quick trip to Portland and we were blown away by the quality of the food and service.
We got the chilled tofu, and a few yakitori items: chicken thighs (so juicy and tender - amazing!), koji cured denver steak (great quality meat, paired very well with the sauce), grilled mushroom yakitori (very juicy and cooked perfectly), tsukune, and pork belly.
We ended our meal with the blueberry breakfast kakigori which was also perfect.
Overall, this is one of the best meals I’ve had this year and had to come on here to share my review! Loved it and will definitely take a trip to Portland to come back here.
Loved everything about my experience at Futo. The small plate portions were fun for sharing. Everything was beautifully prepared and loaded with flavor. The Lemon Meringue Ice was the perfect dessert to end the perfect meal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joshua Grippo
Everyone in the restaurant was fantastic. The vibe is loud and frenetic. The food that we had was delicious. They were out of the majority of their chicken items, which was the reason for the visit. Not sure if that is common or if we had bad luck.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Vicki Smith
A fabulous dinner, made for foodies. Service was really slow in the beginning (when the restaurant wasn't even really busy yet), but it got much better. The cocktails were yummy, but the food was excellent. Everything so unique and full of so much flavor! Foodie paradise.
Dietary restrictions: They were able to easily tell me which items had dairy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Tom Leahy
Great food, great atmosphere. Service was excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shaved Ice, Short Rib Pierogi, Crispy Eggplant, Tuna Tartare, Skewers Bento, Pani Puri
Tate Norden
Great hospitality and fun concept
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Damian Cote
Food was good. We nearly tried every item on the menu. Some of the sauces did not mix as well as others, some were very tasty. The service was pretty fast considering how busy they were. Drinks good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crispy Eggplant, Hot Chicken Bites
Samreena A
Unbelievably good! For whatever reason we had never made it to Bar Futo despite it showing up on numerous lists, and when we finally did we we were super happy made it. The food is extremely good, so is the atmosphere and the service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Big Mac, Crispy Eggplant
Mark LoGiurato
Nice Japanese restaurant with a good vibe. The food is very good as is the service. Good sake menu to compliment the food.
I love the small plate style of Bar Futo. I often go with a small group and we share a whole bunch of things! Never been disappointed by the food quality!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crispy Eggplant, Chef's Yakitori Set
Victor Joly
Bar Futo is overall a good restaurant. First let me say that service was top notch. Fast, super friendly, and understanding, could not have asked for better.
Cocktails are really good, i would definitely try more next time! The entire table really enjoyed their drinks!
Good vibe, a little loud but overall a very good ambience!
The food is why I gave it 4 stars. There was definitely big hits but some misses. The Crudo was fantastic, I even wish I had bread to finish the sauce. The big mac skewer and the califlower appetizer were both top notch as well, I would defintely get both again.
Unfortunatley, the chicken bites were good but really needed a sauce, the paneer skewers were pretty dry and spiceless. The pork belly skewer was decent but not great. We had to send back the blue fin skewer as it was extremely overcooked.
We will definitely be back to give it another try though!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Aleco Stratis
$18 for katsu with no rice is devious
Sasha Voinov
A wonderful experience! The chef here semifinal'ed in the James Beard awards, leading us to find out about the place and stop by since we were already going to Portland. We got the chef's counter experience and got to see the action in the kitchen, which was cool. The small plate concept is not new but quite refreshing the way it's done here! We enjoyed all of the food, especially the Denver steak. Bravo, team!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Leslie Krotman
This was the best meal I have had in YEARS. I am on a vacation from nyc and this beats so many restaurants I’ve been to. Every dish was better than the next and super interesting. And the drinks were also delicious. Taylor J was our server and so thoughtful - very sensitive to my dietary restrictions and knowledgeable about the menu. Highly recommend - make a reservation in advance.
I initially heard of Bar Futo when the James Beard award list was released. A Japanese-inspired restaurant with yakitori/binchotan grilling wasn't something that I could find easily and had to visit. I sat at the chefs counter, which gave you a full view of the kitchen, dinner and a show. The menu had a lot of options, from the skewers to raw dishes, to noodles and bowls. The cocktails and drinks were also fun and inventive. They even have a Toki highball machine which made the absolute best highball I've ever had! All the skewers I tried were delicious and really filled you up. At the end, the kakigori (Shaved ice) was also monstrous and such a treat. Overall, loved everything about the place and would certainly return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Big Mac, Shaved Ice, Yakitori Pork Belly
Best izakaya/yakitori place I’ve ever been to and I’ve lived in NYC and Hong Kong — we stumbled upon this place on our quick trip to Portland and we were blown away by the quality of the food and service.
We got the chilled tofu, and a few yakitori items: chicken thighs (so juicy and tender - amazing!), koji cured denver steak (great quality meat, paired very well with the sauce), grilled mushroom yakitori (very juicy and cooked perfectly), tsukune, and pork belly.
We ended our meal with the blueberry breakfast kakigori which was also perfect.
Overall, this is one of the best meals I’ve had this year and had to come on here to share my review! Loved it and will definitely take a trip to Portland to come back here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kakigōri, Shaved Ice, Chicken Meatball, Chef's Yakitori Set, Skewers Bento
Loved everything about my experience at Futo. The small plate portions were fun for sharing. Everything was beautifully prepared and loaded with flavor. The Lemon Meringue Ice was the perfect dessert to end the perfect meal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everyone in the restaurant was fantastic. The vibe is loud and frenetic. The food that we had was delicious. They were out of the majority of their chicken items, which was the reason for the visit. Not sure if that is common or if we had bad luck.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
A fabulous dinner, made for foodies. Service was really slow in the beginning (when the restaurant wasn't even really busy yet), but it got much better. The cocktails were yummy, but the food was excellent. Everything so unique and full of so much flavor! Foodie paradise.
Dietary restrictions: They were able to easily tell me which items had dairy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great food, great atmosphere. Service was excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shaved Ice, Short Rib Pierogi, Crispy Eggplant, Tuna Tartare, Skewers Bento, Pani Puri
Great hospitality and fun concept
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was good. We nearly tried every item on the menu. Some of the sauces did not mix as well as others, some were very tasty. The service was pretty fast considering how busy they were. Drinks good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crispy Eggplant, Hot Chicken Bites
Unbelievably good! For whatever reason we had never made it to Bar Futo despite it showing up on numerous lists, and when we finally did we we were super happy made it. The food is extremely good, so is the atmosphere and the service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Big Mac, Crispy Eggplant
Nice Japanese restaurant with a good vibe. The food is very good as is the service. Good sake menu to compliment the food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Crispy Eggplant, Grilled Shishitos
Restaurantji Recommends
I love the small plate style of Bar Futo. I often go with a small group and we share a whole bunch of things! Never been disappointed by the food quality!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crispy Eggplant, Chef's Yakitori Set
Bar Futo is overall a good restaurant. First let me say that service was top notch. Fast, super friendly, and understanding, could not have asked for better.
Cocktails are really good, i would definitely try more next time! The entire table really enjoyed their drinks!
Good vibe, a little loud but overall a very good ambience!
The food is why I gave it 4 stars. There was definitely big hits but some misses. The Crudo was fantastic, I even wish I had bread to finish the sauce. The big mac skewer and the califlower appetizer were both top notch as well, I would defintely get both again.
Unfortunatley, the chicken bites were good but really needed a sauce, the paneer skewers were pretty dry and spiceless. The pork belly skewer was decent but not great. We had to send back the blue fin skewer as it was extremely overcooked.
We will definitely be back to give it another try though!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
$18 for katsu with no rice is devious
A wonderful experience! The chef here semifinal'ed in the James Beard awards, leading us to find out about the place and stop by since we were already going to Portland. We got the chef's counter experience and got to see the action in the kitchen, which was cool. The small plate concept is not new but quite refreshing the way it's done here! We enjoyed all of the food, especially the Denver steak. Bravo, team!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was the best meal I have had in YEARS. I am on a vacation from nyc and this beats so many restaurants I’ve been to. Every dish was better than the next and super interesting. And the drinks were also delicious. Taylor J was our server and so thoughtful - very sensitive to my dietary restrictions and knowledgeable about the menu. Highly recommend - make a reservation in advance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Shoulder Skewer, Crispy Eggplant
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