50 Best Japanese Restaurants in Portland

“You can tell this chef is very passionate about cooking. Each dish is plated so beautifully. The menu is seasonal with high end local produce from the farmers market. The staff is very warm. The interior is very nice, with very nice furniture(eg marble or quartz tables, I believe). It’s not inherently the chefs fault, but at this price point, the food is not what we really crave? Also, we were kind of feeling hungry with such a carb light menu. We just split one medium meat dish, so we do eat less protein than average? But I feel like it’s not enough food for vegetarians fyi. They did GRACIOUSLY make us some handmade tortillas off the menu and essentially didn’t charge us. Plus, we received complementary dessert wine tasting, since we complained about wanting some bread or tortillas. One bummer about this was that no one followed up about our request until we asked three different servers. Overall, I think this could be a great place. But just not for us at the moment.“

“Excelent tapas and coctails.“

“Friendly staff fast service, best sushi I’ve ever had“

“Excellent! Fast, friendly service and absolutely delicious food. We had the tempura udon and curry plate. We also enjoyed the sake flight. Cannot wait to go back.“

“This is one of my favorite places to each lunch, a great place to meet a friend, and the friendliest service you can imagine. I wish more restaurants focused on doing one thing well and being deeply authentic in vibe and presentation. After today's visit I felt compelled to write a review because it sparked true joy. This is a meal that you end up thinking about - sometimes DIRECTLY after eating it. You should probably go - there's bike parking directly outside, and it will be something you enjoy.“

“The husband and I were on a ramen rampage, and the weather was our perfect excuse. Then, out of nowhere, we stumbled upon this restaurant. The service was spot-on, the food arrived in record time, and that ramen? Sheer perfection. The broth was a flavor bomb, the chashu was tender and divine, and those noodles? Freshly made and sublime. We left feeling like we just discovered ramen nirvana.“

“Good food!“

“This place is one of a kind. The food was deliciously balanced and nuanced. Every dish we indulged in was so wonderful. It is a charming intimate spot and will be a go to whenever we visit Portland. The staff was also wonderful and so accommodating. Thank you again for the wonderful experience“

“This is the first place we go eat at every time we visit PDX. Great sushi, great atmosphere, a really great staff- only complaint: bring back the potato killer“

“Great Sushi and Phenomenal Service❣️“

“Everything. This is not just going to dinner. This is a dining experience. It’s a small reserved venue. Yes it’s spendy, but worth every penny. You’ll try food you never thought you try. The mostly seafood menu it so well prepared. Plus you can watch the prepared each course. A fun night.“

“Everything was wonderful with the drinks, food and service. Only thing that was a bit of a disappointment with the food was that there were no sides with the burger. Also every time the front door opened all of us in the first few tables froze and we all wish the barrier would have been longer to block that so we could all enjoy our dinner and drinks more. Overall we loved it there and the staff was wonderful.“

“Amazing sushi and good flavor“

“I love this place! Great food, great people and prices. You really can't ask for more. I have tried their spam musubi, terri spam musubi, and their salmon and tuna triangle. Everything is delicious and fresh and service is always with a smile! This is my new favorite spot for sure.“

“This place was adorable!! And the food was amazing quality and priced so well for the experience! It may take a bit for things to come out but we got a ton of fried things which take longer! The appetizers come out right away!! Especially because the fried stuff is a type of katsu style. Honestly the best deep fried rolls I’ve ever had!! We got the st. John’s Bridge roll and the fish was so yummy!! I’m a real stickler about fish quality but this fish was so good!! I really hope as they get popular they won’t ever change the quality of their rolls because this will keep me coming back for more!!“

“Stopped in on a whim for lunch, and ordered the Kaizen and Salmon Aburi rolls, Sunomono, Gyoza and hot green tea.

The staff was really kind and attentive, the majority of the food was great. We had one roll where the tuna was not really tender and had some sinew in it that made it tough to eat (that's why we can't give it 5 stars), but the roll it was in had good flavor.

We will definitely give them another try.“

“I used to eat here alot over a decade ago while attending PSU and the food and service was always amazing. A very kind lady used to run it. I was in the area handling some permitting and stopped by once again. I was surprised to see her son still running it and decided to get a plate. I absolutely recommend you try this place 100%! Great friendly service, plenty of parking, great food at a great price...the prices are almost the same as 15 years ago! The food is delicious, comes quick, big portions, and overall an absolute must eat when near the area. You won't regret it!“

“Sho is our favorite restaurant in the neighborhood. Katsu and his team are awesome.“

“Really delicious, and so happy to have a Japanese sandwich cart in Portland. I loved the Pork katsu!“

“Perfection in the mind's eye in every regard.

Flavor, freshness, execution of literally every single detail (even ones you don't think about until you're made to notice), and the fact it's all accessibly priced kinda made me cry when i tried food from here the other day.

For lack of a quicker comparison, this is like Elden Ring coming out after years of being told the best you can get is sysco-sourced AAA reboots of the same "deliverable" concepts.

I want to experience this place's food for the rest of my life.

I just woke up, but this was very much in my dreams last night after yesterday's dinner, so I was compelled to just get something out. I'll come back some other time to detail the experience.“

“Fresh food at a reasonable price, loved my own pot of green tea:). I’ll be back!“

“This is our second time dining at Janken, and this time we brought some of our good friends to enjoy a restaurant we've been raving about for months. The food was delicious and outside of the Wagyu steak, which was the most expensive item but also quite fatty, everything was outstanding! However, our service was very disappointing. Compared to our first dining experience, it was almost like a different restaurant. We had to ask for our waters to be refilled multiple times, our second round of drink orders took so long we almost cancelled it, and our waitress (though she started out good) somewhat disappeared until the end of the service. As I said, the food was outstanding and the ambience is dreamy, but when you pay that much for a meal, I expect the service to be excellent, especially because the tip is included in the price. We assured our friends, who's first experience with Jankens, was not as positive as ours, that hopefully this was an anomaly and our first dining experience was more commensurate with the way Janken actually is. We will certainly be back, but my hope in writing this review is that those reading it will see this as a learning experience and improve the quality of the service to match of the quality of the food.“

“This hands down is one of my favorite restaurants in Portland OR. It the same quality of other top spots in the US like Nobu , O-Ya , and Morimoto . The location is perfect located in the Pearl district. The chefs are high quality and the fish is extremely fresh. They have a great but simple flavor approach. The service is warm, helpful, and appreciative. I always ask for Joy as she is a true professional and loves providing an exceptional experience on every visit.“

“Probably my favorite sushi spot so far in Portland. Lovely service! I got the Poke Don and partner got the Salmon Special, both were delicious and big portions! Definitely more of a home style mom n’ pop rather than most of the “fancier” spots in the city.“

“Great food, fast service and great atmosphere. Highly recommend.“

“Great Sushi.. must eat place.“

“Loved it! Had a really good night out on the town!“

“The karaage chicken is extremely flavorful and tender, while also being crispy. Mix in some gyoza and you've got the perfect meal. Great portion size, especially for the price. The pickled cabbage could use a bit more pickling to really stand up to the richness of the chicken, but it felt very Japanese in that it was more delicately flavored.This cart pod has tons of seating, booze, and way too many vegan places.“

“I've been eating here since 2015 and ABSOLUTELY LOVE this place. Top notch sushi with a wonderful staff. This is my 1st choice place for sushi in Portland Oregon“

“High quality jet fresh seafood from Tokyo“

“I love having date night here. The sushi and chicken katsu is delicious. Chef Marc and Polly are the kindest people.“

“super friendly staff and awesome manager who didn't blink an eye and replaced my mom and aunts order to accommodate their health conditions. bomb food and and super fast serve time. will be back again Special shout out to Damont for being an awesome manager!“

“Nice little high end food court with craft beer, cocktails, ramen etc.“

“There was no line at 10:30am on a Wednesday. I got the Oregon roll. They were done in less than 5 minutes. It was really good, but for 6 pieces, $13 is too expensive. 4 instead of 5 star for the price. The to go boxes in the refrigerated section seemed to be a better deal. I'd go back to try those. The ladies working were nice and fast. The area was clean, and there's limited countertop seating inside, but there were lots of tables in the hallway with plenty of availability and a great piano player nearby.“

“Soen/Courier Coffee is a small Japanese café. It's one café and one counter for ordering, so there is no functional distinction between Soen and Courier Coffee, I think the coffee menu and small baked goods selection is from Courier Coffee and the rest (norimaki, kakigori, and tea) is Soen. Kakigori is available seasonally - I was lucky that I visited during the last week of kakigori for the year.
It's a pretty small space, a few tables tables inside and a few outside on the sidewalk. There's not much room for standing, but the staff will bring your food to your table so you don't have to stand around waiting after you order. The staff members were very nice!
I got there 45 minutes before closing. They were out of most of the norimaki but had one ume-taku norimaki left, so that was what I ordered, along with an apple cinnamon kakigori and buckwheat tea. I really enjoyed the norimaki even though it wasn't my first choice. The pickled plum and radish gave it a big pop of flavour and the inari added some nice sweetness. Perfect interplay of sweet, savoury, and vegetal flavours. The kakigori looked huge but since kakigori is mostly ice it wasn't heavy or hard to finish. The apple cinnamon flavour came with a creamy sweet potato sauce, a shot of hojicha, and of course baked apples. It was a really interesting and unique combination of flavours. Very good. The tea was a nice warming accompaniment to my meal. I think for the high quality the prices were fair.“

“We've been loyal customers of Yaraimura Maru for the past 3 years, and it continues to be one of our favorite spots! The food is always amazing—this time I had the Abu Udon and Shoyu Ramen, and both were absolutely delicious, as always. Cynthia and Phil were awesome—so kind, welcoming, and attentive. Their warm service really makes the experience extra special. Highly recommend this place to anyone looking for great food and great people!“

“I've been here twice in the last couple of months and I absolutely love this spot! Great, authentic food, friendly staff and pretty decent prices especially for the quality that you get. The presentation of everything is so pretty too! On top of all that, everyone there is very patient with me when I try to use some of my very limited Japanese :)“

“4 person Omakase experience was exceptional. Well paced, it very much felt as though they intended for our table to be our the whole night. The staff was very attentive. Cocktails and sake selections were wonderful. By far a must try experiance in Portland.“

“I would love to give this place five stars. They're are often not open during their scheduled business hours. I've been here multiple times in the last few weeks at 12:00, which is when they say they open yet they are closed. I'm sitting here right now at 12:15 and their food truck is closed.“

“so lovely! delicious mocha latte and macha brownie. shared a salmon and locks bagel with cream cheese too! lovely staff!“

“So yummy! And walking distance. :)“

“THE FOOD! Excellent service. Fabulous food. Wonderful vibe. 🔥🔥🔥“

“I ordered a pick-up from Google map yesterday. When I got there there was many people so I could not reach out to any staffs. Turned out to pick up my order without letting any staffs know but I guess it’s normal for such a busy restaurant. Ate at a table outside the restaurant and really enjoyed the cool weather. The pork katsu sandwich tasted great. The fries with curry tasted good at first but just OK as time went by. Want to try other sandwiches when I come to Portland again.“

“BIG SUSHI!!! It’s a hole in the wall location, but once found you won’t forget it!“

“This is my go to sushi spot, the staff is so kind and helpful and the sushi is so good and fresh! I really love the ambiance and I’ll happily dine in, to go is amazing too because they make everything for Togo fresh:) best nigiri and best miso soup in Portland !!“

“This place I would highly recommend. The serves here was very good and nice even though it took me forover for some people in my party to choose what they wanted. They also have good atmosphere and the tables are clean and doesn't take that much time to wait (5-10 minutes for my party). The food was also very good and I hope you guys are able to come her with a party and have a good time as well a I did when I came.

Also side note (that doesn't have to do with my review of this place) I would like to apologize for not posting in such a long time but I will be able to start posting agian.“

“Yama is our favorite spot for sushi. Great sake menu too.“

“Food was yum, friendly environment and great hospitality.“

“Great service, friendly staff and very delicious, fresh fish at a fair price. Plus they are celiac friendly! We will definitely be back.“

“Tried this place during an ice storm and they were extremely happy to see us and were open for business. We came back again 4 days later and the food was even better.“