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Akizawa Japanese Bistro Reviews – Read Full Reviews, Menu …
If you’re seeking an authentic Japanese dining experience in Portland, Oregon, look no further than Akizawa Japanese Bistro.
Akizawa Japanese bistro (@akizawapdx) · Portland, OR – Instagram
1657 Followers, 186 Following, 31 Posts – Akizawa Japanese bistro (@akizawapdx) on Instagram: “Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 5:00-8:30 Friday-Saturday 5:00-9:00 …
The Best Japanese Food in Portland and Beyond
Akizawa Japanese Bistro · 507 Southwest Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97205 · (971) 469-9753 · Visit website.
Reviews
Tao T.
Came here with friends for dinner and had a great time. Highly recommend the chicken karaage, super crispy outside, and juicy&tender inside! The omakase sashimi was very fresh, and the texture was amazing. They also have a nice selection of Japanese style beers, I tried matcha IPA which was surprisingly special and really good:::)))))) Loved the vibe and the food, definitely will come back again!
… moreJavi Chow
We had an excellent dining experience at Akizawa, with outstanding food, drinks, and service. Despite some previous reviews mentioning a one-hour time limit for two people, the staff was flexible and didn’t rush us—possibly because the restaurant wasn’t full.
Here’s a breakdown of what we ordered:
• Grilled Duck (Appetizer): Tender, juicy, and full with umami flavor.
• Pork Tonkatsu (Appetizer): A lean cut of meat that was very tender and not dry at all. The crust was light and perfectly crispy.
• Nigiri and Sushi Rolls: The fish was incredibly fresh, and the rice was well-prepared with just the right balance. As a fan of Edomae-style (more vinegary) rice, I found their rice slightly different but still excellent. We only wished they offered chutoro, which wasn’t available, and a wider variety of fish.
• Caramel Pudding (Dessert): Tasty but not particularly memorable.
• Sake: The staff provided thoughtful recommendations based on our preferences and even let us sample a few options before we chose a bottle we loved.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the experience. We’ll definitely return and recommend Akizawa to anyone looking for a great dining experience!
… moreHere’s a breakdown of what we ordered:
• Grilled Duck (Appetizer): Tender, juicy, and full with umami flavor.
• Pork Tonkatsu (Appetizer): A lean cut of meat that was very tender and not dry at all. The crust was light and perfectly crispy.
• Nigiri and Sushi Rolls: The fish was incredibly fresh, and the rice was well-prepared with just the right balance. As a fan of Edomae-style (more vinegary) rice, I found their rice slightly different but still excellent. We only wished they offered chutoro, which wasn’t available, and a wider variety of fish.
• Caramel Pudding (Dessert): Tasty but not particularly memorable.
• Sake: The staff provided thoughtful recommendations based on our preferences and even let us sample a few options before we chose a bottle we loved.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the experience. We’ll definitely return and recommend Akizawa to anyone looking for a great dining experience!
Audrey L
Delicious sushi spot ! The fish was super fresh and loved the twists they bring to the sushi. I’ve never had citrus in my sushi, and I loved it! Super tasty. Will definitely come back.
… moreKatherine Yin
This spot is one of those rare restaurants where the quality is the same quality of eating in Japan. Everything was fresh and phenomenal. The owner was so kind and very helpful. I could not recommend more.
… moreKumiko Schow
A very small Japanese restaurant, no advertising, no online reservation, no take out, but oh such a gem!!
It has 5 – 2 person tables and 5 counter seats, that’s it. My friend works at adjacent bldg for 2 years even didn’t know it was there.
Chef is Japanese, with one assistant chef, with only two of them with two waitresses, this size would be just enough to give customers good service.
Their foods are authentic Japanese dishes, but I experienced something I’ve never experienced any other Japanese restaurants I’ve ever been.
Their foods are not only tasty but visually beautiful. Each dish is not overly assertive, yet all the dishes create a wonderful harmony, like a philharmonic orchestra. You may feel that dishes that are not very assertive and somewhat lacking. But I was amazed and deeply moved by realizing how this chef is deeply knowledgeable about Japanese dishes.
We ordered gyoza appetizer, tuna roll, Akizawa futomaki roll, chirashi sushi and pork katsu. I chuckled about Katsu that they use a good grade meat with no fat, it even killed its junky katsu taste that Japanese katsu should have, yet it was tender and flavorful. Akizawa roll and chirashi were my favorite. Their sushi rice too, I didn’t taste vinegar nor sugar, considering the amount of rice chef uses, sushi rice didn’t scream its existence at all but perfectly supported variety of fresh seafoods, the way it supposed to do. Wow!
Totally hats off to the chef’s sense of art of both visual and taste beauty. He’s a true magician of Japanese cuisine!
FYI, they said lunch time is very busy too as well as dinner time, they have chicken or pork katsu or katsudon (katsu bowl) lunch set all under $20. Reservation is a must regardless if it’s lunch or dinner.
I’m glad I found this gem. You should visit to experience the chef’s beautiful magic of the art of authentic Japanese cuisine that only this restaurant has, nowhere else.
… moreIt has 5 – 2 person tables and 5 counter seats, that’s it. My friend works at adjacent bldg for 2 years even didn’t know it was there.
Chef is Japanese, with one assistant chef, with only two of them with two waitresses, this size would be just enough to give customers good service.
Their foods are authentic Japanese dishes, but I experienced something I’ve never experienced any other Japanese restaurants I’ve ever been.
Their foods are not only tasty but visually beautiful. Each dish is not overly assertive, yet all the dishes create a wonderful harmony, like a philharmonic orchestra. You may feel that dishes that are not very assertive and somewhat lacking. But I was amazed and deeply moved by realizing how this chef is deeply knowledgeable about Japanese dishes.
We ordered gyoza appetizer, tuna roll, Akizawa futomaki roll, chirashi sushi and pork katsu. I chuckled about Katsu that they use a good grade meat with no fat, it even killed its junky katsu taste that Japanese katsu should have, yet it was tender and flavorful. Akizawa roll and chirashi were my favorite. Their sushi rice too, I didn’t taste vinegar nor sugar, considering the amount of rice chef uses, sushi rice didn’t scream its existence at all but perfectly supported variety of fresh seafoods, the way it supposed to do. Wow!
Totally hats off to the chef’s sense of art of both visual and taste beauty. He’s a true magician of Japanese cuisine!
FYI, they said lunch time is very busy too as well as dinner time, they have chicken or pork katsu or katsudon (katsu bowl) lunch set all under $20. Reservation is a must regardless if it’s lunch or dinner.
I’m glad I found this gem. You should visit to experience the chef’s beautiful magic of the art of authentic Japanese cuisine that only this restaurant has, nowhere else.
David Choi
My girlfriend and I checked out this place on our anniversary trip to Portland because she loves sushi and the reviews here were glowing. Outside, the place is a bit unassuming but it felt like we were in a sushi restaurant in Japan upon walking in.
I will start off by saying that the service was great. We were seated promptly according to our reservation time and had a seat at the sushi bar which was fun. Our waters were never empty and recommendations were on point.
Unfortunately, the food is where we faced some disappointment. The chicken katsu was AMAZING. Probably the best I have ever had. It was cooked perfectly. The premium omakase was overpriced in my opinion but the real downfall is that my girlfriend cannot have wasabi so we asked for one with wasabi and one without. What we received was some of the nigiri on my plate having wasabi and some not, some on her plate being the same way, but it’s not like there was one kind of nigiri with one piece having wasabi and one not. It was a whole mix so my girlfriend ended up not being able to eat like half the plate. When we brought it up, we honestly thought they would fix it or something but we just ended up getting a small discount at the end of the bill (not nearly enough to account for her not being able to eat the majority of what we ordered).
I wish we did not have this kind of experience because it started off so good.
… moreI will start off by saying that the service was great. We were seated promptly according to our reservation time and had a seat at the sushi bar which was fun. Our waters were never empty and recommendations were on point.
Unfortunately, the food is where we faced some disappointment. The chicken katsu was AMAZING. Probably the best I have ever had. It was cooked perfectly. The premium omakase was overpriced in my opinion but the real downfall is that my girlfriend cannot have wasabi so we asked for one with wasabi and one without. What we received was some of the nigiri on my plate having wasabi and some not, some on her plate being the same way, but it’s not like there was one kind of nigiri with one piece having wasabi and one not. It was a whole mix so my girlfriend ended up not being able to eat like half the plate. When we brought it up, we honestly thought they would fix it or something but we just ended up getting a small discount at the end of the bill (not nearly enough to account for her not being able to eat the majority of what we ordered).
I wish we did not have this kind of experience because it started off so good.
Se C
This is a small restaurant located in downtown. I came for a quick lunch meal after visiting the portland japanese garden nearby.
All the dishes here were very good. My favorite was the egg dish and the tonkatsu. Service was excellent as well.
The bathrooms are located in a separate part of the building and you need to ask for a key.
… moreAll the dishes here were very good. My favorite was the egg dish and the tonkatsu. Service was excellent as well.
The bathrooms are located in a separate part of the building and you need to ask for a key.
T
Amazing place. Very small but wonderfully laid out and authentic feeling. Had Katsu, Miso, Miso Cod, Uni Toro Handrolls, Eel Avacado Roll, and some great sake. Highly recommend this place. In house soy sauce is always a great tell for authentic Japanese food. Will be back soon.
… moreChooMama
Positively the best Japanese I’ve had outside of Japan!!! And moderately priced to boot! The 3 of us enjoyed tako karaage, gyoza, salmon maki, negi hama, salmon nigiri, and the caramel pudding. Everything was amazing! My photos are half eaten dishes because I was too excited to take photos and instead opted to eat! Reservations are a must! There’s only 14 seats in the restaurant so seating is very limited!
… moreKai Dwd
Without a reservation, I called and managed to secure two available seats, making us the first to enter the restaurant. Though small, it was filled with charming decorations and exuded a distinctly exotic atmosphere by American standards. With high expectations, I ordered a few simple dishes, which turned out to be excellent. I went on to order a sake sampler and the premium sushi set. The Chawanmushi had perfectly cooked eggs, the shrimp croquette was incredibly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and the Agedashi Tofu had a beautifully even texture adhering lightly to the tofu—I’m not sure what starch they used, but it gave it an exceptional finish. While there are methods to fry it even crispier, that approach tends to lean towards Thai cuisine, and personally, I prefer the more authentic style like how it was prepared here.
Frying the shrimp heads served before the sushi was a real highlight. This practice is quite common in Korea and Japan, and it’s something I often do at home. The way the shrimp heads were cooked here captured their rich, natural flavor beautifully. Moving on to the sushi—it was above average. The vinegar seasoning in the rice was slightly mild, and for the amount of rice served, the fish slices could have been thicker for better balance. Conversely, for the thickness of the fish slices, the rice could have been slightly increased in weight for greater harmony.
The plating, however, fell short. The use of small circular plates with intricate patterns made the white-fleshed fish sushi look sparse and diminished. Wider circular plates with simple monochrome designs would have created a more abundant visual effect. While the table size may have influenced the choice of plates, the excessive, colorful patterns unintentionally made the sushi portions seem smaller than they actually were.
I wanted to try more dishes, but since I was dining with my dog, I decided to be considerate of incoming guests and ended my meal earlier. I definitely plan to revisit this place and would recommend it to others.
Knowing the name allows you to glimpse into the world the restaurant owner aspires to create.
Aki is meaning Autumn and Jawa is pond or marsh like .
… moreFrying the shrimp heads served before the sushi was a real highlight. This practice is quite common in Korea and Japan, and it’s something I often do at home. The way the shrimp heads were cooked here captured their rich, natural flavor beautifully. Moving on to the sushi—it was above average. The vinegar seasoning in the rice was slightly mild, and for the amount of rice served, the fish slices could have been thicker for better balance. Conversely, for the thickness of the fish slices, the rice could have been slightly increased in weight for greater harmony.
The plating, however, fell short. The use of small circular plates with intricate patterns made the white-fleshed fish sushi look sparse and diminished. Wider circular plates with simple monochrome designs would have created a more abundant visual effect. While the table size may have influenced the choice of plates, the excessive, colorful patterns unintentionally made the sushi portions seem smaller than they actually were.
I wanted to try more dishes, but since I was dining with my dog, I decided to be considerate of incoming guests and ended my meal earlier. I definitely plan to revisit this place and would recommend it to others.
Knowing the name allows you to glimpse into the world the restaurant owner aspires to create.
Aki is meaning Autumn and Jawa is pond or marsh like .