Bara Sushi House (Reported Closed)
2625 SE 21st Avenue Unit B, Portland, OR | Directions
Bara Sushi House
What Our Expert Scouts Say
Japanese restaurant serving fresh, affordable sushi, sashimi & more. Nestled in a cozy Victorian house in the heart of SE Portland. Porch seating in the summer.
Tips for Bara Sushi House
Live-long Fan!. I have never had sushi before so I don't have anything to compare Bara to, but I must say that I was impressed! I never thought I would try sushi (the whole raw fish thing!) but it was so good it's hard to describe. The wait staff was very friendly and attentive, the food arrived promptly, and the atmosphere was very soothing. Music played in the background. We tried the spider rolls and the spicy tuna. Both were excellent. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone, even if you've never tried sushi before. I will definitely be coming back for more.
Best SushiPlace I've Found!. I found Bara by a happy accident one night when I was seaching Portland for good sushi. I travel for work and have eaten at many highly esteemed sushi places. This is by far the bast place I've found in over 15 states! I make a point to go to Bara every time I am in town and it is always the highlight of my trip!
Great udon, average sushi.
My husband and I just bought dinner at Bara Sushi House this evening. The restaurant was nicely decorated in a blend of traditional Japanese decor and bright colors. Instead of shamisen music, some sort of heavy beat played in the background. It would have been fine if I could actually hear it, but it seemed to be mostly for the chef's enjoyment.
The service was excellent, and we got our food promptly. It was near closing time, so they were out of some of our favorities like ebi. They did a last sushi call at 8:40pm, so we felt a little bit rushed to order.
I loved the seafood udon, and would order it again. It had (one) fresh scallop, shrimp, and shiitake mushroom, and it wasn't too salty.
The sushi was average, and a bit overpriced for the quality. There weren't many rolls to choose from if you don't like avacado or spicy sauce. The nagri selection wasn't huge, but they had all the staples (salmon, tuna, ebi, etc).
The red snapper was excellent, but the salmon was average. The ebi tempora roll was just bland. Watch out if you have nut allergies, because they sprinkled what tasted like peanuts on the unagi. I did get to try the black and yuzu tobiko, which I hadn't seen anywhere else. The black tobiko was delicious, but the yuzu tobiko was like chewing a blade of lemon grass.
Overall, the sushi was better quality than a train sushi place, but not as good as Bush Gardens, Mio Sushi, or Murata. We probably could have gotten better quality for only slightly more at Murata.
Incredible Sushi: Great Service. After eating at the sushi bar for nine months by myself as my wife was pregnant,I couldn't wait to take my wife here once we had the baby.So we rolled In with the five day old looking to do It up,anything we wanted was our motto.We started with the Poki salad and then move to the Live sea scallop sashimi ,both were amazingly fresh and the presentation was gorgeous.They cooked and salted the scallop liver that I took out with one bite.The Hamachi sasihmi next which is my wifes personal favorite,was like butter.We then got a few orders of Nigiri,the octopus was tender and delicious,probably the best Ive ever had.The tuna was equally as good.What I really enjoyed was a chance to try some of the high end sakes.Were use to mostly ordering the house carafe and the occasional btl of Pearl,but this time we tasted through some of the high end sakes that were available in small ,large or bottle.Let me tell you you get what you pay for,they were amazing.we then roll through about a half dozen rolls,Our usual eel and Hamachi and green onion and a spider roll,again perectly done and delicious.we then get the sweet shrimp Nigiri,which for some reason have never had.I guess the thought of raw shrimpwas just never that appealing,but tonight we were going out on a limb,Sweet,delicate and tender,and the crispy fried shrimp head on the side was gobbled ,eyes and all.Then we get to the specialty rolls The Clinton corner roll and the sashimi roll,assorted fish surrounded by fresh cucumber.Amazing!We finished with some complimentary Lichi sherbert and green tea ice cream,as they congratulated us on our new arrival,which by the way didn,t make a peep the whole time we were there,Awesome.All this for about 150.00 bucks including about 50 bucks worth of sake.Like I said we were doing It up.Theres lots of great affordable stuff for your everyday sushi experience.Im sorry I didn,t get the servers name but shs always there and always super friendly and knows her stuff.This Is our new sushi house,and cant wait to go back.
Great Experience! And I found a Coupon!!!. I was invited to eat here by a friend and we had the absolute best experience eating here. They have one of those special rooms that you actually sit on the floor at a low table. Not one of those fake underground tables. The food was immaculate and I got to try ALL the things that I was frightened to try at other sushi places. I even found a coupon at a site called Grubdango that saved me an extra 10% off of our meal!! What can I say, Great food and a Great price, that is a win-win in my book!
Lovely little sushi house. I went to Bara a few weeks ago with my step-sister from a recommendation that I received. I was very satisfied with my whole experience. The ambiance is simple, unique, and inviting. I love restaurants and boutiques located in houses especially in the SE neighborhood, Bara is no exception! The waitress was attentive and not over-bearing-if she didn't know the answer to something she found the answer quickly. Even though she forgot my miso soup-she found her mistake and was apologetic (I also believe this was her first dinner service there?) We ordered the special which was ginger chicken and it was done really well-crispy, light, and flavorful! Our rolls were fresh and delicious! I will be back to Bara for sure!
Delicious and unique rolls.
Bara has some really unique rolls. Rather than heading the way of the mayo sauces and avacado, Bara presents new flavors that are light and delightful, featuring more natural flavors like chilis and fruit to compliment nice pieces of fish.
On the downside, their non-sushi/sashimi dinner items are pretty standard, and expect to get your rolls slowly.
All in all though, well worth trying and enjoying!
A first class dining experience.
We walked in to Bara without any expectations. It was a late evening meal (around 9:00 PM). We were seated at a table not far from the front door. Normally this wouldn't bother me but it happened to be very cold out that night so whenever anyone walked in, we sure felt it.
The hostess/waitress brought our menus and took our drink orders. She was a very pleasant person with a soothing voice and a welcoming smile. Our order was prepared promptly and delivered to our table. The presentation was amazing. The dragon roll truly looked like a dragon! The fish was the ultimate in freshness. While the sushi chef was preparing the sushi for everyone, he was very conversational and friendly, smiling a lot as well. Our waitress was spot on with tending to our drinks and making sure we had refills.
All in all, this place is amazing. The fish melts in your mouth, service is impeccable and the whole restaurant is a lesson in relaxation and tranquility. It was a tad on the spendy side but well worth it for the quality and ambience. I will definitely be going there again!
Long wait for a disappointing finish.. The atmosphere was very nice at first however as more people filed in it gradually became much much louder and you begin to realize you're dining in a house rather then a restaurant. It got to the point where I could barely hear myself speak let alone the person I went with. The staff seemed inexperienced at handling such a large crowd and after waiting 45 minutes to get a 10 piece Sashimi order I asked for it to go. I then had to wait another 15 minutes for it to be "boxed" and by the time it arrived at the table it was far from fresh, although the taste of it about ten minutes later when I enjoyed it at home left much to be desired. The Salmon and Tuna tasted "fishy" and far from fresh. The added insult to injury was that when my bill was brought to my table the waitress informed me she had gone ahead and added an 8% gratuity, finishing by saying "if that's ok". I kindly payed and left, however I will not be returning.
The building owner told me to leave!. I read the reviews and was excited to try bara.. it was a windy day so me and my girlfriend decided to duck into the alcove just left of the front door when all of the sudden this disgruntled construction worker says "get out of here this is my property" So we left and went to yoko were the people are nice.
Bara Sushi House
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