Biwa

I was seated next to a person who sent her food back twice, but was very clearly looking to stir something up. In my opinion the server and all of the staff handled it with grace, even though the person was acting ridiculously. I wish privilege weren’t so prevalent in Portland– then possibly people would look at a meal as a something many people get once a day, maybe. You would think based on the way this individual was acting, that this may have been the biggest problem in her life.
I, on the other hand, was a big fan of everything I ordered – the drinks were wonderful and everything was priced appropriately! We were seated right as we came in, service was on point, and the ambiance was lovely!

$ 15 ramen and bloated price menu and sizes that are slimmed down?
No thanks. Get out. Grab your tiny gyozas with you while you’re at it. It is underwhelming. And let me keep the cauliflower croquettes. I’m somewhat attached to them but not for the price tag you want.
That mediocre bowl of ramen is not worth $ 15. Please don’t impose your employee’s health insurance on your consumers and still demand a tip. This is so weird and uncomfortable. This is like you’re letting your estranged skanky ex sleep in our bedroom.
I may revisit after some time but we need to separate for now. Yes, separate not a divorce.

Came in to sit at the bar for appetizers and drinks with a girlfriend.
Drinks are around $ 9 for a cocktail, but so, so good.
We split a pickled plate which definitely wasn’t your standard plate.
The oysters on the half shell were a great price, and l loved to «baste your own oyster» concept.
I will check out dinner another time.
Downside, this place was like 1000 degrees.

I like the lighting and how cozy this place is.
Albacore sashimi was just perfect! The grilled avocado was great. The lamb was too oniony for my taste, but ok. They gave us some pickled radish salad which we were told was on the house, thank you for that, it was delish

This place is great! Really helpful and informed staff. Raman, agadashi tofu, kimchi, and lamb heart skewers all amazing. Cocktails and desserts were treats! Tax to cover healthcare of employees is a a great idea. Vote for Bernie!!!

I was recommended by a chef to check this restaurant out. It was a very hip little restaurant tucked away in the basement of a building yet it was still warm and cozy.
My hubby and I sat at the bar so that we could see what was going on in the kitchen. I loved watching the chefs use the Japanese grill.
We enjoyed the: free spicy popcorn, fried chicken with spicy mustard, cauliflower croquettes, kimchi, fried avocado and gyoza.
Everything was pretty delicious and definitely served tapas style (really small plates and servings). The only thing that I did not like was the fried avocado. It was way too salty and boring overall.
We definitely enjoyed ourselves and the atmosphere, however it was pricey for what was ordered. Definitely a place worth checking out.

I was really disappointed in this place. Great vibe, ambiance, service, but the food just had so many issues. Ramen was way too salty, and the Karaage was nothing special (and I was sent here especially for this). The only thing I would come back for would be the sashimi, which were thick cuts and delicious.

Service 9 out of 10
Saki flight 10 out of 10
Gyoza 6 out of 10
Ramen 4 out of 10
Fried Chicken 2 out of 10. Seriously I have had better fried chicken out of a freezer bag.
Rice ball. 0 out of 10. Evident they take rice drizzle it in chicken sauce (unclear what that is) and fry it in a pan. This was just burnt rice as far as I can tell. Terrible taste, terrible after taste, and a waste of $ 4.
Eatr said this was a must try. Unilocal reviews did not support Eatr’s claim. Wanted to love this place. Service and ambiance were on point but Unilocal was right. Won’t be back.

Our party of four came for our first time tonight and being of Japanese descent, we had some expectations. The food is so-​so… two of us had udon and two of us had ramen. Our opinion is the udon had better broth flavor. Also ordered yaki onigiri which was pretty good. By far, the BEST gyoza we’ve had in a restaurant. Personally I think the Japanese ramen I make at home is far better all the way around. What was less than impressive was the mediocre service … and the pricing; $ 15 for ramen and $ 8 for 5 pieces of gyoza. Hard to understand why service was limited attentiveness when we counted at least 9 staffers (plus chefs in back) for only 3 tables of diners and two folks at the bar.
They have a pretty extensive sake and wine list.
What I’m still processing is their 5% «health and wellness» charge added to each bill. I’ve never seen this in a restaurant before. Why not just roll the cost into your menu pricing and pay for your employees to get healthcare? Also, what are your employees contributing to the cost of their care? If you’re gonna charge the extra 5%, then how about a win-​win and send patrons home with some comp spicy popcorn that so many other reviewers like about Biwa, including us?

A dimly lit and intimate restaurant hidden in the corner, one would never know they just drove by a ramen restaurant. A touch of unfriendliness and a dash of pretentiousness might add a little bit of negativity towards ones dining experience.
It seems that perhaps the people making the food are friendlier than the wait staff, which hopefully all tips are allocated proportionally. I don’t mind paying part of their health and wellness tab which appears on every bill, I am pro health.
They have a decent beer/​drink list, which is a plus. The gyoza was amazing, perfectly crisp and had great flavor. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the visit. The ramen, which there’s only a $ 15 option, unless you check out their happy hour, did not meet our expectations.
Biwa’s a type of place that leaves you feeling a tiny bit disappointed, and wondering what you spent all your money on, because what you ordered doesn’t equate to how much you spent.

Great japanese restaurant with a twist! More than just your typical miso soup and california rolls.
They have an extensive sake list, as well as craft cocktails, beer and wine. My husband and I opted for warmed sake and our waiter was informal in helping us choose some sake.
We before our first course, our waiter brought out some spicy popcorn, which was super addicting. For our first course we ordered the Chef’s selection small plate. It rotates every night and tonight it was ahi poke, grilled chicken livers over kale and pickled mackerel and pickled veggies. The chicken livers were moist and delicious. My husband like the mackerel more than I, but the poke is always a hit.
We both ordered the ramen soup, which came with a seasoned egg and pork shoulder. A nice size dish for $ 15. If you sit at the counter during happy hour, the ramen is only $ 5, which we’ll have to do next time.
Overall the food was great and the service even better. Can’t wait to come back and try something else!

Perfect place for date night. Portions are small and a bit on the spendier side, but so are half the restaurants in Portland, and they serve great food to make it worth the extra cash.
Their popcorn is one of a kind, don’t be afraid to ask for a big bowl of it.
All of their meat skewers are delicious and if you come in after 10pm, try YOU MUST TRY THE BURGER.
I used to come here for the ramen, and recently learned that they opened a sister ramen restaurant. If you love ramen check it out, it’s called Noraneko, and yes they also serve the magical popcorn and their prices are much more reasonable.

I have been here twice and had 2 completely different experiences, one good one not so good. The first time I went here with a party of 4. Everyone ordered an entrée and we shared a few small plates. The waitress was very helpful, and it was a great experience. The food is good, although the portions are small. The avocado dish is my favorite. Definitely try that!
The second time I came here with a larger party, 7 or 8 people. The waiter did not do a good job of helping us order the right amount of food. We ended up with a whole bunch of small plates, most of which don’t even allow everyone one bite. So essentially, we spent a large amount of money per person and left hungry. We ended up going to the bar down the street to get more food.
In synopsis, the food here is very good and the atmosphere is cozy. It is a great place to take a few good friends of an out of town guest. It is not a good place to take a larger party. In that case, someone if not everyone will leave unhappy.

A cup of tea for $ 4.00??? Don’t know what you think but I can’t accept that. Cuz for the majority Japanese restaurant, the tea is for free or $ 1.
The Raman tastes and looks like instant noodle costs $ 15, are you kidding me! I’ve tried way much better ramen in Portland it only costs me $ 11 with a larger size and better taste. We also tried several grilled meat, it’s just okay not very impressed, you can easily made this meat kebab at home with a better taste.
Besides, there is a health & wellness additional charge 5% of your total price. You should definitely mentioned it ahead. It’s the charge pay for the health insurance for YOUR STAFF. We have no reason to be charged for that. It is your responsibility to take good care of YOUR employees not us!!!

Not cool you only serve ramen happy hour at bar for $ 5 late night, but $ 15 at table.
Chicken karagee recommended w panko crust. Ramen super salty goodness despite note above.
Love the spicy popcorn.
Could use more veggie options other than just Bok Choy and crispy avocado.

Came on Labor Day and the food was fantastic. We were sat right away and ordered so much food that we were there for what felt like hours eating. The space was dim, lively and engaging. The food comes out to you as it’s ready, making the experience more casual and relaxed. The service was also (maybe a little bit too) relaxed.
Started with a Cucumber Hai to drink which was incredibly refreshing. We tried many, many dishes but a few of my favorites were the Japanese fried chicken, pork filled gyoza, shishito peppers and grilled avocado. The stars of the dinner were the albacore tataki and enoki and pork belly skewers. The ramen is very good, too, and next time I visit I will concentrate more on just that, but it’s definitely a lot of fun to order a ton of snacks and drinks to share amongst friends.
(If they don’t bring you popcorn to start, ask for it!)

Over hyped/​over priced. I’ve been to Japan on a few trips and always like izakaya, so I was excited to try Biwa.
The tofu skewer was $ 4 and was 1 square of tofu (maybe 3×4″). It tasted like straight up miso paste on top, so the flavors were just off. It was too salty on top and bland in the middle. (And I love salt!)
The shiitake skewer was bland and undercooked for my liking (also one piece appeared dirty).
My husband had the ramen and wasn’t impressed.
Also, as others have mentioned, be aware of the 5% surcharge for healthcare.

Portland, day 1, stop 1, late night dinner
Pork gyoza — ⁵⁄₅ — It says it’s porky and it certainly is. Good taste, good texture.
Lamb skewer — ³⁄₅
Ramen — ²⁄₅
Biwa burger (off menu) — ⁵⁄₅ — Pork belly burger, brioche bun, Kimchee aioli. Already great but then you get to the slice of charsiu that they basically fry into a alternate form of bacon. Unique and amazing, it’s a shame that it’s both off menu and only served from 10pm-​midnight.
Overall, skip the ramen and the skewers. The burger is «as good as it gets.»

Such a mixed bag of reviews for this place. We looked at the reviews and being huge fans of Ramen, decided to give this place a try.
First — The Location: I’m pretty sure the building the restaurant is in used to be a school about 50 years ago. It is in the basement of said building. Be warned, it gets hot down there with all the boiling noodles and grilling. They have the windows open, but it is very toasty down there.
Second –The Service: Wonderful! We had our main waiter and he was great. Plus, at least 2 other wait staff checked on us periodically to see if we needed anything. On top of that, the manager (at least I think he was the manager) was checking on us constantly and made sure we were taken care of. We sat at the bar, so we were in the middle of all the action. Getting someone’s attention if we needed anything was not difficult.
Third — The Food: I’ve had some good Ramen and this was some best! We went during Ramen happy hour (at the bar only) and it was only $ 5 for a bowl, $ 8 if you added the pork. The broth was spicy and flavorful. They top it off with a type of chili oil that adds a real zest to the broth. The noodles were just perfect! Along with the broth and noodles, it also came with seaweed (delicious), egg and pork. We also had the skewered beef and chicken for appetizers and they were fabulous.
Everyone will have a different experience, but our meal at Biwa was wonderful. The food and service were impeccable.

This place was packed when my friends and I came on a Friday night. Luckily, there was one table open so we got seated right away (thank goodness too, because the line that started to form after that was gross).
We ordered the Milwaukee and Nikka sour to wash down the complimentary popcorn, and I must say that they were some damn good cocktails. Refreshing and smooth. To eat, we ordered the gyoza, karaage, and shiitake skewers. My friends ordered the Biwa burger, but when it came out, it looked a little sad; just a thin, dry slice of pork belly on top of the burger. The rest of our food was okay but nothing spectacular though I’d like to come back for their HH ramen.