Kappaya Japanese Restaurant

I am so sad this place is closed. No one cooks mussels on the half shell like Terry. My husband and I will shed a tear over this one

Very sad. No more Terry’s special. Closed.

Mackerel bento still awesome, up $ 1 since last review but totally worth it. But there’s news! The Pok pok folks have bought the place and assume the lease Oct. 1, 2011.
So! Last chance for traditional Japanese curry, awesome bentos, or Terry’s sushi.

I like to call Kappaya the holy grail of sushi. If you can get there when it’s open, it is my FAVORITE. But… it feels like it’s freaking closed all the time! Maybe it’s just the times I’m trying to go. They would definitely get more business from me if I could get lunch on a Saturday or Sunday.
The couple of times I have achieved the holy grail, it has been wonderful, and possibly my favorite sushi in Portland. I have tried the Mexican roll (spicy and yummy!), Oregon roll, and Philadelphia roll — all were great. The prices are super good (you can feel stuffed for $ 10) and service is fast and friendly.
Plus, they keep a bowl of Zots at the counter for when you leave!!!

Came for lunch on wed. The salmon was very very fresh and delicious. Almost melt in your mouth. Surprised they didn’t put any wasabi in the nigiri. Will take my parents here when they visit– they love traditional sushi. The ramen was ok– unfortunately the best i’ve had in portland so far, and that’s not saying much. What surprised me about the place was how many people sat at the sushi bar talking to the sushi chef. Not to mention, these guys were regulars, always eating here because of the topics they talked about. It filled up for lunch and i was on a timeline, but I got in and out in 30 min. (wow, some of the other reviews are harsh!)

Looking for a cheap lunch with my sister’s Kappaya was suggested to us (nearby our current location.) We had been slightly weary because of the outside, it is dark and a little shady for sure. The sushi itself was pretty good. The service was fast, no frills. I wouldn’t take a date here, more of a cheap lunch spot with friends for sure.
I highly suggest the Philadelphia roll, it sounds weird but smoked salmon and cream cheese are awesome in sushi! For $ 8 a person (including tip) Kappaya is a worthy choice if you are in the SE neighborhood and want a filling sushi meal on the cheap.

Had the Hawaiian Roll, Canadian Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, and Unagi Roll.
The Canadian Roll and Spicy Tuna were pretty good, but the Hawaiian and Unagi Roll wasn’t anything special.
Also ordered the beef teriyaki lunch plate. Beef was a little dry but really good teriyaki sauce. Did not like the salad. It’s a ginger mayo dressing– very heavy on the mayo.

I had my hopes for this place. But it was the most disappointing lunch I’ve had in some time.
They lose their first star for not being remotely vegetarian-​friendly. Their vegetable curry has chicken or fish broth in it — whichever the chef feels like using that day. I do appreciate the waitress pointing this out to me. So I said I would order some fried tofu and steamed rice instead. Guess what… the fried tofu is served in beef broth. So if you’re willing to special-​order fried tofu WITHOUT the beef broth and eat that with plain white rice you can have a vegetarian meal. Now i’m not saying that a restaurant HAS to be vegetarian-​friendly. They have the right to choose and to make their own menu. But i think it’s bad business to block out veg-​heads in such a hippie-​laden community as SE Portland. If i hadn’t been on a business lunch, i would have just left and gone elsewhere.
They lose a second star for their salad. I swear they buy Costco bags of pre-​mixed salad greens with a sprinkling of shredded carrots… how very American of them. Also vegetarian — if you ask for it without their weird Caesary type dressing.
So the location is pretty decent — SE Division between 33^rd & 34^th. Easy to find, and they have their own parking lot. The ambiance and décor leave a bit to be desired but it’s not wholly uncomfortable. The waitress was a sweetheart and I really am grateful to her for pointing out all the meatiness in the foods i was trying to order. But these «perks» are not enough to bring me back to Kappaya…
… especially after seeing something that caused me to drop them another two stars. On the way out, i see one of their kitchen employees, sitting on the curb, smoking a cigarette… wearing his apron. Now this might seem harsh, but that’s really wicked gross. And pretty frowned upon by the Health Department — you do not wear your apron out of the kitchen. Not into the bathroom, not into the basement and especially not on the curb while you suck down an ashy cigarette.

I will start by saying that the atmosphere leaves something to be desired. I also am not comfortable eating raw fish here, although my boyfriend does and has fared just fine. He isn’t as picky as I am when it comes to raw fish. I am *extremely picky about it and even if I could bring myself to order it here I simply wouldn’t be able to eat it. I’m not entirely comfortable with the [lack of] freshness I sense, HOWEVER…
…This is one of the rare places that has sukiyaki. This is some serious comfort food and I have a lot of trouble finding places that not only serve it, but do it up right in the iron pot, etc. Whenever I have the craving — and let’s face it Portland winter is cold and wet and just demands warm comfort-​food goodness — I know this place is conveniently located down the street and I can easily satisfy myself with the amazing sukiyaki. Uh…“to go” of course. The interior is a total bummer.

I’m finding myself saying this quite a lot, but with so many sushi options around this town restaurants really need to stand out in order to get more than three stars.
Kappaya had great service, but the food, while decent, was nothing special. The rolls were pretty standard and they totally failed to utilize the opportunity for creative presentation. The prices are relatively high considering all of this.

With regard to the health inspection thread, in the last Health Department inspection, Kappaya rated a 98 (Excellent A rating).

We only got a couple things here – salmon nigiri, a couple rolls, and the katsu-​don.
The lack of décor seems a little severe compared to other Japanese places in town, but between décor and good food I’ll take the food! The salmon was the best salmon sushi we’ve had yet in Portland, the rolls were just fine, and the katsu-​don was perfectly authentic and delicious! I would have preferred a little more sauce to flavor the rice, especially in that huge bowl, but overall it was a great dish.
We’re excited to go back and try the other cooked dishes on the menu!

+: Awesome location next to Pix and Pok Pok.
-: Next to Pix and Pok Pok, wished I went to Pok Pok instead!
!: Zaru soba noodles were perfect on a hot day but lots of places serve Zaru soba noodles.
?: With such a huge parking lot, outdoor seating during the summertime is a must!

Itadakimasu!
Kappaya is an exciting find, the kind of place you get nostalgic about very quickly. Since discovering it, my family visits Kappaya every time we’re in Portland — eat in or take out, we have to have it. Don’t let the very humble, spartan surroundings put you off… excellent down home food is here!
With a maki list containing more than 30 items, none topping $ 8, maki freaks are set to get their groove on. Everything we sampled was fresh & well-​proportioned. A full list of nigiri & sashimi awaits as well. But DO NOT rule out the sushi donburi! It’s the best selection I’ve seen — about 10 choices — including a succulent negihama don ($ 13.50). Prices are excellent: tekka maki is only $ 4 & uni $ 5.75.
The hot menu is outstanding & fairly varied: nice ramen, udon, curry & donburi all in the $ 8 – 9 range. Croquettes & soft shell crab are on the appetizer list. The bento is generous ($ 15 range). Yummy pickles too!
Kappaya is not for people seeking the slick, high gloss sushi bar of the 80’s. It IS for anyone who appreciates well priced, soulful Japanese food served by friendly, down home, infomative folks.
PS — Regarding Japanese curry: it IS brown glop. Yummy brown glop. It is hardly ever served with «finesse» as it is home food first and foremost. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. Sometimes we have to try something to overcome our misunderstanding of it. I know that’s true for me. :)

I liked it for lunch, until I went there for dinner. My date ordered Japanese curry. It was THE most unappealing presentation I’ve ever seen in a Japanese restaurant; usually, they are masters at creating a beautiful arrrangement. So, one half of his plate was a huge amount of white rice; the other half? Brown glop! It looked so unappetizing and he was loathe to touch it — and he didn’t. When he asked to return it and substitute it for something else, the owner came out to talk to us and he refused! He said it was one of the most popular dishes.
This was my first time ever that a restaurant refused to satisfy a customer. As a result not only did he loose my patronage, my date’s patronage, he is now also being blasted here. I can’t remember what I ate but I know I wasn’t too impressed by my meal, either. But I was mostly disturbed by their extremely poor customer service.
This was a few months ago (I just joined this site), but I thought others should know. This was my worst restaurant experience in Portland and I’ve beendining out here for 9 years.

Kappaya is a great sushi place, fresh fish and nice people. I have to say that the first few times I went to this place I was the guest of a very good and important customer of theirs and every since I have been treated very well. So I can’t fairly address the other reviews of service.
I can say that if you sit at the sushi bar and talk to Terry, the owner and sushi chef, the sushi comes quickly. The special rolls are great. It really is a good place and if you are worried about bad service just get it to go.

This place is good for lunch, as long as you’re not on a schedule.
Beef Bento is really really good — on the big side so it could be OK to share.
I’ve had only a few rolls here and they were alright nothing outstanding.
But its the atmosphere:
Bitchy waitress who makes no bones about it (not crazy or over the top just basic, you’re bugging me hurry up and get out type bitchy)
Dark dank one room seating
Slow ass service
A little too quite
The food is really good & the atmosphere makes it that much better. Plus they are consistent, every time I’ve been its the same people and the same attitude.
Definitely worth a go!

Service was haywire at Kappaya… even though the restaurant was nearly empty on a weekday afternoon.
We ordered a spider and a cucumber roll as well as a chicken bento box and udon noodle dish.
It took fifteen minutes for the misa soup to show up at the table. Then the bento box and udon noodles came out less than a minute later.
After we finished our lunch items, it was still another fiften minutes before the spider and cucumber rolls arrived. Ding-​a-​ling waitress didn’t even clear off our dirty dishes when the rolls showed up, so we had to set our dirty dishes off to the side.
As far as the food, the cucumber roll was very good and the spider roll okay. The chicken bento box while visually appealing was meh as far as flavor. The udon noodles were blah (though pretty to look at before digging in).
I’d be disinclined to recommend that you try this eatery.

I really wanted to take a moment to rave about the lunch specials. Unfortunately, the $ 9 you spend on the sushi bento is just not up to par in my world. Mind you, I live in a completely different reality than most people. Where am I?
I have yet to partake in raunchy salmon since moving to P-​town in September. So stick with the salmon anywhere you go. I’m just more of a sashimi and sometimes a nigiri person, and they just don’t have too many affordable and tasty lunch options for this.
I’ve never tried too much of the other food — mostly I stick to the raw shite. The sushi is not too pricy, and the sushi chef is a sweet gentleman who hooks you up with some tasty treats if you come and chat him up at the bar. Plus, this is the only place close by that has sushi lunch that is not RANK (i.e. Mio’s). So. I’ll be hittin up Kappaya’s till I find the perfect hot spot.

Wow… this is the… absolute…longest…I’ve ever had to wait for sushi. Anywhere. I went here with a group of 10, so the requisite uncomfortable jokes. (ie, «Huh, guess they had to drive out to the coast to catch the fish heheheh») ensued after about 45 minutes of waiting for food.
This place has a couple of things going for it:
*Super-​extensive veggie side of the sushi menu. Like ²⁄₃ of a menu page was devoted to 20 or so different types of veggie rolls.
*Um…how about convenient location? Not crowded on a Saturday night? Err. reasonable prices.
Now, on to the crankiness:
*Why…WHY did we have to 45 minutes for sushi? Why? Like I said, the place wasn’t crowded.
*Atmosphere was nada. Our group sat in a side nook meant for larger parties. One side of the table got to stare at a dusty kimono pinned to a dingy white wall. The other side of the table got to stare at some beat-​up window blinds. Rest of the place looked pretty blah too. I’m not expecting an indoor koi pond (although that would have been cool) or anything, but it looked like no one cared to make the restaurant look the least bit inviting.
*Service was a bit weird. Some of us had our menus taken away early in the evening. Some of us didn’t. Some folks ran out of tea. Some didn’t. And so on.
The sushi was fine. I think this would be a decent place to pick up rolls to go. Third star for the tray of Andes mints included with the check. Although a bit incongruous with a sushi joint, I am a total sucker for a post-​dinner Andes mint.