Smallwares

Had a great time here. My friend and I came here for drinks and were not disappointed. The layout of the place is neat and makes for a great hang out with a girlfriend or two.

I had dinner here with two friends, and dropped well over a hundred dollars for all of us, excluding tip. It’s not cheap, and obviously the portions are not big. I wasn’t passionate about anything I saw on the menu, but was willing to give it a try since we were already there. We had oysters, lots of oysters, which I found to be way too salty so I only ate a few. Several dishes were delivered to our table after that, none at the same time, it was an abnormal restaurant experience for me. The restroom is outside and around the corner, the ambiance is dark, and there was a movie playing on the wall behind us. I probably won’t return.

I have to admit, I completely judged this menu at first and thought nothing sounded good. But whoa was I wrong.
THIS PLACE IS DELICIOUS!
I have had most of their menu and nothing disappointed. In fact, everything far exceeded my expectations. Things might not sound like they would be tasty, but the flavors of three meals are amazing. I highly recommend the Brussels sprouts and ahi tuna. I don’t even really like raw/​undercooked fish and I found that quite lovely. Wonderful flavor and the texture like butter. Those items blew my mind. The furikake peanuts are like crack. They are essentially candied peanuts with a little kick. I had to order them twice. Yeah that good. I’m also a fan of kimchee and they offer a nice variety of pickled veggies. If you have a larger appetite, their general tsao chicken sandwich is on the heartier side.
Whether it’s a fried (or fried like) appetizer, like the six minute egg or chicken lollipops, or a salad dish… you will leave satisfied and impressed.
Their happy hour is a great deal and is the only time you can get their Mac and cheese– an Asian version made with a spicy Korean sauce and bread crumbs.
I found the servers friendly and helpful. The ambience is modern and chic. Good for either meeting friends for happy hour (there is a bad in the back) or a date night.
I love this place.

Friendly staff, and cute ambiance in a nice neighborhood. We arrived at the tail end of happy hour, and thus took advantage of a couple of the specials. We mainly ordered off the main menu. Portions seemed a bit small for the cost. We liked most things, but found several dishes to be overly sweet or overly salty. Also, the brussel sprouts were under cooked.
The oysters were delicious and fresh.
Service was friendly, but could have been a tad more attentive. We had to get up a few times for things we needed.

This restaurant is a lot of fun. Energetic atmosphere, interesting dishes that are very conducive to sharing, clever drink options, and a cool mix of patrons. There can be a wait that borders on frustrating, but it’s worth it for the food and if you have to wait, this is an enjoyable place to do it. I wouldn’t come here every week or even every month – it’s a few-​times-​a-​year joint, when you want something different and fun.

Gave this place a try based on great reviews and some word of mouth. Cool ambience, great ideas behind the menu, but execution was lacking: of the five cooked dishes we ordered (not counting oysters on the half shell) all of them were incredibly over-​salted. Was almost as if someone was indiscriminately adding salt to the dishes without tasting during preparation. A real shame as we could tell there was good intent in the concept. I read another review saying that the owner is very engaged with the place: if so, I ask that she take this feedback (and that of several others who have left similar comments) and simply taste what is being served out there… Ease the salt and you will have a great thing going.

This place didn’t really wow me, for the amount we paid and the flavors of the dishes. Now I understand the name, because the portion sizes were on the smaller side (obviously did not make this connection earlier…) The ambiance is dark, with red and black walls, and a movie playing in the back room where we were seated. The bathroom is outside, around the corner from the restaurant.
Here’s what we ordered:
Oysters: the usual that you would expect, except it had fish sauce on it. There is a reason why oysters do not normally come with fish sauce. It was way too salty! Usually it’s already salty from the sea water/​oyster juices…
Fried kale, candied bacon, fish sauce, mint: This one was surprisingly good, probably the best dish we had here. It had a good balance of everything, and the kale was deep fried perfectly.
Snapper ceviche: nothing too crazy, wouldn’t order it again.
Lobster mushrooms: I had seen these at a farmers market earlier in the day, and was interested in trying them. I’m not too sure how they are supposed to taste, but it was harder than a normal mushroom and didn’t have much flavor.
Crab egg drop soup: My friend, who is not a fan of spicy food, thought this was a mild dish she could handle, because egg drop soup is nothing too fancy… however these also had cherry peppers in them. Little did we know that they are actually pretty spicy! I couldn’t taste much else other than that, and I don’t know if I even ate crab since my mouth was on fire.
Oxtail curry: I liked it a lot because I like oxtail. The fancy culinary tidbits they add to it didn’t really make it anymore special (plantain chips, etc).
TLDR: I’d go somewhere else at that price. If you do go, order the kale chips. Oxtail’s pretty good too.

Last night I came in with a friend for the late night happy hour. Everything I ordered was so delicious. I ordered the oysters, candied peanuts, chicken lollipops, fried kale, six minute fried eggs, and some type of sushi with pork. All was amazing. The flavors were huge and complex. Spicy, salty, cilantro. Incredible food and service. My new favorite late night spot.

It just wasnt good! My friend picked & I lived in SF so have had amazing Asian fusion. I got Hanger Steak & it was a few measly pieces of luke warm beef on wilted Romaine lettuce– gross! I was Starving after & was expensive for what it was. According to my friend this place got great reviews but I was disappointed.

I’m usually not the biggest fan of Asian fusion but this place had some nice surprises. As all fusion places, some of the dishes go too far…
I really liked the ambiance. Nice and casual. Not too crowded. Sat next to an open sliding door but it opened up to a nice side street, not the front street. They have a cough with a movie playing. Good classic: Wayne’s World.
The kale was excellent. Fried and crispy but with some flavorful cilantro in fish sauce. Quite nice flavor profile. 5 stars. We ordered an extra one after demolishing the first one. The chicken lollipops sound somewhat childish but they are actually quite delish. Goes very well with siracha mayo. 4.5 stars. The tuna tartare was good. Soft melting tuna on a little rice cake. 4 stars. The corn on the cob was fantastic! 5 stars. One person in my party claimed it the best corn he’s ever had. I don’t do scallops but the tataki was reportedly quite good. Peach salad was just ok… others liked it but for whatever reason, can’t quite put my finger on it, didn’t like it very much.
The desserts… 1 star. When I say fusion food sometimes takes it too far… the Smore’s parfait sounded awesome. It was… all except the curry fluff (powder). It ruined it. The halo halo didn’t even look like halo halo. It came out on a plate. Probably 1 or 2 spoons worth.
The service was great. Would consider going back.

Are you serious?! I am sitting here completely surprised that the Sleaze burger ended up being the best burger all week and it was a mere ½ block walk from my house! If I would have had this earlier in the week I may have eaten one every day, so I guess there was a reason I didn’t make it until tonight. We sat outside to enjoy our Burger Week 2015 grand finale. Our waiter was awesome, attentive, and friendly. The burger itself had such complexity in flavor and texture I had to pinch myself to confirm I wasn’t dreaming. Also ordered the fried kale (OMG!), corn on the cob (Yum!) & roasted potatoes (meh). I had a not so terriffic experience here one time last year and hadn’t been back, so this made me ponder all the second chances I owe out there! I will definitely be back.

Pickled sea beans!
The pickled fish dish is a salt sashimi of tuna, our day, not salmon. It included a few mesclun greens, a few rehydrated fermented black beans, and the magic ingredient, sweet vinegar + salt-​pickled sea beans.
Sea beans are new to me, from the Portland Farmers Market. Apparently the were a fad about 5 – 6 years ago in the foodie world. They grow on our Oregon coast.
This is a great dish! Nonetheless I would see if there is a way to dial back the salt, then add another ingredient as a flavor counterpoint. Still I would recommend it!
The seaweed salad is highly recommended. It starts with a wilted wakame seaweed, still a little crunchy, with a few raw french green beans, coarsely chopped pistachio, orange slices and the magic ingredient, an off the shelf yuzu kosho dressing. The dressing comes from an Asian lemon: Citrus ichangensis x Citrus reticulata «yuzu». The flavor of the dressing is of orange with a grapefruit back, a slightly bitter taste with a little pepper heat. It’s a really great combination of ingredients!
Smallwares has been on my radar, but I am not often in their area. I visited their side project, Lil Wares, which is only open 2 more weeks for brunch, lunch and happy hour. After then, all the activity folds back into Smallwares proper.
They participated in Portland Burger Week with a pork and pork sausage patty. The patty is more of a Cantonese style: the flavor comes from ingredients, not over spicing. The patty does not have added salt, unusual for a sausage. There is a subtle sweetness from the anise and just the subliminal hint of a hot spice. It is a perfect example of adding the tiniest amount of cayenne to activate flavors without revealing itself.
The rest of the ingredients provide a great contrast. Hoisin sauce, a fresh tomato, a cabbage slaw, house pickles and dry crunchy noodles dusted with cayenne.
This is a serious fusion burger with quality ingredients, inventively combined! Bravo!
Let’s hope they continue to do something with this mild combination of Chinese sausage and ground pork in future dishes.
The staff was gracious and efficient, facing a busy, hot day of customers questing this burger!
I’m excited to return to experience more of their menu. They get creating a mix of textures and flavors in each dish.

Went for burgerweek but even at $ 5, left pretty unimpressed.
Not sure I would eat here again. The burger was too salty. The bread was pretty ordinary.

Arrived for a late «dinner» and a few drinks. Very modern décor but definite Asian influence. Mobb Deep as mood music was surprising but I welcomed it with open arms.
As for the food. Menu is a bit on the pricey side however, what lacks in quantity which I realized going into «smallwares» it definitely made up for in flavor and presentation. Scallop tataki with scallion jelly… yes that’s a real thing! Soooo good! The chawan mushi was a bit too salty but still very bold flavors.
Dabbled with the drink menu and while creative it did take me a few attempts and $ 40 to find a drink that suited my palate.
All in all I would return purely for creativity and bold flavors but don’t come in too thirsty or hungry… it’s not an establishment to fill up on, just enjoy the creativity and experience.

The good: the server was really sweet and pleasant.
The bad: I asked if there was mayonnaise in the slaw on the general tso’s chicken. She said no. My sandwich came with a huge amount of mayonaisse on it and my server said «oh shoot, it’s not in the slaw but it is on the sandwich, oops.» My companion finished eating before my food came out. The sandwich was overly gingery. I like ginger, but this was ridiculous.
The Thai tea said spicy, I asked if it was pepper spicy and she said it was cardamom. It came out and reeked of cayenne pepper and you could see the pepper.
Quaint, quiet, a nice deck. This was a rather forgettable birthday meal and I took the day off from work to come out here since it is only open for lunch. Not worth it.

This was my 2^nd time eating at Smallwares. I remembered the food was amazing last time — and it was EVEN BETTER this time!
I truly loved everything we had — the fried kale is indescribably delicious. Seriously. Just like the first time I was here. we ordered it and shared it — and then ordered it again at the end of the meal cause we wanted that flavor to be the last thing we put into our mouths. lol. it’s THAT GOOD!
Thank you for delivering a meal of 15 on a scale of 1 – 10.

Beware the Smallwares! And be prepared to drop some serious cash.
Came here for dinner and got on the express train to Small Plates City. All aboard! Going to Smallwares is like when you get on a cross-​country train and are all excited for some throw-​back travel like the good old days– until you realize there’s no running water, no beds and you’re not allowed to get off the train until you reach your destination 4 days from now. :D
The restaurant décor is very modern, and minimalist, but it honestly looks like a bunch of white and red Ikea furniture and shelving units all over the place. Like your first apartment out of college, where you don’t have a lot of money to spend but still want things to match.
True to it’s name, the plates are small, but the flavors are too overpowering! Heavily doused in strong sauces that were either too salty, too fishy or too spicy despite the small portions, it was difficult to finish a single portion.
A dinner for 2 people and no alcohol came out to over $ 130, I was still really hungry when I left and bought a cheeseburger on my way home. No more train rides for me!

A quick change of plans on Valentines Day found me and my lady at Smallwares. We found out they had a spendy ($ 65/​person) pre fixe menu for the occasion after we were seated. The options sounded pretty tasty, and I ended up selecting a scallop dish, a shrimp and grits, a mushroom ragu and a panna cotta. We also ordered the fried kale appetizer.
The kale came out first, and we were shocked by the size of the appetizer. They could have cut the portion in half, and it still would have been too big. The kale came in a fish sauce, which was ill-​conceived. As the kale sat in the sauce it became soggy, and after about five minutes it was inedible. The dish also included pieces of thick cut bacon, which was delicious unless you happened to get a piece with any fat on it. The pieces with fat had soaked up so much of the smoke flavoring that it was like a tiny Chuck Norris inflicting pain on my tongue. To his credit, our waiter noticed how little of the dish we ate, and removed it from our bill without us even mentioning it.
The rest of the meal started out well with the scallops. Good flavor and it was well cooked. Then came the shrimp and grits. The grits were actually pretty good, but the flavor was dominated by hot oil. There was no need for a palate cleanser between the shrimp and the mushroom ragu, because the ragu was dominated by the same oil. The panna cotta was a little gritty, but otherwise pretty standard.

So, mixed feelings — TLDR: good food, but overpriced and terrible, terrible service. Like literally the worst.
Smallwares has great food. Seriously some of the most innovative and original dishes you can get in Portland. The dishes are tasty, fun and unique. Rarely am I ever disappointed by anything I order there. And of course, the standard dishes on the menu (e.g. the fried kale) are absolutely fantastic.
That being said, service is really, truly appalling. The staff at this restaurant are some of the most aloof and apathetic in town. On my last visit, we stood waiting to be seated for at least 5 minutes before the hostess even acknowledged us. And the restaurant was completely empty at that point. When I head to Smallwares, I always plan at least 2 hours for my meal since getting a server’s attention takes an astonishing amount of time. The last visit hit an all-​time low; our empty dirty dishes and plates sat on our table for 30 minutes. We wanted to order more food, but nobody came by to check on us. In the end, I actually had to stand up and wave at a waiter to get him to bring us our check. I wonder how much business is lost that way.
I’ve been served drinks that are quite frankly, sloppy and kind of embarrassing. I ordered some mango happy hour drink that had a long string of mango purée dripping down the outside of the wine glass, making it sticky to hold and unappealing. How difficult would it have been for the bartender to take a second and wipe down the glass? Oh well.
Even still, I love the food so much that I’d still suffer through the poor service weekly. The only thing that’s preventing me from doing so are prices. Don’t go to Smallwares without expecting to drop a decent amount of money on pretty small plates.

Highly creative menu. I found so many interesting food choices on the menu. The restaurant is in the back of the outdoor mall area. Its not easy to find but I suspect it is packed irregardless. I ate octopus, fried kale — a must have, savory peanuts, lobster mushrooms in sauce and I can’t even remember what else, but it was all excellent.
My gripe is the portions are European size and the prices are from the UK.
The service is excellent. I plan to come here more often.