Yakuza

I came here after a long day of shopping with my husband last Saturday. We made Unilocal reservations at 9pm, so when we walked in, the restaurant was maybe 85% full, but everyone that walked in could get sat.
This restaurant, like many others in Portland, are within a suburb neighborhood, with a couple others as well as bars in the area, but mostly surrounded by houses.
We got sat immediately, and began to look at the menu. From Unilocal reviews, my husband really wanted to try the burger. We ordered that, the duck plate, tuna poke, and pear jalapeño roll, with jalapeños on the side because I can’t do spicy haha.
The duck was deliiiiicious. So moist and tender. And very flavorful! I would definitely recommend it. The poke by itself has a kick. Towards the end of the dish, it was quite spicy to me. Also, it came with way more avocado than actual tuna –_​– so it’s not worth it! The jalapeño roll was alright. The Asian pear inside definitely brings a sweet taste to the sushi, which was an odd taste, but not terrible. The burger, according to my husband, was pretty good! The crunchy onions added great texture. It was a big burger too!
If you come for HH, the burger is only $ 8 instead of $ 15 — good deal!
Service wise, it was not great. Once we got our food, the server rarely came to check up on us. AND this restaurant gives you a large bottle of water on the table, so you refill your own water. Mind you, since we walked in, there was only ONE server for the WHOLE restaurant. Her name was Venice. She had food runners to help, but no one else handled orders and checks but her.
When we were finishing up eating, a large group of 6 came and sat down next to us. We got our check and immediately got our card out. She walked past our check about four times, and didn’t take it. Each time, she focused on the other tables orders, drinks, and then more drinks and food. She didn’t care AT ALL about us. We sat there, quietly, literally just staring at her each time she ignored us. It took us 15 minutes to actually get her to come back to us. RIDICULOUS. I don’t have time to wait for you to run our card. She should want it, rather than focus on the other table (the restaurant was pretty dead by then). Terrible waitress.

First several times I was here, it took everything to not come back every single night after. Between the burger and the tempura scallops, I was hooked! In 2015, I went a couple of times and the quality was not very good. Burgers which are served medium rare started coming rare. The scallops were no longer offered. There were other things to have, but nothing that kept me coming more often.
Today I craved one of their burgers and decided to take a chance. Great decision!
HH burger ($ 9) slightly smaller than the reg menu, but as good as I remember it being.
Tempura Scallops ($ 12) two scallops excellently prepared. And what I affectionately refer to as the Party in Your Mouth! So good!
Jicama salad ($ 7) flavor and texture is fabulous but the size was about ½ as much as they used to serve for $ 6. That was a disappointment.
Overall, I enjoyed my dinner. And for a treat once in awhile will come back again!

We wanted to like this place as we were looking for a good sushi spot with outdoor seating.
We called ahead and found out there was no wait. It was me, my wife and 3 kids.
Opted for indoor seating as the restaurant was dead, and the space is nice. Big bay doors open to the sidewalk made the desire to eat out back on the patio not as important.
Our waitress was not friendly. When we questioned her about our order dropped for our kids, she was argumentative that she had it correct. She didn’t. We ordered a lot of food, WHEN THE RESTAURANT WAS STILL EMPTY. The food trickled out one dish at a time. Painfully slow. Over an hour and it still wasn’t all delivered. We canceled 2 items and asked for our check finally out of frustration and hunger. We left only to grab food on the way home somewhere else in NE.
Frustrating part was, it was clear the kitchen doesn’t prioritize orders as they are dropped. I had the burger. Last item I received, 1 hour after I asked for it. The 2 top next to us had been seated only 15 mins and they ordered 2 burgers as well. Their burgers came out with mine.
Strangers we made small talk with at our table was having a horrible experience too. We joked about all of us seeing each other again later at another restaurant after we all leave.
Lastly, my wife’s cocktail was made wrong. Bartender rang it in wrong at the register.

That burger. Wow. Just. Amazing. I came here and got the portland dining month menu (kale salad, spicy tuna roll, and yakuza burger) The kale salad was light and refreshing, but didn’t blow my mind. The roll was A-​OK. The star of this meal was definitely the burger. A thick patty, cooked to perfection, crispy truffle fried potatoes, and a generous portion of tangy, creamy chèvre. My only complaint is that the burger was not very large given the price — the bun was way bigger than the patty, leaving me with an amazing (brioche?) bun with nothing to sandwich in between.
The service was pretty bad. Slow, inconsiderate, and a little rude… it’s okay, that burger made up for it.

Had a wonderful experience for Yakuza’s dining month tonight with new friends. The meal started out with a well-​seasoned kale, lemon, and edamame salad, then a choice of spicy tuna or veggie rolls (I went with spicy tuna), then the main attraction of the famous Yakuza burger. This burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare and topped with aioli, shoestring fries, lettuce, ketchup, and I’m sure I’m forgetting other ingredients but as someone who’s not that excited about burgers normally, this was a top notch burger! The dining month menu also came with complimentary sake. All in all, a delicious meal, filling portions, and great company!

Delicious & varied menu, quick happy service & BEET MARTINIS! Yum!

My brother has raved about the burger for years. He finally took me, and yes the flavor of the burger was great (I’ve had equivalently great burgers though) but unfortunately the bun was stale. At a happy hour price I would except a stale bun, but not for dinner. I’ll return for a happy hour.

The roomie and I had a nice enough time at Yakuza, when we ducked in here to get out of the cold and kill some time before our reservations next door at BEAST.
THE HIGHLIGHTS.
+ Hit or miss fusion (some fantastic edamame, but an odd pear nigiri dish)
+ Warm, lively place to kill time (but LOUD)
+ Over-​worked service staff (we either were waited on hand and foot or ignored for extended periods of time)
I heard a lot of rumblings about their famed burger, so I think I’d come back and give Yazuka another shot if I was in the area. It was a casual, nice enough experience, just not wow-​worthy when we went.

The Yakuza burger was great! Very juicy and cooked right with a pink center. The sushi was decent. I thought it strange that they add a percentage to your bill for employee health care costs. If that’s necessary, I think it would be easier to add it into the menu prices. In my opinion this location was overpriced for what you get. The burger seemed to be the best deal. Located across the street from Expatriate.

This restaurant has excellent food and service, I been to Yakuza on and off for several years now, ever since I read about the place from Portland Monthly about their special burger.
I went there with my wife on Friday the 6^th, for our date night. We were promptly greet and seated by friendly staff. They inform us it was their happy hour which ran from 5 to 7 and 10 to 11, surprised us because we may have forgotten about it. But it was a happy accident because the yakuza burger down to $ 8 from the normal $ 15. Also ordered some tuna hand rolls and ribs from the happy hour menu, the tuna was very fresh, some of the best tuna I had in a long time. Perfect to hold us over until the burgers arrive. The ribs taste delicious, the portion size was a bit small, six small ribs for $ 6. The meat was a bit dry as well, I suppose that’s just the way it is cooked. They have this very good mix of zest and spicy taste to them.
It took a while, but the burgers is worth a wait. A note about the burgers, they are made from scratch and it can take some time for them to be ready. Also they are usual eaten medium rare, best way to eat them in my opinion. But it maybe too raw for some people, the meat patty can be order to cook longer, but that can take even longer, I never tried it myself. For anyone seeing it for the first time, it can a bit overwhelming, this thick jucy meat patty sandwich by two equally thick buns, plus vegetables and sauce. Unless the person is part snake, cutting the burger in half is usually the way to eat them. They can eaten by using the chopsticks too, but burger is the at its best when taken as a whole, all the different flavors mix together to create a symphony of deliciousness.
We were satisfie by the food and level of service, will be back again and hungry for more.

This review is strictly based on the Yakuza Burger. It it simply the best burger at any restaurant. Don’t alter it or order it special. Eat it as it comes! Simply perfect balance of goodness cooked medium-​rare as a perfect burger should be!
Be prepared though, the service is 3 star at best. Sushi is average. Non-​sushi salads, peppers, ribs are all very good. Terrible wine list because it is primarily a sushi restaurant.

I had heard they had great burgers. So, while I am always a big fan of fresh sashimi, I resisted in order to try the burger. We ordered three. It took forever. And the «insult to injury» number one was mine was not hot enough, though very tasty. After waiting 45 minutes, I hated having to eat a barely warm enough burger.
The final insult (#2) was the request that the customer pay for their staff’s health insurance. No. Not my responsibility. Charge 3% more and pay your staff yourself. That was shameful. I took that fee out of their tip. Same response as another reviewer. They need to re-​think that policy. It pisses people off.

3.5.
Service was good. Atmosphere was chill (if a tiny bit on the pretentious side). Mixed drinks were okay, sake choices were bleh. Price was a little expensive for portion sizes.
Now that we got those details out of the way… The food. For starters, if you want anything resembling authentic, move along. There’s a good variety of items, but chances are they won’t be what you’re expecting. That isn’t to say they’re BAD, necessarily. Just that they’re definitely more on the «American» side of «Asian-​American» fusion. Perhaps I’m spoiled by all the fusion spots in Los Angeles, but I wasn’t too impressed. That said, there is one shining star on the menu: the burger. It was spectacular. The patty could use just a tiny bit more seasoning, but overall it definitely stands up to all kinds of burgers I’ve had from all over.
If I could do it again, I’d go back and order just beers and burgers. Like two burgers per person. Seriously. If that had been my actual experience, I’d probably give this place a solid 4…

I had the burger. The one with truffle fries and chèvre. It is terrifyingly delicious.
I also had some of those little green peppers on the side. They are also ridiculously tasty.
Salty, seedy crunchy… They are the best of these fad peppers around.
The sous chef was my bartender today.
He’s great :)
I almost didn’t go back but I’m so glad I did.
Pretty sure you’ll see me there Sunday eve for their screaming good happy hour deals!
Yay, Yakuza. It’s great to have another knockout in the ‘hood!

TL;DR service wasn’t great left 10% tip, waitress followed us outside & publicly shamed us for only leaving 10%.
Burger is great and tasty, the service, well our waitress checked on our table maybe once during the hour we were there, but after we left we got a bigger surprise. After getting our bill we found out there’s a 5% /​person «health & wellness» charge, afterwards once we had left, the waitress followed us outside asking why we had only left a 10% tip. We usually tip graciously but having a larger party with an all cash payment, we miscalculated. Having an awkward altercation with our waitress asking us why we tipped 10% outside the restaurant was not the highlight of the night.

As my quest for the best burger in portland continues, I would like to dub his place in my top 4. The patty is ½ pound. It is juicy and and flavorful. Perfectly seasoned. And perfect cooked medium rare. The spicy mayo adds an excellent kick. It’s not too spicy. But great at leaving heat on your pallet. The shoe string potatoes create a perfect crunch as you bite in and go from bread to crunch to meat.
I will be back.
Almost forgot about the chevre cheese. it wasn’t pungent like a blue but it fit in perfectly. Any pungent cheese would take away from this burger

Okay. News flash: if you are giving this place a negative review based on their 5% employee health and wellness tax, then you need to seriously look and your life and look at your choices. This is a small business that does NOT qualify for the affordable care act, which means they essentially have to outsource the health care they offer to their employees. Five percent of your dinner bill is far less than you should be leaving for a tip in the first place– we’re talking about $ 2.50 on a $ 50 tab, which is about the max you will pay for two people to have an amazing meal and knock-​out service, especially during happy hour.
Speaking of food– that’s what should be the focus here. The Yakuza burger is out.of.fucking.control and only $ 9 on happy hour (5−6pm weekdays; Fri-​Sat 10−11pm). I’ve personally eaten a LOT of burgers in Portland, and it doesn’t pain me in the slightest to assert that Yakuza’s burger is the best for the value in the city. This is a burger best enjoyed with your eyes closed and rolling back into your head. I was not ashamed at the gentle moan that escaped my lips while experiencing this burger.
My partner and I came here to celebrate his new job, sat at the bar, and the bartender was very kind and personable. We chatted with her and some other employees for most of our meal, which also included tempura fried scallops (made with shredded filo dough!) and a kale salad garnished with *house grown* radish sprouts and black sesame seeds. Just gorgeous.
A few select tasty beers on draft (this coming from a beer aficionado). Lots of appealing cocktails. The service is just fine and the food is to be celebrated. What more are you looking for?
Go here. Eat the food. Help the business provide their employees with solid health care (really, this should be an afterthought). ENJOY.

*5% ADDED to bill for employee health & Wellness…1-stars for that… Keep Portland Weird I Guess… smart consumers only reduce their tip.
4-​stars for food, so I averaged it.
Get the spicy edamame!

Go somewhere else. My boyfriend wanted to go here for so long — we walked out with him profusely apologizing that we spent $ 40 on HAPPY HOUR.
I wish I had taken a picture of the ‘Spicy Tuna Roll’ which was $ 9 for 6 small pieces. It looked nothing like the one available picture here on Unilocal.The quality was awful. The ‘spicy tuna’ mixture was bright red — if you can imagine a sushi roll that contains a slew of tomato paste/​ketchup instead of a meat mixture while the jicama was plentiful and thickly cut. So essentially it was a gross, incredibly unappealing combination of really crunchy vegetable and super sweet-​slightly spicy, squishy tomato sauce with little minced bits of tuna. It was also sloppily rolled, barely holding itself together as we picked it up. My poor boyfriend gave an attempt to defend the kitchen staff, «Maybe it’s a new cook». Just no. If I’m going to pay $ 9 for a 6 pieces of a small sushi roll, it better be MINDBLOWING.
Additionally, a pour of Fort George was $ 6, my boyfriend’s IPA was $ 7. Come on! We really only pay that kind of price for Belgian beer or Cascade Brewing Pours. And especially at HH? Don’t go here to have a pint with your burger, you’ll blow out your wallet.
Next, the famed burger at HH is $ 9. It’s good, the cheese and shoestring fries are a good touch. It has a lot of really good flavor. A little heavy on the sauce (s). But they need to consider lowering the price both on their HH and regular menus — it really should be $ 9 – 12 at regular price. Lastly, the wait staff was nice but took a good +15 mins just to get us our drinks with *two* other tables in the house at 5:30pm on a Wednesday. So. Slow.
Essentially, there are a number of better, higher quality, cheaper options. I’m not sure how Yakuza is managing to stay afloat. I’m so disappointed in our experience.

Great ambiance for a lounge with nice variety of music especially some hip hop!
I happen to try this place out because my friend had a gift certificate. I like a lot things especially the kale salad, burger and sashimi.
This is a great place to lounge out and eat. There’s a full bar.