Sinju Sushi

Sat outside after being told to grab a seat and he would be out with menus. He never showed. Saw him actually look out at us once still to nothing. Haven’t been here in a while used to always be good. To be ignored in the middle of the day with poor service when not busy is a big drop of the ball. Especially with all the other sushi options nearby and around town. Fail.
To the restaurant’s credit they do have excellent sushi. This seems to be due to one employee and his actions or lack there of. Sadly this is still the restaurants fault for having such an individual as a host making him the first impression of the establishment. He was having issue with the lady ahead of us as well. This didn’t seem to be the best place to utilize this employee. He was standoffish, ignored us and seemed to be easily flustered. This employee Poorly represented what is other wise a great place to eat.

Wow, Sinju is my favorite place in Portland and the best Portland has to offer. Staff there are so nice and Lance is the best when it come to the hospitality and service. I’d hope Randy is doing well and I do miss the wonderful ladies that work there as well. Wait, I can’t for get about Chris and Max (Dog) I see all the time. I felt so sad when it was my last day there and I will return soon for a meal. It was educational and fun talking to everyone at Sinju. Food is always so good and yes I was there almost everyday. I had to bring friends with me in order for them to know what I’d love to eat. This was the only place where I wasn’t food poison. Sinju will always have a place in my heart no matter what. So if anyone that is reading this couldn’t trust what I say but go for yourself and experience the excellent quality of food and service. But tell me when visit Sinju and please response back by letting me know what you experience. Oh my, I’m hungry now by just writing this review.

I went to this place for lunch one afternoon with a friend. The servers were kind and friendly, and we didn’t have to wait long for anything at all. The place itself was very clean and possessed a good atmosphere.
The food was delicious and I would definitely recommend this place to anyone that likes sushi.

I can’t un-​taste the dynamite roll… did not include half of the items that were mentioned on the menu and just tasted putrid. I appreciate their attempt at making things that are new and different but some of the combinations just did not work and were not palatable. Ingredients didn’t seem fresh. Rolls just fell apart and were mushy. I won’t be going back here.

I’m a year into living in PDX via LA and I’ve learned that when people recommend a sushi joint in Portland, ask what they like to order before you go there and try it out for yourself. Most of the time its because they order premium baked sloppy rolls.
Sinju is good for happy hour, the ahi tower appetizer thing, the sinju margarita, and the fancy «slathered w/​sweet sauce» type of rolls. I don’t recommend nigiri sushi. I ordered salmon, halibut, and uni sushi and it didn’t taste very fresh. We ordered the pearl district roll (I think it’s called) and it tasted really good because of all the sweet sauce of course.
The service is great, everything is very nice here!
Just be aware, their specialty is in the premium rolls.

I am completely disappointed with my overall experience. The service was poor, food was below average, and I found that I paid too much for the quality of my night. I haven’t been this disappointed while dining out ever.

Huge, surprising disappointment tonite with a dinner for six people. Arrived fairly early (not really busy — 5:30pm). Service seemed fine at the start when we ordered drinks and dinner. Then things turned bad and went downhill. Salads and entrees came out one or two dishes at a time and we ended up with the whole meal taking an hour and 45 minutes. About 55 minutes too long. It was fairly clear the kitchen was in a real mess. The quality of food, unlike many previous visits, was mediocre (surprising) and two of the chicken Terriyaki dinners that took the longest to be served, were not tasty at all and about 98% left uneaten. Our $ 158 dinner bill certainly wasn’t worth it. Hopefully this was just a really off night. We’re up for one more chance. Crossing my fingers it was a fluke.

I think Unilocal is pretty spot on with the 3.5 stars on this place, epitome of your average sushi restaurant here in Portland. You’d be hard pressed to come here, given the serious competition across the street, but if you do decide to stop in (if you couldn’t get in at the one just mentioned), try to make it in for happy hour which ends at 6. Oh and definitely get the dynamite roll, you know what, get two.

I live kitty-​corner from this place. I often run in for the happy hour. It is good. Get the ahi tower and their happy hour white wine and everything else on the happy hour menu.

couple rolls did me right at this place. Chef brought out some awesome fresh oysters he recommended and an oyster shooter which was delicious. Overall an awesome experience!

It wasn’t good.
The place is beautiful. The décor and location, windows looking out on a pretty public square, lighting, it all makes you think you want to go there. Don’t.
The table was sticky. It was gross. When I got up to move to a non sticky table the waitress said that all the tables are sticky because of the finish on the wood. Note to restaurants: don’t use sticky finish on tables where food is served.
Drinks were expensive and small. The appetizer menu was anemic.
The sushi. I always order the spicy tuna roll because everyone makes it and you can judge the overall quality simply on whether they get this staple of sushi right. It was … mushy. The tuna had the texture of tomato paste. And the flavor was … sweet. It was weird.
I love mackerel so I ordered an expensive roll that had mackerel two ways. It was again oddly sweet and didn’t have any of the strong flavor that mackerel should have. I hated it. The sockeye salmon was good; it was the only thing that was good. The salmon belly was flavorless.
I was sooo disappointed. After walking by the place many times and admiring the style of the place, I really wanted the food to match the look. Needless to say, we will not be giving it a second chance.

We went for dinner and one person said that we could get a table. Then someone else who acted as her boss came over and said that even though she had available seating she would have to seat everyone with a reservation before us and then seat us in 20 minutes. We told them we had reservations for a play and would it be possible that after the 20 minutes they would determine that there were no tables. She said absolutely not. So we asked, if they did have enough tables for those that reserved why could they just not seat us. Very frustrating. Either you have room or not. We went somewhere close by and had a great meal without the verbal play and power struggles!

Honestly I can’t fathom how Sinju has a 3.5 star rating; this place is incredible. Happy hour is definitely the way to go (served from 4pm-​6pm, and 8:30pm-10:00pm).
Sinju is by far my favorite place to go for sushi when I’m having a craving.
I always feel completely absorbed by the atmosphere, and the plating is absolutely beautiful. Some of my favorite rolls are the Dynamite, Volcano, and Spider. After having tried the Boneless Beef Short Ribs with noodles once, I get it nearly every time. They are ultra tender, juicy, a *touch* spicy, and it’s enough for two people to share.
Oh, and the cocktails are fantastic! My go to is the Yuzu Whiskey Sour, which is very delicate and light. I also recently tried the Sinju Spicy Margarita which is something like a cross between a margarita and a michelada, and absolutely unforgettable!

Ok. So I am super picky.
This is awesome.
The service is a little slow but the wait is worth it.
They have a full traditional Japanese menu including several different types of ramen.
I would recommend the fried tofu for sure!!!
My husband had the dynamite roll and I had the Raman with steak and they were both awesome!
Other then the slow service it was really great.
We will we coming back and trying more thing on the menu!

Let me just start by saying the food was the only thing that earned this place the one star. There were 4 of us and we sat in the bar. My
Food came out about 15 minutes before everyone else’s so I was basically finished by the time everyone else’s came out. Our server Patrick was terrible and seemed like he had no idea what he was doing. He rarely came to check on us. You should always be reassuring to your customers and let them know what the status is and he did not. There was no manager on duty so when I approached the bartender who was «the closest thing to it» as he said, about my concerns, he really had no accommodations for our group. We also had to tell our server every time we needed our table bussed which should never happen especially during slower service. This was ¾ peoples first time there and speaking for myself I most likely will not return.

This place is cool… Has the best Sushi in Portland, hands down! Some sushi places skimp on the quality of the ingredients. Not this place, fresh fish and seafood go into your meal every time.
Make sure to call in for larger reservations because you can get a private room for you and your friends/​family

I think this sushi is decent, but overpriced.
I ordered delivery through Caviar this time. It was a relatively quick process, about 45 minutes — 1 hour.
What I ordered:
Uni — wasn’t available so I swapped in the unagi/​cucumber roll, which was probably the best thing that I had.
Spider roll– crab was a little too chewy and mushy at the same time which is kinda weird, but it was still pretty tasty. I’d recommend ordering this without the carrots.
California roll and spicy tuna roll– mediocre but they were big rolls.
This was way too much food for me. Overall it was pretty good though.

Came here for lunch with kids one of our order was the lunch combo picture of whats in the combo will follow. U get 2 choice of item and i chose mackeral, and spicy tuna roll. The other stuff that cones with it was miso soup rice salad. When the food came out guess whats in the plate as well? Pork gyoza. So i asked the server why is the potsticker there when its not on the combo list. He said its a gift from the kitchen, hhmm i don’t eat anything that got to do with pork. Guess what the server told me. «You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want too», that must be one of the worse customer service that i have ever experience. When is it ok for them to put pork or meat on my plate when i don’t asked for one. So no star from me beside the food taste. Hhmm lets just say not my cup of tea

I would say don’t waist your money. Fish they used wasn’t fresh.
And all sushi taste same.

I’ve been here a couple of times for happy hour and have been impressed both times. The rolls are no good, but the ahi tower as well as the beef short ribs are bomb! There is a drink minimum per person but I think it’s still a good value for the food that you get.

I’m a big sushi fanatic and I love this sushi place!
I always stop by when I’m in town. I think this is one f the best sushi places in Portland.
They also have a great happy hour :)
We like to order the big sushi boat with all our favorites on it.
The sushi is fresh and tastes delicious, and they have a large variety of sushi and other items in the menu.
I never had a problem with service, always good service and very friendly!

Still fabulous 6 years later, one of the best sushi places in Portland with a lovely ginger lemon drop to boot. Husband totally loved the yakisoba as well and our waitress was very nice. Still expensive, but worth it.

The sushi is pretty good and the pork dishes are delicious! I recommend their cocktail specials and Happy Hour in the bar!
You should absolutely eat here every Wednesday — Saturday and give the dreamy bartender allllll of your money.

This place is amazing. Great place for a casual lunch or a nice date. The sushi is so fresh and the staff are nice as well. The prices are a little higher than most, but well worth it if you are looking for super fresh fish and a quiet and nice environment for your trip out to eat! I have been here twice now, once last year and yesterday. Te consistency is also a plus!!!

Always fresh always delicious. One of my top 3 go to sushi restaurants in Portland. Today some of the fresh catch were king salmon and hamachi, which were amazeballs. The nigiri and sashimi is a bit pricy but you get what you pay for. $ 4 Kirin drafts are a decent value and thy have quite an extensive cocktail list with some tasty sake options as well of course.
Staff is always friendly. Come with a larger group 6+ so you can get a cool table in one of the private rooms.

I’ve walked by Sinju, and thought I should try this place some time. That time came, when we were hankering for sushi and decided to try their happy hour. It was around 5pm and we sat at the bar area, there were only a few other people at the bar.
Our server was attentive, and present, always making sure we were taken care of. We ordered a lot of food, for happy hour anyway. We had miso soup, assorted tempura, gyoza, dynamite roll, Alaska roll and lastly 1 salmon nigiri. Everything tasted fresh and on point except the Alaska roll, I don’t know what it was, but I’ll probably skip it next time.
Friendly staff, excellent food and definitely worth the trek to the Pearl!

Hands down best Sushi in PDX. Ambiance is good for both couples, families and groups. Has a separate bar area with tables. Every dish we ordered was excellent and the sashimi melted in your mouth.
Servers were attentive and we didn’t wait long for our food.

The miso soup was excellent. Ordered a couple different favorites, spider rolls, Vegas roll, California and some tuna. So delicious. Always is, always will be!
The only downside is that the seating isn’t very intimate. The tables were a little too close together. My date almost knocked over a tray just getting up to use the restroom.
Definitely my favorite sushi place in portland!

The cold buckwheat noodles are a surprisingly excellent choice. The noodles themselves are good enough, but they come with a small cucumber salad, miso soup, and tempura vegetables. A meal unto itself.
Someone’s who’s had only the veggie sushi commenting on the quality of the sushi in general is like someone reviewing a restaurant solely on its breadbasket. But the veggie sushi is just fine. The other sushi items have gotten consistently high marks, though.
Service is exceptional, and considering what passes for service in Portland, is actually beyond exceptional.

Next time I’ll keep looking!
I want to like this place. I really do. Unfortunately it just reaffirms my distaste for restaurants in the Peal in general. Overpriced, small, and aspiring to be more than it is.
Keep in mind I“m vegetarian, so my options are somewhat limited. The service was attentive which was nice, but for being such a nice neighborhood I expect tables to be wipes and floors to be very clean. Even the menu needed some work to be cleaner. Sad and surprising to me, because in the lower Pearl this should be the standard.
I ordered an Udon stir fry, very healthy, good amount of vegetables, and decently priced at $ 10 but way overpriced for what I ate. The problem is, like a lot of these places, it’s whipped up way too fast with no care put into it. I ended up with a greasy hot mess of veggies and noodles, that made my limited chop stick skills utterly useless. I also ordered an avocado roll, which I have to admit was decent, although to be fair wasn’t any better than what you’d order at a conveyer belt sushi place that gets busy during the $ 1 a plate happy hour specials.
The thing that was offensive however, was that my friend had ordered sushi as well they put it on the same plate and gave it to him without telling me. Rather than cause a fuss, I asked the waiter what was up and he explained this is how they serve the sushi. I understand if this is tradition, but a rather weak one to be enforced when dining with several people.
I am especially bothered by this because, what if someone were to be allergic to something on the other person’s plate? I won’t play the vegetarian card for myself, but for someone who is adamantly veggie, or a vegan, and you put their food on a plate with fish, this would be a pretty serious issue.
The other problem is, they have a split seating restaurant. On one side, a proper sit down with tables, and the other in the bar which is a loud, boisterous mix of house music and local yuppies who enjoy waltzing in and dropping $ 20 on a finger of Scotch and a quick bite. They give up so much for such a waste of space. It affects the nicer side of the restaurant which was empty but for one table on a Friday night. I would not feel comfortable bringing a family to eat here.
Such a shame. A neighborhood sushi place in an upscale area should be a nice quiet place with some flare. Instead of focusing on quality food and creating an amiable atmosphere, you get bump n’ grind music with a plate of greasy noodles.
Sorry Sinju, but I’ll be taking my dining options for Japanese elsewhere. I would have kept this a 2 star review if not for the area you are in and the standards of other places nearby. This is Portland, you should know better.