syun izakaya japanese restaurant & sake club

dr j. just a fabulous, fun and authentic littlejapaneserestaurant. it is in funky little downtown hillsboro, set in the basement (and front garden) of one of the original carnegie public library buildings and it does not disappoint, ever. busy, very friendly and welcoming, excellent food and service. my girlfriend is nativejapaneseand she loves our little dates out here - like a slice of home. on a hot summer day sit on the little patio and try the summer cuisine - cold noodles and sushi with a unique chilled sake' or beer - oishii!

best variety on the menu i have seen in a pdxjapaneserestaurant and i have seen a lot.

authentic izakaya. the real deal, my wife was having flashbacks of her time spent in japan. a greatjapanesestyle beer hall with lots of little dishes... ideally you have a beer/sake, a little food, another drink, more food... the fish was the freshest i have ever had, the yakitori was beautiful, but their okonomiyaki is now in my top ten list of best things ever eaten. and yes it is better than any of the izakayas i have tried in portland... but yuzu in beaverton has it beat.

new years meal. bestjapanesefood in portland. worth the drive. it even has the smell of tokyo - hard to explain...

kid friendly! imagine?

outstanding!. if you are looking for authenticjapanesefood, this is it. they have a wide variety of options that will make your mouth water. don't be afraid to try some of the items that you may not normally see. after taking the dive myself, i can say it was well worth it!

brought me back to tokyo!. we went to syun for dinner. having lived in japan over a period of my life i've had experience in numerous izakaya's. i loved the decor, and the cozy-ness of the place. definitely brings me back to my memories of dining in the tight little izakayas along the streets of tokyo.

the menu was as it should be, numerous dishes for sharing and a heavy emphasis on sake! people go to izakaya's with company for drinks and noms while having fun conversing. that's exactly what we did there. we ordered the saba shioyaki (mackerel grilled with salt) and oh how i missedjapanesehomecooking! my american husband also commented on how he has never had anything as tasty as that before. we also ordered the spicy oregon roll and the spider maki. the former was exceptional, aside from the fact that the rice was a little overcooked and the roll was not rolled tightly enough. the spider maki was rather salty, and not very crunchy as deep-fried soft-shell crab should be. i guess it is a hit or miss with that? we will have to come back again to try other things on the menu to find out for sure.

customer service was impeccable. the older lady who was our server was extremely sweet! and a young girl who wasn't our server went out of her way to tell me about my husband who was in the bathroom when she noticed me looking around and walking outside. very nice place!!

please do not go here expecting a large, american-sized meal. the items on the menu should be ordered for sharing or lighter meals, as izakaya's are not restaurants byjapanesestandards.

the sushi here is fabulous. this is the most authenticjapanesefood for miles. if you go during warm weather, you can sit outside. also make sure you check out the town fountain a few blocks over. have kids bring a change of clothes so they can get wet. then take the family down the street to the old drug store and get an old-fashioned milkshake!

feels like home, japanese-style, delicious, well thought-through food. decor, vibe, and hospitality takes me back to the couple of weeks i spent bumming around japan, and the food gets it just right--artful presentation, exquisite flavors, warm hospitality, and a good value.

had a mixture of sashimi ($24.95 combo plate, two pieces of salmon roe, and a spider roll) and hot dishes (beef udon for $8.95), and can say that the fish was fresh and buttery (the scallop melted in my mouth), and that the udon provided a complex mix of vinegar, sweet, and savory flavors. oh, and the green tea brought us by the senior hostess was a knockout. and just to take it a step further, the staff were as professional as they were gracious and welcoming. (is it too much to say we felt cared for?)

one could, of course, envision an experience ofjapanesehaute cuisine that surpasses what one finds in syun izakaya. but that comparison misses the point. having enjoyed for myself mid-leveljapanesecooking and culture in hiroshima, kyoto, and tokyo, i can't imagine a more note-perfect slice of it than one finds at syun izakaya. my wife and i spent $50 including tip and left fed, gratified, and planning our return.

syun is japanese?. saw a review that syun was the number 1 ratedjapaneserestaurant in portland. i was very disappointed in the food and service. my steak special was over cooked and the noodle shrimp dish my wife ordered came with no shrimp. the server took $1.25 off the price since it had no shrimp in the dish. i will never go again to syun.