Ikenohana

I met a Japanese international student in college who helped me expand my taste palate. We started making it a point to look for restaurants owned by first generation Japanese folks so he could get a feel for home again. We found Ikenohana and he was so delighted to be able to eat home cooked meals. My personal favorite - katsudon. It is the best katsudon in the Portland area.

HOWEVER.

Service is great...for him. They always greeted him warmly and conversed with him. Then they give me a side glance as though saying "...and why did you bring this person here." See, I am a dark SE asian person. Later on my friend admitted that Japanese society frown on most people unless they are Japanese or caucasian.

This really does not upset me that much because I get it all the time. But I had the last straw with Ikenohana when He and I took my cousins there and they are pretty dark and they've been mistaken for Mexicans before. We took them on a Friday night and I know bad service is inevitable anywhere on a Friday night. But this was intentionally bad.

We weren't greeted when we walked in but there was a Japanese family and then later a Caucasian family that came in AFTER us that were kindly greeted and were SEATED before us. We stood there for 10 minutes kind of shocked because he had a repertoire with them. Finally another family came through the door and the host saw them and asked them how many people and the family looked and pointed at us and said "they were here first"...THEN we were finally noticed.

It doesn't stop there. We waited about 20 minutes for water while the table that was seated 15 minutes after us got theirs immediately and they also were asked to ordered before us. We were the only non-japanese, non-white table there and I felt so horrible for my cousins. My Japanese friend told me he felt so embarrassed as a fellow Japanese and was so outraged and kept apologize profusely. We even joked around about doing a dine-and-dash but I told him the best thing for us to do right now is just pay and not support a business like this.

So overall, LOVE the food but CAN NOT support the racism.

I have eaten at Ikenohana for the last eight years. I love their sushi, but recently had an experience that has left me sour. We typically order take out and the last several attempts have been less than pleasant. In the last two weeks, when I have called to place an order, I have been asked to call back....yes, call back.... I did the first time because my heart was set on it, but the second time, I refused. I'm not sure what is so hard about taking an order and then letting the customer know it will take awhile since they are so busy, but to make a customer call back? They lost me. Subsequently, we called Mio Sushi (two locations in Beaverton) and they were more than happy to have our business. Sorry Ikenohana, you have lost a long time customer since you don't have time for us anymore.

This is absolutely my favorite restaurant in Portland. I would eat there every day if I could afford it. I spent a bit of time in Japan when in college, and this place brings back those memories like no other. It's small, humble, unassuming, but the food is excellent and authentic. The staff is great, and they remind me of Japan as well. Part of me wants Ikenohana to buy new furniture, but another part of me wants them to keep things exactly as they are. I love the salad with the ginger dressing that comes with the meals. The miso soup is also perfect. I often get a Bento box with Sushi/Sashimi, tonkatsu, tempura, and that sweet cucumber salad with shrimp (forget the name)... and a large sake (evenings only, of course.) The chicken katsu is also excellent. Their teriyaki chicken and beef have never disappointed. You can generally roll me out of that place when I'm done... I have no self control there. Also, when you're there you will notice that most of the customers are Asian... which is also a pretty good indicator of authenticity and quality.