Murata - Portland

There are no half stars, so I feel odd about the 4. It was better than 4 but not a 5. A traditional Japanese restaurant on the ground floor of an office building. The warm wood furnishings blended nicely with all the glass frontage. Counter service for sushi, as well as small private dining rooms that I definitely want to check out on another visit. Murata's service, ambience and *most* of the food we tried were stellar. Not quite 5 star for us entirely because of the rice served along with our meals. I ordered unaju, served in a 3 tiered set of dishes with a light salad in one, 3 good sized slices of unagi in another, and the driest rice ever served at a decent Japanese restaurant in the third. I needed every bit of the kabayaki sauce to make it even partly edible. Sent most of the rice back with other empty dishes. My dining companion commented that we should bring baggies of our own rice cooked at home next time. My dining companion had a combo set of salmon shioyaki plus sushi. The salmon was nicely grilled and flavorful. Luckily the sushi rice is not the same. All the fush cuts were excellent. The hotate (scallop) as well as the shimaaji were excellent. A slice of fresh cantaloupe rounded out the meal with a light freshness. The price was very reasonable for the service and quality of food (rice excepted) and we will be going back and likely trying to get sushi counter seats.

Traditional style Japanese sushi house w/ a large menu of fish and other non sushi items as well. We tried a lot of things, and liked almost all of them. I will just point out the things we didn't like first: 1). The pork katsu was a bit dry, and 2). the wagyu nigiri which was pretty pricey was overcooked quite a bit, and 3). It was very hard to get our servers attention. As we tried so many dishes I'll just describe my favorites. All of the fish was fresh and good, especially the saba which was thick meaty and anago which was perfectly broiled and lightly sauced. They also have several dishes you don't see too often at sushi restaurants such as kurodai. The chicken karaage breading was very good, but strangely not the oyster karaage so much. The ebi I was a bit disappointed by as it looked so fresh and plump in the display case but when it came out it just looked and tasted like at every other place, not sure if he used different one or what. The tempura batter was also phenomenal too so light and crunchy. The chawanmushi was also tasty and interesting like a savory little egg custard cup w/ cooked seafood or mushrooms. Dessert was also very tasty sweet red bean ice cream and a little strawberry cream puff cake thing. A light and refreshing end to a monstrous feast. Btw, they don't really do rolls here as it's more traditional Japanese if that's what your looking for. I also really like the clean wood decor, and they have tatami rooms for larger parties as well.

The food was pretty good, the service was very nice, and the ambiance was calm. It is best if you get a reservation beforehand. We sat at the bar, it was nice. The reason I rated it 4/5 stars is because other sushi spots I have been to focus on presentation too, and these plates weren't as nicely presented, but they tasted good. It is pricey too. Overall, I enjoyed it

Made reservations for lunch a must since it gets crowded quickly). and parked in the adjacent structure 2hrs validation from restaurant). Was craving high quality sushi and Murata delivered! The sake was outstanding. Have been here several times. Excellent restaurant all the way around.

Best Japanese in Portland! I was a regular ~20 years ago, but tonight was the first time back in a long time. The quality and service are still stellar. I tried the Zosui (type of rice soup) for the first time and am now a raving fan. The crab chunks are ample. The various sushi we ordered were very fresh. You know the it's top notch when the rice is room temperature, which is the opposite of Fred Meyer, sushi-boat venues, and anything low end. Their version of Mackerel was a mouth-watering balance of oily, tender, and crispy. Only the Beaverton Korean restaurant on the second floor of a grocery store does it better. And the portion here is very ample, maybe too much. I did not care for the Iceberg salad, but this is the same at any Japanese restaurant. The sponge cake and gooey ice cream was a hit, but the chocolate sauce tasted like Hershey's. Parking can be tough at lunch, but they validate. Just a gem of a place.