Shizuku by Chef Naoko - Portland

WARNING: This restaurant only offers takeout and catering services! The owner should consider removing interior photos. They do not always answer the phone, so leaving a voicemail may be the best way to reach them and let customers know.

This restaurant offers the best Japanese cuisine in the US. The architectural design is truly one-of-a-kind. They also offer gourmet take-out bento boxes. There is no other place like it.

We were waiting around Downtown Portland and had some time to kill when I suddenly remembered there was a highly rated Japanese restaurant nearby that we never had tried before. So we looked at the menu online and ordered. The pictures of the restaurant space are beautiful. So we thought we were pre-ordering. When we showed up, everything was closed but then this diminutive woman in chef's whites comes out, looked at the name on the uniform, oh, it's Chef Naoko. Very politely told us it was carry-out only, gave an approximate time, and thanked us. So polite. So we walked around a bit, ordered some pizza slices next door, went back and looked at the food. The presentation wasn't as nice as it would be in wooden lacquered boxes but still very nice for recyclable carryout boxes. The food, just excellent. Probably the best kaarage I've had among other things in the menu. (Oh no! It looks like they're closing ... Hopefully temporarily).

Amazing, healthy lunch bento. Everything tasted fresh and delicious. Looking forward to coming back.

Fantastic and inventive food. We are always happy with our meals and impressed with the level of care and attention to detail we find.