Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya — Restaurant in Beaverton

I was starting to have my doubts that any real or tasty ramen places even existed in the Portland area as this town surely lacks when it comes to Asian or ethnic cuisine. I can't say it's the best ramen I've ever had, especially when compared to Los Angeles, but it's solid.

They are an established chain with locations in Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Indiana, Taiwan and Japan. The establishment is modern Japanese, with a darker clean interior. Came here on a Friday afternoon and it was packed. You enter your group name on a digital kiosk. Party of two, we only had to wait about 5 minutes along with others in their little waiting area up front. The table layout is stacked fairly tight, not sure if they'd accomodate a wheelchair very well (call ahead). Unlike the trend in hard unpadded and uncomfortable metal or wood chairs, they have real thickly padded chairs. Hooray! The stream of patrons was constant from noon until 2 PM. Didn't have any trouble finding close parking in a shared mall lot. Service was attentive, quick and friendly and they were playing some actually decent electronic grooves through the overheads.

Ordered the chicken wings, you get six. Hot crispy, tender and tasty, not spicy at all. More of a salt with light pepper flavor with a mild sweet drizzle and garnished with diced scallions. Along with some tea, I ordered the Yuzu Shio ramen as I wanted a lighter base. Also decided to try the green kale ramen. I don't really like kale on its own, but something about green noodles piqued my interest. Our server assured me that they wouldn't taste overly kale-ish. Adding items to your ramen is easy for an additional fee, I added some bean sprouts. Our ramen arrived hot and ready about five minutes after ordering. Presentation was nice. The kale noodles were a pleasant surprise, they were mildly earthy tasting with a flavor and texture that resembled traditional noodles far more than any kale leaf. The broth was light and with good flavor. Only wish there was a little more meat, you get one thinly sliced portion. Our eggs were whole (softboiled), but they were easy to break apart with the spoon or chopsticks. Server came by a few times to inquire and offer refills on water and tea. All-in-all I'd come here again. They have a decent menu with reasonable pricing and plenty of flavors. I didn't see it on this locations menu, but I'd definitely be interested in trying their seafood ramen. Still not as good as...

Update for 2018: still my favorite ramen in the area. Japanese ex-pats from work give it a thumbs-up. They have a new tablet-based check in system that sends you a text message and you have 5 minutes to get there with your entire party. It seems always busy for lunch but if I can afford the time it is totally worth it.

I have tried the squid karaage twice and once it was perfect, but a bit rubbery the second time. If you have not been here yet please give it a shot. Don't forget: no more than 2 cards per check so if you go Dutch bring some cash or ask for separate checks on first contact.

Original review: The food here is outstanding. The decor is modern, clean and appropriate for a Japanese restaurant. I have visited Kumamoto, Japan, and I would say that this ramen has been ever-so-slightly "American-ized" but the results are excellent.

My favorite entrée is the garlic tonkotsu shoyu ramen. I appreciate the low sodium options but traditional has been ok for me and I seldom add salt to my food. For sides I can only recall the gyoza and chicken karaage but both are highly recommended.

I recently took our pre-teen boy and teen girl along. The boy was wary and started out with a chicken wing appetizer but ended up finishing off my wife's ramen and loved it. The girl hates the taste of anything that swims but she loved her ramen, also. I would rate the menu as kid-friendly but it is not a good environment for rambunctious behavior.

I have not had trouble with the service. It is pretty full at lunch but the line moves at a decent pace. Think early in the week or early in the lunch hours if you want to avoid the wait. My last visit was for dinner and the place was still mostly full after 8pm when we left, but arriving at 6:30 the wait was minimal.

You can check in with the host/hostess before your entire party arrives but you will likely not be seated until everyone is present. They have a large table to seat 8 and that is the largest group we have brought. Large parties will get the automatic +18% tip surcharge, and I recommend telling them up front how you want to...

Came in not too long after they opened for dinner on a Tuesday. We were excited to see that we arrived for happy hour, my party of three was seated immediately. However, only after we were seated were we told that we had to sit at the counter or outside to order from the happy hour menu. The sun was scorching hot and they thought it was too windy to put up an umbrella, and the counter was too crowded for us, so no happy hour.

Not like their happy hour was anything good, just the $6 sake of the day seemed like a good deal, otherwise just appetizers like tempura and edamame. One of our servers (they serve you as a team) stated that they force people to sit at the counter or outside for happy hour to reduce the wait time for people sitting at the tables. I think it will reduce the wait time by less people showing up because no one likes to be told where they have to sit to be able to order from the happy hour menu.

Aside from this unpleasant restriction, all the ramen we had was incredible, the best that I have had in Portland, and among the best I have ever had period. The Yuzu ramen is very unique with a great balance of hearty tonkotsu broth and the refreshing yuzu citrus. They are very generous with their noodles, and offer extra noodles for only $2, with thin (think angelhair) wavy (typical ramen) and flat (kinda like linguine), and they will gladly substitute any noodle at no extra cost. Their complimentary oolong tea is good, and I had one of the pricier selections of sake, the "Black Bull," which uses heirloom "Omachi" rice, and has a delightfully fruity, yet with enough dryness to balance. Highly recommended to sake connoisseurs.

Overall, outstanding ramen, but the service is overly formal, almost cold, and inflexible. Hopefully they change this happy hour policy with enough complaints, and the onset of...