Aji Tram — Restaurant in Lake Oswego

Let me begin by saying that dining at Aji Tram in Lake Oswego is not a meal—it’s a pilgrimage. A spiritual awakening. A culinary opera performed on a wok-shaped stage, where soy sauce sings soprano and ginger tap dances across your tongue. If you haven’t been, cancel your dentist appointment, reschedule your wedding, and get thee to Aji Tram.

The Wings of Glory The wings. Oh, the wings. These are not mere poultry appendages. They are phoenix feathers dipped in ambrosia and flash-fried by Zeus himself. Each bite is a thunderclap of flavor—crispy, sticky, spicy, sweet, tangy, and somehow emotionally healing. I wept openly after the third wing. A server approached with a tissue and whispered, “We understand.” I felt seen.

The Calamari of Humility Now, let us address the calamari. Tiny. Minuscule. Lilliputian. These morsels are so small, I’m convinced they were harvested from a secret society of bonsai squid. But do not mistake their size for weakness. Each bite is a concentrated burst of oceanic poetry. It’s as if Poseidon himself bottled the essence of the sea and injected it into these bite-sized miracles. I ate twelve and still felt like I was nibbling on the concept of calamari rather than the actual creature. It’s postmodern. It’s brilliant.

Fusion or Fever Dream? The menu is a fever dream of pan-Asian ambition. Thai basil meets Korean gochujang in a forbidden romance. Vietnamese lemongrass flirts shamelessly with Japanese miso. The result? Dishes that defy geography and logic. I ordered something called “Tram Fire Noodles” and briefly lost consciousness. When I awoke, I had a new tattoo and a deeper understanding of my childhood trauma.

Drinks That Challenge Reality The cocktails are liquid riddles. I sipped a lychee martini that tasted like a haiku written by a drunk samurai. The bartender, who may or may not be a retired philosopher, told me the drink was inspired by “the fleeting nature of joy.” I nodded solemnly and ordered three more.

Ambiance: Zen Meets Chaos The décor is a masterclass in contradiction. Bamboo plants whisper serenity while neon dragons scream “PARTY!” The music oscillates between Tibetan throat singing and K-pop remixes of Celine Dion. I felt both relaxed and ready to fight a tiger. The lighting is dim enough to make you feel mysterious but bright enough to read the menu and question your life choices.

Service Fit for Emperors and Existentialists The staff glide—not walk—across the floor. They anticipate your needs before you know them. I thought about asking for extra napkins, and one appeared. I considered ordering dessert, and a server whispered, “The mango sticky rice is calling to you.” I didn’t even speak. They just knew.

Final Verdict Aji Tram is not just a restaurant. It’s a portal. A vortex of flavor and philosophy. The wings will elevate you. The calamari will humble you. The fusion will confuse and enlighten you. Five stars is not enough. I give it five stars, a standing ovation, and a slow clap that echoes through eternity.

Now, do you want me to write a haiku about those wings?...

I am completely appalled! This place isn’t known for ‘great service’, and for someone who spent 15 years in the service industry, both BOH and FOH, I know a thing or two. Besides the fact I’m a human who eats out on their lunch break. My friend and I came in on our lunch break, stood at the door for a few min before the server came by and said... sit wherever you want. There was one table eating and two two tops before us, so there’s no way the server was ‘in the weeds’. We are fortunate to have an hour lunch break and some flexibility, but it’s wing Wednesday and we wanted some wings! I’ve come here several Wednesday’s before and never had an issue ordering dollar wings. Not only did it take our server 10 min to even come over to give us water, it was another 10 min before he came to take our order. My friend ordered a tea, and myself a soda (neither alcoholic). After 20 min, without receiving drinks, and watching a guy who came in after us get his drink and appetizer/food, we decided to walk next door to Dino’s Pizza.

Took about 10 min to order and get our pizza, 5 min we let the pie cool..and then we were both about finished with our slices when the server from Aji Tram storms over, walks in the door and bee lines for us. He said “hey your wings are done, why did you guys leave”. I explained we had sat there for nearly 35 minutes and never even receiveing our drinks. At this point it would have been an HOUR we had been there, and they were able to just now produce our entree!?! I explained your job is service. That means you need to prioritize, when someone orders a drink, other than the lukewarm water you served, you should bring it as soon as possible.

The server got very rude and very aggressive and said (not verbatim) basically “if you’re going to leave in the middle of service you need to let the restaurant know, that’s just common curtesy”... I said we weren’t in the middle of service, and the fact that it’s taken you close to a half an hour to notice we walked out is alarming. The fact it took 1 hour and 10 minutes to make 14 wings is alarming as well... he aggressively repeated his point and stormed out.

My boss knows the owners and so I asked her who the owners were to file a direct complaint, as I’ve been there several times (service is always mediocre, but the food is pretty good), she asked me to describe the server. She then pulled up his picture on her phone and I realized that our “server” is one of the co-owners. Absolutely appalling. We even had a table of gentlemen next to us at Dino’s ask what was going on and commented on how rude and aggressive he was and then we all kind of laughed. The food cost of 14 wings and labor and drinks couldn’t have been more than 20$... and to come corner customers who left because your service was so crappy, in another business owners establishment is simply rude and...

I wish I could write a review of the food here, but unfortunately I never got to eat the food I came for. A friend and I went for lunch today and was seated right away. It took 15 minutes before the server acknowledged us and took our order. 15 minutes later, we still had yet to receive our drinks (just sodas, not mix drinks which do take time). At this point we had been there for half an hour and decided that since the server was helping the other 2 tables and ignoring us that we should just leave. We were never served food or drinks, so we weren't skipping out on a bill.. just skipping out on poor service.

Because lunch breaks are only so long, we went to the Pizza place next door. Well, 20 minutes later the server came into the pizza place and confronted us!! In someone else's restaurant, he had the nerve to confront us about his poor service. He attempted to berate us that we left without telling him. He said he was coming to bring us our drinks when he noticed we left. That's 50 minutes after we initially walked into Aji Tram that he was finally bringing us our sodas... and yet he had the nerve to follow us into another establishment and confront us?

Well, the plot thickens.. we thought we should let his manager know about this unacceptable behavior. We went online and found that he is not only the manager, but also an owner. So to him I would like to say, maybe you should work on good customer service. Also, don't follow people. I don't care how upset or angry you may be. It's unprofessional and...