Boke Bowl — Restaurant in Portland

My favorite ramen house in Portland. Bright orange interior, casual atmosphere, and friendly wait staff make it a fun and easy going eating experience. Big bowls of hand made noodles, and flavorful dashi with different meat and veggie options such as pulled pork, rabbit 3-ways, seafood miso, or a caramelized fennel dashi. Add on items such as tender buttermilk fried chicken (with a stone ground mustard sauce), poached egg, cornmeal crusted oysters, or pork belly to upgrade and enhance your bowl. If noodles don't float your boat, try out the chicken or seafood rice bowls with kimchi or the Brussels sprout salad with Thai style vinaigrette. Another must have are the steam buns (3 to and order) which can be filled with fried chicken, pork belly/ brisket, grilled eggplant, and even PB&J. If you still have some room (I don't know how you possibly could after all that) try out a homemade twinkie, or a creme brulee doughnut. Thursday nights Boke offers a Korean Fried Chicken from 5-9pm; a 48 hour brined, smoked, then fried whole chicken served family style with steam buns, assorted pickles, kimchi and rice that's pretty much to die for, but quantities are limited and pricey at $30-$50 (which is understandable considering the work that goes into make this) so get there early so you don't miss out. Well I'm hungry now after writing this, so...

We absolutely loved our experience at Boke Bowl! From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere felt warm and welcoming, a perfect blend of modern, casual dining with a strong community vibe. The menu offers a creative fusion of East and West, and you can tell a lot of thought went into both the flavors and the presentation.

We ordered the fried chicken bowl and the tuna poke bowl, and both were outstanding. The use of fresh, seasonal vegetables really stood out and added an extra layer of flavor and texture to the dishes. The fried chicken was perfectly crispy and flavorful, and the tuna poke was fresh and beautifully balanced. We highly recommend adding a side of their pickled veggies, they were tangy, vibrant, and paired perfectly with both bowls.

One detail that really impressed us as parents: they provide small water cups for kids along with the silverware. It may seem minor, but thoughtful touches like that make families feel welcome and included.

The pricing is very reasonable considering the quality and creativity of the food. The staff was friendly, attentive, and genuinely seemed to care about our experience.

Overall, Boke Bowl offers something truly special—delicious, thoughtfully prepared food in a relaxed and inclusive setting. We’ll definitely be back and encourage anyone in the area to...

Today was my second visit to Boke Bowl, for Portland Mercury's Wing Week 2021, with the previous visit also being for a Wing Week (in 2018).

This year's Boke Wings (pictured) are Star-Anise brined, medium-to-very spicy wings are heavily coated in a mixture of Hot Boke and Thai Chili Wing Sauces, and topped with sesame seeds. The heat from these wings definitely persists. They were very saucy, and the sauce itself was like a thick, very spicy catsup (red jalapenos and Thai green chiles).

Notably, I would say that their chicken meat, itself, was one of the most flavorful, of the now 14 Wing Week entries that I have sampled, this year. The other stop with notably flavorful chicken meat was also brined and smoked - so, it really seems like that may be a great route to go, for chicken, if it's within a venue's capabilities.

The sesame seeds were pretty, and added a subtle textural element, which I enjoyed, and the service was good; friendly, prompt, and accommodating.

If you like my photograph, feel free to follow my foodie Instagram, for more (casual, and almost exclusively small / local) greater-Portland-area foodventures! Instagram:...