Friendship Vietnamese Kitchen — Restaurant in Portland

This place has potential, and the food is pretty good. I'm guessing they're new to the restaurant business, because they're getting some very basic things wrong.

They put a few barriers in the way of dining there: For one thing, there's no sign visible from the sidewalk showing the restaurant name or giving a hint at what food they serve. You need to look up their street address, and match it with the address printed outside the place. There's a sign that's only visible once you walk inside, but that defeats the purpose of having a sign.

This is a Vietnamese place, but their decor has Japanese style rice-paper lanterns. I have no idea how someone is supposed to pass by, see this place, and think it might be an interesting Vietnamese spot to try.

Once you arrive there are no printed menus anywhere in the place. QR Code only. A simple but important improvement would be to post a menu on the wall people could look at. They don't usually take cash. The pop music playing might work for a late night party vibe, but it made no sense when eating brunch there at 11 AM. Service was friendly, so no problem there.

I got the "Wholesome plate" (shown in photo). It was pretty tasty, though not a large portion. The star of the dish was the imperial roll, and it's a shame there was only one. I got a soft drink and it was served warm. Not a disaster, but it would have been nice to be told I was buying a warm soft drink for $3 before I gave them my money.

I'd give the food 4 stars, and the experience 2 stars, for an overall rating of 3 stars. This could easily be 4 stars if they did something as simple as posting a small restaurant sign and a menu next to their entrance.

Edit 2025: Lowering the review to 1 star because the food quality isn't as good as it was on that first visit. Plus the cashier pads the bill by a few dollars, and you have to call her out on it to get...

Came here last Saturday night for an early dinner at 5pm with my husband and son. The “restaurant” is among three businesses that share a large covered outdoor space with tables and heat lamps. Ambiance is casual, and place is pretty clean. You bus your own dishes when done which can get a bit messy if it’s busy. You place your order, get a number to put on your table (seat yourself). There were only two other parties among ahead of us so we were able to order quickly. There were two staffers/servers. First off, the food is GOOD. Chicken pho: broth had a nice flavor and the noodles were al dente. Salt and pepper prawns with the head on were nice and shaken beef (bo luc lac) very tasty and tender. Portions was good sized. The drinks were also great the “MILF 2.0” despite the name was very good and balanced.

That said unfortunately we ended up waiting a very very long time for our food, because the server made an error and served other parties that came AFTER us our food. So frustrating. After seeing other parties that came well after we did, getting some of the items we ordered served to them , I went up to check. The woman didn’t really know how to respond and apologized for the wait, but I continued to ask for some clarification. I was told there were alot of DoorDash orders which shouldn’t affect my meals especially when I can see our food being served to people who arrived after us. Though they didn’t admit they served other tables before us they did not deny it either. We eventually got our food and enjoyed our meal. It’s obvious the kitchen and front of the house staff are working hard so I hope the workflow issues are sorted out soon.

My advice: check it out, the food is tasty and drinks are good. Just be aware there may be some service...

We went for the first time last Saturday, and boy were we impressed! They were short staffed and down to only three people and Friendship Kitchen was still able to deliver a wonderful experience!

The beef in the Shaking Bowl was perfectly grilled--so juicy and tender! We were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't dry and overcooked. The chicken in the Wholesome Bowl was cooked to perfection likewise, and both dishes were so flavorful, I would definitely order them again!

In addition, we ordered the Bun Bo Hue. I was struck by how well balanced the flavor of the both was, and pleasantly surprised that while this dish is served spicy, they put the spicy on the side so that you can add to preference! That was such a small and courteous thing, but I think it is great for most people who cannot handle a lot of spice. I dumped it all in; and even then, it didn't overpower the soup. It was the perfect amount of flavors and warmth for a cold night out.

We also had the cocktails. GET THEM. I won't spoil how good they are with a review. Just trust me, they are worth it and pair well with the food.

Lastly, I just want to say: props to the whole Friendship Kitchen staff for nailing it on all fronts while being understaffed that night. They were all so kind and sweet. Even though they were rushing, they still took the time to listen were very helpful and accommodating. The queue for orders was always moving, and even though they may have had upwards of ten people waiting at a time, the queue was never too long. They really impressed us that night with how well they executed a dining experience without extra hands. We definitely plan on coming back soon!

Service: 10/10 Food Quality: 10/10 Food Flavor: 10/10 Cocktails: 10/10 Overall...