Murata Restaurant — Restaurant in Portland

So so so disappointed! We were looking forward to trying this place as one of the highest reviewed "authentic" Japanese restaurants in Portland. Could not have been more of a letdown. Let me elaborate:

We had a reservation, and yet (after we navigated the cluster of people waiting for takeout orders who blocked the entrance) the hostess did not know which of the tables to seat us. She wandered off and left us standing there for five minutes. Once we finally got seated, it was more than ten minutes before our server even checked on us. Did not bring water. We were already ready to order everything, including drinks, by the time he checked on us for the first time.

Appetizers came out. The "salad" was a literal bowl full of iceberg lettuce with about half a cup of water in the bottom and a watery dressing to match. A single bite of poke, which was fine. THREE pieces of edamame. The miso soup was honestly the highlight of the evening as far as food goes. Still no drinks or water.

While we are still eating our appetizers, they bring our entrees out! No room on the table and it's hard to fit everything. Haven't even seen our server since the one time he took our order. Still no drinks or water! I tell the person who brought our food that we still haven't gotten our drinks and they show up five minutes AFTER our entrees.

If only the food could save this place, but I was shocked by how mediocre it all was. We had the combination house dinners so we could try 4 dishes, but none of them would have been worth this price on their own: Chicken teriyaki - 2 bland, unseasoned chicken breasts that appeared to have been cooked plain on the grill and then sliced with some sauce poured over. Unappealing to look at, and boring to eat.

House special fried chicken- probably the best of the entrees, but didn't come with the sauce listed on the menu. Tasted okay but the breading was soaked in grease. Literally just came with a splat of mayonnaise as a garnish.

Pork cutlet- tasted okay I guess, but way over cooked and dry.

The sushi- wow, could not believe the low quality considering the other reviews. The tuna roll had clearly been made in advance and refrigerated.

Finally, our server shows up for the second time of the evening to bring our check WHILE WE ARE STILL EATING.

Awful service, awful food, cramped space, and a big bill to boot.

There are so many good Japanese options in the area. Please do yourself a favor and branch out from a place that clearly no longer lives up...

I'm an Oregon native and in my job, I often refer tourists to Murata. It had been about a year since I had been to Murata, so I and my son brought my in laws, visiting from Italy, to the restaurant to experience sushi. They are in their 80's and dont speak English. We arrived at 7:20PM on a Thursday. They sat us in the private room because they hadnt a place for 4. The entire staff seemed rushed to close the restaurant. We ordered 5 different types of sushi to include a spider roll (which came with only 4 pieces). I had first asked for a fork for my mother in law and it came 15 minutes into our meal. I then had realized my father in law was struggling with chopsticks, so I had asked for a 2nd fork, which came 10 minutes after we finished our meal. No one every looked in to the room or asked how our meal was, my son's water glass sat empty for 20 minutes and I couldn't get the attention of anyone that worked there. Initially, my mother in law had wanted dessert, but we decided to just leave. We sat another 10 min before I could get the attention of someone for our bill. When the bill arrived, they charged 1.50 over the actual bill. It was clear that someone couldn't do simple adding. We didn't say anything, but only left 10% tip. I decided in that moment that my referral business and my business will go somewhere else. If a restaurant closes at 8:30, that's when it should close. Before that time, paying customers should still be treated like a "paying" customer with optimal service. It felt unwelcoming, rushed, the presentation and love into the sushi subpar- there were even 2 random pieces with the cucumber that hadn't been cut on our plate as if they were trying to substitute it for the lack of spider roll. Never again. Restaurants don't realize that when they lose a customer, what influence that may have on future business considering I had normally referred about 300 people a year. There are plenty of other great sushi restaurants in Portland and those who remember what customer service and consistency actually means, will be the one...

Possibly the WORST sushi my wife and I have EVER had. The Sushi Chefs should be embarrassed for the lack of freshness and quality of their fish - especially for the amount they charge.

My wife and I decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary by eating at [what we thought was] a higher end sushi restaurant. Being from Hawaii, we've had some challenges finding sushi restaurants with decent quality and freshness here in Portland.

The atmosphere is very welcoming and you feel like you are in a nice Japanese restaurant. We were promptly greeted and seated (we had reservations).

My wife ordered several orders of nigiri while I opted for the omakase. The Toro (typically a premium cut) looked marbled and fatty, until my wife realized the marbling was fibrous/stringy connective tissue. Most of the Uni she was served was so old, it was a light brown color - not the bright yellow/orange one would expect. The Ikura she ordered was rubbery and tough, not the crispy popping texture typical and fresh Ikura. The rest of her order and mine was okay to fair at best.

One would have figured the waitress would have asked if everything was okay when she cleared my wife's plate since she only took half a bite from one of the two pieces of each nigiri.

Our two orders/meals and a 10oz bottle of sake set us back $74 - not...