Tokyo Sando — Restaurant in Portland

OVERVIEW I have tried several of their sandwiches over the last year since I discovered them, and in short, they are nothing less than exceptional. Having lived in Portland my whole life, I have had the pleasure of enjoying a multitude of varied and unique foods from around the world from all the great food carts in the area. Tokyo Sando is without a doubt an outlier though, and their sandwiches are second to none. The ingredients are clearly made fresh and in house from high quality sources. I will not lie and say I am an expert in Japanese street food. However, the owner has made street food in Tokyo his whole life and the dedication to his craft shows. The presentation, quality of ingredients, meshing of flavors, and quality of service make it nothing less than a pleasure to eat at Tokyo Sando, and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area who would like a culinary experience like no other in Portland.

FOOD REVIEW The first thing that you see when you go to order on their website is the Tokyo Gyoza Scotch Egg Sando, and it states that it is a specialty of his, from his hometown. I have tried many of their sandwiches, but I will specifically be reviewing this sandwich today.

The first thing that you see upon opening the to-go box is a creamy, bright yellow scotch egg encapsulated by gyoza with a crunchy shell, contrasted against green cabbage and square white bread, with the black garlic sauce outlining the interior. The first things that come to mind when describing the smell is savory, some vinegar, and garlic.

Picking up the sandwich and taking the first bite, the first thing that I sensed was the soft, sweet white bread. As I bit deeper, my teeth felt the crunchy texture of the gyoza shell, and as I began chewing, a beautiful melding of their black garlic sauce, crunchy cabbage, savory miso sauce, Ra-yu mayo, and gyoza filling covered my pallet. The last thing I noticed was the creamy texture of the yolk from the scotch egg covering my mouth, leaving a nice taste in my mouth before I went in for the next bite. The portion size was great, and I felt quite full by the end of it.

FINAL RATING All in all, I would rate this sandwich a 10/10. Their motto is that they will take you to Tokyo, and it is without a doubt true. They take street food to another level, and I think calling it street food is a disservice – it feels like fine dining in a food cart. For $5-$16, no less. Its worth every penny and more. If you are downtown, do yourself a favor and...

For my first visit to Tokyo Sando, I tried the pork version of their Miso Katsu Sando (pictured). It was wonderful! Easily one of the best sandwiches I have ever had.

This Japanese-style sandwich features a Nagoya-Style Miso Pork Katsu, which is local, SP Provisions pork loin, fried in homemade panko bread crumbs, a "Tokyo Sando Miso sauce," black garlic furikake, and cabbage, on shokupan, which is Japanese milk bread. Tender, juicy pork, lightly crispy panko, umami from the slightly bitter black garlic furikake, and sweetness from their miso sauce. Really cool!

With international travel currently being a bit more complicated, this absolutely delightful food truck is like a mini-vacation; Chef Taiki Nakajima brings to Portland a wonderful, authentic taste of his hometown, Tokyo, Japan.

For my second 'Japanese food vacation,' I tried the Miso Scotch Egg Sando (also pictured), which has a pork patty, caramelized onion, a soft-boiled egg (AKA ajitama), Tokyo miso sauce, black garlic, cabbage, and mayo. I think I still prefer the Miso Katsu Sando, because it is just that absurdly good, but the Miso Scotch Egg was probably the best sandwich I have ever had that prominently features an egg.

I would recommend to go fairly early, as this spot is very popular, and they were sold out of some things, by each of my early-to-mid-afternoon visits.

Also, it appears their last day of this year will be 11/28/2021, so get it, while you can! I sincerely hope that it is simply for travel, and that this culinary talent is not moving away.

If you like my photographs, feel free to follow me on Instagram, for more (casual, and predominantly small / local) greater-Portland-area foodventures! Instagram:...

We went to Portland, Oregon in June of 2024. I was interested in their food truck culture, or food cart pods. We went to one of the food cart pod spots to get some sandwiches from Tokyo Sando. The food pod had many different food trucks, with seating area in the middle.

The Tokyo Sando constantly had a few people lining up, seemed like one of the most popular food trucks here. We went there for lunch, and four of their sandwich selections were already sold out!

Out of the available options, we ordered Miso Katsu Sando, and Naka Sando. Miso Katsu Sando was quite good, with good white bread, crispy chicken katsu, lots of shredded cabbage, and black garlic to give that extra tasty garlic flavor. Every bite was satisfying.

Naka Sando one was really good too. Very different flavor profile from the Miso Katsu Sando. The katsu was good, although kind of thin, much thinner than expected. I wish it was thicker cut. They could’ve put more nanban sauce to give strong flavor.

Overall, they were really good sandwiches, they hit the spot for sure, we were happy with the sandwiches. I liked the Miso Katsu Sando more. The staffs were super efficient and courteous. The only thing is that they don’t have pager for customers to have and know when the food is ready. So, you need to either stand around the food truck, or keep going back there every few...