Top Burmese — Restaurant in Portland

Burmese cuisine in Oregon? Top Burmese has placed Burmese Cuisine on the map in Oregon! They have four locations in Hillsboro, Beaverton and Portland, and are opening a fifth location also in Beaverton! I went to the one in Portland (the original) and I can’t wait to share my experience!

When you first walk in the restaurant it is a bit small but it’s also cute at the same time with traditional Burmese decor. I also noticed plants are a big thing at this restaurant as well since I saw many different types of plants. There was also a robot server that is very interactive for customers when the food is being served. This location is the smallest location, and there is no bar; however, next door is their sister business, M Bar.

M Bar is known for making unique, creative and stunning, tasting cocktails and mocktails. This bar works closely with Top Burmese as guests can still order drinks and the drinks are made at M Bar. The space is small, however it is nice and lively at the same time. It brings an additional vibe to the restaurant too.

I collaborated with another photographer and content creator at Amplified Business Solutions and here are our thoughts.

Top Burmese Rainbow salad: A traditional Burmese dish that has rice, noodles, and vegetables. This is a dish where you use your hands to mix everything together. Fortunately, the restaurant provides gloves for health reasons. When everything is combined together, it tastes really well blended and the tamarind sauce added a nice tang to the dish. That tamarind sauce comes together.

Tea leaves salad: One of our favorite salads we actually tried. It was also one of the healthiest salads we ever had. The tea leaves tastes similar to pesto and it’s very lightly dressed but still maintained to keep cohesent.

Khao soy: We love this dish because the egg noodle texture was perfect and the curry was really well done! Very mild dishes that are very comforting!

Pumpkin curry: We love the pumpkin curry, because the pumpkin itself was very tender compared to other pumpkin curries we had in the past. There was a bit of spice in the curry, but still mild, so you still taste the beautiful developing flavors.

Samosa: We love the presentation of the samosas, because there was glitter (edible) on top of them. The ratio of filling to pastry dough was perfect and the flavor inside the filling was well executed. When the samosa is dipped in sauce, it adds a nice spice.

Shan noodles: We thought at first the red cubes were tuna, but it was actually tofu. Before you eat it, the noodles, tofu and vegetables really need to be mixed well because a lot of the sauce was at the bottom. There was great savory umami flavor and the noodles were perfect as well.

M Bar Drinks: Burma lagoon: The presentation was a fish and it was super adorable! The butterfly tea and coconut milk made for a terrific combo!

Ngapali day off and Pegu club: Both of these alcoholic drinks had a lovely presentation and they taste very flavorful.

Mango Lassi: I always loved mangos and they are one of my favorite fruits! It’s a very creamy drink made with yogurt and milk. Very refreshing during the summer!

Overall, Top Burmese was my favorite restaurant because of the story each of the dishes tell and the wonderful ingredients showcased shine through! The staff was super friendly, the restaurant was clean, and it was just a nice vibe overall! We would definitely come back to try...

We were there once before today a couple of weeks back and had a really nice meal. Today, however, the food was not good and very over-priced for what we received. Also, two of the dishes were not as described on the menu! One of the dishes was a combination starter that was described as having samosas and tofu tots and what we received, for $34 which is such a rip off was basically a platter of miniature puff pastries with only 3 of them with any filling. They are all tiny pieces to boot. 1/2 cup of French fries was also on the plate with 3 small containers of sauces two of which resembled hot sauce. How can they charge $34 for this? I didn't even realize the cost until my family member showed me the receipt as we were walking to the car - that's when I decided to review because we felt very ripped off. I actually called the restaurant afterward because I thought there had been a mistake on the $34 charge for the platter and the woman who I spoke to said she was a server and not in control of pricing and if I had a concern I would need to email top Burmese “support,” which I did and haven’t heard one word back. The woman said “they’re air fried!”Okay…Anyway, we’re feeding the remainder of the mini empty all carb puff pastry platter to the birds. I’ve ordered samosa platters at other restaurants for $9-$11 and actually received delightful, substantial and delicious starters. They should be ashamed serving this and charging such an outlandish price. Probably the biggest rip off I’ve ever experienced in my long history of restaurant dining all over the planet. For my entree, I ordered a curry chicken noodle which had absolutely no chicken in it. My family member had an eggplant dish with coconut rice, she usually loves anything with eggplant and she said it was 'tasteless and bland.' The only thing that was decent this time was the tea leaf salad, although that tasted bitter and I would not recommend it. Another disappointment was getting their dessert cake to go, they did not include the whip cream and the serving size was literally half what I received on my last visit. A very disappointing experience. Unfortunately, we will not be returning. This restaurant lacks quality control and over-charges. I am thoroughly disappointed. See my itemized...

First thing: Finding parking is ridiculously difficult in this part of town. My husband has difficulty walking long distances, so this proved to be frustrating to him.

Any parking you do find will cost and have time limits. Sidewalks in the neighborhood are also older and uneven.

On our three block walk to get to the restaurant, we saw lots of individuals that made us (with a small child in tow) feel unsafe. Word of wisdom: take all valuables with you out of the car and always be aware of your surroundings.

Second: Restaurant is pretty small, almost cramped. It's great if you are a small group, but this location wouldn't work for any large groups. If you were planning on a group of more than four people, I would call ahead for a reservation.

There is outdoor seating available that looks like it's good for parties of two or four.

This location is split, so the bar section is separate. This was nice since we had kids with us. And, if you are looking for the robot... It's at the 23rd Street location, not this location.

Third: Food is ridiculously overpriced for the quantity and quality. Maybe it just costs extra because it's down town? I do know inflation has driven up prices too.

We were with a group and we chose to order several dishes to share. This was fun because we got to try several dishes. The best dish was probably the Tea Leaf Salad, followed by the Chicken Curry. Curry had a gentle kick, a bit too spicy for my 5yr old daughter, but seemed a good medium heat to my adult taste buds.

This is a good place if you need vegetarian options. Also, lots of curry dishes.

Fourth: Not wheelchair friendly. There is a step down to get into the restaurant, the sidewalks are not even in the neighborhood, there is no close handicap parking. And the indoor seating is quite tight.

Fifth: Our waiter was great! Service is good and he was super gracious and as accommodating to our needs as he could be.

At 5pm on a Friday, the restaurant wasn't too crowded and the wait time for food was fine. It took a bit of time for the Avocado Ice cream to get chipped out of the tub, but we were visiting and it didn't bother our party. The waiter was super sweet and discounted the ice cream since it took...