Umami Café at Portland Japanese Garden — Restaurant in Portland

This was an amazing find inside the Portland Japanese Garden. They take reservations and (at least based on my experience, around 11-11:30 on a Friday) you'll basically need a reservation if you have a bigger group and/or you want to sit at a table, but there are 5-ish bar seats is available for walk-ins, which is how I was seated. IMO the bar seats are better because you can watch the staff prepare your tea and food. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly - most of them appeared to not be Japanese, but they definitely upheld the standard of Japanese hospitality. The menu features tea sets as well as drinks and sweets a la carte, and savoury chazuke and miso soup. I ordered the shiitake chazuke and the matcha & kinako mochi set. The chazuke came with a separate bowl to drink the genmaicha on its own in addition to the bowl of rice, and the tea was wonderful - very smooth and almost floral, and it worked beautifully in the chazuke dish. The dish was very umami and I was impressed that even the nori seemed high quality. It was also very salty, but the waiters were very diligent about refilling water. The matcha was perfectly smooth with a thick layer of foam - very practiced preparation! The flavour was very balanced. I was actually having second thoughts about ordering the kinako mochi and instead wishing I opted for something less "basic" as I saw some other desserts coming out, but I was ultimately happy with my choice when I tried them. They were very tender, served over a little bit of black sugar syrup and dusted heavily with nutty kinako. Not basic. My total was $29 before tip. Although the portions are small, the point of this is not to eat until you're full, but to get a taste of Japanese tea culture, and I think it was worth it for the quality of what was served. I had no idea I was going to find this teahouse when I came to the Japanese garden, but the authentic Japanese tea experience here really added something special to my visit, and if you plan on visiting the garden, this is something I highly...

The highlight of our experience was the manager, Stephanie, and her incredible staff. We were visiting for the first time and had brought family members with us, who were also thoroughly impressed and absolutely loved their experience. We had great tea with Japanese sweets pairings and snacks. I really loved seeing the Japanese water iris (iris ensata) on the manju cakes I had ordered, and Stephanie was so kind to share her wealth of knowledge on local producers and artisans, even some business cards, a book on the Japanese art of wagashi, highly artfully made sweets, and showed me some examples of absolutely exquisite wagashi.

The teas were so delicious and richly flavorful. They do not fill the teapots with hot water after a cup has been poured so that the tannins do not become so bitter. The paper screen that filters light through the space, the floor to ceiling maple and honey-toned woods, everything is very true to Japanese aesthetic. It's a marvel how dedicated the staff is to serve with such warmth and authenticity. They do a stellar job.

It can be a little difficult for people to understand. You do not receive a honkin' big cake or pie slice as you might expect in the United States. The flavors are different. I grew up in Hawai'i, lived in Little Tokyo and Orange County in California, and have lived in Japanese-American communities nearly all my life, and I've worked with Japanese people and a Japanese company before. To better help those accompanying me to understand, I shared my experience and explained everything to them about what they were seeing on the menu and how Japanese people feel about their indoor surroundings and nature. It can help you too, to watch Monty Don's Japanese Gardens or head to your local library to pick up a book on Japanese cuisine and tea culture. A little bit of homework makes the experience all the...

i would have to agree with previous statements from various individuals. stripping away the reservations & uniqueness from the tea house will only erode the experience. it’s very interesting & invalidating for the entity to state that it’s about: “allowing more people to have an opportunity for the experience.”

now it’s creating more opportunities for more waste with disposable plates & cups. not stating the food/drinks aren’t good but not like my previous experiences.

the traditional tea sets, menu, & previous aesthetic made this tea house unique.

personally, prior to the changes i didn’t see any issues with the reservations. people have to take accountability & be prepared. if that’s one probable variable for not being allowed into the tea house. i have been to the garden & stoped by the tea house various times with no issues.

i have considered a membership, the tea house had made the experience even more worthwhile. i hope the garden reconciles & realizes the changes. until then i doubt i’ll be back...