TANAKA — Restaurant in Tualatin

My wife and I are headed to Japan later this year; it'll be her first time, and I cannot wait to show all the wonderful sights, sounds and, of course, tastes! As a "preview of coming attractions", we stopped in for lunch at Tanaka while in the area; similarly, she had never had a katsu sando before, wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but was eager to find out.

As she surprised me a bit and went with the chicken sando (which I WAS going to order) with a side of hot sauce, I switched to the potato korokke instead. Each of them was utterly incredible: in the case of the chicken, a delicious crispy fried chicken fillet with kewpie mayo and katsu sauce (which, for those who do not know, tastes like a BBQ soy sauce) and cabbage is pretty much to die for; as for the korokke, it's definitely softer (the potato/veggie "innards" of the croquette are creamy and smooth) punches above its weight with a tangy dressing drizzled over the cabbage. We couldn't decide upon our favorite among the two, and repeatedly shared bites of each. I would order either of them again (or both) in a heartbeat!

Service was prompt, friendly, and extremely polite! The décor within is minimalist in true Japanese style, and benefits from natural light and gorgeous surroundings: at least during our visit, it was quiet, serene, peaceful...and when paired with the perfect weather, was like a silent oasis sequestered away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the shopping arcade.

Even more than she was before, Tanaka has made my wife more excited for our trip to Japan, thanks to its authenticity (and deliciousness)! If you can't make it yourself to Japan, Tanaka will get you half way there,...

I love the food from this place, but whoever works on Saturdays has been burning the Spicy Katsu sandwiches and then drowning them in spicy sauce as if to try covering up the mistake.

I just threw out an entire sandwich because the bread was saturated and the spicy sauce was oozing out the sandwich to such an extent it painted the outside and (of couse) the katsu was burnt.

All other days of the week seem to be good quality. But the weekends, for at least 2 weeks in a row now have been disappointing.

Update for 12/22/2024: Food rating drop :(

Today I ordered a spicy chicken Katsu, it showed up overly greasy and it had this weirdly gross “watered down” taste to it. Had to throw it away, couldn’t eat it. Normally, these guys do better than this but the weekend quality control seems to be bad in general now? I’m really rooting for this place to turn things around :(

Update for 12/23/24:

Overheard Courtney O. openly talk shit about a regular of the restaurant (who apparently orders Tanaka consistently) with one of the cooks— (don’t know the cook’s name but he was an asian male (20s).) Very oddly vindictive behavior. Courtney kept ominously saying “I’m going to meet this person someday and we are going to have a conversation,” Big yikes. 😬 i sincerely hope this woman isn’t management.

Update 12/5/25

We’re back! So far so good for the first few days after the new year. Updating the star reviews, much better than the end of last month’s on the weekends. 5 stars...

The Tualatin location in Bridgeport Village was a mixed bag of disappointments. Half of what we wanted to order was out of stock (the front cases were completely empty) or they weren't making it any more (we ordered food and hour before they closed). I tried ordering a pork curry bowl, but was told they were out of the ingredients. So we went with a spicy pork sandwich, shrimp sandwich, dirty fries, and miso tomato soup. The wait was not too bad, but the sandwiches were not hot, which was odd, and there was no spice on the pork sandwich. The shrimp sandwich was the best, but would have been beaten out by the dirty fries... if they hadn't forgotten to add the pulled pork! I was reviewing the toppings and comparing it to my receipt when I realized I was charged full price, but the cook completely failed to add a key ingredient. The tomato soup was inedible. After we got our food things got weird. With 40 minutes to go before closing... they started closing! I am all for cleaning ahead of closing so you're ready to o go, but they were CLOSING! Doors, locked (and then opened for actakeout order). Music, off. Lights, flashed and dimmed. There were other people ordering and eating, so shutting down early was not a professional or customer friendly choice. We've been very excited to try Tanaka, but my best recommendation is to go earlier in the day or not at all. Maybe we'll try...