Banya Japanese Restaurant

Recommends

MissMadgy

Joined 2 years ago

A fabulous place for a substantial lunch....... I bought a coupon for this restaurant. I was a little leary because I had never heard of it but I figured with a coupon it was worth a try. I was pleasantly surprised as the service and food were excellent! It is surely an unrecognized gem of a place. Because it is off the road in the back people don't see it from the road but it is well worth looking for. And the prices were great. I will return many times as I love sushi!!!

Recommends

pkg40

Joined 2 years ago

Good food friendly owners. I try to go here at least once a month. The food is good. Not as popular as it deserves to be.

Recommends

JDS123

Joined 3 years ago

Great bang for the buck. Banya has quickly turned into a family favorite. The staff is incredibly friendly and the food is great. I would recommend to anyone looking for really good sushi in the Beaverton area.

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suehirte

Joined 8 years ago

Treated like Family. We visit Banya every 1-2 weeks and are treated like family by the owners. Every time we try something different and have yet to be dissapointed. So may unique rolls and the sashimi is wonderful. Highly recommended.

Doesn't Recommend

fhilton

Joined 4 years ago

Was great, now mediocre. Having spent a year in Japan, I used to love this restaurant since real Japanese people worked here serving authentic Japanese food. The menu included not only sushi, which is available everywhere, but lots of other authentic Japanese dishes.

Now the place is under new ownership. I believe the new owners are Korean because I saw "Kim Chee" listed under deserts on the menu. The menu has been reduced to just sushi and a few other common Japanese foods.

My server had no idea what I meant when I asked for "tempura donburi" which used to be my favorite item on the menu. The sushi we ordered was pretty average, except that one roll had what tasted like cheese whiz on it. The tempura moriawase I ordered was not nearly as good as it used to be and the rice was not very sticky. We also tried to order house salads, expecting the usual lettuce and ginger dressing salads (small and cheap), and received instead something large with fried chicken and crab meat in it that turned out when we got the bill to be expensive.

The bottom line is that this used to be an excellent, authentic Japanese restaurant experience and is now a mediocre, me-too-Korean-Japanese restaurant. I will not be returning.

Doesn't Recommend

deebo32

Joined 11 years ago

Banya has new ownership. We went to Banya over the weekend and were surprised to see many new faces. It looks like the restaurant is under new ownership, now family run with the kids helping out in the restaurant.

The food and quality have changed, it is not as authentic as it was and the menu was pared down greatly. Too bad, we often looked forward to our neighborhood gem.

Recommends

KiltedWolf

Joined 5 years ago

Best I've Ever Had. As an exceedingly picky eater, and always wary of freshness, I was very loathe to wander into an unknown Japanese place, much less order sushi. One day, my friend came down from Seattle with his wife and convinced me to go for supper with them. I was admittedly skeptical, especially as the decor from the outside speaks of, well, worrisome colours and questionable tastes. The only reason I didn't balk at the last moment was my experience travelling, and knowing that the best food is often found in little hole-in-the-wall places.

I have to say that this was truly the case here. Walking in, I was greeted like long-missed family, shown to a table by a very kind and traditionally mannered Japanese hostess, and presented with what must be about a 5 page menu, not including the sushi or the wide array of alcohol. Over the next several hours my friends and I ordered one or two dishes at a time, shared them, and enjoyed ourselves, never rushed to order more or to place a single large order. I'd be lying if I said I knew how much time passed that night, but it must have been at least three hours and we were the last customers in the place by the end. Before we left though, the owner came out, sat down and began chatting with us for a while, laughing and joking, and said "let me show you, not on menu" and brought out a dish I don't know what it was.. nor do I care. It was sweet, succulent, tender meat with a lovely marinade cooked to perfection.

Ever since then, I've gone in at every opportunity while in the Portland area and eaten everything on the menu several times over. But if you want favourites? I'd have to say the "Spider" rolls and the honey-ginger pork filet. Even my friends who didn't like Japanese food have gone in there and loved it, to return as often as possible - even when that means driving an hour or two each way to do it.

In fact, it's the only thing other than Powell's book shop that I miss about Portland!

Recommends

vanilla_bear

Joined 6 years ago

best sushi in town!. I discovered banya in 2003 and am always extremely satisfied! The sushi & sashimi are fresh and tasty. The tempura is mouth-watering and all the short ribs are a must-have! The best part is this restaurant is very affordable, too! Highly recommended!

Recommends

mcd101

Joined 7 years ago

Great authentic Japanese food. Tried many Japanese restaraunts in Portland Metro and find Banya to be the most authentic among all of them. Very friendly owner.

Doesn't Recommend

jerryroberts

Joined 8 years ago

NOT fresh food!. The food especially sushi was not fresh at all. Sushi was very stinky and sushi rice was warm. Miso soup was cold. We got salad but it was very old. Only we enjoyed was tempura that is all. My friend ordered "kamameshi" but it was very stinky and yellowish. Overall, food is not fresh at all. We think all sushi could be frozen?? And sushi chef was yelling at kitchen staff and waitless several times while we were there... he should stop yelling at them!!