Best dishes at Afuri

Afuri Ramen opened to great fanfare towards the end of 2016 after articles about how this famous Japanese chain picked Portland as their first location outside Japan because of the water here. They still don’t take reservations, although the location is pretty big that if you don’t hit a busy weekend evening prime time you will probably find a table often without a wait (I recommend grabbing a beer at Commons Brewery next door). Now with the wonderful weather they also roll open their garage door walls so it almost feels like a patio. I’ve visited several times – here are my recommendations for the best dishes at Afuri.
 

You won’t be surprised to hear that ramen makes the list as a must order – and they did make the PDX Eater Essential Ramen Map that I helped curate. They are most famous for their signature Yuzu Shio Ramen with a chicken broth base and squeeze of yuzu which is known for being light with a touch of citrus and feels comforting but not heavy (great for rationalizing ordering other dishes off the Afuri menu in addition to the ramen for yourself).

But my favorite is the Truffle Miso Ramen with 8 month aged black bean miso, hojicha tea, local seasonal mushrooms, truffle oil, Chinese chives, and bean sprout. Yes, this vegan ramen is more expensive then the meat based ones, but it’s worth it for all the complexity of that miso and tea and mushrooms combinging into such wonderful umami you don’t care that there’s no meat (though you can always add on egg or chashu pork). Recently they replaced this with a new vegan TanTanMen which has sesame miso tare, hazelnut broth, garlic bok choy, leek, white soy shiiitake mushroom, sesame chili oil, miso cashew crumbles which I hope to try soon!

If you think it’s too hot for ramen, then you haven’t heard about Tsukemen! This is a cold ramen noodle dish where the ramen noodles are served without the hot broth, instead a separate bowl holds a tsuyu dipping sauce that you dunk the ramen noodles in and then slurp up. They offer two versions, one is the Yuzu Tsukemen that featurs yuzu citrus, but I ordered the Spicy Tsukemen with spicy soy tsuyu, chashu pork, seasoned egg, seasoned bamboo shoots, endive, nori seaweed, scallion, sesame, chili powder. My pro tip here is don’t wear a white or light colored shirt, or bib yourself with your napkin to protect your clothes from reddish slurp drops!

The sake list runs impressively deep here, and they offer a few flights if you can’t make up your mind so you can try a few. If you aren’t into sake, they also offer a surprisingly thoughtful wine list, a respectable Japanese whisky list, some shochu, cocktails, and even delightful soft drinks like housemade lemonade or limeade, several options for green tea, Ginger Ale A La Minute and Grapefruit Maple Deluxe.

When a restaurant has a section that you haven’t seen before, that’s usually a sign that you should order from that section – it’s likely a specialty. At Afuri, that section is the Irori and Robata Grill section and if you look over to the center of the open kitchen you may see the flames of that unique Irori grill.

All the items in this section are good, though my personal favorite for taste and stunning presentation is the Gindara, saikyo miso marinated black cod with chili oil and bonito flake over here, dashi braised bok choy (I’ve also seen other vegetables appear here like charred broccolini)

Or, you can go for simple skewers just to get a little taste – they have vegetables and meat skewer options. This is the favorite for me of the options: Tsukune with minced chicken thigh, ginger, onion, yam, potato, egg yolk, Oregon piot noir yakitori

Besides their daily dinner service, they also offer a lunch starting at 11:30 AM. Their lunch menu does not include the Irori and Robata Grill section I just mentioned, it is a more limited menu that focuses on ramen, a few cooked appetizers, and sushi rolls and sashimi. That means you still have access to their Hamachi Jalapeno Sashimi with yellowtail, avocado, jalapeno, housemade yuzukosho vinaigrette, micro greens, and fried shallots.

The jalapenos definitely make this dish have a bit of burn, which I loved in contrast to the acidity of the vinaigrette, the clean smooth yellowtail, the crunchy fried shallots, and the creamy avocado, depending on what I was able to compose with my chopsticks.

The gorgeous Chirashi Bowl with big eye tuna, yellowtail, striped jack, salmon, sea bream, salmon roe, spicy tuna, California crab, avocado, seaweed, and pickled ginger has great seafood on top though I found a rice to be a little too soft.
 

Wash it down with a Afuri cocktail of Akai Chi, a bloody mary with house white miso, horseradish, ponzi, and pickled skewer that includes a bit of fish (vegetarian option available, just ask) or the Kemuri Smoky cocktail with Suntory Toki, ume, spicy ginger syrup, lemon, Laphroaig

Or go a little lighter with the Endomame cocktail with mint and house sugar snap pea vodka, freshly pressed lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white or the pretty Sakura Pink Blossom cocktail with Altos Reposado tequila, rhubarb, lemon, Cointreau, Peychaud’s

Have you heard of Afuri? Have you been here yet, what did you enjoy? If you haven’t been here yet, what would you want to try? Did you know you can also order many of their dishes via UberEats or Caviar?