Oregon Sushi Restaurant Review

Mio Sushi
2271 NW Johnson St.
Portland, OR 97210
503-221-1469; fax 503-827-4932

Saturday, February 4, 2006

For years, I'd heard many good things about this restaurant, the flagship of a small chain of five outlets across the Portland area, and always wanted to go there. When "Spike & Mike" came to Cinema 21, my friend and I decided to give this restaurant a try. It's near the intersection of 22nd & Johnson, and were it not for the big "Mio Sushi" banner outside, you could easily mistake it for one of the many houses that surround it. We arrived about 7:30, and there was already a line: about a dozen people were patiently waiting for tables. We put our names on the list, and were seated (at the sushi bar, by good fortune) around 8:10.

The interior is fairly spartan, like Saburo's: many of the posters on the wall advertize various menu items, like their many specialty rolls. One wall by the door displays the numerous "Best Of" certificates they've garnered from various websites and newspapers. At the end of the bar is a glass case filled with origami made from chopstick wrappers and paper money (mostly US currency). Also like Saburo's, the hardwood walls and cramped space make for a noisy environment when filled with talkative diners. Some colorful Asian tapestries could improve the decor and dampen the sound level, but I know that's really a minor gripe.

We were seen to promptly and given menus and a wine list. We started with miso soup and green tea, which turned out to be the higher-grade genmai cha, made with toasted rice. Delicious, as was the soup.

Nigiri prices are very reasonable: from $2.50 (tamago & inari) to $3.95 (uni & giant clam). We chose maguro, seared albacore, sake (salmon), creamy scallops, unagi, and anago. All were very good, especially the albacore and scallops. The scallops (the best my friend could remember having) were served gunkan style in a creamy sauce and garnished with either masago or tobiko. Portion sizes, while not Saburo-size, were still above average, especially for the price.

Rolls are also economical: $2.00 for various veggie hosomaki, up to $7.95 for a couple of the more exotic items. We opted for the $4.50 Lovejoy, $5.50 Sunset, and $5.95 Spider rolls. I forgot to grab a to-go menu, so I don't recall what was in the Sunset roll (tuna & salmon, I think, among other items), but it and the spider roll were excellent. The Lovejoy, whose primary ingredient was tempura shrimp, was less impressive (to me, at least), but still good. Our sushi order was attractively arranged on an oversized round platter, prompting some "are they going to eat all that?" stares from neighboring diners. (We did, of course. :)

One of Mio's most popular specialty items is their Sushi Pizza ($7.25), and we just had to try it. It's a rectangular sheet of nori topped with rice, salmon and several other items (wish I'd saved a menu), garnished with a spicy sauce and a drop of sriracha, baked in an oven (obviously not microwaved, since it was served on a sheet of foil), cut into eighths and served with forks (since it's cumbersome to eat with chopsticks, though we tried anyway :). It was really, really good; next time we'll get one whole pizza per diner: trying to split an order just left us wanting more. They also have a Shrimp Pizza: we'll probably get one of each.

Service was prompt and friendly, and our tea was replenished quickly. The bill was $63: very reaonable for what we had. All in all, a very satisfying experience. There are many menu items we haven't tried, so we'll be back for more. We give it an "A."