Saburo's
1667 SE Bybee Blvd
Portland OR 97202
503-236-4237

Disclaimer: All reviews and original content Copyright © Mike Blackwell [remove "nospam." or it won't work] of Oregon Sushi -- All Rights Reserved.


Sunday, June 23, 2002


REVISED AND UPDATED Wednesday, May 26, 2004

Food Quality: Consistently A
Portion Sizes: Very Generous
Overall value for the dollar: A+

Every mission has a setback. Every great quest faces a moment where you step back from your grand design and ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?"

Saburo's, at 1667 SW Bybee Blvd (between McLaughlin and 17th), was just such a setback. My mission, as it originally stood, was to locate and visit every sushi bar in the Portland area. On this day, however, I was faced with the question, "Having been to Saburo's, do I really NEED to go anywhere else?"

As far as I can tell, Saburo's doesn't advertise anywhere, and doesn't even have a sign on the door. However, they have the best advertising money can't buy: positive word of mouth, resulting in a line around the building from opening time to closing time.

Everything I read about Saburo's was right. You WILL over-order, even if you try not to: the portions are VERY generous. The neta (toppings) for the nigiri are easily three times the volume served at other places, so that the more limber items (like maguro or unagi) drape over the rice ball and touch the plate at both ends. I'm used to eating nigiri sushi in a single bite, but that's actually difficult at Saburo's. When I tried, I'd get most of it in, but I'd have to use the chopsticks to push the end of the fish into my mouth. Even that was cumbersome, so I recommend the two-bite approach.

For $14.00, the Sushi Deluxe Assortment (9 pieces of nigiri sushi & 4 pieces of California roll, plus miso soup) is a considerable amount of food and will satisfy most diners.

We also had a spider roll, which was excellent. The California roll is available four different ways: with either real (Dungeness) or imitation crab, and with or without smelt roe. Naturally, we chose the most luxurious version, with Dungeness and smelt ($5, eight large pieces). It's also available as a temaki (hand-roll) with imitation crab.

The miso soup was quite good, more flavorful than most places I've been.

In summary, everything we ordered was delicious and bountiful. For portion sizes and value for the dollar, I give this place an A+.

I must return when Saburo-san himself is there, so I can try a Sabu roll (supposedly, they're only available when he is on site). From what I understand, the Sabu roll is like a rainbow roll, and would probably be a meal in itself. [P.S.: I had one on my next visit -- I was right on both counts.]


P.S. Since I wrote the above review, I have eaten here at least three more times, and I have never been disappointed or left hungry. They added additional seating in the back in July 2002, so the wait to get in is shorter. Saburo's remains one of my favorite sushi bars in Oregon, and were it closer to my home or workplace, I would probably be bankrupt by now. :)


Wednesday, May 26, 2004:

Tonight a friend and I dined here prior to seeing Shrek 2 (very good; a worthy sequel to the original). My friend ordered several nigiri: tamago, smoked sake, ikura, and anago, and two rolls: a Shogun roll (eel) and a deluxe California roll (real crab with masago). He also ordered a gyoza appetizer ($3 for six large pieces with crispy skins and a very good dipping sauce). He was very pleased with everything, and had enough for a to-go box when he was finished. He and I are always looking for new sushi bars, but he says (and I agree) that we need to come back to Saburo's every few months (or more frequently) to "re-calibrate our sushi criteria."

As for my meal, I had decided ahead of time to order chirashi (scattered sushi). It's not listed on the menu (because most American diners have never heard of it), but they can make it on request. The normal price is apparently $15; I decided to up the ante and request "deluxe chirashi," and gave them a budget of up to $30 to work with. The result was a large bowl of sushi rice, topped with maguro, sake, hamachi, uni, tako, tamago, and akagai, along with aba-ebi (with deep-fried head!), ikura-garnished ika rolls, creamy scallops with tobiko, tightly rolled fillets of a nearly transluscent fish (I want to say garfish, but I'm not sure), crab leg meat wrapped in thin sheets of cucumber, and a spinach or seaweed roll also wrapped in cucumber. Garnish included gari, wasabi, shredded nori strips and cucumber shoestrings. Everything was excellent; the rice under the sashimi was perfectly cooked. The only thing missing (in my opinion) was eel, but I can understand its omission, as eel sauce could affect the flavor of the other ingredients. (I sated my eel appetite by snagging a piece of my friend's Shogun roll.) My bill? Only $20. An impressive meal, and a very reasonable price. Next time, though, I'll try to insist on a $25 or $30 chirashi; I can't wait to come here again.