Daruma

This was the most delicious, fresh and artistic presentation l have ever seen in Portland. If you appreciate a superb select of fish and the true art of Japanese food, go to this wonderful neighborhood restaurant.

In a word, delicious! The right mix of fresh, flavorful, simple nigiri/​sashimi and creative rolls for me. This was my first visit, so I don’t know what it was like before, but we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. The King Salmon from New Zealand on special tonight (I had nigiri) was outstanding. The chef was even so kind to share a complimentary serving with us! The specialty roll «75» was one of the most unique I’ve had — strawberries, cucumber, avocado… it was like a light dessert, and it was delicious. I also appreciated that our server was very knowledgeable about the fish they were serving tonight and made some excellent recommendations. Overall it seemed the folks at Daruma care about their customers and as a result we had a really great time. Thank you Daruma, we will be back!

OMG… OMG! Sushi lovers get ready to be impressed. The food is only part of how amazing. The staff are fun and proud of their craft. This is the complete experience at the highest level of sushi craft. I love this place!

It was our visit. Devon was the head chef and she was very welcoming and kind. They were low on fish however they made up for it with amazing service and the fish we had were fresh and delicious! Will definitely be back. Omakase highly recommended!

This place is amazing! It’s a cozy setting with great atmosphere. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Try the chef’s special.

This place was amazing! Had a seven course meal including a flight of saki for my birthday with 30 of my closest friends! I was not disappointed. The staff was so caring and patient with all of us along with making sure we all were well taken care of. Do yourself a favor and check this place out!

Another sad review update. Chef Yuki is no longer there, and unfortunately the place lost my 5-​star rating. I started with a tuna carpaccio — the tuna was cut into various sized chunks, some small, some gigantic, and doused with an avocado sauce that overwhelmed the plate. The rice for the sushi had a terrible bitter aftertaste. The fish didn’t taste fresh, and wasn’t kept wrapped as meticulously as Yuki used to do. The chef and the apprentice were trying to make good sushi, it just didn’t pan out. I’m so disappointed because I couldn’t wait to come back — and was just miserable after we left because it was such a huge disappointment. Unfortunately we won’t be back.

Cozy little place for delicious sushi and fun menu items with great service! This is a wonderful place to go for dinner after some charcuterie and wine at Blackbird!

Happy hour 4−5PM. Sashimi assortment was very fresh and tasty. I was impressed that they serve sashimi with real wasabi.

This is the saddest review update I’ve ever had to write. Chef Yuki and his apprentice Steve left Daruma for lands unknown. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same gushing things that I said of Yuki and Steve of their new counterpoints. The new sushi chef may be a lovely person, but I couldn’t tell. I didn’t see him actually talk to any customers at the sushi bar, myself included. He remained quiet, as did his apprentice. Perhaps he needs that focus to work quickly, but it definitely made for a worse experience as I loved my own conversations with Yuki/​Steve and listening in on their conversations with others.
As for the food itself, that is also unfortunately worse. The specials board was disappointingly empty, so gone are some of the most interesting sushi options that made Daruma truly special. The fish that remains available went down in quality. You can see it in the new, windowed fish fridge that sits atop the bar. A veritable showcase of mediocrity; the fish looked like what I’d expect out of a carousel joint. The sushi rice was bland and dry. Even the pickled ginger appears to be the mass-​produced stuff now. I always decline the wasabi because I feel the sushi was seasoned well enough, so I can’t comment on whether or not they still offer real wasabi. The only saving grace of Daruma’s next chapter is that the Saké list is still filled with great options.
Daruma used to be the freshest, most interesting, and overall best sushi in Portland. But now? It’s just «meh». I guess it’s back to Bamboo Sushi for me, or Hokusei when I can afford to travel further.

Food was clean and fresh. There are many vegan options which replace traditional fish sushi with interesting ingredients such as king oyster mushrooms and Shiizu leaf.
Overall though, I miss having options such as noodle dishes to round out the plate. I ate the seaweed salad, miso soup, edamame, and a roll and was still hungry. I could have ordered more but at $ 20 I thought I’d spent enough.

Always a pleasure to come see Steve and Yuki making fish look beautiful. We have been coming here since the beginning and it’s still amazing. It’s really a show up in here and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

This place is money. Two meals so far and only good things to say. We went with standard menu the first time and, at the suggestion of the very kind staff and chef, tried a lot of vegetarian rolls that I wouldn’t have gone for without a little nudge. I’m happy I listened and have now added a few new rolls to my quiver of choices.
The second time in we went with a $ 35 per person (you can pick anywhere from $ 25 up) omakase. If your feeling flush, I highly recommend. Once again, we had the pleasure of getting a bit of an education. I’d never tried a house pickled spotted sardine before and now it’s a new fav.
I feel very lucky to have this place within walking distance of the house. Will be back often.

Now that I’ve gone here a few more times, I want to update my review to focus on what I know Daruma is capable of.
I am not a huge fan of some of the rolls (they often have just one element that I would like to remove), but their nigiri is unparalleled, specifically the unagi (eel). Seriously, I am ruined on unagi that is served everywhere else, it is hands-​down the best unagi nigiri I have ever had, and I now find myself disappointed when I order it at other sushi places.
This place just has some of the best fish around, including lots of fish you don’t see anywhere else. I have been absolutely dumbfounded by the quality and flavor of black cod, amberjack, arctic char, and salmon nigiri options.
This fish is hands-​down better flavor than Bamboo or Yoko’s. Plus their chia seed shot is a wonderful way to end a meal.
I love you, Daruma.

Never knew I needed a sushi place like this, but I am oh-​so-​happy it came into my life. My partner and I went on a whim. When we arrived (at 7 on a Saturday) most of the 30 or so seats were filled. We were able to get a prime spot at the bar! The vibe was very neighborhood-​ey.
As mentioned in previous reviews, the fish was what made this place. They had simple, well-​made nigiri and rolls. The rolls ranged from 5 – 9 dollars and were 5 pieces. None of that cream cheese and 10 piece crap that you get at some American sushi places. Would recommend the seaweed salad. We were plied periodically with other little tasters from the bar, I wish the fried and salted peppers were on the regular menu because they were delicious.
The only negative seemed to be that the waitress was weirdly busy for how few people were in the restaurant by the time we left. There were maybe 4 tables and she still had a hard time keeping things straight and attending to us.

After being thwarted two nights in a row for dinner at Blossoming Lotus, my friends suggested we go to Daruma, which they promised had vegan sushi options. The four of us sat at the bar and were engaged by the friendliest sushi chef I have ever met. Despite the fact that he was butchering large fish in front of us – it was very fast, professional and efficient — and it didn’t smell fishy. Meanwhile, toward the front of the open kitchen, the other chef was preparing vegetarian sushi on a completely fish-​free surface.
My vegan friend and I were EXTREMELY pleased with the quality and quantity of food, the service and the atmosphere. Our two fish eating friends were likewise very happy!

Quite literally the best sushi I’ve had in my entire life. After eating here, I immediately knew that this would be where I have my birthday dinner.
The customer service is really great. I ordered miso and, even though I didn’t complain, the hostess came and replaced it. Having tasted it she was disappointed, herself, and felt the need to replace it.
Now, the food is real special. The duo that prepared my meal was a sushi master and his apprentice. Everything I ate was gold and, periodically, they offered me free snacks. The food is so fresh and they use ginger in a really nice way. I was speechless.

Daruma, I love you.
I won’t sit anywhere but the sushi bar; the care, commitment and excitement that the two chefs demonstrate for the love of their jobs every time I come here is an inspiration.
Omakase is awesome, you can name your price (unlike a lot of other places) and the entertainment + conversation comes free!
…if they’ve got the Buri Amberjack, make sure to try it.

While visiting Portland from LA, my family recommended that we go to Daruma for what they said was“the best sushi ever.” Those were some BIG SHOES TO FILL considering we have so much great sushi in LA, but Daruma did not disappoint. We walked in and the place was very small and cozy. There was a few seats by the window, and the rest were bar seats – the place probably couldn’t seat more than 25 people.
We sat at the bar and was warmly greeted by Chef Yuki and his apprentice Steve. Yuki was very accommodating, allowing us to order omakase since it wasn’t that busy. The meal was timed perfectly and every dish came out gradually one after the other. We started off with a delicately prepared cucumber salad that was very lightly dressed, then came a house pickled veggie plate (pickled by Chef Yuki himself), and followed with a light seaweed salad. The pickled veggies were a perfect balance to the less intense flavors of the cucumber and seaweed salad. FANTASTIC START. We also were given a bowl of miso soup which was probably the best miso soup I ever had… and that was just the miso soup.
Chef Yuki continued the meal with a mackerel sashimi prepared 2 different ways – both were beautifully displayed and so unbelievably fresh. We also got to try a few different rolls– salmon skin, mackerel, and king mushroom roll. All the rolls were perfectly and delicately prepared by Steve with sooo much attention to detail. I got front row seats to the show and it was absolutely beautiful to watch both Yuki and Steve execute everything with precision and grace. Along with the sushi, we were given some fava beans which were so simple but delicious. Our meal concluded with live scallop sashimi… ERRRMMMERRGERRRDD…it was so fresh and had the texture of butter. By far the star of the night. We thoroughly enjoyed the entire meal, and Daruma has officially made it to our top 5 best sushi restaurants EVER.
The place filled up quickly soon after (it was a full house), and Yuki/​Steve never rushed through anything. They kept the same pace and gave the same amount of attention to everything they prepared. Preparing sushi is truly an art form and we enjoyed the meal with great conversations and great company. Thank you!

I bookmarked this place solely on Unilocal reviews. Admittedly I was a bit aprehensive coming here because I saw it was fairly new, however, our first experience here was thoroughly memorable.
As we were making our way down I-​5 from Seattle to Portland, we were ravenous once we crossed the state border. Perusing my bookmarked Portland spots, we decided Daruma was the closest and easiest restaurant to get to.
We were the first ones in the door at 5pm. The restaurant had a nice modern décor. There was a ginormous blackboard with the specials and a map of Japan marking the origins of the sakes they have in house. It’s a small, intimate restaurant, I think they can seat up to about 20 people tops. It’s mostly sushi bar with a large table towards the back, and some window counter seating.
The menu is small, with limited nigiri, sashimi, rolls, and other small plate items. Since we were at the sushi bar we decided to order the chef’s choice sashimi and a spicy tuna roll. My husband had franziskaner weissbier (similar to a hefe) and I had the house sake. Of course we made small talk with the sushi chef, Yuki, so he can find out what we like and don’t like and cater the sashimi plate to our palate. I have to admit I was not paying attention to what he placed before us, we just ate it… And it was succulent, fresh, yummy, deliciousness that melted in our mouths. I believe we had salmon, mackarel, and tuna, but I’m not sure. My eyes were rolling inside my head as i enjoyed each bite.
We got another round of drinks, while the place was filling up, mostly with regulars it seems. And we were so impressed that we ordered another chef’s choice sashimi. And Yuki did not disappoint. My husband is not really a fan of mackarel, but Yuki presented us with a sashimi plate of mackarel that was so savory I think he converted. Yuki also brought us some sake (I don’t which ones) that were so smooth and absolutely delicious!!!
Portland, I am so jealous you have this little gem in your hood! We are definitely paying Yuki a visit the next time we’re in town.