AFURI Slabtown
Japanese restaurant · Northwest District
1620 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209
Highlights
Signature yuzu ramen, creative cocktails, open kitchen
Signature yuzu ramen, creative cocktails, open kitchen
"Vast ceilings and exposed steel venting give Afuri’s inner-Southeast location the feeling of an industrial music video, particularly at night when hunched over a steaming bowl of ramen alongside a dozen others. Afuri offers a respectable sushi menu, but the main attraction here is the astonishing yuzu ramen broth, served with expertly balanced ingredients dropped into the bowls with impeccable timing. The busy open kitchen and abounding hard surfaces might make a quiet intro to a neighboring diner challenging, but the creative highball cocktails from seasoned bartenders might bolster courage." - Nathan Williams
"Tokyo-based ramen shop Afuri chose to open its first US location in Portland because the soft water from Mount Hood, much like Mount Afuri’s water, is ideal for making ramen noodles. Although the shop specializes in citrusy yuzu ramen, the savory-spicy hazelnut tantanmen is one of the most memorable bowls in town, and it happens to be vegan. Made with umami-rich miso tare, this bowl arrives with bouncy, thick noodles, topped with bok choy, shiitakes, leeks, miso cashew crumbles, and sesame chile oil. Snacks like seaweed salad and crispy eggplant buns make good starters before diving into this next-level bowl." - Waz Wu
"Afuri Slabtown opens as both a restaurant and a culinary theater. Inside, customers sit around an open format kitchen to watch chefs prepare bowls of ramen. The restaurant includes 110-gallon kettles for pristine broths, and a glass room where cooks prepare dumpling fillings and extrude ramen noodles. It's designed for customers to learn about the cooking process while enjoying dishes like soft shell crab buns and braised pork gohan." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
"This Tokyo-based chain exemplifies the difference between Japan and the U.S. In Tokyo, Afuri is a tiny counter-seating joint, specializing in one thing: ramen. Southeast Portland’s outpost is a spacious affair with a full bar and wide-ranging menu, featuring chicken or vegetable skewers cooked by flames on the genshiyaki, an old-school Japanese grill. First-timers might want to try the signature yuzu ramen, but the menu also features creative dishes like kemuri jagaimo, smoked potatoes served with a cured Jidori egg, maitake mushrooms, pickled ramps, and sudachi aioli. Delivery and takeout are available."
"Home of the famous yuzu shio ramen, Afuri is already a Japanese staple in Portland’s food scene. Still, Portland’s Afuri sells more than just ramen — a large portion of the dinner menu includes a variety of sushi dishes, one of them being a heavily loaded chirashi bowl, with a wide variety of sashimi, some fresh crab, and a center of pristine salmon roe." - Seiji Nanbu
