Butterfly Belly Asian Cuisine

We LOVED every single thing about Butterfly Belly! The karaoke, the owner, and the food!! It was so fun and delicious! As someone who has celiacs it was so amazing to eat at a restaurant that was 100% gluten free on vacation. GO!!! Eat, have fun, and relax :)

Had a lovely time with some really tasty food. Loved the karaoke singing while dining. Food does take some time to arrive, just plan for that and you’ll be fine. I’ve been twice and will come back :)

Amazing food and great service as well, the waitress was very funny and helpful. We ended up ordering 2 oolong pots, a thai iced tea, calamari, the vermicelli noodle bowl , 3 bowls of phó and the lemongrass dish (under the wok of flame i believe). Such an amazing experience, and the portions were just right for me.

SO and I were craving pho earlier this week and very excited to discover Butterfly Belly, especially after reading the other reviews. The nearly empty restaurant should’ve been a clue, but we were hungry. We opted for the 24h chicken pho and 48h signature butterfly pho, both of which left us unsatisfied and still hungry. Both pho broths were savory but incredibly salty, and I normally enjoy a fairly high level of salt. SO’s chicken was chewy, almost rubbery and left untouched after the first bite while my butterfly (rounds, brisket, beef ball, tendon & tripe) was light on protein. Maybe we’re spoiled from NYC restaurants, but having minimal amounts of meat along with copious noodles in a very salty soup does not bode for a good meal in my book. The owner was friendly, coming over to chat multiple times although we did not appreciate the incessant, almost aggressive, attempts for us to join in on their impromptu karaoke night. We said no multiple times, and he could not take a hint, instead making continued attempts to have us join him on stage. The restaurant door was and remained open the entire meal, due to a broken AC. While there was a high powered fan sort of machine cooling down the restaurant, it also had an incredible amount of fruit flies. There were so many flies they took over my ice water so I had no reprieve from the salty soup. Butterfly Belly is a first and last visit for us.

The whole menu is gluten free! Not only that, but it is also delicious! My friend who is gluten intolerant took me and we split the calamari and each got a pho and a Thai ice tea cocktail, everything was really great. There is also a karaoke section, if anyone wants to sing and the owners are super fun and nice!

The first time I try a new place I usually get the Pad Thai. Most places can do it right. I also ordered the wings. They were tasty, but the Pad Thai gave the impression of extremely low effort. The food was cold (I showed up promptly for pickup), I ordered medium spice and didn't taste any spice at all except for the fish sauce. I ordered extra pork and had to dig around the dish to find any. The rice vermicelli bowl had extremely small chicken portions and it was mostly noodle. I could've made this food at home. For the price it was sad. I'm extremely disappointed as I'm gluten-free and would've loved to come here regularly.

Service was so great. Everyone was so nice. Food was great! Being celiac I always worry about eating out but everything on the menu is gluten free! We had the pork teriyaki and butterfly pho. Both were very good. I would recommend the pho for sure!

The food was great, veggie broth was very flavorful and the meal was filling. Egg rolls were fried slightly longer than we like them but had a great flavor. Good selection of gluten free beer! The karaoke was unexpected, it got different customers talking to each other which was fun.

Wow!!!! We had such an amazingly delicious meal here today! The place is super cute. Service was attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. And everything is gluten free, and very veg/vegan friendly. We started with the tofu egg rolls, then had the pan fried rice with shrimp and the vermicelli salad bowl with tofu. And everything was SO tasty!!! You choose your spice heat level, but even level five isn't too spicy. Thursday nights they have fun, live music and (later) karaoke. This is a hidden gem. They do dine in and carry out. It's super fun and we will absolutely come back the next time we're in town.

This is a gem for all gluten-free folk! Everything is GF and they even have a dedicated GF fryer! We ordered the egg rolls and the fried calamari and it was delicious! But nothing can compare to the 48 hr pho - totally worth it! In addition to the food, the service was excellent! Our waiter was attentive to our needs and even sang karaoke. This place has such a fun vibe! Highly recommend this place, especially is you are gluten-free!

Even for Portlanders, this is unique & unusual. A vibe inside on its own, heavily decorated in their own style. A layout fit for late nite. The bartender who is very musically talented will hype up a busy night on the karaoke microphone or passionately sing to a single table in an empty house. That in itself shows the love in ownership & music. 48 hour bone broth, fresh ingredients, no MSG, a variety of tasty Asian cuisine. Their website says it all.

Walked in here right as they opened on a Saturday. The owner welcomed me immediately. He is a very charming man with quite a sense of humor. The ambiance here is set worth jazzy or blues music, dimly lit. A very comfortable setting on the edge of the Pearl district. I ordered the Butterfly Pho, and it definitely hit the spot as it was Pho that I was craving. The broth tasted fresh and homemade. The meat and noodles were well portioned out. I would definitely come back again.

[ SERVICE ]: 10/10 * As we came into this cute little restaurant, we were greeted with (what we thought) was live music, but instead we found out that it was the owner and some other randoms enjoying a karaoke sesh! We seated ourselves and the owner promptly came over to greet us and explain the menu to us. He was extremely attentive and kind, definitely made you feel at home. [ AMBIANCE ]: 6/10 * Personally, I found the vibes to be cozy and inviting, a little quirky but nonetheless I enjoyed the local art mural of koi fish on the wall. The owner explained that he was getting ready to revamp the whole restaurant and have a new artist come in and repaint the mural. I am unsure if he regularly supports local artists to redo different pieces throughout the restaurant but it's a cool concept! [ FOOD ]: 4.5/10 * What brought us here was the fact that it was completely gluten free! As someone that is mild to moderately gluten sensitive, I have the luxury to not be so stringent on the ingredients of my food and still look for very authentic flavors. I can definitely see the appeal for those that may have celiacs and need to worry more about what goes into their food or what their food is around. I feel that we may have ordered the wrong dishes, but I was a little underwhelmed at the food itself when it came to flavor, presentation-wise, it was well done. There was homemade hoisin sauce as well which was pretty exciting, but do not expect it to taste like your normal hoisin sauce. - Butterfly Wings (7/10): I was pretty impressed at the crispiness and flavor of the wings. Although serving sizes were a bit small but I suppose that's the price you pay for peace of mind and supporting local business! Definitely my favorite dish we ordered. - Butterfly Pho (5/10): Perhaps it was my fault for getting too hyped up about the 48-hour slow cooked pho from reading previous review that RAVED about the pho, but I was extremely underwhelmed. I believe that the owner mentioned that there was no MSG which may be a good thing for some, but personally I feel that it caused the pho to lack the flavor that I was expecting. It wasn't terrible by any means, but just a little disappointing considering all the people that spoke so highly about it, though the beef meatballs were one of the biggest redeeming factors for me and my partner! Texture and flavor of the beef meatballs were great and you can tell they were homemade. - Quails Nest (2/10): I enjoyed the vegetables at the bottom of the dish, and I do have to give them credit for being innovative with rice paper rather than noodles but just didn't hit the same, I wished there was more sauce overall. The quail itself was okay. You get two quails, each cut in half, and I was sad to say that it lacked much character or flavor at all. Perhaps I'm unfamiliar with this style of dish but it felt very plain, and kind of dry. * This experience definitely felt more of a place to get a drinks and sing some karaoke with some friends, with the peace of mind that there would be no gluten contamination

Gluten-free egg rolls and no MSG! The family that owns this place is absolutely wonderful. We sang a little impromptu karaoke on our way out and had an amazing time. We will be back for the food and the great service!

Cute and slightly quirky family owned restaurant you'll want to support! All items are gluten-free and there are several vegan options as well. It's one of the only places I know of where my celiac partner can have egg rolls! The food is mostly Vietnamese-inspired, adapted to make gluten-free. Even if you're not into the food, you'll want to come for the funny pho names on the menu, the hilarious male proprietor who will greet you at the door, and the open karaoke that sends major party vibes but is also family friendly. Even though the pho isn't the best I've had, I will come back to support this sweet family!

High-quality service and consistently good food. What is not to like? Especially for anyone traveling or dining with dietary restrictions, Butterfly Belly is an ideal establishment to spend time dining. Almost entirely gluten-free, vegan options galore, and some of the longest broth-making times of any place in the US make this food quite unique. The prices are very well positioned, too, so I would not be surprised if this place only gets busier and busier. The team is very quick to prepare your food and will tell you all about the unique items or cuisine that goes into every bite. I was surprised at how easily I could finish my dishes, which the owner had recommended. I thought for certain that I would bring a takeaway box after the end, but I could finish my meal. Good ingredients go a long way! If you are planning on getting a cocktail or alcohol here, the prices are great, too!

Butterfly is exactly what you expect you a punky Portland restaurant. Quirky staff, open set in a restaurant and decent food. Service was a little slow, but server (maybe owner) was so charming and passionate about the restaurantand food that it was hard to be annoyed. Portion size of meat in pho was a little small, but the housemade beef meatball made up for it. Broth was rich and tasty. Restaurant is a little tucked away and a bit crowded when you look in the window, but do not be deterred. You will enjoy the experience.

Pearl District Asian fusion cafe. Diverse menu, good prices, unique takes on Vietnamese and Thai classics, gluten free specialties

Was in Paris France earlier this year where I had Michelin star-level pho. The pho at Butterfly is as good if not better than the Michelin-star stuff. Would be a regular if I lived in Portland (visiting from Denver).

Absolutely delicious food and immaculate vibes! Everything is made fresh in house with no preservatives/ msg/ gluten/ and food dyes. We came on open mic night and had a blast jamming with the owner! Will definitely be back here again

As someone who is gluten free but loves food... this place is awesome! Every dish I've had here has been wonderful. The only drawback is that it can be a bit pricey. HOWEVER I will gladly pay extra to know it will ALL be gluten free! The egg rolls are especially great!

Wonderful service and tasty food. A GF oasis for someone with Celiac. Definitely quirky, but our waiter taking a break to play guitar for his daughter who was singing Taylor Swift karaoke was the highlight of my trip to Portland.

I loved this restaurant!! This was my first experience eating pho because I'm allergic to gluten and nuts, so eating Asian cuisine can be challenging. I felt totally safe here, and the food was so good. I'll probably be back every week

I love this place. And the owner, Minh is fantastic. it's a lot of fun. They have musicians and karaoke. The food is really really good. Stop here for fun and good food.

Holy guacamole!!! Delicious, high quality, ingredients without soy. Gluten, msg or any yucky stuff The 48 hour bone broth was worth its weight in gold. Seriously healing healthy & delicious! The owner welcomed me n 45 min before they opened and practiced guitar and sang to me while I waited! Only in Portland and only at Butterfly Belly!! Go eat. You'll thank me later.

I usually get takeout after a long day of classes, and its always super quick. the staff is super nice, and while i dont dine in, the interior is welcoming. For the price the food is great. I appreciate the gluten free options since i have celiacs, def one of my favorite spots!!

Sure, you can eat other places tonight, but you'd be wrong. So very very wrong. There's something to be said about food that's made by someone who really loves making it. When someone takes pride in the process and makes an art of it, you feel it at an almost cellular level. This is that spot and it hits that spot. I mean holy shnikies. I'm judgmental about my pho and this is definitely near the top of the list. I usually at least take home some, and I could not do it here, absolutely could not do it. I cleaned the whole bowl. Yes, I had the Thai martini with whiskey... or three. Yes, we did karaoke. That's all fun. (It really is. This place is the kind of adorable that you get when you really take pride in what you love and it shows so much here.) My only regret was that I didn't bring my wheelbarrow to get someone to wheel myself and, like, another gallon or two of this soup back home. Just rest assured, I'll bring that next time. I'd tomorrow too soon?

Perfect energy for intimate and fun nights!! servers are very kind and make lots of jokes. Pho is yum, tried the pho ty eight, so delics

Very friendly, decent service. Food is okay. Wonderful to have the option of gluten-free egg rolls! Karaoke scene was unexpected but very fun.

Truly the greatest restaurant in the history of food! The owner is the best host, amazing fun, hilarious atmosphere. Amazing food! Love it!

This place is my new favorite spot!!! Love the cute atmosphere, and the food was TO. DIE. FOR. Not only that, but I got a surprise when the host started karaoke! Love it. The homemade hoisin sauce was amazing, and the tea was great too. 10/10. Would, and will come here again!!!

It is so good! The ingredients are fresh and flavorful. I love knowing it's gluten free and delicious!

It would be 5 stars except for the loud rock music speaker out front. Great food and prices. They were super busy during Art in the Pearl, but we were served promptly.

Delicious. Texture. Temperature.Scoville, as in not so spicy, rating. Delicious. Pho. Rice. Egg rolls. Delicious

What a great experience! We had a phenomenal Vegan Pho and Bun. In the words of my daughter, best Bun ever! We were warmly greeted when we entered, got great suggestions for vegan food, and loved our meal!

We ate here once before before the pandemic and it was great. We looked forward to our dinner. We ordered the pad thai with extra vegetables, veg eggrolls, and a curry. We asked if the lemonade, which says on the menu "fresh made" So the food was seriously mediocre in taste and presentation. There was a very big portion of noodles, but lack of flavor, the lemonade tasted like margarita mix with perhaps a squeeze of fresh lemon, and the curry was also meh. Unbeknownst to us, Butterfly Belly is now a karaoke place. So we had to listen to various degrees of amatuer singing. We will not be going back

Maybe this is just one of those spots thag isn't really for the lunch hours and that's when we went but it didn't really seem like a good idea once we got there. This place is super dark on the inside like one of those night club vibe places which was a bit odd. The place was empty not serving anyone and we called ahead to get a take out order of several orders of fresh spring rolls for the road before heading to the airport. To our surprise they weren't ready when we got there and the guy seemed to be trying to talk to us to pass the time.. Always a red flag when it's a small order and it's not ready when the place isn't even busy.

amazing food, amazing service, and amazing ambiance. also AMAZING GUITARIST! someone needs to get this guy in a band or a record deal, he's amazing at singing and at the guitar. food was great and servers were nice! would definitely come here again :).

they are so welcoming and fun! we did karaoke while waiting for the food and it was amazing. i would love to come back again. 5 stars!!!

This was the highlight of my trip to Portland! It is a dedicated gluten free restaurant and the owners are very knowledgeable on different allergens and what goes into each item on the menu. The sauces and everything is made in house! We ordered drinks and pork egg rolls to start which came out very quickly and our main plates followed soon after. The service was great and we even got to see some live music. The ambiance was great, very positive and very fun. I will definitely come back here next time I'm in Portland!

On vacation from LA && found the best spot for Pad Thai - we chose the Chile Basil flavor with chicken. You're allowed to choose your protein, flavor, and spice level based on a rating from 1-5. The butterfly pho is delicious on any day. There really is no MSG in the broth and the house sauce used for dipping goes well with the pho. Really authentic and comparable to Thai places in LA.

I peeked at the menu before heading out the evening we visited Butterfly Belly and figured that it would be too heavy for me. Everything sounded kind of fried or unhealthy. And I wasn't feeling that. We were heading to (what was the last concert seen by us until...) see Keane at The Roseland Theater and eating a full heavy meal didn't sound good. Well I couldn't have been MORE wrong about it. First off it's cute and unassuming when you walk in. I feel like it must be family run, as we were immediately greeted and sat. The server was so conscientious of everything we needed and very educated on everything vegan offered. We got the tacos and butterfly tofu. Both were outstanding. Honestly the food was delicious. So much flavor packed in and it was fresh not heavy at all. I am planning to go back with an empty belly fully starving to fill up on their goodness. Both the service and food were 5 star for a 2-3 star price!! Highly recommend it!!

We are visiting from our home city of Cincinnati, and we wanted to find a nice restaurant that had gluten free choices, and wow - we hit the goldmine here! Super friendly service and a truly huge menu with something for everyone! We all chose different dishes and everyone agreed that their meal was excellent! Five stars, highly recommended!!

Hands down my favorite Vietnamese spot in PDX! The owner Ming, is a big character and super enthusiastic! I recommend Saturday nights as Ming will sing songs and play guitar. Total throw back to what Portland used to be.... Fun and unique without pretense! Super fun and quirky!

So disappointing! After years of hearing how great this GF restaurant is it was really a let down. It's Gluten Free for sure, which is wonderful, but the food was awful. Greasy, lacking flavor, not ... good. Such a missed opportunity!

Would not recommend for take out or delivery. Ordered 2 items-- a Chicken Pho and Vermicilli BBQ Salad Chay Bowl. We paid extra for veggies in the pho which came with 2 pieces of broccoli and a pinch of cabbage-- needless to say not worth the extra $$. The Vermicilli Bowl cost $20 and was supposed to come with a skewer of shrimp and an egg roll (justifies the extra $) but sadly my order did not come with either of these, just noodles and tofu...not really worth $20. A total bummer. I can't vouch for dining in, but take out was horrible.

Just flew in from LA and was craving pho. Came in and ordered. I believe this place to have the best broth in pho I've ever had.

What a fun and fabulous family restaurant. As a gluten free traveler, getting a meal that is guaranteed to be in the right food universe is such a blessing. And then when you add the family atmosphere, karaoke and GLUTEN FREE EGG ROLLS, it's the full package. And the owner and family sang for us. Did I mention the gluten free egg rolls? :)

Service is mediocre. Called in a take out order for two orders of Pho. Was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. Arrived at restaurant in 10 minutes. And then waited another 35 minutes. When the food was finally ready the server did not ask if I needed napkins or utensils were needed. Had to make a special request and the server had to make another trip to kitchen to get these items. Food is mediocre. One order of Pho with noodles. One order of Pho with vegetables. That is what we got but the main ingredient - the broth - was way too salty. My wife who is not normally bothered by salty foods also found it to be too salty. Other than the salt there was virtually no other seasoning. No depth of flavor whatsoever. Very disappointed.

Visiting Portland and had a craving for Vietnamese food that wasn't a long walk from our hotel.....and happened to find this place on Yelp, looked interesting, so headed off to give it a try. We were met by the owner (Minh) who was so warm, friendly, funny, and inviting......led us to a table, sat us down, and started his brief on how much effort they take in making the best beef and chicken broth for their dishes......ie beef and chicken bone broths boiled for many many hours! Then, off he went to the little corner by the entrance where his little band set-up was ready to go for him and his guitar, and his sidekick drummer started crooning out some old tunes.......he and his drummer were actually pretty good once they got going. All the while we were wondering, if he's off playing his guitar, then who's going to take our order?!?! Ah, his sister came along, and she was just as nice, took our orders, and took care of us the rest of the evening. Everything on the menu looked or sounded so good, but we managed to narrow things down to an order of pork Egg Rolls, a Chicken Ph, Vermicelli BBQ Salad Bowl with Lemongrass Chicken, and an order of warmed Sake. Oh boy! The egg rolls were soooooo good! Perfect authentic style rice wrapper type fried to perfection, and tasted so yummy! In fact, we enjoyed them so much that we ordered a vegetable egg roll shortly after. The vermicelli bowls were so good too! .....great flavors, ingredients so fresh, and oh so comforting. Note that we ordered all sauces on the side so that we could control the saltiness. A very enjoyable dinner....a bit surprising that this place wasn't more crowded, but figured that everybody must have been away for the July 4th weekend. We so wanted to come back for a second round before leaving Portland, but we just ran out of time and weren't able to......next time for sure!

Great customer service and great ambiance. Stopped here in a Saturday afternoon for lunch. The service was great, the pho was delicious. They simmer there broth for 48 hours and they make there own sauces. And they offer live music. I will definitely be back soon when the live music comes back.

Food was amazing and the service was even better. A very comfortable environment to eat and was very accommodating to my group and I's request. Can't ask for anything better.

Amazing food, I got the pad thai and it had the right amount of everything. On top of the food, it was easily some of the best service I've had.

This place is the best gluten free Asian food I've ever had and the owner Min is the absolute best! He made us laugh before we even sat at a table. Their hoisin is amazing and they are very attentive. Come sing karaoke and get a laugh I was so happy to be so welcomed in to a place I had never been to before

Ok. I've been to this place a few times before and recall it being pretty good ... I think they have changed since they opened a few years ago. What I do like about this place is that they're gluten free and very vegetarian friendly. I'm neither but have friends who are. This place has their own 'vege' fish sauce - thought that was a sign that they take it seriously. Did takeout today. Got the fireman rice appetizer, tofu curry, beef stew, and pho. They are super nice and friendly at this place. They have a new bar since I last was here. The bartender was singing karaoke - they even had a mic with a screen to block off your spit - professional! Ok the food... Fireman rice - yeah who would order this but it was 4 bucks, my son thought it would be fun so what the heck. It's these fried rice cakes - not mochi but clumps of rice that are fried crips then tossed in spices. Super crunchy, kinda flavorful. Think healthy pork rinds. Would be kinda fun to crunch on with beer - though get it with a big party - you're prob just going to want to eat 2 or 3 Beef stew - usually order with a baguette but no baguettes since their gluten free (quite admirable). They suggested I order with vermicelli. It was ok. Pretty basic stew - the beef was tender but only got like 4 small pieces. Flavor ok but kinda lacking Yellow curry with tofu was the same. Decent but nothing to write home about My son really liked their famous 48 hour cooked pho (honestly thought all pho places cook their broth for this long). I thought it tasted funny. Salty like other reviewers said and also just not your usual rich beef flavor. Give it a shot and see what you think. I do recall their luc lac being good. And the space is cool and service friendly. Give it a shot for yourself!

Ate outside with a group of five people. Food was amazing and service great. Family owned restaurant and staff are hard working. Loved the 48 hour bone broth in my Pho. They have karoke in the evening.

I made a rookie mistake, I'll admit that much. We looked this place up on yelp and saw that it had super high reviews and were a gluten free kitchen, perfect for the boyf. But at the heart of it all... I forgot that this is an Asian restaurant, and that I should scan for five star reviews from Asians. ROOKIE MOVE. We arrived to Butterfly Belly just as they were opening; like, literally walked in the door four paces behind the staff. We had excellent service, with waters being brought to us right away and a server coming over to explain the restaurant to us; it was cool I guess, but also they seemed to be quite wordy. She described to us in great detail how their 48-hour pho broth is their specialty and no other place in the world does it, even if you visit an authentic pho restaurant in Vietnam. Well as it turns out, that's probably for a reason. I had the Butterfly pho, which is basically a pho dac biet at any other Vietnamese place, and the dude went with the Fit pho, which came with tons of beef, chicken, and tofu. The broth was crazy salty, in my opinion, and also... just didn't taste like pho. Like, at all. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't pho. Just a salty, but non-spiced beef broth. The meat and tendon were okay quality, but their meatballs (made in-house, as was bragged many times over), were only so-so. The dude really liked the tofu in his pho, but said the rest was just fine. But even though we were the first people in the restaurant, it inexplicably took over half an hour for us to get our food. Pho. Which is literally just heating up some broth and pouring it over some noodles. In my opinion and experience, an excellent bowl of pho shouldn't run over $10 or something is probably going wrong. A lot of things went wrong here. Hopefully the other dishes are better though? We saw a few rice plates come out and those looked solid. Butterfly Belly is great in theory, just lacking in execution.