BaRa Sushi House

Pros:
— cozy and modern
— clean
— fresh fish
— nice waiter
— nice plating
— well-​assembled rolls
— happy hours
Cons:
— limited nigiri/​sashimi options
We ordered their Vegas roll, Prozac roll, Bara Veggie roll, ½ steamed oysters in half shell ½ egg rolls, salmon sashimi, and chicken ramen. The ramen broth was overly salty. Everything else was forgettable. Total: $ 60.00
We really wanted to like this place. The ambiance, seats, décor, and service were great but the food were not good enough to make us want to go back.

I walked in, and the host politely told me «We are running out of fish». ‘Nuff said really. I sat down to order because I had already tried to go to three sushi restaurants that night, all packed for some inexplicable reason. I ordered a large Sapporo. It was delivered in a very cold can, good news methinks, until I tried to pour it into a glass. The beer was frozen. Waiter disappears, as his shift ends. No introduction to new server. Salmon nigiri arrives, small and meh. Tempura crab roll arrived, double meh. Reminiscent of grocery store sushi. Will I be back? Only if everything else in town burns down.

Bad service. Bad food. :(

Looking over most recent reviews, I can’t help but wonder if I dined at the same restaurant as several previous guests.
My boyfriend and I went here last night for dinner and were both pretty blown away, especially given the not-​so-​stellar reviews (but it’s quite close to home, and it was pretty late so we didn’t want to go far).
We ordered a few specials, the hamachi handroll and the sake kama, as well as some menu staples, the salmon tartare and the vegas roll.
Everything came out fresh, hot (where applicable), very nicely plated/​prepared, and with some super interesting details! The salmon tartare comes with smoked salmon skin «chips» that we both found very inventive and quite tasty.
The sake kama (tempura fried salmon ‘cheek’ [collar] with garlic ponzu sauce and green onions) was pretty damn amazing, though it could have used a bit more ponzu, but was equally delicious with some wasabi soy sauce. Salmon tartare was amazing, fresh, and full of awesome flavors with avocado, onion and cucumber in addition to the fish. Yum. It was topped with salmon roe which my boyfriend said tasted significantly less ‘fishy’ than most he’s had before (which was a positive!).
All in all, a great dining experience. We’ll be back to try their Monday deal of 20% off (food only) for those who are in the service industry/​students.

This is by far my favorite sushi place in Portland.
The rice is spiced perfectly. Their happy hour deals are bangin’. Most importantly, the sushi is delicious! The Buddha and Oregon Trail rolls are vegetarian sushi heaven, and the Prozac and Spider rolls are super decadent. Their fish is extremely high quality, and their homemade fresh-​grated wasabi is ahhh-​mazing.
There are times when the service is slow, and I wouldn’t order things other than sushi (not because I have had bad experiences, but because why would anyone order something other than their delicious sushi?). Still, I can’t recommend this place enough.
Also, BaRa lacks all of the trademarks of bad sushi: there’s no conveyor belt, no fake crab meat, no rolls so big they require a fork.

I am teetering between 2 and 3 stars.
This place is average at best, but I did have a pleasant experience so that should count for something.
I ordered off the happy hour menu:
–Gyoza: cold inside — must be frozen premade.
–Veggie Tempura: the batter was thick and chewy, either not prepared properly or again, something they bought premade. Tempura should be light and flaky/​crunchy.
–Rolls: California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and buddha rolls (veggie tempura rolls) — all the rolls were fine, nothing to write home about, but good, definitely made fresh,.
–Spicy Baked Mussels: Really good! This was the only thing that seemed like they put some work into and it had a unique mix of flavors. It sure was spicy! «New Zealand green lip mussels baked with spicy mayo, topped with tobiko, Thai chilies, scallions and ponzu»
Our service was good, we had a young girl helping us that was nice and pleasant, not a professional server with a depth of experience however.
The music was non traditional — indy music you might hear on Kink.
The seating was comfortable, we sat way in the back in a little corner booth.
This is not your traditional sushi restaurant, but doesn’t quite have enough going on to be an alternative style trendy sushi restaurant. My bill for 2 people was $ 25 and my experience was fine, but I wouldn’t go back unless someone twisted my arm.
I would even prefer Mio Sushi over this and that is setting the bar pretty low.

This place is DELICIOUS! It’s small though so don’t walk in on a weekend and expect to get a table — they take reservations so be sure that you make one!
They have an extensive sake list and gets really expensive on the higher end! But their service is great and the sushi is delicious. It’s a little pricey, but overall one of the better sushi experiences I’ve had in Portland!

I love this place!
It’s kind of strange from the outside, because it looks like a house and initially I was kind of intimidated to go inside. Once you get inside though, it has a really nice ambiance and is bigger than you would think. Has a great selection of sushi, including a lot of very tasty vegetarian and vegan rolls. The fish is always very fresh and the employees and sushi chefs are very knowledgeable. Spicy Tuna and salmon rolls are great, the Typhoon was delicious and I have really liked all the specialty rolls I have tried.

I just came the other day, arrived at 8.30pm, got seated at 9.05pm, and I got my food at 9.50pm. I stayed out of decency, would love to just sneak out and go.
I would give a better stars had the food’s good. It’s OK but nothing special. I ordered exotic nigiri sushi and hotate-​gai extra spicy. Hotate-​gai was nowhere near spicy, and the exotic was not exotic enough. I was expecting «raw» fish but some was «overcooked» fish. The rice was nothing special as well. I guess I’d probably enjoy the food more if my mood was better (waiting for almost 1.5 hours while starving definitely kill my interest).
I won’t be coming back. I got it as a livingsocial deal, but seriously it doesn’t worth my time and money.

Jury’s out the «new» Bara. Went in for the first time in a few weeks and new staff behind the sushi bar. To be fair, I liked the original chefs from a year ago and lately as the personnel changed, I could sense a slip in consistency. Nothing stood out as particularly bad on this evening, but at the prices that Bara charges, we are beginning to look around for another go-​to on the Eastside. (Murata hands down on W side)
Ordered a couple of specials. Oysters in Ponzu ($ 5 for 2) and razor clam $ 7). Oysters were fresh, tasty, reasonable, but somewhat haphazard presentation. Razor clams were just average. Kind of dry and unadorned, which is fine, but 7 bucks for razor clams is pretty ridiculous. I could dig them in Long Beach or buy at ABC seafood for 10 times the value and certainly fresher than this order.
Rest of meal was OK. Sushi was fresh, cuts were pretty conservative and small and I think everything on the menu looks at least $ 1 higher than in the past. Sushi chef was very nice, attentive and assertive with the staff, but I gotta say, folks who complain about the service are probably right. It’s never been great there and last night was pretty weak. Yes, they got slammed, but the sense of urgency never seemed to register with the understaffed and seemingly inexperienced wait help. Saw lots of folks waiting and the staff never seemed to kick into a higher gear of service.
The inventive vibe of Bara has dulled a bit, at least from our last visit. Not such a great thing when the price has gone up. Hope they can recapture the magic.

I bought a living social deal and finally had the opportunity to use it. I was a little skeptical because my friends told me that it’s expensive and you don’t get full. Surprisingly, for $ 25 – my friend and I got calamari, salad, and two rolls which was very filling for us. We had ordered three rolls, but they forgot our scallops and we ended up canceling the order because we were too full. The rolls weren’t impressive and I think it could be more presentable, not look like inexperienced homemade sushi. There wasn’t a wait, but the was SO cold in the restaurant and they had horrible ventilation because we smelled like fried food for the rest of the evening.

I’ve experienced sushi all over the world at dozens of restaurants, but this place must have had the slowest service!
With no one in line and the restaurant half empty, it took 2 servers and over 10 minutes to seat us. We had considered eating outside, but there were quite a few bugs flying around and we thought we’d get more attention inside. SO WRONG!
We ordered the spicy salmon, the chosen roll, tobiko, sweet egg, and spicy scallops. ANY of these orders were taking forever to come out, so the server gave us some edamame on the house (which was one of 2 best dishes of the evening). Well over 30 minutes after we placed our order, we noticed our neighbors (who had ordered before us) still waiting, too.
45 minutes after we ordered, the bulk of our order came out.
Now, if the sushi was some of the best we’ve ever had, I’d be rating it better. However, it was just OK. I enjoyed the egg and edamame the most. How could you screw that up right? The spicy scallops were as spicy as the name said. A bit overpowering actually as I couldn’t taste anything else. The scallops (or pieces) were so small I had difficulty using chopsticks. I had to concede and ask for a spoon.
The servers were quite nice, but our waitress didn’t come by to check on us often or to tell us the food will be out soon, etc. You’d think they’d get ONE roll to us first instead of bringing out most of it at once after waiting so long? How come it took so long to seat us?
It’s a pretty sad day when I have to say that I had better in Kansas City :(

I have seen several reviews which mention poor service — I did not find this to be the case at all. We went to BaRa on a Thursday however, so it was not very busy.
First of all, the sushi was excellent. My friend and I had several of the rolls and were not disappointed. There was also a special on Sake for $ 1/​person which we enjoyed as well. We found the fish and roll combos to be delicious. There were several spicier rolls offered with Thai chillies which was a nice change of pace. There is also no fake crab served, which my gluten-​free friend appreciated.
Definitely a good find for sushi and I look forward to going back!

WORST SERVICE in a long time, but good sushi…
Ok, so some reputable friends have always raved about this place so I decided to try it out for a special occasion with my girlfriend. Things started out ok; with no reservation we were able to get a table right away with menus in hand. Then we waited for probably 15 – 20 minutes before our waiter came to take our order. Another 15 minutes before our sake came out, finally the sushi arrived but we were missing a roll we ordered. By the time he came back to check we had been there close to 1.5 hours, then i made to huge mistake of not getting the check then because it took him 30 more minutes to come back before eventually bringing us the wrong bill and finally getting us the right bill…
Anyway, you get the picture. This was a textbook example of terrible service and I’m easily pleased and generally sympathetic to servers having been one for sometime. There were other servers too, so it seemed to be normally staffed…
Yes the sushi was nice but it’s hard to enjoy when the service was as bad as this. I’ll probably not return.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner! I’ve spent the last year trying all sorts of sushi places in Portland, and generally being underwhelmed by them.
After years of living in Seattle and the SF Bay Area, I admit that my sushi standards are pretty high. I don’t need the place to be super-authentic…after all, I’ve never been to Japan. I don’t need (or want, really) the food to be low-​priced.
What I do expect is top-​notch fish quality and freshness, lots of options (including local/​seasonal fishes) and to be able to sit at the bar and converse with the chefs. I am generally cranky about having to fill out slips of paper with my nigiri order.
They did hand me a laminated card to tick off my order on, and a dry-​erase pen (way to be green and re-​useable and generally Portlandic!) but I was still able to talk to the chef and explain what I wanted. He was also willing to let me customize my nigiri despite the tick-​box card. (example: I was able to get half regular tobiko, half yuzu tobiko with my quail egg nigiri.)
I was also thrilled to find a sashimi special of Oregon albacore, which had an amazingly tender texture and flavor, as well as multiple flavors of tobiko.
I ate 5 pairs of nigiri (all very fresh & delicious), a sashimi plate, wakame salad, and miso soup, and I couldn’t believe how small my bill was.
The only drawback to this spot is that they are small, and when they get busy, the wait staff gets into «the weeds» really quickly.
Luckily the chefs at the bar take notice of this and intervene by either giving you a little plate to nibble on while you wait, or getting the waitron’s attention to let them know you’re more than ready to order.
It seems that the night I arrived, they were having some kind of LivingSocial deal, and that was likely the reason they were swamped, so I will definitely have to go back on another day to form a full opinion of the place.

BaRa is responsible for my most enjoyable sushi experience to date. The meal was incredible, the ingredients were remarkably fresh, and the servers were extremely attentive. I have no idea where these bad reviews are coming from, save for a random bad night.
I will always return to BaRa for my sushi cravings. Their vegetarian rolls are superb, as are their fishy offerings and small plates. The six of us ran the gamut with the Fire and Ice oysters (cucumber ice, jalapeño chutney, and fresh oysters from BC), perfectly seasoned calamari with a killer wasabi aioli, and the crabby sea shrooms. We also ordered the fried tofu and spiced edamame, but the previous three were the standouts for the appetizers.
The rolls… oh my god, the rolls. The Vegas roll is as decadent as its namesake with the cream cheese and tempura melting in your mouth. The Buddha roll was a harmonious balance of sweet potato, shitake mushroom, and I believe green bean. The Prozac roll was deliciously uplifting with its sweet sauce. Even the spicy tuna roll was above and beyond the quality of which I usually expect.
This place is phenomenal! I cannot praise it enough for its friendly staff an incredible offerings.

Bara Sushi I love you. I dream of you at night. I drool over thoughts of your delicious sushi during the day. I go through withdrawls when I don’t see you often enough. I don’t know what I’d do without you.
I really can’t recommend this place highly enough. Really. I have never, ever walked away feeling like I did not thoroughly enjoy my meal. If anything, I curse myself for not having more room in my stomach so I could enjoy even more sushi yumminess while there.
Is it cheap? No, not at all. Is it worth it? Every penny.
They have a cute little private room toward the back too, so if you have a group of 6 – 8 it would be worth checking out. The rest of it is small, located in the downstairs part of a house. But small or not, their sushi kicks serious ass.
I’ve had a lot of sushi in Portland (and other cities), and I’d have to say Bara is tied for #1 position in my heart. Actually, because of its cute space and delicious menu, I’m going to give it an extra nudge to the top.
Don’t ever leave me Bara. I would be lost without you.

ONE of the BEST SUSHI places!
Whenever my friends & I stop here it’s always on a Tuesday because of all night Happy Hour. Because of our schedules, we decided to get together on a Wednesday ($ 3 small hot plates) instead. I had a Groupon so we couldn’t partake in more than one promotion at a time which was fine since the selection of $ 3 small plates were of no interest to us.
We ordered several varieties of sushi to satisfy everyone & I have to mention if you’re vegetarian I highly recommend the Buddha or Oregon Trail (see photos). The great tasting Buddha has tempura asparagus, green been, sweet potato & shiitake mushroom with a shiitake glaze. The sweet flavor tasting Oregon Trail also has tempura asparagus but with cream cheese, cucumber & an inari laying ever so delicately across each roll.
Not vegetarian? Neither am I nor the rest of my party, so an addition to the two veggie rolls we ordered a tempura shrimp (super awesome), a salmon skin (kinda crunchy), spicy tuna (spicy…agreed), salmon nigiri (personally not a fan) & a sashimi roll (pretty good). Four of us ate a total of nine sushi rolls with not a piece of rice left on the plates. Damn, sushi tastes so good!
This is great sushi but it’s expensive (over $ 65 before Groupon) & that’s why when we do meet it’s on Happy Hour Tuesdays. The service seems faster at the bar so if you’re dining with friends just sit back, relax, eat edamame & drink sake because great sushi takes time to prepare & it’s well worth the wait!

After a mini-​meal of cheese and burger, my friend and I decided it was time for dinner #2 of the night. Our first pick of sushi was closed for remolding, so we ambled to Unilocal’s top sushi pick in the area.
The first thing I noticed was the white guy behind the sushi counter. A little off-​putting but I’m open minded and went along with it. We sat at the tiny sushi bar and told the chef to just give us whatever, which he seemed pleased to do. We also ordered a miso soup, which was one of the lightest, non-​miso flavored soups I’ve had. It was not my thing.
The sushi that we were given was typical and average. A few pieces of nigiri with too much sauce, a salmon skin hand roll, etc. The one creative piece was a dueling tobikko with quail egg yolk. One half was soaked in squid ink and the other in yuzu, pretty neat but I didn’t really taste the marinades.
Overall, I expected better from a city right on the water. I wanted fresh from the water salmon, sole, cod, pollock, lingcod, any native fish from the pacific northwest. Even some fresh water varieties would have been nice. Oh well, meh.

+: Interesting rolls, cozy atmosphere, good service, great neighborhood and definite bonus points for being in a house.
-: Took a while for our food to get to us.
!: The roll with mandarin oranges and jalapeño was surprisingly yummy! Check it out.
?: Anyone know the name of the cute sushi man behind the counter? Jk.

A very lovely little spot in SE. Sushi lovers take note!
This place has delicious sushi and is clean and friendly. if you have a group, there is a cute tatami room in the back for private parties.
My eating partner and I had a bonus happy moment when we found were in time for Happy Hour– which goes from 5 to 6:30 on Sun through Thursdays.
Good prices. Great sushi choices. Beer. A lemongrass pork skewer. Seaweed salad. yummmm.
Yep, happy moments were had.