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Nodoguro is a Japanese restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. The fine dining restaurant started as a pop-up in 2014, then moved into the Genoa Building in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood in 2016. Nodoguro announced plans to relocate to the Morgan Building in downtown Portland in 2025.

Description

The fine dining restaurant Nodoguro serves Japanese cuisine in Portland, Oregon. According to Eater Portland, "Nodoguro's ephemeral tasting menus have taken inspiration from Japanese record bars, pop culture, Spanish culinary traditions, and seasonal Oregon vegetables, with additional one-off events like sake dinners and handroll nights."

The menu has included abalone, katsuobushi-scented jellied broth over Dungeness crab, sake, sushi, uni risotto, and miso butter cookies. The restaurant has also served somen noodles with a raw oyster in a ginger broth, Japanese eggplant poached in miso with duck, and wagyu steak.

History

Ryan and Elena Roadhouse are the owners of Nodoguro, which started as a pop-up restaurant in 2014. In 2016, the business moved into the Genoa Building on Belmont Street in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nodoguro pivoted by offering bento-style take-out, but ended up closing. The business reopened in the northeast Portland part of the Kerns neighborhood in 2022.

In January 2025, the business announced plans to relocate to the Morgan Building in downtown Portland, in the space previously occupied by Roe and Tercet. The Roadhouses hope to open in the new location on Valentine's Day (February 14).

Nodoguro has sourced fished from Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market.

Reception

Nodoguro was named Restaurant of the Year by Portland Monthly in 2015. In his 2018 review for The Oregonian, Michael Rusell said, "The through line here is outstanding food. If you can afford the $195 per person price -- Portland's most expensive recurring meal -- the SupaHardcore nights are among the most singular dining experiences in Portland, a modern take on kaiseki more likely to exist in a much larger city."

In 2018, Eater Portland's Mattie John Bamman wrote, "If you're looking for upscale, mindbogglingly imaginative sushi, this is the place... Its several-course dinners in a minimalist, almost intimidatingly serene space, juxtaposed with small plates like uni risotto as comforting as Kraft mac and cheese, make Nodoguro both playful and completely serious at the same time. If Bamboo is Portland's most famous sushi, Nodoguro is the most modern and refined." The website's Seiji Nanbu and Janey Wong included Nodoguro in a 2024 list of the best sushi restaurants in the Portland metropolitan area.

In 2024, Nodoguro earned Ryan Roadhouse a nomination in the Best Chefs: Northwest and Pacific category of the James Beard Foundation Awards.

See also

• List of Japanese restaurants

References

1. Russell, Michael (2023-02-17). "Wherever it roams, Nodoguro remains Portland's best restaurant (review)". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
2. "Nodoguro". Bon Appétit. Archived from the original on 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
3. Russell, Michael (2019-08-03). "Portland's Nodoguro is one of America's most exclusive Japanese restaurants (2019 review)". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
4. Wong, Janey (2022-11-23). "Nationally Celebrated Omakase Restaurant Nodoguro Opens in a New Home". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
5. ^ "Prime downtown spot to be home to hot Portland restaurant: report". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
6. ^ Nanbu, Seiji (2019-08-26). "The Best Sushi Restaurants in Portland and Beyond". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
7. ^ Nanbu, Seiji (2019-08-26). "The Best Sushi Restaurants in Portland and Beyond". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
8. "Nodoguro is Portland's most exclusive Japanese restaurant - oregonlive.com". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
9. ^ Russell, Michael (2018-07-17). "Portland's best sushi 'by appointment only' at Nodoguro (restaurant review)". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
10. "Nodoguro Relocating to Stray Birds Space in NE Portland". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
11. Russell, Michael (2021-04-27). "Nodoguro, one of America's finest Japanese restaurants, will not reopen in its current SE Portland home". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2024-12-22. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
12. "High-End Portland Sushi Restaurant Nodoguro Will Not Reopen at Its Current Location". Willamette Week. 2021-04-29. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
13. Bamman, Mattie John (2016-05-24). "Peek Inside the New Nodoguro, A Modern, Japanese Dining Den". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
14. Bamman, Mattie John (2016-03-02). "Sushi Sensation Nodoguro Secures Lease in Iconic Genoa Restaurant Space". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
15. "Nodoguro Slims Its High-End Japanese Tasting Menu Down to Bento Size". Willamette Week. 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
16. ^ Russell, Michael (2025-01-09). "Nodoguro restaurant to move into downtown Portland's former Roe, Tercet space". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2025-01-10. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
17. "How Nodoguro, Maurice, and Scottie's Pizza Parlor Made Their Big Comebacks". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
18. Russell, Michael (2022-11-09). "Nodoguro, Portland's finest Japanese restaurant, has found a new home". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2024-12-26. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
19. "Nodoguro's Elaborate, Multicourse Dinners Will Return Following a Pandemic Pause". Willamette Week. 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
20. Russell, Michael (2023-02-17). "Portland's best sushi: Our critic's picks for cheap chirashi, opulent omakase and everything in between". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2024-06-21. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
21. "Portland Monthly's Restaurant of the Year: Nodoguro". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2024-09-06. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
22. Vermillion, Allecia (2024-01-24). "These Are Seattle's 2024 James Beard Semifinalists". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2024-01-24.

External links

• Official website

• 2014 establishments in Oregon
• Japanese restaurants in Portland, Oregon
• Fine dining restaurants in Portland, Oregon
• Restaurants established in 2014
• Restaurants in Kerns, Portland, Oregon
• Restaurants in Southwest Portland, Oregon
• Restaurants in Sunnyside, Portland, Oregon