Bamboo Sushi

Bamboo sushi is definitely my favorite sushi spot in Portland. Not only is the food amazing, but you feel like a better person for having eaten there.  I'll explain: Bamboo is the first certified sustainable sushi restaurant in the WORLD, and they work along with leading marine stewardship organizations to hold the trophy. 

When I first dined at Bamboo and heard of their prestigious title, I wondered how diverse of a menu they'd actually have considering all the news reports about how seemingly all modern fishing practices are unsustainable. I was pleasantly surprised by a large and diverse menu. Not only do they have sushi, but they have a variety of cooked dishes as well, including black cod miso, a dish GQ recently named one of the top 5 plates of the year.  Lots of people love sushi because they deem it a healthy option, but it's not when the fish is full of mercury and fattened on fish farms with grain and corn.  At Bamboo you can taste the difference.  The albacore melts in your mouth, the salmon is perfectly creamy, and the sea eel is unlike any anago I've ever tasted.

Not only does Bamboo use all sustainable ingredients, but their entire restaurant uses renewable energy to power itself.  They compost waste and offer biodegradable take out boxes (which you won't need, because you'll stuff yourself silly here).

Spicy salmon with jalapeno rolled in habanero smelt roe.

Recommendations:
1. Make a reservation, I've waited over an hour for a table before (and that was on a Tuesday!)
2. Try to sit at the sushi bar, it's fun to watch the chefs making your food.  Plus, I love to ask them questions about their technique and ingredient sources. They give you little samples of things if you're friendly!
3. Order the "Gin henson" cocktail to start (gin muddled with cucumber and basil with a dash of lemon-lime ginger infused syrup).  The "Hoki Poke" box is delicious- rice pressed with red crab salad, layered with tuna, avocado, green onion, togarashi, and poke sauce.  Bamboo is one of the few restaurants using this old technique of making sushi with a "press box".


Bamboo Sushi
301 SE 28th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214