Review: Biwa

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Biwa Dining Room

[Minor updates 4.11]

It’s hard to be terribly impressed with Japanese restaurants in Portland. Aside from a couple of outstanding examples, Japanese restaurants here are fairly mediocre and formulaic. Sloppy mayo-filled sushi rolls, pasty overcooked udon noodles in packaged broths, and sugary sweet teriyakis are Portland’s curse. This is most apparent in our lack of good noodle shops and absence of the wonderful Japanese tradition of Izakaya – those casual drinking establishments that serve a wide variety of snacks and other small dishes, alongside beverages like cocktails, beer, and sake. Therefore when Biwa opened last year, I was hopeful that Portland might finally have access to ramen the way it is done in Japan, along with Japanese “small plates,” like smoky grilled seafood, meat or vegetable yakitori skewers, Tskeumono pickles, savory crispy pan fried Chijimi “griddle cakes”, hearty fried treats such as potato croquettes in curry, and vinegared seaweed salads. And as Izakaya is as much an approach to going out to eat, as it is about the food, it perfectly matches Portland’s love of small plates, shared dishes, casual dining, and excitement over new tastes.

It took Biwa a few months to solidify their concept, both in cooking and refining their service, but they have hit their stride, making them one of the better restaurants in Portland. This puts them in the same league as restaurants like Toro Bravo and Pok-Pok. With quality ingredients and an obsessive attention to detail, Biwa fills a gaping void in Portland dining.

Eating Bar at Biwa

Noodles are an extremely important part of Japanese food culture. In fact, the Japanese are as obsessive with their noodles as the Italians are with pasta; both share food influences brought by countries as diverse as Portugal and China. In Japan, noodles show up in stir fries, are served chilled in the summer, and come topped with Wafuu style curry year round, but nowhere are they better loved by the Japanese than in soups. Thick wheat udon noodles might be served in a traditional broth made from dried bonito fish flakes and kombu seaweed, while Chinese-influenced ramen in rich meat broths make for a filling and cheap worker’s meal, or a way to revive after a long night of drinking.

While Biwa is neither a traditional noodle house nor a straight Izakaya restaurant, they have found a happy balance between the two. Located in the basement of an old imposing church (they share the same building as Simpatica Dining Hall) in the industrial and pedestrian sparse SE 9^th and Pine, there is no sign indicating the entrance, and parking can be difficult to find. Yet the space itself makes for a cozy den, with an open kitchen and corresponding counter seating, and a nicely divided dining room. The glow from candles on the tables and long rows of tall wooden booths against the walls keep everything from feeling too industrial.

The menu reflects the spirit of Izakaya including echoes of the current Japanese love of certain foreign cuisines, such as Hawaiian marinated fish Poke or Korean dishes. Food at Biwa might be mostly small plates but they are far from fussy or precious – it’s more like the Japanese equivalent of pub grub or the down-to-earth food found at countless tapas bars in Spain – simple, but freshly made and inspired. There are so many terrific dishes on Biwa’s menu it’s difficult to pick out the standouts.

Cold dishes include oysters on the half shell, and several salads, such as the outstanding “vegetable” version, which includes lightly steamed cabbage rolls, daikon radish, and thinly sliced carrots, all sitting in an addictive creamy (but dairy free) sesame dressing. I crave it weekly. The Yukke Korean beef tartare highlights owner/chef Gabe Rosen’s knowledge of how to handle meat – he’s a Viande alum. With its smooth chop, intense sesame oil, garlic and god-knows-what-else, it perfectly encapsulates the Biwa approach to balanced flavors that pop on the tongue while the presentation remains classic.

Hot dishes on the other hand are light, but substantive, including marinated Kar-age fried chicken, pork fried rice, sake steamed clams and fork tender sweet slow-cooked pork belly simmered with kobocha squash. The wrappers on the pan-fried pork gyoza dumplings are made in-house, and are much tenderer than the commercially made kind. Oddly though, the filling has lacked much flavor the few times I’ve had them. However, The “Basics” at the bottom of the printed menu are all solid choices (ranging from $1.00-$3.00 each) including a bowl of perfect white rice, a thick rustic style miso soup with fried tofu, funky and spicy house made kimchee and bright crunchy Tsukemono pickles. Biwa also makes one of my all time favorites; the Japanese version of the sandwich, known as Onigiri. These fist-full triangles of rice are stuffed with both a pickled umboshi plum and a crisp wrapping of nori, or as a grilled version. Onigiri are are highly satisfying and a good foil to the more intense and salty flavors of the soup, pickles or other dishes.

Izakaya restaurants often specialize in Yakimono, which means “grilled things.” These are skewers and small plates such as the Dengaku Eggplant topped with a salty-sweet seasoned miso sauce, wonderfully fleshy and flavorful fresh shitake mushrooms, crispy mackerel, tender Kalbi marinated Korean beef ribs, or more intense offerings like grilled chicken hearts. The list goes on and on.

Biwa makes two kinds of house made noodles – hearty and thick wheat udon noodles, and the thinner and lighter ramen. These aren’t the cheap packaged kind you get three for a buck at the local convience store. The Udon noodles are cooked ‘al dente’ which might take getting used to if all you know are the commercially made “wonder bread equivalent”. The dried bonito fish and kelp based dashi broth served served with the udon is fine, although I’ve had others in Japan that were a bit more rich, deeper and satisfying in taste. Still, with flavor enhancing add-ons such as chewy kitsune fried tofu (add $2.00), or the rib sticking Nabeyaki Udon with simmered chicken, vegetables and egg, things start looking up. On the other hand, the ramen and its handmade rich pork based broth are close to perfect. Earlier complaints of pallid soup and less than stellar noodles turned some diners off, but Biwa seems to have improved these tremendously. With add-ons ranging from $1.00 to $4.00 for egg (it’s the whole hard cooked kind, not the raw or lightly poached kind sometimes found in Japan), chayasu Chinese bbq pork, or wakame seaweed, this is now one of my heavy rotation soups when I go out to eat. The ramen is especially good for colds and other “not feeling well” moments (read: hangovers).

The “Happy Hour” at Biwa, which sometimes lasts all evening, has to be one of the best bargains around, with a $5.00 small bottle of better than average sake, $2.00 meat skewers and decent sized bowls of soup for $5.00 (available after 9PM). The only catch is that you need to order and eat at the counter to get happy hour prices which may not work for large groups.

Finally there is the extensive drink menu. Cocktails include concoctions that play off tradition, like the Nikka Sour made with Maker’s Mark, citrus and palm sugar, or the Biwa Martini with vodka and top shelf sake, in lieu of the typical vermouth. Beer, sodas, teas, and other drinks such as wine are available, but it’s really hard to get past the sake list, which is extremely well chosen, featuring a wide range from dry to sweet, to unfiltered and a few very rare vararities than can cost upwards of $40.00 for a 6oz glass. I appreciate that Biwa offers detailed descriptions of these sakes on their menu to help novices.

Biwa would be perfect but for a few small, but significant issues. Service here is generally stellar, some of the best in Portland, with an infectious enthusiasm about the menu. They are more than happy to take the time to answer any questions you might have, but Biwa is not always a well oiled machine. Some servers are far above their peers in professionalism and knowledge. On a few occasions I’ve been ignored for long periods of time, even when the crowd is sparse. Other times servers are lightening quick to clean up empty plates, but never pause to ask if my table needs more food or drinks. The kitchen too, has some inconsistency issues. Miso soup at Biwa is made in a rustic thick style, and it’s a bit saltier than other versions around. Nothing wrong with this, except a few times the thick unrefined miso has been served scooped from the bottom of the pot into the bowl. This makes for a good inch of salt sludge. One night the Oxtail curry with udon arrived with less than a tablespoon of “gravy” at the bottom of the bowl, while the next night the noodles were practically drowning.

Yet overall, Biwa continues to improve, and has become a highly recommended dining destination for a wide range of situations and price points. It’s even vegan friendly, which is an anomaly in such a meat-focused restaurant. Every time I’ve eaten there, I leave satisfied and happy. Although the menu is not wildly innovative by Japanese standards, it’s really not meant to be. This is damn good Japanese comfort food, refined. So whether I crave a long night of sake and nibbles among a large group of friends, or a simple bowl of ramen and a salad alone after work, I find myself returning to Biwa time and time again.

Grade: B+

• Phone: 503-239-8830
• Address: 215 SE 9th Avenue, Portland OR 97214
• Hours: Daily 5pm to midnight. Happy hour 5 to 6:30 & 9:00 until 10:00 at seats at the counter (11:00 on Friday & Saturday).
• Website: BiwaRestaurant.com