| Name: | Benkay |
| Address: | 2 India Street, Portland, ME 04101 |
| Phone: | (207) 773-5555 |
| Fax: | (207) 773-0099 |
| Opened: | 11.30am - 10 pm |
| Reviews: | "Has a small Sushi Bar with some of the best fresh fish which comes off of boats a few blocks away. The Sushi Deluxe at under $20 had Tuna, Hokki clam, Shrimp, Salmon, Sea Eel, Sea Urchin, Yellow Tail as well as California and Tuna Roll - RECOMMENDED - Has a sister restaurant in Washington, D.C." |
| | - Steve Schneider (Fiveten10@aol.com) [January 8th 1998] |
| | "Very fine restaurant with excellent sushi quality. The building is not too inviting but don't hesitate to enter, it is really worth it." |
| | - SUSHI WORLD GUIDE CREW [September 4th 2000] |
| Link: | Japanese Restaurant Consulting Association |
| Name: | Fuji Japanese & Korean Restaurant & Hibachi Steakhouse |
| Address: | 29 Exchange Street (located in Portlands old Port), Portland, ME 04101 |
| Phone: | (207) 773-2900 |
| Fax: | (207) 772-4555 |
| Opened: | Mon-Thu: 11.30am 10pm, Fri,Sat: 11.30am - 11pm, Sun: Noon -10pm, lounge open until 11pm |
| Reviews: | " Wonderful atmosphere and friendly, thoughtful staff. Hibachi tables, dining room, lounge and sushi bar are all options. Reasonably priced and excellent quality." |
| | - Noah (geilig@naked.com) [April 19th 1999] |
| | "
" |
| | - Steve Schneider (Fiveten10@aol.com) [October 21st 2000] |
| Name: | Sapporo |
| Address: | 230 Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101 |
| Phone: | (207) 772-1233 |
| Opened: | Lunch and Dinner, Daily |
| Reviews: | "Located on the waterfront, this restaurant serves up the best Japanese food in the state! In addition to all the traditional meals, Sapporo has created delectable specials such as an appetizer consisting of scallops with shiitake mushrooms on a shell (to die for!). Their sushi is excellent and very reasonably priced (a 3-roll special for $12.95). They also have a outdoor patio, very nice for summer dining. The friendly staff provide the kind of atmosphere that creates a devoted following of īregularsī." |
| | - (DGV@aol.com) [June 29th 1998] |
| | "Equisite. The new dining room and patio are fabulous as are all the new subtle changes that are ongoing. The sushi is first rate and all together, SPECTACULAR. Enjoy it! I do." |
| | - Jim (canvasbackmallard@yahoo.com) [August 23rd 2000] |
| | "The patio mentioned by the above diner is no longer there - what IS there is a
lovely new dining room. That's a good thing, because Sapporo in its Commercial Street location
always was a bit claustrophobic. The new room is spacious, austere and very tasteful... and makes
the remaining sushi bar side of the restaurant look a bit funky by comparison.
Sapporo remains one of my favorite restaurants. Their fish selection generally isn't quite as
broad as competitor Benkay - which is about 1/4 mile up the street - but Sapporo is always
ultra-fresh. Their rice is superior to any other Japanese restaurant in Portland. And the kitchen
is the best in town. One really can't go wrong with either Sapporo or Benkay - they're two
outstanding houses, and both use local fish wherever possible (Maine ama ebi is wonderful, and the
uni, in season, is impeccable). In choosing between the two, I generally go to Benkay if all I
want is sashimi - that due to the selection. If hankering for nigiri, I'll opt towards Sapporo,
because the fish quality is first rate and the rice superb - and I'll also tend towards Sapporo if
dining with sushi virgins or sushi haters, because of the broader selection from the kitchen.
" |
| | - Mainah [June 15th 2001] |
| | "I'm a novice when it comes to sushi bars and etiquette in such places. I have yet to master the chopsticks (that's how bad it is)! I didn't venture deep into the delicacies that Sapporo has to offer, but what I did have was delightful! I guess you would say I had Maki-zushi? One with spicy tuna, another with scallops and one vegetarian with avocado. Yes, I know I didn't venture real far from the palette, but they have certainly intrigued my interest in expanding my horizons and I will be venturing back to get my next fix! Also, their tofu-tiramisu was absolutely amazing!
" |
| | - Valerie [Aug 15th 2005] |
| Name: | Yosaku |
| Address: | 1 Danforth Street, Portland, Maine |
| Phone: | (207) 780-0880 |
| Fax: | (207) 780-8886 |
| Reviews: | "There's a new kid in town! Actually, a new restaurant, run by a face familiar to Portland sushi freaks: Tak, who was boss man and minor partner at Benkay, has opened his own place where Giobbi's used to be.
Quality on first two visits is what you'd expect from Tak - first rate. The output of the kitchen looks almost identical to that of Benkay (in fact, it looks like Tak took much of the Benkay staff with him when he left).
Huge sushi bar. The decor is not as elegant as that at Benkay, but is a bit spiffier than Sapporo. Dining room seems rather barren at this point.
Can Portland support THREE first-rate sushi bars? We'll see. Meantime, we'll enjoy.
" |
| | - Mainah [February 13th 2003] |
| | "Although Yosaku started out slowly, it quickly became far and away the best sushi restaurant in Portland, arguably the best north of Boston. The decor has constantly improved as well, so it's now a very attractive destination. Yosaku obtains and prepares its fish in a way no other Portland sushi restaurant can match, and they are always on the lookout for exotic oddities to add interest and variety to the menu. The kitchen is also worthy of special note: the head chef there is very talented and prepares wonderful dishes. Almost anything which appears as a dinner special item should be ordered with confidence.
" |
| | - Dual [Nov 24th 2006] |
| | "Horrible. We have been long-time customers and we are still trying to figure out why we keep giving it a chance. The most poorly rolled rolls on the planet - good luck to even the most talented chopstick users. The service is awful, with the crabbiest wait staff and bartenders in Portland. The owner is as rude as his hostesses and bring your shaving kit to dinner since you'll need to trim up a few times during the days you'll be waiting for your order to arrive. Hopefully they will get it right, but if they don't, good luck convincing them that it was their fault. STAY AWAY!!!!
" |
| | - Margaret Birlem (margaretbirlem@hotmail.com) [April 18th 2007] |
| | "Yesterday I waited for 45 minutes for service and the restaurant was only about 1/3 full. In the 45 minutes, all my husband and I received is a bottled water and tea. To make it worse, everyone around us was being served and eating! We left after wasting 45 minutes. And the manager did not seem to care that we were leaving as unsatisfied customers. I can understand a lazy waiter, but an uncaring manager also??? I will not go back to this restaurant.
" |
| | - Elaine George [July 16th 2007] |
