Jarrod Bouchie
Quick-service, busy sushi spot that serves giant portions. You get a lot of food for the money.
Expect to wait a little to be seated. They do not seat you unless everyone in your party is there. Probably not great for larger groups.
The ratio of fish-to-rice is off-putting in many of the dishes. Each piece takes many bites to eat, and it’s hard to get all the best parts into one bite. I really liked the more simple rolls (spicy tuna, creamy scallop), and I’ll probably stay away from specialty rolls in the future.
yai vongsaphay
We have been coming here since the late 90’s and a lot has changed. I will say the sushi is still good. The rolls and portion sizes have shrunk, but that’s okay. We ordered take out -it took over an hour to pick up-but it wasn’t a bad wait as they do give you updates on your orders progress. I’m disappointed they we didn’t get wasabi! I even requested extra. We ordered a ton of sushi but had no wasabi.
T D
Love this place for it's super sized sushi. I'm grateful they now offer a take out option because seating is limited and the wait can be very long. The sushi here is BIG. If you're looking for the traditional one bite sushi this is NOT it. The rolls and sushi pieces are large and sometimes difficult to eat without making a mess, but the offerings are plentiful and taste good. My favorite is the salmon belly and ikura.
The restaurant itself feels cramped. The tables are close together and depending on where they seat you, you'll be sitting elbow close to the group next to you. I prefer take out over dining in.
Mr. gregory
They have it down to a science. The restaurant fills at the pace of diners leaving - and the food is fast, but not too fast. This is a chef’s preference of pace and a diner’s preference, as we want chefs spending adequate time with our order. Amazing flow.
Wait time minimal at 5 minutes for a Monday night to be seated. Those of whom live in the area should be considered lucky for the high quality experience. Non Pretentious prices combined with a relaxed atmosphere make it simply comfy -
The yellow fin is ok and the yellow tail: spot on. Most nigiri pieces take a minimum of 2 bites in a niche style at being very large. Mostly table seating offering very close quarters is a slight annoyance and just 3 seats at the counter - Coming back
Katrina Kennedy
I've been going to Saburos for 24 years. The food is hands down great. BEST sushi that I've had in the states.
4 stars for the atmosphere- the back room add-on feels stiff and too crowded.
3 stars for the service- it's just 1 particular woman server who is maybe a manager or owner? She's always been abrupt, cold and short w/ customers. When it's close to closing time, she definitely makes it known and it feels awful. They shouldn't allow people to come in after a certain time if it's SUCH an inconvenience. Also, the staff all seem scared of her.
Simon
Did Saburo's close?!?! Drove by today and this was the sight.
I love Saburo's. Been coming here for proper sushi feeds for probably over 10 years now and the added order online feature has been a pleasant and convenient addition to their offering.
Marlisa Rebaum
BEST sushi in Portland! The rolls are huge and delicious. If you get takeout, make sure to order at 2pm, when the ordering system opens, especially on weekends! We recently dined in and surprisingly the wait was only about 15 minutes. Make sure to come at least an hour before closing if you want to dine in though, as they get very many takeout order and usually close seating at least an hour before the store closes. I have never had a roll I didn't like there!!
Michael M
This place needs to be bigger! The food was amazing, but massive portions. We got 4 rolls and the chefs choice sashimi plate between 4 people and barely finished. Most places I can eat 3 rolls per person. Total came out to less than $90. It's delicious yet quality maintained its freshness despite the large portions. Highly recommend coming here.
Downside is they are always so busy so service is slow and it's a sign up sheet when you arrive so you won't be able to make reservations ahead of time, and they don't take phone numbers to call you, so you have to sit outside in the cold/rain if the weather is not good.
Mickey Huynh
We were in line about 20 minutes before the restaurant opened. I’m glad that we were the first group to get in otherwise we would have to wait for a good 45-60 minutes before any next group can get in. The food was outstanding, all fresh. The portions are good. The service is exceptional. I would definitely recommend and I would return when we come back in town for the next soccer tournament. Make sure to get there early otherwise you will have to wait for a good hour. Their parking lot is small but u can park anywhere on the street
DJ Ambush
Staff was super nice! We got there half hour before closing and they still had a few groups of people waiting for a table, and yet they still let me put my name down for a party of three! Food tasted good and live up with their name for being super generous with their portions. Definitely come here with an empty stomach and you won’t be disappointed.
Peter Nguyen
I have to admit that the sushi tastes fresh... but service have been lacking recently.
I've been coming here countless times and must say that my recent visit left me not wanting to come back ever again. After 2 hours of waiting (which was expected), we were seated for my family of 5. When seated, the waitress told us we can only order once because they are a bit busy. We were ok with that. We placed our order and it took over half hour before the food came. I noticed the size of the sushi pieces were a lot smaller than a few years ago. We proceeded to have our dinner and right on the hour of us being seated, the waitress handed me the check and asked if I want the rest to go (I was still chewing my food when this happened). As I'm rushing to finish the rest of my dinner, a waiter came by, push the check in front of me and asked if I wanted the rest to go (I had 3 pieces left at this point). I kindly said, "I'm just about done".
So they were late bring our food out and rushed to get us out ASAP?! I've been coming here for years and have brought many friends and guests. I noticed their staff have changed... and not for the better in terms of service. I will not likely come back here again and will find some other establishments to bring friends and guests. It's a shame that this used to be my favorite place to eat and now is less than desirable with the way their staff treats their patrons.
Nate Sandall
You definitely get what you pay for here! I've paid twice as much at sushi places for half as much food. I recommend the hot Alaskan crunchy roll, dragon roll, and salmon belly nigiri.
Minh Tee
Sushi was good. It wasn’t amazing like some people rave—I’ve had better at other places—but it’s not terrible. But I value service when I pay for food. Even if the sushi was as amazing as some people rave about, it’s just food. I don’t need to eat there if service is lacking.
The fact that they automatically add gratuity may have something to do with their poor service and obnoxious rules (asking people to move tables after already seated because another party needs your table, customers can only order one time, wanting to charge 50 cents for a slice of lemon for your water, not splitting the check with more than 2 credit cards—even if it’s split evenly).
As for the lines, it’s part of Portland culture. They seem to love standing in line for tables. This has nothing to do with the food. Don’t be fooled.
I get that nobody is special, but customers pay your bills and keep you in business. You’re lucky that Portland peeps have conditioned themselves to accept poor service as normal. Hopefully competition will eventually tame you.
Donn Eaton Quist
Something has changed majorly, not the same at all. Not made well, no flavor, everything fried was soggy. We are sitting here with tons of food we don't want to eat. And now reading how they called out customers on here, it's not ok. I don't know if they sold or Saburo retired but thinking we won't be back after 12 years. What a shame. No wonder there was no line at prime time Saturday.
Megan Taylor
Bustling, delicious. I have spent many hours waiting in line there, and they have all been worth it. I am one of the devotees who get there an hour early for the first seating.
Chelle Ordway
The sushi rolls are the only saving grace anymore about this place.
Me and my friends have gone in there twice since September and both times we encountered an extremely rude and hostile hostess(Irene or something...wears glasses) who literally yells at customers, is impatient and a completely condescending.
I get that this is not fine dining and you have a “protocol” for seating and serving but for piss sakes, people don’t go out to a restaurant to be snapped at by the staff.
You might want to read your Yelp reviews.
Kim Dorman-Weber
We had a fun experience eating there for the first time. Still can't believe we were there at 3:50 and there were already about 10 people in line. It's a great place to go to say "we went there", but it took a lot of planning to be there early so we were guaranteed to be in the first wave and get a table right when it opened at 4:30. When it opened, we were shuffled in....and herded to the back room. I felt like we had to yes ma'am and no sir the waitstaff at first. They handed us our table #, and assigned our seats....us and the whole lot of others, but to us, that was the fun, eclectic experience of going there. However, beyond the initial seating done in such a managerial style, the waitstaff were very helpful, attentive, and friendly. Yes, indeed, the sushi was HUGE and we ordered 2 rolls per person plus 2 appetizer to share among 4. It was WAY TOO MUCH and we ended up taking food home. All in all, we enjoyed it very much. It wasn't a fancy place, but you know that going in....its the thrill of getting there first, eating til you pop, and saying you went to Saburos. A fantastic, totally Portland kind of dining experience. Will definitely go back. And next time, we will know that 1 roll per person will suffice.
Xylona Star
Phenomenal fish quality, massive portions and great selection without being too pricy. Seating is a bit cramped and you may be waiting a long time to be seated, but the food is more than worth it. We will be back.
Liz Olliff
I lived in Westmoreland when Saburo opened and was a frequent diner until I moved to Alabama. Now I make it a point to eat there whenever I am in Portland - almost every year - and have never been disappointed. My favorite sushi ever.
Chaunda Fanning
Always superior quality, generous portions and tons of customers. A busy restaurant is pretty much guaranteed to have great food, great service, etc.
Victoria Marek
The food is not that great, tooooo big of portions. It's honestly gross. They over charged us 40 dollars which was a BIG problem. They were super rude and yelled at US for their sketchy business ethics. I won't go back there ever again!
Charlie Time
Too the old lady who screams at everyone never coming back!
management!!!
better fix that.
Last time I come and spend 150$
Lisa Adza
Great food, great service, great price. Bit of a wait to get in.
Remy Evans
I loved how busy & all Sushi Fresh to order! My eyes bugged out when I saw those thicker, bigger slices!���
The flavor was yummy, the ambience was romantic, and servers were friendly!!! Definitely, I'd bring my friends�☆☆☆☆☆
Louis Pain
The best sushi in town, with the largest portions--by a mile! We always take our our out of town guests to Saburo's, and they're always blown away.
Niccolo Seligmann
Food is incredible. Service is TERRIBLE. If that’s enough to get between you and nerf-football-size nigiri and maki rolls thicker than my forearm, then don’t go, so I can have your table.
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