Tanuki (restaurant)

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Tanuki
Tanuki (restaurant)
Restaurant information
Established2008 (2008)
Closed2019 (2019)
OwnerJanis Martin
ChefJanis Martin
Food type Japanese
Location8029 Southeast Stark Street, Portland, Oregon, 97215, United States
Coordinates 45°31′09″N122°34′51″W / 45.5192°N 122.5808°W / 45.5192; -122.5808

Tanuki was a Japanese restaurant and bar in Portland, Oregon, United States. [1] [2] [3] [4] The business operated from 2008 to 2019.

Contents

Description

The Japanese restaurant Tanuki initially operated on 21st Avenue at Flanders Street in northwest Portland's Northwest District, [5] [6] before relocating to the Montavilla neighborhood in 2011. [7] Erin DeJesus described the original space as a "hole-in-the-wall". [8] Signs at the Montavilla space said "No sushi, no kids" and "This is not a Japanese restaurant". [9]

The menu included gyoza, sashimi, [5] kimchi, and oshinko. [10] Tanuki also served fermented noodles, [11] trout in a seaweed butter sauce, kimchi macaroni and cheese, duck heart, various seafood dishes, [12] and buns with kimchi, blue cheese, and sake-cured bacon. [13] The bar stocked Asian beers, [9] sake, shōchū, and Japanese whisky. Among cocktails was the Dejima, which had Damrak gin, St. Germain, and rhubarb bitters. [14]

History

The restaurant opened on 21st Avenue in 2008. [5] [15] Janis Martin was the chef and owner. [5] [16] In 2011, the restaurant relocated to Stark Street in the southeast Portland part of the Montavilla neighborhood. [7] Tanuki began restricting seating in 2013. [17] Suffering from a seafood allergy, [15] Martin closed Tanuki permanently in 2019 and began working at East Glisan Pizza Lounge. [18]

Reception

In 2012, Karen Brooks and Rachel Ritchie included Tanuki in Portland Monthly 's "Best of the Rest", a list of 35 local eateries "that should remain in any food lover's regular rotation". [19] Brooks later called the restaurant the city's "notorious cult izakaya". [20] In 2016, Time Out included Tanuki in a list of the eighteen best Japanese restaurants in the United States. [21] The business was included in Portland Monthly's 2025 list of 25 "restaurants that made Portland". [22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Tanuki". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  2. ↑ Sarasohn, David (March 22, 2013). "Southeast Portland's Tanuki: When a restaurant is not a restaurant (review)". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Montavilla Bar Tanuki Closes to Head off Oregonian Review". Willamette Week. March 22, 2013. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  4. ↑ Jacobson, Rebecca (October 15, 2014). "Tanuki: Restaurant Guide 2014". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Davis, Camas (May 19, 2009). "Introducing... Tanuki". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  6. ↑ Davis, Camas (May 19, 2009). "Japanese Rising". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  7. 1 2 DeJesus, Erin (August 24, 2011). "Tanuki Moving Into Montavilla's Immortal Pie & Larder Spot". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  8. ↑ DeJesus, Erin (November 15, 2012). "Smokehouse 21's B.J. Smith on His Meaty First Year". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Brooks, Karen (May 26, 2015). "The Rise of Portland's Iconoclastic Asian Cuisine". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on March 20, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Pickled foods every Portlander needs to try". Eater Portland. June 22, 2015. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  11. ↑ Tepler, Benjamin (February 23, 2012). "Introducing: Tanuki". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Tanuki". Time Out Portland. June 13, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  13. ↑ Thelin, Mike (October 16, 2012). "Five Things You Must Eat in 2012". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  14. ↑ Thrillist (November 28, 2011). "Obscene things will be done to your mouth". Thrillist. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  15. 1 2 Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (November 13, 2018). "Edgy Sake Bar Tanuki Is Going Through Some Serious Changes". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  16. ↑ Cohen, Jason (April 28, 2010). "Calling Bullshit 2: Tanuki's Janis Martin on Michael Ruhlman". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  17. ↑ DeJesus, Erin (March 26, 2013). "Tanuki to Restrict Seating After Recent Flurry of Reviews". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  18. ↑ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (January 24, 2019). "Quintessential Portland Sake Bar Tanuki Has Closed". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  19. ↑ Ritchie, Rachel; Brooks, Karen (October 16, 2012). "Best of the Rest". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  20. ↑ Brooks, Karen (November 10, 2022). "Portland's Best Cubano Sandwich Is at a Hidden Gem on Northeast Fremont". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  21. ↑ "The 18 best Japanese restaurants in America". Time Out . June 15, 2016. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024– via New York Post.
  22. ↑ "The 25 Restaurants That Made Portland". Portland Monthly. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
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