| Tanaka | |
|---|---|
_logo.png){kind=logo} | |
%2c_Portland%2c_Oregon%2c_2022_-_1.jpg) The restaurant's exterior, 2022 | |
 Interactive map of Tanaka | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Food type | Japanese |
| Location | 678 Southwest 12th Avenue,Portland,Multnomah, Oregon, 97205, United States |
| Coordinates | 45°31′15″N122°41′02″W / 45.5207°N 122.6838°W /45.5207; -122.6838 |
Tanaka is a small chain ofJapanese restaurants in thePortland, Oregon metropolitan area, in the United States.[1] The original location has operated indowntown Portland since 2022. A second location opened inBridgeport Village in 2023, and a third followed inGresham in 2024.[2]
Tanaka is a small chain ofJapanese bakeries and katsu sandwich shops in thePortland metropolitan area. The original shop operates on Morrison Street indowntown Portland's West End.[3] There are also locations inBridgeport Village and inGresham.
Brooke Jackson-Glidden ofEater Portland has described the business as "part Japanesepatisserie, part katsu sandwich shop, [and] partbrunch cafe".[4] Andi Prewitt ofWillamette Week called Tanaka a "spinoff of Japanese-based chain Kushikatsu Tanaka, which specializes in skewers (kushi) of bite-sized, breaded cutlets (katsu) served with a dipping sauce whose recipe has remained a well-guarded family secret for 70 years."[5] The original restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating, and the interior features a wall decoration with the text, "Of everything in the world, who knew bread would bring all these beautiful people together?"[6]
Sandwich options have included chicken, pork, chicken, Oregon rockfish, andwagyu beef, all withshokupan (Japanese milk bread). The restaurant has also served a vegan option withoat milk, which Jackson-Glidden said in 2022 was the city's only dairy-free milk bread option. The menu has also included Japanese fruit sandwiches with milk bread andwhipped cream,dorayaki,macarons (such aspistachio and ume varieties),matcha andmisocroissants,mochi doughnuts, and coffee.[4] Other pastries have included "black-sesame-raspberryParis Brest,yuzumeringuetart withshiso and blackberries, a pyramid of pistachio sponge with raspberry compote and dark chocolatemousse."[7]
%2c_Portland%2c_Oregon%2c_2022_-_6_(cropped).jpg)
The team behindAfuri[8] opened Tanaka on June 25, 2022,[7][9] in a 5,500-square-foot space in downtown Portland that had previously housed aBlue Star Donuts shop.[4][10][11] A second location opened inBridgeport Village on August 22, 2023.[12] A third location opened in Gresham on June 8, 2024.[13][14]
Taichi Ishizuki is the business'chief executive officer.[15]
Katherine Chew Hamilton ofPortland Monthly recommended the chicken katsu,eggplant, and pork katsu sandos, as well as the matchaopera cake and the misochocolate chip cookie. She described Tanaka as "welcoming and expansive" and wrote, "Our take, overall, is that you can find better baked goods at Oyatsupan, and better sandos at Tokyo Sando. But on days that call for a sit-down lunch downtown, perhaps as an escape from the office or between museum-going, Tanaka is a good bet."[6]Eater Portland's Brooke Jackson-Glidden included the business in a 2022 list of the city's "hottest" new restaurants and food carts.[16] The website's Michelle Lopez also included Tanaka in a 2022 overview of "outstanding" bakeries in the metropolitan area.[17]
