I nearly skipped this place thinking "I'm not much of a taco fan." However, my husband loves tacos…read moreand wanted to try it, fortunately for me. We ended up coming back the next day without hesitation for 2 days of tacos in a row and I'd return in a heartbeat if ever back in Hood River. These tacos are addictive! With their mix-and-match fusion menu, your taco of choice can really taste any way you like. The Hawaiian taco with grilled shrimp was my favorite, but I also enjoyed their Thai taco with chicken. I wish I could have tried all of them as everything featured good, fresh ingredients. Don't skip the drinks here either. I usually avoid cocktails but they offered to make their frozen margarita spicy for me and I couldn't resist -- fantastic! The service was over-the-top amazing. This is a casual restaurant where you order at the counter, seat yourself with a number, and wait for your food to be delivered. Service at such establishments is usually pretty perfunctory, but not at Love & Hominy. The servers are all super friendly and seem genuinely enthusiastic to be working in their restaurant. That in itself says a lot. As mentioned, this place is casual but still fun and eclectic. While eating your tacos in-house, check out the wall on the entrance side. It's pretty entertaining to look at.

Love & Hominy is a rather small restaurant in downtown Hood River, seating only perhaps 25 people…read morein a mixture of tables and countertop seating. It's a brisk business, so while ordering is counter service style, the tables turnover quickly. When we visited at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon, there was a small line ahead of us to order, but only around 5 minutes or so after we ordered, several tables cleared out and we were able to sit down. The food took about 15 minutes to arrive. Combo, Vietnamese w/ Pork, Mediterranean w/ Chicken, Salsa ($15.50) - The chips, half moon shaped, seem to be fried in house, being really thick, great for dipping with no breakage, and perfectly crunchy. They have somewhat of an oily sheen on the surface, but aren't overly greasy at all. They aren't salted too heavily and instead seem to be slightly sweetened. The salsa included in this meal is refreshingly tangy and creamy. It's completely mild, though, with no hint of heat whatsoever. The chips easily dip in without getting soggy. The tacos all seem to use the same base - a fried corn tortilla heavily seasoned with a doritos locos-esque spice mixture, then filled with tender basmati rice. I believe they store a bunch of tortillas filled with rice sitting in trays, which can then be grabbed off the shelf to customize to order. That would explain why the shells get completely soggy and why the sauces are all applied on top of the rice rather than below. They are also wrapped in aluminum foil, which allows the rice to basically steam inside the taco shell, creating more sogginess. Overall a disappointing base. The Vietnamese combines fish sauce and banh mi pickles, combined with sweet creamy kewpie mayo drizzled over the rice and thinly sliced cucumbers as a second wall complementing the taco shell. The pickles and cucumber are crunchier than the shell. There are jalapenos but there's no heat at all. The pork is shredded and tender with a somewhat smoky quality, but there's not much included at all, perhaps only a tablespoon or two of meat. It's mostly vestigial against the massive amount of pickles on the top. I'd say the flavors are somewhat similar to a vegetarian banh mi. It's definitely missing in the meat department. There are so many veggies piled onto this taco that things fall out left and right while eating. The Mediterranean includes acidic pickled onions, a slaw lightly dressed in vinaigrette, thinly sliced cucumbers, a bunch of salty feta, and shredded mint leaves. There's some tzatziki drizzle, but not enough to make a huge impact. The chicken is shredded very finely and again not given in enough of a quantity to really do much for the taco. I feel like the chicken is precooked white meat, similar to the chicken in those packaged salads. Combo, Thai w/ Chicken, Tex Mex w/ Shrimp, Queso ($15.50) - The queso is served warm. It's thick and cheesy, tasting like pretty standard queso with again no heat whatsoever despite tiny flecks of red. The Thai includes a red bell pepper, cabbage, and edamame (why edamame?) slaw, lightly dressed in a peanutty and sweet vinegar. On top of the rice is a thicker peanut and ginger drizzle, enough to give some freshness and boost the umami. The overall flavor profile does remind me of an Americanized Pad Thai with mostly sweetness and nuttiness and no tamarind fruity tang. The Tex Mex is interesting. They actually char the corn quite well, so it's sweet and smoky in flavor. They add the same queso as the dip for the chips, then cilantro and then soy bacon crumbles, which I found to be disturbing in texture, almost like crunchy egg shells. They do include three or four pieces of sweet shrimp which aren't overcooked. The seasoning on the taco shells doesn't work for me. The flavors clash with the unique ingredients used in the creative tacos. In addition, I'm so confused why they use the same rice base. I guess it's a cost cutting measure? They add a ton to every taco and it spills out all over the place. They could easily amp up the unique qualities of each taco. For example, cilantro rice for the Tex Mex, Jasmine rice for the Thai, vermicelli for the Vietnamese. It's okay to use rice, but it's just such a boring and uninspired base when they are trying to be so creative with the flavors. It feels like filler used to cheapen up the tacos. I have similar feelings towards the meat. It's the same for every taco, no uniqueness in flavor or texture. The only thing different are the toppings and the slight bit of sauce on top. Just think - for the Vietnamese, sweet lemongrass grilled pork, for the Tex-Mex, lime chile grilled shrimp, etc. Then again there's so little meat included in the first place. Overall I left a little disappointed. It seems to be targeted towards people who want fusion food without straying too far away from Americanized roots. It's just not for me. Bathrooms - Single unisex room. Note: Love & Hominy charges a 3% credit card fee

Mugen Noodle is such a great find, especially if you, like me are traveling with vegan and…read moregluten-free peeps and don't want anyone settling for the sad "side salad option." The vegan and GF choices here were actually exciting. My friends ordered the vegan Khao Soi and the Kati noodle soups, and both were full, thoughtful dishes, not afterthoughts. It made dinner so much easier and way more enjoyable for our whole group. This isn't a traditional ramen shop, but my husband's black garlic chintan was every bit as satisfying as some of our favorite ramen spots back in the Bay. Rich, comforting, and absolutely worth ordering at $19 for a hearty bowl. (The others were slightly pricier at $24 a pop) That said, the star of the night was my spicy shrimp ramen. Easily. The broth reminded me of a laksa base with a deep, layered flavor heavy with aromatics and umami. The shrimp on top were excellent in their own right, perfectly seared, well-seasoned, and not just a garnish pretending to matter. I also want to give the ramen eggs a shout out. I can't believe how many places get this wrong. These beauties were perfectly marinated and served warm. It's one of my biggest pet peeves to have an ice cold ramen egg dropped into my hot soup and I appreciate the consideration given to addressing this common faux pas. Fast service, a beautiful outdoor patio with a great view, and food that genuinely impressed all of us. Highly recommend if you're in the area.

Excellent food, excellent service! We were visiting Oregon and took a chance on Hood River…read morerestaurant options. This was SUCH a win. I'm usually not a huge fan of ramen only bc I'm not used to it but I can't stop thinking about this ramen dish. It was the perfect meal. I wish I lived closer so we could go more. The kids had fried tofu. My older son ordered buttered noodles and didn't like it but I think that's bc he doesn't really like butter at all (and idk why he ordered it haha). I think he was hoping for something soupy. The little guy ordered chicken off the kids menu and it had a little teriyaki sauce - the kids both ended up eating that and loving it. My husband ordered a pork ramen dish and was so happy w his choice. I asked them to make mine "medium" Spicy which - big mistake- it was too spicy for my weak self! I ended up asking them for like some sort of coconut broth to bring down the level of spice and they did without batting an eye and ensured that that broth was vegan as well despite my forgetting to ask them to make it vegan. The ambiance was very family-friendly and medium-loud chatty noise which is good for kids. After we finished they had tshirts and practice chopsticks and other items to purchase by the register and my husband, who loves collecting tshirts to remind him of places/events/etc as a souvenir purchased a Mugen tshirt! The kids purchased two practice chopsticks. One of the folks in the restaurant graciously asked us if we were visiting and then proceeded to give us ideas of where to visit in the city. It was a very warm and hospitable feeling. We know PNWers don't like to talk to people but the restaurant folks were so friendly that we felt welcome. Thanks for a great experience!!

If I could give this place 6 stars I would. In a land of bar/grills and pizza places, Koya was a…read morenice change of pace. Don't let the "it's a food truck" scare you off - the food was excellent. Fresh and tasty. I would have liked a larger portion (i got the katsu curry), but quite enoyed what I did get. The ambiance was funky (in a good way) and fun, with plenty of seating options. Atmosphere was chill and relaxed, with that "Oregon vibe" to it. We sat outside, but there is indoor seating available in the bar / gift shop, which deserves its own few minutes to browse through while waiting for your food. Drinks were cold and tasty and the service was excellent.

We have been wanting to try this roadside restaurant for a while. It's on the way to Mt. Hood from…read morePortland and it's an Asian inspired restaurant which seems a bit out of place. It was actually really good. You order in the back at the food truck and get your number. The inside has lots of live plants and you can find your own seat, order drinks and we got chai. The sushi roll, ramen and noodles were delicious!

Spicy California was delicious, Spicy Girl roll was a little rice heavy and could use a little more…read moreflavor but overall both were tasty and fresh

Went in for lunch with my wife and the place was almost empty, which set the tone early…read more Service was below expectations. Our waitress didn't understand the menu or the difference between sashimi and nigiri. I ordered the Sashimi Deluxe and was served nigiri along with a roll. To their credit, the manager stepped in and corrected it. Food quality was average at best. The sashimi itself was a C--nothing terrible, but not fresh or high quality enough to justify a return visit. One additional concern--there were empty food supplier containers sitting outside along the side of the building, which doesn't give a great impression from a cleanliness standpoint. Overall: Below average experience. Between service issues, food quality, and presentation, I wouldn't recommend it. --Ryan

Very friendly service. We got the orange chicken and the shrimp fried rice and both were delicious…read more We plan to come back regularly.

The service was very friendly, the portion sizes are great and my order tasted Fantastic!…read moreTotally worth the fair prices and would Highly recommend -

Stepped over from Wayfinder because out of the options, Thai food seemed the best. I will say it…read morewas a bit different than I'm used to. I have come to kind of recognize her general consistency with my pad kee mao. One of those consistencies is the dark soy sauce. Yeah, that was kind of disappointing and I know some Thai places don't use it quite as much but to me that is pad see ew. In a lot of ways that felt more like a pad see ew. The veggies were very fresh. I did not like the green beans that feels like an odd choice in there but again I only know American Thai food, but I've eaten it many many Thai food restaurants. The other thing I was not the cutest fan of is putting it on top of a big piece of lettuce. I mean by the time you get down there that lettuce is just wilted and horrible so might as well just keep it out. Overall, all the flavor was very good. I wish the egg were mixed in more rather than thrown on top. I guess it did look nicer and its own way, but not sure if I'd return again I don't think that it was necessarily bad food, but I definitely don't think it was my style of Thai food. And truly yelp fashion I'd give it a 3.5 if I could

I had the fried basil rice with chicken. I ordered it hot, but not very hot. It was fantastic. I…read moreloved the presentation, and the the overeasy egg was a great surprise. It added a creamy texture to the rice. The young man working there, maybe an owner, was very helpful with my selection. If I lived in the area this would be on a regular vist rotation for me. Great stuff. I wish I was going to be in town longer so that I could try some of their other dishes. Note: sorry that the only photo is of the aftermath. I had no idea it would be this good. Yes. I could only eat about half before I was full.

Highly recommend this wonderful restaurant! Staff was friendly and provided personalized service…read moreand food preparation. How hot would you like that Mongolian beef? Nuclear? You got it! And it was as ordered. Hard time deciding between egg flower and hot and sour soup? How about we mix them. We were a party of four and everyone love their meals. The leftovers were enough for two more equally tasty meals. We'll we back the next time we're passing through.

Incredibly quick takeout, and real good (not great) food. I recommend the hot and sour soup highly…read more I wish there were steamed potstickers instead of fried, but the filling was TASTY. Why is it that takeout main dishes never have the really prominent flavor of a sit-down dish? I like to get individual flavors of the peppers and onion, and they just assimilate. 6 chopsticks out of 10.