Always love eating here! It's hard sometimes to find good vegetarian options but the tofu here is so good and it's such a fun way to share a meal. It's the place I always bring friends and family from out of town read more

There are no reservations at this restaurant, so it's first come first serve. Street parking was easy to find, and we arrived around 7. The place was packed, but thankfully we were seated quite quickly with a 5-10 minute wait. The interior is cozy and welcoming. It's dimly lit with mood lighting on the tables. It felt lively since the tables were packed. We started by ordering the sake and shoyu flights and some fries with wasabi mayo while we explored the rest of their menu. We received the flights quickly. Both flights had 3 flavors and were tasty and fun to try. Each flight comes with a menu describing the flavor profile and how the drinks were made. The flavors of each flight were distinct and matched their descriptions. The fries with wasabi mayo were pretty basic fries. They were well seasoned, had a nice crunch, and the mayo had a subtle wasabi flavor without it being spicy. For our next round we ordered the salmon misoyaki, butternut squash, tofu kushiyaki, and steak kushiyaki. Unfortunately, our server forgot to bring our butternut squash, but we ended up being full with the rest of the food we ordered and just took it off our order. The salmon misoyaki was delicious - perfectly cooked, tender, and well seasoned. The mustard greens on the side added a nice sourness. The tofu kushiyaki was tender and flavorful. The steak kushiyaki was well-seasoned, but more well done than I preferred and a little tough. Next, we ordered the spinach goma ae and umeboshi unigiri. The spinach goma ae was such a pleasant surprise! It's a chilled spinach dish with a tamari/black sesame sauce that was refreshing mid-meal. Really good umami flavor! The umeboshi onigiri had the expected sharp salty/sour flavor that balanced well with the ratio of rice. Ended up dipping the umeboshi onigiri in the goma ae sauce to get every last drop. For dessert we ordered the basque cheesecake and créme brûlée. The cheesecake was just okay. The menu said there was sake and black sesame flavors, but apart from some black sesame dust on the plate we couldn't taste the sake/sesame. The texture was thick and not super smooth. It was a pretty heavy dessert and not very sweet. The créme brûlée was yummy. The custard was smooth and the crunchy caramelized sugar on top was a nice contrast in texture and flavor. The service itself was slow. We were waiting around 15 minutes between orders. Given, it was a busy night. However, we felt a bit forgotten as our server did forget to bring one of our dishes, we had to ask for our dessert menus twice, and we were accidentally served two basque cheesecakes instead of our order of cheesecake and créme brûlée. The staff were friendly, and quickly brought out the correct desserts at the end. I'd recommend ordering more dishes at once so you can enjoy more food in between orders. Would definitely come back again to try the rest of their menu. We wanted to try the Japanese sweet potato but they had sold out that night. The oysters, sashimi, and udon also looked quite good! read more

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Stopped by on a Wednesday evening after a full day of work. Had a few more things to do but wanted a quick bite and a good drink. Ordered the Ikura onigiri and the Japanese Sweet Potato and the Agadashi Tofu. (I asked for miso butter on the side for me because I have found it overwhelms the potato which is seasoned really wonderfully). The Ikura Onirigi was simple and excellent. My favorite wishes that they would create an regular Onirigi Happy Hour where they are on discount so that those of us who just want to have half a dozen of those and a few drinks can come in and experience our heart's delight. My drink of choice here is the Painkiller -- which is really well balanced and so delicious it's hard not to have a second. Wednesdays are when they have two dollars off the ginger-based drinks and I didn't try it this time but I am keen to the next time because they appear to crush the ginger in house and make their own ginger concoction magic. The bar was thankfully not crowded. As an introvert it was nice to be finishing up and heading out just as more people were coming in. read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

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I had a great dinner at Meiji, although the service was a bit odd. We were seated quickly, ordered drinks first, then our small plates when the waiter came back. Our small plates started coming out before drinks, and the restaurant wasn't particularly busy. All the small plates were yummy and well executed. We had either 3 or 4 waiters, I'm not sure if our table was dropped or if there was a shift transition, but it was confusing for the table. We didn't receive one dish we ordered, but it was fine because the person who ordered it ended up not being hungry. It was still on our bill so we had our new waiter take it off. The restaurant had filled up by the time we left. The AC is a little lackluster but otherwise it's cute. read more

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I miss the old Meiji but the current one is satisfactory. I stopped in for a late bite to eat and ordered hot ginger lemonade, spinach goma ae, shitake, and an onigiri. Everything was prepared and delivered to my table quickly. The shitake was delicious despite it being a smaller serving. I love the black sesame sauce served with the spinach and the onigiri filled me up. I went in between 9 and 10pm and was relieved that the noise level was doable. If you are overwhelmed by noisy restaurants, I recommend ear plugs during busy times. read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Onigiri - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

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A chill Japanese tavern with friendly neighborhood vibes, this spot offers up small plates and a wide variety of cocktails, beer, sake, and more. No reservations needed (or taken), so just walk in and enjoy. Service is casual - servers will take your order, drop off food/drinks, and take your bill. Food comes out "as it's ready" so you can start with some things and continue ordering more as needed, which is what we did. Overall, the food was just okay to me. Pricy for what it is in my opinion. Decent flavor but nothing stood out except maybe the onigiri. I enjoyed it but it wasn't the favorite restaurant we tried on our trip! FOOD RATINGS (some not pictured): - Ahi onigiri (4/5): The most flavorful and yummy item I ordered, although I wish it was raw fish vs. cooked. The lemon salt was the best part haha. - Gyu-don (3/5): This wasn't as flavorful as I'd hoped it would be. It was okay, but I wouldn't order it again, especially for the price. I'd stick to the onigiri. - Steak skewer (4/5): $7 for 3 small bites. Inconsistent on well done-ness (more medium). Tasty with the yuzu kosho and great to eat with rice ($3 for steamed rice). read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Ahi onigiri and gyu-don bowl - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

Year after year this is still one of my favorite places in Eugene! They are now open starting at 4pm so for the early diners it's a bit easier to get in. Go-tos are: Rockfish karaage, miso egg, garlic broccoli, spinach gomae. But really, I like it all. Today I tried their preparation of Japanese sweet potato and I loved it. Cocktails are also great. My go-to is the bourbon ginger as they make their own ginger mix and it's delicious. They also have house made n/a drinks like limeade that are awesome too. read more

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We ended up here because Tiger Mama next door was closed for the July 4th weekend. Not complaining, Izakaya has been on my list to try for awhile. We luckily got in just ahead of the Saturday night dinner rush and were able to sit outside which is a nice, shaded area that still gets a breeze and you can do some great people watching on the street. Chairs could be a bit more comfortable but anyway, to the food! It's a small plate affair, meaning servings are for 1-2 people. Glad it was just the two of us, would have been hard to share beyond that. We tried a few different things - Potato Salad, Edamame, Kushiyaki -Chicken Breast, Steak and Pork Belly, Chicken Kara-Age, Hot Garlic Shrimp and Spicy Tuna Cocktail. We each ordered two drinks. This all came to about $95 (without tip), for those of you who are concerned about cost. Small dishes do add up fast. My favorite items were the hot garlic shrimp and the spicy tuna cocktail. So good! So much flavor. The shrimp actually had 6 pieces so that was probably the largest serving of anything. The cocktail was so original, literally coming out in a cocktail glass. I say original - really everything here is pretty original, this one just stood out. Everything tasted very good and we truly didn't have to wait too long for anything, except the drinks. I had the house made lemonade and it was probably the best lemonade I've ever had. Our server was nice and checked in just the right amount. Overall it was a really nice experience. Would I go out of my way to come back? I'm not sure. There's nothing wrong here except that I don't think I or my husband are "small plate" types. I worry we don't have refined enough palates to do this type of dining very often. read more

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OMG why have I not tried this before! This place is amazing. All of the dishes we tried were so good I think we over indulged just a bit. You have to try this place and let me know what think. read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Dining room - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

Seriously. Do I really need say more? Seriously. Do I really need say more? Seriously. Do I really need say more? Seriously. Do I really need say more? Really? read more

Cuteeee spot for a late night drink and snacks. We sat at the bar and were well taken care of. The food came out promptly as well and everything was delicious! There's plenty of space in the restaurant but we didn't venture out of the bar area to see. It's a cozy space in the bar! read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

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They have a great late night menu! I wish I took pics but everything was so good that I didn't even think about it. We sat at the bar and were well taken care of. The food came out quickly. The bar area is small and quaint but there's a larger area with more tables that I didn't get to see on the other side. I'd come back here again when I'm in town. read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

Super good vibe inside the restaurant and very extensive drink menu. Food was overall really good but portions were super small, I shared 4 plates with my friend we both went home and warmed up some panda express to fully fill ourselves up. Next time imma just order the burger and have some more cool looking cocktails. read more

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This place is more like a 3.5 than a 4 but Yelp doesn't allow it. Some dishes were very good, some were very meh (like the ramen). Cocktails and bar menu were great. Service while dining was OK. Would come back if I was in the area but would not seek it out. After a bunch of small plates (chicken wings were the best), got the Wednesday's special ramen which was bland and flavorless. read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Ramen Special - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

A great place to go for a special eve. Love the warm dim/ warm lights and ambience. You can sit outside too. Sat at the bar. Jehn was a Super lovely bar tenderand had Great recs. Had The miso eggs. Tangy soft and smooth and were great with the spinach Gomai the black sesame sauce was delish. The combination was perfection. The chicken tikka skewers were flavorful and tender with cumin and coconut, the fresh lime added a lovely tangy finish. The ginger lemon cocktails are not to be ignored. I spilled a bit and wanted to lick it off table but luckily my mom taught me manners. The miso mushrooms were succulent and flavorful and although I was full I couldn't resist the grilled shrimp with Serrano peppers. Flavorful not overly hot or spicy with a stab of herbiness from the shiso. Very delightful. read more

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What an absolute delight it was to dine here. I've had a lot of Japanese food in my life, and have dreamed of trying certain dishes that aren't usually available to me here in the west, so today I got to try some of those dishes. We had the seaweed salad, two onigiri (salted plum and salmon), the rock fish karaage, chicken thigh skewer, and the pork belly donburi. Every element was wonderful and savory. If you are looking for umami, you'll get it here. For dessert we had the whisky and cookies. Whomever decided to put a neat pour of whisky with warm, perfectly baked (soft in the middle, set and a little crispy on the outside), dark-chocolatey cookies is a damn genius. I don't even care that it isn't Japanese. It was so good. The standouts of the night for us were the salted plum onigiri (umeboshi), chicken thigh skewer, and the karaage. We had kind service that didn't smother our table. We felt no rush, but also felt looked-after, which we appreciated greatly. It was also just a lovely place to sit and dine - it feels cozy but social. The wine was also quite lovely and I'm impressed, especially for only having one by-the-glass option for each (red, white, sparkling, rose) I will certainly be back! read more

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This place has a wonderful menu with lots of drinks to choose from and lots of small dishes. Dishes like the chicken karaage only cost $7 and have a hefty serving. The Japanese sweet potato was amazing. The skewer was perfectly soft with a nice green onion topping for a different flavor. I definitely want to try more items here. The drinks were fantastic and the painkiller was perfect. read more

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Food is great Service awesome Fun Fun place We have enjoyed two meals there with our family read more

Since when is sushi a triangle with barely any fish? And without being wrapped in seaweed! Oh the humanity! I haven't been here in a long while but that was very disappointing. I cannot believe people weren't jumping up to proclaim the tragedy unfolding in front of all the Nigiri orders. At first I waited for the fish to show. Then wrap the two sides together. The people, miso, hot sake were great. Food though, kinda meh. read more

Evan took great care of us. The ginger whiskeys were on point, as were the spicy tuna cocktail, the hot garlic shrimp, sashimi, chicken tikka kushiyaki, steak kushiyaki, fries with wasabi mayo, and the ice cream sandwich. It was the kind of meal I could roll around in, and the server was attentive, friendly, engaging, and entertaining. High marks for a fabulous evening out at a Eugene institution. Thank you, Meiji! Evan made the whole experience top notch. read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

Great variety of food options. Great bar and very good employees. Always a good dining experience.

So so so good, everything that comes out of the kitchen is a masterpiece. Miso mushrooms, pork belly, the ramen, the rockfish. So sad it's gone--truly was my favorite place in Eugene. I also loved the bourbon and ginger drink. read more

I ordered this drink. It was disgusting. The manager said no I couldn't exchange it for another drink... without paying for it... bummer. I won't go back. read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - I was disappointed with the manger.. I ordered this drink. I was gross. Said No to exchanging for different - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

We came here after a wedding reception so we just ordered drinks and appetizers. The bartenders are engaging and welcoming. I was not fond of the Meiji Mule since it was very spicy so I switched with my boyfriend's drink. But I also didn't like the Lion's Tail since it was very tart. For apps, they took longer than expected. Their yakitori was pretty bland and the meat had a weird texture. The fries were tasty and their wasabi mayo was fantastic. Even though I was not pleased with the drinks somehow I still like to come back. I love the vibe and they seemed to have a good whiskey menu that we like to try. read more

I will never forget how amazing this food was. Best restaurant I have ever been to, to this day. My friend brought me here while I was in town for a work trip and holy smokes. I think about it often. Whatever they put into their food, it is magic! I cannot wait to be back. read more

Look. So here's the skinny. I'm not going to waste time, I'm not going to wax all philosophical about this place and the decor and the menu and the ambiance. Yeah yeah yeah. All that stuff is great. The service is immaculate. Now that I hit all of the "markers". Get the rock fish. That's the whole review. Get the damn Rock fish. It's that good. It'll make you come back to try everything else. And even when you come back for your 47th time, get the rock fish. Two orders. Because you'll want one for the car ride home while you're reminiscing about how good it was in the store. read more

Tons of gluten free options, my favorites include the rock fish, hot garlic shrimp, & chicken wings. Spicy tuna cocktail is pretty good (quality of fish can be hit or miss). Last time I went they said they got rid of the chicken wings, which was truly devastating for me to hear. Pleeease bring them back, they were the best thing on your menu (in my opinion)! read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Chicken wings - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

We went there a little late but it was still buzzing. Everything we ordered was exquisite and reasonably priced. Our server was also excellent. We loved it. read more

I've been coming to this place for years! Hands down my go to spot anytime I'm in Eugene! You can always count to spot on drinks, fast and attentive service and the foods is amazing! read more

Izakaya Meiji has a really cute ambiance. There's a small bar area and plenty of seats both inside and outside. We were seated pretty quickly and it was nice that they offered drinks while we were waiting. The food here is good, I like the idea of small tapas style plates. However these are very small plates and if you have a table for 4 you are really only getting one bite of each. We tried a large variety of things and then went back and reordered items. I am sure I missed some photos of things that came out as they all came out as the kitchen made them so it was just appearing on the table every couple of minutes. The staff are really nice, and it's definitely a spot to visit if you are in Eugene read more

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What a great ambience! This place is all the bells and whistles. The food comes out when it's ready, and they don't course meals out here. The food is top notch! Japanese fusion. Full of flavor! The Japanese whiskey selection is great, and the other cocktails are fantastic. Prepare to have a wait at the door, or in their standup drink lounge until your table is ready. They will give you a text when your table is ready. I prefer sitting at the bar. I think it has a fun vibe because they have great cocktails in the bartenders are nice! Most of their menu is small plates, so I recommend ordering several things. They do have a couple larger plates, their burger is exceptional! The shitaki mushrooms, and meatball skewers are an absolute must. The edamame is very spicey!!! You've been w read more

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Delicious small plates, good drinks, excellent service, and fun decor and ambience. "Where East Meets Country Western" perfectly sums it up. We enjoyed the Oakshire Watershed IPA and almost everything we ordered: rockfish karaage (so fresh and crunchy), salmon onigiri, edamame, ebi furai, spicy tuna cocktail, and fries with wasabi mayo. The shiitake burger looked beautiful and tasted fine, but fell apart on the first bite. We had only 25 minutes to eat since minors aren't permitted after 10pm and we arrived with our kids at 9:35, but it was 100% worth it. We'll definitely return the next time we're in Eugene, and maybe come without our kids so we can experience the late night menu. read more

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I was a bit intrigued with this place identifying as a Japanese cowboy-like restaurant; an izakaya by definition is a local tavern/pub to hangout. We met up with a few local friends at their recommendation. This is great pub food--small bites, Japanese tapas. Their menu accommodates meat eaters, vegetarians & vegans. The food goes well with the alcohol. It's cozy--you can choose to sit at the bar or at a table. If the weather was better, I'm sure they offer outdoor seating, but not during our visit. Our servers, we had more than one, were very helpful and prompt with taking and serving our orders. We ordered both alcohol and food for our meals. We started with a sake flight, ginger patch (vodka with gingerade), Japanese whiskey. With that we ordered the rockfish karaage, potato & pea korokke, french fries (w/wasabi mayo); fried chicken teriyaki burger, buta kimchi (pork belly & kimichi) spinach goma-ae, hot garlic shrimp & tonkatsu. The meal was definitely an East meets West theme and every bit delicious. My only comment was that I thought the buta kimchi was too salty (for me) and the hot garlic shrimp could have packed more eat. It was a great experience and a very enjoyable meal and definitely worth checking out--there's a great vibe! I just wish I would be able to go on a Tuesday, when they feature cowboy karaoke. read more

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Came in wanting some food items posted on the Yelp images, turns out they didn't have ANY of the foods posted since their menu changes, so misleading!! All items came in a singular portion. Everything we ordered was so disappointing. Will not be coming back. Fried Enoki: 2/10 VERY oily and spicy Salmon Onigiri: 2/10 plain, barely any salmon Vegetable Onigiri: 1/10 SALTY, do not recommend! Chicken breast: 5/10 pretty good with the yuzu kosho finishing Chicken karage: 5/10 tasted like normal fried popcorn chicken read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Fried Enoki Mushroom - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

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I visited Meiji for a quick snack after work. The server was very nice, and the patio was quiet and enjoyable in the crisp fall air. We ordered the hamachi salad, which had fresh grapefruit that added a nice citrus hint. The spicy tuna cocktail was smooth, with a great finishing touch of oils and salt. The rockfish karaige was tender and flaky. The miso soft-boiled egg was a unique experience with spot-on flavor. We ended the meal with Curry udon, and the broth was exceptional. The cocktails, especially the Japanese whiskey flight, were excellent. We plan to return to try more of their seasonal specials! read more

Izakaya Meiji Company - Julep - Japanese Near Me - Eugene, Oregon

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Yum. Yum. Yum. The best food. So cute. Loved that vibe so much. Delicious. Amazing service. Yay Mud!

Unique food, drinks, servers. Casual experience which is typical for Eugene ... ery tasty and would definitely go back.

Great food great service Sierra the best only good spot in town open late what the frick i need 85 characters to post this review jeez

We ate here last week. All 4 of us thought everything was overly salty. Food was good, just very salty. They bring out dishes as they are cooked, not by the table, so you end up eating in turns. I don't think I would eat there again, too many better options in Eugene. read more

Creative cocktail list and a diverse Japanese fusion menu. Attentive and friendly staff. Interior needs a refresh.