Probably the NICEST bartender we'd ever had in Portland. Just wanted to have that out there. Never had homebrewed sake before I came on Sake Day. The food was fresh and arrived promptly, which is all I really ask of a sushi bar on a crowded First Thursday (and Sake Day!). Star down cuz...I don't really know. I think I might come back on Japanese Movie Night to figure that out. read more

So.. I've eaten here 4 times now. I'm a sucker for punishment. That said the fish has been fantastic! Unfortunately the service is nonexistent. I don't know about you but eating sushi is a delicate, texture driven dare I say sensual experience. It's an art form and should be treated with respect. That said, the repeated downside to this (Zilla) eating experience is the lack of engagement and common sense. When we order two salads, bring us a couple of plates. People like to share. When I ask for plates they look at me like I'm an alien. And after ordering a large tray of nigiri having a couple of small plates under my fat face keeps the table clean. It's also usually customary to point out to your customers what they are about to eat and whether or not they should be slathering soy sauce all over their fish. There just seems to be a huge disconnect between Portland and every other city I've eaten sushi in. And who doesn't like saki? When I order a bottle of Nigori or anything for that matter, it's been my experience to have it served in some sort of ice bath to keep it cold. This time it was explained to me that people don't usually ask for such things but they'd dig something up. I'm sorry? Am I putting you guys out? I'm throwing down on a bottle and keeping it cold is weird? Let's not keep Portland that weird.. I love the chefs here and they're fish and hope the servers though pleasant can put some effort into the chefs' efforts. read more

One of my favorite sushi places in Portland right now. Ambience is like a decorative shack located in heart of Alberta district; warm, low key and comfortable. The sort of place you might find in Hawaii or in Malibu. Amazingly fresh sushi and fantastic sake collection (you can get a high end 5 flight for $20). The best thing on the menu is a Black Seaweed Salad with adamame and rice. The Seaweed is fresh from Santa Barbra and delicious! read more

My wife and I stopped in here on a Saturday afternoon. It's a low-key respite from the typical Alberta Street pretension. Their sake selection is top notch and they serve a quality selection of sushi. The scallops melted in my mouth. This is the non-downtown place for high-class sushi and sake. I loved it. read more

I've been here for both lunch and dinner. Absolutely amazing every single time I go. Lunch is a perfectly portioned meal that will leave you satisfied and give you good energy for the rest of your day. Beautiful plating. Balanced flavors. Knowledgeable staff. 10/10 For dinner, Zilla serves the best sushi/nigiri/sashimi in Portland. Hands down, the best place for fish. read more

Deliciously fresh sushi from the VERY talented two female sushi chefs, but not good service... very slow, disorganized and kinda clueless seeming? It would be the perfect atmosphere/attitude/etc. if it were sort of inexpensive and divey. read more

Great spot for a casual date- Also, my favorite sake selection in Portland.

Food was delicious! I'm a sushi snob since I'm Japanese and eat it often. I always get the chirashi to sample the variety of fish. The service is where they lose a star. I'm not a fan of multiple wait staff on a table bc they don't know when they hit the table last. Also, they were out of most of the Sakes, but the one we ended up with was good! read more

The server was terrible. She did not know her own menu and after spending $60 on sushi for two I still didn't get what I ordered. The only reason they get two stars was the fabulous sushi chef. He completely saved the day despite the server doing her best to ruin it. We will not be back. read more

This place is delicious and very fresh. They also have an amazing selection of sake. Be ready to spend a lot of money though. Good atmosphere too. read more

This place was an excellent surprise! Open in the middle of the day and the sushi and service were both amazing! India was our server and she was awesome. The Cali rolls for the kids were excellent and made with real crab. The tuna was beautiful and deep red-pink. The miso soup was even a pleasant surprise! read more

I usually love this place. They raised their prices for omakase and gave us less food then usual. How do you get away with serving each person one piece of nigiri and only four different varieties of fish. It's lame. Food was good, but I was still hungry. read more

I love Zilla, I am walking distance and go very often because of the great happy hour pricing, great sushi, great sake, and wonderful atmosphere. You will be hard pressed to find another sake bar that is as knowledgeable as the team at Zilla. The owner is super nice and helpful and the sushi chef tells you exactly what to order (if you ask). Not a super wide variety of sushi but I am not an adventurous sushi person so the basics work well for me. The miso soup is best I have ever had.. maybe doesn't sound like a bold statement but I lived and ate at many sushi restaurants in San Francisco. Tuesday night is open mic - and always entertaining. read more

After a long bike ride sushi and a few drinks sounded great, too bad it would of been faster to catch our own than wait for the servers and cooks. Party of three, one veg, sushi was pretty high quality and fresh but almost not worth it for how poor the service was. It's such a niche place I feel that the only reason to go here is if you are a saki aficionado because the selection is very extensive. read more

Extremely slow service all around. Food didn't come til about an hour and a half in, in bits and pieces. Both servers identified the rolls incorrectly so we ended up splitting up our order incorrectly. read more

Was out walking with a friend today and ran across this place so decided to give it a try. So glad that I did! While the menu selection was a little small (unless you're there for saki) they had exactly what I wanted and the food was delicious and fresh tasting! I am also a fan of the decor and the overall feel of the place. read more

We came here for the sake. We ended up having some of the best nigiri I've ever had. The special was Maine uni and you could add a quail egg for a dollar which we did. It was like butter. The salmon and scallop nigiri was also super fresh and delicious. We got Allowe's magic sake soul flight and I've never had better sake. And I drink a lot of sake. I will come back to Portland just to eat here. read more

My favorite place to eat in Portland, sit at the bar and watch the ninja like skills of the owners as they craft works of art for your consumption. I love eating food that is prepared with passion and expertise, at Zilla you can expect nothing less. read more

LOVE this place. Amazing sushi. Great specials. Friendly service. Good ambience. Had me thinking about it for a couple of days after. To start, we had a couple of their specials and a great roll. Nigiri was very well proportioned and same with the roll. Sushi chef was very knowledgable about what was available. We also ordered Uni, which is great indicator of whether the sushi is greasy and the overall restaurant is good or not, and is was great. Just the right amount of creamy texture. Would definitely recommend going. read more

Prices are high, portions are small, and service was slow. One of the worst sushi experiences in Portland.

Worst service. It took us 1 hr 45 minutes to get two sushi rolls. Ordered a beer and that took 30 minutes to get, the place was not busy. And when asked about our food, server just said about the sushi chef he's just a little slower and that it's fine. Really?! Taking your time after 1hr 45 minutes for two rolls is not cool. They also ran out of rice and made my regular roll so small. What sushi place runs out of rice? Worst sushi place I've ever been too. read more

The sushi, sake, and atmosphere was great, but it took well over 30 minutes to receive each order we put in. I wouldn't recommend the miso deluxe... We weren't sure what exactly was in it...They were very understaffed, and I believe only had one person rolling sushi for all of the orders. I'd go here again, but only if I knew I had a couple hours to spare. read more

Plenty of veg options, and soooo many varieties of great sake from around the world AND right here in Oregon. The helpful bartender gave us suggestions and helped keep us happy when they were out of the first sake we ordered. The seaweed salad on the happy hour menu was the best thing i've ever eaten with seaweed in it!! Tasty, a bit pricey, but worth it for great atmosphere, service, and quality sushi with sake. read more

This place is a great little place for sushi and sake. The crew that is usually there knows there stuff about Sake. The sushi is good and prices are normal. The food menu isn't big, but they have a good selection of Sake to choose from. I would recommend this place to anyone. read more

I like Zilla because it is convenient and close to home. However, the sushi is basic and nothing special. There are some creative rolls on there. The staff and service are great though. read more

Loved the stylized rustic Japanese ambiance of this place. Our server was a charm! The lovely owner also welcomingly chatted up me and my wife. Not the best value for the amount of sushi we got, hence the 4 stars, but not bad. Not a robust menu to compliment the sushi if you want something more. No full bar here, but they will mix you a good cocktail with what's on hand. Come for the sushi, selection of sake, and great service. Worth a return visit for sure! read more

High quality fish at an affordable price. What more can you ask for? Came here for omakase and James-san delivered! The rice is unique and delicious; some of the best I've ever had. I highly recommend Zilla Sake for anybody who takes their omakase seriously. read more

Amazing sushi! A tie for my favourite sushi place. Not a large menu but everything is delicious! They make there own wasabi too. Mmm

If your expectations when drinking/dining out are to be greeted, seated, given a menu and a glass of water don't even think about spending time here. If you are hoping to eat an entire sushi dinner or are hoping to find some local or organic or sustainable fish it's not at Zilla. The service is insulting, the drinks are average and real talk, the food made me sick. I want to like this place but I am completely underwhelmed. read more

The actual food itself is good. But the place is quite cold. Both literally and figuratively.

Over priced and not even that good. I went like a week ago, and they had the A/C on!!! we were freezing ourselves! Not recommended this place at all, dont waste your money! read more

Bad attitude. Looking for some Saturday night sushi, but was met with a dismissive "look how cool we are" vibe. The staff seemed aloof and irritated, even though the place looked to be about half full. I understand the desire to be hip and chic, but there comes a time when profundity alone isn't enough. You have to balance the hip with good service and good prices. Better food and service six blocks up the street. Won't go back. read more

Really good sushi however, -Poor service, the servers are slow and too busy talking with each other or staring at the ceilings to take an order or to check up on you -Price, way too expensive for what you get! Been here several times, every time the service is awful. I'm not planning on coming back anytime soon. read more

We stumbled upon this place last night in my neighborhood and wondered why we hadn't been before. It is now my new fave place to dine. It happened to be my birthday and these folks were incredible. Treated us like movie stars. It would stand on the food alone, but the sake selection and education, super cozy space and the over the top service was such a lovely present! We ordered a bunch of sushi and everything was SO fresh. Really melted in the mouth. And they use real wasabi. You can absolutely tell the difference. I can walk here from home and will be doing this quite often, I can assure you. read more

I like Zilla quite a bit. I like sushi quite a bit too and while I am admittedly not an expert I do find the quality of fish always to be high and I appreciate the mostly straight forward, traditional menu offerings. I also know next to nothing about Sake but their sake menu is very informative and educational and the servers are knowledgeable and have made solid recommendations for me on more than one occasion. On occasion the service has seemed overwhelmed but in my experience they have addressed it and made up for it on those occasions. I'll conclude by adding that Zilla is a comfortable place for going by yourself with a book. I don't feel comfortable doing that at most places but I really appreciate it when I do. read more

I had the most wonderful time tonight, and I wanted to thank the staff at Zilla for making it the best night I've had out in a long time. You were all so welcoming and kind! I don't get out often but when I do I really appreciate a knowledgeable and funny staff, who is clearly interested in making my time memorable. My friend and I were well informed about each course and every Saki we tasted. It was a beautiful blend of palate pleasing sushi. sashami and nigiri, as well as a loaded fresh crab salad and miso soup. Our server recommended a perfect Saki with every course to balance flavors, and we immensely enjoyed the wonderful people keeping us company from behind the bar. Thank you for making my rare night out a memorable one! I will see you again very soon! read more

I re-visited Zilla Sake House after picking my daughter up from the airport and I have to say, they have really upped their game. Sushi was excellent, quite fresh and delicious; service was outstanding, and there were also nice touches such as a peppery grated ginger on the edamame. I will be coming back. read more

Location--great, a hidden gem. People--attentive and with the right attitude- "do it right." Food--excellent dining experience, including: presentation, freshness, wild and local. Value--more than I could expect. If you eat a meal you care to remember a week later, it's likely one you'll seek again. I look forward to seeing what Kate and Sam will come up with on the next visit. Yes, this was my first time at Zilla Sake House. read more

Fabulous drinks, sushi, environment and service! I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Zilla Sake. I will definitely be coming back!

The food was good. The service not so much. Ordered a beer and after asking three times if it was going to come it finally came with a slam on the table over thirty minutes later at the end of the meal. You know, just when you want your drink. Then I was brought the bill and I noticed it wasn't my bill so they brought another bill. This one with an extra beer added! The irony was laughable. They actually took both beers off which yeah that's nice but it would've just been nicer to get it during the meal without the f-you attitude. Sad because the sushi really was good and something as stupid as a beer shouldn't matter but it ended up clouding the whole dinner. Probably because it took a long time for each dish to come out so one person would get their food and no one else would have any and then someone would ask if the beer had come yet and then ask when their food might come. So it just felt like a lot of watching other people eat. And then they would watch you eat. Weird way to serve food. read more