May 2018 | view this story as a .pdf

Sushi, Chic & Sleek

Benkay relocates to a brand-new corner in the East End.

By Claire Z. Cramer

Opening in 1997, Benkay led the pack that transformed Portland into city full of excellent Japanese restaurants. A move this January from Commercial Street to a gleaming storefront in the condo canyon that’s risen just east of India Street has brought a bright new luster to an old favorite.

We’re led to a window table overlooking Middle Street. Micucci’s and Lois’ Natural Marketplace may be just around the corner, but we might as well be in another city, so new and unfamiliar are the surrounding buildings. And what’s been lost (a harbor view) has been made up in improved interior design.

The new Benkay is handsome and minimalist, with simple wooden tables, chairs, and benches. A long sushi bar adorned with colorful seafood and garnishes is presided over by four sushi-men.

We begin with saki samplers. Our server brings a flight of three dry sakes in small glasses on wooden trays ($10 per flight). We sample Ozeki brand Yamadanishiki and Karatamba Honjoro, and Hakushika Chokara. The first sip of Yamadanishiki is cool and bright, and we enjoy comparing subtle differences throughout dinner.

The menu here is huge, our server’s input welcome and excellent. She advises the pork gyoza over the shrimp shumai. The pan-fried gyoza are hot and fragrant with ground pork and cabbage, noticeably tastier than most pork dumplings ($8). Seaweed salad–fine shreds of bright green kelp and thin strips of dark nori–is subtly tart and well dressed ($6).

From the daily-special chalkboard above the sushi bar, we choose Tai snapper. A dainty pair of nigiri–pieces of  light, flounderlike fish set on bite-size disks of sushi rice–is delicious with a dip in soy sauce ($8).

Two of Benkay’s enduringly popular maki roll selections are beautifully presented on a speckled pottery platter, complete with floral-like arrangements of shaved, pickled ginger and wasabi paste garnishes. Maine Rolls (8 pieces) salutes with fresh, cooked lobster, asparagus, and cucumber ($11). The signature Benkay Rolls ($10) invites with spicy raw tuna, tempura-fried before being sliced into pieces and enrobed in a cloak of creamy wasabi sauce. Rich, decadent, and completely irresistible.

The menu has pages of assorted sushi and maki-rolls; cooked entrees with pork, chicken, or tofu; and tempura of both seafood and vegetables. At a nearby table, we spot a platter piled high with feather-light shrimp tempura under siege by four diners’ chopsticks.

We conclude the feast with simple Hamachi yellowtail rolls. The dark, strong raw fish is the perfect foil for the last of the ginger and wasabi.

Benkay’s 21-year run is proof that gloriously fresh seafood and excellent service will never go out of style.

Benkay, serving lunch Mon. – Fri. from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. and dinner 5 p.m. – close, Sat. & Sun. 11:30 a.m. – close; 16 Middle St., Portland; 773-5555; sushiman.com