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Start a Top 5 for JapaneseEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Portland Press Herald. Updated August 2026.
Izakaya Minato · East End
Izakaya Minato pours a sake-forward menu on Washington Avenue, where the appeal is its affordable omakase, a run of four or five family-style plates that stays one of the better dining bargains in the city for diners watching a budget.
Mami · Old Port
Chef Austin Miller cooks Japanese street food and izakaya classics at Mami on Fore Street, working local Maine ingredients like pollock into dishes such as yaki onigiri for a menu that leans iconoclastic rather than sticking to standard technique and recipes.
Aomori · West Bayside
A 44-seat family kitchen from Masahiko Miyake, his wife Chieko and son Reo opened in West Bayside in December 2025, cooking Tohoku-region home dishes with Maine seasonality alongside shared plates, sushi and sashimi, izakaya-style dining, and a six-course kaiseki menu built for slower nights.