When Nodoguro chef and owner Ryan Roadhouse lost his lease last December, he needed to find both a new venue and a blank canvas: Nodoguro's themed dinners, like the upcoming Salvador Dali Sousaku Tasting, sees the restaurant elaborately decorated, whether with surrealist paintings and a melting clock, or a nine-foot-tall Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
So what happened? He took over one of Portland's most important historic restaurant venues on SE Belmont, the former home to Genoa, the restaurant oft credited as bringing fine dining to Portland.
"The goal was to keep the atmosphere as much the same as possible, but with more comforts," Roadhouse tells Eater. The result is minimalist, modern, and mutually Western and Japanese: a fireplace, a large 16-seat chef's counter made of pressed bamboo, translucent shōji doors, and—a study?
Yep, Nodoguro now has roughly three times the seating, including The Study, a swank, semi-private space with a leather couch and things like Icelandic sheepskin throw rugs, off the main dining room.
Just how you'll get into the Study isn't yet certain. Roadhouse says The Study could either be first come, first serve or have scheduled seatings. What he has determined is he'll serve prix fixe menus centered on izakaya dishes and a healthy selection of beer, saké, and rare Japanese whiskies.
Though Nodoguro's first wave of dinners has sold out, Roadhouse says the next reservations will go live in the next 10 or so days. Nodoguro serves its critic-adored Hardcore Sushi menus Wednesdays and Thursdays, and its creatively themed Sousaku Tasting dinners Friday through Sunday. And for those who like it seriously hardcore, there's the SupaHardcore menu. It offers a blend of the two menus in around 21 courses and will be available once or twice a month.
