Great Japanese Food, Small Town Location
DESCRIPTION: Syun Japanese restaurant is easily the best Asian restaurant in the Willammette Valley. If you haven't tried their many sakes you are in for a treat.
DATE: 2002-01-02
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Syun Special Roll

Just like Japan
DESCRIPTION: Working for a Japanese company, having been to Japan many times, and as a former Hillsboro resident, I can say Syun is a most authentic, high quality, izakaya-style restaurant. Even my Japanese co-workers agree. For them it's just like a little piece of home.
DATE: 2003-04-18
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 8
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 8

Best Sushi in Oregon -
DESCRIPTION: In fact, I've been to about 10 or 15 good sushi restaurants in the bay area, and this is better than any of them.
DATE: 2003-04-30
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 10

Extraordinary Japanese
DESCRIPTION: I am a food critic. My husband and I traveled to Portland last week to interview a Portland area chef for the "James Beard" award. After the interview, I asked the chef where to go for "good Japanese food". He recommend "Syun". My husband and I went on a Friday and were seated at the sushi bar where we were greeted by one of the chefs, Vaughn. He presented us with a little sushi bar appetizer and when we were ready, proceeded to take our order. My husband and I were very impressed with the feeling of the restaurant. But, I have to say, we were absolutely amazed by the skill and personality our chef. Our meal included Sashimi of Aji,Toro, and Halfbeak. As for nigiri, we tried just about everything. The nigiri was perfect. All the while, Vaughn was able to entertain us with his delightful personality and fun sushi bar information. We also had a few items from the kitchen that were very good. I have written about many Japanese restaurants and have sat at many of sushi bars in my career. "Syun" is one of the best for quality of food and ambiance. Floor service was a little slow and impersonal but, it did seem like a busy night.
DATE: 2005-10-08
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Sayori and Blue Fin Toro sashimi

Is it still as good as in the late '70's?
DESCRIPTION: I miss the burgers, they were the best. By the way is that the same place where they'd have bluegrass music too.
DATE: 2002-08-30
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 8
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 8

DESCRIPTION: Best burgers!
DATE: 2003-10-25
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 10

You CAN'T have it your way!
DESCRIPTION: The Sign over the Kitchen says it all "This isn t burger king, you can't have it your way." Well I managed to find this out the hard way. On the way back from the coast our caravan (3 cars full of hungry beach goers) decided to make a stop at the fabled Helvetia Tavern because they were RUMORED to have the best burger in town, so naturally we wanted to experience this hamburger nirvana for ourselves. The building is full of charm, and the atmosphere was casual which is exactly what we wanted. After taking 3 seconds to review their expansive menu (6 or so choices), it was decided that my girlfriend and I would split one of these "so called" monsters, and to top'er off we added an order of onion rings for another $3.95 (REALLY?? $3.95, it's more like a side order. They are REALLY proud of these things) because we heard they are nothing short of paradise. When I asked the waitress if she could "split" the order she winked mockingly at me and said she would bring an extra plate and a knife so that I could do it myself??? When the food finally arrived I was underwhelmed by the presence of 10 or so minuscule onion rings, the hamburger bun looked like something from Safeway s throwaway "feed it to the birds" rack, and the size....well lets just say that Stanich's has NOTHING to worry about. But the real surprise hit me when the bill arrived. Sorry we don t accept "Credit Card", but there is an ATM around back. So in total my burger and onion rings ended up costing me $15 dollars by the time I added in the ATM extortion. Is this Helvetia's idea of customer service, well like I said in the first sentence, YES (But is "my way" asking TOO MUCH? just take my credit card). Ohh if you decide to Adventure into the bathroom (err closet) from hell Beware!
DATE: 2005-04-18
FOODRATING : 4
SERVICERATING : 4
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 2
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Avoid This Place