Utopia Restaurant & Lounge

Omg I don’t know why this place has such bad reviews. I love their bo luc lac and their fish sauce wings! The portions are pretty big and reasonably priced. Portions are great for family style.

Drinks very nice. The food was excellant. Service at the bar very satisfyin g. If video gambling is your thing. lots of opportunity. Neighborhood bar atmosphere. .even the steamed rice was good. Traveling. And would go back whenever I have the chance gritty outside. great inside!

The best wings! Great spicy crab soup. Gangster hangout. Vietnamese saying fuck a lot lol

One of the places that can clearly define a hole-​in-​the-​wall type restaurant. The cleanliness of the restaurant is questionable and often the crowd is as well but I’m there for the food.
They serve up a pretty delicious bun bo hue hotpot (that’s right, I said hotpot!). The bacon fried rice is something else, who thought to put in bacon in fried rice?! Don’t even get me started on the wings. These fish sauce glazed wings leave you wanting more.
Why don’t I have any food pictures from here? 1) I cannot wait to dive straight in. 2) I wouldn’t be caught dead taking food pics in here. It’s a rowdy crowd.
I’ve only been on the karaōke side once when there wasn’t anyone singing their hearts out. It always sounds like they’re having a good time as terrible as they may sound, but I’m there to eat not judge who gets to be on Vietnamese idol.

From outside, the place looks sort of. unconvincing. But that is understandable cause it is located in that part of town. I was here with a Vietnamese friend and her family/​friends after her wedding. There was nobody in the restaurant, we were the only customer. Next door is a bar. We came at 1 pm, and I accidentally opened the door in the middle only to see a few of older men looking at me confused when I was confused myself why the restaurant I was invited to is a small bar that would not fit all of us. turned out I entered the wrong door lol.
Anyway, the actual restaurant is small indeed. Not a fancy one for sure, the atmosphere was kind of eh. and our server, a latino guy, started serving us. He was nice, good service. My friend already ordered our food, she said the food is good. The first one that came was beef salad. It was delicious, slightly sweet, sour, with some fish sauce and picled radish and carrot. It is not cold though, just warm. Then a few rounds of food came, chicken wings, salt n pepper squid, vietnamese style tom yum hotpot, and fried rice. All of them were very delicious. Don’t let the place fool you, my friend said you can karaōke in the evening too. The three stars is just because it was very empty, that one would think this is not a good restaurant from the atmosphere and ambience, which was my first impression anyway. Overall, it was a nice lunch and very nice food!

Fish sauce wings are good but (to me) not better than another Portland mainstay. I was very happy with the luc lac. The service was prompt and the ambiance very casual. I will definitely be coming back.

Hands down the very best fish sauce chicken wings you’ll ever eat. I’ve tried many other places and their fish sauce chicken wings but it just can’t compare. The wings are flavorful not too salty or not too sweet, spicy goodness and crispy.
My other favorites are the fried rice, bun Bo hue, Bo luc lac and Chao long.

A friend recommended this place for us two months ago. We tried it out a few weeks ago with another family. We like their Bun Bo Hue and decided to make it the place to go when we want to eat Bun Bo Hue. We went back today (Saturday) for lunch. The restaurant side, where minors are allowed, was quiet as usual, so we don’t have to wait to get a seat… Today’s Bun Bo Hue smells different than usual. The noodles are cooked just right but the broth is a little bit on the salty side. All the condiments are perfect. Unfortunately, when I take a bite into the meat, I almost throw up. Today’s meat are slimy and smell terrible. They must have serve us old/​leftover broth and meat. :(We left and decided not to go back there again.

Came here with a group of 4 and found a seat immediately. The place stays open late and gets pretty busy around 12am. The phở was really good though. Like super good. We order the #20 or #21 and chicken wings. All of it was super yummy. This is definitely a divey bar. It doesn’t look like a good place from the outside, but the food is great!

What an interesting little spot. It’s one of my favorite late night grub joints. Special rice and garlic chicken and are awesome for soaking up some late night beer. I have to admit that sometimes I feel out of place or maybe unwelcome by the regulars but perhaps that’s just me being insecure or uncomfortable. I like to play a bit of video lottery while waiting for dinner and then head home to hasslehoff it.

Open till 2am. Still a little sketch w/​the neighborhood. Skip on the bun (vermicelle bowls), most people go there for the blood noodles. The beef salad is great and salt and pepper squid. Its becoming a trendy spot for younger kids, but we may run out the locals in the area… and not sure the staff can support the hipster crowd…

I recently had lunch here with the wife. The place is very divey and usually full of ethnic Asians. It is family owned and has a warm feel. The ambiance is sports/​karaōke bar feel.
We ordered the Bun Bo Hue and spicy fish/​garlic sauce wings. The service was fast and the bar tender was friendly. There was Siemens soccer playing on the TVs while we dined.
The BBH/​Bun Bo Hue was on point. The broth was hot and flavorful. There was beef, pork, and pork roll cut into the bowl. The peppers were spicy and soaking in fish sauce. Our soup also included an assortment of vegetables/​herbs to garnish the dish with. (See my pic)
The bowl of BBH was big and satisfying. We had to get our wings to go because we were so full. The wings were crispy and spicy. It was fried and flavored with peppers, garlic and fish sauce.
My wife and I enjoyed our meal here and will define my be coming back.

Only tried the chicken wings. They were great! The gentleman who helped us was decent, helpful and friendly. Prices seem reasonable for the amount of food you get. Would go again.

I have the Spicy Beef Noodle soup here alot, it is awesome good. Better then Phở Hung and Phở Van. Its a nice assortment of meats, sorta like a treasure chest of meat. Smells SLIGHTLY ammonia-​ted, in a good way (i kno you dont believe that, but BELIEVE it). get the banana flowers along with your greens to go in it.
Fish Sauce wings and house fried rice is my go to dish too.
Great crispy wings with a good sauce and fried rice better then most.
Great prices, great staff. this place is awesome

So it’s monday night and I am craving some on fire Phở…
I ride past this place quite often, and figured since Hanoi Kitchen was closed (great place, check it out sometime – right up the road) I would pop into the mysterious, Karaōke boasting, Vietnamese joint on 82^nd. The restaurant side seemed empty and stagnant, so I hit the bar where there were regulars dumping money into lotto machines, a football game going, and some cheering from the small crowd. I like a divey atmosphere, and often streetfood/​corner bars are hiding foodie gems that make history, so I figured since they had some interesting menu items, I would go for it.
I order the wings and their «Spicy Beef» Phở soup with a Blue Moon (limited tap). The bartender is nice, the regulars are focused on the game. My wings come out and they are nicely fried, and the first few are pretty good… Then I bit into a larger one and it is cold inside. Yuck. I put it down, reach for another and it’s the same story. Not cool.
My Phở comes out and it is looking different than the usual fare. The broth is bright red, the noodles are super fat (Udon style verm), and there is no ribeye, no tendon, no tripe, nothing… Just some precooked tenderloin on top (4 pieces) and a few spongy looking sausage balls. I surmise that it will be a new style, not exactly what I was into but whatever, and I dig in…
The broth is really light… Like campbells chicken noodle in a can light. There is an overbearing red pepper/​chili taste, but nothing else. The noodles are cooked nicely but not supportive of the broth, not adding anything but wormy texture to a bland bowl. The meat looks like jerky and tastes like someone left it out on a countertop… Ugh. The meat balls are even worse, tasting like they were thrown in last minute after sitting in an open refrigerator for a few days… There is actually a point during the meal where I ask myself if I am comfortable with food poisoning/​plan out the next few hours just in case… But for the sake of reviewing, I muscle through the bowl, send my wings to the garbage, and chug the rest of my Blue Moon (which was pretty flat, but its a dive bar).
All in all, I make a pretty serious hobby out of discovering/​reviewing good noodle joints around town and this one gets a thumbs down. I would only eat here again if I were stranded, starving, or super wasted. They have to do better with that real estate!
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I’ve heard from several people that the bun bo hue here was really good so I decided to try it. The restaurant’s exterior looks very sketchy but I thought it was just another hole in the wall type place. I walked into the restaurant side and it was so dark, I could hardly see anything.
The waitress didn’t greet us at all and just slapped the menu on the table and left. We already knew what to order so we stopped her as she was leaving to give her our order. It was easy to see that the lady did not know any english whatsoever, it was so difficult to communicate with her. We ordered a pound of fish sauce chicken wings and 4 bun bu hues with 2 of them with extra noodles.
She gave us our utensils: some napkins, 4 soup spoons, and 3 ½ pairs of chopsticks. I just thought «oh maybe she just didn’t count it right» so I just got up and went to get the missing chopstick that she forgot.
A lady brought out the food, set it down and left as quickly as possible and ignored us as we were speaking to her asking for spices. Anyways, I must admit that the fish sauce chicken wings were not bad. It wasn’t super salty as I have tried at some places. However the bun bo hue was just alright. We asked for no spicy in some of them but they still have spice in them. This could be due to how the broth was made. But really, I’ve tried better bun bo hue. It is better than the other phở places but not as good as the other one on 82^nd. The waitress did not give us our extra noodles which we just thought that she didn’t understand us so didn’t say anything to her especially since she was never present in the restaurant.
My cousin went to the bathroom with her son and was talking to him when one of the workers went in, washed her hands, and left while turning off the lights. My cousin was clearly in the bathroom and was furious when that happened. Kind of odd…
Anyways, the bill came and apparently we were charged with extra noodles which we were all confused because no one told us which bowl had the extra noodles. I guess this is partly our fault for not saying anything. The cooks said that they put in extra noodles so I am still confused here. We decided to just pay and leave because even if we tried to solve the problem, the workers could not understand us.
In conclusion, the food is alright and this place has poor customer service. I highly doubt I would ever come back again.

Food was well priced and very good. Definitely a dive bar feel. Strong drinks and good food. Im in !!!
Fried rice.. Hubby had to order two orders. he loved it. Appetizers were chicken wings egg rolls and pot stickers… all very yummy. We ordered a little of everything and it was all good. Stuffed a party of 6 for around 70.
I give five stars not because this is a five star establishment. you will not find white table cloths here. But it offered exactly what we needed. Open late and good food to help avoid hang over. Im here on vacation and have gone back twice.

So to start off… After midnight this place doesn’t serve water! The only water is bottle water for $ 1.00!!! Really? How ridiculous (we live in Portland and our tap water is one of the best).
One dish we always get is the fish sauce chicken wings and it wasn’t good. I think they forgot some ingredient… We also had the pepper salted shrimp /​pepper salted squid /​Bun Bo Hue /​and a raw beef dish. Nothing special about the dishes other than this place is open late to get a meal other than fast food.
The crowd late at night can be weird; obnoxious rude people usually but o well.
This place had karaōke so it’s always loud here usually even if your on the non karaōke side. They always have video poker of your in to that too.
If your drunk /​faded and want some late night Vietnamese food. This is a place to go.

Place looks a little shady. Like a hole in the wall hidden gem type of place. Didn’t even know they serve Viet food. Bar side looks newer than the restaurant side. Restaurant side looks very run down.
Very tasty Bo luc lac (tender chunks of wine marinated beef grilled with tomato and onion) and Flavorful bun Bo hue (spicy beef noodle soup)
Can’t wait to try their fish sauce wings. I would come back again for authentic Viet food.

Upon first glance, Utopia looks like another seedy establishment along 82^nd Ave, an area in NE Portland where shady joints are a dime a dozen. Open late at night with a deep purple awning and a neon marquee, Utopia undeniably has a strip club feel to it, at least to those who aren’t in the know. But for those who are, I’ll reiterate what’s been noted: it’s a diner. A Vietnamese one. Oh and it has karaōke too.
Like many others who have surely passed on this place, I had to be coaxed into coming here by a friend who has been here more times than not. The inside of the place is just as divey as any other Portland bar, aided by the mini TV from 1985 and the slot machines that have been pulled on by one too many drunkards down on their luck. In a city where driving is essential, the last thing I’m here for is the alcohol. I’m all about the food.
And the food is strangely (for me) Vietnamese. Portland’s growing Vietnamese population is spreading across the city and from the divey spots to the gourmet establishments, Utopia happens to be one of the only places are open late into the night. The menu is a split between Asian and American, one that notes diner food (burgers, sandwiches, fries, etc.) presumably meant for the non-​Viet craving patrons, and a traditional Vietnamese menu combined with a Chinese American junk food selection (An addition likely spawned to accommodate those intimidated with authentic stuff).
I am happy to report most of my Vietnamese selections are stellar and certainly quality picks for late night food. My first time here I had sampled the bo luc lac (Vietnamese marinated beef cubes), a Chino-​American platter (WOOF), and a nice crispy fish chip appetizer. The bo luc lac was tasty, the beef was tender and the sauce wasn’t overbearing. Recent standouts includes a stealthy bun bo hue (spicy central Viet noodle soup) and a very solid suon nuong (pork chop). Prices were about the same as any other Vietnamese joint in the area and the service was quick with virtually everything.
The «free» karaōke room in the back, is admittedly a place I’ve yet to venture. The countless clouds of cigarette smoke I’ve endured while heading to the bathroom were enough for me to look the other way and the badly sung oldies songs /​Viet songs would suggest their song selection is at best 1988 and earlier.
I’ll stick with the food for now.