38 Best Italian Restaurants in Portland

“Incredible food, cutest little restaurant. Had such a good time. My husband and I ordered three antipasti dishes, two half orders of pasta, a side, and a special and that was great amount of food.

We tried the trout special and it was AMAZING! A real stand out.

The atmosphere is very nice, when i walk by at night it always looks so cozy in there like a movie. I will be back for sure :)“

“Walking in the door, we weren't sure if we came in the right door. A large curtain was right inside. I'm sure to keep out the weather, but no real direction once inside. For dinner it is tapas styled ordering. We had salad, gnocchi, prawns, a few more plates. Now, none of the food was bad, it just wasn't good. No balsamic for the bread. The gnocchi tasted more like slices of mozzarella in an alfredo sauce. The servers seemed as if we were putting them out when we ordered. The tables were so close together that we were uncomfortably involved with one tables politics and the others sexual escapades from the night before. Maybe try another time.“

“Fresh pasta and inventive salads“

“We dined here on Sunday night August 18. It was a beautiful summer evening. We ate on the patio. The place had a nice romantic vibe. Lots of couples having a nice time. Our server, Emma, was very nice. We started with the the bruschetta and insalata Verdura. The bruschetta was pretty good but the salad was so bland. My mother makes better salad dressing than that. My husband had the prawns Verdura. It was very good. I had eggplant Parmesan. The eggplant was delicious, but there was no sauce on the linguini. I thought that was strange so I asked for sauce. I waited 5 minutes or so and Emma came by to ask if I had received the sauce. I said no. She went over to the kitchen, asked for sauce and had to stand there and wsit for a good 2 minutes for someone to hand her sauce. They weren't very busy. We thought this was peculiar. I don't know if they were short handed or what. Their sauce was good by the way. Not sure if we'll go back. We just felt sorry for Emma, so we tipped her well.“

“Deli made good food restaurant, outside frescoe atomosphere, good Italian food!“

“Patrick and his staff go ABOVE and beyond in terms of giving the best service and preparing the most delicious food. You can tell every dish is made with love, with so much attention to detail down to every single ingredient. Every time we dine-in, we are never disappointed and leave full and happy. Every dish I’ve tried always exceeds my expectations. Patrick is dedicated in his work and wants every single customer to experience the best. That’s what I love about Patrick, he will go out of his way to make sure you get to experience the full potential of every single one of his dishes. He’s always trying to find ways to improve his dishes every single day (which I’m not sure how that’s possible when it’s already the best) but that’s just the type of guy he is, always wanting to do better. Thank you for always taking care of us and making sure we have the best time when we come in❤️“

“This is on my top 3 favorite restaurants in Portland. I love fresh pasta and this place delivers! Top dishes are the carbonara, pizzas, breaded mushrooms. We recently went here for Valentine’s Day and it was so good: ended with a crème brûlée!
Another bonus is the NA drinks and cocktails.

Oh and they have high chairs: very important for me to eat good food and bring my toddler. Order the kids pasta too- they have shells.

Vegetarian options: Vegan

Kid-friendliness: High chairs
Kids pasta dish
Na drinks“

“Delicious and interesting (but not TOO impetuous to where they’re trying too hard), this restaurant has become one of my favorites in the city after almost 20 years of calling Portland home. The staff are passionate about food and wine and good service. They’ll be happy to make this a truly enjoyable experience. I have never felt rushed even a little bit. They understand dining and good wine and the love shows. I’ll be back (with lots of friends) again and again.“

“Great foods and great waitress!“

“Jewan is a visionary, especially in the vegan food scene. If you have the privilege to catch this DAME/Plant-Based-Papi pop-up, do it! This is some of the best ramen you'll ever have, & from one of the nicest & most hard-working dudes in the business. We are cider-people, so simply having the choice between French, Italian, or Spanish ciders would've sold us, regardless of the food on offer (spoiler: it is all wonderful). Would recommend to anyone, vegan or not; this is about FOOD, & it is DELICIOUS.

Vegetarian options: 100% vegan“

“Amazing food, great prices. Not to be missed.“

“Elegant setting for a romantic date or a family dinner. Highest quality ingredients, ethically sourced meats, handmade pasta, always a delightful experience.“

“Excellent real Italian flavors and presentation in a comfortable neighborhood location. All you can ask for Italian taste with pretense.“

“This is some damn good pizza. I had a classic pepperoni in their “deep dish” style, which isn’t so much a deep dish as it is a thick crust. I appreciated that since generally I’m not a fan of the Chicago style deep dish, despite being a midwesterner.

It’s a unique pie all around. I really loved the sauce, cheese blend, and crust. The crust was baked perfectly, with a slight char and nice chewy consistency. It was an interesting crust, but morning a bad way. The sauce was bright and delicious, perfect for dipping (I’m a red sauce guy). The cheese blend was also delicious; I think they throw a little cheddar in for good measure which I love on a pizza.

This place is a hidden little gem, I will definitely be going back. They have a large selection of pies (the chicken pesto looked bomb) and you can order either the thicker “deep dish” style or a thin crust.

The pizza was so good I almost forgot to mention that they also do milkshakes, which is a bonkers combo but I love it (they have subs as well) and love that someone is obviously chasing their dream here. I had the cookies n’ cream shake and it was divine. Thick and with a couple whole cookies thrown in, just ‘cause.

The owner helped me and was super nice and explained everything for me. I nearly finished the entire pie to myself because it was so good. Highly recommend!!

Wheelchair accessibility: No stairs, nice flat parking lot.“

“Pastificio has been on my list for 2 years. It exceeded expectations in almost every way. I never imagined counter service could be combined with fine dining, but now I've seen exactly how it can be done. Big ups for the exceptionally balanced salad, attentive staff, and masterfully crafted pasta. Extra special call out for their tipless, living wage pricing. In an age when restaurants are piling on fees and suggesting tips of 30% or more, Pastificio has figured out how to make it all work a lot easier.“

“At the risk of sounding cliche, I wish I could give the service 10 stars. I’ve never experienced a better Portland bar service, they’re always friendly, they make killer classic drinks and excellent twists on classics with very high quality ingredients and craftsmanship. When you consider the quality of the food, drinks and service combined I would say this is in my mind the best bar in Portland. They have a small kitchen but always deliver on everything they make. Please don’t come here I like having it to myself!“

“I walked up to order and saw loads of basil in front of me getting ready to be turned into something delicious. I ordered a small order of arancini balls. I was delighted that I could choose different ones on the same order. They had 4 varieties and all sounded amazing. I ordered the original mozz and the pepperoni and mozz. Then I could choose from 4 different sauces and I chose the original marinara. These were so good along with the sauce that I can’t wait to go back and try all of them but next time I’m ordering the large for sure! Additionally I ordered the Italian chopped salad and added grilled chicken and soppressata dry cured ham. It was an explosion of flavors! The grilled chicken was so good along with the ham. I can’t wait to go back and try more. Next I’m trying either the eggplant parm sub of the vegan pesto pasta, especially after witnessing the mound-o-basil. I won’t be forgetting the large aracini balls either ;)“

“Love love love this place. The server was fantastic. He described everything perfectly. Great communication. The food was so creative and tasty. Italian - American with a creative twist. The owner was so lovely. He gave us limoncello. We are going back for sure.“

“Amazing food and service! Love love this place!!!“

“So I get so tired of going to places where I have to yell to be heard across the table. Both the Grand Amari and the Little Bitter Bar allowed for actual conversation. On top of it, had great service and the food was amazing. Wine selection was great - had a delicious Barbera. Tried the gnocchi and my socks were blown off. Sole was so delicious! All 4 of us in our party will be back!“

“I had one of the best dishes that I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. Upon the waitresses enthusiastic recommendation (she seemed really excited about it) I went with the Boscaiola with pasta instead of ravioli. Every bite I took I closed my eyes to just enjoy the explosion of flavors. Hands down best food ever. Highly recommend but don’t forget your reservation!“

“Incredible food, funny and personable hosts. Our new favorite restaurant!“

“I took my vegetarian significant other to Dame for his birthday and our first March dining experience. Everything was so delicious and the dining month value was good. To get the same thing a la carte would have cost $10 or so more. The food is locally sourced so seasonal dishes. My squid ink pasta was so tasty with a slight kick. And my SO wanted to “take a bucket of the salad home.” Highly recommended“

“Listen, I don’t have much to say, everything was a blur. Pasta, delicious. BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. ?THE ?MAC ?N ?CHEESE ?WITH ?PORKBELLY WAS SO FREAKING GOOD!!!

Affordable prices, nice portions, and best pork belly I have ever had. Listen, as an Asian man, I enjoy some good, crispy pork belly; BUT THIS?! Crispy, tender, perfect amount of sweetness. I have never had anything like it and will be back for more!!“

“Best NY pizza in town. You can truly taste the quality.“

“Amazing dinner! Wonderful appetizer and great wait staff!!“

“great service with a sense of humor, and the food was absolutely amazing! Try the special, if they are all as good as tonight's, you will be thrilled.“

“Had the sprouts and Rhode Island style calamari. Outstanding.“

“The Mediterranean pizza was delish. It just happened to hit the spot for me. I will definitely go there again and highly recommend it.“

“By far the best muffuletta sandwich I've had outside of New Orleans. I happily drive out of my way just to get sandwiches from Sebastiano's. You can't go wrong with any of the sandwiches, salads, or pastries. The staff are always nice and the cute courtyard is a great place to enjoy lunch.“

“I applaud you for being open!!! I ordered my food Togo on the phone. When I got there front door was open with a table blocking which there was a sign order here. I went to back door which was closed, I opened cause I guessed maybe that’s where you get your food Togo and it was to be picked up there. I come thru he said you order from the front( also didn’t really give me a chance to politely saying anything) and noted there was another guy in there that looked to be picking up food as well. Then went to the front he come to the front door with a iPad to take my order and I say a order Togo for Robbie. Then was “owe ok”. Get home the food was great some of the best pie I have ever had! Only reason I explained this was I think clear signage would make this transaction easier. This is a very tough time and people want to be safe. I also LIKED he asked to pay Cc over the phone and asking for the tip ahead of time does limits person contact. Will be back!“

“I applaud you for being open!!! I ordered my food Togo on the phone. When I got there front door was open with a table blocking which there was a sign order here. I went to back door which was closed, I opened cause I guessed maybe that’s where you get your food Togo and it was to be picked up there. I come thru he said you order from the front( also didn’t really give me a chance to politely saying anything) and noted there was another guy in there that looked to be picking up food as well. Then went to the front he come to the front door with a iPad to take my order and I say a order Togo for Robbie. Then was “owe ok”. Get home the food was great some of the best pie I have ever had! Only reason I explained this was I think clear signage would make this transaction easier. This is a very tough time and people want to be safe. I also LIKED he asked to pay Cc over the phone and asking for the tip ahead of time does limits person contact. Will be back!“

“Sorbu’s food tonight brought me back to my hometown, Livorno. Perfect rendition of the classic “5 e 5 con le melanzane” like you can find in the streets of Livorno, and a Porchetta sandwich as it could have been served by a legendary paninoteca from my youth (the salsa verde is the real deal). We’ll be back! Thanks to fellow Tuscan-Portlander for the recommendation!“

“Every time I visit, the food is consistently fresh and full of flavor. The restaurant has a charming European vibe that makes for a cozy dining experience. I love their small plates, perfect for sharing and trying a bit of everything. Highly recommend for a relaxed, delicious meal with friends.“

“Alpenrausch is a charming gem, perfect for a cozy evening. Their fondue is simply exquisite—rich, creamy, and indulgent, served with the tastiest accompaniments. It's a must-try for anyone seeking an authentic Alpine dining experience.“

“Excellent food and drinks!“

“LOVE!!!! wish we had a place like this in denver..... great vibe great negroni great ROMAN ViBE!!!!! b4 dinner after dinner CANT GO WRONG!!!!“