Casa Italia Pdx Reviews

My family stopped here for lunch. Judging by the other reviews, I guess we just had a fluke of a bad experience. Our order was taken by a decent time, but the food was very slow. Even the bread and dipping sauce was slow being brought to the table. When the food finally came, there were problems. I had a chicken caesar salad and it was good. But, my husband and sons each had panni sandwiches. They come with either minestrone soup or tossed salad. One of my sons got the soup and my husband and other son got the salad. The order got mixed up and we got two soups, but it was corrected. The sandwich bread was very thick, more like a bun than a sandwich. The salads were way over dressed. They couldn't be finished. Overall, very disappointing.

We enjoyed a nice Italian meal at this neighborhood restaurant. The evening we were there they had live music and a large group dining there which made the setting more noisy than we like for conversation. The waitstaff was also kept busy which slowed down service but made for a "take your time" kind of Italian dining. The server was friendly and helpful. The food was very good--well prepared, well presented, and tasty. They had a nice beverage menu featuring Italian drinks but with others available. This is a very nice small venue with good food. We'll go back for what we hope will be a quieter meal.

My granddaughter had finished selling girl scout cookies and was "starving". Wanting pasta (and gluten free) we wondered into Casa Italia without reservations. The place was full with happy eaters, but the wonderful owner found us two seats right by the espresso machine, where we close together and comfortable. The later very important for a grandmother, and close was also important because the restaurant is noisy. My granddaughter declared her gluten free pasta dish to be the best ever and my Pasta ai Frutti di Mare was - wow - so much seafood and done just right. The staff were wonderfully attentive and friendly. We will be back. I recommend you have reservations and know that the noise level could be distracting depending on where you are sitting.

Having the outside appearance of a neighborhood hangout can be deceptive. This is the real deal! Many, many pasta options that are fresh, seem to be authentic, and reasonably priced. As much fun is the ambiance--cozy setting, waiter and owner who treat you well with a bit of theatrics. Recommend making reservations and also letting them know about a special occasion. My sister-in-law's birthday brought a complimentary slice of their delicious tiramisu, complete with candle. Another highlight was the cappuccino I chose to end my meal with--one of the best! Parking on the busy street that is Division is a bit of a challenge--turn down a side street for best results.

Last night, 3/25/2023, we brought a party of 8 to Casa Italia on Division in Portland, Oregon. We were greeted at the door by Tony. Tony greeted us at the door and seated us. He introduced us to our waitress and then continued to help her throughout our meal. All of us ordered various Pasta dishes and 3 of us were celebrating our birthdays. Tony made sure that we knew what was available that evening and even helped deliver wine to those of us who wanted it. Every person at the table raved about their dish. My Linguini Mare Chiaro was excellent! There were nice sized pieces of fish and shrimp. The sauce was amazing with just a bit of spiciness to give it interest. Several at the table said they would be back. I thought the portion sizes were just right, so unless you are a really big eater, these portions should satisfy. The Affogato afterward was also right on. I will be back. Oh yeah…The parking sucks, but it is well worth the hunt for a space and walk to a great meal.

Fabulous service and food in March, 2022. We celebrated a family event. We weee happy to sit in the “outdoor” seating area at the front, near the street. I have nothing but positive to say.

We stopped for a quick Saturday night meal. They seated us without a reservation on the patio but the heater kept it comfortable. A good selection of pasta and second course meats. They can accommodate gluten free and vegetarian.

There's a bunch of restaurants in this neighborhood, and this one was not that busy, but turned out to be great! Appetizers were authentic (don't burn my bruschetta next time!) but the main thing was the pasta. All 4 of us had different dishes and they were all excellent. My lasagna was wonderful -- lots of places can't be bothered with lasagna any more, but this one was well made and very tasty. There were several other seafood linguine dishes that I would have liked too. Nice wine list of Italian wines, reasonable prices (for me, below $45 in a good restaurant is a good price). I saw some excellent desserts pass by, but we just couldn't manage them! Attentive wait staff, friendly and efficient.

We visited Casa Italia a few weeks ago for the first time. Some good friends had heard about it. It was wonderful then and even better tonite. Great food, reasonable prices, good wine selection and great service. It’s our new “go to” for Italian food now.

We made a reservation, got in a few minutes later, seated at a table. Were served water and asked about an appetizer. It arrived about 10 minutes later. We then ordered and an hour and 10 minutes later, we FINALLY received out food. Yes, they were busy and it was a Friday night, but I have never had to wait there (under the same circumstances) more than about 25 minutes. They said it was because of the gluten free pasta (which I order every time). Seriously? I cook GF pasta at home and it takes absolutely no longer than any other kind of pasta. There were 3 of us and we just ordered regular items from the menu. It ended up being quite late for us (which is why we had an earlier reservation at 6:30) and we didn't get out of there until close to 9 pm. The last time I ate there, the dish I had was so salty I couldn't finish it. I thought I would give it another try but I don't know if I will be willing to go there again. :-(

We called to order carry out around 8 pm on a Thursday. When I arrived to pick it up about 20 minutes later, it wasn’t quite ready. No worries. The small restaurant was packed, including a few large parties. It was super cute with a few tables on a nice little patio out front. Two different servers offered me water during the five minutes I waited. I sat at the bar and could look directly into the kitchen and man those two guys were hustling! I watched my order being boxed up with finesse. And the food, OMG the food! We loved both the white lasagna and the penne with pancetta. So incredibly delicious. We devoured it all. We would go back in a heartbeat, next time to savor our meal on the patio with a bottle of wine.

Portland lacks good, neighborhood Italian restaurants. Not anymore. It was a last minute decision to try this little gem. Small but mighty. Quality was good and everything we tried was excellent. Who knew zucchini (which I love) could taste so heavenly. I had the gnocchi special and could not have been happier. They are small with a small staff, but all were helpful and attentive. Embrace the spirit of slow dinning and savoring clean, fresh flavors and you will not be disappointed. Walk there if you can, if you drive have a good sense of humor and patience about street parking (getting to be a norm in Portland). I will be back. Not the most economical choice, but worth it. Nice wine pairings. I look forward to going back again, soon.

Went here on trip advisor reviews and what appeared to be a wonderful menu and bio on the chef. We arrived immediately seated. Place extremely noisy people telling over each other to be heard. Ordered a couple of pasta dishes which seemed to take a while getting out of the kitchen and reached our tables tepid at best. Seemed like 1 waitress for the entire place. Food mediocre nothing spectacular. Bread and olive oil was a nice touch to the meal. Waited 15 minutes for our plates to be cleared and another 15 minutes to get our check. Place has potential but on this dog eat dog restaurant world in Portland I'm not sure thus place will survive.

Delicioso! Relaxed, welcoming atmosphere, friendly waitress and food cooked with love! We enjoyed every moment of our visit. First time here, and will highly recommend. You can see the chef masterfully mixing dishes, deeply concentrated in every step. Try Negroni, frutti di mare pasta dish, beet salad and cannelloni!

Here for my birthday and needed a nice, relaxing, slow meal after a long night out! We stumbled upon Casa Italia. Unassuming from the outside and very mellow inside, but the food and service were excellent! Benito, the owner, was super welcoming and generous! He brought us limoncello and tiramisu for my birthday and let us sit and talk and enjoy everything for hours. The pasta is super legit! Get the meatballs, beet salad, and zucchini! Honestly everything we had was great and it was just an overall welcoming and relaxing dining experience. Thank you thank you!

Oh. My. Word. The most delicious food and drinks, from top to bottom. My brother and I had planned to go to Bollywood Theater for a belated-birthday celebration and instead opted to check this place out because we had no interest to wait in line. I am so glad we did! Carina provided exceptional service and I felt like I was back in Sicily. The limoncello prosecco was my cocktail choice and my brother had a few others. Worked our way through the anti-pasto plate, the caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes and asparagus risotto with parmesan. We opted out of a meat-entree in order to leave room for dessert and coffee and went for it with the cannoli and salted-pistachio gelato. I even had a tiny, decaf shot of espresso. Perfection! I am looking forward to coming back and trying the other options. Oh, and when we asked for the dessert menu? Carina brought us two samples of each flavor of gelato and it was a tough choice! Great spot for a date night, or any celebration really. Definitely worth the visit and I cannot say enough about this place. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!

My friend and I have only been to this restaurant once before, but we were greeted like old friends. The wine was yummy and bruschetta was wonderful, even if not a style to which I am familiar. My fritto misto (fried squid, shrimp, and salmon) was fantastic, crisp and flavorful. The dipping sauce was a bit spicy for my taste, and the waitress and cook went out of their way to prepare one that wasn't spicy at all,, a perfect complement to the seafood. My friend loved her spaghetti Bolognese, almost licked the plate clean. I couldn't ask for a better meal.

We have tried a few different Italian places in this area and around the world and this is definitely in our top 5. This was our 2nd time here and we enjoyed both times. The people were super friendly and welcoming. Our waitress was very patient and excellent at explaining and recommending items. One of the people in our party had a nut allergy and they couldn't have been more accomodating. We started off with the Prosciutto crudo. We had this last time and loved it! We also shared the Insalata Regina which was also very good. The raisins really added a good sweetness to the Salad. The Main courses were: Lasagna, Pasta ai frutti di mare, and Amatriciana (one of the Specials they had this night). We ended the meal with Gelato which was very refreshing and topped off and very good meal. We definitely plan on returning again so we can try some of the other dishes. We like the atmosphere that makes us feel relaxed and welcomed.

The lasagna was soupy and lacked flavor but a melted plastic zip tie really rounded out the dish nicely. First thought it was dried pasta but it was in fact a MELTED PLASTIC ZIP TIE. If it wasn’t my mother’s birthday I would’ve lost it. Discretely let the manager know and he brushed it aside as if it was a common problem. The rest of my family let me try their dishes when I told them and the food they were served was mediocre at best. All around sloppy operation.

I'm going to say right up front that I'm a bit of an Italian food "snob," because my mother was a native born and raised Italian ( a GREAT cook!), and I have lived in Italy two different times, and therefore have the direct experience of great Italian food...Now, that being said, I also find it very difficult to get decent, authentic, Italian food in the USA (New York City excepted). I stumbled upon Casa Italia, almost literally, one night when a friend of mine and I were just looking for a place to eat after our first choice was closed. We "took a chance," because we both love Italian food, and, well, we were just too darned tired to look any further to get a bite! Wow, were we both pleasantly surprised at literally everything about this little, unassuming place tucked in amongst quite a few other various types of eateries in one of the "up and coming" districts on SE Division St. The place is not fancy, but it is neat, uncrowded (in the sense of space around the tables)...and it has a front patio for outside dining in better weather. The kitchen is open, and the chef you see there cooking away is the owner....usually a very good sign (in my estimation); all hands on! The menu is modest, but very interesting, and I had no trouble selecting. My companion did the same. All the food was beautifully plated, tasted delicious...full of authentic flavors and redolent with proper seasoning and balance. Above all, the food possessed that authentic "simplicity" and honesty of truly good Italian food; not pretentious or drowned in sauces, but letting the FLAVORS of the basic ingredients shine through! I recommend Casa Italia...I do not think you'll be disappointed. I eventually returned for another "go," thinking perhaps, that my first good experience was driven by sheer hunger more than anything else, but my second, more leisurely, visit resulted in just as excellent experience as the first, and my dinner guest was also extremely pleased with her selection/s. I'm already planning my third visit to Casa Italia, now my "little secret go to" for Italian in Portland! You'll no doubt find more expensive, "fancier," or upscale place for Italian in Portland, but Casa Italia hits all the right notes for me, right down to the warm and welcoming service. GO!!!

There are many many restaurants on Division Street in Portland so it is hard to know where to start. Casa Italia was the welcome recommendation of a resident. The establishment is small but has both indoor and outdoor dining. The antipasto selection we tried included salami, egg plant melanzane, and caprese. All were delightful. The caprese had ripe, flavorful tomatoes and excellent cheese, and the olive oil pungent and flavorful. For entrees we had the asparagus risotto, a penne and tomato special, and a salmon penne. The risotto and the salmon penne were the better choices but only by a slim margin. The wine list from a range of Italian vintages is excellent and reasonably priced and the waitress knew her wines. Deserts were also a delight. The canoli was superb, and the fresh gelato excellent. The tiramisu was light and fluffy, but lacked a touch of liquor to add zest and contrast to its sweetness.

I’m in PDX for a conference and my husband accompanied me - we try new restaurants each night. Tonight was a grand slam. What a delightful find! Not only is the atmosphere cozy, the service was perfecto and the food was magnificent! We started with bruschetta al pomodoro - delicious! I had the pasta del fornaio - it could not have been better. My husband had chicken scallopini and practically licked the plate clean. But the desserts - oh my! We had tiramisu and the cannoli - both were so authentic, I may dream about them. You would be foolish to eat anywhere else. ❤️

Everything I've eaten here has been amazing. It has a great neighborhood feeling and the diverse staff is endearing and creates a family vibe. If you don't know what to order, just ask the staff for a suggestion. They have very affordable wine specials and pour perfect shots of espresso. This little place does fill up on the weekends so you will probably want to make a reservation or order take out : )

Wow - this place is amazing. Forget all the bells and whistles of the upscale restaurants. This place has an unpretentious bohemian feel with Italian food that meets the highest taste standards. The dishes arrived piping hot and plentiful. The servers were outgoing and cheerful. I would definitely return.

Went to dinner with my daughter and her boyfriend. I ordered the special which was a 4 cheese ravioli and was so impressed with how fresh the dish tasted! The waitress was very sweet and recommended the wine which was both delicious and modestly priced. We also had the zucchini and garlic bread which were wonderful. Definitely recommend this place.

I had been to Casa Italia once before with my white friends and was absolutely horrified by the differential treatment I experienced when I went with my partner. We are both people of color in an interacial relationship but not used to such blatant racial profiling. The owner took my name down and said they would text us within 30 to 40 minutes when they had a table. We proceeded to walk around division for 30 minutes before getting a text saying a table was ready. When we walked back to the restaurant we noticed a young white couple who had asked about seating at the same time we had already seated and eating their meal. Standing at the entrance of the restaurant, we saw an open table for two, instead of being seated their, an unmasked white couple came and were seated by the owner. Being told that people had paid their checks and were expected to leave soon we waited outside the restaurant. We then saw two high-school age white girls leave the restaurant leaving a table open that just needed to be cleaned. While waiting we watched as the owner approached a group of 3 white people and assure them that he would get a table ready for them. At this point, we had been waiting for 15 minutes which was reasonable time to expect the empty tabled to be bussed and made available. After this, right in front of us, we watched as he sat them at the next available table. My partner and I looked at each other and both knew what had happened and decided to leave. In times of anti-Asian hate, we were disgusted to see such a well-regarded restaurant discount us as paying customers. We will not be going back again and encourage you to do the same.

If your in Portland and wanting Fresh Italian food head over to Casa Italian. Only open 3 years its amazing. There is outdoor and indoor seating. The ambiance is very Italy. Their wine specials were perfect, tonight we started with the Pinot Grigio, excellent pairing with dinner. Fresh Ceasar salad, lasagna and the special - crab Linguini. Topped with dessert . See pictures!!!! We will be back !❤️

A wonderful surprise. This is classic Italian at its best. If you have ever eaten in the north end in Boston, you have found a home here in Portland. An unassuming little place, a relaxed atmosphere, that classic Italian menu, food prepared simply with the freshest ingredients.

Lunch today (actually in the covered seating area just outside of the front door) with heaters available - delightful. Each of the three of us agreed - we will return - each of us enjoyed each bite and were very pleased with the food, service, and simple atmosphere ... nothing fancy - just plain good. Cloth napkins appreciated. Benito provided super service.

While visiting Portland, we were looking for a place to have a late lunch in the area of town where we were staying with our son. Our search led us to Casa Italia. What a great find! We enjoyed a lovely lunch there and look forward to returning on our next trip to Portland!

We were actually planning to go to Pok Pok. But honestly, a 2 hour wait for a table???? I think we had a much better time at Casa Italia. We had the Antipasto Plate, Insulata Regina and split a pasta. Great food in a relaxed atmosphere. As other have mentioned, AC was somewhat lacking so it was pretty warm inside but hey...made me think of a warm night in Italy :)

Today I made reservations for Noon knowing they opened at 11:00. Arrived and the owner was not there and only one person was in the kitchen. He didn’t know where the owner was. Found another restaurant and after finishing we walked past Casa Italia and they were open- two hours after their published opening time. I asked the owner what happened and he just shrugged his shoulders. He confirmed we had a reservation and acted like “so what”. The food here may be wonderful I wouldn’t know. When I make a reservation I expect them to be there. If there is a reason for not being there I would expect more than a shrug of the shoulders. He had my phone number and could have called me if there was a problem.

Benito and Carina have a small Italian restaurant with fantastic meals. We had Gnocchi in Gorgonzola Mint Sauce, Ensalada Caprese, Pork Tenderloin with potatos and broccolini, , and Grilled Melanzane. Finished with Italian icecream. We always feel like friends when we are there.

There were nine in our party who dined at Casa Italia tonight. We're Italian, and very particular about Italian food! The service was excellent, friendly, upbeat and fun! The salads, caprese and mexican caprese were so good! The bruschetta, excellent! Linguine with clams, la pasta del fornaio, the fruitti de mare, capellini pomodoro, all just so good! We definitely will return!