Piazza Italia

Reviews 3

BR

Bryan Button

Fair Italian food for a higher price tag. The atmosphere at this restaurant is definitely on the unique side; something that is apparent when you first walk in. The ceiling is covered in autographed sports jerseys, mostly from soccer. The music (or TV if a soccer match is on) is all in Italian which is fun even if you dont speak the language. Most if not all the staff are Italian as well which is generally reassuring. The building is rather small, though this is unsurprising given its location in a larger city setting. They seemed to have quite a few tables, but I can definitely see this place filling up quickly. The facility seemed to be cleaned and well maintained. The staff were friendly which was nice. We were seated quickly, though we had called ahead to reserve a table just in case. During our meal the waitstaff made sure that our table was kept clear of finished dishes and that we always had water. Even the staff that did not serve us were polite and friendly when asked questions . I tried two of the main dishes while dining here: the Rigatoni Bolognese and the Penne al Pesto. Both dishes were fine in that they did not taste bad, but they seemed rather lackluster especially when compared to the price. The portion size was nice, but again, did not merit the cost of the dishes. The Rigatoni seemed a little under-cooked and the meat sauce a little on the bland side. The Pesto dish was about the same, though the sauce in that dish seemed to have a bit more flavor. I was disappointed to find that the Lasagna which I had been looking forward to trying was made with veal, something which was not mentioned on the online menu. Something else about the meal as well: those of you who like the bread generally provided at restaurants should take note the the first bread basket is free, but subsequent refills are provided for a cost. While I did not require extra bread, this may be disappointing to some. Also, as I mentioned, the portions are smaller. A plate will fill you, and they even offer half orders for those who eat less, but dont expect to share a plate and be full or to have leftovers. For desert I was able to taste the Profiterole and the Tiramisu. The Profiterole was good; the cream puff was just average but the chocolate mousse that covered it was pretty tasty. I would probably have simply preferred just a small dish of the mousse. The Tiramisu was also good, coming from someone who does not care much for anything coffee flavored, and it was not too light but not too dense either. Overall, while you might not necessarily regret visiting Piazza Italia, I feel that there are other places in Portland to enjoy tastier Italian fare at better prices.

A

A Private User

We just tried Piazza Italia for the first time. We had walked by it several times and it was always packed. It was also recommended by several friends. We went in at 6:00 pm on a Sunday and told the host we had a reservation. After not finding us on the reservation list, he strongly implied that we were in the wrong place. After asking him to check again, he found our reservation, saying "Oh, your at the table in the back corner," and then turned his back on us. We ordered one tomato and mozzarella salad and one scampi as appetizers and four pasta dished as entrees. Our tomato salad arrived in about 5 minutes. It was somewhat tasteless. 20 minutes later our bus girl was removing our appetizer plates when we told her we had another appetizer coming. She said she would check on it and asked if we wanted more bread. We said yes. 20 minutes later we flagged down our bus girl again (no sign of our waitress) and asked her to check with our waitress about our scampi. We also reminded her to bring us some more bread. She said she would check with our waitress right away and bring us more bread. That was the last we ever saw of that bus girl. 5 minutes later (45 minutes since finishing our tomato salad) we flagged down our waitress and asked her where our appetizer was. She said "look around, cant you see we are crowded" (nine tables in the whole place plus six outside) "We only have one cook with four burners, it takes time to cook scampi" (jumbo shrimp sauteed in wine and butter) "your scampi will be done in just a second." We said ok and asked if we could have some more bread while we waited (the bread was nothing special, but by this time we were hungry). 15 minutes later we flagged down our waitress again and asked where our food was. She said "all the other tables (some of who had come in after us) had to get their entrees first." We reminded her about the bread. She said loudly "youll get your bread now." (By this time all trace of her italian accent had disappeared). She immediately returned and literally threw TWO baskets of bread on the table and said as rudely as possible "heres your bread." Over an hour after we had finished our tomato salad, we finally were served our scampi by another waiter. Again it was nothing special, the shrimp were slightly overcooked. Our entrees arrived shortly after, again served by another waiter. The pasta was fair to good. Not enough to make up for the bad and rude service. Not only will we not recommend Piazza Italia to others, we will actively tell our friends not to eat here.

OL

Old Pro Chef

Authentic Italian down to the Italian speaking waiters that like to watch the Soccer game as much as serve tables. Mostly freshly made pasta with various sauces offer a good variety and can be substituted, within reason, at a $2 up-charge. We sampled a tasty, simple green salad and a fantastic Tiramisu, all sold Ala-cart. The light, fluffy Gnocchi special was served with a silky smooth saffron sauce that was quite overpowering. I counted enough saffron threads in my plate to make 6 quarts of rice pilaf. I really wanted to find an Italian place that had fresh pasta that was, at least, an above average experience. Ill have to agree with another reviewers comments that the pappardelle was reminiscent of lasagna noodles that , albeit still fresh and hand made, had just been sliced to a narrower dimension. They lacked the thin, light tooth of an outstanding pappardelle, fettuccine or tagliatelle. One star was removed because all ALL the waiters soccer distractions that added an additional 15 unnecessary minutes to our dining experience and of course, the big let down with the pappardelle. and the minor faux-pas with the gnocchi. Another was removed for a lack of veal, lamb, poultry or fish options. A "wild boar meat sauce" (can you say pork butt?) and some sliced sirloin salad like thing were available...but no "real" options. Yeah, Its authentic Italian to a point, but...there are just too many "noodle joints" around here already. Minus another star Tried this place again and was served ravioli that was just plain uncooked. Yeah, yeah, yeah...youre gonna say, "its supposed to be Al Dente "... Yep, I get it...and I KNOW the difference! This was raw pasta, stiff and tepid, covered in a pink sauce that was nearly as frigid...all that topped with some day old fried ham slivers that could have doubled as the rubber bands that come wrapped around the morning newspaper. This is a pasta joint that cant even get their pasta right. Look elsewhere. Incidentally, too many boneheads out there think that ALL pasta is supposed to be served "al dente"....Spoiler Alert......Fresh pasta is NOT!!! By definition, fresh pasta can not be "al dente" because it was never dry in the first place. So quit writing reviews stating that "ABC Trattoria" doesnt serve their pasta "al dente" youre embarrassing yourselves.