Can't believe this place has such poor reviews, WE LOVED IT! My mom has been driving by this place for years and we finally made the drive to eat here. Before I rave about the food and atmosphere, one con. Slow service. Not slow in the sense that food came out slow but we weren't checked on very often. But honestly, this kind of came across as a chill family restaurant not laziness or understaffing. It was like they were just letting us chill rather than coming across as not taking care of their customers. Okay now the ambiance! The restaurant is incredibly clean and decorating in overly Italian fashion, we enjoyed reading the place settings and looking around. The food was amazing. Italian food can be so hit or miss but we had four different dishes and every single one was good. Prices were fair for Italian food in my opinion. The marinara sauce was slightly sweet but not grossly sweet with sugar, it was tomato sweet. The Italian sausage was really good and properly cooked. The Alfredo sauce was phenomenal, not overly heavy but dense as it should be. Lasagna was delightful and the gnocchi was cooked to perfection. The mezza mezza sauce was also wonderful. Alcoholic beverages were good but I wouldn't go for the drinks. Overall: the food was very good and I don't think I've ever been to a restaurant with so little dust in sight. read more

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My wife and I decided on DeNicola's after our favorite Italian Restaurant closed. This is advertised as East Coast Italian. This was our second time here. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I will say that we were there on a Saturday evening and they were busy. Which is always a good sign. The atmosphere was decent. I would just love if they dimmed the lights a bit. The wine selection was decent. Always a plus for an Italian restaurant. My wife and I each had spaghetti. I just went with the Penne Pasta and Meatballs. I was a little disappointed with half the bread that came in the breadbasket. It seemed like it just came from the grocery store. The other bread that came in the basket tasted great. Sorry, I don't recall what kind it was. You do get extremely large portions of pasta. Plenty for leftovers. The sauce was decent. The meatballs tasted good as well. It did take a little bit for our waitress to initially show up at our table, but after she did, we got great service. As we were walking out, I glanced over at other tables. The pizza and other dishes looked great. I wouldn't mind trying those in the future. I will say at this point my review is mixed. I will certainly try this place in the future and update my review. However, if you're in dire need of some Italian food and don't want to go to that chain place that I won't mention, DeNicola's is a decent choice. read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - Spaghetti w/ Penne Pasta and Meatballs - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I really, really try not to leave negative restaurant reviews. I genuinely enjoy most experiences. I have a great time at many price points and with all cuisines. This is, hands down, one of the worst experiences I have had service-wise in all my life. We were not greeted when we came in, and the hostess sat us without a single word. Our server did not introduce himself when he approached our table ~30 seconds after we sat down. He asked us if we were ready to order and we said yes. I managed to get out that I wanted a Cherry limeade cocktail, but he walked away before we could order our appetizer (garlic bread). He came back with my drink a little later and just said "do you know what you want?" We finally ordered our garlic bread and the entrees. The server, once again, walked away before I could ask him to leave the wine menu for later. Hand to God: no one else was ever at our table for more than 8 seconds. The garlic bread and the regular bread came. Garlic bread was bad-- not even hot enough to get a cheese pull and untoasted. The regular bread was served without butter, oil, or balsamic. Shocker: when we attempted to ask the server for butter he walked away as we were talking. My entree is the only reason this review is two stars instead of one. The special was a gnocchi in Alfredo sauce with arugula, apple, and toasted almonds on top. It was very good. My partner thought his linguini with marinara and clams was mediocre and the clams were cooked poorly. About 8 minutes after we received our entrees, a different server came up to the table and just said, "boxes?!" We said, "no, we're eating, but we would love a wine menu." You would have thought I asked to go to the moon. We finally got a wine menu and I got a (pretty good) Riesling. Twice more a server came and asked us if we wanted boxes. I need to stress that we were in the restaurant for TOPS 45 minutes-- and I mean from walking through the doors to walking out. It was incredibly rude, and I felt like staff were angry at us for being there. I would totally understand if we came close to close, but we arrived at 7:45 PM and they don't close until 10:00! This is the worst service I have ever received in Portland. I am so, so disappointed, and I can't believe we spent ~$100 on such a terrible meal. I will not be returning and I will encourage those I know to avoid this place. Selwood has much better offerings. read more

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Absolutely love this place, I saw it on a show called Shrill that was cast in Oregon and I had to try it. My son loves Italian food and took him here for his birthday today. Absolutely love it! I'm coming back! The service was great, they were nice and kind. It was not loud at all. Enough noise and not to loud. Definitely coming back! Oh their portions are huge... read more

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Brought a friend for her birthday dinner and we both enjoyed the experience and food so much. Our waitress was kind and sweet and our food came out perfectly. I enjoyed the lasagna so much . . every bite was savored and cherished. I'm still thinking about it after several days. I've been here before, over the years, with friends when I worked nearby and never had a bad experience. One of my favorite restaurants and will definitely come back for some more of that sizzling lasagna. What a treat. read more

Three may be rough but this could also be a case of ordering the wrong thing. I grew up in the area. I've always seen this but never have been. I got the chicken parm with ravioli. The chicken was awful. Overcooked and tough. The breading on the chicken was under seasoned and didn't adhere very well. The temperature on the cheese was off. The very top was cold. The red sauce was actually very good. I wanted some more of this. If I ever came back I'd probably go simple like spaghetti and meatballs. Maybe it's been a long time since I've had Italian but the prices were a little steep. Yeah the portions were decent but I wasn't impressed with the quality. The upcharge for soup or salad to complete the meal seemed a little silly to me. Service was very good. They had that going for them. read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - Chicken parm with ravioli - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We've driven by 1 million times and we finally stopped in! (that's also what their sign outside used to say!) This is one of those places where you know exactly what you're gonna get! You're always gonna get mom's home cooked taste! I was torn between three types of pizza and the server said "it's a pretty slow night so you can get all three on one pizza if you'd like." And that's what we did! We also got a combination ravioli plate as well as the kids spaghetti and meatball plate. The complementary bread and anti-pasta plates were a nice touch! The food was definitely as expected. I ordered more than me and my kids could eat because I knew I wanted leftovers the next day! The cherry on top of this place was the extreme kindness of the servers! Will definitely be back and expect the same quality of food! read more

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Awesome place! Good food good atmosphere good people what more can you ask for!!!!!!!!

A good old old school Italian restaurant. We've been looking for a place like this since Enricos on the west side closed. Really good (and large) eggplant parm read more

Updates for East Side long running restaurants - 1 of 2 I'm glad that this restaurant, DeNicola's, is a constant. It truly anchors the generous, tasty, and filling Italian restaurant niche when so many newer Italian locales are going trendy, expensive, and skimpy. (I'm looking at all you pissy, self-regarding bistros that pop up where the cool people who think they are discerning tend to live.) In fact, their sandwich board outside mentions that, if you like 'East Coast Italian food,' you're a shoo-in for DeNicola's. The interior continues unchanged and they keep it in nice shape. Take note that the restaurant has been handed down a generation and you will see a portrait of the proprietress in addition to photos of the founding generation. Here, the clientele is down to earth and so are the employees. I ordered one of the things I often get - the tortellini filled with meat in a white sauce. The portion size was to my liking since I can almost inhale filled pastas. With it came a dinner salad, some antipasto items, and a bread basket. They are sticking to their good things and one of them is the delicious pesto salad dressing. I'm going from 4 to 5 stars because, on the last visit, the young lady who was the server for my table did an outstanding job and was very amicable and enthusiastic. Since I've been here a number of times, I still look back at the one-off time that there was this really friendly hostess who reminded me of Judith Light. You remember her, right? She was the female lead in "Who's the Boss?" That celebrity lookalike was the hostess, hence she got you seated and such, but she didn't take your order ... but she had this great vibe. So, both that hostess and now this energetic young lady really ratcheted up the quality of the visit and I'm going with 5 stars. So, in closing, I'm coming full circle. It's this 'East Coast Italian food' characterized by good taste, good portions, and good value where DeNicola's delivers and I'm very glad I dropped in to have dinner. read more

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We ordered take out. When the food arrived it was still warm which was nice. We ordered two lasagnas that came with bread. The lasagna was pretty oily, had larger pieces of sausage throughout the inside but all in all it tasted good to me. My spouse thought the lasagna was a too spicy and didn't end up eating it due to the spice level and how much oil there was. The to go container was leaking oil outside so the bag was oily and they didn't provide utensils or napkins but we were at home so that was okay. The bread was fresh and soft which we did like. I won't cross DeNicola's off the list yet - while we wouldn't order the lasagna again we do want to give them a fair shot at the restaurant to see if better! read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - Lasagna- Meat - I already took a couple bites before remembering to take a photo! - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Frank Sinatra music, wine bottles lining shelves, wood lattice, strings of lights, candles on the tables, red checkered tablecloths and the old Italia placemats. This place screams the old East Coast Italian restaurants I grew up eating at in New Jersey. DeNicola's is a piece of old Portland that's been around since 1978 and they don't need to change anything about it. I was with the kiddo and wanted old school Italian food. Yes, there are plenty of the fancier places across PDX and I do enjoy many of them but, it's not what we were looking for. Spaghetti, gnocchi, fettuccine, manicotti, shells, lasagna. The menu wasn't large, but they had the essentials. I was surprised that there wasn't any fried calamari on the menu, but there was garlic cheese bread and a really good salad for two. We probably could have done well with just that and the Italian cream soda my daughter has, but pasta was up next. Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken for her and lasagna with meat sauce for me. Both were really good and nostalgic because no one does just simple items like this. The portions were big and the kiddo was stuffed. No room for tiramisu this visit. I've known about DeNicola's for a long time and I'm glad we finally got to go to enjoy some good old school Italian cuisine. Enjoy and support local! read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - If you remember these placemats, you've been going to Italian restaurants for a long time. - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Our oldest son frequently chooses DeNicola's for a family gathering to celebrate his birthday. This year that meant his driving all the way from his home in Kelso, Washington! My wife and I ordered a largest size Canadian bacon with extra pineapple. There was so much Canadian bacon that you couldn't even see the cheese beneath it! And the "extra pineapple" was juicy and fresh. The leftovers lasted me for three more meals! Service was friendly and our wait times for our orders were reasonable. We don't go out to eat often, but the next time I want pizza there's no doubt this is where I will go! read more

Great, old fashioned Italian restaurant! Portions are very generous, staff is very attentive! Gotta love Sinatra and Dean on the speakers, too! read more

They have a cozy atmosphere and really good food. Their service is good and efficient. We have been a couple times now. The price is a little high for Italian food, but it is good food. read more

Saturday evening about 6 pm. Craving Italian. I always passed DeNicola's never gave it much thought too busy looking for the top end. But today, could they have a good red sauce. I enter someone held the door. Several people in line to be seated the person behind me that held the door was there to pick up a to go order. The menu is old school. Meatballs are marked as a special item. I had to try... with some chianti. The meat sauce sweet a little spicy maybe creamy and smooth. The meatballs are are moist but dry enough to be breakable. Perfect texture and the flavors...I found myself savoring the bites. Sipping on the wine wanting it to last. There is a nice collection of chianti, sangiovese and abruzzo. The decor, yes, I caught a couple of pictures. The wait staff that greeted me upon entering and taking care of me to the numerous pleasant attendants stopping by to make sure I had what I needed. I admit one of the better old school Italian places in Portland, a classic. read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - Spaghetti and Meatballs - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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If your looking for some great pizza and super service and a great atmosphere I recommend you try out this place, we had a great experience tonight and would recommend this place. read more

Sunday night family dinner at one of our favorite Portland restaurants. We live in San Diego and we are up here for our oldest son's wedding. We gathered the bride to be and her family who are up from Southern California also. We had a delicious dinner with lots of favorites. Great service. It was a busy Sunday night and with 7 of us and we had made reservations thankfully. I am never disappointed. Everyone loved their dishes and with their generous portions we came home with some great leftovers. My favorite is Spaghetti Aglio Oglio. I can't not order it every time we come. If you are a garlic lover it should not be passed by. read more

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Food: spagetti with italian sausage. Sausage delicious. Spagetti sauce not worth the trip. Cheap white french bread (which was awful) three small 3" pieces of focaccia bread delicious. Green salad good with excellent blue cheese dressing. Sangria was good. Service: very poor. Took forever to get menus. Forever to take our order. Long wait for spagetti and fettuccine. Ambiance: old Italian restaurant but very clean. Much too noisy to hear your dining guests. Not a place to take a date or to visit. read more

my favorite Italian restaurant! i beg my boyfriend to take me for date night all the time. i usually get the spaghetti with garlic bread. service has always been speedy and wonderful, truly my favorite place! read more

I've eaten here a few times and have had a pretty good experience. Recently we had an issue with one of the dishes being too salty so only two bites were taken from the chicken. We complained and requested the dish be removed from our bill. The waiter only removed $10. We were also told by the waiter that the chicken is precooked and gets shipped to them. read more

We went here with family who used to dine here back in the day. It was my first experience. The ambience is charming and definitely old school. The service was great. The food was disappointing. The garlic cheese bead didn't have any garlic flavor and the bread was barely toasted. The minestrone soup was very watery and the vegetable chunks were huge like too big to bite without cutting. All of our meals were drowning is red sauce that tasted like it was from a jar. The veal was very thin over cooked and heavily breaded. Don't think I'd repeat the experience. read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - 1/2 Loaf Garlic Cheese Bread - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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What a cute restaurant. The food was authentic. The sauce was made with so much love. They gave us just enough food to feel full and satisfied. The customer service was top notch. It felt like home. We definitely will come back here again when we come back to Portland. read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - Spinach and ricotta lasagna - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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If you love cheese stuffed anything, get the cheese tortellini. I recommend the mezza mezza sauce with it! read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - Tortellini filled with cheese and mezza mezza sauce. - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Old school Italian restaurant (just like when I was a kid) with all the right foods. Great staff, very courteous, pleasant interior and wonderful food. I've driven by this place for forever (on Powell Blvd) and never stopped, what a crime! By way, if you leave without having a cannoli, you messed up. read more

We arrived Sunday about 4:30 pm shortly after they'd opened. Service was excellent, friendly and efficient. Everyone enjoyed what the ordered and all brought home leftovers. read more

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Best, most authentic Sicilian, family style restaurant. The menu is exactly what you want it to be and the execution is perfect. The service makes you feel like the owners daughters and sons are running the place and have made you a part of their family. I wish I could give this 10 Stars! Support them! read more

We had the worst experience dining here just now.... a friend ordered the chicken Cacciatore and it was so salty to the point of being inedible. He took one bite and said nope, I tried it and can confirm it was absolutely awful. The dish was 30 dollars and we did not eat it at all (Other than the two bites. They would only either discount 10 dollars or have us take it home. I was like... in what world would we want to take that home... it's awful. When we complained they said it's the way they have always made it. I highly doubt anyone would have eaten that ever. They also had the audacity to tell us that the chicken isn't prepared in house... clearly whomever they get it from messed up and they would not account for error. Shame because they could have kept customers but I would never dine there again out of sheer rage. read more

Another fabulous dinner at DeNicola's! I had Chicken Parm and my husband had the Panzerotti (Calzone) - which was HUGE! Both meals were delicious. Always enough food for take-home to enjoy the next day. We also had a very nice bottle of Chianti to go with it. Great Italian-American food and friendly, efficient service. Red-checkered tablecloths and Frank Sinatra music in the background. You always feel like you are part of the family when you visit. read more

Arrived very early, 4:30 Friday afternoon. Place looked like Grants Tomb on Lees birthday, and by the time we left there was one other couple being seated. I'm not sure why patronage was so low, but maybe good weather and people were staying home, or maybe good weather and everyone was eating at food carts. Any way the three of us shared the Duet Salad, which consisted of 3 kinds of lettuce,mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, and onions with a great Italian dressing. There was plenty for the three of us to have 2 helpings each. We decided to order the meat lovers small pizza, thick perfectly cooked crust, with great cheese. There was more than enough for the 3 of us. Val had a small glass of red wine which she said was perfect. We've had other dishes here and they've always been good. I'm sure whatever you're looking for it will be excellent! Service was good, but why wouldn't it be, the restaurant was empty. Hopefully things picked up after we left! read more

I just had a really terrible experience here. And the staffs reaction was that of a soulless corporate chain. Not that of a Family owned restaurant. To preface, I've eaten here probably 20 times in the past 3 years. I come here for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I ordered the Chicken Cacciatore. It came with a side of four ravioli, and a side salad consisting of a few sprigs of arugula, a few pieces of another lettuce, and some purple cabbage and a singular cherry tomato cut into thirds all served on a small tea plate. The chicken dish was WAAAAY too salty. It was tried by another person at the table and they came to the same conclusion. They wouldn't refund the cost of the dish, only $10 of the $30 dish because I ate the side "salad" that came 15 minutes before the food arrived. When we expressed our disappointment to our waiter he said we could either take it home, or he would give us the $10 comp. He also said that all the chicken they use is pre cooked, they just heat it up and pop it in the dishes. If something is precooked why is it $30? Nowhere on the menu does it say their food is precooked by another company. It's giving the illusion of homemade. When we got up to the hostess desk to pay, a middle aged white lady walked up and said "I've worked here since the 80's and nobody has ever complained about the food" I call baloney on that. Maybe they switched to a new food delivery company (Sysco or something) and the quality shot down. It makes sense why they have a 3.5, it's really unfortunate they dropped the ball and acted sooo entitled. When multiple customers complain about a dish you should probably taste it. I hope the owners see this and take it to heart and make quality changes. read more

I went with a group of 10 cousins just to celebrate being together. I ordered the Chicken Piccata. When it arrived, it was chicken on the bone. I commented that I've never had chicken piccata served on the bone. But, we were all so busy talking and our server was so busy that I just "tried" eating my meal. Well, I do not like eating chicken on the bone since it really involves using yours hands to be able to get to the meat. So, after trying to cut some meat off, I gave up and just ate (some of) the sautéed zucchini. I didn't even like the flavor of their Chicken Italiano! When my check came, I noticed it was $2 more than what the menu said. Then when I looked closer at the receipt, I noticed it said "Roasted Chicken Italiano"...well, no wonder it was served on-the-bone, it was the wrong order!! When I mentioned it to the server she didn't say much. I assumed she would somehow make it right, but the bill was returned with no adjustment. When I asked her about it, and reiterated that I was given the wrong dish, she said "Oh, I must have misunderstood you. Then another person came over (manager?) and said "I can cancel this transaction and adjust your bill by $2". That was almost laughable. What an insult! I just said, never mind! Since we were a large group, gratuity was automatically applied. I would never have tipped that much! One of my cousins, who used to own a restaurant, was appalled and said that they would have comped! I can forgive almost anything if I get great customer service. UPDATE: When the owner read this review, she immediately reached out to me. So first...my apologies for not reaching out to her directly the next day. Like I said, they were busy that night and the Manager was young and new. This, I'm sure, will be a learning experience for both of them. The Owner was more than willing to make this right for me. Like I said, I can forgive almost anything if I get great customer service. Now, I have received that! Thank you DeNicola's for valuing your customers experience. read more

First time at this restaurant with my family! Great service big portion food. Everything was very tasty. Really enjoyed the two different types of bread served. It was like a French bread and the other one was like a garlic bread really enjoyed the side of salami, meat and cheese with carrots and Peppers. Would definitely come back again.! read more

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This is a sweet, family-style, old-fashioned Italian restaurant. The portions are huge and the wait staff are so kind. I went here for my birthday and it was awesome. A nice, low-key, great time. My only wish is they didn't serve veal. Five stars. read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

their marinara sauce is so bitter and tastes horrible. their bread is also really bad and not toasted? just plain sliced bread. weird

Ordered fettuccine with chicken, the sauce was watered down and tasted awful, the server never once asked how it was. I paid $30 for one plate of it and not even my pregnant fiancé and her friend liked it either. We left almost a full plate and it server asked if we wanted a Togo box, I said we didn't like it and all she said was to add some salt and pepper. Highly disappointed in this place. read more

Ever had a REAL pizza? Good as it gets. Combination, small (What do you mean small!) I could barely finish three slices. The crust is fresh bread texture and their sauce is marvelous with many great toppings! This is killer pizza the way it should be! read more

DeNicola's Restaurant - DeNicolas combination pie - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Food is good would recommend if your in the mood for Italian food I will definitely go back

My friends birthday party for 7 was at DeNicolas. When we arrived the building was old but I was pleasantly surprised upon entering how tastefully decorated and clean it was. The bathroom area smelled of chemical cleaners which had been used over the years (recommend they switch to natural). I had read a number of positive reviews of this restaurant so my expectations were high. Their menu items were higher priced and a glass of wine was $10 or more. They didn't have an economical house wine, which typically is offered in Italian restaurants. Being on a budget I chose the combo plate of spaghetti and ravioli. I had expected a meat sauce but instead they put a plain tomato sauce which tasted like it came from a jar. I was so hungry by the time it arrived I didn't complain. The other big disappointment was a misunderstanding about a prosecco I found for $12 (my mistake in saying prosecco but not the name) and turned out it was a $40 bottle when I got the bill. The bottle is normally $15 at a store, so charging over double price was not right. On top of that, because it was a reservation they charged us 20% gratuity. This wasn't explained when the reservation was made. The music, although I liked it was too loud so it was difficult to hear each other when sitting at a longer table (lower the volume is suggested). The staff were friendly for the most part but any misunderstandings were not given any credence. read more

I am a native Portlander, and this neighborhood place has been a staple for decades. Years ago, it was one of the best Italian restaurants in the city. Now? Not so much. I've gone there a few times in recent years and it's just not the same. Most recently, my husband and I went with a group of people. We ordered a Small Pizza for ourselves, a glass of wine, a soda and 2 desserts. No side salad. The total = $74.00 with tip! For pizza...?! This is crazy. To be honest, we wouldn't have minded if the pizza was out of this world good, but it was passable at best. The crust and sauce had 0 flavor, and the toppings were on the sparse side. Not missing, just not abundant. The dessert cannoli had an off-putting bitter taste. Sadly, we've lost our taste for this place. Eating out isn't what it once was. read more