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    Roma Cafe

    4.0 (185 reviews)
    PriceyItalian
    Closed 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Roma Cafe Photos

    ROMA CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Romantic
    Intimate
    Classy
    Loud

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    Recommended Reviews - Roma Cafe

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    Summer Salad
    Annie L.

    Tucked away from the heart of downtown, Roma Cafe should be an absolute must on any foodie's trip to Portland. Set inside a historic home, the restaurant's interior makes for an intimate, quiet retreat perfect for date night or meaningful meal with loved ones. Our service was outstanding from start to finish. Probably the best we've had in the city. Welcoming, attentive and personable. Our palates were blown away by the degree of fresh, flavorful ingredients in each dish. As the vegetarian at the table, I went with the Summer Salad to start which was light and refreshing. The Ravioli del Giorno knocked my socks off though. Cooked to perfection with the right dough to creamy ricotta filling ratio. I could have licked the bowl clean with the pomodoro sauce! The meat eater at the table gave the Carbonara 5 stars as well. Roma Cafe, thank you for a wonderful date night and we look forward to dining with you again when we're back in Portland!

    Whitney D.

    First off I have never been in such a quiet atmosphere for dinner! I loved it as no one had to yell across the table and I didn't have to try really hard to hear what my friends were saying. We had a very nice waiter who noted my allergies. he was very nice and helpful. We sat at a round corner table which was what we think the best seat in the house. The food was very good and smelled amazing! I had the summer salad which was Mixed Tomatoes, Watermelon, Whipped Goat Cheese, Smoked Oregano, Basil Oil. I did wish there were more watermelon in it though. It was very tasty and refreshing as a summer dish. And for my main meal I had the meatballs ( they are appetizers). And WOW they are on my top five best meatballs I have had. My friends got some of the pasta dishes and chicken Parm and the LEMON-MARSALA FRIED PORK which was Pork Loin Cutlet, Potato au Gratin, Rainbow Chard. Everything smelled amazing. For drinks we had prosecco, aperol spritz, flavored sparkling water and wine and all were great! This place to me is a favorite after only going here once. I HIGHLY recommend it!!

    Pesto and parm
    Lizzy M.

    We loved this place! Reservations highly encouraged if you plan to go on a Friday or Saturday. I think it's all through Resy and there is a 25$/person drop fee for reservations so be warned of that. The inside is very dimly lit and aesthetic. The cocktails are very pretty and the dinner and dessert menu, while not super extensive - had a couple of gems. I absolutely adored their pistachio pesto minus a few pieces of hard shell that got mixed in there. I would say if you're going to bother paying order something you couldn't make at home because it's mainly pasta dishes. The ambience and the service were wonderful.

    Scallop Risotto
    Connor O.

    Ambiance is 10 out of 10 - very warmly lit & romantic space, perfect for winter dinners. They were out of several dishes when we went, but I ended up ordering the scallop risotto. The scallops themselves were delicious, but the risotto was so so salty. Chicken parm was delicious. The waitress was friendly and efficient but very clearly interested in wrapping up our service (was towards the end of the evening); we were asked about dessert while we still had half our meals left.

    Brussel Sprouts. The only thing worth coming for.
    Michelle R.

    Went to Roma Cafe on a Sunday night-- we made a reservation and were seated right away (great!). We were told our server would be right over which did not happen. We sat there for over 30 minutes before we had to flag the waiter over to even order a drink. The restaurant was not busy- several tables were empty. The waiter and hostess spent more time talking with each other than waiting on tables. The service continued to be poor throughout the entirety of the meal. No one came to check in on if we wanted to order additional drinks or to refill our water glasses. We did order the crispy brussel sprouts which were phenomenal however, that was the only part of the meal that wowed. The spicy vodka pasta lacked flavor and the sauce was watery and honestly disappointing. There are much better pasta spots in Portland with more attentive wait staff.

    Eggplant parm and homemade spaghetti. Perfect!
    Kathleen S.

    I love this spot! The best eggplant parm and fresh spaghetti you can get in the Portland area, I promise. It's moody, great for a date or a 2-4 person party. The service is also excellent and warm.

    Vibe
    David F.

    For starters, the place is an absolutely delightful old home in a charming brood Portland. You fall in love with the place before any bit of food or sip of drink. But the food was certainly delicious. While vegetarian options are limited , no vegetarian will be disappointed. I have to say that the starters won the evening. The focaccia is not to be missed.

    Summer salad
    Emily K.

    I had an amazing experience at Roma! I made a reservation for a Sunday - definitely recommend making a res even on a slower night. I have tried to walk in before and it was too busy. I was seated right away by the big bay windows! My server Jeff was very attentive and helpful. I ordered the table bread, summer salad, and the spinach gnudi special. The focaccia was delicious and the summer salad was exceptional! Juicy heirloom tomatoes, perfectly ripe sweet watermelon and herby goat cheese was an amazing combination. I would return just to order this salad again. The gnudi was super pillowy, buttery and cheesy. I enjoyed it but was torn between that and the eggplant parm so I need a return trip for sure! I will also say this dinner was perfectly timed and coursed out. I feel like often when solo dining my plates come out too close together, but I had plenty of time to finish each course and have a breather in between. Overall fantastic meal and service.

    Cannoli
    Karen C.

    A cute little Italian spot on Congress Street. You have to be looking for it or you might miss it. There's a small bar and two distinct seating areas. One a little more casual, and one far more intimate and romantic. Service is excellent and with a smile. The house wines are lovely and there's a nice cocktail list. The menu is small, but there's something for everyone, and they make all their pastas in house. They had an appetizer special tonight that was mushrooms sautéed in garlic butter and Gorgonzola. It was absolutely fantastic. We also split a Caesar salad that was crisp and fresh. I had the Bolognese and hubby had the carbonara. Both of them were excellent, but it might be the best Bolognese I've ever had! We finished with the limoncello tiramisu and mini cannoli.

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    10 months ago

    Try the tiramisu bomb! The food is great, the atmosphere is nice and calming. Friendly and professional staff. Overall a great experience.

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    8 months ago

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    10 months ago

    The food, service and atmosphere were all amazing. Highly recommend. We will be back again.

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    3 years ago

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    10 months ago

    Delicious meal and lots of food. Unique and historic space. Loved the drinks as well.

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    1 year ago

    A stylish yet homey neighborhood gem with creative drinks, Authentic Italian quinine, and an attentive and professional staff.

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    2 years ago

    Great service and absolutely delicious wine & pasta. Adorable spot for an intimate date, or a group party.

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    Via Vecchia - Must try salad!

    Via Vecchia

    4.2(454 reviews)
    0.9 miOld Port
    $$

    EXCELLENT pastas & dishes, and perfect for a night out! Reservations are highly recommended - we…read morecame on a Friday night during the off-season and had about a 25 min wait still. Via Vecchia was definitely worth the wait, and this was one of the most surprising restaurants during our trip. We ordered the brussel sprouts, grilled octopus, campanelle, and radiatori. The brussel sprouts was the one dish that I was most hesitant about, seeing that it was paired with a blueberry agrodolce. Not a typical combination, but this ended up being a favorite. The sweetness & tartness of the sauce worked SO well with the sprouts - it's an excellent dish. The octopus had the perfect char, and all of the flavor pairings were really cohesive. I had never heard of either of the pastas, but I loved the textures of both. The campanelle with nduja cream was delicious, but did get to be a little heavy about halfway through. Radiatori with bolognese was a classic but well executed dish. Service is attentive without being overbearing. Prices are super reasonable.

    Note: if you come in the winter (which includes March) there will be no ivy growing on the building…read more. The Inside is gorgeous. The mocktails and cocktails are truly inspired. The food was very small plates for the price. You'll leave feeling not stuffed, just right. But the American in you will feel like you may not have got your moneys worth. They didn't offer Parmesan and I felt our food looked different than the picture we had seen. Service was fast and kind. What did bother me was that despite the fact the place was mostly open, they sat everyone right next to, practically on top of eachother, and this definitely made things feel less intimate and more like a crappy Applebees. It was Good, I would come back, but rarely.

    Photos
    Via Vecchia - More seating

    More seating

    Via Vecchia - Awful Bread

    Awful Bread

    Via Vecchia - Back lounge area

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    Back lounge area

    Leeward - Cabbage salad

    Leeward

    4.5(157 reviews)
    0.6 miArts District, Old Port

    Food was awesome. However we felt rushed. We're asked to order our app and dinner together stating…read morethey would be spaced out. Within 2 minutes of getting our app, our entee was delivered. Recommend if you go and want to enjoy the experience, order app separately from entree. Otherwise again food was great.

    Finally made it back to Leeward after a couple of years, and it's just as delicious and incredible…read moreas I remember it. This time my husband and I brought a friend with us, which meant more sharing and trying a lot more of the menu. We started with the kale salad and the gnudi pasta, with the latter being the star of the night. The kale salad was delicious, incredibly light and refreshing. We accompanied these with some aperitifs from the never-ending and impressive cocktail menu. The gnudi pasta was listed as a main, but it made for an incredible app. For dinner, I ordered the tagliatelle, which was divine. My friend's rigatoni may have been the best out of all of the entrees, though. It was phenomenal. We finished our meal with dessert. It was this almond and fruit cake that was delish, although the dessert menu was a bit limited for what I expected. As always, the ambiance is just lovely. The dimly lit vibes make for a romantic and cozy time, especially during the winter. Our server was thoughtful and attentive and had great wine recs!

    Photos
    Leeward - Main dinning room

    Main dinning room

    Leeward - Gnocchi Fritto - delicious!!

    Gnocchi Fritto - delicious!!

    Leeward - Counter seating -- some with views of the open kitchen

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    Counter seating -- some with views of the open kitchen

    Street & Co. - Mussels with white wine sauce

    Street & Co.

    4.4(1.9k reviews)
    0.9 miOld Port
    $$$

    My understanding is this is a sister restaurant to scales and fore street. Street & co does not…read morehave the water views like scales but is tucked in this cute cobblestone street and you feel like you are walking into an original historic Portland building. I did a similar meal at street & co as I did scales - oysters and scallops. I enjoyed the scallops slightly better at scales but this was still a win. And the octopus! Don't be afraid of that order, it was outstanding. We also sampled desserts and I was blown away. I wish I could go back more often, another phenomenal meal in Portland.

    What an amazing dinner! Everything was perfect from start to finish…read more The space is beautiful. It's down a cobblestone alleyway, and the interior is cozy and rustic. It feels like a secret, but I know it's not a well kept one! Our server Nico (apologies if I've misspelled that!) was wonderful. He was friendly and helpful when we made our dinner choices. The other servers were also always on top of keeping our table clear and our water filled. The food was absolute perfection. We started with a salad and grilled octopus. The salad was bright and acidic which paired perfectly with the best octopus dish I've had. It was so tender and delicious, I've never had octopus that was that tender. The grilled flavor came through immediately, but never overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the octopus. For mains I had sole francaise and my husband had bone in monkfish. The sole was melt in your mouth good. It was lightly breaded and cooked in a pan with brown butter. It was so toasty and nutty and coated the green beans and simple, but perfect, red potatoes it was served with. My husband's monkfish was fresh and perfectly toothsome, served with fluffy Roman gnocchi and romesco sauce. My only regret is not having enough room for dessert because I'm sure it's incredible as well! I can't wait to return the next time we're in Portland. Just to note: this is one of the least accessibility-friendly areas of the city. The old cobblestone road that it's located on is foot traffic only. The closest approach is if you're dropped off at the end of and it you would still have a short distance to travel. There is a brick footpath on the sides of the cobblestone road that is slightly smoother, but still not ideal. Earlier in the day I was able to navigate the street okay on foot so it will depend on your capabilities. That being said, I took my motorized travel chair down there in the evening and Street and co were happy to let me fold it up and store it near the door.

    Photos
    Street & Co. - Inside

    Inside

    Street & Co. - Clam linguine

    Clam linguine

    Street & Co. - Grilled Lobster with Butter and Garlic

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    Grilled Lobster with Butter and Garlic

    Il Leone

    Il Leone

    4.5(31 reviews)
    3.7 mi

    I have to caveat my three star review with the fact that I have had Il Leone multiple times before…read morethis review and the pizza is always tasty. It's unique and it's simple -- but the flavors created are something to keep coming back for. In my most recent visit, we had a pretty bad experience leading up to the pizzas actually being served. We had some friends visiting and decided to go to grab pizza after sending a small group back to the mainland on the 6 o'clock boat. Our order must have been placed maybe 5 or 10 minutes after 6... we weren't served our first pizza until after 8 PM. And our second pizza lagged behind that one by nearly 10 minutes. I can understand how, taken out of context, this can be seen as a petty complaint. However, it really was a discouraging experience because we had multiple (at least half a dozen) other groups order well after us and enjoy their entire dining experience all around us. The group ordering behind us enjoyed their pizzas, bottles of wine and chit chatted for nearly a half hour after their indulgences... and still rode off in their golf cart before our pizzas even made it into the oven. The part that really baffled me was that we took the opportunity to speak with the staff about what was causing the delay -- simply asking if our pizza order had been started or not yet and the explanation was "our team has made several mistakes this evening and we don't have a good estimate on how long it'll take for your pizzas to be ready". We got the same explanation after waiting for 45 minutes and again after nearly an hour and a half. It seemed like a pretty inadequate answer when their wood-fired oven was often not full of cooking pizzas and their entire staff was dancing to the music playing on their speakers. In the end... the pizza was good (same quality as expected). But my experience left something to be seriously desired.

    This was the best lunch on a gorgeous trip out to Peaks! They are literally a couple trailers and…read moresome picnic tables so if you need a bathroom look elsewhere. My friend and I decided to split a pizza and it was a good sharing size. We got the burrata and it was delicious! The cashier told us it would be about 45 and I think it was a bit less than that but expect a bit of a wait on a busy weekend. The crust is super thin and floppy but good texture and taste! The sauce was flavorful and the burrata was perfect.

    Photos
    Il Leone - The counter

    The counter

    Il Leone
    Il Leone - Pizza Bianca

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    Pizza Bianca

    Quanto Basta - This is what a Neapolitan pie should look like.

    Quanto Basta

    4.3(36 reviews)
    1.2 miEast Bayside

    This was our first time to Quanto Basta. They don't take reservations and the place is tiny, so I'd…read morerecommend going on the early side. I had a margherita pizza, which I thought was really good. As others have mentioned this pizza is not "American" style, it's Napolitano, which I think translates literally on Google to "don't drown your pizza in mozzarella, this isn't Domino's stuffed crust." My friend had a salad to start, that had a lot of different flavors to it -- a mix of fruit and greens and fennel and... and... For my taste, it was a little too-too. But it was fresh as everything else we had was. Server was super nice and accommodating - we chose to sit outside, and it started raining. Heads up -- only a few of the outdoor tables fit under the glass awning, and the covering doesn't cover completely. So I'd definitely recommend going when there's a lower chance of rain. One other thing I'll add around ambiance is that the area for dishes/plates is right by the back door, and the sprayers are loud. Made it a bit difficult to hear at times but I imagine it's not an issue (or is less of an issue) if you sit inside. But for the pizza itself? Go.

    How did I not eat here before? Nathan and Emily created some classics but also some unlike any…read moreavailable locally such as the leek and bottarga or limone (yes, limone). Sit at the bar - best seats in the restaurant and a great place to watch pizza maestro Emily rank out pizza after pizza! Everyone's favorite was the Diavola...the pickled peperoncini was a nice change to this standard pizza. I liked the salsiccia & bitter greens, but wish it was also available with red sauce. I'm adding Quanto Basta to my heavy rotation and if you love great pizza, you should as well!

    Photos
    Quanto Basta - This is what a Neapolitan pie should look like.

    This is what a Neapolitan pie should look like.

    Quanto Basta - Rice balls

    Rice balls

    Quanto Basta - Summer special pie & sausage and broccoli

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    Summer special pie & sausage and broccoli

    Roma Cafe - italian - Updated May 2026

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