This is a gem. It gives a feel that it has been around for decades. You truly taste and could believe gramma was in the kitchen cooking. We had the eggplant parm; solid flavors though execution was lacking. Wish they would layer it like a lasagna, that would be money. The Sunday sauce was truly heavenly. Sausage wasnt too much and beef was tender and flavorful The noodles were fantastic. Cooked to perfection. It was quite busy so we took two seats at the bar. It was awesome. Bartender made us feel right at home. This is a must read more

What a great experience at Sunday Sauce (chef's kiss). * Eggplant Parm - B+ * Rigatoni Pasta "Sunday Sauce" - A ( pasta al dente perfection ) * Garlic Bread w/Momma's Sauce - A+ ( This blew my mind ) * Tiramisu - B * Service - A ( Welcoming, professional, personable, engaged and nice) All & All - Great Italian restaurant, not a chain, not boring, romantic, chill, relaxing, food is wonderful and finally, service was just about perfect. Can't wait to return !! Grazie, Sunday Sauce read more

Atmosphere: Cozy, dim red-light type of feel mixed with a Pizza Hut vibe. Food: So good. Possibly my favorite place in Portland. The Sunday Sauce was amazing. Eggplant Parm also great and I don't even like eggplant. Yum yum yum! Price: Some things are a little bit pricey. Others are properly priced. Service: Service was great. Parking: Street parking read more

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Sunday sauce was so good. I love their story. I definitely recommend you make a reservation. We only got a table because someone cancelled. I recommend getting the chicken Parmesan and the banana pudding tiramisu cake. It was the perfect date night spot. read more

Sunday Sauce - Chicken parm - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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I finally got a chance to make it here, but for lunch. I still need to find a time to come for dinner. The lunch menu is just pretty much samdwiches and some salads. We had the chicken parm and Italian grinder. Both sandwiches were of good size and perfect for sharing. I enjoyed both, but if had to choose, I would pick the grinder again. I do want to try some of their other sandwiches next time and hopefully dinner soon. read more

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came for a little birthday dinner a while ago and it definitely is a nice place for that! Got a variety of of food to try. My friends and I all agreed that the Sunday sauce pasta was our fav. It was a beef and pork tomato based sauce over rigatoni pasta! It had a lot of good flavor which we enjoyed. The garlic bread was also pretty good and the marinara was a good dip for it. Personally wasn't a fan of the parm since it was a bit salty but wasn't bad. read more

Sunday Sauce - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Service was great and staff was polite. Food was delicious, definitely would come back! read more

Sunday Sauce - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

The food we had today was amazing, the flavors were so bold yet balanced, and all the pasta was cooked to perfection. The service was great and the staff was very attentive and friendly with us! I love going to new restaurants and trying new things, this place hit the spot and we had such a great experience, could not recommend highly enough!! read more

Sunday Sauce - My wife was stoked on the ice cream sundae! - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Classic American Italian comfort food. Space fills up fast. We walked in at 4:45pm on a Sunday without issue. By 5:30 most people coming in were waiting for tables. We liked the red sauce on the namesake Sunday sauce pasta a tad more than Gabbianos (which is a bit sweeter). But didn't enjoy the mix of meats...came with bits of sliced sausage and braised meat. Just one type of meat would've been fine for us otherwise it felt like a hodgepodge/kitchen sink scenario. I don't believe they make the noodles in house as they had several noodle boxes in their bins while we were heading out. But the noodles were cooked well and the sauces were definitely decent. read more

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Sunday Sauce was busy when we visited, but we were seated quickly and the service was great. Food came out fast, and everything was packed with flavor. I ordered the Sunday Sauce dish and ate every bite. The strawberry lemonade was also delicious and refreshing. Great food, friendly service, and a fun atmosphere. We'll definitely be back! read more

Sunday Sauce - Strawberry lemonade - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Helllllloooo Italian spot that reminds me of my New Jersey Italian grandmother's cooking in 1980! Thank you so much for being the first Italian place with interesting cocktails that honor Italian flavors, something other than aperol and wine. I loved this place. It is small as it should be to get the vibe right, and there are no reservations so expect a wait. The hostess does do a good job of eyeing you if you stay too long chatting o as to keep things moving though so be considerate and respect how busy they are. The most tender juicy meatballs I've ever had! The chicken parm was huge, all the sauces were vibrant and alive with flavor, and the banana tiramisu was a fun twist. read more

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Met family for dinner at Sunday Sauce. The dishes are family style and come out as they're ready. We tried 5 dishes and cocktails. Service was great. The space was cute and the bathroom has a disco ball. The food was okay. They're starting lunch service with sandwiches. read more

We stopped in on a Saturday and despite being fairly packed, we were seated right away. Very friendly staff, cozy atmosphere and the food was excellent. We've been wanting to try this spot for awhile, and glad we did. read more

Sunday Sauce - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Honestly... this place soothes the inner child in me. Whenever I eat here I am brought back to my east coast Italian childhood: Holidays at my Aunts house, the comfort foods that I cherished, the music that all the cool older women were listening to. I don't know what it is about this place... maybe it's the absolutely delicious food, but it brings me a lot of joy. read more

We checked out Sunday Sauce around 5 PM on a Friday. Loved the nice and cozy atmosphere. The service was excellent and incredibly helpful throughout our meal. Food wise, the cheesy bread was a great start, and their signature Sunday sauce was wonderfully meaty and hearty. We finished with the banana tiramisu, which was delicious. The only real letdown was the lobster ravioli. It was pretty pricey and lacked the flavor I was expecting, though I would give it another try. Overall, a great experience and we'll definitely be back. read more

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Defiantly not worth it. The food was mediocre. We got the fried motz, it was still solid and cold in the middle. We got the bitter greens and they were inedible. Tasted like i put cleaner in my mouth. Server hardly talked to us but was talking to tables on either side of us. And when I told her about the food she came off very passive aggressive. Will not be returning. read more

Sunday Sauce is a restaurant that I've seen very hyped up on social media. My friend and I are were excited to try it. We came around 5PM on a Thursday and there was no wait. We did go that early in response to other reviewers experiences. The restaurant is small. The service was friendly and good. We got the fried mutz, Sunday sauce pasta, orecchiette, and Amanda's Birthday Cannoli Cake. The mozzarella sticks were just okay. The Sunday sauce pasta was good. I especially liked the sausage pieces in the sauce. The orecchiette was delicious. I felt that there was a good balance of each component too. I loved the cake. It was dense, sweet, and rich. Overall, I'd be happy to revisit here and would definitely order the cake again. read more

Sunday Sauce - Sunday Sauce Pasta - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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For Italian I'm partial to the "checkered tablecloth" variety and Sunday Sauce serves up a winner. The perfect crunch cheesy garlic bread with marinara dipping sauce made for a good starter. I'd probably order it with, and not before the main next time. And there will be a next time. I was so-so on their specialty salad (the one with mutz), but it's more about me not being fond of carrots, my spouse enjoyed it. Their marquee dish, Sunday Sauce, was super delish. It's definitely about the simmered gravy. And obvious why it's their namesake. The banana tiramisu was a creative twist on a dessert staple. Get it! Sunday Sauce strikes a delicious balance between a spumoni ice cream mega portion venue and high-end foo foo. Charming space, friendly staff, and an even more charming owner. The kind of person you root for. read more

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Sunday Sauce feels like stepping into an Italian mom's kitchen--filled with homemade recipes and comforting twists on the classics. What I liked: Some of the dishes were truly delicious. The sauce lived up to the name--definitely "Sunday best." It really did feel like eating at someone's family table. The staff were friendly, and the atmosphere had a fun, lively energy. The meatballs, chicken parm, and Cesar salad were standouts. What I wish was different: It was packed. The wait was long, and unless you're patient or plan ahead, getting a table might be tough. The music was also louder than expected--fun 80s pop, but hard to have a conversation over it. Is it the best Italian food in Portland? No. Is it worth trying? Absolutely. read more

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No matter your familial origin, this new restaurant oozes nostalgia & plenty of red sauce. The first menu I've looked at this year that I truly wanted to order one of everything -- from Sour Cream & Onion Martini to Lobster Ravioli as buttery as a velour jumpsuit & of course the Magnolia banana pudding tiramisu Mangia! What we got: Bada Bing (pistachio pisco) Cheesy Garlic Bread Giardiniera Misto Sunday Sauce Rigatoni Eggplant Parm Salted Caramel Budino Banana pudding tiramisu read more

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We had seen the Veal Parmigiana special posted and had not been able to make it in. We finally got the chance this past Saturday. It was worth the wait. It reminded me of the my family's restaurant back in upstate New York-it was THAT good! Amanda and her staff are great! We prefer to sit at the bar and got introduced to Katelyn who too great care of us. Cozy, comfortable atmosphere. The side of spaghetti in pesto sauce was delish as well. read more

Sunday Sauce - Veal Parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I came here for my Bday and it was a wonderful experience. My group of 9 couldn't get into Gabbiano's due to their strict 8 max policy and we happened upon this Gem. I'm so glad we did because the service was amazing. Everyone loved their meals. The chicken parm was the bomb. The whole staff rocked and were so nice and fun! I definitely recommend Sunday Sauce 10/10 on vibes, food and service. And shout out to Sarah for making my bday special! read more

Sunday Sauce - Giant Chicken Parm - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

TLDR: it was just okay. Food. Garlic cheese bread ($10): meh, nothing special. Comes with red sauce, which is flavorful. Pork scallopini Marsala ($24): the cutlets are way too thin so they're dry and the sauce they're in is basically flavored water. Has potential but severely lacking. Does not come with anything but a few small pork cutlets, sauce and mushrooms. Chicken Parm ($25): pretty good, needed seasoning (or parm in the breading) but the red sauce is bright and tasty. Did not come with anything except for a double-sized chicken cutlet, sauce, mozz. We ordered a side of spaghetti ($10) because it's wild chicken parm is à la carte - so effectively a $35 chicken parm that's not as good as others. Penne in a House Pesto ($22): best flavor, light on the basil (which is what I like), came with a couple blistered tomatoes - could add shrimp for $9. Banana Pudding Tiramisu ($13): pretty good, an interesting twist on a classic Amanda's Cannoli Birthday Cake ($12): dense, light flavor like a cannoli! We waited 45 minutes for a table for 3, no biggie on a Saturday. Service was fine, meals come out as they're done so apps with entrees is the norm. Music is a couple clicks too much, made it difficult to have a conversation. For the price, was expecting a better meal and ambiance but hey, we tried it! Much prefer Monty's Red Sauce in Sellwood - has the same fast casual Italian cafeteria vibe but better food. read more

Arrived just before 7pm on a Thursday and we were sat pretty quickly. Everything was so good!! We will be back again to visit in the future. read more

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Came here with friends, someone had suggested it, I had never heard of this place and went in blind. It was okay. Wasn't blown away. Got the Sunday Sauce ($28) Staff was nice and food was quick to come out if I recall right. Dessert was subpar. They advertised a Magnolia Bakery banana pudding tiramisu and I had just came back from NYC and ate 3 tubs of the banana pudding and was extremely disappointed by this tiramisu. Wouldn't come back again but the vibe was nice! read more

Sunday Sauce - Brownie Sundae and Banana Tiramisu - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

My son and I went to celebrate our birthdays as a joint celebration since we have birthdays one week apart. He had been hearing about this place for a long time and was excited to try it and we went mid week to avoid the crowd. That was the best part about our experience. We ordered the garlic cheese bread with marinara dipping sauce as an appetizer. For the main course, we ordered chicken Parmesan and it was really quite unremarkable. The serving size was large, but I didn't want to eat it. The sauce was very raw tasting. We ordered a Caesar salad to split and it seemed to have some very odd taste about it, and I found it un appealing. They offered us boxes, but we didn't want to take any of it home with us. The garlic cheese bread was really delicious. My Wine was excellent and was a recommendation from the staff. We ordered dessert to celebrate and they ended up bringing us two desserts with candles since they knew that it was both of our birthdays. I really appreciated that. I truly enjoyed the Cyndi Lauper music that was playing. No, I would not go back. read more

came about 10 mins before opening and there was already quite a line so if you want to catch first seating i'd come early. restaurant is small so if you're not in the first seating you're looking at about an hour or so wait (or until first tables wrap up). staff is friendly, nice, and checked in often. due to all tables getting sat at once, there was a small wait for food but that's expected i was very excited about a new italian spot (i LOVE italian) and honestly was quite disappointed. when you have as small as a menu as they do, you expect every dish to be perfection. we did family style and ordered the garlic cheesy bread, sunday sauce, lobster ravioli, chicken parm, and banana tiramisu. the garlic cheesy bread comes with three pieces of bread and a side of mariana - i liked it. its hard to mess up garlic cheesy bread and i would've liked a little more cheese if anything. otherwise i would order this again cause it was good. the sunday sauce was hands down the best dish we ordered. i wish i would've just ordered that to eat cause in comparison to everything else it was the most flavorful. rigatoni was cooked perfectly, i enjoyed the blend of beef short rib (which was perfectly tender) and pork sausage, and the sauce wasn't bland. if there was a dish to get, it would be this. they said the chicken parm was a decent size and they weren't kidding. it took over the whole plate! i wish the chicken was more crispy though, and the sauce was too bland for me. i would've loved more depth in flavor for both the chicken and the marinara to bring that dish together. also would've liked something to go with it, make sure to order a app or side with this as it's just a big piece of chicken. the lobster ravioli was the most disappointing dish. they had mentioned that there were 7 pieces to split for 3 which was very specific (and also on the menu) and when it came out with exactly 7 bite sized pieces i don't know why i was even surprised lol. they were smaller than i'd expect for being $30. this was not worth it. there was not enough stuffing, the ravioli was slightly undercooked, and it lacked flavor. i would not recommend this. the banana pudding tiramisu sounded good, but in my opinion could've had a stronger banana flavor. overall, its cute and the concept is nice, but some fixes to flavor could really make this place thrive against the other known and solid italian staples we have in portland. read more

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Came on Friday around 7 and waited about an hour. It's definitely vibey and lively. The music is like two volumes too loud. Everything was decently good but I don't think I was blown away by anything. I think the overall pasta was just okay for being an Italian restaurant. I thought the lobster smelled a little fishy. It was the end of the night so I think that's why they offered caviar bumps which significantly enhanced it and thought it made the $30 dish worth it. Spent $84 for two with some leftover rigatoni. read more

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food overall was a 3/5. garlic bread was ok, nothing special. i love a good cesar salad, but i didn't love their dressing. sunday sauce was flavorful and porky. i was mostly disappointed by the lobster ravioli! not much flavor and the ravioli was too al dente for me. $30 is crazy considering it was just ravioli topped with chives. banana tiramisu was my absolute fav! i'm still thinking about it to this day. service was good. ambiance was causal. the interior was cute and corky! read more

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First time trying this restaurant that we have been following for a couple of months. Might I suggest getting there between four and 430 because by 4:45 and 5 o'clock there was a wait time and people were stacking up. I wouldn't say there's a ton of seating, but there's ample seating. Just an FYI. We were greeted by the co-owner who was very kind and welcoming. We were seated in a corner booth, which we realized later was a little difficult to get in and out of. But that's fine. We were given water for the table pretty immediately and started to look at the menu. The ambience was pretty cool. The place was cute. They brought out little table candles while we were eating and lowered the lights. I have to say the music threw me off a bit as it was pure 80s... Michael Jackson, some Olivia Newton-John, and others. I mean, don't get me wrong who doesn't love that music, but it was kind of different especially eating Italian food in a cute little place. We ordered the Insilata, a side of rigatoni with marinara, lobster ravioli, chicken cutlet. I had a glass of the red wine from Sicily and it was fabulous. My wife had the martini that was the sour cream and onion, I believe. And it was described to us as very overpowering but Neither of us thought that. It was actually very good. We also ordered the Bada Bing drink at the end and I absolutely loved it! My wife loved the ravioli and ate every bit of it. I did not try it as I am allergic to shellfish. Unfortunately! The rigatoni with marinara was absolutely wonderful. The noodles were cooked perfectly, and I loved the sauce. The table also came with some garlic bread and marinara dipping sauce, which we ate every bit of as well and wanted more! I'd like to talk about the chicken cutlet. I mean, who doesn't love smashed chicken with some breading a lot of cheese and some marinara? I found this one so super short of being good. The breading was heavy and very greasy and my chicken, all the way around was burnt to the point of being inedible. The bites in the middle fell just as flat. The chicken was very chewy and honestly tasted kind of dry. Really disappointing. I had four solid bites to give it a good try and then pushed it to the side and didn't touch it. We got to go boxes for the salad and the rigatoni and we were asked if we wanted a box for the cutlet and I said no hoping that was going to present an opportunity for them to ask why because basically 90% of it was still on the plate. The server did not take that opportunity and simply took it off the table. For me, that was a missed opportunity and a lesson for me that I won't order that in the future if we do decide to return. On the way home, we were discussing whether we would like to return there or not. One of us felt like it was a no the other one said we would go back and give it a chance and maybe try something different. So our household was 50-50. Definitely worth a try because new restaurants and places are always exciting to check out in my opinion. read more

Maybe a 3.5? I feel like the service lacked a bit. Everything came out so fast that you weren't able to enjoy your appetizers before entrees started coming out. Led to an overcrowded table and cold dishes. Great cocktails. Food was good but with so many good Italian spots in Portland, I didn't find anything to be a stand out. Could have been that it was cold. Our dessert was delicious. read more

Sunday Sauce - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Everything was excellent! Portions were large and the service was fast. Highly recommended the chicken parm and the garlic bread, but I don't think you can go wrong. The space was cute and intimate, and overall good vibe. read more

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Sunday Sauce was everything we hoped it was. The wait for only 30 minutes. The service was perfect they took great care of us and really cared. The Marsala disco fries were out of this world good! The Sunday Sauce signature dish was better than we hoped. The beef in the sauce was truly the hero of the dish. The Banana pudding tiramisu was a real tiramisu with banana pudding incorporated somehow. This place was real east coast Italian in a cool Portland way. We will be back for sure read more

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The service and food was great! They do traditional family style meals but for those of you with larger appetites like myself I definitely think some of these items are personal size. I will definitely be back again! read more

Parking: The parking situation here isn't very good. It's neighborhood parking off a busy street. 1/10 Overall building: The building and atmosphere are pretty good. The seats were comfortable, and they were playing some music as well. We would say it has a good vibe, and the staff were very friendly. 9/10 Food and wait: The wait was a bit longer than expected considering it was a Thursday night. We ended up waiting about an hour to get seated. The wait for food to start coming out wasn't too bad. Things came out as they were ready, and the plates are big enough to share. 4/10 Mozzarella sticks: These came out first and they looked really good, but the taste was just okay. They had a good crunch and good cheese pull, but overall they were just lacking flavor. 5/10 Garlic cheese bread: This was really good! It was soft and chewy like you want from a nice slice of bread, but had a nice hard crust on it. It had good flavor and wasn't an absurd amount of cheese on it. 8 /10 Side sauce: The sauce that came on the side for both the appetizers was good. Had good flavor and came with a decent amount of it. 6/10 Chicken parm: This was by far the best thing we ate while there. It was very good and not soggy. It was still crispy and held that crunch very well and had really good flavor. We got a side of spaghetti with it and it was surprisingly good for a simple spaghetti dish. The chicken by itself was a lot, but with the small side of spaghetti, it was a large dish. 9/10 Sunday sauce dish: We were expecting this to be amazing considering this is the dish they are known for, and we were very disappointed. The pasta itself was good but wasn't a fan overall. The sauce was kind of watery, and the meat was weirdly sweet. We didn't think it was bad by any means, but we felt we weren't the intended audience. 4/10 Final thoughts: Overall, we think it's a nice place and has a cute charm to it, but considering the wait and the food overall, we don't think we would come back. If you've never been here, it's definitely worth trying out, but we didn't feel it would be worth the drive, looking for parking, and also having to probably wait a while. If we are ever in the area again and there are open tables, we will give it another shot. The other main issue we had was that most of the sauces were similar, so it almost felt like everything we were eating was the same dish. 6/10 read more

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Great first of many visits to Sunday Sauce last night. I have a strict rule that we don't go to restaurants for a month after they have opened. We broke that rule last night as Sunday Sauce has just opened, and it is that GOOD. Four of the five of us had the highly acclaimed Sunday Sauce. Oh my, it was incredible. My wife, who is vegetarian, thoroughly enjoyed her Penne Pesto. Of course we had the Garlic Bread and it was as good as advertised. The bottle of Montelpulciano was the perfect accompaniment. Our server Sarah was excellent. Her timing and engaging style could not have been better. It was also great to talk to one of the owners, Amanda. Her visit on KGW was one of the reasons we came on a rainy Sunday evening for some good old Italian food, done with the perfect vibe. They were extremely busy, but they seemed to be in control and handled their many new guests perfectly. Thank you Sunday Sauce. Amanda, your team is excellent and we are anxious to revisit you. read more

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Listen... as a couple of Jersey natives, we don't play around when it comes to Italian food. We've been wandering around Portland for years, hoping (praying) to find a place that understands what a real red sauce joint is supposed to taste like. Then we walked into Sunday Sauce, and I'm tellin' you right now it was like stepping straight into our Nonna's kitchen back home. The second that sauce hit the table? Forget about it. Rich. Deep. The kind of flavor that makes you sit back, close your eyes, and reconsider your life choices. The pasta was perfect -- not mushy, not fancy for the sake of being fancy -- just honest, beautiful, Italian cooking the way it's meant to be. The vibe is cozy, welcoming -- the kind of place where you half expect someone's uncle to come out of the kitchen and insist you take leftovers home because you "look too skinny." This is, without question, our favorite restaurant in all of Portland. Sunday Sauce didn't just serve us dinner -- it brought us home. Already planning our next visit... and many more after that. read more

Sunday Sauce - Chicken parm - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Pleasant staff seated promptly right at 4 o'clock. There were four of us three of them had the eggplant Parmesan. I had the sunday sauce. They were quite pleased with theirs my sunday sauce the pasta was undercooked and the sauce was OK but not great. Everything is served family style so if you order Caesar salad, it's enough for two people pleasant dinning experience in Portland, read more

We got here 10 minutes prior to opening and there was already a small line outside. Dishes come out as they are ready and served family style. The garlic bread wasn't my fav, expected more cheese, would not order again. Friend mozzarella was standard. Chicken parm was a bit thin, but tasty. The Sunday sauce was great, could use more meat. We got the cannoli cake and banana tiramisu for dessert. Neither of us finished them. The cannoli cake was hard, dry and flavorless and the banana tiramisu was odd. We will come back and try the other desserts next time. Very loud R&B music. read more

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You can't go home again, but you can do your best to make your current home as comfortable and familiar as the one you remember. For 13 years, my expat Northern New Jersey family has chased the promise of great Italian-American food in the Portland metro area and--since the pandemic--watched countless establishments and fellow travelers rise to meet the challenge. We've had Hunterdon County Ken's Artisan alum Elise Gold make us the city's best St. Joseph's pastries out of Sebbastiano's. We've taken home the pork rigatoni and penne vodka from Bergen County's own Adam Berger's Montelupo for holiday dinners with the extended Jersey family. Most surprisingly, we've had our Oregon neighbors at Sit-Tite, Gabbiano's and Picone's Quality Deli use Oregon ingredients to make their best representation of Italian-American dishes. The words "red sauce" still get thrown around on occasion, but less frequently and with decreasing pejorative connotations than when we first moved to the city and any establishment not aping Tuscan or Napoletan cuisine and aesthetic was viewed as producing children's strip-mall food. But with an interior designed by the Gabbiano's folks and with personal touches from an owner just up Route 17 (nobody--nobody--from outside of North Jersey who hasn't driven the narrow, crumbling lanes of the Pulaski Skyway over the oft-burning weeds and industrial sites below would ever consider decorating a restaurant with it), Sunday Sauce aims right for the heartstrings. You know that Rusty Nail on the cocktail menu: It's a better version of one the waiter at Cha Cha's in Little Italy made you and your friends try when you big shots decided to take your limo over after the prom. You know that fried mutz on the appetizer list: It's a slightly more presentable interpretation of what you had at the stands during the Feast of the Madonna Dei Martiri in Hoboken. You know that chicken parm: It's not the hubcap-sized portion from Gabbiano's or the sloppy pinball sangwiche from Sit-Tite, but the one the pizza place around the corner would serve in its restaurant section--but with a nicer cut of chicken, slightly better mutz, and more care with the sauce. You definitely know the Sunday Sauce, even if you know it as Sunday Gravy: You've had it your entire life. The old ladies at Shop-Rite stopped you in the aisles to correct you on your use of produce and tomato paste. The first person you brought home for a big dinner asked what that big bowl of meat on the table was for and what was in it. You've moved to strange, far off places and received curious looks when you've asked grocery staff where to find neckbones for the stock. You helped your family make it every weekend and ladle the overstock into old Polly-O containers to put in the freezer. You've sent it to college campuses in Pennsylvania and Ohio. You think you still have some of it that you made during the pandemic when you hoarded San Marzano tomatoes. Sunday Sauce takes its place in the pantheon of Portland's Italian-American greats because the team behind Normandie was going to sweat the basics, but also because someone who grew up in that state's loud, crowded, NYC- and Philly-adjacent, table-leaf using, shore vacationing, "should I get the spumoni"-arguing, extended Italian-American family is going to pour as much love into the cuisine and culture they're 3,000 miles away from as possible. With no offense meant to the other establishments on this list, which have been alluding to the Jersey Italian connection in their own ways (Montelupo's original market setup, Picone's Shop-Rite inspired merch), Sunday Sauce gets bonus points for wearing its background directly on its sleeve and using all its learned during its time here in Portland to translate the experience for this market as uniquely and lovingly as possible. With nary a Soprano or Springsteen in sight, but patron saint Danny DeVito overlooking the dining room, Sunday Sauce has done everything it can to avoid novelty and make its establishment and cuisine the staples they're meant to be. P.S. When the spumoni came in my grandma's jello goblets, that locked up the last star. read more