Nostrana

We recently celebrated my best friend's birthday at Nostrana last night, and it was nothing short of spectacular! The ambiance is warm and inviting, perfect for a special occasion. We started with a variety of appetizers, and each bite was better than the last. The standout for me was the Corn & tomato arancini--creamy and decadent. But the real stars were the pastas and pizzas. I ordered the spaghetti and meatball, Lumache, and Goat cheese stuffed pappardelle everything was absolutely divine. The pasta was fresh, perfectly al dente, and the sauce was rich and flavorful. My friends raved about the brick oven pizzas; the crust was crispy yet chewy, with just the right amount of toppings. Service was attentive and friendly, adding to the overall experience. We did bring a birthday cake and they were kind enough to cut it up and serve it to us for $3 per person charge. Which is completely fine and reasonable. If you're looking for authentic Italian cuisine in Portland, Nostrana is a must-visit. Can't wait to go back!

Setting: the private dining area at Enoteca Nostrana for a large party (~16), ended up sharing the space with another smaller party of ~8. It made for a lively atmosphere, but at no point did it detract from the intimacy.Service: a bit wanting at first. Things came out rather slowly until they doubled their staff. We were comped to make up for that (always appreciated) but 3 hours do go by so much slower when routinely punctuated by the same question - "where's our server?"Substance: hits and misses balanced out. It's pretty hard to be wowed by a charcuterie, but WOW. The salads underwhelmed, the pizza was passable, and the entrees struck a gratuitous note after all of it. Credit to dessert for snatching triumph from the jaws of mediocrity - their homemade dark chocolate sorbetto will haunt my family for generations. That said, the dessert wine/digestif menu was a bit limited.

It was a mix of good and bad. Tipping structure was very off putting but more on that later. My drink was delicious but my partner did not like his old fashion so he switched to wine. We started with the fried mozzarella risotto balls that tasted off as if it needed some salt and had a bitter taste but neither of us could place the odd flavor. Texture was spot on and fried well. We both had pasta and thought it was good, not great. We added bread and butter for $10 and not worth the added cost. We had cheesecake for dessert which was ok. Peaches were good but I would not order that dessert again. I had heard about their automatic 22% tip which I was fine with since I usually leave more than 20%. However, we both felt uncomfortable when our waitress informed us that the house takes the full 22% and if we wanted to leave her anything for her service, we'd have to add a separate tip for her. Just under $40 was added as the automatic tip but her comment left us unsettled so we left her $20 for a total of $60 for just the tip. We liked the dining atmosphere but felt the food was just ok for over $200 for 2 people and the awkward tip suggestion by the waitress. We agreed we will not be returning.

We got last minute counter reservations, so kind of got entertainment too ;)Service is always great at Nostrana and they include your tip in the bill. This is to pay their servers a living wage and I am HAPPY to pay it. Ambiance is well, busy. There's always something and if you sit at the bar next to your date you can hear them fine. Some folks a little challenged in the hearing area (like me) may find it difficult to hear people at your table, so just lean in to talk. Because:The food. The Nostrana salad (basically a kick a$$ radicchio Caesar) is amazing and I order it every time. Both pasta and pizza dishes we got were amazing (veg options absolutely)I miss living on the east side, so getting back to Nostrana is a treat!!

First off they now add a mandatory 22% service fee to the check that does not include gratuity. I brought a couple friends here before we went to an event. Ambience is nice and their pasta is hand made. Fettuccine was good. The crust on the Lemon tart was so hard I could not cut through it. The waitress brought me a steak knife and I still couldn't get through it. :-(The waitress did not offer a replacement or refund which was shocking for a $15 dessert. There are many great authentic Italian restaurants in Portland...Just sayin! This made me sad.

When you walk in, you see prominently over the host stations framed covers of when the restaurant won James Beard Awards in 2013 and 2014, and while the food was good, it really did feel like they were living in the past or living off their former glory. The wood-fire pizza had a nice crust and was well-seasoned, but we ordered the mushroom pizza and it came piled with arugula that you couldn't see the mushrooms. The rigatoni with beef and pork ragu was fresh and again, well seasoned (it's the Italian salt style if you're sensitive to a lot of salt), but didn't really feel innovative or anything that I couldn't get anywhere else. Like others mentioned, they also automatically add a 22% service charge, so we decided not to add to the tip line, but when they brought our credit slips to sign, there was a confusing additional slip that asked for additional tip on top of the 22%. If they're charging 22% to pay their servers well, then why would they need more gratuity for doing their jobs? Everyone's struggling these days and going out is getting more reserved for the elite few, so why make dining more out of the hands of most people? Again, while I found the quality of the dishes were good, I didn't find the experience that memorable and there's a lot more interesting restaurant elsewhere to try,

I came here for an early dinner recently and had a great time. As it was a nice day out, my boyfriend and I sat outside on their patio. However, I also noted that the inside of the restaurant is so beautiful that it makes me want to dine here again (but inside next time haha).My boyfriend and I ordered their foccacia & ciabatta, their cacciucco, the polpettine pizza, and meatball capellini. Everything was delicious. The foccacia and ciabatta came out with the most fragrant and delicious olive oil; we had to ask the waitress where it was from (and we'll definitely be buying some of our own). The cacciucco was delicious and light, with lots of seafood. The polpettine was amazing with a light and thin dough. And the capellini was delicious, with generous portions of meatballs. I would definitely come back and would love to try their wine bar next time.

Bellissima beautiful ~ equally enjoyable indoor or outdoor. Pup friendly on the patio.Service ~ consistent. Not so personal, just proper.Our own Italy here ~ freshest quality ingredients means $$$$ but chewy pasta textures and extensive wine selection is top notch.Only good memories here.

I will explain my rating...but I highly recommend. The appetizer- The Spanish Octopus was tender and the potato tasted great but way too spicy to really enjoy. My husband's arancini was absolutely delicious. It is probably the best "rice ball" I have ever had. Pizza- We split a margarita pizza and yes it was amazing. The scissors added a nice touch. Dessert- I had a butterscotch budino and my husband had a blueberry panna cotta. The Budino was the best I have ever had. It really was exceptional. The service was very efficient and the restaurant was beautiful. We had many different workers dropping off the food and drinks as well as the server who took our order and made sure we were okay. I am fine paying a 22% service charge if you want to spread it the wealth among all of the workers. But passively aggressively asking for extra tip, definitely ruins a fantastic meal. We left an additional tip assuming this was common practice in Portland, but it was not.

One of the best meals I've had in Portland. The service was outstanding, everything we ate was so delicious, and we had a lovely time celebrating our anniversary. Definitely ate all carbs kinda on accident but not mad about it (it's the place for carbs). The bread plate with the lard butter (yes lard...trust me) was so insanely good. Their hazelnut tiramisu was heavenly. Cocktails and wine service were on point. The ambiance and decor of the restaurant was gorgeous too. I can't wait to come back!