Ciao Vito Restaurant
(503) 282-5522
2203 NE Alberta St
Portland,
OR
97211
45.5592
-122.6426
Neighborhoods: Concordia, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods
What People Are Saying About Ciao Vito Restaurant
The Editor
Contributor
Citysearch
In Short
Once a greasy-spoon diner, this spot has been completely reincarnated as a chic neighborhood trattoria. Patrons pass the gleaming open kitchen and settle in at the airy bar, or head to the subdued dining room, lined with comfy banquettes and chocolate-colored wainscoting. Chef Vito Dilullo puts forth rustic Italian food using market-fresh, local ingredients. Entrees include pasta carbonara with house-made pancetta, as well as the mixed smoked-meat entree with lamb ribs and duck confit.
User Reviews
makemineyoga
June 30, 2009
This place is terrible. Service was awful. People around us who had been sitted after us and ordered after us received their food before we did. Asking about our meal didn't help either. We were ignored! The bartender serving us knew her order got messed up (or maybe she messed it up herself) and didn't even have the courtesy to give us another serving of bread! We waited 45 minutes after our salad to get our meal. When we did, one was of good proportion, but the pasta with pesto was the size of a small salad plate. This is what we waited 45 minutes for! And after asking for the manager, we never saw him/her! No siree, management did NOT want to take care of us!. Ceasar salad was only so so. Not worth the money we spent. There are SO MANY OTHER PLACES TO GO IN PORTLAND. Why EVER go there. Trust me, don't!!!
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MalePSUStudent
February 13, 2009
My fiance and I walk in without reservation 7:15. We got sat immediately at the bar. After a lively bar area order, I get sugo pork, with polenta and ragu $18, my fiance, skirt steak with french fries $21. Ok, french fries at an Italian spot!?! the menu had only a few actual Italian words on the menu. The entire menu barely fills a page and mild. After searching my fiance's plate for the tablepoon of murky water. I spoke up, looking forward to a good red wine demi glace. FYI, demi glace is FRENCH for half glaze and any chef will tell you that it should be thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. I asked the bartender of 5 years, where the sauce was and was told that the sauce was supposed to be thin. After poking at our food for 20 min we got our food to go. With a quarter of a glass of wine, and half a beer, we're asked to move. We were shocked, but ok leaving some alcohol. I set my food down on a table because thats the only place I can find to put it while I put my jacket on, my girlfriend wrestlin' to get her jacket on, and a waitress picked up my box and scoffed at me giving my fiance "whats wrong with this guy", I begin to explain my actions, hey I was trying to finish my beer and I got kicked. . . she hands me my box & walks away. We go to the hostess asking for the manager, she replies, is there a problem? Yeah we got kicked out and we want to talk to a manager. She corrects me and tells me Ciao Vito doesn't kick people out, we ask them to move. At this point, realizing that this is the way Ciao Vito treats you when you sit at the bar and try to spend $100, we leave. You might not get treated bad here, maybe you will. As a former chef, I have actually been transferred for making sauce like that. To the staff, We may have looked young, but when customers get treated like that, believe we are going to say something. To potential customers, you have been warned. And don't go up the street to Siam Society, even worse.
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PDXrestaurantlover
January 20, 2009
Diners, please take note that most reviews are mid-2008 and before. Why? I'm not sure...maybe because not many folks are coming in anymore? Possibly. Went out Friday with neighbors originally for an excursion to Toro Bravo but left there after being informed of the 2.5 hour wait (um, no). Collectively decided to go somewhere closer to home and ended up at Ciao Vito. First time there for my wife and I. We were able to get a table upon arrival (good or bad thing I'm not sure). Hard to decide if our server was uninformed or aloof but either way I didn't get the best warm/fuzzy feeling from him from the get-go. We all split a few appetizers (crispy polenta w/ spinach and roasted beet salad w/ goat cheese). Tasty, but oh so tiny...I'm guessing we would have ordered additional if our server had indicated that they were so small. Interestingly we were told that they were out of croutons for the caesar salad (kind of odd to run out of croutons, no?) and that there was a change to the specialty pasta dish (bolognese instead of different beef sauce). No biggie as we passed on salads and between us ordered the skirt steak, linguini w/ clams, and two pasta specials. I can really only speak for the dinners my wife and I had but neither were anything to write home about. The steak was tender but entirely too salty and the steak fries were soggy. While interesting to look at, the clams were served in-shell on top of the linguini which made it difficult to try to eat...too much effort required to finish the dish. In addition, the 'sauce' was almost nonexistent...basically bare noodles. Should have sent it all back but didn't. Almost wish we had. I will say I would consider returning for coffee/dessert only, as the gelato affogato and warm berry/apple crisp were very good. BUT, since we are not big into desserts anyway, I doubt that we'll be returning any time soon if at all...there are just too many restaurants in Portland to choose from which are far superior to Ciao Vito.
read full reviewThe Details on Ciao Vito Restaurant
Category:
Payment Methods:
Restaurant Special Features:
Notable Beer List, Romantic Dining, Group Dining, Dine At The Bar, Outdoor Dining, Bar Scene
General Info:
Cuisine:
Smoking Permitted:
No
