Denicolas Restaurant

Worst excuse for pizza

by whitster

This was literally the worst pizza ever had and I have a hard time saying that pizza is bad. Let's face it, it is pretty hard to go so bad with pizza that consuming it is a challenge. 95% of this pizza was a really thick & tasteless crust, similar to cardboard. It looked more like a bread bowl than pizza. The toppings and sauce were minimal. The only few toppings that were present were the only good part of the pizza. I would not recommend this pizza to anyone. It is not a true resemblance to a real Italian pizza.

• Pros: lots of bread ... if that is what you are looking for!?
• Cons: BREAD

HORRIBLE SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Sunlove

So where do i begin.....

We had reserved their "banquit room" one month before my friends baby shower.

We searched the place by location, and being the closest pizza place with a party room, we booked it.

We even visited the resturant a week before to check it out. The room was complete with

wood panneling, an ugle mural from the late 80's, flimsy chairs from close to the same time

era, and not well lit or heated. We laughed about it at the time and decided to be optimistic

about the occasion rather than the location.

SO TODAY:

We arrived with mommy to be, presents, cake, decorations, the works.

The first thing we saw was the owner who had to unlock the door to let us in at 4:00pm

Keep in mind that I arrived with three women in their mid twenties and a first time mommy

who is due any day now. Im sure we were sterotyped for our age.

So first the owner made it a big deal for us to use the back door closest to the car to

haul in our baby gear. Before we could even start decorating she started NOT by complimenting

or congradulating the mommy but by asking us how many people we were expecting. Our group size

had shrunk since we made the reservation-like most ofen do. She did not appreciate this and showed it well.

ROLLED HER EYES, TALKED ABOUT IT TO OTHER WORKERS IN THE NEXT ROOM WHERE WE

COULD EASIALLY HEAR, SAID TO US SHE WISHED WE WOULD HAVE TOLD HER EARLIER B/C THEY ALSO HAD A LARGE

GROUP COMING THAT COULD HAVE USED THIS ROOM. ECT..

At the time we heard her talking about us we deceided to close the doors deviding the room. To keep the happy

atmosphere in and the bad out. At which point she returned concerningly asking if this was a "surprise party!?"

When we said no, she said "oh, then it would be good if we could leave these doors open".

If this other groups event was so important they should have booked earlier! What concern of mine is

someone elses resurvation?! We were there to celebrate a new baby, we had planned games, and gifts, and cake-the works.

After such lame service from the start we decided we were DONE HERE....

The waitress(who was the only nice person here and probably deserves a better job)

came to take our order. Once we informed her of our dissapointment she tried to apologize for

the owners behavior, stating that shes had a "Really bad day". After she left the crazy biotch

comes back AGAIN. At this point we were done seeing her face. She tried to act sorry, but only made

things worse for mommy to be who felt totally disrespected. This was also when she said "Oh, i didnt

know you were the mom!"

Shortly after this we left with a to-go pizza only to tip the waitress. Did i mention in the short

time we were there someone else was also complaining about the service. I was so amazed at the level

of service from the owner who should be top notch with friendlyness.

OVERALL: HORRRIBLE SERVICE

OLD, UGLY BUILDING

FOOD-NOTHING SPECIAL.

If it were not for my friends tollerance(mommy) for the horrible service, i would have snapped.

They are lucky I was not the pregnant one. OH, there would have been quite a scene.....

• Pros: none
• Cons: read below..

Best Italian Food and Service in Portland!

by finallyjd

The food and the people are AMAZING. Raised in NJ and having an Italian family creates certain expectations in italian dining, and Denicolas exceeds those expectations. Their italian sausage (spicey!) is to die for, but their meatballs come in a close second. I have been eating there for about 2 years now, and all my family calls this restaurant a Portland favorite. Want a special treat?? Try the mezza mezza sauce. Aslo consider sampling their baked tortellini, which is cheesy and perfectly baked. My biggest peeve is that salad does not come with your meal ($2 extra) but it is worth it if you order it with their homemade pesto dressing!! This place is authentic, run by a 2nd and 3rd generations of "the family." The owners grown children and their friends provide excellent service.

For all you whiners, if there is something you don't like TALK TO THE OWNER. They are more than accommodating.

• Pros: The entire menu, the service, the ambience
• Cons: salad is ala carte, and $2.00 for the mezza mezza sauce

Best Italian in Portland

by raishawn

After living across the street from this place for months I finally went in and I completely regret not going in sooner. Everything we had was delicious. The meat lasagna was perfect. Just the right amount of sauce and meat and so much delicious cheese. The cheesy garlic bread was amazing. I stuffed myself because it was all so delicious I couldn't stop eating it. My husband had the Tortellini which was also incredibly good. Service was also wonderful. We got everything pretty quickly and our waitress checked on us and made sure we had everything we needed. The place was filling up pretty fast but it didn't get too loud or crowded. We're definitely going to be visiting often. We may even start having takeout once a week.

If you miss cafeteria food....

by therestaurantsearchers

Seeing all of the great reviews, we expected this place to be good, but it was very dissapointing. It tasted like cafeteria food! The place was huge, but only about 3 people were eating there. I would not reccomend this place.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Food, ambience, location, ect

Friendly and Homestyle at it's Best

by pdxplm

When we first moved here we started going in and found that the food is not the ONLY reason to go. The staff just make you feel like you are family. The dishes are great and as a treat I always get the Chicken Picatta. The thin crust pizza is one of the best and a great value too. While all places have their "gotchas", you really have to look hard to find any faults here. One thing I wish they had was Shrimp Scampi, but I can definitely see it as a negative to the owners because it would really drive prices up. Good food, great prices, and of course the love that they show you when you walk in and out!

• Pros: Food, staff, pizza
• Cons: Calzone is HUGE

DiNicola's disappointing

by lsb123

The food was very uninspired. After all the raves about this place was very dispppointed. From the salads to dessert could find no reason to return. The veal parmagana was very disappinting as it was tough. All the sauces tasted the same like from a can or jar. The service was however fair

• Pros: nothing here
• Cons: veal was very tough

great east-coast style family italian

by rowdyfoodie

the user that said this is "east coast italian" got it right on. a great homey, relaxing place, really delicious "like mama made" food. i had the chicken piccata and my husband had the veal parm. the lady that waited on us was friendly and attentive. we will definately be back, & bring the fam next time:)

• Pros: great homestyle italian
• Cons: none

Best Italian food in Portland, OR

by sj12312

I used to live close to this place and I ate here 2 times a week! They serve true Italian food! The red sauce is very good! The service is ALWAYS great and the Chicken Parm. is the best in town!

• Pros: The food is GREAT!
• Cons: There aren't any!

Please use Real Parmesan!

by kaspienne

I love Italian food and I love going out to eat it and making it at home. Unfortunately, my last few visits to this restaurant hasn't been very pleasant. I love it that they offer cheesy garlic bread, regular bread, and antipasto with their food, but I figure for about $10 a plate for just simple Fettucini Alfredo, they can afford to put real Parmesan cheese in the sauce instead of the American Processed Cheese Foods version of Parmesan Cheese. My meal was bland, yet salty, and thus disappointing. Their pizzas, on the other hand are a real treat. I will go there again for their pizza, but I'm not sure if I want to try their other pasta dishes again.

• Pros: Pizza
• Cons: Alfredo Sauces