05/29/09

try it for breakfast

by cmena07

we set out for mothers bistro on a saturday morning and got there at 9:30 with a half hour or more waiting list. so, we headed up to broadway to see what was going on and i remembered from some time ago that pazzo's was open for breakfast as the restaurant for the adjacent hotel. my two guests had lox and bagels and bacon and eggs and i had the mushroom, spinach and fontina omlette. they also served a fresh grain/nut bread and with hukleberry and apple jam. what a treat! everything was prepared perfectly and the service was attentive and polite. i don't think many people think of pazzo's for breakfast but we will definitely be back. oh, seating was immediate and the atmosphere very nice.

• Pros: great breakfast and fresh pastries, jam
• Cons: couple of bucks to pricey

03/13/09

Great food and even better service!

by mzliz1978

I went here for my anniversary a couple weeks ago and had a great evening! Our waitress went above and beyond in service and truly made it a great experience for us. The food was delicious, as were the appetizer and desserts. We missed out though, we had wanted the pineapple upside down cake and they ran out, but had a delicious alternative dessert - baked cream with berries. I would highly recommend this restaurant for a nice, romantic evening out in downtown.

• Pros: best waitress ever, delicious foods, romantic setting
• Cons: ran out of dessert we wanted :(

09/04/08

We always bring our guests to Pazzo Ristorante

by foodsleuth

WHY?

Maybe it's the fact that the food is ALWAYS delicious.

Maybe it's the fact that the staff is competant and genuinely interested in creating a wonderful dining experience.

Perhaps it's the fact that the menu changes seasonally and is created with local, organic and free-range foods. You can taste the quality in the dishes that they serve.

If you go in the Fall, try their pasta stuffed with butternut squash. In the Winter, try their gnocchi. I usually avoid gnocchi at restaurants but Pazzo gnocchi are amazing, light and chewy. When Halibut is in season, you will find the best Halibut you've ever had at Pazzo.

Oh, and did I mention the extensive wine list. For those longing for some authentic italian wines, you will find Pazzo's wine menu delightful. The servers are knowledgeable of the wines that they serve and can help match your wines to the entrees you have chosen.

We have a server that we really like and when we sit in her section, we always let her choose the wines for us.

I hope that you will enjoy your dining experience at Pazzo as much as we do.

07/26/08

Dreadful beyond belief

by loveforpdxfood

Would you expect a restaurant like Pazzo to confuse duck to beef and then become belligerent and insist that the two meats could resemble each other in look, taste or texture?

I returned to Portland and the US in 2005. It was around that time that I first ate at Pazzo. It became a quick favorite for me and my family. So it was with happy anticipation that I brought another family member, new to Portland, straight to Pazzo's for a great duck meal. When the food arrived there was a corn cake (as described on the menu) and there, on top, was not duck but beef. We tasted it. It was beef!

Not only was the meat beef, but it was cooked medium rare. This means that the food was not duck AND/OR the restaurant felt comfortable with raw foul on the table. The "duck" was showing very red everywhere but the brown ridge of the meat. That's right. It was cut in oblong, semi-uniformed slices. Sounds normal for duck breast?

When we brought this to the waitress' attention she brought the manager to the table. The manager told us that the bloody, red meat before us was indeed duck. He insisted that this was how the duck is always served. After reminding the manager that I had had the same dish at least three times in as many months, he then tried to convince me that I may have forgotten what the duck was like at Pazzo.

I also showed the manager and waitress that the sauce under the corn cake did indeed have pieces of duck in it. I asked the two to compare that meat in the sauce with the beef strips on top. At that point the waitress walked away while the manager still insisted that the bloody brown edged meat on top was duck. After asking him to try it, he disappeared and so did the plate of food.

At that point I wondered, "Why were we paying all this money to get worse service than we would expect at a truck stop?" I haven't been back since.

Disappointing and unnecessary foolishness. Poor show, Pazzo.

• Pros: friendly hostess
• Cons: arrogant manager, service

05/09/08

Best Italian In the World

by EpiCuriously

This is truly the best Italian on the West Coast if not the world over!! I recommend the pappardelle. And my wife recommends the fresh Alaskan Halibut when it is season. Truly the BEST halibut we have ever eaten.

• Pros: Great Wine List, delicious food and warm and knowledgeable weight staff
• Cons: too many great dishes to try in one visit.

04/27/08

Best Caesar I ever had

by sandalou

Loved this place! Although I have lots of other reasons to visit Portland again (and again), I would make the 2+ hour drive from my home just for this Caesar salad. Everyone in our foursome ordered a different dish and everyone was very happy. Pork, ravioli, beef shoulder, all done well. My gnocchi were delicious and I'm glad I wasn't put off by the 'Texas wild boar' because the whole dish was delightful. I wish I'd had room for dessert, but maybe next time.

We weren't there on a weekend, but I really appreciated the feeling of not being rushed so they could turn our table. Nice, helpful, patient waiter who didn't mind our lack of knowledge about but desire to have a good, reasonably priced wine with our meal, I wish I'd caught his name. I do know he and his wife just bought a house so someone give the guy a raise!

• Pros: Food, service, value, location. They had it all for an on foot visitor staying downtown.
• Cons: The little guy that stopped on the sidewalk outside to check out my friend's cleavage? We laughed.

01/01/08

Wonderfully Delicious Dining Experience

by cyndyc007

This restaurant spoiled us during our week long trip with all others pretty much failing to meet our expectations after such a wonderful meal at Pazzo. We were seated immediately and though we were dressed in our walking clothes, we were treated with an unassuming and professional manner with great attention to detail. Our waitress was extremely helpful and attentive and our food was exquisite. My husband had salmon ravioli and I had the gnocchi, both were to die for! Pazzo will be a regular for us after our move to Portland.

• Pros: Fabulous Fabulous Fabulous ~ All the Way Around
• Cons: No Drawbacks

10/21/07

Pazzo is on our list

by wallatom

We were very happy with our dinner at Pazzo. We were seated immediately at a very nice table. The service was very friendly and attentive and knowledgeable. The food is fresh with use of local produce. The preparation is very much northern Italian/ Tuscan. Bietola salad was wonderful. The pumpkin risotto was outstanding. The roast lamb and bean entree was rich and flavorful. The wine list is very good, with a strong Italian influence. The room is tastefully decorated, but a bit noisy as the large parties in the room arrived. We never felt rushed or ignored, as we have been in some other city restaurants. The price was moderate. We often visit Portland, and we have been disappointed in some of the other "big name" city restaurants whose service has declined to the point of being substandard. We are happy to add Pazzo to our list of Portland restaurants to which we will return.

• Pros: wonderful food, excellent service
• Cons: room is bit loud

08/09/07

Outstanding Italian Cusine

by gw106

As a lover of Italian food, I was delighted to discover this restaurant gem. I stopped in for a chilled beer in the bar and ended up also ordering one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten. Large windows in the bar area provided a wonderful opportunity to watch the world go by while I enjoyed my order. Anyway, after that, I was hooked! I knew I had to come back for dinner. A couple nights later, a friend and I found ourselves ensconced in a cozy booth that provided a great view of a beautiful, warm dining room as well as the chefs at work in the open kitchen. The experience was everything I had anticipated. Our food was beautifully presented and a delight to enjoy. The staff couldn't have been nicer. Our waiter was attentive without being intrusive and I absolutely look forward to my next adventure at Pazzo.

07/29/07

it's not the Olive Garden

by meeshpez

I can't say just one thing about Pazzo, I've had several dining experiences there, as it is one or the only one favorite place where my daugther likes to eat. I will say it's not the "Olive Garden". So if you're looking for lasagnea or veal parmasian.. don't go there. Pazzo has a more traditional, and authentic Italian menu, as the executive chef has lived in Itay and studied Italian for some years. The food is fresh, the pastas are homemade, as are the breads. All the desserts are made in house daily. ( my favorite is the Panna Cotta). The service is warm and friendly, although sometimes a little rushed To start I would HIGHLY recommend the prociutto and melon. unbelievable. next, maybe a half portion of pasta, as you'll probably want to go into the main course not too full at all. my favorite is the spaghettini. Then the costata.( Ribeye) the aceto manadori ( 12 yr. aged balsamic just does it!) with a beautiful glass of red wine. To finish everything, the sorbetti is always always good. but again.....my favorite is the Panna Cotta. All in all, The restaurant is a little Loud but the food certainaly makes up for that. basicaly, what I like about Pazzo is that it is not the " average" Italian restaurant, it's not your canolli, spumoni, spaghetti and meatball place......it's good food.

• Pros: excellent food, very traditional, amazing cheeses!
• Cons: busy nights can be a bit noisy.