No Saint’s Owners Gabriella Casabianca and Anthony Siccardi Share Their Favorite Portland, Oregon Restaurants

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Two and a half years into No Saint, the NE Killingsworth pizza restaurant co-owned by transplants Gabriella Casabianca and Anthony Siccardi, the duo are finally finding their groove. “We’re doing really well,” says Casabianca. “The first year of owning and operating a restaurant, you’re finding out the language, the food, the energy you want to bring. Now we’re able to fine-tune things.”

The married couple grew up in Warwick, a small apple-picking town in upstate New York. Whilst preparing to open a restaurant back on the East Coast, they journeyed to Portland to learn more about food and wine. When that original project fell through, the two stuck around, starting No Saint in 2019 as a pop-up at Vivienne and Dame, while Siccardi worked at local standbys like Tastebud, Sweedeedee, and Cafe Olli.

Casabianca and Siccardi opened No Saint’s brick-and-mortar location in fall 2022 “with very minimal budget and funding,” according to Siccardi. Due to those constraints, Casabianca had to design the interior of the restaurant on her own, a challenge that involved rescuing furniture from the late Bar Norman on SE Clinton and some adventurous online scavenging. One Danish table sourced in Eugene had “been in a family for years,” according to Siccardi. “It was a really scary pickup. He took me behind his barn, and there were all these cameras…”

With those initial scares out of the way, service “feels better every day,” says Siccardi. “It’s taken us longer to get into a steady pace. Now that we have more time, it gives us a lot more room to be creative.” That includes finding space to host beverage-focused events, like pairing their pizzas with the work of local winemakers like Hiyu Wine Farm, Monument Wine Company, Hundred Suns Wine, Jess Miller, and Cameron Winery.

We caught up with Casabianca and Siccardi to discuss their morning coffee routines, post-work bar snacks, and where they source their treasured pizza toppings. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Eater: When you both got to Portland, do you remember the first good thing you ate?

Gabriella Casabianca: Nong’s Khao Man Gai was really the place to go when it was still in the cart pod.

Anthony Siccardi: Luce was kind of mind-blowing… Olympia Provisions – touring the factory and seeing the production of artisan meat – that was super cool to see.

GC: I loved the steak tartare at Laurelhurst Market. The design of that place is old school. You rarely see a new face, and I love that about them.

What’s your favorite coffee in Portland?

GC: In terms of people being really passionate about what they do in espresso, that tiny Italian shoebox downtown –

Spella Caffè. They’re like Batman. They were in Portland forever, left, then were like, “We’re coming back to save coffee.” They’re really loved.

GC: The woman who was working behind the bar wanted to chat and really show me what she was doing, extraction-wise. That was a really good experience.

What are your neighborhood spots?

GC: We live off 30th and Division. We get pie at Lauretta Jean’s way too much. Usually a slice of quiche and a sweet treat for later. I brought my grandmother and she was like “we have to go every time family comes.”

AS: Her uncle bought three pies.

GC: He had a stack of Pyrex dishes that he needed me to return.

Thom Hilton

Are there any spots you like to hang out at after work?

GC: We love Someday, they do a great job. [Co-owners Jessica Baesler and Graham Files] are incredible. It’s so hospitality-driven.

AS: Gabby’s worked with Graham and Jess since we got here. They’re our closest industry friends — we live in their old house now! A lot of the time, we’re going to Someday to say hi to them, wind up looking at the menu, and go “we need to try this.”

GC: I get off work kind of early and I’m really hungry. It’s great to go to a bar and get a really good salad.

AS: Their celery salad, every time, so good. Chips and dip, every time, so good.

GC: There’s always something surprising… We go to Bar Loon a lot.

AS: Potato wedges. Sometimes two orders of potato wedges.

GC: The burger is very good. It’s a double, so you really gotta be ready for that.

GC: One thing I feel [co-owner Ansel Vickery] is so good at is creating spaces that feel like they’ve been there forever, like Bar Loon and Bellwether. That’s what I appreciate most about them. When you’re walking in, it feels like it’s been there 30 years.

What’s a place that inspires you both and feels reflective of what you’re trying to do at No Saint?

GC: Geno’s. I find it very comforting there. I think they do a really good job of making it feel like a family restaurant. I really appreciate that. The last time we went on a date there, they made Sunday gravy with pork ribs.

AS: The way your aunt made it. Whole ribs.

GC: I was about to cry, like “I can’t believe that this exists.”

AS: They make very large, strong martinis.

GC: I like big portions. It’s just an extension of hospitality. I love it.

What are some local suppliers and farms that can be found on your menu day-to-day?

AS: We buy all our cheese from Cowbell. Flying Coyote Farm is our major produce supplier. We get some other stuff from Groundwork Organics and Pablo Munoz Farms. They all rule. We work with them and support them as much as we can.

GC: Anthony and I still go to the Farmers Market at PSU every Saturday. All of the places that we can’t make a minimum for, we try to sprinkle support across the community.