The Best Italian Restaurants and Food Carts in Portland

In the last few years, Portland has built itself a remarkably robust Italian food scene, from wood-fired pizzas to handmade pastas. Food carts hawk varieties of Italian street foods, while markets and bakeries prepare beautiful house focaccia, pastas, and cannoli. Date night restaurants roll and cut pastas by hand, while chefs methodically stir pots of Bolognese or ragu for hours ahead of service. All the while, the old-school Italian restaurants, serving standards like eggplant Parmigiana and spaghetti and meatballs, continue to hold on, retaining a roster of regulars. Below, you’ll find Portland’s most exceptional Italian osterias and trattorias; those looking for a more specific pasta map or pizza map can find it here.

New to this map as of February 2025: The Focacceria (for the focaccia, obviously) and Ava Gene’s for the apertivo hour, among other things.

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