We stopped by a Cena for dinner recently after having drinks nearby. They were able to seat us within ten minutes or so, but if you're not able to wait, I'd suggest making reservations! The agnolotti was excellent, with large chunks of Maine lobstah. Because I don't love red sauce, I'm not usually a fan of Italian restaurants...but I would absolutely eat this again! read more

a Cena Ristorante - Agnolotti - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

It took me awhile, but I finally tried this Sellwood gem. The great vibe immediately captivated our attention. Tuaca Mule cocktail - balanced, just the right sweetness. Arancini - get 'em. Octopus - table enjoyed, great sauce for the soft warm bread. Caesar Salad - excellent, wow those homemade breadcrumbs! Strangely, they were out of anchovies. Bistecca - very good flavor, but wish it was more tender. Accouterments were a a proper compliment. A fair portion. Pesce - unlike the steak, it lacked in size. And not a fan of the Cannellini beans to round out the dish. Pasta on special (chicken) - pillowee soft, but a touch bland. Bundino - loved it! Service - efficient and polite, but they were moving so fast it kinda detracted from the experience. Meaning, they would drop a dish then almost sprint back to the kitchen or next table. High tempo, very uncalm. Props for working hard. Dining service is not a Portland thing, so not a negative. Parking can be a minor challenge. read more

a Cena Ristorante - Loved this Caesar Salad, especially the croutons. - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Incredible ambience, wonderful service, and delicious food. Romantic. Italian. Bread and wine. It's all the things. Such a great spot for a fancy date or a special birthday. The best salad and burrata appetizer in particular were spectacular. read more

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I'm coming back there very soon ...the time I had been there prior, and this time- both times, have been such an amazing experience : the flavours & the quality of the food are to be applied and make for a truly special & delightful experience read more

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This is, without a doubt, one of the best meals I have ever had. In general, I try to stay positive in my reviews, but I cannot give this place high enough praise. Exceptional. The service was wonderful-- very attentive and I drink a lot of water which meant my glass was refilled a lot. The waiter took special care to make double sure the pesto was walnut-free for my severe allergy (only pine nuts, as it should be!) The hostess offered to open the curtain on the window we were seated at so we could dog and people watch, which was nice. The menus were printed pretty large, which is a huge bonus for me. Nice mood lighting, generally felt upscale yet cozy. The real highlight was the food. After complimentary bread (little parmesan breadsticks and a delightfully chewy set of bread chunks), we ordered the arancini. There were five pieces, all well fried. The squash and the parsley really came through, which isn't always the case in such a heavy dish. My partner got the gnocchi, which he enjoyed-- especially the wild mushrooms. I got the radiatore (1/2 portion) and the eggplant parm. The portions were pretty large for such good quality. The radiatore was lovely and very fresh-tasting. The pine nuts added a nice crunch and the cheese really rounded everything out. My highest praise is for the eggplant parm. It is, without a doubt, the best I have ever had. I say this as someone who has made eggplant parm dozens and dozens of times. It was so crispy and flavorful, and I crave it now looking back. Compliments to the chef. We were given a complimentary limoncello aperitif, and ordered the lemon-berry gelato to round everything out. For drinks, I had a nice prosecco rosé and an Amalfi spritz. The latter was especially tasty-- I love a bit of lemon and mint. Overall, this was a delicious dinner. I left truly appreciative of the experience. My partner and I were celebrating a year engaged, and this was a perfect way to do so. We look forward to returning. read more

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This restaurant has an old world elegance that feels cozy and romantic. The service and food were top notch. The house made fresh pasta, beautifully cooked meats. Imported cheeses and wine. Bellissima! Bon appetite! read more

Excellent food and wine list We sat in the extra dining room which gives the restaurant so much more room Service was great. We don't feel rushed read more

Shelley are server was welcoming and warm. Food was delicious. Service was outstanding and we had an enjoyable time with our friends read more

a Cena Ristorante - Calamari Shrimp appetizer - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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We have dined at 'A Cena' several times w/ great success. Last night was a disappointment. The wait staff needs to be trained. In specific, our waitress was unfamiliar with wine list. The share plates for the salad lacked utensils. The secundi/main plates came to the table first, which took us by surprise. These were immediately followed by the primi/pasta dishes. There was insufficient space to accommodate all the plates all at once. The pace of service was really off. We sent two dishes back to the kitchen as a result. The ragu sauce was sparse and the noodles were plentiful (We got the last serving which may explain the imbalance). When I requested Parmesan cheese, I was brought a finger bowl of the "green tube" powder from the grocery store instead of a the real thing. At the end of the meal, the waitress made multiple and profound excuses, saying she should have asked if we wanted the primi and secundi together or not. Hmmm...!!! Really??? The house manager did some "heroic" service recovery by comping us for multiple dishes and offering free desserts. Most of the "rookie errors" we experienced can be resolved by hiring experienced workers and providing coaching of inexperienced or new hire staff. I n this case, the magic of a fine dining experience faded into the night. At this price point and our successful/delightful previous visits, we had expectations that just fell short. We hope management will take this review as "constructive criticism" and invest time and their knowledge for: educating and delivering really good food in a delightful setting. Please keep making "the magic happen". We will be back, just not right away. I just takes determination and awareness to showcase great food. We all know 'A Cena' is capable of doing this. read more

What a gem of a local restaurant. The owner greeted us warmly and gave us a cute little table near the front window, covered with a thick drape to keep the hot sun out. The wait staff had impeccable manners and returned often to make sure we were hydrated and happy. We had the beet salad to start, and then the special of the day ravioli and the eggplant. The beet salad was absolutely amazing. The focaccia bread and cheese breadsticks were complementary and perfectly done. The strawberry gelato had a more mild taste than I'm used to, but was delicious none of the less. read more

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Place is average and not worth the prices. You enter to a very nice, classy dining experience but then you sit down and overtop the table cloth is a brown piece of construction paper and it immediately became cheesy. I get that you don't want to dirty up the table cloths but get rid of them at that point, the construction paper ruined the whole vibe. The prices are crazy, a soda was $6 while an ipa beer was $7.. The dishes were served in very large plates so it made the portion look smaller, especially when our friend got the half size portion, it looked so tiny for an expensive price still. You're also sat inches away from the people around you, the table next to us was listening in to us talking the majority of the time because she was basically sitting in with us. The staff is very attentive, and nice. We Thought it was odd that the manager was wearing a hoodie type shirt, we thought he was just a regular patron but then started filling up glasses. read more

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We eat here when we want a treat or just don't want to cook. It's always good. Generally has a good crowd so I always check to make sure that they can seat us. The room is casual but not too casual- so it still feels like going out. Same for how you want to dress, feels like a neighborhood spot. Service is right on point. Good wine list with a good selection of single pours. Plenty of nicely prepared cocktails. Well- executed menu- several of the menu items have portion-size options. On our most recent visit I actually, finally ordered the pasta with Maine lobster. Being a Pacific Northwest girl I am loyal to local crab. Ok, my mistake the dish is fabulous. Will certainly order it again. But the absolute stand-out was the current version of the burrata - it was amazing- lots of texture with a delicious sauce - five different toppings but among the kitchen wizard adds were the Hood strawberries; more alchemy. So, bottom line it's a fine place with great food, stellar service at a reasonable price. read more

Beautiful restaurant in a nice neighborhood, servers were very friendly and accomodated us even as we arrived an hour within closing. Food was delicious. read more

a Cena Ristorante - Bistecca, Mafaldine - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Always hospitable, warm but casual ambiance, they even provide crayons for kids to draw. My fave is the Italian sausage pasta. A must have every visit. read more

Incredible New Years Eve celebrated at a Cena. We used to go to Assaggio, where a Cena is now located several years ago until we moved to Seattle. Now that we are back, we thought a Cena would be a special place to visit. We are so glad we did. Our server Andrew was tremendous in his timing, knowledge, and overall engaging skills. But it was the rest of the a Cena team that made it such a great experience. Everyone was friendly and helped when ever needed. We also started the evening with two Negroni's, which were perfectly prepared. We ordered a bottle of the Vietti Nebbiola which was also perfect. We then ordered the Arancini, and wow...so tasty. After the appetizer we moved into a Casa and Caesar Salad which were huge and very flavorful. The accompanying bread is great as are the breadsticks that are on the plate. The main courses, the Campanelle and the Agnolotti were simply fantastic. The Maine lobster in the Agnolotti was plentiful, and so good. Of course we had to have the extremely well-done Tiramisu for dessert with two perfectly timed Espresso's. What an experience. I wish they were closer to Hillsboro...but maybe not, as we would visit each week. Thank you a Cena for providing a perfect evening. read more

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Best Italian restaurant in Portland! Our server, Matty was amazing and the food, as always top notch! Can't wait to come back again. read more

a Cena Ristorante - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Fabulous food and fantastic service! Always a great experience at a Cena! Cocktails, arancini, garganelli and budino were highlights. read more

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My wife took me here for my birthday for our first visit after hearing about the greatness many times. A Cena did not disappoint. Intimate setting with amazing friendly service and even better food. Loved our buratta appetizer and our entrees were delicious as well. Might be our new date night spot!! read more

When someone asks what my favorite restaurant is, I always mention a Cena! It's more than the amazing food that brings me back, the service, atmosphere and sense of community truly make it special. The owner frequently makes an appearance and comes to your table to check in and the staff is knowledgeable and thoughtful. I highly recommend their frito misto and all pasta dishes and save room for their tiramisu. A Cena never misses and I'd recommend it to anyone! read more

a Cena Ristorante - Garganelli alla Norcia - my personal favorite - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We had a reservation for 6:15, was sat right away. Our waiter took a while to come get our drink order and bring our drinks. So we put in our whole order with our drink order. The octopus was okay. I've definitely had way better. We also had the eggplant parmigiana, which was my favorite and the rigatoni carbonara, which was my least favorite. The carbonara sauce broke and was very clumpy and not very appetizing. We also got the cannoli for dessert, had so much citrus flavor to it, not to my liking. It took a very long time to get our eggplant and carbonara to us. Overall, it was a mediocre experience. read more

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The food was well priced. Service was amazing (thanks Josh!). The pasta felt fresh and had a great flavor profile. The atmosphere was very relaxing. Wine by the glass choices were okay but hoped for a few more local selections. Overall, would go back again. Also, it's hard to beat the neighborhood (Sellwood). So many wonderful places to meander into after an amazing meal. Can't wait to explore this area again and more importantly eat some more pasta! read more

a Cena Ristorante - Basil pasta - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Great vibes and very casual. No need to dress fancy if you don't want to as most folks were in shorts and a button up and still celebrating anniversaries. The beet salad was pretty good and a perfect starter for 2, I'd get it again. The Lobster pasta was delicious and extremely rich. I would recommend the half portion since it's very heavy and drenched in melted butter (but so good). My girlfriends special of the night pasta wasn't my favorite but it was still something different. Josh was a great server and provided great service, recommendations, and was very friendly from the start. Great customer service. The Budino dessert was also very good and the girlfriend loved it. Definitely another shareable dish and worth the try. read more

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wonderful space and amazing wait staff and yes I want to go back to try it again. Food a little disappointing considering the price point. I had ordered the fritto misto which was very good and then the Eggplant Parmesan which was quite frankly terrible, the eggplant tasted very strange and the sauce was very sweet so I had to send it back which I haven't done for a very long time. Made me sad as I wanted to give this place 5 stars. read more

Walked in and was immediately greeted by a few of the hostess staff. Since it was just me decided to take a seat in the corner of the bar. The restaurant was small and intimate, and was not too loud . I was immediately greeted by a few of the bartenders and brought my Settings and offered a drink. Order them Manhattan and it was assembled perfectly. I ordered the Casa salad and the rigatoni Bolognese. A salad could've almost been a meal in of itself. The dressing was not overdone and had just the right amount of walnuts, cheese, and apple. The lettuce was sourced locally and with buttery and peppery, The focaccia served prior to the meal was OK . Seems like it was slightly overcooked.. but that's just such a small part of the meal. The entrée rigatoni Bolognese was quite large and definitely , shareable . The flavors were rich creamy, and you can taste the flavor of the Sofrito.. overall it was a great experience with great food. Would definitely try something else just to see if other things on the menu were as good. read more

a Cena Ristorante - Rigatoni Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I recently had the opportunity to finally make it to this stalwart of The Sellwood dining scene. Their handmade pastas were devine! I tried one pasta with braised lamb as well as their signature lobster ravioli. Both were worthy of all praise. Both the owner "Chris" and the GM "Loris" introduced themselves and I was impressed with their knowledge of Italian wine. I suspect one of them may be a Som 1 or 2. We had the Roasted Octopus to start and really enjoyed it. The wine Loris suggested was like something I'd never tried before. Big, Red, Fruitful, but complex, not sweet; complex. The deserts of Tiramisu and a Butterscotch thick cream pudding (forget the Italian name) were unique and flavorful. There is an old school, like more American style Italian place in Sellwood, but if you want more of a real Italian experience this is it. I'll be back! read more

Everything was excellent -- the attentive service, the relaxing upscale yet casual atmosphere, and the exceptional food. Seriously. Everything was perfect, even booking the same day on a weekday. read more

A cool little restaurant with an amazing vibe. We had reservations for last night. We had a very soft spoken young man who was our server and quite amazing at it. He gave us the menu adjustments with confidence and sold hubby on the special. His second was also very attentive and pleasant. Drinks were offered and I ordered a decaf espresso martini, which most places do not have, and this human made me a decaf espresso with an orange twist that was just amazing. Hubby swooned over the Limoncellotini. We started with the Anitpasto which was delicious. The pickled fennel and asparagus were so tasty. And whatever they did to the olives was just right. Hubby's special was a mushroom ravioli with sage brown butter sauce and I had a sea bass with blistered tomatoes and veggies. Both dinners amazing. For dessert, the Cannoli and Budino (butterscotch pudding). Get the pudding, pass on the Cannoli. All in all, our server made the experience and the meal was exceptional. Now, the only reason I am not giving a 5 star - The lady in jeans. She works there, running around and moving WAY too quickly. This was a slow meal. A calm experience. She stole that. I would have loved to take the last few olives and pieces of bread from our appetizer home, but she took it away so fast, I had no time to say a thing. Instead it got wasted and tossed in the trash. At least ask me if I would like to take it home. This lady also made my second espresso martini, which was nowhere as good as the first as it was made with haste. She really did steal from the experience we were having with our two servers who were doing just fine, on their own, without her help. I have no idea who she was, but please, keep her out of the dining room. She left a bitter taste. As did the cannoli, which was over fried. read more

Service was spot on and the food was tremendous. I will be back. All six of us were so impressed with our dinners and we tried most of the menu. read more

It pains me to say this but a cena has slipped a bit. The ravioli we had was undercooked - something you don't experience much. My bolognese was dried and not flavorful at all. Service was still excellent but hoping they gat back to five stars. read more

Loved the very attentive service and so welcoming!!! The food was amazing. We ordered a few full size pasta to share!!! And I got a birthday dessert and ordered couple different ones to share. Food and service both were exceptional!!! Be sure making your reservation!!! read more

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The ambiance was very cozy and the food was delicious with great presentation. You can tell the owner takes great pride in his establishment. read more

We had a group of nine people and were situated against a wall, so it made it easy for us to converse with one another without lots of people around us. The margarita was excellent; several people ordered wine that they said was very nice. All our entrées were good, although one person ordered fish and it was a very small portion. The pasta dishes were large enough that many of us took some home. read more

Came here again and I wanted to just talk about how amazing these other dishes I tried were. In contrast to the last time I went, I got the fritto misto, olives, and tagliatelle bolognese this time (I had to get the agnolotti again as it was so good the last time I had it). While my boyfriend got the olives (as I don't like them), he said they were good and even to a non-olive-eater, they DID look good. The fritto misto was your standard, but I loved how lightly fried the seafood and veggies were. And, the tagliatelle bolognese was delicious. Leaning heavy into the red sauce, the ragu is so flavorful, the portion was generous, and I loved the pasta it was paired with. a Cena doesn't disappoint. read more

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Our waitress and the staff were nice. The menu appeared to indicate there were two courses but our waitress did not explain how the menu worked and just took our plates after the main first course and boxed what was left when were done. We would have ordered the special instead, had we known. I also mentioned it was my wife's birthday when we came in and our waitress didn't do anything, nor did she try to talk to me about it when my wife was away from the table. My wife barely ate her main course because it had too much garlic for her. She didn't mention anything because she thought there was a second course as shown on the menu. Our waitress did not notice, nor did she ask if my wife wanted something else. The restaurant was dark because drapes had not been opened after the sun went down behind the buildings across the street. The concrete floor slab was sinking on the side of the table where I was seated and it felt like I was in a hole, yet she sat me there anyway. There was no air-conditioning and it was uncomfortably hot, though there were a couple of fans on the floor. I am sure this contributed to the staff's lack of attentiveness. The food was okay but not great, as was the service. I tipped more than a should have and regretted it. We spent about half of what I expected, based on pricing and that wasn't worth it. I felt like we were dining in a dying restaurant where staff and management no longer cared. It was my wife's 70th birthday and I mistakenly thought your restaurant would be something special. Instead, it was a disappointing experience. We will not return and we will share our experience with family and friends. read more

Best Italian restaurants, hands-down! Ambience/service/food/wine selection/dessert was brilliant. This is my new favorite restaurant.

The service here is so good - never a water glass unfilled, and everyone was so friendly and attentive (but not overbearing by any means). Chris, the owner, stopped by our table throughout the night to check in. It felt like we were dining in someone's home - not a restaurant. Accommodations were gladly made for our picky eater child, which we were ever so grateful for. On to the food: entrees are much more generously sized than the appetizers, so keep that in mind when ordering. We tried the antipasto, the clams, and the frito misto. The frito misto was maybe the one stumble of the evening - portion size was on the small side for the price, and about half of the portion was fried lemon slices, rather than seafood. For entrees we had the lobster agnolotti, the special Bolognese (with rigatoni instead of gnocchi for the kid critic), and the pork chop. The agnolotti is what they're known for, and it does not disappoint - the large size was a bit overwhelming, however; it is so rich (the sauce is basically a pool of butter). I would order the smaller portion next time. The pork chop is melt-in-your-mouth tender; the Bolognese was very good as well. We finished the meal with the butterscotch budino - it, too, was delicious. I loved the smattering of Maldon salt on top; salted caramel never gets old. read more

a Cena Ristorante - Agnolotti - pasta pillows of yummy goodness - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Perfect neighborhood trattoria, warm but professional service, great wine selection, excellent food. Always a treat

What a hidden gem!! Everything was soo good and the half size pastas is the perfect serving size! Dreamy hand rolled pastas and mouth watering desserts. You could tell every single dish was put in with a lot of love and thought. Definitely a cute date night spot! Service is excellent and very prompt! Can't wait to come back for many date nights in the future! read more

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The service, ambience and the lamb chops were amazing. On the other hand my husband ordered the Halibut. It tasted good but omg it was barely the size of a small appetizer. Nothing else except a small amount of sauce. It was totally, well insulting. My brother in law, who is a regular customer was our host, was embarrassed. We have been talking about it , joking, all week. Sorry but just saying!!!! . Maybe a heads up would have been appropriate so he could have ordered a side. read more

I have never had a bad meal at a Cena. All the pastas are made in house daily. Delicious bread, great service, cozy atmosphere. Well worth going there for an elevated dining experience. read more