Caffe Mingo

First, I would like to say that the service is fantastic. The staff is friendly, fun, accommodating, and they split plates at no charge. The menu is varied and great for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Also, they have their own parking, which is super convenient in that area! However, while I really wanted to like the food, I found it overly salty. I am not a huge fan of salt so I thought maybe it was just me, but that's not an issue I have in other restaurants, and the salt issue has been mentioned in previous reviews. Some of the flavors were also too strong. Too much cinnamon with the prunes, too much lavender with the panna cotta. I would recommend Caffe Mingo to fans of freshly made pasta and those who enjoy robust flavors, but I'm not sure I would come back again.

It’s been a while since I’ve been back to Cafe Mingo, and wow she’s aged well! Our service (we sat at the bar) was impeccable and the food even better. Every dish was perfection, from the oysters, to the pasta, lamb, and delectable olive oil cake. I won’t stay away for long again.

Finally got the chance to try Caffe Mingo and it was so good that we felt bad we didn't try it earlier. Caffe Mingo has such a cozy, chill atmosphere filled with cute decorations and comfortable lighting. This is the type of place you'd go to treat yourself for the week, with amazing staff, beautifully crafted and delicious food, and engaging cocktails. We really enjoyed everything about our dinner here at Caffe Mingo, it will undoubtedly be a new norm within our rotation! I highly recommend you go here and try the food, everything was amazing. The only thing that I wish could be improved is that the food didn't come out burning hot but that may just be due to the dishes we had and after 5-10 minutes it was all good. Amazing restaurant, treat yourself and go!

Finally made it to Cafe Mingo. The place is certainly much smaller than the pictures posted. Of course the size of the place does not matter. It’s all about the food!!!! The portion size looked small but was just right. Lots of vegetarian choices and

We had a small wedding party there, about 12 people, and brought our own cake. They refrigerated the cake for us until after dinner, then brought it out with a candle on it before taking it back to the kitchen so they could serve it on individual plates. Class act, and the food was great.

Noticed this restaurant while walking past and it looks like a cool vibe so went in and WOW Best Ravioli I have had in a long time and the cocktail was delicious too. Claire’s service was fantastic and so welcoming it made the experience even better! Highly recommend!

Great food, intimate, laidback atmosphere and excellent service. The pizza was so delicious, I even ate the crust. The cheesecake was light and tasty and the jam on top was sweet, but not overpowering. Definitely looking forward to going again and trying some of their other dishes.

A wonderfully intimate Italian Cafe. Top notch food coupled with a friendly atmosphere. I recommend the brined pork chop and tiramisu. Pick any starter, you can't go wrong.

I've been going to Caffe Mingo since its early days. I've always been a big fan. But this last visit was so overwhelmingly mediocre, I am hopeful it was just an off night. Service was not up to usual standards and my carbonara was so salty I couldn't finish. Love the place. Will try again. Fingers crossed.

I walk by daily and I was beyond excited to stop in for dinner last night. I'll start with, the greeting at the front door, it was soso, I was dining solo and wanted to sit at the bar and the impression I received was that solo dining was not their preference at this establishment (again just my impression). Food-- Bianca pizza- 4/10! This caught my eye immediately snd it was also recommended by the bartender, Tess. I did NOT like it at all. The pizza was extremely dry with no flavor, it honestly tasted like burnt mushroom and burnt cheese. I was told there was a white garlic like sauce on it but I did not see nor taste any sauce, I ordered a side or marinara sauce to try and save it but it was not salvageable in the slightest. Not wanting to make a big deal out of it I tried eating it but simply could not, I shared my thoughts with Tess and she was kind enough to take it off my bill. Caesar salad- 8/10 but HIGHLY OVERPRICED!! $16 for a small plate of leaves, sauce and 3 croutons is ridiculous!!!!! Though it was tasty it was NOT worth the money. Bread pudding- 9/10 this was the best thing I had! I saw the couple next to me ordered it so I did as well and it did not disappoint. I loved the little bit of caramel drizzle, the warm and fluffy bread that had the right amount of sweetness to it. If I return I will definitely order again. Though the food was a major disappointment at this establishment the service was great! Tess did an amazing job to make me feel welcomed and tried her best to make up for the pizza. She is great! Overall I honestly doubt trying this place again BUT on the odd chance that I do return I'm definitely staying away from the pizza and overpriced salad.

We finally had a sunny day in Portland, and I am so glad we stumbled upon this little restaurant. It is so cozy and cute. The staff is also fantastic. They always made sure our water was filled and made sure we were taken care of. We tried the ravioli and fettuccine. The fettuccine was good but did not blow me away, but the ravioli was perfection!

I arrived at Caffe Mingo on a cold January evening for a farewell dinner for a former coworker. Street parking was pure luck, so I recommend paying for parking in a nearby lot. The restaurant was clean and had a nice ambiance. However, if you're seated close to the kitchen, it can get a bit hot. The waitstaff was friendly, so that was a plus. For the dinner, we started with a bottle of Chianti Classico Pagliarese 2019 for $36. For the appetizer, we ordered the Burrata with grilled bread, fresh tomato sauce & basil, which was $16. For the main course, I had the Manzo - Grilled hanger steak with grilled broccolini, roasted poblano mashed potatoes & red wine demi. It was absolutely delicious and worth the $32. If you have a larger group and super hungry, Caffe Mingo also offers family-style feasts for two or more people at a cost of 65 per person. All in all, I would highly recommend Caffe Mingo. Make sure to reserve in advance, as it is popular and gets booked up quickly.

Another overhyped Italian restaurant that actually sucks limited menu really no options. Wish they had like a neutral option for people that just couldn't decide they would just go with their safe choice. small portions and dishes.

I was impressed with all the pasta dishes I got to try at my recent visit to Caffe Mingo. I will be honest and say this place wasn't on my bookmarked list until we had people visiting from out of town that had this on their must try list. After checking it out I saw that other folks really enjoyed their meal here and the fresh pasta so it was a no brainer to make the trek to the Alphabet. We came during lunch so enjoyed the outdoor space and didn't really venture in their indoor space. The outdoor space they had was built well and was a beautiful day to soak up the sun while enjoying pasta. Be sure to ask their specials of the day since we did and really enjoyed what they had for the day which was a shrimp/corn linguine. I also ordered their chicken pesto and it was divine! The pasta looks like it wouldn't fill you up with the portion size on the plate but fret not because the quality and ingredients used are wonderful and leave you feeling satisfied. I went straight into pasta talk but be sure to also taste their bruschetta. The bread had a nice toast and crunch that I could have easily eaten by itself! Overall, really good flavor combinations, textures, and service.

I LOVE Caffe Mingo. I have been coming here at least once per month for the past year. It is a little bit on the pricey side for me, however, it is worth it. The service is fabulous, the manager and servers are nice and accommodating (including when you order off-menu drinks and modify some of the food dishes), and the atmosphere is great. The food is exquisite and the drinks are delicious. I always get their fun mocktails, such as my ultimate favorite, the sondrio, however, people who have been with me have enjoyed many of their other specialty cocktails (the calabria, the limoncello, and more!) I love their pizza and pretty much exclusively order that, however, I also know many of their pasta dishes are delicious (such as the penne al forno and the ravioli in the brown butter sauce). People who have been with me have also loved the beef tenderloin, as well as the various stew specials over the past few months (lamb and beef). The cavoletti (brussels sprouts) is also always a hit. Thank you for being such an amazing and welcoming restaurant! Going here is one of the highlights of my month.

What a wonderful experience. Everything was delicious. My husband and I split a pizza as an appetizer - it was great. The crust was crispy and the pizza was thin! I had grilling due terre wine per the recommendation of the waitress. It was delicious! For dinner I had the risotto "Zucchini & roasted corn risotto with goat cheese & balsamico". I added breaded chicken. It was amazing. The chicken was crispy and the risotto was flavorful, but the star of the show was my husbands dish, the "Penne al Sugo di Carne | Chianti & espresso braised beef with penne pasta & grana". It was so good he debated ordering another one. Then we finished off the meal with tiramisu which was also excellent. Great restaurant, lovely staff, and cozy, romantic environment.

I so love this restaurant and the people that work here. Tonight I was very disappointed when we entered and saw all of the bar stools have been replaced with stools with no seat backs on them. We love sitting at the bar and actually rarely sit at a table. How unfortunate though to remove something that made everyone so comfortable. Of course, the wine, food and service was perfect as always.

One of my favorite restaurants in Portland! Chef Jerry is the King of fresh pasta and his lasagna is always so satisfying! The fresh noodles are layerEd with a rich meat sauce comprised of beef and pork with lots of garlic and basil. True to Sicilian lasagna, a layer of creamy bechamel and mozzarella create that ooey, gooey crave worthy bite that keeps you coming back for more! One of their most popular dishes, and the first dish I had at Caffe Mingo 20 years ago, is the Sugo de Carne. It's a rich Bolognese sauce enhanced with chianti and espresso. The edition of espresso creates an unexpected depth of flavor, similar to how adding espresso to a chocolate desert helps marry and elevate the flavors. The sauce is served over penne and it's a delicious and satisfying dish. So good that I often have difficulty choosing between this and the lasagna. The last time I visited, I had the Ossu Buco. The lamb shank was braised long and slow so the the meat was tender, rich and so flavorful. Served over mashed potatoes with roasted brussel sprouts, it's a winner! Especially on a cold winters night, it's the definition of comfort food. Since this is a dish I don't often make at home, it's nice to have Caffe Mingo do all the work for me! Their starters are also wonderful. The lamb & pork meatballs served in a delicious marinara sauce is always on point. For me, the arancini are a must have! Two large arancini arrive fresh from the fryer and when you cut into them, the melted cheese oozes out and a bite along with the rice and fried coating is pure Heaven! My Nana used to make these with leftover rice and I think of her whenever I have this starter. The salads are also wonderful, simple and classic with fresh greens and a bright dressing. They are old school and still serve complimentary bread with high quality olive oil and sea salt. I can't resist it! Cockraits are great, they have a wonderful wine list, and deserts like tiramisu, profiteroles, panna cotta, gelato or olive oil cake - all great to share. They created an outdoor space during these Covid days, which is where we sat. It was a very cold night but the two heaters kept us warm as did the freshly cleaned blanket they provided when they saw me shivering! Service is wonderful, the waiters, bartenders, hostess - everyone warm, welcoming and accommodating. For over 20 years I've been coming to Caffe Mingo on NW 21st and have never been disappointed. And I'm super picky about Italian food since both sets of grandparents were born in Italy and cooked the most amazing food. When I'm at Caffe Mingo, I feel like I am eating dinner with my own family.

Food was nice as I expected. Great service. The place is also very clean and cozy. Parking was pretty easy too

Reeeeally good Italian food. Wow. So authentic and very friendly staff. We left very satisfied. Will definitely return.

The service was friendly and efficient, and the food (pasta and ravioli) divine. The room was smaller than I expected, but warm and engaging. Perhaps the only slight complaint: no free dessert for my birthday (which they knew about). But I suppose not all restaurants do that.

Hard to get in but the food and wine is worth the intimate visit! Next door is bar Mingo. Mingle while you wait. Drinks are worth it, food ok, great wine selection tho!

This place attracts an older crowd for its fairly limited menu: basic apps, salad, pizza, pasta, hanger steak, full bar. Everything we ordered (salad, pasta, dessert) was good, not great. Actually, the one dessert we ordered was embarrassing: a sloppy ice cream sundae that looked like a 6 year old at Farrell's put together, complete with whipped cream out of the can. The place is moderately priced but between the just ok food and the pain in the ass it is to find parking, I won't be in a hurry to come back.

This meal was fantastic. It is classic Italian cuisine, but elevated and tasted completely fresh, if not homemade. For an appetizer, we tried the polpette (lamb meatballs). Right when you cut into the meatball, you could see the juice of the meat ooze out. For main courses, we had the tagliatelle and the salmon. The tagliatelle was thin noodles in a pesto sauce with grilled shrimp. The noodles were delicious and tasted homemade. We tried the profiteroles for dessert and they were fantastic. This is definitely going to be a repeat restaurant for me!

There have been some changes over the past 2 years, but it's hard to go wrong with a great locally owned & run place that has been here for many, many years. They have a nice wine list, along with great salads, pizza, pasta, and just about everything. We never seem to have much room for dessert but even those are presumably great. The ownership and the kitchen are great, and this is the type of locally owned place that you just want to support. I hope to come back for many years in the future.

The Mercato at Caffe Mingo (located right next door on NW 21st) is incredible!! The food is insanely flavorful - the pasta is crazy good, and the steak is 10/10!! We also loveee the appetizers and salads. The ambiance is great and our waiter (I believe his name is david) was awesome! Highly recommend Mercato as a great intimate dinner spot!

If you're scrolling through Yelp looking for the best pasta in town, this review is specifically for you. Yelp's algoritym has somehow mentioned several high volume, mediocre places ahead of Caffe Mingo, but please believe me.... we eat out a lot.... and this place is exceptional. This is the one. We stumbled on this place while in the area at an art show, and had one of those unexpected meals that is so special and great that you leave on a special food high (although it may also have been the excellent cocktails.) We sat at the bar and ordered the ravioli, truffle penne al forno, and the creamy green beans, and the service was so, so excellent. They were even thoughtful enough to split our portions onto our own plates, which made us feel cared for and honestly kind of prevented me from eating my boyfriend's share because the food was that good. Important and very confusing: Barba Mingo, apparently owned by the same people and right next door, is a totally different place. I'm sure it's also good, but we are specifically in love with Caffe Mingo.

Hopping, prompt, respectful, knowledgeable polite, helpful, fun and engaging. That's the staff. Fresh, varied, explosive, high quality, non traditional, savory, hot, melt in your bucca! The food. Gosh what else could a girl ask for except a great f companion and a nice fine wine to share this delightful meal last evening. Thank God they made it through the pandemic. A Portland treasure for sure. They even allowed us to linger a slight bit after 1 and 1/2 hours and to entice us to finish they offered a dessert wine next door. Oops we over stayed our time but they were so classy about nudging us to finish I felt we were at a food therapist office where the next foodie was teed up ready to their adventure on NW 21st. Oh, I almost forgot the food.... My friend had pasta with shrimp and pesto. She said it tasted like the basil was just pluck off the plant. Va va vavoom! Mine? Papadelle with rabbit ragu. Now that was da bomb. Perfect al dente pasta with wow to the bucca rabbit ragu.No leftovers on our plates. The rabbit ragu was so fresh, savory and stewed so long it must have been on the cooktop slowly simmering for hours. Yum!. I felt like there may have been a few Italian grandmas in the back supervising all the Sous Chefs. So Rapping it up.... Five star experience. Hands down in my 5 star collection for go tos often. You should too!

Great food and nice atmosphere! We will come back next time we are in town. Staff was cordial and helpful.

This was our spot for our seventh anniversary this year. They have been around for at least the last twenty-five years. A trio of Portland-famous Italian restaurants all housed in a cluster here. Serrato, which is great for a special occasion, Cafe Mingo, which was only a tad more casual with a pleasing dessert menu, and the Tuscany Grill, which use to serve the finest pumpkin ravioli with Gorgonzola cream sauce I've ever had, before or since. A few years back, Tuscany Grill closed and left an empty hole in the trio of these precious Italian restaurants. Cafe Mingo, which was the smallest of the three, seized up the opportunity and turned the space into "Mercato," a European themed casual spot with imported wines and pizza as their house specialty. But that is for another review. Cafe Mingo has an intimate setting with only about fifteen tables. They also have a relatively new patio area outdoors. The lighting is low and romantic, and sets the tone for any celebration, intimate date or even just for a night out with someone or someone's you enjoy. I would definitely recommend reservations. They were booked solid on the Saturday we attended. For our first course we ordered red wine and I had a delicious citrus mocktail the bartender created for me. They serve boule and amazingly fruity olive oil complementary with a small touch of salt. We ordered lamb and pork meatballs (16) with spoonfuls of lovingly prepared marinara that perhaps my partner's own Sicilian grandmother could have toiled over all day long and, just as in Sicily, heavy on the garlic! I love lamb, and having this dish reminded me why. Tender, and without any fillers like bread crumbs. There salads or vegetable courses we could have ordered, but instead both of us stuck to the pork and beef lasagne (24) with a bit of a sharp white Italian cheese inside and fresh, creamy bechamel and just a hint of, dare I say, nutmeg? The food had truly inspired me to find an old recipe by Marcella Hazan and to make my own. Lasagna is popular in America, but what we know as lasagna here state side is only an incarnation of a finer dish with bechamel. So we will be having lasagna very soon in my house. To cap things off, I had to order the tiramisu (10) and my partner ordered the lavender honey panna cotta (9) with lemon pizelles. You can booze it up with some sambuca for ten dollars more, but we found you didn't need the booze to have fun with this one. A pleasant experience! And you will feel as though any normal day is a special occasion if you find yourself dining here.

Although I love the food and beverage program that had been on offer at Bar Mingo, I'm not super impressed with Caffe Mingo's pandemic-era pivot to a mercato. While I recognize that it's been a struggle for many restaurants, bars, and fellow food-centric businesses to survive, this pivot doesn't seem to be offering much value to dine-in diners. I hope they're doing better on the takeout/marketplace front. Came here with a friend for lunch on a weekend. I ordered a half-serving of the rabbit sugo pappardelle, and he had a soup and misto salad. We also opted for a bottle of rose from their marketplace. Strike one - they charged a $10 corkage fee for a bottle purchased from their own shop. What?! It's my understanding that a corkage fee is for bottles that you bring in yourself, and as the caffe serves wine by the glass, a corkage fee on their own bottles seems absurd. The food was good, although rather overpriced. My half-serving of pasta had fresh pappardelle and a good-sized heaping of rabbit sugo on top. However, there were maybe 8-10 noodles in the dish - I get that handmade pasta is pricier, but it's also one of the cheapest things to make, given that it consists of flour and water. My friend's $16 salad consisted of a heap of greens, some shaved carrots, and a light dressing. He enjoyed it, but the dish was reminiscent of a $6 side salad and lacking in ingredients and complexity. At the end of the meal, we had spent $80 on a bottle of wine, a half portion of pasta, soup and salad, and a handful of olives with some bread. (The bottle of wine cost less than $20 in case you're thinking that we splashed out on some fancy grape juice.) I wouldn't have a problem with that bill if the food we received in return had matched it in value, but in this case our meal fell short. Maybe the proprietors are trying to buffer their bottom line to survive this tough stretch, and I suppose I can't blame them. But I also won't be returning until Bar Mingo re-opens - and I wish them the best of luck.

Caffe Mingo, one of the best and one of a kind restaurants I've been to in Portland (and no, it wasn't bland). First off, a lady who seated us was also our server and she was so nice. I want to just start off by thanking these people for being so trans friendly! Used the correct pronouns for our party and we thank her for that, we often don't get that effort back in our home town. She even suggested us dishes and she was not lying, they were super good! The food was immaculate. It wasn't your casual restaurant in Portland, it had that nice Italian flavor which I appreciate. I had a taste of two of the pizzas and a pasta. OHH, and the same lady brought us our coffee AND SHE MADE IT? It was DELICIOUS. And for the dessert, the Bianca was my favorite. And the panna cotta and tiramisu was a 11/10. 5 stars for being so welcome with the delivery of delightful food. I am definitely coming back here.

We had such a lovely impromptu meal here last Thursday. We were just walking by and the weather was so nice, we decided to stop in and did outside. We had delicious cocktails and shared the crudo, meatballs, gnocchi, lamb skewers, broccoli, tiramisu, and the profiteroles. The service was perfect and well-paced. The perfect date night!

This has become our new date night spot. The food is amazing and the service matches. We are pretty covid cautious and there aren't too many places we are comfortable going. We love the outdoor space, the heaters keep the whole area warm, it's dry, and it's decently spaced. The staff is so friendly and professional. High quality food and worth the price. I recommend making reservations so you can get one of the seats with a heater. Get dessert!

This meal was amazing! We planned to go to Caffe Mingo and accidentally ended up at their sister restaurant next door. The staff was SO accommodating and moved us over the the correct restaurant and then gave us the best drinks, food, and service we could have asked for! Would highly recommend eating here.

Had a blast here with some friends from out of town. Our server was a tall gentlemen that was very knowledgeable and engaging, but for the life of me I can't remember his name. The food is to die for. All of the fresh pasta dishes that we ordered were phenomenal, but the lasagna was stupendous. I don't even like lasagna, but holy shit!! I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for food in Portland. Definitely worth a trip.

This place has some pretty amazing Italian food! Whew!! Definitely leaving satisfied and full. Got the Sugo di Carne aka Braised Beef Penne Pasta. Super dish. Very tender meat, perfectly cooked pasta, and the full size portion was perfect for me. Also got the Insalata Mingo, the cousin of Cesar Salad. Has fresh romaine with croutons and a light oil and vinegar dressing. Loved it. Perfect salad before pasta. Finished the dinner with Caramel Pane Cotta. Well balanced desert with the berries, whip cream and the caramel pudding. Super good. Service was also on point. All the servers were very attentive and friendly.

Josh Koglin can cook some delicious treats! Great meal at Caffe Mingo, complete with appetizers and dessert. Not pictured was an octopus salad and an olive oil cake. Gnocchi made in house. I was stuffed by the time I left. (This was my first time going here...) #supportlocalrestaurants

This cozy little italian restaurant serves up some seriously delicious food. It's nestled in with all the bars and restaurants in the NW area, and has tons to do within walking distance if you have to wait for a table (which we didn't). We started with a scallop appetizer which came with grapefruit and was surprisingly delicious?? I got a coffee and wine braised beef sugo with penne and was so happy enjoying each bite. We finished the meal off with tiramisu, of course.. and panna cotta. Both wonderful. Service was great as well!

This was literally one of the best Italian meals I have had, and that includes Italy. We had Dungeness crab spaghetti with fennel and spinach in a saffron sauce...it was amazing. I wanted to lick the plate. . The appetizers we had were fantastic also. The ambiance was calm and welcoming.......honestly one of the best meals I have had in a long time......Highly recommend

I was told to choose a table by the server/hostess and then she proceeded to completely ignore me in favor of the two only other tables that had people at them. i sat there for twenty minutes while she walked back and forth not making eye contact with me, giving water and menus to a table that she sat 10 minutes after me yet i still hadn't received either. If you're not white, apparently this establishment won't serve you, they'll just seat you and then pretend you don't exist and serve the white tables instead. Despicable.

Incredible food and Maggie was the best waitress! The burrata and the baked truffle pasta was my favorite.

After walking by many times, we decided to check out Caffe Mingo for our Christmas Eve dinner. We were warmly welcomed and though we had reserved an outside table, we were offered to sit at the bar because of the weather which I appreciated. Incredible cocktails- best espresso martini I have ever had, and my boyfriends Manhattan was potent but well made. A caramelized onion goat cheese crostini was served as a complimentary starter which set a great tone for our meal. They also serve their complimentary bread with a high quality olive oil and flaky sea salt. We ordered the crispy polenta with mushroom cream, the gnocchi, cacio e pepe and the zucca(roasted squash). The cacio pepe was very salty but the pasta itself was really lovely- clearly made fresh, however I would not order this again and try a different pasta dish. The gnocchi and polenta were fantastic! Our squash never came out, our lovely bartender/server apologized and offered to put it in, but we were stuffed so decided to cancel the order. She put the order in anyway and gave it to us complimentary with our to go boxes, which I thought was lovely. Would return, especially considering the customer service and great cocktails! Bonus points for the atmosphere, which was perfectly cozy after a snowy couple of days.

This Cafe is terrible. They also freely give away your personal information. Go somewhere else.

The simplicity of the food is amazing! Fresh food, great service, and drinks. Love this place!

Stuffy service, minuscule portions for the price, very disappointing experience overall. Will not return. 1 Star for outdoor seating with no smokers.

The place was clean, the space was nice enough. The service was slow. I tried three dishes there was not one I liked. We won't eat here again.

Caffee Mingo is a place I've been coming to since moving to Portland back in 2008. It is one of the few restaurants in the city that has consistently excellent cuisine and service, with the servers (and clientele) remaining constant for years, rather than months or weeks. During the pandemic, the restaurant (along with Bar Mingo) has adapted to the times through offering an enhanced outdoor dining space, but maintained all that is best about the experience. You can feel how authentic everything is about Mingo and that's what keeps me coming back, year after year. A great spot for a casual weekend dinner or special occasion (we were just there last night for a pre-Valentine's Day date night!).

We've been coming here for years and not once have we been disappointed in a meal, a drink, an appetizer, dessert, or service, but we ordered the tiramisu at the end of our dinner last week and I have to say it was the worst tiramisu we've ever had anywhere. It was heavy, pasty, gooey, and had no flavor. I hope this was a fluke and won't happen again.

My husband & I enjoyed dinner here during our road trip to Oregon. The bread was really delicious, and so were our meals. Service was good too. It's nice that, at a time when so many restaurants have gone downhill, there are restaurants that still provide very good food & service.

Went for my birthday dinner here with the family. Love this place. Great service and atmosphere and food to match. Get the shrimp appetizer skip the lavender pan a cotta.

Outstanding dinner dishes, attentive service, nice atmosphere, modernist and clean, not too little nor big. Will happily go again.

In a city where good Italian food is sometimes hard to find, this place should be on everyone's map. Pros: - homey, comfortable atmosphere - busy for a Thursday night, but seated quickly - super welcoming staff, especially the server at the bar - excellent wine selection - food menu ranges anywhere from $10-$25+ - fresh ingredients - GET THE SUGO OF BEEF... pasta perfectly cooked al dente, and beef was tender and flavorful - polenta with mushroom cream sauce also excellent and flavorful - attentive staff Cons: - bar seating is a little tight as you have to squeeze in, not a huge deal though Bottom line: excellent service and food coupled with great wine and an attentive staff. Will definitely be back, and I encourage anyone else looking for fresh Italian cooking to come here and give this place a shot!

Pre-pandemic Caffe Mingo was our absolutely favorite restaurant, and our go-to destination when in the Portland area. We dined there for many years. Last month was our first time dining out since the pandemic began so we chose Caffe Mingo for a lunch. Sad to say the quality had gone way downhill and prices skyrocketed. We can understand the increase in prices, but the poor quality of the meal was a huge disappointment. The lamb kabob was tough and mostly gristle, there was barely a piece that was edible. It also was a tiny tiny portion. Used to crave the crust on their pizza, but this last pizza crust was sad, limp, and tasteless. Unfortunately, we won't be going back.

Excellent rustic Italian restaurant in Portland's Nob Hill neighborhood. The three of us were greeted and seated promptly. We enjoyed our craft cocktails and appetizers (mozzarella+prosciutto and Polpette in tomato sauce), and then had the lasagne, rabbit, and steak pasta marinated in espresso+chianti. All dishes were nicely prepared and presented, and had a good balance of flavors and textures. We lastly shared the profiteroles, which was equally enjoyable.

This place has delicious homemade pasta dishes. Very cute little spot with good ambiance as well! Definitely check this place out if you are looking for good Italian food! YUMMY!

This review is for the mercato that Caffe Mingo opened up during the pandemic which is also on 21st between Johnson and Kearney. I stopped in for the first time today and they have a wonderful selection of baked treats and desserts, bread from Grand Central Bakery, spices and oils, cold cuts, fresh pasta, wine and more. The person helping me was super friendly and welcoming and the space has a bright and cheery atmosphere. I've been to a couple of Italian markets like this in Portland but this was by far my best experience and I feel that of these markets they also have the best selection of goods on the west side. I'm already so excited to return!

Don't know if food is any good, but service is terrible Hostess wanted us to take crappy seats because we wanted apps and drinks Over ten open tables