Gumba
Italian restaurant · Vernon
1733 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211
Highlights
Gumba whips up inventive, house-made pastas with Pacific Northwest flair, cozy vibes, and standout bites like fry bread with burrata.
Gumba whips up inventive, house-made pastas with Pacific Northwest flair, cozy vibes, and standout bites like fry bread with burrata.
"Previously Portland’s best Italian food cart, Gumba has moved inside, taking over the space previously home to Aviary. Gumba’s take on Italian food is intentionally loose, happily incorporating menu items like fry bread or pairing charred calamari with marinated chickpeas. Menus regularly change, but visitors will often find voluminous pasta dishes like al dente pappardelle with braised beef short rib or slabs of lasagna. For dessert, opt for inventive treats like eggplant caramel olive oil cake." - Eater Staff
"Food cart-turned-restaurant Gumba prepares some of the most inventive pasta dishes in town, taking inspiration from Italian cuisine and adding Pacific Northwest ingredients. The restaurant’s squid ink spaghettini is a must-order — the dish has a citrusy heat and brims with scallops, Manila clams, and mussels, with a crumbly cheese frico topping it off. Daily specials are posted to the restaurant’s social media accounts in the afternoon." - Janey Wong
"Gumba serves expertly crafted bowls of pasta — topped with things like braised short rib or house burrata — alongside fry bread and mains like pork saltimbocca. Even after leaving their original cart behind, owners Robin Brassaw and Jesse Martinez have shown themselves to be two of the city’s finest chefs while retaining their sense of culinary whimsy. For example, meals should always finish with a slice of eggplant olive oil cake, dripping with coffee caramel." - Rebecca Roland, Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Nathan Williams
"Unlike many other restaurants in town serving burrata, this Alberta pasta parlor makes its own burrata in house, which it serves simply with black pepper, olive oil, and house fry bread. The burrata occasionally appears in some of the restaurant’s pasta dishes, often dished on top of tender tagliatelle." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
"At any given time, this food cart has only 5 or 6 items on the menu—each of them conceived and executed with the precision of an established restaurant. Come for the pasta, and explore other menu items for even more indulgence. The spaghetti with burrata and an egg yolk is especially memorable, and the recently-added arancini are a must! If you have it in you to eat more, stop at the nearby Fine Goose cart. It's owned by two French chefs and offers up beautiful takes on classics like ratatouille, duck confit, and croissants." - OMFGCO
