Piazza Italia

"Piazza Italia exudes the energy of a casual trattoria found in an East Coast Italian neighborhood, where soccer jerseys hang from the ceiling and games play from a screen behind the counter. Piazza Italia isn’t going for a tweezer-y, molecular interpretation of Italian cuisine, nor is it acting out a scene from Big Night — this is unfussy, old-school Italian in the best way, serving beef, veal, and bechamel lasagna and plating squares of tiramisu for dessert. The restaurant will make any of the pastas with the homemade pappardelle, which goes especially well with the Bolognese." - Eater Staff

"Diners at this laidback Pearl District trattoria sit under a ceiling festooned with football scarves to scarf down plates of thinly sliced prosciutto with arugula and fresh mozzarella and classic red sauce dishes like bucatini all’Amatriciana. Piazza Italia has a robust menu of pastas, but only its pappardelle is made in-house. Order the pappardelle al cinghiale, a pasta with wild boar meat sauce typical of Tuscany, or substitute fresh pappardelle in any other pasta dish for $3." - Janey Wong

"One of the rare spots in town where Portlanders can hear the lilt of Italian spoken at tables around them, Piazza Italia transports in the most magical way. With football jerseys hanging from the ceiling, Piazza Italia is casual enough to wander in on a whim for a game played on the restaurant’s many TVs; still, its vast wine offerings and heaping plates of house-made pappardelle make it an impressive choice for first dates. That pappardelle is the one pasta made in house, and while it’s only featured on one wild boar ragu dish on the menu, it can (and should) be subbed out on any other pasta entree for a small charge." - Maya MacEvoy, Thom Hilton

"In February, the Portland Mercury broke the news that the Pearl District restaurant would open a bar in the space next door, a sort-of waiting room for the restaurant." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden