Grand Amari,

509 Southeast Grand Avenue, Portland, OR 97214

"What a memorable meal! Everything was incredible, it reminded us of so many beautiful flavours we had tasted while visiting Italy last year. Evan was a wonderful host for the evening. Also, the Negroni here was one of the best we've ever had, and the white Negroni was so fun to try."

"Upon arrival, it took at least 5 minutes for anyone to even speak to us, so there was some awkward standing around. After being seated, we placed our order for food and drinks. We shared the tuna belly, while I ordered the chicken, and my partner ordered the agnolotti. Our server mistakenly gave my partner the carving knife. The tuna belly was fine, but the topping of salad leaves left a lot to be desired. We thought the dish would work better if the leaves were all the same plant, just because there were composed bites that did not work for us. The main dishes took some time to show up. The agnolotti was laughably not at all worth the $28 it cost. The chicken was well cooked, but it was cumbersome to eat, and could probably do with some flavored marinating. Verdict: overpriced, exacerbated by mediocre service. The drinks were good at least. There are better Italian restaurants in this city more worth their price. We will not return."

"The food that was served was great, the amount of "missing" food was apparent. The portions were very, very small. The proteins were missing veggies and/or a starch. To get a good well balanced meal you have to order multiple dishes and share family style because the protein portions are large. Steak was missing seasoning and/or char. It was moist, but missing flavor from seasoning, cooking method, or fat. Pasta dishes were tiny but very good. Great dishes with a few kinks in understanding pairing dishes for a more complete meal, an awkward dining experience from my point of view. Great service and a comfortable atmosphere."

"Food is hit or miss, which is a shame because we really enjoyed the service and atmosphere. Alcohol selection also really good and impressive. Perhaps some of it is just working out the kinks to being a newly opened restaurant. We enjoyed the bread, marinated olives and arancini. The pasta was lacking in flavor/depth. And Fritto misto was fried in a fashion that I wasn’t used to seeing for Italian. Perhaps just a unique bend but while the ingredients were fresh the fry style seemed to take away from it. Will give it some more time before returning to reassess."