iorio

how great it is to be gluten free. how great a gluten free place for me!
my husband and i came here by chance and it was pretty busy which is always a good sign. we were exccited there seemed to be a good buzz about the tables and the warmth of the room itself. our waitress came over and told us thier specials and explained that he could tweak entrees or other dishes to be gluten free. i love this because she really seemed excited to have us rather than be bothered like other places in the recent past. i had thecalamariwhich was amazing best by far that i can remember. my husband ordered the pork for an entree and i chose the gluten free pasta with the lamb ragu. this is by far some of the best pasta that i can remember since i have been celiac in 8 years now. thank you for taking such great care and making me feel special rather than the outcast that has made a silly dietary choice by trend.

great italian, great feng shui. a nice, comfortable environment for some excellent italian dishes.

our waiter was personable, informative, and attentive for the entire evening. the courses came out at a brisk but unhurried pace, arriving as we were ready for them. thecalamariis excellent, the best we've had in/around portland, and we've tried quite a few.

we had a nice house cocktail each and found a very good sangiovese on the short but well considered wine list, at a reasonable restaurant price instead of twice retail.

the ravioli was tender, flavorful and well matched to its sauce. my fish special was tender, succulent and well matched to the accompanying vegetables. my wife had the pulled pork with polenta and it was spectacular, and generally i see polenta as an evil force in the world.

hand rolled cannoli for my wife, and a marvelous concoction of gelato, hazelnut liqueur and espresso for me.

we were seated promptly, right on time, and were not hurried along by the staff. a really perfect night on the town.

calamari. thecalamariwas so crispy and delicious, the sauces were also a perfect compliment. the gluten-free options here were plentiful, always a plus these days. the entrees were good also, but the appetizers and dessert just couldn't have ben better. we had some sort of delightful chocolate cake with vanilla gelato. will definitely be returning soon!

cornmeal crustedcalamariwill leave you licking the plate, and you won't care if anyone else is looking. super friendly waitstaff as well.

cheflev recommends another great find in portland. when making our reservation for a table of four at seven p.m., the hostess asked if anyone in our party had any food allergies the chef should be aware of. a huge bonus point for being considerate as far as we were concerned. we were greeted by a delightful hostess who showed us to our table and told us about our waitress "erin" who is a beautiful, charming, very professional and accommodating young lady who assured us there was no problem because our dining companions were running late. my wife and i chose to have a glass of wine each and one of their famouscalamariappetizers. in a word...."magnificent". after our friends arrived, they had salad and wine after which we ordered our entrees. my wife and our male friend had the lasagna which was delish....our female friend had the fish of the day which was cooked to perfection and i had the specialty pasta with italian sausage. everything letter perfect while dining in a lovely atmosphere. the food was eye appealing, properly prepared, superbly tasty, and it just kept getting better and better. when i told erin i was a retired certified exec chef and culinary arts teacher (retired), and asked her to please convey our compliments to the kitchen, it was a matter of moments before she asked me if i would be kind enough to come back and meet the chef / owner.
chris thompson is an excellent chef who runs a very clean, well oiled machine of a kitchen. he is a gentleman, a great chef, and the kind of guy every mother and father of a daughter would hope to have as a son-in-law. we became immediate friends, and he has invited me to go fly fishing with him when the season permits him to get away.
i can only tell you iorio will see our faces often, as it is another great "don't miss" dining experiences in portland.