Nel Centro

I came here with a group of friends before going to a show at the Keller. I really liked the ambiance of the restaurant. Nice lighting, not too loud despite being very busy and we were seated by the window so could see the downtown atmosphere. Yes, cars and rain but still pretty in a city slicker way. On the other side of the restaurant you can have a view of the large fire pits that I am anxious to sit by once summer comes. Now for the food. The price point for most entrees was about $ 25. I anticipated small portions but I was wrong! The chicken and pork entrees were extremely large! The steaks came with a veggie and a potato galette. I got the handmade tortellini that honestly was a little bland. I would try a different entrée next time based on what I saw arrive to our table. My husband gave his steak meal 5 stars. We ordered a couple appetizers to share. The goat cheese plate was very yummy with olive tapenade and peppers. The others found the calamari good. Anticipating smaller entrée sizes we ordered side dishes of mixed vegetables and Brussel sprouts to share. Skip the mixed vegetables but the Brussel sprouts were very tasty and perfectly cooked. We had leftovers and were too full for dessert. Our service was amazing. We were visiting and enjoying the experience of appetizers before ordering dinner and never once felt rushed. I also appreciated that our server did not add gratuity even though there was 6 of us. She deserved a 20% tip and we were happy to leave it. Was the food phenomenal? No, but it was really good and I personally had a 5 star experience.

Great balanced menu and wonderful, lively atmosphere. Great drink selections and superb elegant desserts. Can’t make a mistake here!

Amazing HH menu, prices and quality of food! $ 7 for a leg of duck confit, $ 7 for a pizza — the food is delicious and the prices are amazing. One of my favorite HH spots.

Great happy hourbbefore the show at the Keller. Happy hour is packed betwwen 4 – 5 but opens more up between 5 – 6. Great outdoor firepits!

Went here with a group of 7 before «The Book of Mormon» at Keller on a Friday evening. Made a reservation and was immediately seated in a great location. The place was packed to the gills and kicking. Really liked the atmosphere and location. Arrived with about 45 mins left for happy hour, and was looking forward to some really great looking HH menu items. Was immediately informed that HH could only be enjoyed at the bar. Ah, the old HH bait and switch! Portland is a happy hour town — it’s practically an institution here. Not sure why I keep seeing restaurants do this. I was a little let down, but what can you do? The major disappointment was my cocktails. I was in a martini mood. They didn’t have Belvedere, but I went with a decent substitute vodka, dry, stirred, with a twist. Simple, basic martini order in a place that seems to pride itself on its mixology cred. I order martinis stirred, because I don’t want $ 10 worth of premium liquor bruised, and bartenders these days seem to think it makes the cocktail colder if you shake them for 30 seconds or more. It doesn’t. I also order them stirred to prevent the biggest no-​no in a well-​made martini — ice floating in the drink. First martini arrived and you guessed it, 2 or 3 small pieces of ice floating on top. We were having a great time, and it wasn’t that bad, but I’m pretty sure they ignored my request to stir the cocktail. Ordered a second martini and this one had 2 – 3 large chunks of ice floating in it. This is completely unacceptable, especially for a classy joint like this. Had I not been enjoying myself and our company, I would have sent it back. Had to fish the ice out with my fingers. Again, completely unsat and bush league. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their drinks, and the service was OK, especially considering how packed the place was. Focaccia and oil was great, but they only brought it out once and it came to one finger sized piece of bread per member of our party. Entrees were decent, but this is a «big plate small food» kind of restaurant. My flank steak was cooked perfectly and the greens and tomato remoulade were excellent, but it was maybe 4 oz of meat for $ 25. I know what flank steak costs, and along with the other ingredients, Nel Centro has an excellent profit margin going with this offering. Wine list was limited but decent — we got a pretty good bottle of Bordeaux with an interesting mix of varietals.
This place could be great, but a few minuses, especially with the martinis, really put a damper on it. Might try it again with customers and see if it improves.

This place was packed even though it’s a hotel restaurant. Surprisingly, Unilocal has mixed reviews. We had a party of six and had wonderful service. I had the Ricotta Cavetelli with braised lamb and it was outstanding! Don’t miss the great selection of shareable sides or desserts.

What ever you do DON’T EAT their seafood. Tried their seafood twice at night thinking it would change. Seafood should never smell the whole place! Yikes. Breakfast is good along with happy hour. Overall enjoyed the environment and service. Great outside sitting with fire! Would recommend it for outside sitting. Gets packed after work since there really iant anything close by tgat serves beer!

Disappointed with waitress who worked us over on tip. This day an age people pay with debit cards, please don’t try to get full tip at end when you know you already got some on the individual cards. Making us feel guilty or putting us on the spot is mean, we all gave 20%, and then you wanted another 20%

Never disappoints. Has all the classics perfectly cooked and for reasonable prices. Had an amazing ¾ pound osso bucco and risotto tonight with pairing of Nebbiolo– only $ 25 for the entrée!

I have been here twice now for dinner. Both times have been decent but not spectacular experiences. The $ 20-​$ 30 entrees are definitely overpriced and both scored a «C» on presentation. This is a large space with a pleasant atmosphere that definitely has the potential to be a fancy/​shmancy restaurant but the food needs an upgrade to better reflect the prices.

From the cocktails to the dessert, everything that we had at Nel Centro was delicious.
It was still a nice, warm evening, so we dined on the patio and enjoyed the view and warmth of the three fire pits.
Service was pretty great, and I still find myself thinking about the juicy pork chop and perfect mushroom gorgonzola pizza.

I came here for dinner with a group of friends over the weekend to «carb load» before the Portland Marathon. The restaurant is inside Hotel Modera and both restaurant and hotel were modern/​trendy.
Their pastas are handmade and delicious! I ordered the Robiola Agnolotti that was stuff with mushrooms and a butter sauce. It was amazzzing! Every bit of it! I had a few bites of other dishes as well and all was good. Definitely worth a go if you’re in the area!

We stopped in during HH and cocktail of the day was a Moscow mule. The drink was good but I was surprised that it was not served in a copper mug. We ordered the mushroom and Gorgonzola pizza which was delicious and a good size. We also order the hazelnut encrusted goat cheese and I was a little disappointed because I was unable to get a hazelnut flavor off the appetizer.
We sat outside on the patio and the atmosphere was really nice. It was getting a little chilly but the gas fire pits kept us warm and it was a nice place to sit and have a good conversation. The patio was calm and relaxing and the service was excellent.

We came here for a family birthday! Ambience was great. Their corn soup is phenomenal! The food was average and that is the only reason I have 3 stars to them. We ordered three totally different main course dishes and they all tasted bland and regular.
I would rate the service 4 stars but overall as 3 star due to food.

Solid breakfast, decent coffee, great service. They have marionberry jam which was delicious. They serve fancy toast that gets hard and tough to chew after it cools, but hey it’s fancy. I like the décor in the place, very zen with some modern components.

Nel Centro — where have you been all of my life? I’m not sure why I’ve never been to Nel Centro — but, boy was that a mistake. The place is really good; and, they have a HUGE patio for happy hour drinks or lounging about in the beautiful spring weather we are having in the Pacific Northwest.
I am not certain I would categorize Nel Centro as a truly Italian eatery — however, on the night we dined, they had just introduced a number of house-​made pastas on the menu. Rather, I almost think of it as a «Mediterranean» style restaurant with a broad assortment of well prepared proteins and a number of delicious salads.
Tops on the menu for me was the bone-​in Osso Buco. This braised meat delicacy was very well prepared and the meat just slid off the fork with the least effort; but the dish could have been better paired with something other then the risotto that fell a little flat. Equal to the braised meat is the extensive wine menu. They have a great number of regional, as well as European, wines to select by the glass and bottle. Their wine list nicely compliments the selection of food items on the menu.
Finally, the french fries (or pommes frites) — oh my goodness. .. they were delicious. Worth the trip for a happy hour draft beer or wine pour and a huge plate of fries. Oh, and you can do all of this on the deck with a ambiance enriching gas fire pit. Now that is nice.

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Hotel Modera for our Portland overnight trip and discovered Nel Centro. We were excited to kick off our night of eating and drinking festivities with happy hour at our very own hotel restaurant — which had a great happy hour menu from the looks of it!
Nel Centro was a super classy joint. I couldn’t wait to return back in the summertime as the patio area with fireside lounges would’ve been to die for. The place was pretty crowded too which is always a good sign.
We each ordered a featured cocktail of the day which was the Moscow Mule — $ 5 each — a steal! It was a pretty tasty cocktail as well. We then split a happy hour pizza. Definitely not the best pizza I’ve had in the world (I’ve been spoiled by amazing pizza) but it still was tasty, with goat cheese, grilled radicchio, bacon and mozzarella on a thin crust. All in all we spent $ 17 on a pretty decent happy hour. I’m not complaining whatsoever!

We decided to give this a go since they were under Portland Dining Month’s 3 courses for $ 29. We were going to an event at the Keller and their location is pretty perfect for some pre dinner. Sure enough… it worked well.
Due to an accident we were very late for our reservation — she was calling my phone when we arrived. Most restaurants just open the table and move on. They took the time to call… wow.
I was actually pretty impressed at their dinner and the portions. Their wine list is quite good as well and we did not try a cocktail but they also looked quite good. Make sure you save room for desert because those were pretty amazing.

During my stay at hotel modera I decided to conclude my trip at their in hotel restaurant. Nel centro. The elevator has a beautiful story of the chef and his menu that I just knew I had to try.
As I walked in I noticed that the highlight of the restaurant was the outdoor seating and the big fire pits. Beautiful! I was a little too cold today so decided to get indoor seating. I went up to the host, gentleman, and asked for a booth for one. He politely apologized but told me they had been all taken. I was not bothered and agreed to a table. He offered me a small table in the corner closest to the kitchen. I was not feeling the seat but decided to experience the entire service via their interpretation for the guest.
I knew by reading the Elevator menu that it resembled out home style Italian food. I was immediately served water and brought a menu. I opted to not try their wine selection and instead try one of their 10 signature cocktails. I showed up one hr prior to closing by the way. The waiter came by pretty quickly and asked if I was ready? I had just sat down and not really looked in detail at my options. It came across a bit pushy: I let the waiter know I’d need a minute.
When he came back I asked for the autumn cocktail. By the description I was looking for something earthy and bitter. Minutes later there was bread and butter delivered followed by my cocktail. The cocktail set the tone to my meal ! It was surprisingly refreshing with almost no bitterness or sweetness. Almost like a dry unsweetened tea. I enjoyed it .
I ordered for starters their calamari and for my main course the shrimp pasta .
When I was given my calamari the plate lacked color. It looked bland and it also did not look too appetizing. When I tried it the calamari was a tad bit too oily. The oil it was fried in was not the correct temperature. The tartar sauce was not at all tart, the dish lacked citrus to cut the fat. I was not impressed. Best calamari dish in portland would still have to be at Swank.
For my main course the portion of shrimp and pasta was delightful. The dish was simple in presentation but overwhelmingly delicious in taste. The hand made pasta truly is spectacular. The dish had a creamy and lovely red sauce. By far the best pasta ive had in years. Nel centro truly made it up with this dish. The sauce was not creamy enough to go all over the plate, the consistency was that of a chunky meat sauce but it melted in my mouth almost instantly. Witch and flavorful.
Finally I’m accustomed to narrow down my desert choices to two. I’m a big fan of tiramisu. They had a version of it on their menu and I also was keen to the chocolate croissant bread pudding. I always ask my waiter for recommendation. He pointed me to the bread pudding almost instantly.
It took about 10 minutes for me to get my desert but my waiter was attentive and let me know that it was worth the wait.
It most defiantly was! The portion was a bit big for desert. Definitely share. The chocolate bread pudding was tipped with vanilla bean ice cream. The hot and cold had a great balance and the vanilla truly brought out the rich chocolate flavor. The consistency of the bread pudding was perfect. It was not too sticky or too moist.
Over all my open ion of nel centro concludes with a 3 start rating.
Food 3. Not consistent. Started off low and worked their way up for me.
Service 4. Not really attentive to what I was looking for in seating. Was left alone after I was done with each course too long. Waited a while for waiter to notice.
Decore 3. Not too fancy and not to basic. Great large windows transport you close to the streetcars. Soft lit and rustic modern. Tables out of wood and lighting a little conceptual. Great patio!
Ambiance 3. For the price value of the food and the crowed it tries to gather I think they could polish up. Very casual waiters and open kitchen. Uniforms a bit too casual for my taste. Side conversations at the kitchen and between staff. Great of it was a bit more economical.
Overall great place.
–JG

I was in town for a conference one weekend, and caught the tail end of happy hour here. Great first impression! I was pleased by the ambience, and the service was also five stars. The menu seemed quality and there were a number of items I wanted to try, and food came out in a timely manner even though they were quite busy. A family member had recommended the restaurant, and I was not disappointed.
I did not drink this time, but the couple next to me enjoyed their cocktails. I ordered a pizza ($ 7 HH) and loved it. The individual portion size was quite fair — I saved a few slices for later.
I entered the restaurant through the hotel lobby, and I’m actually not sure if there is a street entrance. The restaurant has a sizable patio, with a number of tables for outdoor seating. Kitchen closes at midnight.