Ernesto’s Italian Restaurant

I typically don’t write reviews, especially negative ones… though last night was a very uncomfortable and not taste worthy to price experience.
I took my 12 year old daughter on a last minute date here at Ernesto’s, she wanted to draw while we talked and so I asked for the kids menu which she proceeded to make beautiful art on the back of… it was a long wait to place our order and my daughter decided while I was in the restroom she wanted to try lasagna for the first time and ordered a cranberry juice off of the kids menu; she’s not a fan of cheese so I was surprised at her choice though since the kids meal wasn’t to expensive I said go for it.
When it came time to order the waitress pull aside the menu my daughter was coloring on from her hands and said she could order the light portion off of the adult menu and that there was a reason she wasn’t offered the children’s menu…
her ultimately cheesy lasagna was around $ 15 in addition to the separate cranberry juice and this was all decided with out asking her if she wanted soup/​salad, type of dressing or my permission (I would have said to go for her standard meatball type order at that price point had I input or a chance before the waitress stormed off… Looking over the menu I couldn’t find any age specified, and I was left feeling super awkward as though we were trying to pull some sort of scam with the way we were treated. When the waitress came back I tried to apologize that I didn’t see an age specified and she rushed away mumbling something about no problem maybe?
After a $ 42.00 meal that neither of us enjoyed we asked for our boxes and I realized she wasn’t going to offer the dessert I had believed came with our meals, though we were so relieved to leave our anxious awkward dinner experience we didn’t mind… We sure would have enjoyed the atmosphere had the waitress given us a little nicer or more considerate approach, there were other servers and only two –3 other tables rotating that we could see so not sure why the rush, it just seriously felt as though we weren’t welcome and not totally sure how we could have done anything different to fit in better?
All I know is that Noodles Restaurant further west on Beaverton-​Hillsdale HWY has always had a much tastier warmer on the plate sauce and service sans the side of discomfort and about $ 20 less at least… just wish they were open last night so I wouldn’t have had to write my first negative review

Fantastic, we’ll since I’m a man «MANTASIC»!!! I’ve yet to have a bad experience here, staff (family) are always pleasant and the atmosphere is great (considering the location). You must stop by and give it a go. You’ll be glad you did :)

Brought the family in for a mid week meal. They were super helpful making substitutions. The food sizes were just right. The servers were very nice, and the other customers were not obnoxious. Which is always great. The location is in a min mall, which is weird but the interior is really nicely decorated.

I had no idea this kind of place was hidden away inside a strip mall. Looks like a mom and pop from the outside until you walk into a wide open world of lights and decorum and realize you’ve hit Beaverton’s own little Italy. It’s a busy place with lots of love and passion for food and hospitality. We had scampi, a caesar with added grilled chicken, minestrone, and a veal dish with artichokes and capers. Everything was delicious and fresh. Because I cook I’m more critical than the average person but I would say their dishes were original and inspired. Maybe they could use a little but of quality control but I’m definitely going back again and again. Great surprise for your special date.

Coming here when I was younger, it wasn’t bad. Then again I was a teen and as a teen we don’t have much appreciation for food. I ordered the sausage and ravioli, the red sauce, (meat sauce?) tastes exactly like chef boyardee. The sausage doesn’t have much flavor, I was looking for more spice or… flavor. It’s edible just lacking… and cheap? It tastes and feels like 10 $ not 15.
All in all, it’s not terrible just missing some «awe» factor.
Service was good, the lady was nice and attentive. Busy, but knew what she was doing and multi tasked well. Seemed like she was training someone. A+

Can’t say enough about how wonderful Ernesto’s is! I have never had a bad experience… service is always impeccable and the people friendly… food is top notch and authentic. We’ve done Happy Hour in the bar, dining room and take out and have never been disappointed. This is our «go to» place when we have out of town guests, too, as it’s predictably good food and offers a comfortable ambiance for conversation.

Just OK. Service needs help. Wait too long to get someone’s attention. What’s up with that? Food is OK, but bland. Time for a restaurant rescue.

This is the time I’ve written a review. This is also the first time I’ve had a server blatantly throw attitude at me so… Here goes.
Long story short, I was looking for a cozy place to take the kids regularly to gain an appreciation for pasta and sauce, Chicken Marsala, spumoni. I wanted the type of place I used to go to as a kid with red tablecloths and Chianti in baskets, comfortable American Italian.
This place seemed to fit the bill although the prices were a bit steep for the offerings and it was a lot bigger inside than I expected. All of that is unimportant compared to the fact that the female server was so incredibly, surprisingly, meal ruiningly, blatantly horrible to me.
I can’t really get over it, thus the review. My husband was appalled, my kids wanted to leave because this woman was snapping at me and it scared them. It sucks when a fun meal is ruined and I am so shocked that it was the server who ruined it.
2 stars because my daughter ate an entire plate of ravioli which never happens.

Last night my wife & I had dinner at Ernesto’s again, and we enjoyed our time and food very much. The seafood plate I had was delicious, and the manicotti my wife ate was sumptuous! We plan to return for more.

Love this place! It’s been a family go-​to since they were downstairs at GH Fred Meyer.
Dropped in last night (Monday). Greeted and seated immediately. 3 orders of spaghetti for the 3 of us. Marinara, Sausage and Ravioli. Bread and salad served promptly, followed by dinner.
All delicious, and Large enough portions (even on the lighter side menu) for leftovers.
Congrats to Mike and team for keeping this family restaurant a top-​notch, affordable local establishment!

What can I say but we had a horrible experience. We used to come here all the time from 2003 –2005. The food was good, the service and the owner would even come around to each table and talk to you. The food used to be made with love. We moved out of state and just returned back after 10 years and I was so excited to go back. I am so sad that this place changed so much.
First off, the hostess went to find us a table, which took 15 minutes and the place was about empty and she had a bad attitude like she just hated her job. Our waitress did come right away with bread and to take drink orders and I got my drink right away but it was diet. I can’t drink diet, I am allergic to the fake sugar. She disappeared for a long while and we waited for 30 minutes at least for her to take our order. She took our order finally and I asked for a new drink. Took her another 30 minutes to bring it and she only did when she saw me looking around for someone, anyone to flag down. Then we waited and waited and waited for our food. We got soup with our meal, no soup ever came. And I had a 2 and 4 year old with us, who were absolute angels and probably had more patience than me tonight but they were hungry. There was one time I tried to call out to her but she walked away. She finally brought our food. I told her I never got the soup, her response, «Oh, sorry, I have been doing that all day.» Then stop! My meal wasn’t even hot nor was my husbands but my meal was still tasty and I was so hungry by the time it came. My husbands gnocchi was stale and she brought my soup in the middle of my meal so by the time I got to eat it, it was cold! She apologized for the soup and said it was only her third day but you don’t have to be a waitress before to know soup comes before a meal, you have been to a restaurant before? I had also asked for pink sauce on the ravioli dish I got, she brought it with meat sauce. Didn’t want to ask her to change it, would have taken another hour.
I would would have complained to a manager but there was none in sight. Other waitresses and bus boys even buzzed passed us as they saw me scanning the empty room for some kind of help.
Also, what was disappointing, if I remember correctly all the meals used to come with icecream but not anymore.
It saddens me that I have to write such a bad review. This used to be my favorite place.

⁰⁸⁄₂₈ YES the clam chowder was awesome! Nice TV’s in the nice quiet lounge.

I honestly don’t understand folks sometimes. I really can’t see how people find this place’s food acceptable. Especially with the premium they put on their prices.
The lasagna tasted like cardboard. I’ve never experienced this before, but it literally tasted like cardboard. The marinara had an odd taste that I couldn’t quite place due to it being drowned in cheese. Greasy greasy cheese.
I had four bites and then boxed it up for my teenage son who will eat anything.
My wife had the chicken cacciatore and she swears it was frozen chicken tenders similar to what you give the kids on those nights when you only have five minutes to make dinner. She liked the sauce however.
I don’t even know what to say about the spaghetti.
We also ordered my favorite thing for an appetizer. Something impossible to mess up: roasted garlic. The garlic was poor. It was at that point I became worried. There was something served on the plate with it that we didn’t recognize at first. After much messing around with our forks we decided it must be roasted pepper slices… maybe.
The hostess who greeted us could not be bothered. She would clearly rather we had not bothered her.
Our waitress was very pleasant and did her job well. She was attentive and interested.
I just don’t understand. With the Italian options we have at our disposal in Portland and even in Beaverton, for much better prices, why would you come here? We won’t again.

Great warm bread and good spaghetti. Waitress was attentive. First time for dinner but had lunch multiple times. Always good.

Great food! Love their secret recipe for marinara sauce! Fabulous service! Bethany is a delight! We will be back!

Our new favorite local Italian date night. The atmosphere is perfect, reminds me of actually being in Italy. The people are wonderful and even gave us a $ 10 gift card to use on our next visit. The tiramisu was amazing. We look forward to coming here often.

Been here several time and we always leave satisfied. My only complaint is that my salad was way too drenched in ranch, and I love ranch!

Great place for family night. We enjoyed our meals and the service was prompt and attentive. I was surprised to see a salad bar but it was fresh and well stocked. We will definitely be back for a casual family night.

The restaurant décor looks quite nice and the staff is friendly. I came here with my fiancé’s family for dinner. We both shared the seafood picatta and the salad. The salad tasted amazing. As for the picatta, it was a little too watery and sour for my tastes, but then again I’m not italian and I don’t know what an authentic italian dish like seafood picatta is supposed to taste like. Take my review with a grain of salt. Food was a little on the pricy side as well. Overall it was a beautiful restaurant with friendly staff, but not somewhere I would return to, as there are so many more restaurants in Portland that have great quality for the price.

I’m going to give Ernesto’s 5 stars for a few reasons.
First, I hadn’t eaten there in a while and I remember it being very mediocre, so my expectations were low.
I did have to wait to be seated, but just for a minute. Who these days can afford a full time greeter in a small neighborhood restaurant?
6 of us were immediately seated and greeted by a very sweet and enthusiastic waitress.
Our drinks, salads, and focaccia arrived immediately.
They make all their own dressings and the salads were a perfect size and perfectly dressed and fresh.
I asked if they make the gnocchi and again our sweet waitress enthusiastically answered yes.
I ordered the gnocchi with marinara.
I love to cook and I love good old fashioned Italian American cooking. That’s what I got.
6 of us had 6 different dinners and everyone was pleased.
The portions are large and the food delicious!