Pastini Pastaria

Ordered the Spaghetti Aglio y Olio w/​gluten free Spaghetti and OMG! it was great. I haven’t had pasta in quite a while due to gluten and corn issues. The rice based noodles were in an olive oil sauce with a perfect amount of fresh garlic, parmesan and crushed red pepper bits. Heaven!

We were delighted to find this Italian lunch and dinner place right in downtown Portland. You know, it’s not «upscale gourmet Italian» — but the ingredients are fresh, the staff is friendly, and people are having fun. I’ve been four times now, and recommend it very highly. One of the most enjoyable aspects is sitting amongst young people on ‘matinée-​movie-​and-​dinner’ dates: well-​behaved, well-​dressed folks out on their own and clearly having fun.
The food is much better than I expected it to be: fresh, local ingredients well-​cooked and beautifully presented on plain white crockery. Again, not «fancy» — but certainly wholesome, filling, and well-​balanced. It’s my Cheat Day lunch spot: cheese and pasta and sauces, yum!

We needed somewhere close to our hotel to have lunch and ate at the Downtown Pastini location. We worked up an appetite and ordered the ham/​cheese panini with tomato soup (great for dipping), and the Artichoke Chicken Salad. There were many choices to choose that all looked good, our food was served hot, the service was good and we would return. The choices and types of food are endless in Portland, but this is a safe bet.

Service was really great. The food was good as well, but didn’t take very long to come out, which made me think it was just heated up rather than cooked fresh. It was a nice place, but I would prefer more of a authentic, home-​cooked experience for the amount of money it costs.

Got exactly what I wanted, simple but tasty. And just enough food. Service was nice and timely.

The asparagus salad I had was amazing. Very tasty and fulfilling, with just the right amount of dressing. And the rest of my party had also very positive opinion on their dishes. Definitely we will be back.

Delicious! Super friendly staff, the food was wonderful, perfect lunch portion size. I will definitely eat here again!

WORST SERVICE EVER. We made a reservation, showed up, and the guy at the counter was super rude and said they didn’t take reservations so we didn’t have one. We then waited and called to see where we were on the wait list and they said 10 minutes. We showed up in 8 and they gave our table up even though we called saying we were coming. Guy with light brown at the hostess counter is terribly rude.

OK business lunch. Not much charm and lamb ragu, one of highest priced items on lunch menu, was relatively tasteless. Most of pastas are not made fresh in house. Kale salad was good.

Food was great, and service was excellent. Food was sent out in good time as well. Will come back for sure.

Wow! Loved this place. Wish i lives closer :). 3 were in Portland for a few days and ate here 3 times. The wait staff super helpful and friendly and knowledgeable (I have several food allergies). We ate salads, pasta, chicken and soup. Everything was served quickly and was fresh and tasty and appropriately seasoned. Good wine selection with fair prices!

Ate at this place 3 times during this week! Food is great but the service kind of slow. After done eating and asked for a check i have to wait 5 minutes for the check to come and an extra 5 minutes for the server to return my card back.
But overall good food !

Pastini’s is a great restaurant. Very good Italian food choices and service. Moderate prices and great downtown Portland, Oregon location. Occasional coupons and days with good discounts.
One of our favorite restaurants in downtown Portland, Oregon.

After the initial wait to get some attention, the service was average. The food on the other hand was below average. After having a great food experience here in Portland, we expected fresh flavorful food, but instead got bland lukewarm blah. We never eat at Olive Garden, NEVER, but tonight we would have preferred it.
I didn’t receive the email. I would be happy to expand on our experience.

I used to like this place a lot when they first opened. But now their soup is always served lukewarm and always a little salty. You always get your main dish BEFORE you’re done with your salad. Service was slow and the place was not busy at all. I’ve just noticed they have gone downhill since I first started coming here and this was my go-​to, quick pasta place! Plus, I had to latch on to the wifi from the place across the street!

My friend and I, and her 18 month old daughter ate here today, and it was fantastic! We were greeted right away by a friendly hostess, and were seated in an awesome spot by a window where we could people watch while we chatted. Love the atmosphere of this restaurant, right in the heart of downtown. Our food was super yummy too. I ordered the classic bruschetta to start… The grilled bread they serve with it is to die for, and then I had the baked ravioli lunch special, which comes with a huge side salad. The ravioli was so good, cheesy and you could tell it was really fresh, it even had fresh leaves of basil in it that really added to the flavor. Our waitress, Lindsay, was great too, super friendly and attentive. It was an easy restaurant to bring kids to as well. We will definitely be back! You can’t beat the location (close to Nordstrom!!) and great food!

Our first visit to Portland from Hawaii. After we totally enjoyed the Chocolate Decadence Tour, we walked to this Pastini Pastaria. My husband ordered the Spaghetti with Spicy Sausage and I ordered the lasagna with meat sauce. We totally enjoyed our dishes! Excellent tasting sauces and fresh pasta. The broccolini, also excellent. The Tortufo with Gelato for dessert, a great end to our dinner! Our thanks to Nicole M. for your friendliness, attentiveness and great service!

We come here time to time for a lunch during the work week. I do like the lunch menu with the pasta and salad combo. I always think that their sauces are a bit salty, but that could just be me.

As soon as we walked into this restaurant there was no one at the host stand to greet people walking in, bad sign in my eyes as it shows a lack of service. The host finally came to the front and asked how many we told her 5 and then she has the nerve to ask us to wait 5 – 10 minutes because there was not enough servers at the moment, that should have been my sign to leave.
We finally were seated and the women took our drink order and then this tall guy with clothes that looked like he just picked them off the floor they were so wrinkly brought our drinks over, he was annoying and obnoxious. We placed our entrées and appetizer orders, four of us got Caesar salads they came on plates way to small and the caesar dressing was so bland. The pesto breadsticks were so cold they looked like they were sitting around all day.
The main entrée portions were so small all left hungry, the sauce on the pasta was so watery it didn’t even coat the pasta. Didn’t have any seasoning and was just sad. For the prices they charge this place is not worth it, I have had a better Italian meal at Olive Garden or noodles and company. The service was poor and we had to ask for refills, I hate that.
I would not recommend this place to anyone or ever return. Don’t understand how people enjoy this place.

I love Pastini. I may be biased because I worked at this location but I also have an extreme insider perspective.
The food is fresh, the bread arrives every morning from a Portland bakery and the the portions are perfect. I would recommend trying an specials they might have. Always full of flavor.
My personal favorites are the Baked Ziti and the Fusilli alla Roma.
You can always ask for extra sauce or double noodles for a small charge. Baskets of bread are only $ 1.50 (I believe this is still the price). Or if you’re feeling adventurous try the artichoke dip. It’s amazing.
You just can’t go wrong at Pastini.