Fratelli Ristorante & Bar

While the staff and food were excellent, I would not recommend this place as a "romantic" spot. The tables are too close together and I felt like I was having dinner with the table next to me. If you want to go to a place that has excellent food and service , than this is truly a great place. The whole staff is very friendly and attentive. I also would suggest making reservations at least a couple of days ahead because I was unable to get the time I wanted and had to settle for an earlier time spot. The price was very comparable to most other places. The only problem I have is that I would not consider this place a "Romantic" or "Proposal" spot. Pros: Ambience, staff, food and all around cleanliness. Cons: Table are too close together. Parking lot was full more

This place looks great, has great food, and very educated and professional stuff...just hope the great ratings won't go straight into their heads, so we can enjoy all the great things they ahve to offer! ;) more

My daughter and I have just experienced our second wonderful dinner at Fratelli. Both times we were greeted and seated promptly. The wait staff was knowledgeable and courteous. Loved sampling the house made lemoncello and grappa. Our food was sinfully delicious. On our most recent visit we had cocktails before being escorted to our table and the bartender was a hoot!! We spent time talking about Eugene as he had family here. I highly recommend this dining establishment. We cannot wait to return. My daughter is a vegetarian and the menu does not disappoint. Take the time to discover this lovely place. more

Let me start off by saying that this review is long overdue. After hearing much hype about Fratelli, my husband and I were looking forward to a romantic Valentine's dinner the Saturday evening following Valentine's day (he had to work the night of). We had made reservations beforehand, and to our extreme disappointment they called to tell us that they had overbooked the restaurant and that they no longer had room for us. My husband returned the call to let them know how disappointed we were, and how this was our Valentine's dinner, and while they did apologize and offered to call if anything opened up, they did nothing more in the way of making it up to us. (Maybe this is a common practice; overbooking, but you would think on Valentine's of all dinners they would offer us drinks on the house, or appetizers, or something more than just, oh sorry!) The problem was that they called us on FRIDAY to let us know this. We had already arranged for a babysitter, etc. and now had to rearrange our plans. I tried several other restaurants but all were booked. I finally found a reservation at another establishment, and we were able to go and have a very enjoyable, expensive meal there. The funny thing was, Fratelli called when we were on our way to eat at the other restaurant to tell us that they had a reservation open up. What??? At 5:00 on Saturday? Like we wouldn't have made other arrangements? We declined. Too little too late. And too bad, because we spent quite a bit and had a wonderful meal elsewhere; a place I will definitely recommend to others. Fratelli will not be getting a recommendation from me. more

On Friday Feb 29 my husband and I had reservations at Fratelli. This was one of our worst restaurant experiences. We were seated promptly, but our waitress gave us 10 seconds after we sat down to figure out our drinks. We decided on a bottle of red wine. When she brought it, it was hot as if it was sitting over a stove. My ravioli was NOT cooked. It was hard and dry. My husbands risotto with crab was fishy and spoiled. They took back my pasta and I ordered a salad with Frisee and Edive, NO Endive, just weeds. My garlic mashed potatoes were old and horribly put on the plate as if just slapped on looking like something from the local Jr High lunch room and tasted just as bad. As far as romantic, forget it. It was loud and the handling of the dishes by the kitchen help was extemely loud. I would never recommend this place to a friend, maybe to someone I don't like however. Pros: non Cons: Parking, food, wine and Ambience more

great food, great atmosphere, great service, great menu that changes weekly..I can give 4 stars out fo five because the wine isn't stored or served at the right temperature. It's a fantastic wine list, but it's too warm. but that doesn't stop me from eating there often. I love the cow bell the kitchen rings to notify the staff to pick up food...I am waiting for summer to have the grilled romanine salad which is out of this world! more

We had our company Christmas party here a few years back and the food and service were fantastic. The good food and service has kept me coming back 2 years later, and the pizza is to die for. Thanks, Fratelli. Pros: Great food, serice Cons: Non more

Only someone who is pretentious and feels they have to try and impress someone by spending lots of money for okay food would really go to a place like this. Sorry but I would rather by dry violated than pay that much again for a plate of weeds (which they called a salad) and kid size portions. Though kudos to the place for being able to charge that much, know that snobbish, pretentious idiots will pay it. It is not as though I can't afford to pay that much for a meal, but only a wasteful, trendy, pretentious snob, will actually do it. Pros: none that I can think of, I guess lots if you are pretentious. Cons: Overpriced for small portions more

We've been to Fratelli about five times now and I have to say, they are the best all around. We travel from Seattle to get our Fratelli Fix. Great ambiance, great service and fabulous food. The shaved beef with truffle bruchetta was so decadant and the polenta with wild mushrooms never fails with it's intense flavors and creamy texture. This time we tried the roasted garlic gnocci with braised greens and I thought it was a little on the bland side, but my husband loved it. The farro salad was probably the most unextectedly delicious dish we had that night. The flavors were just right and the farro was cooked to perfection. Try it! Sat at the bar this time and had a great time with the bartender; he was very social and helpful. My hats off to whoever mans such a well put-together restaurant. Pros: ambiance, food, prices, service Cons: I can't think of one more

I don't dine out in the evening much as I work in a top of the line restaurant. I was so delighted with every aspect of my experience. All 3 entrees we had we spectacular in every way. The portions were just right. the fish was prepared to perfection, even the spinach was awe inspiring. the boar in chocolate sauce got the best meat I've ever had comments from my guest. the veggie dish was so interesting and flavorful. We ate every bite and had the chocolate dessert. I will be back! Thank you for an amazing night out. I was not dissapointed. Pros: yummy food, great service Cons: our evening had to end more

I have always loved this restaurant for the food and the warm atmosphere. I have never had a bad meal here. I probably only go about once every three or four months, but it's always at the top of my list for special occasions. I dined there last night with 6 co-workers (on the early side) and we had great meals and possibly the most friendly and professional service I think I have ever had. Our server was knowledgable of the menu and Italian food in general. She was perfectly willing to make accomodations for those in our party who had special meal requests and creative in making suggestions for appetizers. There was no rush for us to order, no rush for us to leave, and really no wait for our food - the timing was just perfect. I had a special chicken puttanesca and others in our group had the lasagna and lamb. There was nothing pretentious about the menu or our server. Just coming back from a trip to Florence last month, I also found the menu very authentic. I recently read another review complaining that they got terrible service with a big party, so I just wanted to speak out on my own experience. Fratelli's staff and kitchen seem more than able to accomodate a large group or an intimate one. Pros: Well Trained and Friendly Wait Staff, Exquisite Mouthwatering Menu Cons: Sometimes need reservations b/c it's so popular, is that a con? more

We went here looking for a romantic setting, and were very pleased with our experience. The drinks were excellent and the ravioli was very tasty. Shannon was very helpful and friendly. We will definitely be back for more. Pros: Great Food Cons: Limited space for seating more

the food was great but the host was extremely rude and needs to improve on his manners, attitude and customer service skills. first of all, they had put us down for the wrong reservation time and then made a rude comment about our party being late even part of our party had already arrived at the restaurant. the waiter was not knowledgable about the dishes and could not explain some of them to us. However, they had excellent appeteizers but there needs to be much improvement on the efficiency and quality of their service. Pros: good food Cons: stingy with the bread more

I took my employees here for a meal - a small party of 8. I had personally been here before and had fantastic service but this night was such a disappointment! Most of the table had wanted to order their special ravioli but they only had enough for three of us and it was just 7:30pm! Then when the server brought the orders out, she didnt make note of who ordered what - and every time the server brought us food we had to either raise our hands or food just got placed in front of the wrong person. One of our party had mistakenly ordered an appetizer that had meat in it and he was vegetarian. He had nicely asked if he could exchange it for something else because he had not read on the menu that it contained it. The server then turned to the rest of our table and tried to see if one of else wanted to eat it. When noone had agreed to that, the server walked away trying to ignore his original request. It took me asking a different waitress to see if anything could be done- and that server was really nice about it and said of course- no problem- what else would he like. That was embarassing to say the least. The special ravioli turned out to be quite amazing but the others who ordered the fish said it wasnt cooked all the way. Although our service started out rather poorly, we couldnt help but notice after we sent the meat appetizer back that our service got a lot worse. I later found out that our primary server was considered the manager at the time- I was very shocked by that considering she was unfreindly and not at all professional. Overall, I would consider coming back here to give it another try but I would not bring a large party here again. Pros: great ravioli, good selection of wines, nice rustic atmosphere Cons: SOME of the servers are not professional and unfriendly more

Ingore this. Pros: Food, Service, Atmosphere if you are looking for a bit of life Cons: Not Romantic - don;t believe that bit more

It's my first time in Portland. I'm having dinner with my favorite person in the world, thinking that our dinner at Fratelli would at least meet our expectations (we've heard amazing things about the restaurant). We ordered a pasta dish explained to us by our server as ravioli with a salsa verde sauce. It was oily and covered with an odd tasting and unknown herb. However, after politely returning the dish we were then shunned for the rest of the night. Actually our server was straight out rude. We praised a newly ordered entree, which we had to flag her down to get (it was the lamb - which was great) apologized for any inconvenience but to no avail. That was it for us. A dining experience isn't just about the food. It's regrettable we won't be able to recommend Fratelli to friends who are always looking for good Italian outside of Los Angeles. Cons: service more

After reading hearing from others about Fratelli and then reading the glowing reviews on here, I am a bit reluctant to say that my experience at the restaurant was nothing more than mediocre. The hostess and server were a bit blase, but I can usually overlook that if the food makes up for it. It didn't. Our food arrived lukewarm, and the bruschetta felt like it had perhaps been sitting out too long. My ravioli were drowned in oil and almost cold. The wine the waiter recommended was affordable and good--perhaps the only part about the meal that was enjoyable. The Spartan tables and odd, narrow layout did nothing for the ambiance, and I would hardly call this a place for romantic dining. I don't mind paying close to $100 for dinner for two, but the meal had better be worth it. Sadly, in the case of Fratelli, it wasn't. Pros: Wine list, location Cons: Indifferent service, lukewarm food more

I'm glad it was a Sunday at 5pm when we strolled into Fratelli sans reservation, given that this place is relatively small compared to its neighboring behemoth Pearl dining spots. Fratelli is one of those places I'd been meaning to try for years, but since I'd heard mixed reviews it took awhile to reach the top of the list. Our server was extremely knowledgeable about the menu, which contained a wide variety of semi-exotic game, and was very helpful in guiding us; in fact, I took his recommendations to heart, er, stomach, when placing my order. My starter was huge and definitely sharable - polenta with mozzarella and proscuitto. Yes, it was as rich and scrumptious as it sounds. My boyfriend chose the rabbit gnocchi which was also quite pleasing. When it came time to order entrees, I was extremely tempted by the pork tenderloin, as it is an absolute favorite of mine, however, our server convinced me to be adventurous and try the wild boar in a chocolate sauce with huckleberry mousse. While this combination sounds far fetched, I must say it was surprisingly delicious, and the flavors were just subtle enough to make it work. My date disagreed, but helped me eat it anyway. His squab with garlic potatoes was a very small portion compared to my heaping bowl but was flawlessly executed and he'd order it again. For dessert we chose our server's favorite - the chocolate mascarpone with apricots. The dessert was certainly tasty; however, it wasn?t anything particularly special. Overall, our meal was hearty and our server was helpful and attentive, though I couldn't help but notice that he missed a step or two of service (i.e. we didn't have forks when our entrees arrived.) Fratelli is a good value; for around $100 we had a rich, filling, enjoyable 3-course meal with a carafe of wine and I'm confident we'll be back. more

If this place were in L.A., with this food, and this ambience, and this service, it would be a massively big deal. It would also cost exactly three time more than it does on its home turf. The food at Fratelli restores my faith in the healing and revelatory powers of great food. If you're in Portland, and have one meal to eat, eat it here. more

Amazing flavors and interesting takes on Italian classics. A well organized menu with frequent updates. The bruschetta is really good. A bit pricy but worth the money. The atmosphere is relaxing and there is plenty of room. There?s a large bar at the front for anyone and no bad seats in the place. Pros: service, atmosphere and food are great Cons: a bit pricy more