This St. Johns pop-up turned restaurant from Chase Dopson and Maggie Irwin isn’t the place for heavily sauced pastas and a lengthy menu of secondi. Here, Dopson focuses intently on his pastas, truly made by hand using rolling pins, knives, and little else. Menus change often and the team only offers a few pastas any given night; some days, that might be super-fine tajarin with a rich ragu; on others, it might be plump little agnolotti, stuffed with roasted veal. Come with friends and order them all.

Hidden up in the Woodlawn neighborhood, Campana began as on offshoot pasta night for the whole-hog butchery focused restaurant Grand Army Tavern. However, the homey pasta dishes and ample entrees proved so popular the restaurant fully converted. There’s plenty to like in this bright, open industrial space, but it’s usually smart to opt for a pasta or risotto, with meatballs marinara to start. The simple-yet-delicious plate of happy hour puttanesca is hard to beat, especially with a crimson glass of Italian wine in hand.

This self-identified Italian American restaurant churns out all the greatest hits — spaghetti and pork-and-beef meatballs; hubcap-sized chicken parm, fried crispy and topped with mozz; piles of fried calamari with a briny caper aioli. The restaurant is particularly shrewd in where it strays from the original, however, using pretty pink chicory leaves in a Caesar or infusing Campari with sun-dried tomatoes for a Negroni. The fried mozzarella here is a marvel in engineering, sort of a fried mozzarella shot glass filled with marinara.

This Cully food cart is likely the only spot in town serving torta di ceci, a chickpea flour flatbread. Here, it arrives in a sandwich, layered with grilled eggplant and optional mozzarella (if you eat dairy, add the mozzarella). However, the full, seasonal menu at Sorbu is worth exploration, be it for the house-cured pancetta sandwich with sundried tomato pesto, a decadent porchetta sandwich slathered in lemon-anchovy mayo, or a hearty pasta e fagioli perfect for cold Portland days.

The romantic vibes of this Mississippi Italian restaurant fit the menu, where meals begin with oysters on the half shell and end with amaro. Menus change frequently here, but they always involve some lovely pastas — radiatori trapping a layered Bolognese between its folds, twists of gemelli bolstered with black garlic. Pizzas arrive with ribbons of prosciutto or nonchalant dabs of herby salsa verde, also available gluten-free for those in need. Salads often incorporate produce from the Pacific Northwest; they’re worth an order, regardless of season.

The argument could be made that Grassa is less Italian food, and more fast-paced American counter-service with Italian influences — any red-blooded Italian who orders carbonara and receives a bowl of pasta topped with breadcrumbs and a fried egg would likely want to have words with the manager. But it’s deeply satisfying, as are all the other fresh-made pastas. Slinging bowls of noodles loaded with an abundance of flavors, Grassa is the pasta equivalent of Lardo — fast, affordable, reliable, and tasty.

Caffe Mingo’s legacy looms large over Portland’s restaurant scene — it is, after all, where Gumba’s Jesse Martinez once rolled pasta before opening his cart. The original restaurant continues to evoke warmth and sophistication, tossing little gems with Caesar or gently stirring risotto with roasted seasonal mushrooms. Pasta is often the move here, be it penne with Chianti-and-espresso braised beef or spaghetti with clams and sausage, and the restaurant’s wine cellar is well-stocked with potential pairings. Next door, the restaurant’s sibling knocks out some next-level pastas and salads, as well.

Montelupo was part of a welcome trend when it opened as a two-in-one market and restaurant. Since its inception, it has continued to expand, welcoming in diners for morning pastries and dinner as a casual, counter service Italian cafe and bistro, while still offering its menu of takeout dinners and Italian ingredients. Diners can enjoy items like the delicate tajarin with truffle butter and piles of parmesan, hearty pappardelle with porcini-braised pork shoulder, and the excellent lemon chicken cavatelli with capers and olives. Additionally, the market sells fresh pasta dishes to prepare at home, wine, pantry staples, and everything else needed to turn home kitchens into fine Italian dining.

Black and white tiled floor and racks of olive oil, canned tomatoes, and wine give Luce’s intimate space the feeling of a small shop in an Italian village. The illusion is made complete with Luce’s selection of fresh pasta dishes — cappelletti float in an elegant, profound broth, hearty and meaty baked pasta dishes pair with the robust Italian wines served in familiar bistro glasses, and spiced shrimp nestle within swirled piles of linguini. Beyond the pasta, Luce’s antipasti are often worth an order, a range of flavorful marinated vegetables and crostini. The pro move it to go with a few friends and split every pasta on the menu, plus a few larger dishes, and a bottle or two of rustic Italian wine.

Many of the Italian restaurants in Portland have a clear focus on pastas or pizzas, so it’s lovely that this downtown trattoria has such a strong menu of grilled fare. Fennel-encrusted rib-eyes, wedges of cauliflower, and tentacles of octopus arrive at tables charred and lightly smoky, accompanied by everything from mixed onion agrodolce to dried tomato citronette. The restaurant’s pork chop, glazed with the Italian pine bud syrup mugolio, stands out, especially with its bright meyer lemon condiment — similar to a gremolata — to cut through the salty fat of the pork.

A staple of the downtown dining scene, Mucca is as much a destination for its immaculate service as it is its menu, both of which deliver in spades. After devouring the foccacia immediately served on the white tablecloth-laden tables, diners dig into plates of tender tagliatelle with braised boar ragu, plump butternut squash-filled agnolotti, and decadent, marsala-topped duck hen breasts. The wine list is far from an afterthought, featuring a staggering collection of bottles from all over Italy, as well as some French and New World offerings.

The lauded Italian eatery from Portland luminary Cathy Whims remains as relevant as it was when it opened in 2005. Menus change daily, but most nights see diners crowded under the lanterns hanging from vaulted ceilings as plate after plate of buttery tomato sauce-coated pasta, steaming platters of Bolognese, and hearty entrees like seared scallops with parsnip-celeriac puree head to the tables. Couples on dates slice the uncut pizzas with the provided scissors, and down glasses of bold Italian wines and bittersweet Negroni variations. Nostrana is inherently celebratory, a fixture in Portland’s upscale dining scene for its atmosphere, its service, and its food.

3 Doors Down may not be as trendy as some of Portland’s more recognizable Italian restaurants, but its dedicated following regularly returns for its old school-charm, sizable house-made pasta dishes, and the deep wine list that made it a wine-industry hangout for years. The restaurant sticks to playful, comforting takes on familiar styles, including pappardelle in Bolognese, aromatic shellfish fettucine, and creamy, slightly spicy ziti with sweet Italian sausage. For a fun accompaniment, opt for the limoncello slushie.

Dominated by a central bar and lined with tufted red leather booths, the mistake could be made that Cibo is more of a pizzeria and bar than full Italian restaurant. But the small-but-solid pasta list and Italian wine menu elevate the restaurant to a more full-fledged Italian eatery, while still being a more casual, weeknight or special occasion kind of venture. Still, the thin, char-kissed wood-fired pizzas are the main draw, especially the signature margherita.

This Foster Road food cart specializes in a beloved Italian street food, panzerotti — those unfamiliar can think of it as a God-tier Hot Pocket. Little mini-calzone-shaped turnovers, stuffed with things like fresh mozzarella or Italian sausage, pop in the fryer, emerging crispy on the outside and melty-gooey on the inside. Order a few, as well as a slice of cake if on offer that day.

A homey, romantic Italian restaurant A Cena (pronounced ah-chay-nah) has remained a staple of the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood for years. Often changing with seasonal ingredients, it offers more robust pasta dishes made in-house (think beef short rib and pork shoulder sugo over tagliatelle and raviolini with Maine lobster), as well as some meaty mains and fun sides, including fried Brussels sprouts with pancetta. Grab a Negroni at the bar; this is a fun spot to dine solo, if that’s your thing.