Oak Olive - Portland

Definitely visit her. We really enjoyed this place. There was no joke to chat a large Italian family (Kids, grandparents, the whole business) on the table next to us in Italian speaking volumes of authenticity here. This is not an American Italian food, but the real deal. I had the lasagna that was amazing and my wife had a strange pasta that has a texture like mash potatoes that I don't remember the name. She loved it. It wasn't for me. You have pizza too, so we have to try. Prices are not cheap but fair. Portions are not huge, but you are a bit of volume for really good quality. We were much full after a great visit and then walked to the plaza over the street for ice cream that accented a great night. You also have a full bar and tons of wine.

The roasted garlic pizza with lemon toes and arugula is really one of my favorite things. The combination of aromas is excellent. The olive oil cake for dessert is also very delicious. That's a nice neighborhood restaurant.

We've been here a couple times. And while the restaurant is known for their pizza, we have yet to try it, opting for their pasta instead. Both times, we've had the Oak and Olive salad which is outstanding. The fresh ricotta and herb vinaigrette make the salad. The focaccia and house made soup have been really good both times as well. On our first visit, we had the Cacio E Pepe pasta which we both enjoyed. Simple but flavorful and well executed. On the second visit, we tried the dungeness crab risotto. While it looks beautiful, we were disappointed. The combination of flavors just didn't work for either of us. The corn was too sweet, and the arugula was too bitter, and both overpowered the sweet taste of the dungeness crab to the point you could barely taste the crab. Despite the risotto, we do enjoy this restaurant and look forward to a third visit to try their pizza.

Delicious and fresh. Great coffee and very nice interior design. This is one of my girlfriends favorite restaurants and it has not disappointed each time we?ve dined here. Great locally owned business and a nice addition to the neighborhood.

Hit and miss across the board at this Italian inspired restaurant in Hillsdale. We came in on a Saturday night with a party of four and we were sat in the corner at the far end by the back parking lot. The restaurant was half full but as a previous recent review stated, large parties with children easily overwhelm this space; concrete floors, open walls, and tall ceilings make it too easy to be very loud. We brought our own wine (corkage fee is $15 not listed on website) and ordered house made focaccia as a starter. The bread came quickly with a deep dish full of olive oil with balsamic at the bottom. It was almost impossible to get the balsamic through the inch plus of oil in the tall cup. The bread was brought out with no plates so we were left to use our napkins for 5 minutes before our server noticed. We ordered 4 entrees and soup and salad to share for the table. While waiting we noticed how heavily the restaurant uses their to go at the counter because people kept coming in and out which made the entire room cold each time. We also sat next to a bussing station with water and silverware so the servers stood by our table every couple of minutes. Seems like this is a much better location in the summer to say the least. The lamb stew was good and had fresh flavors of parsley and tomatoes, and the beet salad was a great choice for a starter to share with four people. Out of the four entrees, the gnocchi was by far the best. The lasagna lacked flavor and was covered in a red sauce that was cooked separately. The cacio y pepe was underwhelming especially for the price. With all of the details the entire table agreed the food is good but overall the experience was just OK and maybe not worth the price.