Gino’s

Love this place!!! Just simply wonderful. The 2 separate occasions my hubby and I have come in the food had been fresh and fabulous. The serving staff is prompt and kind. I love the Sellwood neighborhood and this place is truly a gem.

Open for brunch, no wait. Flavors were great, really enjoyed the mushroom scramble. But the steak, seemed far less than the 6oz and really over cooked. The potatoes tasted great, but were cold.

So glad to have this place in the neighborhood. It’s high quality and refined but cozy and unpretentious. Perfect.

Rebecca and I took my Mother here recently. She uses a walker to get around. They were very sensitive to her needs; they even spoke up enough so they could hear.
My Mother ordered mussels. She is a light eater; however, she loved them so much she ate every bit. Yes, they were very good. Rebecca and I each had a great pasta dish and split a wonderful salad.
I like their wine list. It is varied and fairly priced. Great spot for dinner; we will go back.

I’m so sorry to say after being a patron at this restaurant for over a decade that I experienced the worst service I’ve ever had anywhere. After being seated in the bar area where we preferred and ordering a cocktail, glass of wine, cheese plate and soup we were told by the waitress that we were in the dining section and apparently not ordered enough to warrant service or the booth. I was stunned. She stated that other people could sit at our table. I got up to look around and there were empty booths on the restaurant side and even in the bar surrounding us. There was no line to get in. Our check was $ 44.00. We were there less than one hour. We gladly would’ve tipped to make up the difference had the waitress not been so rude. It’s the first time in my life I haven’t tipped at least twenty percent or more. I inquired before leaving if the ownership had changed. I’ve met the owners and I find it hard to believe they would be on board with such rudeness. I just returned from a month in Italy and even with the language barrier I found better communication and customer service. I guess from now on we’ll be at the Italian restaurant a few blocks down with a longer wait but excellent customer service and great food. Very sad to have had this experience.

Got grandma jean’s and cioppino. Both were very good but the cioppino had better flavor overall. I would definitely go back.

After a long bike ride my husband and I found an outdoor table at Gino’s. We felt we deserved a special treat. And we sure got it. The food was wonderful. But the wine list is clearly one if the best Italian wine lists in town. The service, considering we were two sweaty, scruffy people was excellent.
We talked our kids into a family bike rude this weekend with the promise of Gino’s, and a great bottle of Brunello as the payoff. They are all in!
Thanks Gino’s!

The food was good and the service was decent, but my goodness was that place stuffy. Eating outside is a must. I was sweating before my meal got to the table.

You won’t find better traditional Italian in Portland. Another surprising find here is their filet… in our opinion the best in town!!! Has been and will continue to be our favorite restaurant!

Last night was my first dining experience at Gino’s. I ordered Grandma Jean’s pasta with spaghetti noodles rather than Penne. It was hands down one of the best spaghetti dishes I’ve ever had! The Caesar salad was out of this world, as well.
The orders are more than generous, so expect a lunch or two from left overs, at least from the pasta dishes.
If I were Italian, and had a grandma, who cooked amazing pasta, I’d swear she was cooking in the kitchen at Gino’s!
(Now I’m kind of regretting giving my boyfriend my leftovers… but I couldn’t resist those puppy eyes staring at my doggy bag~)

Food here makes up for the service, always predictably great food, not so reliable wait staff. Better to be underserved, than over attended, I suppose.
Pleased lunch is now served.
The menu has wine by the glass listed with 2 prices. If you ask for a glass, it’s the higher price, apparently the lower price is half a glass. Odd & not clear, especially if you’re relying on the staff to clarify, or you have old eyes.

First time here and loved the hole in the wall secret restaurant vide. Great location. Friendly staff. High quality food.
I ordered Grandma Pasta which was very filling, in fact I say most of their portions per plate could easily be split between two. Great place for a first dinner date I would highly recommend it to others the one thing I hope they improve on giving recommendations about the food they serve and explain why I should eat it. I understand this may be asking too much but I’d like to know what I’m ordering. There end of my diva rant. Other then that great place for Italian food in Sellwood!

If you had asked me 10 years ago if I liked Italian food I would have cringed while visualizing the Old Spaghetti Factory and answered «No Thanks!» That was before I discovered Gino’s.
It’s not much to look at from the outside but that’s part of its charm. When you walk past the bar its clear the well oiled wood has been supporting elbows for many decades. Quality woodwork aside, the entryway is kind of strange. You que up on the other side of the bar and the wait can be a bit long but once you hit the dinning room it’s well worth it. The high ceilings, old artwork and classic booths really give the vibe that you are eating in a place that’s been serving food for longer than most of us have been alive. It can be a pain in the ass to get your name on the list when you first walk in but again, once you are seated the service has always been attentive without being cloying. They also have a casual vibe. I’ve walked in on a whim before in a T-​shirt and shorts and felt completely welcome.
Of course, all of this would be for naught if the food didn’t deliver. I’m a big fan of the caesar salad (for two), as well as several of the pasta dishes and the clams. My favorite however is the rack of lamb. It’s not a particularly large portion but it is by far the best grilled lamb I’ve ever had. Unfortunately this isn’t a regular option on the menu but if you see it I’d recommend trying it even if you don’t think you like lamb (remember how I used to not like Italian food?).
Gino’s isn’t necessarily cheap but it’s reasonable given the quality, and the pricing is comparable to what you’ll find at Ned Ludd’s and Laurelhurst Market. I think the caesar salad for two option is a good value. Most of the meat options are between $ 24 and $ 30 with several other options falling in the $ 20 range.
Oh, and one more thing… what the hell is a Leipzig?

Ok, so this was my first venture into Gino’s. It was a going away/​birthday party combo, party of 10. Let me start off with the bad– depending on how busy they are, parties of 9 or more may have to choose from the Chef selected «Family style «menu of the day. Lucky for us they were not busy and we could order off the menu.
The house specials are great. I went with a shared order of Cioppino and had the dry aged Delmonico steak (the porterhouse was sold out). The steak, although cooked to perfection, was a little disappointing. Not ring side or El Gaucho quality, more on par with Ruth Chris on a good day.
Now the Cioppino on the other hand… I have yet to have better in town. Both the waiter and waitress were above par. In the words of the terminator. .I will be back.

Ive been here a number of times, and its just OK.
The bread and the oil are probably the best things, and the bar is neat to sit at.
I would never consider this for dinner though. It has the highest prices by far of any italian restaurant in portland, and the portions are not large.
Better bang for your buck at olive garden, ernestos, or nonna emilia’s.
That and they aren’t open for lunch either.
I spent over 40.00 just for myself for dinner at the bar before. Even with one glass of wine, thats too high.
I wont be going back, its just not worth the price.

Great, Awesome, Superb! Love the late night menu, and have been going for years.
ON A BAD NOTE: They close at 9pm on Sundays and the website says 10. When I asked why not update the website I was told «don’t use the website» ??? I made a trip from NE PDX to come here only to be denied b/​c I didn’t know «winter hours» were in effect. Hmm. Maybe it’s time to find a new late night treat in my new neighborhood. I know there is enough $ coming into this establishment to update a website once in a while. Boo.

Hmm. I still don’t get why people love Gino’s. It’s okay, but, expensive for what it is.
You enter through a very decorative cool-​looking bar and have to try to find the host. We had no idea where to stand or wait.
People dress, for the most part, casually, which I love.
We were seated in the bar area, which would have been fine, but because they don’t have a waiting area, and they get busy, towards the middle of our meal, there were people’s backs on either side of our table, and we felt boxed in.
The food was good, for the most part. We got the shrimp appetizer, which wasn’t always deveined (not good), though the flavor was very good. It came with a lightly-​flavored garlic bread.
I had the salmon, which was cooked to absolute perfection, with mashed potatoes (yum!), and veggies (too much cauliflower and cabbage for my taste, but fine). My partner had the cioppini, which came with a very flavorful broth, fresh seafood, and not homemade pasta.
Our bill came to $ 58.00 (we didn’t get any drinks). Service was fine. At times, they were more attentive than others, until the end, when they were very attentive.
I guess you could say that I really love the East coast or California version of Old School Italian rather than the Portland version, if Gino’s is representative of that. The East coast and California versions have a lot more red sauce, friendly and cozy atmosphere, warm baskets of bread upon arrival, homemade pasta, eggplant parmesan, calamari steak, pizza and garlic bread. There’s a warmth there.
Though the seafood was good, the overall feeling of the restaurant left me feeling at once alone and crowded. The food was good. But for the price and overall feeling, I found it just okay.
Again, I don’t understand why the people who love Gino’s love it. I wish I could go with them and see it through their eyes.

Tomato soup and bread were great, porterhouse bland, for an aged steak it was forgettable, Mashed potatoes were also flavorless and undercooked. House salad was ok, nothing that you can not find anywhere else. we also tried the pan fried chicken, but sadly it was also lacking Italian flavor.
I got a personal recommendation for this restaurant over Acena, but except for the tomato soup and the bread, the rest of plates we tried were bland, no Italian flavor at all.
Service was great, place is nice inside.

Parents brought me here for my birthday dinner. I really enjoyed the place, great ambiance and had a trendy feel to it. Usually packed and busy except today was a holiday weekend so we got in quickly. Caesar salad was delicious and had a different taste to it than most. A good serving for all 4 of us to share too.
I got the Vongole with puttanesca sauce in it. Vongole was very good, and the broth was great with the puttanesca and of course the clams in it. However I think next time I would try the straight Puttanesca dish. Still very good and different though! Dad got the Cioppino and enjoyed it. Stepmom got the seasonal butternut squash pasta and said it was okay. It gets 4 stars from me because I really want to give it a 3.75, because I wish I had tried something else as well, but I still really liked what I did end up getting because it was a little different. I would probably go back again!

Gino’s. I’m talking to you. Where have you been all my time in Portland? Clearly you’ve been here for almost 20 years which is an accomplishment in itself. Now I actually know where you are (part of the Liepzig Tavern) in Sellwood. I will not forget.
It was date night for Sue and I so I invited her out for dinner. Where would we go? I thought of a few places, but then Gino’s popped into my mind. A good friend of mine who lives in Sellwood has raved about this place to me a few times. I’m glad I remembered (as I tend to forget these things) and made the suggestion. Sue said yes and we headed over on a Saturday night.
They only take reservations for parties of 6 or more so we took a chance. Got there around 7pm and ended up waiting only about 20 – 25 minutes for a table. The place was packed, but luckily it isn’t tiny. They have a few tables inside the Liepzig with the bulk in their own back room. I did not notice a sign for Gino’s outside, so just know you need to enter through the Liepzig.
We grabbed a few drinks at the bar and waited to be called for our table. Once we were seated, I took a look around and liked what I saw. I honestly figured this place was around much longer than 20 years. It has that vibe to it.
The service is classic. The servers know the menu and are happy to answer any questions you might have. They are prompt and in our experience they weren’t constantly on us.
We started out with the Caesar Salad for 2 ($ 11.95). They also have versions for 4 and 6 people. This is the best Caesar Salad I have had in Portland. They serve it up to you table side. Would have been cool if they made it in front of us as I’ve been to places where they do that, but sadly that didn’t happen here.
For my main dish I had a difficult time deciding on what to have. Everything on the menu looked great. Should I get the Pork Chop? I decided no as I’m trying to cut down on my pork. Should I get Grandma Jean’s pasta? That was a consideration, but Sue ended up ordering that. I went with the fish which on this day was a Skate Wing. Skate looks very much like a stingray. They are bottom feeders and have a similar taste to catfish. It was something different so I went with it.
This skate wing came with broccoli, green onions and pancetta and was topped with an over easy duck egg. Oh my god. The fish was perfectly seasoned. Everything was cooked to perfection. Fantastic. Nothing bad about this dish.
Somehow there was room for dessert. A very dense chocolate cake with whipped cream. I don’t know how we finished this. I was completely stuffed after, but it you have room for it, you could certainly do worse than this cake.
Is it authentic Italian food? Could be. Certainly getting closer to what one might find on the east coast. I plan on getting through more of this menu because I will be back.