Came here on a Sunday night for a birthday dinner with 3 people. We must've lucked out, we got seated in about 15 minutes. Our server and the host were absolute angels - they were sweet and kind and went out of their way to take care of us. Atmosphere was cute, cozy and felt like could've been someone's living room.
We ordered the red sauce, cauliflower, fried mozzarella, arugula salad and olives. Everything was exceptionally tasty, hot when it arrived (except the salad) and perfectly seasoned. It arrived quickly, with enough time in between dishes to digest a bit. For three people, we ordered a bit too much food, but had some to take home, which was nice. The cauliflower and fried mozzarella were stand-out dishes - still thinking about them the next day.
We ordered budino for dessert, which was heaven in a little dish. No complaints, would HAPPILY go back anyday, anytime. Gabbiano's we love you.
McKenna Bessette
2 months ago
Incredibly underwhelming experience for a place that is semi-difficult to get into and on the pricier side. We tried two times to get in for dinner unsuccessfully before finally making it on a Sunday night, but we had to get there right at 4 when they opened to make sure we could get in. Our waitress was fine, a little apathetic. I also ordered a coke and when I went to the bathroom later in the meal a different staff member brought a refill that I didn’t ask for and wasn’t around to accept, and then charged me for it. But honestly, when I go out to eat I really only care about the food and can overlook a lot for great food. That did not happen here. We got the focaccia, which was the best thing we had. The fried mozzarella is talked about so much and it was such a let down. The breading was kind of soggy already by the time it got to us. All of our food came with steam coming off yet none of it was really hot, not sure how that happens. The Caesar salad was just really wet. The dressing was so thin it was basically water and was ridiculously strong, I think there was maybe too much lemon juice. There were also only a handful of croutons that were the size of my pinky fingernail. My friend got the Dungeness crab pasta which she enjoyed well enough, we’ve never seen a seafood pasta come with the crab meat shredded. I got the classic red sauce spaghetti and it had almost no flavor. There was just nothing to the red sauce. The stars were the desserts. The tiramisu and the butterscotch budino were fantastic. The budino is basically just creme brûlée though the custard bit was slightly thinner. They are accurate in their family style description though as the portions are huge, which would be great for parties bigger than 2. I don’t know, for how difficult it can be to go on a weekend and the so-so meal, I think there are probably better spots. Just fine overall.
Christina Provencio
2 months ago
The portions are impressive!!
So so good.
The Caesar salad was perfect, can definitely be shared with four people or more. Had to get the fried mozzarella, a staple! On special, they had a French onion soup dish that was tasty. And the crab pasta dish was my favorite, perfectly spiced! Will definitely be back🍝🍝🍝
Always a fav stop with I’m in Portland, even if I eat my food too quickly to get pics of most of it.
The homemade pasta, the salads, the shotzerella, the chicken parm… getting hungry all over again just thinking about it. Can’t wait to revisit and see what new things they’ve got on the menu!
We visited on a Wednesday night, and the place was surprisingly busy. They don’t take reservations, only walk-ins, so when we arrived around 6:30 p.m., we were told the wait would be about an hour. Since we had driven 45 minutes to get there, we decided to wait. Honestly, I’m not sure it was worth it. The food was decent, but nothing special.
Before coming, I looked up the restaurant on Google Maps, read the reviews, and even picked out what I wanted to order. Unfortunately, they change their menu often, and the dish I wanted was no longer available, which was disappointing.
We ordered the fried mozzarella (which were the best part of the meal), the classic spaghetti with meatballs, and the Dungeness crab pasta with vodka sauce. The spaghetti tasted good, but the noodles were a little overcooked and soggy. The crab pasta had nice flavor, but it would’ve been better with meatballs or sausage instead of crab.
Our total came to about $80 for two people, and we did have some leftovers. The restaurant is tucked into a neighborhood, which makes it feel kind of hidden, and parking was tough, just crowded street parking.
Overall, not terrible, but not great either. The food was fine, the atmosphere was a bit loud, but I probably wouldn’t drive that far to come back. I would maybe come back if they had a white sauce pasta option.
