For one of our dinners in Portland, Brian and I decided to check out Serratto, a neighbourhood family restaurant that is still considered fine dining.

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Our appetizer was their Calamari ($8) – served with paprika and lemon-caper rémoulade. This is probably by far the best calamari I’ve had in my life. The calamari wasn’t drowned in breading but lightly seasoned with the paprika. The calamari was also nice and fresh, so it still had a nice spring but no chewy, rubbery taste.

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Brian ordered the Ravioli ($18) – made with forest mushroom, caramelized onion and Chèvre filling, chanterelles, brown butter, sage, pecorino. This dish was all win. Brian and I are both mushroom fanatics, and the nice earthy taste of the chanterelles, forest mushroom blended well with the onion and other spices to the dish.

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I ordered the Pappardelle ($18). This dish is served with braised wild boar, radish, arugula, hazelnuts and shaved pecorino. While it was interesting to be dining on wild boar, I found the sauce was a bit too salty for my taste. The hazelnuts gave the dish some interesting crunch, but it didn’t feel like it fit the purpose of the dish. The arugula cleaned up the salty taste slightly, but I think I’d like to see less of the saltiness or something to cut it more cleanly. Maybe something with citrus perhaps?

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For drinks, I ordered the Spicy Mike ($9). I was feeling a bit adventurous, but in retrospect, should’ve went with something I knew I would enjoy more. This cocktail is made with Mazama pepper vodka, mango puree, lime, simple syrup and a chill salt rim. I loved the kick of spice in the cocktail but I can’t say it went down easy.

Food: mini3forks
While there were some memorable parts to our meal (the Ravioli and the Calamari), my dish was too salty for my liking.

Service: mini1fork
Our server came back to check on us sporadically, didn’t seem that interested in serving us and seemed dissatisfied when I asked for the cocktail menu half way through our meal. 

Value: mini3forks
Still cheaper than Italian fine dining meals in Vancouver.

Ambiance: mini3forks

OVERALL: 2andahalfforks

Visit their website here.

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