decarli restaurant

We enjoyed a new-to-us restaurant recently, Decarli. Jason surprised me that afternoon, telling me he made reservations because we were overdue for a date night.

As always, I researched the restaurant prior to our visit. The chef-owner is a longtime Oregonian who has worked in many Portland establishments, including as a sous-chef to John Gorham (Toro Bravo and Tasty n Sons) when they were both at Fratelli. That was all I needed to hear!

We started off with cocktails. We both chose the signature DeCarli, which combines Ketel One vodka, muddled basil and a splash of simple syrup. This will now be my signature cocktail!

We ordered two starters – I picked the polenta fries with gorgonzola butter. Wow. These were crispy crunchy fantastic. I loved the gorgonzola butter, but I also dipped into Jason’s appetizer choice –

Meatballs with marinara, basil, grana padana and garlic toasts. I didn’t taste a meatball, but the marinara was delicious.

Jason chose a Chianti Reserva which went perfectly with dinner.

Difficult to photograph but amazing flavors, my choice was a tagliatelle. I loved it, and shared bites with Jason. He said he will order that next time.

Jason chose the Carlton Farms New York steak with grilled bacon, portobello mushrooms and semolina onion rings. The portobello and onion rings were wonderful, and Jason loved the steak.

Tagged as: decarli restaurant, italian, Portland restaurants