Caffe Mingo

eccellente eccellente eccellente!!! Two things tipped me off that this place might be the best Italian spot in Portland
1) I went on a Tuesday evening at 5:30 PM and could only sit at the counter without a reservation. Make a reservation!
2) Lady sitting at the counter next to me had been coming here at least once a week for 25 years. That kind of loyalty is unheard of these days
Anyways the food was just incredible. Fresh crab risotto, perfectly spiced and cooked broccoli, and mushroom sausage rigatoni that was phenomenal. AND THEN to top that all off the service was everything you could want. Friendly bartender who topped off my wine glass and brought out some delicious samples while our food was being made. The bread and olive oil was endless as it was quickly replaced. I definitely will be coming back

The last three times I’ve eaten at Caffe Mingo, I’ve noted that the servers were a little impatient even condescending. My last experience was, by far, the worst. My husband ordered the sugo, and my three-​year-​old and I were going to share the simple pasta and an order of broccoli. We also shared the mingo salad. The server had only our table. He didn’t write our order down and forgot to put in the broccoli, which is primarily what my son eats. After reminding him about the broccoli, it took another 15 minutes. We were completely done with our meal. He gives us the bill, which included the broccoli. There was no mention of taking it off, no offer of a dessert, nothing. After having run my credit card, he hands me the check and informs me that he’d forgotten to add the salad so he went ahead and added after I saw the bill and had given him my credit card. It seems to me that if I give my credit card after looking at a bill, I should be informed when that bill is increased before my card is run. This may not have been so annoying if not for the whole broccoli thing. I’ll put it this way, they certainly don’t make their regulars feel appreciated. There are plenty of really nice restaurants in the area that do. We’ll no longer be making this one of our regular go-​to eateries. We used to always bring our friends and family when they visited Portland, but it’s just not worth it.

The food at Café Mingo was excellent. We got the pasta special of the day, which was potato gnocchi with winter squash and mushrooms. It was great. Everything we had was tasty. My only complaint is that a few of the staff were a bit pretentious, but it wouldn’t keep me from going back.

Can’t say enough good things about Café Mingo!!! The service is awesome! The wine list was awesome! The complimentary, surprise pesto bite was sooooo good! Salad was amazing! We got the special! Best gnocchi ever!!! And the Brussels sprouts was the most impressive sprouts!

Our party of 4 had made a reservation at Marrakesh nearby and they were rude and uncaring telling us to go to a bar someplace because it would be over an hour at least before our reserved table was ready.
It was a special occasion and we were expecting to not have much success finding any place else on a Saturday night with no reservation. We walked into Caffe Mingo and the host was awesome. He worked to find us a nice table and that was the beginning of a wonderful night of delicious food, fantastic service and great memories made. The pasta with meatballs was superb and the ribeye that we shared was one of the best we had ever tasted. Great atmosphere with caring people salvaged our special night and we will most definitely return!

Lucky to get a walk-​in table on a busy Saturday night, my partner and I ordered two split entrees and a desert. The portions were generous and the service knowledgeable and warm (spot-​on wine recommendation and second helping of (fantastic) house bread).
We ordered the linguine with roasted tomato pesto, olives, and basil (sans capers), Coppa Pizza (meat held, broccoli added), and finished with the warm chocolate brownie with vanilla gelato & salted caramel. I found the food bland, even the brownie sundae was disappointing, slightly overcooked and unmemorable. I considered the substitutions we requested potentially culprit, until I heard the table next to us discussing similar disappointment.
With a menu that changes weekly maybe the next round will have something better in store, but with so many other restaurants in the area I unfortunately won’t be returning to try it.

4 ½ rating. Such a great place. Great steady and consistent standard menu items with daily specials. Always a fresh made pasta dish. Not cheap but always very very good. The staff has been there for years; very little turnover so you know that employees are treated well. Small, comfortable, friendly CM is one of our top 10 places to eat in Portland

I came here with my girlfriend and her parents who were visiting Portland over the holidays hoped for an amazing Italian meal but it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Don’t get me wrong, the food wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great. The portions were decent and the bread was good, but that’s where it stopped. We ordered the chili pepper flake linguine and risotto and they were just ok. They were the recommended options as none of us were wowed by anything on the entire menu. The service wasn’t great either and kind of slow for how small of a restaurant it is. It was cute inside the place though and had an authentic feel but the food didn’t match the ambiance.

This is my new favorite restaurant! Have tried many things here and ALL are DELICIOUS!!! My favorite is the beef sugo pasta. The cream sauce is also great and the Mingo salad is very fresh and yummy. Great desserts as well… An apple crisp or a brownie which is very rich and chocolatey! Great service too. Bread to start which is very soft and fresh.

On this cold, grim Tuesday, tired as I was, I bustled excitedly through my morning because I knew I had Caffe Mingo leftovers that I’d be eating for lunch.
Whether for fancy romance times or casual Monday solo dining, it’s always a fabulous, delicious experience — which is why they’ve been around for about a million years (and may they rock a million more).

I love this place. This was recommendation from a friend. The staff are warm and accommodating. Actually made us a small version of dessert because we came here for a birthday and everyone in the party (of 2) declined the full sized desserts on the menu. Great staff. Good food. Clean place. Coming back.

Wonderful service, fabulous food, great meal. We had wine, cheese plate and a number of selections for entrees and they were all wonderful. Highly recommend!

I literally cried! The Sugo braised beef with penne pasta tastes just like my grandpa used to make! Authentic Italian at its best! My friends and I savored the cheese tray, pasta Fresca, chicken piccata, winter caprese, deviled eggs, and linguini with cream sauce! And the bottle of Paretaio that was recommended by our waitress was awesome! Will be back soon with my hubby!

We had dinner here today and I ordered the Risotto with prawns, radicchio, dried cherries & goat cheese. Nice of them to replace the roasted duck breast with prawns instead. I enjoyed it and was told that they change their risotto every week. The service was good from the moment you walk in. I’ll be back soon!

We had a myriad of items here and enjoyed everything! Standouts — the halibut, braised beef and the chicken liver bruschetta appetizer. Service was excellent and the overall experience was great! Cocktails at the bar next door were very good too!

Great food, and great service. Have had a lot of really tasty food in Portland, but the service makes this restaurant a stand out.
Especially seems fun for groups as they have several large tables.

While the food was excellent, the service was not. We went here for a family member’s birthday on a weekend night and it was packed. They brought an amuse bouche to the table while we drank our wine, which was very nice, some type of house made pimento cheese on crackers. We then asked about getting more, meaning we wanted to order appetizers. The server kept saying, that’s an amuse bouche we bring, we can’t bring you more of them, it’s on the house. We just wanted to order some appetizers, which we finally got across to the server. We tried the shrimp with crostini, which were like little bites of heaven on your tongue, absolutely amazing! They were a bit spicy, which I loved, but one member of our party wasn’t thrilled about. The cheese plate was just okay and very skimpy portions, I was a bit surprised when I saw it. The bread they serve with olive oil before dinner was great.
Most of our group decided to get the nightly special, which was tagliatelle with a pumpkin cream sauce and duck meat balls. The meat balls sounded great, but I was worried the sauce would be cloying or too sweet. Fortunately, I was wrong, it was fantastic and we all really enjoyed it. The meatballs were well seasoned and rich, the sauce was pleasant and not overwhelming.
Then came dessert. I’m trying to avoid eating a lot of sugar, so I didn’t order any but a couple of people at our table got the apple crisp and the brownie, both with vanilla gelato. I had a couple of bites of each and thought they were very average, nothing special. The brownie was very salty on the edges, not good. Again, another boring dessert menu in Portland.
Though our meal, except for the desserts, was exceptional, we were now in for an unpleasant experience. One of our family members had agreed to pay for the wine and appetizers, with the rest of us agreeing to pay for our entrees and desserts, if ordered. When the server brought our check, one of our party asked if he could split it up. He then mumbled some weird excuse about how they hand write the checks there, etc. My family member then politely and nicely asked if he could possibly split it up. He said something like okay, disappeared for a couple of minutes, then dropped the same check on the table, not split up. He obviously wasn’t going to do it, no matter what. At a restaurant this pricey, one would expect them to do what the customer wants, within reason, and this was a black mark on our evening. We now have to mail checks to a relative we don’t see often, not the end of the world, but still, an inconvenience.
I’d eat here again, but would bring cash the next time and hope for a better server.

I like the beef sugo pasta. I’ve had it a couple times. I had a green salad 45 degrees something and it was extremely salty.
I ordered mussels last year and I got so sick within two hours. The following day was awful — I’ll skip the details.
This restaurant is very busy and I don’t understand why. My friends like it more than I do. Most items on the menu have pancetta — boring.
On the bright side, they have good sourdough.

I am blown away by this place.
Prosciutto and other assorted cured meats and pickled carrots and mushrooms — Can you go wrong with a meat board? + wine = amazing!
Sugo of Beef — OH MY GOSH. SO GOOD. The penne is cooked to a perfect consistency and are so flavorful. The sauce is very meaty and the braised beef is so soft and easy to pull apart. AMAZING! If you’ve ever been to Eataly in Chicago or NYC, it reminds me of the tagliatelle al ragù di manzo dish. The portions are certainly enough for one or to share.
I cannot recommend this place enough. I can’t wait to go back again.

We sat at the bar for dinner which was just fine. I have to say I like the idea of the price of a glass or bottle being equally the same value… too many times we order a bottle because we think we’re getting a better deal, but you can actually just have a glass (or four) and not feel like you’re overspending due to poor wine planning.
I enjoyed the caesar-​type salad, as well as the mushroom risotto. There were a few veggie options — but obviously there are more meat options than veg fare. It’s funny: the way the menu is laid out, I guess I missed it but I didn’t actually see salads — I had to ask if there were any available, and the bartender pointed them out on the menu. Geesh and I hadn’t even had anything to drink yet! There ARE salads (in case you’re like me and missed it), there ARE veg options, and if you don’t see something — just ask.
The staff was friendly and helpful — and, yes the food was great as well. Highly recommend.