Caro Amico Italian Cafe

Caro Amico serves the Italian-American comfort food I love from growing up on the East Coast. Excellent cocktails and great essential Italian wines at a great price. Caro is filled with the joyful vibe of great memories repeated over many years for many people. It’s a landmark, independently owned Portland restaurant that’s not to be missed. Stop in for dinner today to experience the magic!

My lady found this place and hails from Italy so we went to check out the food. There is very little proper parking here and the little lot they have was full so you will have to find street parking in the adjacent neighborhood so I'm glad we were driving her car. We came into the place from the Barbour side and you walk through the restaurant and go down some stairs to the host station. Not sure how folks in wheelchairs navigate the place. Now, to the food. My lady loved it and I thought the food was great but since I've never been to Italy, my opinion does not count as much as hers. For dessert we had the Tiramsu and for dinner I had the scallops and pasta plate that the table next to me recommended and I ate it all. Prior to dinner, we had antipasto plate. One thing I really liked was the time between appetizer and dinner. Some places, you barely finish your appetizer and the main course is already coming out so there was plenty of time between. For drinks, I had a Manhattan and Old Fashion and my lady had some compari drink (uh yuck).

Great food, service was absolute. If you see the matron give her thanks because the employees are great and the food is all inspiringly good. Bartender was way friendly, and when the patrons waited to see i was friendly with staff and the matron they became chatty. You can tell there is family in this place.

Wow! I couldn't love this restaurant any more! The atmosphere is sophisticated and yet familiar, cozy and inviting! The outdoor deck seating in an early Fall evening was glorious! The food is upscale yet traditional and truly authentic Italian fare! Simple ingredients prepared to perfection! Such a culinary delight! I am gluten free and had one of the best meals I've ever had! The staff were kind, professional and attentive. The chef substituted veggies for the pasta and I couldn't have been happier! If you're in Portland, you must visit this historic Italian gem!

Caro Amico has always been a classy dine-in restaurant, for decades. Don't be a cheapskate, don't take food to go, and don't leave ignorant reviews. Was glad to see they'd reopened and stopped in yesterday. Excellent food, excellent attentive service and a good value for a quality experience. Thank you Angela 😊 This treasure is not to be confused or compared to an Olive Garden. Capiche!

My family and I had a lovely meal at Caro Amico this evening. There were a couple hiccups with a drink order and an appetizer, but they immediately made it right and ended up comping the drink. Our waiter was very friendly and responsive and the food was fresh and very good. However, one waiter soured the experience a bit. We had just gotten our appetizers served but our waiter hadn't taken entree orders yet, so we still had our menus. There wasn't a lot of extra room on the table, so I had stashed my menu under the plate on which I had the appetizer. I will grant you, it was a saucy appetizer, so could a spill have happened? Sure. Even so, what happened next seemed completely unwarranted. A waiter (not ours, who was lovely) who was serving other tables in the vicinity seemed to think that my menu was in imminent danger and took it upon herself to come over and remove it from under my plate, announcing tersely that they only had a limited amount of menus and didn't want this one to be damaged. And I can understand that. I don't want to wantonly destroy the restaurant's property with an accidental spill. Unlikely, since I'm not a toddler, but possible. Things cost money. I get that. I'm all about preserving resources. But this person's attitude is what really made it an unfortunate interaction. She reacted to my menu being under my plate in much the same way she might have reacted to someone holding a lighter to the corner of a rare and precious manuscript: with disgust that anyone could be so careless and deliberately destructive. C'mon. If you want to approach me and be like, "Hey, so sorry to interrupt, but could I ask you to move your menu to the side of the table? We're a little short with copies and we'd have to toss that one if it were spilled on. Thanks so much!" I might have thought it was a little weird to be that protective, but I would have complied with a smile and not given it a second thought. However, this sour-faced person chastising me like a child was unnecessary and, frankly, rude. No thanks. Check the attitude and treat people with consideration, and hopefully they'll return the favor.