Fratelli

Name: Fratelli
Location: 1230 NW Hoyt Street
Portland, OR 97209
Contact information: 503.241.8800
Web address: www.fratellicucina.com
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 5:30-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 5:30-10 p.m.
Cost: Appetizers/Primi $7-$9, Pasta/Secondi $13-$19
Reservation recommended: Yep
Good for: Italian in the Pearl
Insider tip: There are better restaurants for the same prices elsewhere in the city

Review:
Fratelli has never been one of those restaurants that’s created a lot of buzz – it closes early (due to the lack of a bar?), doesn’t put a lot of time into its appearance (see website that, as of mid-April, still promotes Valentine’s Day bookings) and has similar prices to other restaurants in the city where the food is, well, better.

Dinner consisted of the seasonal gnocchi (in no way remarkable – cannot even recall what was in it) and capesante in padella – pan-seared sea scallops with tomato, olives and extra virgin olive oil. The scallops were a nice, large size, but doused in the oil, killing off any other flavor. I do not recall any olives, although they are listed on the menu.

My ‘chocolate bomb’ dessert appeared with a candy orange shell. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to break and cut at your mouth due to its thickness. The chocolate was rich, but not as ‘dense’ as I expected.

The rhubarb dessert was well-received by my dining companion. She also enjoyed her meat dish. However, her lemon salad was a little paltry looking for the price (around $8).

Fratelli is a hidden away restaurant compared to the loud Oba!, or Paragon. Like its location, the meal screamed unmemorable. If you’re looking for another restaurant to try in the Pearl, this won’t be a miss, but I wouldn’t recommend it to out-of-towners either.