Great pasta dishes. Lobster agnolotti is delicious but my favorite is the garganelli (rolled penne) with white ragu. Friendly owner (i believe he was the owner..?)

Cute area of the city. The food was incredible and came out very quickly. The service was spot on - very attentive staff means my wine glass and water glass were never empty. Get the octopus for an appetizer! The appetizer size of pasta was enough, though it would be a good idea to order a couple dishes to share among a group because the dishes are varied and inspired.

We celebrated our 1 year anniversary here, simply said, they are as good as advertised. The Attention to detail as well as amazing dishes, including dessert made this visit perfect. They were making sure we were comfortable often and also set the mood once the sun went down. A definite 5 stars for me⭐

So, I waited to do my review on this place until after we had been here a couple times, and boy does this place not disappoint!!! This is a cute little Italian place in Sellwood that features linen tablecloths, great lighting and a full service bar. As for the food, wow!!! We have tried almost everything on the menu at this point, so I will try to give a quick rundown! We always start our evening with cocktails before wine and this place makes some amazing cocktails including housemade Lemoncello and Nocino. Both of these are very well done and we have tried many, including the fact that we have homemade both ourselves! For the Appetizers (Antipasta Course), the Polipo (Grilled Octopus) was shockingly our favorite dish on the entire menu!! This is an absolute party in your mouth (perfect on the texture and the flavor is unbelievable). I promise this is one everyone should try, even those that do not like octopus. There is a huge difference between Octopus done right and...well, when it isn't. This place knows how to do it! The Beets (Barbabiatole) is also one of the best Beet dishes I have had (I have had many since it is also one of my favorites). For the Pasta Dishes (Primi Course) The Lobster ravioli (Agnolotti) is absolutely a crowd favorite and we see why! Apparently it is so popular and desired they always keep it on the menu. The Gargonelli alla Norcia is perfect as well! The most disappointing is the Rigatoni (which was actually the dish we were most excited about). Perhaps it was just disappointing because we have had much better. We love spicy, however it just seemed that this dish just had spice without a balance of any other flavors. As for the primary dish (Secondi Course) You absolutely cannot go wrong with the lamb dish! We have had their different variations of this (they seasonally change the menu) and they have all been great. Our absolutely favorite was when they did the Lamb with the huckleberry..this was just a fantastic pairing! The wine selection is also wonderful! You will find a great selection of Italian Wines including Barollos and Barbarescos! As for the desserts...get the Tiramisu! It is so amazing!! And the Lemon Marscapone with Huckleberry is just perfect! I actually would love to do this as a course in-between the Primi and Secondi courses as a pallette cleanser. (This is our plan for our next visit). A few months ago we were able to share this restaurant with another couple. Her husband is Italian, and because of how picky he is with Italian food, they refuse to go to Italian restaurants. We were able to convince them and he was so impressed they have now been back on their own! The owner is also very sweet and made an effort to stop by our table and visit with us! :)

We've been here a few times in the past and when i tell you i still taste this one particular dish in ny dreams, i mean that with every ounce of my being! The corn stuffed ravioli with a lobster and cream sauce on top 🤌🤌 this one dish alone will have you coming back time after time. Also ventured out and got the hand rolled penne pasta, with fennel sausage, mushroom cream and grana padona. Also an excellent dish. Desert wine to compliment along with the bread and calamari as an appetizer. Hands down one of my absolute favorite italian restaurants in all of Portland!

Thank you for the lovely dinner my wife and I had last night. The a Cena team were all pros, kind, courteous, and helpful. The food was super delicious, we especially enjoyed the fried cauliflower, special brussel sprouts, and special mushroom raviolis. We will definitely be back. I recommend this as a great place for any occasion!

From the food to the atmosphere to the wait staff, this was one of the best restaurants I've been to in a long time. You can sit back and enjoy your meal because they do not rush you. I had the agnolotti with lobster. Our table shared 3 appetizers including the octopus which was fantastic. There was nothing put on the table that wasn't delicious.

I never leave reviews...but this one....Oh my goodness, where do I start!? Our experience began with planning my son's rehearsal dinner, this was the first place we contacted and the other 4 were not even close! Loris the manager, was an excellent communicator both via phone and email, and they were the most professional as well. In addition, they have the Festa room that can seat up to 48 very comfortably, is completely separate, it's own private entrance, and is a phenomenal venue with amazing ambiance. Chris, the owner, Loris, and their staff did a wicked good job with every antipasti, salad, primi, secondi, and dolce, in short it was SIMPLY MARVELOUS. OH....AND DID I MENTION,, THE SERVICE AND FOOD WAS TO DIE FOR!?!? If you're panning an event, don't waste your time, go here, you'll thank me for it!

Had a group dinner here and it was amazing! Service was perfect, wine list was great and food was delicious! Will definitely be coming back! Came back again, service by Josh was perfect and made even better by Loris who was extremely attentive and personable. Can't wait to come back again!

The service was excellent. We really enjoyed our experience. The food was also very good. The Agnolotti (Corn & Mascarpone Raviolini, Butter Poached Maine Lobster, chives) was the highlight of the meal. We also ordered Fritto Misto, Spaghettini, and the pork dish. Will definitely return!

The food was insane !!! My husband and I visited for our first time. We started with a burrata dish then got the corn & lobster handmade raviolis and the albacore tuna special. The atmosphere was cozy and vibrant. For a moment we forgot we were in Portland. We cannot wait to come back with friends and family. The restaurant is packed and yet we were in and out in 1 hour 15 mins. Our server Katherine was fabulous as well! She was super knowledgeable of the menu and wine recommendations.

I knew I would love this restaurant and I did! The pasta was so delicious and it is all made in house! We tried several appetizers, salads mains and dessert so I guess you could say we tried the whole menu! Delicious from A-z!

A Cena is truly a gift to Portland. Everything we ate was absolutely incredible. We started with the fritto misto and the Caesar salad- the fritto misto was perfectly crispy and loaded with impressively large prawns and calamari. The Caesar was one of the best I’ve ever had. We tried the steak, the trout, and the lamb, and all of them were outstanding. The best part of our experience was our server, Joshua. He was so charming and funny, and extremely helpful with food and drink recommendations. He went out of his way to recommend a custom cocktail for me, and made my mother feel special and celebrated for her birthday. We will absolutely be back!

The food did not disappoint. We started off with the octopus and it was very flavorful. The lobster agnolotti got better with each bite and the garganelli alla norcia was amazing and the mushrooms were great. Service was good. A server noticed our table was wobbly and quickly tried to fix it and filled our water when it was empty.

We had an anniversary dinner here. We enjoyed every component of our experience, the dining room, the service and most importantly the food. It was delicious and couldn't recommend anything better in Portland for Italian fare. I can't wait to come back again.

As others have said amazing lobster raviolis! We got there late - almost closing and they cheerfully seated us. The hostess and waitperson were very attentive and kind. Many restaurants nowadays won’t seat you 30min before closing. But we felt bad about making the staff stay late on a Tuesday night so we just got drinks and food to go. Still got excellent service. These home made raviolis have a delicious melt in your mouth creamy cheese that go perfectly with the lobster and subtle sauce. It was spendy but worth it. We’ll be back !

Outstanding cuisine prepared and served by people who aim to please! Our dining experience at the restaurant was very enjoyable from start to finish. Loris, the manager, was an excellent collaborator and communicator when we decided to feature A Cena's finest for an at- home special occasion. She was spot-on when estimating portions and types of dishes that would travel well for a party of 12. Everything was packed to perfection and our family was wowed by the quality and taste! We highly recommend for dine in or take out!!

I thought it was pricy in the menu, but couldn't complain when I had the meal. I would definitely try other menus in the next time. Especially we loved the pre-meal bread and the antipasta. They may not the main course, but were the best in the class.