SubRosa

I had the chicken pesto and it was amazing! :) loved the bread they bring out. Will be going back :)

Holy moly! This is my favorite Italian eatery in the neighborhood. I’m so full I can’t type much but my husband and I were overwhelmed by how great the food was (for dinner, NOT BRUNCH… their brunch food is not good). We’ve been here before and liked the food and the down-​to-​earth, beautiful atmosphere but tonight it was just… spectacular.
The spaghetti and meatballs is awesome. What’s even better is their seasonal special of the ravioli with the garlic sauce and asparagus. The ravioli was stuffed pumpkin and asiago cheese!
The portions were reasonably sized so we went ahead and got desserts: apple and cranberry crisp with vanilla ice cream for my husband and butterscotch pudding for me.
The crisp was big enough for two people and the butterscotch was also perfect to share. But I was able to finish it all on my own! And the shortbread that came with the butterscotch pudding was awesome too.
All in all, we enjoyed our dinner. It wasn’t even date night but because of the caliber of the service, the food and the quiet atmosphere (it was a slow night), it was one of the best date nights we could ask for.

This small place was a great find after a fun day at Omsi. The place is small, but we didn’t have trouble finding a seat since everyone wanted to sit outside to enjoy the weather. Food was priced well and has half orders for small appetites. Food came out fast and was pretty good, especially the pesto penne.
Overall this place has a great vibe about it. Good prices, good food and great staff… we will definitely be back.

MaryAnn, the owner is a total kick-​in-​the-​ass! She’s been funny, fun, generous, interested and ultimate entertainment since we started going here, 4 years ago.
It’s very family-​friendly, with a kids menu, plus willingness to half the other pasta orders (and then make the 2^nd half if your kid is still hungry). The wine carafes are very generous. My favorite dish is the Toren, named after some customers, Todd & Lauren, of whom, one liked Mac & Cheese and one liked the Spicy Rosa — so MaryAnn put them together for them. Sheer HEAVEN! This place makes me feel relaxed & taken care of — and my real self — after a long day.

I love this little quaint Italian restaurant on the corner of Clinton! It’s a casual romantic place, because it was where I learned for the first time one of my best friends got engaged! Maybe ever since then, it’s got a romantic appeal to it that will never go away. I like to start every meal here with their Caesar salad, because it is tatstiggity! A usual favorite is the spicy rosa. It’s penne pasta with a spicy tomato sauce! We recently ordered a butternut squash ravioli with sword fish, which was light and heavenly, I want to see more specials that this place will crank out. Kudos to the chef!
I love the fact that you can bring your own wine to this establishment, it makes it that much more romantic!

Brunch is still quite a weird thing for me in Portland. What I mean by that is how certain places are constantly packed while other places are almost completely empty. Or you can walk in and immediately get a table at a place like SubRosa on a Saturday morning while across the street at Broder there is a line out the door. It is very much insane. I’ve been to Broder. I can’t see myself waiting an hour and a half for a table there again. If I’m in this part of town, SubRosa will now be on my radar.
I came here with Sue and my friend Brian after he and I ran in a 10K race out in Hillsboro. Breakfast was definitely due as we kicked ass in the run. Sue and I drove by here a few days before and I knew it was a place I had been wanting to go to. It was an easy decision and it was extra nice that when we got here we were able to get a table right away. It wasn’t that SubRosa didn’t have customers. They did, but not with lines out the door. This is a good and reasonably priced meal. The breakfast was fantastic. The portions are big. Do you really need to wait for an hour plus because you need to eat at the new «hot» restaurant? Give me a break.
After looking at the menu I decided to get the special scramble that was on the board. Squash, roasted peppers, bacon, arugula and cheddar with a side of potatoes and a slice of spelt bread ($ 10). I couldn’t figure out how a dish like this could be bad. It wasn’t. Simple, but presented and prepared very well. I don’t think I had ever had spelt toast and wanted to give that a try. I ended up having that with some fresh strawberry jam and I felt like spring was in the air.
Service was very friendly. They were around with the coffee and water when our glasses were getting low. Prompt while not pushing us out the door.
I will need to come back for dinner to see what that is like.

This place is so cute and cozy that I want to squeal and pinch its cheeks! Now how do you go about pinching the cheeks of a charming little restaurant?
Well in a pinch, the busboy’s cheeks will do. Not that I did of course, but I REALLY wanted to. Especially when this awful couple wanted to be alone on their date and decided to make their toddlers everyone else in the place’s problem and turned them loose in the joint like it was a playground. Assessing the impending riot, the angel busboy had those monsters set up with paper and crayons as quick as could be. He definitely saved me from throwing my pasta at the couple. Not that I could bring myself to do it once I tasted it! the Spicy Rosa was just fantastic, especially with the kalamatas. We also devoured the Mi Pi (pizza) with pesto, mushrooms and chicken. We of course had to also try one of their house-​made desserts. We got the walnut apple crisp that was on special. The flavor was there but it was on the dry side.
The vibe is pretty casual, a great date spot or nook to catch up with a friend. A Chuck E Cheese this place is not. The portion sizes are large and the prices are very reasonable so you would have some money left to perhaps, I don’t know, hire a friggin’ babysitter and bring the kiddies your leftovers.

A small little corner Italian restaurant in SE Portland that seats at most 20 on a full night and has an owner who does everything from takes orders, cleans the tables, serves food, remembers her customers first name, and still has time to chat with all of her guests. It’s a quirky experience when all you are use to is bigger chain establishments (which is not the case at all in Portland)
We were seated right a way and ordered drinks, salad, and a main course pretty fast. My Uncle just got normal pasta with marinara (cause he’s boring like that: P) and his fiancé and I got something more extravagant. I ordered the Toren, which is basically Mac n’ Cheese w/​a spice red-​cream sauce. A little cheese and it was perfect!
Another plus was the fact that they carried Izze drinks! Sparkling Raspberry ftw!
Because we also had a sweet tooth, we got some of the home made (on display in the front) red velvet cake. It was a good treat to end the dinner
The only negatives were she forgot our salads until after the main course and my drink once, but then again when you are the owner and everything else above, you make a couple little mistakes

Great great food for the price. Made reservations for 7 people. They brought out a large table for us to sit outside and we ate and drank until they closed.
The owner was our server and she was fantastic.
The ambiance was great, the food was even better. I wish I had room to try the desert

I liked the cozy, homey atmosphere, but there was kind of a pervasively somber mood hanging over the place. Kind of hard to put my finger on it exactly. As for the food, everything seemed very fresh and made to order. The food was a-​okay, but nothing really knocked my socks off. It was a fairly pricey meal. The pizza was $ 18 and not a lot of it, nor was it exceptionally crafted. Service was reasonably attentive and efficient, but not super friendly.
I’m really on the fence about SubRosa. I think I’ll have to try it again to really give it a fair shake.

I so want to give SubRosa less stars, but I just can’t. It’s one of those places that looks like it could be your mom’s joint. Complete with apron wearing owner type dropping off dishes at tables with smiles and kindly teenage servers running about at their first jobs.
There are some very nice things I can say about this place: Our server took our order and kindly obliged a very out of character last minute order change from me, much appreciated. On the other hand I never saw the much needed whiskey and ginger ale I ordered. Chicken in the pasta was not only bland but extremely dry. The spaghetti and meatballs, to their credit, were tasty, but nothing too outstanding. $ 7 Chianti was served in a janky ikea tumbler. Price was reasonable.
All in all, they did their best, but waiting epically for the check after we’d already gotten left overs, and just generally unimpressive entrees left me feeling I wish I’d liked it better.

My new favorite Italian spot! For some reason I never thought of going to SubRosa. I would just pass by it and never even really notice it until I found it on Unilocal one day.
I don’t have time to give a full review so I’ll quickly sum up my experience:
Walked to the area to check out Dots, Noho’s and SubRosa. I was feeling like having spaghetti and meatballs and it was the closest place that had it. Noho’s and Dots were super busy. SubRosa was surprisingly empty with only two sets of patrons inside. I didn’t have the «Oh it’s empty so there must be something wrong with it» mentality.
I didn’t care since I knew it had great reviews on Unilocal.I knew I owed it to myself to give it a chance and form my own opinion.
Anyway, we go there and end up sitting outside and it was so darn pleasant. We ordered a margherita pizza since basil is in season right now and a half order of spaghetti and meatballs. Our super friendly server was attentive and funny and made sure we were good throughout the meal.
And good we were. The pizza was soooo good! It wasn’t my preferred type of pizza (Brooklyn style) but it didn’t matter because it actually tasted good. The spaghetti and meatballs were heavenly and I loved how the sauce stuck to the pasta. It’s my favorite.
I should stop because this review got way too long. So this makes me a hypocrite. Anyway, I really like SubRosa. I can’t wait to go back.

When I first moved to the Clinton Street neighborhood, the restaurant that virtually everyone who lives here glowingly recommended was not Pok Pok or St. Jacks, but Sub Rosa. It took me a while to get around to coming here, but once I did I have been back twice in a month. This little gem is thoroughly enchanting. Sitting on a corner with a perfect view of the 26^th/​SE Clinton intersection, this place teems with liveliness and fun. The owner, Mary Ann, clearly loves and takes great pride in this establishment. The food is simple but flawless (Get the Chicago pizza, but make sure someone you are with gets the Spicy Rosa pasta). The cakes are super yummy. For folks with kids, Mary Ann is extremely gracious and welcoming to families.
If every you don’t feel like waiting in line at Broder (well worth the wait!), the weekend brunch menu is varied and the food great! In the embarrassment of culinary riches in this part of town, Sub Rosa is easily in my top 3!

There’s nothing particularly wrong with this place, but we didn’t experience anything fantastic either. I had spaghetti with mushrooms and spinach and my husband had the daily ravioli special. My portion size was just fine (except for the skimpy amount of spinach they gave me), but my husband left hungry, which is really saying something because carbs typically fill him super fast. So… if you’re hungry skip the ravioli and get something more substantial.
And, I like to drink my wine out of wine glasses. It really really bugs me when a restaurant charges me $ 7 for a glass of wine and then serves it in a cup that disallows me the ability to swirl it and changes the nose and other characteristics of the wine. Just get wine glasses!

Had a wonderful sunny Sunday brunch this morning at the sole outdoor table, clothed in cute oilcloth, enjoying several sides (including a nice fruit plate and one too many eggs), served by a sweet waitress.
Oh, and the spelt toast (one thick slice) was lovely. As was everything else.

Mrs. Burgerdogboy has taken to grabbing up Groupon and Living Social deals she thinks would amuse me, and I’m grateful for her thoughtfulness, as well as the opportunity to try new places.
Last nite, we hit «Sub Rosa», a small neighborhood Italian joint over on SE Clinton.
This worked out great, as she had another coupon for the Clinton Street Theater, and we saw the movie «Happy» after dinner. (Recommended).
We hit the café at 5:15 and were the only diners to start. Our server was affable and helpful about the menu, started us off with the comp bread and infused olive oil. The bread comes from a bakery down the block called Little T, and we’ll have to revisit that during daylight hours, some great bread, for sure!
Mrs. Burgerdogboy started off the beverage service with a glass of the house red (served Euro-​style in small glasses), and I went with a bottle of Stella.
We had a small starter in the Country olive mix, a combo of blacks and greens of different ilks, served on a platter with a furnished demi-​tasse cup for pits. The olives were great.
We opted to share a couple of entrees, a pizza with gorgonzola, bacon, and spinach, and the daily ravioli, a mushroom stuffed pasta pocket served with the house red sauce.
The pizza was definitely large enough for two people (a testament to the waiter, I overheard him cautioning another party to not order two, but to do «halfsies» on toppings).
The pie was oval shaped in the Neapolitan style, and crust light, thin, achieving the art of crispy and chewy at the same time, done in a standard pizza oven deck (Blodgett or Baker’s Pride), so it lacked the char one experiences from wood or brick ovens (which is just fine with me).
The toppings were fresh, and ample.
There being far more items on the menu that I wanted to order, but lacked the capacity for, I did ask the waiter if he would sell me «one meatball», so I could try those, and he said he would be happy to give us one, and it’s a nice meatball, meaty flavor, tender, and it was presented in a small bowl with a little red sauce as well.
We didn’t finish the pizza or ravioli, and you know we have large appetites, but fine with me, that means I am having left over pizza (GREAT) as I am typing this on a Sunday morn.
There are lots of raves online about Sub Rosa’s weekend brunch, and I’d like to try that as well, sometime. Otherwise, they are open for dinner (no lunch service) — Tuesday thru Sunday.
The SE Clinton neighborhood is chock-​a-​block full of good eateries, with Broder, the Savoy, and NoHo located there as well.
But next time you are contemplating heading that way, give Sub Rosa a try.

Food is still stellar !
Service is slow, so slow I almost left which is NOT like me. Once it came they were less than friendly.
Every time I’ve come my date and I get 3 pieces of bread for the two of us. EVERY time I come this happens. I just don’t get it.

Expect homemade not gourmet.
We really enjoyed the service and atmosphere. This is definitely not a gourmet restaurant, the food and wine are good and reasonably priced. We will certainly go back. Sub Rosa is another great option in the neighborhood.

Hit or miss food. They serve brunch on the weekends (not dinner), and dinner during the week.
For brunch, the scrambled eggs were basic, a little harder than what I’m used to, and the dish was okay but not great.
So, we decided to try dinner as it’s an Italian restaurant. I had the ravioli of the day, which was cheese, and was bathed in butter. The ravioli was a bit too al dente for me, and the cheese on top (parmesan) did not taste freshly grated. You know the difference: one is stiff, the other soft, pliable. There was not much ravioli, and it was soaked in butter; I felt simultaneously guilty for ordering something so fattening, yet unhappy because I wasn’t full (and I have a pretty small appetite).
My partner had the chicken pasta with mushrooms and capers in a lemon cream sauce. This was very good.
The dessert, a house baked Red Velvet cake was divine! The perfect mix of moist and flavorful.
Overall, this place seems to be hit or miss. It’s cute, the service is very attentive, and the atmosphere is nice, but the food just isn’t as good as other places we’ve tried in Portland.

After walking by Sub Rosa countless times and always seeing it closed, but today noticing it was open, we stopped here and scuttled plans for heading down to Woodstock for grub.
It may look cozy from outside, but inside we found an airy high-​ceilinged eatery. Love all the windows and natural light!
We were pleasantly surprised to be seated immediately at prime-​time brunch-​time on a Sunday. Better yet, instead of putting as at a two-​person table, our hostess sat us at a four-​person table. Much appreciated!
They serve Nossa Familia coffee here. If drunk black, its flavor is rather harsh and flat. But add cream, then it is very good.
I had the French Toast with a side of bacon (which is two strips). JP had the Spanish frittata. The French Toast was good, but maybe a little bit eggy-​gluggy. JP’s frittata was delicious.
A pleasant thing to report: the menu refers to the «rosemary» potatoes. However, JP’s rosemary potatoes had no rosemary and were excellent!
Very responsive service from a couple friendly gals.
OK, the one thing that got my goat (and restrains me from lavishing five stars on Sub Rosa) is that your table setting has a knife and fork. But no spoon. Yes, they will give you a spoon if you ask for one, but me thinks shouldn’t need to ask for a spoon in a place that serves coffee.