A few weeks ago, on one of our frequent trips to Portland, we decided to revisit a restaurant we tried a few summers ago and really enjoyed. Friends Mike and Jan, who had never been there, accompanied us to Ciao Vito on hip and lively Alberta Street in Northeast Portland. Harry and I recalled a very friendly place with wonderful service and fabulous Italian food and were looking forward to sharing a great meal with a couple who enjoy cooking, dining and wining as much as we do.

Shortly before our evening out we learned that owner and cook Vito DiLullo had turned over the kitchen this past August to a young but very talented chef from Barcelona, José Chesa. While the menu still includes some of the Italian dishes we had enjoyed in the past, it now includes several tapas-style offerings and entrées from Chesa’s repertoire. These reflect his “Spanish influences and French techniques” as well as the skills he has developed working in top restaurants from Paris to Puerto Rico, Barcelona to New York. Our concerns that perhaps our evening would not measure up to our memories of our previous visit were quickly allayed, and each of us agreed we would happily return again.

Three of us started with the house green salad, consisting of organic greens and julienned root vegetables lightly tossed with a sherry vinaigrette — a light, refreshing and tasty opening course. Harry tried (and kindly shared) one of Chesa’s signature plates: Croquetas Barcelona, salt cod fritters (light and moist but pleasantly crunchy on the outside) served with garlic aioli and pil-pil sauce. We each tried a different main course (and of course shared bites): a brown sugar-brined pork chop with wild mushrooms and creamy polenta, Dungeness crab spaghetti, braised veal breast with mushroom risotto, and spicy beef and potato croquettes (Bombas Barcelona). The pork and veal were fork-tender and savory, the spaghetti rich and simply flavorful, and the croquettes bursting with interesting and complementary flavors and textures. We chose a bottle of Brunello from a generous wine list that boasts mostly Italian, French and Northwest wines, and saved room for dessert. Pastry Chef Adam Kennedy produces everything in house, from the creamy panna cotta to the lusciously rich gelatos (six flavors to choose from on the night we were there) and the shortbread cookies and tiramisu.

Throughout the evening, we enjoyed the most gracious, friendly, attentive-but-not-obtrusive service (something I remembered well from our previous visit). Not long before our check arrived, one of our servers stopped by our table to ask whether we had enjoyed our meal and then introduced himself as owner Vito. We felt it spoke volumes about the success and popularity of this restaurant that he was clearly so involved at the front of the house while allowing his chef the freedom to express his considerable talents on the menu and in the kitchen. He has stated that his goal, since opening in 2004, was to create a place with neighborhood ambience and attentive service. He has certainly succeeded on all counts, and we look forward to the next time we can say “Ciao, Vito!”

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor