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Written by Corey
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Thursday, 20 March 2008 |
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From the blog…
For my birthday, husband surprised me with dinner reservation at Vignola on Dana Street in Portland. We had never been to Vignola before and I was excited to try it. We arrived right on time for our 7:00pm reservation. We were both dressed casual, but nice. The restaurant was relatively small and intimate and probably is capable of seating 50 people. The decor was unique with dark woods, glass and brick. I was attracted to the light fixtures, which were fashioned out of empty wine bottles. As my husband and I were seated, we immediately perused their extensive wine and beer offerings. Vignola offers reasonable to higher priced wines and several wines are available by the glass. They also had a wonderful selection of Belgian beer.
Our waitress brought us white crusty bread with olive oil. I chose and Italian red wine based on our waitress’s recommendation, which was very good. The seating arrangement was a little close for truly intimate conversation. It reminded me of some of the wonderful restaurants in the North End in Boston.
For our meals, my husband chose fresh mussels to start and pan seared scallops as his entree. The mussels were so fresh we joked that they were "just scraped off a rock." I ordered an Italian style soup to start and a steak with roasted root vegetables for my entree. The soup portion was large enough for a meal. Our entrees were priced in the $20. range and we both enjoyed our meals. Our waitress was very pleasant and attentive. My only complaint would be that I was seated so close to my neighbor that while I was trying to enjoy my chocolate mousse, the conversation turned to discussions on an upcoming colonoscopy procedure and the others at the table were chiming in with their own colonoscopy stories. I would have enjoyed the chocolate mousse a lot more with out having to hear that conversation. The desert was served with a very delicate handmade burnt sugar swizzle. A great touch in my opinion. I also had to visit the ladies room before I left and found it to be very clean.
Overall, I would say Vignola was easy to get a reservation at.
There is a parking garage conveniently located near the restaurant.
Dress casually, but elegant and you won’t feel out of place. Be prepared for close quarters and to spend around $100 to $150 on a meal for two with drinks and dessert. Make it an adult only dinner and prepare to have a lovely, unhurried night out.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 March 2008 )
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