That’s a great description of what you’ll find at this new-ish pizza and sandwich restaurant, which has definitely become a neighborhood dining spot.
It’s friendly, it’s a little loud (but not too loud), there are TVs for your Red Sox viewing pleasure and everyone who walks in seems to know someone who’s already there.
The second time we ate there, we didn’t have to wait. And we were thrilled, because we couldn’t wait to place our order and bite into the terrific pizza Siano’s serves up.
I can confidently say Siano’s is the best pizza I’ve had in Portland. And they owe it all to the roasted tomatoes. I’ve combined the tomatoes with meatballs (tasty!) and with bacon (de-lish!) and determined that a pizza covered in just these sweet, robust, tender tomatoes would be no slouch either. Pizzas come in two sizes, 10-inch and 14-inch, starting at $7.99 and $10.99, respectively, for plain cheese. Toppings to choose from include the traditionals like pepperoni (and this is the real, thick kind of pepperoni), sausage, ground beef and chicken, and some that are a little different like hot cherry peppers, ricotta, artichokes, eggplant, roased red peppers and buffalo sauce.
There are also several specialty pizzas like the Brentwood St. (red sauce, seasoned ground beef, garlic, diced tomatoes, feta cheese, $10.99/$15.99) and the Ladder #3 (buffalo sauce, grilled chicken, crumbled blue cheese, diced carrots and celery, $11.99/$16.99). If you like your crust crispy on the outside but chewy inside, this is the pizza for you.
Appetizers include antipasto ($9.99), boneless tenders ($7.99) and wings ($8.99) in buffalo, Thai or BBQ, mozzarella sticks ($7.99), onion rings ($5.99), steamed mussels with white wine and garlic ($8.99), fried calamari ($7.99) and Thai shrimp ($8.99). We tried the buffalo wings, which had great flavored and plenty of kick, and admired the plates of thick, crisp-looking onion rings that went by.
There are also four salads to choose from and if you’re not in the mood for pizza Siano’s offers a 20 oz. charbroiled ribeye ($19.99), sirloin tips and burgers.
Under Italian Classics, you can also choose a heaping plate of homemade lasagna, eggplant, chicken or veal parmigiana, pasta with meatballs or sausage, or cheese ravioli. The highest priced Italian dinner is $15.99. Sides include sauteed broccoli and mushrooms, french fries and sweet potato fries.
Siano’s offers a takeout counter wth the same menu as the sit-down service and you can pick up chips and sodas if you’re taking a pizza home.
We enjoyed sitting at the bar with a Miller Lite and a Stella while waiting for a table on our first visit. The bartender was friendly and quick with his service and made sure the TV was tuned to the NCAA basketball tournament. The second time around, we asked for a table in good view of the TV, which was switched over to NESN just in time for the Red Sox game at Toronto.
Both times we had the same waitress, Emily, who was hustling to serve seven tables in a small-ish, crowded area where she had to dodge the people hanging out at the bar. She was terrific — friendly, attentive, smiling, even when one table sent its bottle of wine back — and she got our food to us piping hot both times.
We left stuffed and happy and already planning to keep the Siano’s phone number handy for the next time we want takeout.