Made with specially milled flours from independent local mills like Shepherd's Grain, Cairnspring Mills, and Camas Country Mill, Montelupo’s fresh pasta are rolled by hand daily. With this new venture, Berger, who also owns the Portland-based company
Rallenti Pasta, focuses on small-batch, fresh pasta, with different shapes, colors, and fillings. The selection rotates daily, with recent examples including
sweet pea fusilli and
butternut squash lumache (a snail-shaped extruded pasta). A take-and-bake pasta program will launch in the coming weeks.
Executive Chef
Sedona McCaffrey-Allen, whose culinary career has included stints at Quainterelle, Nostrana, Nonna, and DOC – and who also worked at Tabla ten years ago – helms the kitchen at Montelupo. Her menu features classic pasta like
rye pappardelle with milk-braised pork, golden raisins and parmesan ($12), but also incorporates a rotating selection of seasonal specialties, such as
casarecce with basil and mint pesto, blistered cherry tomatoes and asparagus ($11). This approach also extends to Chef McCaffrey-Allen’s dessert menu, which includes
olive oil cake and seasonal tarts, as well as
house-made gelato and sorbetto (also available to-go).
Eddie Riddell, formerly of Trifecta, has created Montelupo’s bar program. The opening cocktail menu features Italian and American classics, like Aperol Spritz, Sazerac and a Hemingway Daiquiri. Montelupo will also offer frozen drinks, with
Negroni slushies to start. The wine list focuses on Italian and Oregon bottlings, available for carryout and dine-in, as is a rotating selection of large format beer in a bottle.
Partner and General Manager
Blake Kusler run the front of the house. A longtime Tabla alum who managed
24th & Meatballs, which Berger co-owns, Kusler has created a safe hospitality protocol for both staff and guests. Masks are required at all times inside the space and contact is very limited, both for outdoor dining and carry-out transactions.
Montelupo will seat up to 60 guests outdoors, split between existing sidewalk seating (which currently seats around 30) and two forthcoming
Street Seats plazas: one on NE 28th and another on NE Flanders Street. Inside, four tables seating 16 in all, are spaced out appropriately.
For Montelupo, Partner and Designer
Matt Lynch (Super Deluxe, Snappy’s) sought to create an environment that was charming and timeless. The high ceilings, white walls, and prominent skylight open this functional space, which flows from the marketplace and pasta-making station to the bar and limited indoor dining. White tiles, gold and white window lettering, soft wood textures, and shelves stocked with colorful Italian sundries make for an inviting space that feels both contemporary and classic.
Montelupo Italian Market is
open daily from 12 pm to 9 pm Friday through Sunday and 4 pm to 9 pm Monday through Thursday. Montelupo’s full menu is available for delivery on Caviar, DoorDash, GrubHub, and Postmates.
For more information, please visit
montelupo.co.
