Please see our photos page for a small sample of some of the events we have catered.
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante, in Milwaukie, specializes in gourmet food and professional service for formal dinner parties, Holiday parties, wedding receptions, elegant cocktail parties, fundraising benefits, outdoor events, buffets, business open houses, hors d’oeuvres parties, and upscale catered food & wine paired meals. We cater events in Portland and surrounding areas.
All of our menus are custom-created by our Executive Chef, Heather Molatore, just for your event, theme, season, and budget. Your event is unique, and we are proud that no two of our events are the same! As an introduction to our seasonal foods, we invite you to read further for a sampling of menu ideas.
We firmly believe that wonderful foods should be affordable. Our menu ingredients are always fresh and seasonal. Our professional chefs make each item from scratch, never using cheaper, pre-prepared frozen "products,” expensive out-of-season produce, or pre-made sauces or salad dressings. This approach keeps the food costs reasonable and the quality of our food exceptionally high.
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante provides full service catering from a simple, self-serve buffet to an on-site cooked, plated, and served multiple-course meal with wine pairings. Your budget, party size, and event site greatly influence the services that would be most appropriate for your special occasion. We are pleased to assist you in selecting the best menu and services for your event.
DaVinci’s will provide exact portion size information for each menu item and will thoroughly explain our cost per person, services, and rentals. We will let you specify the portion sizes of your Entrées so you know exactly how much food your guests will be getting. Our objective is for you not to have any unexpected surprises in any aspect of your event.
Contact us today for a free consultation and quote.
503-659-3547
Important Questions to ask your potential caterer:
What types of services do you provide?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante provides full service catering in many forms; from a simple self-serve buffet to an on-site cooked, plated, and served multiple-course meal with wine pairings. Your budget, party size, and event site greatly influence the services that would be most appropriate for your special occasion. We are pleased to assist you in selecting the best menu and services for your event. Here are a few more common catering styles but we would love to work with you to provide what you envision.
The basic level of service is Buffet Service. Guests take a plate from the beginning of the buffet and serve themselves from a selection of salads, hot Entrées, side dishes, and breads. Our servers refresh the buffet as needed. DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante always provides detailed proposals assuring adequate portions sizes and quantities. As guests always want to sample all the delicious food offerings, we always recommend having enough portions of each item for every guest. As this style of service required the fewest servers and is usually the most cost effective.
Very popular at family gatherings such as weddings, Family-Style Service is a definite step up from Buffet Service. Often guests sit down to a plated salad or first course. When complete, our service staff removes the salad plate and salad fork revealing each table’s platters. Our professional chefs plate each course on large china platters which are brought to the tables by our uniformed servers. The serving platter with appropriate serving utensil is passed from guest to guest, each taking their desired amount of food. If we are providing several courses, we recommend informing your guests of the coming courses with a menu card. Family-style service encourages interaction at the table and keeps the guests all eating at the same pace together. For medium and large events, Family-style provides more elegance than a buffet at a cost less than a fully individually plated and served meal.
The ultimate in service, the Individually Plated and Served meal brings restaurant elegance at your event. Each course is artfully and individually plated by our staff of chefs and served by uniformed professional servers. The number of chefs and servers is determined by the complexity of the menu, the size of the event, and the level of luxury desired. In addition to delicious foods, we can also make recommendations for pairing wines with each course.
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante is pleased to provide professional dinner event management, site set-up, and site tear-down services to ensure that your event is a success.
How much do your services cost?
Your event cost will depend upon the number of guests, the length of your event, the cost of your food selection, the supplies required for your event site, the location, and the beverages consumed by your guests. Your event is truly special and we strive to make it unique. We do not offer one-size-fits-all, generic packages.
We believe that your hand selected menu does not have to be expensive.
As an example:
Under $18 per person for 100 guests:
Organic Wild Greens with Fresh Grape halves, Bleu Cheese Crumbles and a Balsamic Vinaigrette
Red Potato, Cherry Tomato, and Fresh Corn Salad with creamy Fresh Basil Dressing
Asparagus Soba Noodle Salad
Lemon and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Roasted Salmon Filet
Blackberry Chicken Breast with Summer Fresh Oregon Marion berry
Grand Central Breads and Fresh Butter
Or…
Plated Organic Wild Greens Salad with Blackberries, Candied Hazelnuts, Chive Cheese and a fresh Thyme Vinaigrette
First Course of Salmon Filet sauced with Tarragon Crème Fraiche and served with Sautéed Summer Green and Wax Beans
Second Course of Apricot and Rosemary Glazed Pork Loin and served with Roasted Fennel and Red Potatoes
Grand Central Breads and Fresh Butter
(Prices and availability may vary by season.)
What type of food do you provide?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante can provide classic Continental/European, traditional American, Californian, Northwest, Asian, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Italian, Spanish, and Southern foods. All menus are custom prepared for you under the direction of Executive Chef Molatore and her team of professional chefs who use only fresh seasonal ingredients to maximize food quality.
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante does not use pre-made frozen appetizers, frozen soups, frozen lasagnas or tortellini, pre-made salad dressings or marinades, or packaged mixes. With no exceptions, all menu items are made from scratch in our commercial kitchen. DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante wants your wedding day to be special and unique. When you choose DaVinci's your guests will greatly appreciate the fact that you hand selected items superior in flavor and beauty to typical fruit & cheese platters, veggie dip trays, and build-your-own sandwich stations.
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante is not your average catering company. For quality reasons, there are some foods and menus that are offered by other catering companies which do not meet our standards and we chose not to offer. In consideration of your wedding guests, we do not typically offer messy BBQs or meat choices that have difficult-to-eat-around bones. We do not recommend pasta buffets at large events for quality reasons. It is impossible to keep the pasta from getting gummy. We are pleased to develop a menu around your desires which your guests will rave about for years!
As all menus are custom designed for your event, special dietary needs can be accommodated. Diet restrictions such as low fat, vegan, vegetarian, low cholesterol, sugar free, wheat-free, peanut-free, and gluten-free menu ideas are available. If you have a few guests that have special needs, we would be pleased to provide personal alternative selections for them.
How and where do you prepare the food and how do you transport it?
"It's all about the Food!"
All our food preparation occurs at our licensed commercial kitchen. For optimal food quality, we usually cook your hot menu items at the event site with our portable commercial ovens and propane burners. Food that is just cooked is infinitely better than food that has been sitting in a warming container for hours. Regardless of cold or hot, all our food is transported in specially insulated commercial containers for high quality and food safety. For buffets, hot foods are presented in hot water chafing dishes to maintain proper temperature.
How will the food be plated or displayed? Do you have pictures of previous events?
Appearance is just as important as taste; DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante has a variety of modern display service ware for buffet service. DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante’s buffet service ware is always china, stainless steel, pottery, or other sustainably beautiful products… never plastic or Styrofoam! At buffets, to keep hot food hot, DaVinci’s always provides hot water chafing dishes.
Because your wedding is a special once-in-a-life event, DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante does not serve on paper plates or with plastic utensils.
Do you provide linens?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante will provide, deliver, set-up, tear-down, and return all needed linens. All linens are guaranteed to match in color and be free from soil and runs. We care work with you to find specific colors.
Do you have a broad range of linen color selection?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante provides a wide selection of linen colors plus many specialty fabric and pattered linens.
Do you supply glasses, plates, and silverware?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante will provide beer glasses, red and white wine glasses, water glasses, elegant champagne flutes, china plates, and elegant flatware. If you are having a full bar or just a specialty cocktail, we can also provide cosmopolitan, rocks, martini, and high-ball glasses. In addition, we can provide a wide range of china patterns, glassware, flatware, and gold and silver-plated flatware.
Who will be responsible for the servers and manage the meal?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante provides a professional on-site manager who is responsible for all aspects of your event from pre-planning to cleaning-up. DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante provides all the necessary professional servers in our own crisp clean uniforms.
Do you make arrangements for flowers and decorations?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante works with local florists to provide you with the freshest flowers for your special day. We would be pleased to share with you our expertise and make arrangements for flowers along with other decorations to make your event personal and unique.
Do you provide the wedding cake?
Although DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante can provide you with handmade deserts, we are not a bakery. We do not provide wedding cakes. We have seen cakes from many different bakeries and would be pleased to recommend some to you. DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante can provide other desserts to compliment your cake and provide dessert alternatives for your guests.
Is there a cake-cutting fee?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante does not charge a fee for cutting and serving your wedding cake.
Do you charge a corkage fee if we provide our own champagne or wine?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante does not charge a corkage fee and would be pleased to open a special bottle for the bridal party at no charge.
How do we know what we will be getting for our money?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante will provide exact portion size information for each menu item and will breakdown our portions of food, service, and rentals. We will let you specify the portion sizes of your Entrées so you know exactly how much food your guests will be getting. Our objective is for you to not have any unexpected surprises in any aspect of our service to you.
In our quote, we will specify a cost per person for a range of guest attendance. Prior to a final count, if your attendance changes outside of that range, we will provide a new statement.
Do you automatically add a gratuity and are there additional service charges?
Although gratuity is appreciated DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante does not have a required or expected gratuity. We pay an above average wage to our professional staff and it is our standard and expectation that the service at your event will be excellent.
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante will provide a detailed proposal for your event with all the expected costs. We do not add on any "customary" service charges or fees.
If there is any breakage, damage or missing items at the event by the guests, reasonable replacement charges will be added to the bill.
Do you require a deposit and what is your payment policy?
DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante requires a $200 deposit to hold your date up to three months before your event. Three months prior to the event we require a non-refundable deposit of 25% of the anticipated cost. The balance of the cost is due the week before the start of the event. To keep our prices reasonable for all, we accept only cash and checks (checks must clear at least one week prior to the event).
When do you need a final attendance count?
Generally, a final count is only required two weeks before the event. If your menu requires exotic meats or other special order items, a final count may be needed earlier.
Do you offer food tasting and references?
After narrowing your menu, DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante can prepare specific food items for tasting at our commercial kitchen. As all the food is made from scratch, we require an appointment so that our chef can prepare your custom tailored food for tasting. To offset this cost, we charge between $75 and $150 per tasting depending upon ingredients, availability, and urgency.
Will you pack a to-go box for the bride and groom?
With all the excitement of the reception, sometimes it is difficult for the happy couple to relax and enjoy the food, so DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante is pleased to put together a special package of food for the newlyweds to enjoy at their convenience.
What will be done with any extra food?
At catered events there is often extra food DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante allows the customer to take the extra food. We strongly recommend prompt refrigeration and appropriate storage of all food products taken from the event.
As part of our mission to be a responsible community member, DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante will also take unwanted food, at the end of the event, to a local charity for donation (when possible).
Why should I choose DaVinci’s Italiano Ristorante?
·A Gourmet Custom Menu, designed just for you!
· Professional Reliable Event Management and Professional Uniformed Servers.
· No required or Expected Gratuity, No Cake Cutting Fees, No Corkage Fees.
· Wonderful Food and Service with No Surprises!
Sample Menus for your Event
Meat Entrées are available in various portion sizes depending upon your menu. Salmon, beef, pork, and lamb meats are always fresh and cooked to your preference. All sauces, marinades and dry rubs feature fresh herbs and are made just for your event. In addition to the following customer favorites, Chef Heather Molatore can develop Entrées to meet your exact menu desires. Prices vary from $12.00 to $25.00 per person, please ask for details:
Salmon Entrées - Fresh, Never Frozen, boneless & skinless Salmon:
Fresh Chervil Crème Fraiche sauced Salmon Filet: A wonderful blend of goat cheese and herbs
Braised Leek and Pernod sauced Salmon Filet
Sauce Vert over Baked Salmon Filet
Mustard & Fresh Tarragon sauced Salmon Filet
Balsamic Vinaigrette glazed Salmon Filet
Blackberry reduction glazed Salmon Filet garnished with Fresh Blackberries
Raspberry and Balsamic Vinegar reduction glazed Salmon with Fresh Raspberries
Tamarind and Ginger glazed Salmon Filet
Citrus glazed Salmon Filet
Hazelnut Crusted Salmon Filet sauced with Fresh Tarragon Cream Sauce
Real Maple and Fresh Marjoram glazed Salmon Filet
Lemon and Extra Virgin Olive Oil brushed Salmon Filet
Cranberry and Mustard glazed Salmon Filet
Chicken Breast Entrées - Available in 3, 4, 5 and 6 oz portions
Apricot and Rosemary glazed Chicken Breast
Basil Pesto Chicken Breast
Blackberry Sauced Chicken Breast Garnished with Fresh Blackberries
Rosemary and Honey glazed Chicken Breast
Fresh Thyme and Lemon marinated Chicken Breast
Cumin rubbed Chicken Breast topped with Mango-Cucumber Salsa
Roasted Red Pepper Cream sauced Chicken Breast
Italian Chicken Saltimbocca
Tequila and Lime marinated Chicken with House Made Mole Sauce
Dijon Mustard and Fresh Tarragon marinated Chicken Breast
Dried Cherry stuffed Chicken Breast
Garlic and Rosemary marinated Chicken Breast
Ginger Marinated Chicken Breast with our own Pumpkin Chutney
Orange Carmel glazed Chicken Breast
Prosciutto wrapped Rosemary Chicken Breast
Sake and Ginger sauced Chicken Breast
Sage roasted Chicken Breast with a Rich Madeira Reduction
Tamarind Ginger glazed Chicken Breast
Beef Entrées - Fresh, Never Frozen and available in 4, 5 and 6oz portions
Roasted Shallot, Bacon and Port sauced Beef Loin
Black Pepper and Lavender Crusted Beef Loin
Mustard Port Sauced Beef Loin on Red Onion slaw
Bleu Cheese Walnut Butter topped Beef Loin
Wild Mushroom Ragout topped Beef Loin
Green Peppercorn and Madeira Sauced Beef Loin
Fresh Rosemary and Garlic Rubbed Beef Loin
Slowly Roasted Beef Brisket with Bourbon Molasses Sauce
Fresh Rosemary and Horseradish New York Strip Steak
Fresh Herb and Black Pepper New York Strip Steak
Lamb Entrées - Fresh, Never Frozen and available in sliced portions
Garlic and Rosemary Stuffed Leg of Lamb
Pomegranate glazed Leg of Lamb
Sliced Roasted Leg of Lamb with fresh Arugula, Shaved Pecorino and drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Tomato Olive Compote
Lemon and Oregano Roasted Leg of Lamb
Roasted Leg of Lamb stuffed with Mint pesto
Pork Entrées - Fresh, Never Frozen and available in sliced portions
Apricot and Rosemary glazed Pork Loin
Apple Chutney filled Pork Loin
Dried Apricot and Shallot stuffed Pork Loin
Caraway Roasted Pork Loin
Fig stuffed Pork Loin with Port Wine Reduction
Honey and Mustard Glazed Pork Loin
Molasses Glazed Pork Loin
Grilled Pork Steaks with our own Bourbon Molasses Sauce
Roast Pork Loin with Fresh Peach Chutney
Vegetarian Entrées
Artichoke and Mascarpone Cheese Layered Polenta
Baked Rigatoni Pasta with Arugula Pesto and Sundried Tomatoes
Bleu Cheese and Red Onion Confit Potato Gratin
Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagna
Caramelized Onion and Chevre Potato Gratin
Wild Chanterelle Mushroom and Mascarpone Cheese Layered Polenta
Eggplant Napoleon with Provencal Sauce
Eggplant, Mozzarella and Pesto Gratin
Italian Puttanesca Lasagna
Fontina Cheese and Roasted Vegetable layered Polenta
Mediterranean Artichoke Lasagna
White Bean, Tomato, and Zucchini Gratin
Wild Mushroom risotto
Alternative Meat Entrées - Free Range Available
Ahi Tuna and Fennel Skewers
Dijon Mustard Braised Boneless Rabbit
Roasted Pheasant with Vanilla and Pears
Duck Breast Sautéed with Figs and Port Reduction
Wild Rice Stuffed Quail
Sliced Roasted Turkey Breast with Wild Chanterelle Mushroom Sauce
Composed Entrée Salads
- Perfect for plated lunch or light summer dinner
Herbed Beef Flank Wild Greens Salad with Bleu Cheese Crumbles
Chicken Breast, Jicama and Romaine Salad
French Tuna Salad Nicosia
Greek Spinach and Feta Salad
Orange Ginger Chicken Wild Greens Salad
Garlic Prawn Caesar Salad
Smoked Trout and Fresh Apple Butter leaf Lettuce Salad
