Portland has a tenuous relationship with Italian food. Aside from notable exceptions like Nostrana, Renata and Ava Gene's, it's not exactly a cuisine most associate with fine dining. But that hasn't stopped luminary chef Vitaly Paley from giving it a go with his fourth venture, Rosa Rosa, which promises an upscale take on classic, "New York-style" Italian. It delivers on that promise to some degree—but that probably won't be what brings guests back.

Located on the first floor of the Dossier Hotel, Rosa Rosa joins the flurry of ambitious eateries that have coincided with Portland's recent hotel boom. If it's a dramatic, upscale experience you're after—and who could blame you, considering the celeb-chef cachet Paley acquired with Imperial and the seafood-forward Headwaters, located up the street at the Heathman—you'll feel most at home in what Rosa Rosa has dubbed "the backroom."