The Portland Restaurant With A Pizza That Left My Table Silent In Shock

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On my last trip home to Portland, Oregon, I took some family on a food tour. My goal was to show them that Portland is one of the best culinary cities in the U.S. because it's easy to find delicious food at good prices (although the city hasn't been immune to inflation). We ate our way across town, but one dish left our table silent: the Quattro Cipolle pizza at No Saint.

I knew what was happening as the table grew quiet after we each grabbed a slice. I lived in New York City for eight years around the time Una Pizza Napoletana opened up in Manhattan, though it wasn't yet recognized as the best in the world. My friends and I would go on a pilgrimage to the restaurant, and the silence that fell over the table after a bite of Una Pizza Napoletana's pie was the same floating peace I felt at No Saint years later. Both times, diners' attentions were drawn away from conversation by what was happening on their tastebuds.

No Saint's pizza is a take on quattro formaggi, but instead of four cheeses, it's four onions. This (sadly) seasonal pie features caramelized onion, red onion, shallot, and a charred leek conserva. The red onions are sliced so thin they melt into the cheese in the wood-fired oven. Each bite is rich and slightly sweet with plenty of umami. The cheese and crust are also perfectly in balance. The whipped ricotta and fresh mozzarella counter the onions, and the bubbly crust holds it all together.

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Portland's pizza scene has caught the eye of the outside world. Ken's Artisan Pizza, Apizza Scholls, and Lovely's Fifty Fifty all receive well-deserved national and international attention. These are the big hitters that tend to put Portland on lists of the best pizza cities in the U.S. Hapa Pizza (in nearby Beaverton), Scottie's Pizza Parlor, Dimo's Apizza, Pan Con Queso, and Pizza Kat are just a few of the other pizzerias worthy of your time. I may live in Los Angeles now, which has its own incredible pizza scene, but I still find myself eating a lot of pizza in Portland, and No Saint tops my list.

Its other toppings are all inventive. Seasonal, local, creative ingredients are nothing new in Portland, but No Saint expertly prepares each one. Confit fennel, roasted table grapes, and charred cabbage are some of the seasonal toppings rotating through the restaurant's menu. The brassica Caesar was another hit at my table, with big pieces of charred broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kohlrabi covered in garlicky Caesar dressing and a pile of Parmesan. The dressing soaked into every nook and cranny of the broccoli. As it turned out, this Caesar was only setting us up for one of the best pizzas we've ever had.