Generous portions are not the only reason to visit Ernestos Italian Restaurant, but its certainly one of the attractions of this local favorite.

Were an Italian restaurant, said Mike Ceccanti, a third-generation cook and restaurateur. We dont want our customers going home hungry.

Heaping plates of steaming pasta are one thing, but a visit to Ernestos is more than gluttonous exercise. Ceccanti is just as proud of his friendly service and reasonable prices. Quality, however, is what he values most.

In the back, we maintain consistency, Ceccanti said. In the front, we maintain friendships.

Ceccanti, who runs Ernestos with his wife, Jackie, knows a thing or two about Italian food. The restaurant is named after Ceccantis paternal grandfather, an Italian emigrant who opened an Italian restaurant on Portlands Union Avenue (now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) in 1927.

Ceccanti, 57, spent the first few years of his life in an apartment above the restaurant and fondly remembers helping in the kitchen as a youth. Ceccantis father took over the restaurant, and Ceccanti might have as well, but instead he struck out on his own. Ceccanti opened the first Ernestos near Beaverton in 1987, which he still runs.

A pilot, Ceccanti would often fly to Central Oregon from his home in Portland. He asked a real estate agent here to keep an eye out for restaurant opportunities. In 1995, Ceccanti purchased Le Bistro, an upscale French restaurant, and moved his family to Bend. He kept the Le Bistro name and menu for a few months but converted it into his second Ernestos in 1996.

There were four other Italian restaurants (here) when we opened, said Ceccanti. But, I thought, with our portions and quality of food, itll work if we get (customers) in here one time.

The restaurant is expansive, housed in a building that formerly was the home to a local congregation of the Church of the Nazarene. It features an upstairs dining room (formerly the choir loft), a large dining room on the main floor and a downstairs lounge. There are also two semi-private dining rooms.

The restaurant, as opposed to the lounge, was decorated by Ceccantis wife and is in a style Ceccanti describes as old Italian countryside. Boughs of grapes hang from an arbor, shutters and wrought iron balconies adorn the walls, and overlooking it all is a portrait of Ernesto Ceccanti.

Ceccantis grandfather is the inspiration; hes also helping in the kitchen, so to speak. Ceccanti makes his meat and marinara spaghetti sauces, and the minestrone soup, using his grandfathers 80-year-old recipes.

Pasta, obviously, is served often at Ernestos, and Ceccanti said he goes through more than 200 pounds of it a week. Choices include spaghetti with meatballs for $11.95, clam linguine for $15.50 and fettuccine al pesto for $13.95. Each pasta dish comes with bread and choice of Caesar salad, dinner salad or soup. In all, Ernestos offers 19 choices when it comes to pasta dishes.

Chicken is a popular dinner choice, Ceccanti said, as are his three veal options, which are made with Provimi-brand veal. The veal parmigiana, veal scaloppine alla Marsala and veal piccata each cost $17.95 and come with a choice of spaghetti, ravioli or sauteed vegetables as well as choice of Caesar salad, dinner salad or soup.

Ernestos dinner menu is considerable and includes calzones, pizza, salads and specialty dishes. Some of the dishes in the latter category include calamari parmigiana for $15.50, eggplant parmigiana for $14.50 and gnocchi for $11.95.

Wine is an important part of Italian cuisine, and Ceccanti offers a long list of options. He tries to keep the prices reasonable, saying it doesnt make sense to pay more for wine than you might for food.

Ernestos is also open for lunch and offers sandwiches, salads and soups along with many of the same dining options available for dinner. It also offers a lunch-only buffet for $7.50, which includes pasta, salad and a daily specialty item, such as Italian roast beef, roast chicken and lasagna.

Downstairs is the lounge. There is a full bar, as well as couches, lottery games and tables for patrons if they choose to eat. Smoking is allowed in the lounge.

Its like a whole different establishment, said Ceccanti.

Ceccanti said its decorated to feel like a ski lodge and is often a stop in the winter for snowboarders who take advantage of the complimentary pizza served in the lounge between 4:30 and 6 p.m. A minimum drink purchase is required.

Ceccanti likes his lounge and said he gets a chuckle when patrons tell him they used to go to Sunday school in the very room where theyre now drinking. Ceccanti said he enjoys talking to customers, and he makes sure to get around to say hello to his many regulars as well as first-time visitors.

Ernestos, Ceccanti said, is truly a family tradition. One of his twin 18-year-old sons works at the restaurant, and sometimes even his 77-year-old mom comes by to help out or test the marinara sauce.

We do love the biz, he said.