portofino italian restaurant

food good,waiting staff rude and unenthusiastic, made for a disappointing experience on a special occasion which left guests feeling totally unimpressed and not likely to return or reccomend.
very unfortunate as price was not reflected in the service.

only a year ago i went to portofino and had the chicken fettuccine and it was lovely...last week we went, i ordered the same meal and it was awful.

i was originally dubious about eating there as when i called to book on a previous occasion i was poked fun of over the phone by the staff for asking what time and days they were open. this immediately set off warning bells about an unprofessional establishment.

the service was rubbish - when asked what flavour pizza bread the waitress had bought out she answered "i dunno, its not chili". we ordered a beer which took half an hour to bring out and only then came when we prompted the waitress again. the meals were both flavourless and clearly used cheap cuts. both the food and the service lack the class it once had. we will never be returning.

we took friends to dinner here last night - i must say i was a little concerned having read the latest reviews - no need as our experience was wonderful!!
the atmosphere was busy and friendly, i suspect there were many repeat customers.
a broad menu offering a huge range of taste experiences with an interesting variety of italian and other wines meant there was something for everyone.
compliments to the wait staff - well groomed and efficient, polite while not being intrusive and they knew their stuff.
we will definitely revisit this restaurant :)

portfolio new plymouth - mediocre. did not have sangria, scollops, rigatoni was supposed to be with bacon but got some type of sausage or pepperoni. and to top it off, they charged me $6 for chilli flakes. tried to speak to the manager who shrugged it off as if this were normal. we will not be back!

first time visiting new plymouth with my partner, we are staying right above the restaurant at the metrotel. portofino is so close to the motel it’s so easy to get to. we didn’t have a booking when we arrived and we were seated very quickly. we ordered our drinks and they arrived and in the mean time we ordered starters to give us time to look at the menu. the garlic pizza tasted very nice and was nice to see actual garlic pieces on the bread instead of a soggy soaked garlic bread. we ordered our mains and the wait wasn’t too long, we were also offered drinks before our mains came out which is good service and then 5 mins later our mains came. i throughly enjoyed my main, the chicken fettuccine. my partner got the parmigiana and he throughly enjoyed that to. i would definitely come back, or i will definitely visit the other portofino back in auckland. the atmosphere of the restaurant is very nice, music isn’t too loud and the restaurant does seem very italian which is what the website says it’s meant to be like. overall we are happy with our visit and there is so many options on the menu to choose from i will have to make several visits over time to try everything i wanted to order. :)

not been for several years as not impressed last time. but invited for a family birthday celebration.  12 of us so big table, mixed from 87 to 22 in age.  we  had a very long wait to order, then she only took entree, so you are left with menu's still on table. most were over cooked.  especially the chicken livers.  i had calamari, which was ok, but under seasoned. mains when they finally got to us 2 hrs after arrival ( we were the last table being served) again very over cooked, sauces were too sweet (had that taste of bulk sauce from a jar, not the fresh just made you expect) and under seasoned. i remember 30 old years ago when the restaurant opened (different owners), it was a special night out.  the family event was a special night out -  the food which is not cheap, was not.

i arrived w my 6 yr old daughter for dinner. a couple had been sat down at a 4 seater table before us. they had asked if they could sit at a nearby two seater but were put onto a 4 seater instead. next was our turn and instead of seperating the 4 person table that the previous people had sat down at, the young male waiter (in the restaurant picture) told me they were booked out even though there was obviously space. the restaurant wasn't even a third full. i asked if they could seperate the 4 table for us but were told no. was very disappointed and felt it was as i waa w a child and wasn't going to be a big spender. very disappointing.
@

had my first dining experience at portofino last week, and was really impressed!!! the food was delicious and the staff were friendly. it was also reasonably priced.

will definitely dine here again.

5 of us went to portofino's last night for a meal & were delighted with our dining experience.
food was fabulous, the chef obviously is not afraid of big flavours. italian food should have big flavours & this place provided them. wonderful!
service was very attentive & friendly.
menu was good, prices good, & the wine list had some great italian wines as well as others.
we'll definitely be going back whenever we can get to new plymouth. thank guys.
only wish you guys were in tauranga.
colleen

portofino's food is generally amazing and this is consistently so, however, when one goes to a restaurant they expect the service to be good too. the main front of house lady (older lady with dark hair) is one of the rudest people i have ever come across before. she overcharged at the final bill, didn't listen to customer requests and argued with the customers. she is the reason i am hesitant to return. the secret to good restaurant is both good food and good service.

we had booked a table and arrived on time. we had another appointment an hour later and we we advised the staff of this (knowing that we were being a bit pushy) they set about preparing our meal. the service was attentive and excellent and the meals were very good. we really appreciated their flexibility and cheerful demeanour. looking forward to a return visit.

staff were very friendly but dear i say "bad" at their job. they didn't even know what moscato and veal were. one even said veal was deer meat. they were very forgetful. they didn't have the wine we wanted and only had 1 of each steak. our table wanted 3 steaks.

it's such a let down because the food was great.

i agree with the other comments about the noise because the tables are very close together but this wasn't a major issue for us.

we dined here, had a booking and arrived just before only to be told that some esle had arrived early and they gave our table to them, not sure why. that was okay,but theres no where to wait really no bar. waited around for 15 minutes or so, they cleared us a table which was cramped but that was okay to, we didn"t make a fuss as we had guests from out of town with us. the food was okay, but the service was shocking no one came back to our table after our main was served. we were not offered desert or coffees,we could have called someone over, but had had enough of the place by then, , we left and went home for coffees. probably won,t go back.

went here for dinner last night with my friend and the food was absolutely amazing! i had a chicken fettucinni that was easily the best i have ever had anywhere, and my friend said her seafood risotto was amazing. we do a dinner date every two weeks and we will definitely be coming back to portofino regularly, have been to a few other places over the last few months and none have even come close to portofino. was very busy aswell so obviously we are not alone in our opinion, and there was so much variety on the menu! everything looked amazing and everyone around us seemed to be very happy with their meals as well. great to see the chefs in the kitchen enjoying themselves - not bad on the eyes either ;) safe to say we will become regulars here

last night myself and my daughter went to portofino. having never really experiencing proper italian cuisine my daughter went for something she knew - chicken fettuccine. i have know idea how to pronounce or spell what i had but is was the eye fillet. both of our meals were absolutely outstandingly delicious. the pasta was creamy and full of flavor and my steak was cooked to perfection.to finish we had the sorbet and coffee for me. the sorbet was raspberry/strawberry and it was to die for! creamy but fresh. coffee was good as well. portofino was a wonderful experience and can not wait to go back again!!! highly recommend!!!