Amaaaazing food!

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!!!

Just new to this site and wrote a negative one about another restaurant in N.P. so felt I had to counteract that with a review of one of my favourite restaurants in N.P. What can I say?! We’ve been lots of times – as a couple and with kids (well, 13 +11 so older ones) and the food has always been fabulous. The involtini is to die for… the wine is great and reasonably priced, the welcome is lovely. It’s as close as you get to an authentic Italian restaurant outside Europe which was one of the things I missed about living here. If you have kids with you, there are pizzas (excellent ones), through to really good pastas + if you want sophisticated Italian food that’s there too…(the involtini ) People have said it can be noisy if you get a wrong crowd near you – acoustically speaking – but we have never had that spoil our meal yet..also there are famous photos on the way to the loo that everyone should have as part of their visual experience!! LOL )

the food was very nice. Lots of varieties. But they overcharged us, putting someones drink on our bill. It was very disappointing.

Went for dinner with girls a few weeks ago. I have had an unpleasant experience last year, but i was invited, so I had to go there again. I have to say, the food was nice. We all had different risottos and we all liked it. It’s a shame about service. I have to say it’s not a service, it’s a harassment. At first, two young girls, that were serving us, pressured us to get “breads” for starter. They came twice. We only wanted mains, we would not fit anything else, as portions were generous. Then we got pressured to get dessert. we were asked 4 times, if we wanted dessert. I’m not sure what part of “NO” they didn’t understand. In the end it turned out very bad, the girls approached our table 3 times, asking when we were going to pay. That was ridiculous. I’m not even sure why, we all were very nicely dressed, may be even overdressed, as some customers were wearing track pants and smelly t-shirts. Despite food being very nice, I will never return again, unless they apologise and improve their manners!

Always great to go to Portofino – except during the previous change of owners – so glad to see new owners who enjoy food and appreciate their customers back in charge.
Pizzas are great, always happy to hold larger groups and functions and reasonable byo.

We were first time diners at this restaurant, from the moment we walked into this restaurant we were made to feel welcome , our waitress was attentive without being pushy , she explained the dishes in detail . The food was simply beautiful !! fresh and tasty well presented , we would certainly return again . The manageress spoke to us and explained that they had only taken over 9 months ago . it is a family affair , with husband and son doing the cooking . wonderful staff , well trained .
Thank you for a perfect evening . Wendy
21/3/10

Been to portofino on saturday night absolutely the best establishment in new plymouth.. I had the best Risoto pescatore out of all that i had in this chain of reasturants, even the viaduct in auckand dont cook as good as they do here.I also think they changed owners so cant wait to see the new image of Portofino new plymouth

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.

Having read bad reviews on this website, we decided to give it a try anyway. Glad we did, as the service was friendly and the food was great – although we did receive the wrong dish we ordered (which was still tasty), but as soon as we pointed this out they were really good about it and took money off our bill. I’d recommend it.

WARNING – do not bother !! Had to wait over an hour for our food, disorganised and food not that great..

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.