Portofino Italian Restaurant

Bread, oil, and cheese were complimentary. We asked for a refill and got it immediately upon request. Calamari appetizer was perfectly cooked. Cesarean salad was very fresh, and Bolognais with angel hair pasta was delicious and sizeable. The wife had chicken Marsala, and it was flavorful and large. Waitstaff was attentive and pleasant.

Attentive waitress, food was delicious. Bread basket with dipping oil was very good. Reasonable prices and good sized portions

Excellent food, service, and selections. Bruschetta with pesto was scrumptious as well as the chicken parmigiana. Definitely coming back.

Visited this Italian restaurant for lunch. Older but cozy venue. Easy parking. Waitress was quick and very polite. I ended up eating the chicken balsamico which was absolutely delicious. I could taste that the food was made from scratch and well cooked. Their in-house margarita was also surprisingly well done. I will definitely come back!

Authentic Italian. Chef is from Italy. All dishes made from scratch. No heat lamps, goes straight from the pan onto a plate. This is better Italian food than the entire North End of Boston which is why people from that area come up to Portofino's for dinner... the price point is shocking for the quality of the food. Picture shows their gnocchi mozzarella dish and then the butternut squash as well. Both were incredible. Highly recommend!

A friend gave us a gift card to Portofinos and we had the opportunity to go yesterday for my birthday. I can’t tell you how surprised I was in how absolutely delicious everything was. We had the harvest sangria with eggplant caprese. Our entree was chicken parmigiana and a dish my wife had call Laguna. Both were incredible. We were both so happy to have the chance to go to this wonderful restaurant.

This place was pretty good. The bread and the oil and pepper dip were great. The pasta I got was good. They also gave us a bowl of ground up parmigiana that you could add to your dish however you like. There were also not that many people there when we got there so the atmosphere was nice and relaxed

I left here extremely disappointed. The apps were amazing, but my waitress Julie left a very bad taste in my mouth. She started chatting with us and we were enjoying it at first until dinner arrived. Dinner was watery, no sauce was sticking to my pasta and I had pointed it out to Julie which she said she would have the cooks remake it for me. She proceeded to talk very loudly and poorly about us in the kitchen, with us right outside the door. The food was brought back the same way, just more sauce added but still extremely watery. No flavor in the food, it all tasted frozen, very bitter. She was also bashing other restaurants we visit, which we’ve never had a bad experience there but they were closed today so that’s the only reason we chose this restaurant to go to today. Avoid this place if you can, poor service and poor quality of food.

Food was great Spaghetti and huge meat balls and marinara meat sauce We had a great wait person And surroundings in restaurant very Home like and quite

Once again, what a great dinner from Portofino. We ordered takeout once more. Absolutely amazing food. Great fried calamari, delicious spaghetti bolognese, delicious spaghetti alla puttanesca. OMG! I'm still drooling all over my keyboard. Soooooo good. Once you enter the restaurant, you get greeted by a stunningly beautiful employee, smiling, welcoming! Ask for something and she'll go above and beyond to exceed your expectations with a smile! When you leave you get a sincere "Thank you! Come again!". Every employee is super friendly, and they make you feel important as a customer. You don't see this often anymore these days. Truly is my favorite Italian, by far. Can't wait to go back!

Excellent food and service. Much bigger inside than it looks from the outside. Simple Italian basics done really really well. Never understand why this place isn't busier. Give it a try it's worth it.

This was the worst Italian food I've ever had :( I don't like leaving bad reviews but I just couldn't believe how bland it was. It was shockingly bad. My saltimboca tasted like ONLY noodles and butter and it was just dripping off the noodles, no texture or taste to the sauce at all. It was pretty yucky. However, the service was really good. Great people working there. They just need to fix their entrees...and apps...and sangria.

The service was very slow. The restaurant wasn't even busy. If you want to have a quiet dinner this isn't the place. The noise from bar carries into dining room.

We are snowbirds and looked forward to returning home and our favorite restaurants. Portofino WAS one of them. We were do disappointed with the lasagna that in previous years we loved, esp for takeout. It was very small portion (price was expectedly increased), pasta layers dry with neglible cheese between them; sauce was meaty on top but negligbly present anywhere else with no liquid sauce or volume to spread to the rest of the dish. Flavor of dish lackluster and dry except for the spoonful of meat sauce on top. Called and spoke to gal who gave us our takeout order and she apologized but did not offer any explanatipn or recourse. Sorry, Portofino, you lowered your standards and have lost an enthusiastic restaurant fan! ​

Sharon was our server and she was amazing! The food and drinks were great, we all enjoyed our meals. The entire staff really try their hardest to make your meal a memorable experience. We will definitely go back.

My husband and I have come here a few times for dinner now. I've tried a few different dishes and they have all been delicious. I love the Suppli for an appetizer. You can get it with marinara and not the meat sauce. I've had the Patriota, which is tomatoes, basil, garlic and fresh mozzarella in a white wine sauce. I think my only complaint is that I'd love more fresh mozzarella. Their alfredo is great and something I would get again.

Been here about 5 times and would have stopped at 4, but we were in a crunch, so we unfortunately went back. Here's the common themes: 1. Overpriced: This is mainly based on the two items below. I mean, I don't mind paying more if I'm getting more, but... 2. Poor service: Once you get your food, you can forget about seeing your server again. No one has ever stopped by proactively to ask us how our meal was, if we wanted a refill, more bread (we'd happily pay for it as it's the best thing about this restaurant), or the check. This issue is perplexing because we often see our server bouncing around to other tables and chatting. We once sat there totally ignored the entire time while our waitress sat (yes sat) at another table with customers. Now you might think perhaps it's us. Maybe they don't like us for some reason, but usually our server is very friendly and chatty when we sit down and up until we order. Then, we get ghosted. 3. Food is average at best: We've (family of 4) never been super impressed by anything we've ordered there ever. For example, my wife ordered a pasta dish with steak tips. Well, they were light on the steak tips. Not many tips and what was there was cut small. And again, the taste is just okay. I just don't feel the need to ever come back. Paying a lot for not much doesn't make sense.

The food was delicious. The service very friendly and prompt. The ambiance very nice and clean. Nice place for family dinner.

Not bad. The usual old school Italian place. Priced right. Decor is old school. I was disappointed that the bathroom was dirty and there was no toilet paper in the stall even though we went close to opening. They should go through bathrooms before they open, no? It's a good spot for a family with kids dining on a budget. Not any better than simple home cooking but good enough to appreciate not having to cook or clean up. The waitress was knowledgeable of the menu and friendly.

Amazing restaurant! Food, apps, and bread with oil incredible! Maria was our server and she was wonderful. Cannot wait to go back!

Food was at best 4/10 but the service was good. The risotto was terrible and do not recommend

Great experience. Authentic food. Great atmosphere. Great service. Moose was amazing Great experience. Authentic food. Great atmosphere. Great service. Moose was amazing

We were in town on business and looking for a good Italian restaurant. Well we definitely found it! This place was amazing and I would recommend that if you're in the area it's a must try. Fresh bread before Really good lasagna with a tiramisu dessert was to die for. Lily provided the best service! Thanks for a wonderful meal

It's a very cute quaint place in a small plaza. The server was very pleasant. The menu has a nice variety. My daughter had a shrimp pasta dish which she enjoyed. She said it was cooked nicely and It had homemade pappardelle which were very good. I ordered scallops which were noted as fried. Not something I would usually order, but I wanted seafood. Sadly they missed the mark. The outside was way overdone and the inside was cold and undercooked. I did eat a couple, but decided to not chance the rest. A mistake on my part, but I didn't send back or complain as we were in a time crunch. Not sure if I would go back? Maybe I chose the wrong item, but for the price, they should have been perfect.

This was our first time coming in for dinner and we were greeted with a welcoming smile. The server was quick and very friendly. The food arrived piping hot and the smells were delightful. Once I had a taste of my main plate I knew we had found a gem. BTW, the tiramisu is to die for. We will be back.

The chicken parm here is horrible. Thur don't pound the chicken and hardly use any red sauce. Pasta is not homemade, either. Prices are too high for what you get! I'll stay away from this strip mall store.

Great Italian food and service is pleasant. Family run restaurant with care taken in preparation of all meals.

Charlie's birthday dinner at Portofinos in Merrimack. His meal was Porcini (Mushrooms) Ravioli and mine was Chicken Parmesan with linguini. A glass of wine for him and a cocktail for me. Awesome food, great service, pleasant ambience and great company capped off a cool birthday. One small drawback, charging me extra for extra sauce. Really, in such an expensive restaurant? But, all in all, what a wonderful time. Happy birthday Charlie!

Portofino is by far the best Italian restaurant in this area. We have dined here several times and never been disappointed. Eggplant parm done right crispy and lightly sauced. The Zuppa di Pesce is fantastic. I love this place.

They never fail. I'm practically addicted to their fried mozzarella. It's so cute in there and the food always comes fast and the servers are beyond sweet. I've been multiple times and I LOVE it.

Excellent Menu, Best Service Always an exquisite experience. Acoustics could be softer. We love this ristorante

We went on a Thursday afternoon, pretty much right when they opened at noon. Very quiet, clean, good music, and atmosphere. We ordered the Bruschetta, Marsala Chicken, and the Four Cheese Ravioli. The food came out very quick, and within the first bite we were amazed. You could tell everything was warm and fresh. We were seated and waited on by a waitress named Lily. She was extremely friendly to us and the customers seated near us. She refilled our drinks many times so that we never saw the bottoms of our glasses. I hope they continue to provide amazing service and great food! Thank you Portofino!

Very hospitable local restaurant. Pasta and sauces were delicious. Owner was very friendly and warm. Would visit again; nice family place.

My wife and I made a reservation at Portofino's for 6 o'clock on July 3rd to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary. We have always enjoyed our meals at Portofino. We were taken back by a young woman who did not greet or speak to us at all and we were seated at the table immediately adjacent to the door to the kitchen. We asked to move to a different table and she was reluctant even though there were many empty tables. She finally pointed to a table and left, never saying a word. We sat there for 15 minutes without anyone ever coming over, not even with water. This was a horrible way to celebrate our anniversary. We stood up and walked out without ever speaking to a person. I don't know if we will ever be able to return to your restaurant. I hope this feedback will be of help.

Portofino has great food. Generous portions and a nice relaxed atmosphere. Our waitress on our last visit wasn't great, we felt like we were inconveniencing her with our party of 8. Other times we've gone the waitstaff has been fabulous. This waitress was just not a fit for the restaurant.

First time at Portofino. The eggplant parm was excellent. The bread and dipping sauce was great. Service was very good. Definitely will come back.

My friends and I stopped in while staying the weekend in the area. O M G soooooo delish! All three of us were wicked satisfied with the service, ambiance, and FOOD!!! I had a Capreae salad and a side of meatballs for my meal. It's an ONGOING joke in my family I shouldn't try meatballs that aren't my own, I'm never satisfied and never eat them but am always on the hunt. Tonight was awesome!! The salad was just as good as when I was in Roma. My friend has the bolognese gluten free pasta and LOVED it as well. My other friend had the mushroom ravioli's and we all agreed that we prob would be going back tomorrow. Desert was chocolate mousse and a limoncello desert. Julie was our waitress and very attentive.

I had the special, the short rib ravioli and it was to die for!!! The other three people in my party also loved their dishes. I'll definitely be going back!!!

This restaurant is very nicely decorated. It would be perfect for a special occasion or a romantic dinner. We were greeted and seated promptly and our waitress was very friendly. I have to say the prices were a bit high for lunch. I had spaghetti with bolognese sauce and two meatballs and I added a house salad, my husband also had spaghetti with bolognese sauce and a house salad, and our daughter had penne with just butter. We all had dr. Pepper and it was in a can, for which we were charged $2.75 each. We all ordered off lunch menu. The salad was very good. I liked that they used Greek olives in it. The spaghetti was good, but I can't say it was better than olive garden. Of course my dad has a spaghetti sauce no one has topped for us yet, so I'm kinda biased. My daughter enjoyed her penne, but it was a fairly small serving. We all decided to go for dessert. My daughter and I each had the chocolate mousse, which was really good and my husband had a mango dessert. Everything was quite good, but our bill was about $75, which is a bit on the pricey side. I'd probably go back for a special occasion. Next time, though, I'd probably avoid the almost 3.00 can of soda.

Disappointment compared to the previous restaurant in same location "Florences". Had inattentive service. Ok food.

Personally I think this place has the best Italian food in southern NH. I love their eggplant parm. The food is made fresh to order and always consistently good. Service is great.

Mariah is amazing always a great waitress makes you feel at home I am from Bostons north end 100 percent Italian and I would put this place against any place there not only is the food great they make u feel like family a true hidden gem authentic food and feeling love her and this place never change

I just don't get it. Been a Merrimack resident for 32 years. Florence's was a disappointment and now Portafino is too. Why is this place so popular? Soup tasted like boiled water and carrots. So bland. Meatballs-- Rubbery. Never going back. (Staff was very good. We tipped them well)

This is also a good place to eat. It's clean quiet. And comfortable it's hidden away inside a small strip mall in Merrimack NH. But when you go inside you feel the authenticity of Italy. The food is good and the price is right. So if you are looking for a decent restaurant with tasty food. Hit this one up. Couldn't give it a five star but it's right there.

My wife and I have been going here for some time. Some days, the food / staff are on point and when the food is not. The waiting staff would ask if there would be something else we would like and fix it. Last night will be the last time that we go back. I ordered Chicken & Broc. Alfedo sauce and the sauce was really watery. My wife ordered Haddock Venezia that looked like it was in a watery broth and not a wine sauce. She said that the flavor was not there and it tasted off. When the waitress / manager came over to check on us. My wife informed her of the same and nothing else. She did not ask for a replacement dish or ask to send it back. Just that the flavor was off. The waitress / manager then started to berate my wife about other times we informed them about issues like this and that maybe this was not the restaurant for us. I asked to speak to a manager, she told us that she was the manager. I asked to speak to someone else and was told there was no one else to speak to. We always paid the bill even when they forget to bring things we have asked for or the extra items (garlic, mushrooms) they charged for and did not provide. We always tip over the 20% and this was how we were treated last night. I would be happy to talk a owner / manager further about this. But I do not think they would reach out.

Not my cup of tea. I love Italian food but I love flavor too. None of our dishes had any. The gravy is bland as were the meatballs. The pasta was decent but they're just wasn't much to what we all tasted. The service was good and our server was super friendly. If you like food that tastes like the ingredients with no seasoning, this is your place. For some, that's an excellent meal but as I said, "it's just not my cup of tea."

Had dinner outside Friday night! Outstanding food and waitress was great! Seafood manicotti! Shrimp & scallops, out if bounds! Thank you!

NOTE (3/1/2016): This review is for Portofino Italian Restaurant only and NOT for the now-closed Florence's Restaurant. This is a new business using the same address and same phone number as the former Florence's Restaurant, under NEW OWNERSHIP. There is another listing on Yelp for this business which erroneously merged the reviews for the former Florence's Restaurant-CLOSED. Portofino Italian Restaurant opened for business on February 16, 2016 in the former Florence's Restaurant in Merrimack, next door to Domino's Pizza and CVS. Under new ownership, the place was redone and the layout is the same as before with the bar & lounge in the front of the house and the casual dining room with high ceilings in the back. I stopped in at Portofino recently during mid-afternoon on a typical weekday, just after 3PM. The place was pretty quiet and I was promptly seated in the dining room. Though the lunch menu typically ends at 3PM, I was told I could still order off the lunch menu if I wanted to and the full dinner menu was also available too. I decided to stick with the lunch menu and I ordered the Fra Diavolo Calamari with Fettuccini ($12.45) and added a Salad Della Casa (+$2) to my lunch. I was given a basket of hot baked Italian bread with olive oil & herbs for dipping. The side salad della casa came out with the bread, which had a mix of field greens, tomato, cucumbers, red onions, Kalamata olives, white beans, and house Italian dressing. The entrée arrived shortly after finishing the salad. The good lunch portion served in a bowl had tender calamari rings (no tentacles) tossed with soft thick fettuccini noodles in a chunky plum tomato sauce, though the sauce actually did not taste that spicy compared to other area restaurants' fra diavolo sauces which burn in my mouth. I had enough to eat and I passed on the offer for dessert (choices include tiramisu, white profiteroles, torta della nonna, cannoli, mini hazelnut ganache, chocolate fondant, limoncello flute, guava mango flute, coppa pistachio, lemon ripieno, spumoni bomba, gelato, priced $4.99-$6.49 each). Overall, the food I had was pretty good and tasted fresh. The service was adequate on this visit. I was given more bread and oil before my lunch entrée came out and offered grated parmesan cheese on my pasta dish. I will be back here again for dinner!

So, so good. Friendly and attentive wait staff, delicious cocktails, and the bread......Lord, the bread. The only "meh" was the calamari, which could be crispier. But everything was delicious, down to the Tiramisu at the end.

I am originally from New York, and have spent a lot of time in Italy, so I am a difficult connoisseur of Italian restaurants. Spoiled, actually. Any, I came here expecting a less than stellar approximation of Italian, but I was very pleasantly surprised, as my dish was very good. Our server, was very pleasant, professional, and attentive. Nice job. I ordered the porcini mushroom ravioli. It is served with cubes steak tips on top with a very pleasant porcini mushroom cream sauce. Very good, and it was a generous portion. My daughter had the four cheese ravioli. She said then ravioli was good, although not excellent. She though it might have needed more garlic. The only downside to the place is the decor and lighting. But in all fairness, they didn't have space in the main dining room, so we sat at a booth in the bar. It was quite clean, so it is only aesthetically not my style. I will be back and will bring my wife next time. Hopefully my next dish here is as much of a pleasant surprise as this one was.

The pasta was very light and fresh as well as the bread. Service excellent! This place is very large and would be great for larger parties too.

The food and atmosphere were amazing! I highly recommend the Chicken Parm, I enjoyed every bite!

I have to say being are bartender and server in the industry it is very rare that I walk into an establish and do not have a critical think to say about the service. My mother in law took us out to dinner for my birthday and chose to go to Portofino's. Let me tell you my experience here made my birthday amazing! From being greeted when we first walked in and the food but there was one person that absolutely made our experience out of this world! Our server Julie! She is amazing! Attention to detail, friendliness, and just her personality! She is a rare gem that you should never let go of! I will continue to come back and will sing the praise of Julie and Portofino's! Thank you again for making my birthday amazing

We were looking for a different place for lunch on the 19th. We hadn't been there in a few years. Service started slow but was perfect as we didn't feel rushed. They have a version of Arancini slightly different but very good, served with a good meat sauce. We had 2 different chicken dishes and felt both were very good. This is a good italian restaurant that is worth going to.

We promised the kids a nice meal after hiking Wildcat Falls. They were in the mood for Italian, and this place did not disappoint! North End Boston quality in Southern NH. Everyone loved their meal. I had the Verde Bianca Chicken with homemade parpadelle, and it was so so good! We were full, but it seemed like we should not pass up the desserts... I'm glad we didn't! We'll be back!

The food is very good. Our concern was the slow service. I'm sorry I entered the rest room as my feet we're sticking to floor and two out of three stalls had no toilet paper. The food was definitely above average but servers were not very attentive to empty drinks

First visit, brought out of town friends and wow, was it good! Antipasto,cocktails, entrees and dessert were terrific. Good service, reasonable noise level, clean bathrooms... Highly recommend the seafood risotto- fabulous.