The Portofino Restaurant

Cozy and phenomenal gem you must check out if in the area. Reservations are recommended as I lucked out with a table for two. I didn’t know what to expect waking up to the restaurant, entrance in rear, but it felt like coming home to Nona’s kitchen when I walked in. The food is superb, bacon wrapped monkfish was perfectly prepared in a capers lemon sauce with angel hair and vegetable mix. The other dish, a traditional baked lasagna was fresh and definitely in my top five best, if nothing else because the sauce was on point. Their hand crafted cocktail menu had something for everyone from strong to refreshing, I recommend the Limoncello Martini. As expected, the server’s wine recommendation was perfect with little direction to my normal go-to reds. Dessert was lovely, all fresh and not too sweet including lactose-sensitive options. The owner is very friendly, proud of the family establishment as was our server having worked there since it opened many years ago. Overall a wonderful evening, fantastic service and food that had me feeling good well after the dinner!

The food was really good. I ordered the pasta with the clam sauce and added chicken. It was a bit too salty, but the taste was really good. The neapolitan ice cream desert was also really, really good. I would come back again.

We wanted to find some romantic essential place where we could get away from the noisiness of the city and we found it! It wasn’t easy to spot, but when you get inside you are invited by the hostess who guides you to your table. The service, the food and the atmosphere is amazing! Cotton tablecloth, original receipts and the quality of food and service was outstanding!!!!! LOVE this place!!!!

Pretty nice restaurant, definitely didn't expect how small it was. The entrance is in the back which confused me at first. I thought it would be much bigger looking at it. The veal parm was decent. The food was pretty good thankfully even if they didn't have something exactly how you wanted it they were willing to work with you to make it right.

Absolutely amazing. Perfectly cooked pasta, tender veal, fresh salad. Great service!

I struggle with this review. The service was great, the ambiance was outdated (not rustic or charming but a throwback to the 1970s) and the food was good. We enjoyed the Portofino ravioli, lobster ravioli topped with shrimp in a sage butter sauce (special of the day), the flash fried softshell crab, pistachio creme brulee and the caramel ice cream. The reason I struggle with this review is mainly due to the mold clearly found on the labels of our bottled water. It made me feel uncomfortable with the food safety at this place.

It was nice coming in, but the restaurant was nearly empty for a Friday night. The table cloth was a little dirty upon arrival. We ordered eggplant special for an appetizer and it was very basic with their sauce. For dinner we had a seafood pasta with lemon and garlic…(I can’t remember the name of it). There wasn’t any flavor whatsoever in the dish. It was watered down and bland. We returned it and wasn’t charged. They offered to replace the entree with something else but this time I had zero confidence in any of the meals. My dates meal was the same taste and flavor as the appetizer. It seemed like a poor version of an outdated 80s Italian restaurant that needs a huge makeover with their menu and restaurant. The servers/staff were trying hard because there was only about 16 people on the whole restaurant between 5 tables or so but there were also some language challenges when we approached them about our concerns. All in all, very disappointing and I wouldn’t return.

Some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had! It was delicious. The staff were amazing and very welcoming. Beautiful, cozy atmosphere. Highly recommend 🤩

Had a very nice and quiet dinner here while on a business trip. The dining room was warm and cozy, and I had the impression that the restaurant had a sense of tradition and a long history of certain dishes. I had the Pollo Portofino and it was good - I totally went clean plate on the chicken and pasta, but the vegetables were a bit bland. Service was quiet and effective, and I was really happy I left the hotel and visited. Went back with a happy and full stomach!

Such a great, small establishment. The dining room has this old Italian home feeling. Another thing I love that they do is half-size pasta dishes. Allows you to get a few, smaller portions and try different dishes. Very reasonably priced with friendly staff.

Came here for a group dinner with a large group. We were seated in the back dining room. We started off with some drinks, ordered appetizers and finally the entrees. It did take a while for all of our food to come out, given that we had such a large group. However, everyone enjoyed the food and company. Overall, it was a good experience and would recommend trying it out!

It's Italiano! The bread was fresh and warm, and it warmed our bellies after a long day of walking around DC in the cold! We didn't have a reservation, but they were kind enough to seat us. I ordered calamari for our table, and then we ordered dinner. The servers were nice and kept asking if we wanted more bread, which my kids also didn't say no to. The entrees were ok. The dish I ordered was way too salty for my liking. My daughter got half a portion of the Alfredo, but the full portion was almost the same price. It's a local restaurant with regulars that the waiters are familiar with! It was pleasant and had that old-school traditional feel. I think they have upstairs seating from other folks going up the stairs. They have parking in the back, and it could be a bit confusing if you do not pay attention to the sign at the front. I don't know if I would go back here, but we all have different taste buds, and this could be a place you're interested in checking out.

This was a fine place to grab a bite for dinner. Food was good. Where we were sat was not in the main part of the restaurant, but it was fine.

Excellent family owned Northern Italian restaurant on 23rd Street in Crystal City. Warm ambiance, with upstairs intimate room, and downstairs for large groups. Call ahead if you cannot climb stairs and they will open the street-level entrance for you. Food is excellent and they have a good wine list. Great desserts! Service is good. The Go-To place! Michael B

Sir, the tiramisu here tastes like a stunning, bedazzled treasure. I can't describe with usual words. RIP to all other tiramisu as far as my taste buds are concerned. The staff is friendly, the parking behind the building is abundant. I placed an order to go, but then I really wished I had eaten in the restaurant because it's got such a beautiful and lovely ambience.

Portofino in Old Town Alexandria was small, cozy and totally delightful. The owner, Maria, was so lovely and welcoming. Our meals were quite enjoyable, totally delicious. Chicken Picatta and Veal Parm. SO good. I very much appreciated the Birthday dessert and sweet song from her staff. A very memorable visit for my Birthday!

Great spot. Authentic Food, truly delicious. Nice servers, funny and chill. The place was pretty clean, classy, and overall a great experience.

Always a fantastic meal and experience at Portofino! Can't beat a private parking lot behind the restaurant- rare for this area. Delicious hand made pastas and many daily specials. Great wine list too. Outstanding, knowledgeable and friendly servers. Richard - the owner and chef - often greets you at the door.

Eggplant appetizer came Luke warm at best. My daughter's gnocchi was also cold and the sauce was very bland. I had ordered their chicken specialty which was very good however, it came with sautéed vegetables which were also cold!! Server, although attentive, was very pushy about getting our order and getting us out. ( many open tables). The restaurant seems family oriented but definitely needs updating. My husband who use to frequent this establishment in the late 90s had suggested it. Unfortunately we won't be back and won't recommend to others. Too many other great options in the area.

My wife and I started to coming to Portofino when we moved to the area in 2023. It was our go to spot for date nights and special occasions - and eventually became host for our wedding parties, families coming to town, etc. The food is always great - I always get the Pollo Portofino, and I have never once been disappointed. My wife enjoys more variety with the menu, and she's always enjoyed her meals. The wine selection is great, as well. The restaurant itself gives a great family-style vibe, and it hosts fun events here and there that showcase local vendors. I am always drawn to "neighborhood" restaurants, so Portofino has always been a favorite of mine. I have always had attentive service as well, and the owner does a great job of checking in to make sure everything is going well. Cannot recommend this place enough!

50 minutes waiting time for a pasta is not acceptable. The place wasn't that busy. Food was just ok. Overall experience affected by waiting time. Service not good as well.Not happy.

I had an AMAZING experience here!!! It was very close to Little Eataly in New York. All pasta tasted like a handmade. I just LOVED chewiness! perfectly Al Dante pastas! Great portion! Authentic Italian paste! We also loooooved gelato. It was like homemade black cherry and none like the other! I visited here on Friday lunch. It was a cute, romantic local place. The server was so kind and knowledgeable. Everything on the menu looked so good so we couldn't decide, and the server kindly came to rescue us lol. He really spreads happiness with great serving, and food also came out just in time! ALSO there is a parking lot for this place!

I struggled with this review. Somewhere between a 2 and a 3. Came here with a big party for a corporate dinner. We had around 18 people. The service was very slow. The cocktails were not great. Trying to put an Italian spin on some classics, but it didn't work (for me). Wine was better. The main dishes were average Italian fare. I had hoped for something more creative. We got a few appetizers, calamari, antipasto, and mushrooms with polenta. They were all meh. The mushrooms were suppressed to be a medley of wild mushrooms, but seemed to be just button or maybe baby Bellas. I got chicken stuffed with prosciutto and cheese with a side of homemade pasta. Again. It was fine, nothing special. And the desserts were not great. Cannoli didn't have enough chocolate chips, IMHO.

Amazing old school traditional Italian resturant with fantastic service and outstanding food and menu. Old school charm of the whole resturant is great.

Very small and cute Italian restaurant. The bread that was provided was delicious and the staff was very accommodating to my friends and I. I liked that they offer appetizer portion sizes of the pasta that way you can save room to share or try other items. For dessert we had the pistachio crème brûlée, the down fall was that it was very nutty that took away from the sweetness.

Just mediocre Italian food the limoncello martini was just okay. Really would not come back nothing was great. Presentation was okay. Server kept looking at my chest and it was just a very bizarre experience overall. Not a great experience at all.

Well, the food was delicious. We stopped in with a very large group so things were a bit chaotic. It was a busy place as well. Since we stopped in with such a big group, food orders were brought out at different times but the staff was very friendly and the food was delicious. Great place to enjoy with friends or family, really has the traditional vibe.

In my opinion, this was a very nice restaurant, Northern Italian food. The soup was very tasty. The pasta was nice. Meat sauce. Very sweet Tables were evenly separated. Noise level very low staff. Very attentive I enjoyed my meal there but being from Buffalo New York When I order pasta they fill up the bowl. He don't leave hungry

Probably the best Italian food I've ever had (granted I've never been to Italy)- such a sweet staff and amazing service, very quaint and authentic setting perfect for a group dinner or dates

Food wonderful! Service wonderful! Ambiance magical! Absolutely recommended for great Italian evening!

Date night at Portifino. It was very ready to make a reservation for 2 at 7pm the day of. We went on a Saturday night and it was bustling. We had good service and the food was yummy. My friend got a Peroni beer and I got the Portifino Martini which was strong. I ordered a Orecchiete 4 Funghi as an appetizer and originally ordered a seafood plate for my entree. Didn't love it so sent it back and got a Melanze Portifino instead which was perfect. My friend for a Caesar salad and Lasagna, both of which she loved. We got the desert special which was pretty good.

Old school Italian restaurant in heart of Crystal City Food and wine reminiscent of days gone by Service was great

A friend and I were in the neighborhood and spontaneously stopped in for dinner, without knowing much about it. Overall, it was a really good Italian meal, adequate service, in a place that historically may have been charming, but now appears a little outdated. The entrance has a lot of steps, but can make accommodation to get inside through another door.

Food was fresh and delicious. Service was always available and present to help. Good location, parking ( we walked 10 minutes from the Hyatt), nice dining room.

Absolutely incredible food, service and ambiance. Our server was outstanding, and the Omaggi di Nettuno was a showstopper. 2 of our table of three got this, and we were thrilled! The third got the gnocchi and was equally pleased. Should be rated 5 stars all day long.

The Portofino excepted my large party midweek at a busy time in Crystal City. The service was pleasant from reservation through dining and the food was filling and authentic. We all enjoyed the food, dessert, and drinks.

The lasagna needs improvement. Maybe it was just a today thing, I don't know. There was no flavor so I had to add salt and pepper, which is not ideal. Please consider revamping the recipe if this isn't a fluke.

Pesto and gnocchi dishes are bland, chicken was extremely dry and overcooked- not worth the $20/dish. Front of house staff was very nice. Expected more from DC food, unfortunately it did not follow through. Could've been better.

Excellent food especially the daily specials. Happy hour wine special bottles are half price.

One of the best places I've been to, food was amazing and top tier, the people were extremely nice and tentative and drinks were great as well, all around amazing experience, highly recommended to anyone in the area or anyone visiting!!!

I kept coming back because I thought this would be a good place over a long term. But it's still hit or miss. The beschemel sauce is mostly bland, and they put it on everything. The olive oil is butter, inedible but the bread is still good when it's warm. I've eaten here eight times now and every time it just gets a little worse. I'm disappointed.

Awful service. Table olive oil was rancid. Walked out before ordering. Fearful of getting food poisoning.

I had the veil. With cheese and sauce. Absolutely amazing. Service was great too. No one pushed your time or what you ordered. Overall a wonderful experience.

We started with Minestrone soup and an appetizer portion of tortellini in alfredo sauce. Both were delicious. Next we had our mains: shrimp scampi, seafood stew, and orechetti with mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce. All were delicious. I prefer smaller pieces of green pepper with the shrimp but it was still delicious. Service was terrific and they kept our glasses full. We had a Nutella mousse pie and limoncello sorbet for dessert. The pie was rich and creamy. The sorbet was perfectly cold and tart. We definitely will go back.

Had dinner here last night impecable service, great food, and homey ambiance, will certainly be back next time we find our selves in Arlington

Excellent family style Italian restaurant with a wide variety of menu options. Antipasti from Caprese salad, Caesar salad, delicious smoked trout, calamari. Pasta dishes range from Alfredo, ravioli, numerous veal dishes beyond Marsala, creamy sage sauce - more, chicken dishes from piccata and Marsala, great seafood dishes, had the Cioppino, delicious light tomato broth heavy on the shrimps, scallops, mussels, fish. Ravioli was delicious as well. Service was attentive and we had no room for dessert, but those cannoli's looked delicious!

Went there with few work colleagues. First the food. Portions are bad. I mean really bad considering the location and what the other Italian cuisines offer in the area. Olive oil with the bread tasted bad and subpar. The server kept on making some cheap small talk whenever he came to serve. One of our colleagues had food restrictions and he kept on singling him out for a comment whenever he came to serve. Utterly tasteless. We all noticed and felt bad. Finally the price. Not worth it. All in all, a bad experience for sure.

Read the Yelp page before coming. We were in town for business and decided to try at the recommendation of a co-worker. Definitely not kid friendly, despite on Yelp saying it was. The food was ok, with exception of the appetizer special we ordered (prosciutto and cantaloupe) which was delicious! It took almost an hour to get three pasta dishes and there were only a few tables in the restaurant. Not sure why it took so long...then the food was Luke warm when we received it. Disappointed.

1/21/23 Its a Saturday and we are here to celebrate the birthday of a family member. One of my family members love coming here and she chose this restaurant. This restaurant has had some complaints as does nearly all businesses. I found this restaurant to be exciting and worth visiting at least once. I saw there is a downstairs that could be for additional customers and/or parties. It could also be for the beer and alcohol; as well, as storage. We were seated in the main dining hall. The dinning hall is one room away from the bar and bathrooms. My wife and I were the first to arrive and park as guest, but since our party had yet to arrive, we were the second guests to enter the restaurant. The choices of food for me came down to chicken alfredo or lasagna. I decided I wanted to try the lasagna from an authentic Italian restaurant. The lasagna was delicious. There is one small recommend for the lasagna meal. It needs chopped up vegetables or some kind of side dish to go with the lasagna. The lasagna by its self wasn't enough for me. I did also try the Chicken Alfredo and I am glad I did not go with this as a meal. The Chicken Alfredo was very bland. I reccomend adding more flavor to the Chicken Alfredo. The crew members we met were very helpful. I appreciate the great attitudes from them; as well, as the manager on duty. I am not sure when we will be coming back here, but it is bound to happen at some point.

the food was not good, the drinks were watered down and the host at the front desk is extremely rude. i will never spend my money at this overpriced establishment again!

This restaurant is an excellent experience from start to finish! The servers are friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is cozy and inviting which makes for a wonderful evening. Also the cocktails and food are amazing. We were even asked to sign our empty bottle of wine for their display-nice touch. The Portofino Restaurant never disappoints.

What's left of my gazpacho... oops.... It was so good I forgot to stop eating ... linguini al vongole 1/2 portion....pork chop smothered with pearl onions ( I should've eaten my shoe; Cheaper and more flavorful... I was very upset with the wine guy. Majority of wines were between $35-90. When u asked for a recommendation it was $120

Great food and service! Had the pollo portofino, side of fettuccine alfredo with the tres letches special for dessert. All was so good, full of flavor and delicious. What impressed me the most was the staff and service. My glass was never empty, Julio the waiter was very knowledgeable and steered me in the right direction. The environment was very clean, relaxing and would make a great environment for a romantic evening.

Enjoyed dinner here on a Tuesday night. It's a pretty big place with a lot of tables but I would still recommend s reservation. I got the Gamberi al Burro which was shrimp sautéed in lemon, butter, garlic and white wine sauce over my choice of pasta. My friend got a salmon special with steamed vegetables. It's a little odd that the entrance is in the back but it's not too hard to find. There is a free parking lot but the spaces are quite tight and if you're double parked they ask you to leave your keys with the cashier.

The food is excellent. I had the chicken piccata, and I'd happily order it again. The atmosphere is the perfect little Italian restaurant where you'd expect to find Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. The service was quick and polite. I'll be going back again. Great happy hour specials on bottles of wine.

There were 6 of us for dinner Saturday night. We were all disappointed. No air conditioning on a very hot day. Ordered veal and was tough which I returned. Service not good. I will not recommend based on our experience.

Traditional Italian menu - outstanding service - a breath of fresh air in restaurant business. Servers were friendly with great suggestions, meals were delicious - highly recommend - lots to choose from and great portion size . Don't miss this place if you are traveling through.