Portofino — Restaurant in Quintana Roo

Portofino at Secrets in Cancun felt like stumbling into the kind of meal Anthony Bourdain would’ve raved about. The kind where the room hums, the plates arrive like little works of art, and the people behind the food make you feel like you’ve been invited into the family.

The food? Fantastic. Every bite balanced, flavors that made sense but still kept you curious. Presentation was on point, not fussy for the sake of Instagram, but clearly built by hands that care. Service was the kind you don’t forget, the kind where they anticipate your next move without hovering. Diego, our waiter, was world-class — the kind of guy who makes you feel like your table is the only one that matters. And meeting the chef was a bonus. A quick intro and a grin that said, “Yeah, we know this is good.”

If you find yourself here, don’t just eat. Linger. Let Diego steer you. And when you walk out, you’ll be grinning like you got away...

OMG! What a good Italian restaurant. I travel a lot and have tried a lot of restaurants around the world, so I'm normally expecting to be underwhelmed with All-inclusive resort restaurants (even in the high end resorts). But this place had top notch food! The appetizers and mains were both delicious. The cocktails were good too. The only downside was as expected the included wine which was served warm and tasted like cheap wine (I am a fan of finding and trying nice affordable affordable wines, but this one just wasn't a good one). Everything else was...

Both Portofino and Bordeux are overly dark inside for some reason. The decor for Portofino is definitely more upscale. No live piano entertainment for the night which was a little disappointing. But the food definitely made up for it. The best was the Osso Buco. Huge chunk of tender fatty meat on a giant bone. If we're weren't pretending to be at a sophisticated Italian restaurant, I would have picked it up and tore the meat right off...