Portofino Restaurant Wellington — Restaurant in North Island

Food: 2 out of 5. Service: 0 out of 5. Ambience: 5 out of 5. Location: 5 out of 5.

Positives: great location, nice waterfront views, spacious and head chef 'PEPE'.

Negatives: undertrained service staff, lack of attention while taking order details, a rude and ignorant FOH manager.

Context: It was a planned occasion for us, personally visited the restaurant and booked the table well in advance. Head chef PEPE himself attended me, took the booking details, he was a great guy. I asked if they had Spaghetti Aglio Olio with some add-ons, even if it was not on the regular menu, he said that he would be very happy to make it for us and took a note of it as well. He even mentioned, if we have any special requests on the day we can feel free to tell him and he would be happy to accommodate.

Dinner Time: on reaching, we were given a table with nice waterfront views. We were attended by a young lady and she took our order details.

The Food ordered: Pan Fried Scallops: while placing the order, requested to make it with less sauce but was given in a bowl full of red sauce (it was almost difficult to find the scallops in it). Also, the scallops were not fresh I guess, as we had foul smells in them and we pointed to her immediately but got a response, "I have told the chef but it's like this only!". Roasted potatoes: it was not well seasoned but was ok to have. Spaghetti Aglio Olio: ordered 2 portions of it and while placing the order, requested to add prawns, olives and broccoli in both the portions. We were reminded that there would be extra charges for these and we said it's fine with us. But when served, we noticed one of the portions didn't have any prawns or broccoli in it and both portions were missing olives in it. I understand, it might happen at times but my concern was the attitude or reaction after we pointed it out. She took the plate back and brought it back after a few minutes. Olives were still missing in it and we decided to have it as it is without wasting any more energy. We could clearly sense there was something wrong in the process and communication. Cocktails: had a couple of cocktails from the menu which was good.

The drama to unfold at the end: On requesting feedback from me, I thought of sharing with the head chef PEPE as I believed my feedback would help Portofino to improve in the future. So I met him before leaving. He was nice as before and was kind enough to listen to my feedback. He admitted that the requests we made while placing the order were somehow missed and didn't reach him in the kitchen. I was ok with it as I only wanted to share my feedback for their improvement since they asked for it. He was apologetic and we had a nice conversation around it. At that very moment, the FOH manager saw me talking to PEPE and approached me rudely. In the next few minutes, he was very rude, made a series of unnecessary and shockingly one way rude comments. PEPE tried to calm him down by apologising on his behalf but it seemed he was on a different ride and he kept on being rude. I was really shocked to hear his comments as I couldn't relate any of them to the context.

Friendly Advice: To head chef PEPE: you are a great person and putting all the hard work in the kitchen. Don't let it be ruined by mistakes like these. Please train the staff well and most importantly please teach the FOH Manager how to behave with the customers or guests. To the FOH Manager: please understand, the customers come to restaurants and pay a lot from their hard earned money to have good food and good experience, not unnecessary rude behaviours. Please be polite to your guests and respect their feedback, it's going to help the business to grow. I hope you will learn from your mistakes and will help Portofino to grow better.

Portofino has a great potential, please focus on your hospitality and please pay attention to the requests from the customers. You may not be able to follow all but at least communicate...

It was extremely and excruciatingly terrible for my Christmas eve dinner. The decor was nice but the service was poor and the food was horribly presented and it tasted from plainly bland to overly seasoned and not to mentioned, raw veggies and over cooked beef. I went there because it was recommended by Wellington tourism food guide but it was a total let down.

Food - The entree of mussels were decent but overpriced for such poor culinary skills. The broth was lacking in flavor. The mains ordered were the eye fillet and veal. For the veal, it was bathed in so much sauce it was actually difficult to find the veal. The vegetables were baby carrots, cauliflowers and broccoli which were all under cooked and tasted funny. The baby potatoes were cooked perfectly but not seasoned. The eye fillet was ordered medium but came as well done and bathed in a mushroom and salty bacon sauce. It was still acceptable if it tasted good but it didn't. It tasted as if the chef was a first timer cook. At the end of the meal, when I asked who was the head chef, it was a CHINESE chef in an Italian restaurant. (I am not being racists here as I am a Chinese myself), just tells you how badly this restaurant can go wrong.

Service - Downright the worst I have seen ever. The waitress spilled my entree of mussels on the seat next to me and on our table but DID NOT bring back the dish to be re-plated or replaced. Instead, she said the f word when she spilled it and hurriedly went back to mop up the mess on the chair. (but forgot about the mess on my entree) She also forgot to bring the pepper initially. I was sitting outside the restaurant on the waterfront and had to go into the restaurant twice to order drinks and get the bill. When the waitress asked me how was my dinner and I told her it was pretty bad, she got furious and started blaming me for not telling them earlier!! Then I told her that it was alright and I just wanted the bill, not a replacement etc. and it was merely feedback about what happened in the restaurant. Guess what she said,"This is not feedback". Well, if it wasn't feedback and if I wasn't nice enough, I don't know what else could be better.

DON'T ever dine here no matter what it takes, Spent NZD $ 50 per person on what is definitely the worst meals I have eaten in NZ for the five years I have been here. Try other waterfront...

. (03/2018) This is an upscale Italian restaurant well located next to the shore providing awesome sea views, conveniently accessible from Customhouse Quay and Lambton Quay. Easy to notice from a moving vehicle in normal traffic and easily approachable. Well managed, organised and nicely maintained. Awesome ambiance, trendy interior and cozy atmosphere. Spacious and comfortable seating around the restaurant which is divided into different sections. Pleasant, cordial and helpful staff. Amiable, well timed and friendly service. Great variety of food and drinks with many options for vegans and vegetarians. Fresh preparations which can be felt from diffusing fragrance of spices from well prepared food, served while it is warm. Delicious food and good presentation. Loved Vegetariana Pizze. Table service. This restaurant offers takeaways. Reservation is recommended for the groups and can be made in advance. This restaurants lets you order ahead for groups on order to keep food ready to be served on arrival which makes it an ideal place for quick celebrations in the middle of the day or during early evening. Card as well as cash payments are accepted. Paywave facility is available at this location. Good for groups, celebrations, family and kids. Normally busy during evening. Outdoor seating is not available. Could not notice wheelchair accessible seating or high chair in plain view at this location. Entrance is wheelchair accessible. There is no dedicated parking area available although street parking can be found around. Wheelchair parking is not available. Enjoyed...