Portofino Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Palmerston North

Whilst in Palmerston North for a night on business alone, I wanted a healthier Mediterranean meal. So this was my option to try, and what a great decision. The greeting was very friendly, and I was taken to an appropriate table for sitting just me. The drinks selection was very good, I chose a red wine for a healthy heart. I am trying to cut down on the beer drinking, though if I wasn't, a few more real craft beers would be good addition to see on the menu. The best part though was actually being asked if I would like another drink when I had nearly emptied mine. Nearly every restaurant I visit you get the first drink and then spend the rest of the evening trying to get the attention of staff to get another. It baffles me why so many other businesses don't pay attention to empty glasses and offer more drinks. It's their profits going missing and unhappy clients like me. No problem here though. All the service was very attentive and friendly. They were happy to take my starter order whilst I deliberated over the all too good looking main courses. I had the Bruschetta classico to start and it was a perfect choice. Very leafy and the bread was so tasty. But also not overly filling as some starters can be. I chose the Penne al salmone affumicato for the main. I usually go for tomato based pasta sauces, but this white sauce was perfect with the salmon. It was very tasty but not overly so, that could have taken over the salmon flavour. Not too rich or thick, perfect. The portion size was just right for me, I was full but not overly. I certainly would have had enough room for a dessert. I am reducing suger intake for a while so my favourite course of dessert was not an option. I did take a long look at the menu though, just to imagine what I was missing out on. They were very tempting, and I want to return when I can and have one again. It was such a pleasure to have such great food and service at Portofino. It took me back to recalling great holidays in Italy. 5 stars...

Went here for a birthday celebration with friends. Very very disappointing. We hadn’t been back here for a few years after a rather underwhelming meal last time so it was always going to be an interesting evening. On the whole the front of house service is good. Drinks order was taken. Husband was driving so was drinking low alcohol beer. He enjoyed the Boundary Road beer so ordered another only to be told there was no more. Pretty poor given that it was the start of the weekend, instead he had to have the overpriced zero alcohol Italian beer. Starters arrived. The bruschetta was nice. Mains arrived, except mine. Waitress came out to the table & asked what risotto I had ordered so it was pretty evident that mine had been forgotten. It finally arrived but after the rest had eaten most of their meals. A bday cake had been ordered, this arrived and we ordered coffees. The coffees took a long time to arrive, in fact the young woman who started ‘making’ them had absolutely no idea what she was doing! That was not her fault but the fault of management and their lack of training. We felt really sorry for her. Hospitality is bloody hard work and worse when you’re not trained properly. When it came to paying we were charged twice for my risotto, ironic given that they had actually forgotten it initially. Very expensive night out for incredibly average food. We’ve eaten at some excellent Italian restaurants both here in NZ & overseas, unfortunately this restaurant...

I can't comment on the atmosphere or service, as I have only ordered from here via Uber Eats. Their service has always been quite prompt. But taste-wise, this has got to be the wort "Italian food" that I have ever tasted. This food is made with no love. I'm not sure how the reviews are so high. Maybe the standards of food are different for in house vs Uber (not sure why that would be the case, though) but I'll never find out. I've ordered I think 3 different meals from here, just hoping that each dish might be better, but no. They were all utterly disappointing. The Cannelloni was completely flavourless, soggy as anything, with tomato sauce that tasted like it came straight out of a can. In fact the whole thing may have come straight out of a packet and in the microwave - I wouldn't be surprised. The Fettucine con Pollo was MILDLY flavoursome, but still incredibly disappointing, and had super rubbery chicken. I'm guessing it was defrosted in the microwave or such. And the Rigatoni Portofino was such a disappointment. How do you mess up such a simple dish? For starters, it wasn't even Rigatoni, it was Penne. The "Panna sauce" was literally milk, the only flavour was the feta and the sundried tomatoes (which were just salt in tomato form), and to top it all off, some tasteless cheese melted ontop. I'm so disappointed. I used to be of the opinion that even a mediocre pasta is enjoyable, but not anymore. Sorry guys, but...