Portofino — Restaurant in England

This was my first visit to this restaurant, and to be honest, I’m not sure I’d return. The atmosphere was pleasant, and it got busy quite quickly — we arrived at 5 PM and were seated right away. The staff were friendly, which I appreciated. Unfortunately, the food didn’t meet my expectations. I chose not to mention it to the staff at the time, as they were polite and I wondered if I was just being particular.

The starters and our first round of drinks arrived promptly. I have no complaints about the squid rings — they were very good. However, I ordered the seafood risotto, expecting a mix of seafood, not just prawns and haddock. I opted to remove the haddock, assuming there would be other seafood included, but that wasn’t the case. What I received was a fairly basic risotto with small prawns, which felt underwhelming — especially given the additional £3 charge on the happy hour menu. Considering the prawns weren’t king prawns and I removed the haddock, the extra cost or the cost i general didn’t seem justified in comparison to other similar restaurants.

The risotto itself was too cheesy for my taste, and surprisingly, there wasn’t any parmesan added on top — just the cheesy flavour mixed into the dish. I was also a bit disappointed that no one checked on us during the meal or asked if we needed anything else, like drinks or sauces. I had to flag someone down to request these. I understand it was busy, but a quick check-in during the meal seems like basic service.

One final point: I noticed the prices listed online didn’t match the prices in the restaurant. It might be worth updating this so customers know what to expect before...

The food was good & reasonably priced but both the service & atmosphere were terrible. The staff were polite but very busy. Some of our drinks never arrived at the table at all, even though they were ordered before our starter arrived. It was difficult to get the attention of the waitresses. The staff were unsure which bottled drinks were available and unsure if there was a children's menu. The staff don't really understand Table Water should be served in a bottle or jug with additional glasses to help ourselves. We were offered half's or pints of tap water. I wasn't offered a choice of wine and dare not ask what was available for them to have to go away & ask again, so a random white it was. There was a very long wait time between the starters & the main course arriving but in fairness they were busy. Our mains arrived but we had to ask for cutlery in order to eat them. Some of the cutlery was very grubby. We opted to clean it ourselves rather than a long wait again to get anyone's attention. No additional napkins were provided with the main. Luckily I had a pack of tissues in my bag. I like the classic italian decor but the bent wooden chairs were uncomfortable & made it feel like a cafe. The tables were crammed in too close together, so it was arkward to get to the toilets or the bar. It was extremely noisy. Everyone seems to be shouting at each other over the music. It's impossible to have a conversation. With some extra staff training, a few tables removed to create a clear walk way & the music turned down, it could improve dramatically & become a really lovely place to...

Didn't book a table. We just turned up around 6.45pm. They just told us to sit for a few minutes whilst they cleaned a table for us.

The restraunt itself is very well lit and beautiful with all the fairy lights, the lovely hanging ivy and the balconies it's easy on the eyes. It's also very colourful and has a lot of little quirky things you'll notice.

The food was amazing, and i will definitely be returning and also recommending this bistro.

Before our starters came, they brought us a bowl of fresh bread with butter. You could tell it was freshly made.

First, we ordered 2 starters, the chicken stripes and garlic mushrooms. My partner liked the fact that the garlic mushrooms were cooked in garlic instead of just stuffed and said they were the best she's ever eaten. The chicken stripes were amazing with panko breadcrumbs.

I ordered the hot shot parmesan with chips, the parmesan was nice, the chicken tender, and the breadcrumbs were tasty.

The chips were among some of the best I've eaten well cooked and crispy but yet soft on the inside.

My partner ordered the slow-cookrd beef in red wine with root vegetables. She said the beef was melt in your mouth tender - however, there were 2 small pieces that were a little fatty, The mash was perfect👌. The vegetables were delicious, and it was also served with roasties, which she said was unneeded as she had mash but said they were perfect crispy outside and fluffy inside.

Considering all the food we ordered and a pint each, we were pleasantly surprised with the price we did go during the happy hour...