Portofino Restaurant — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

We've been here a few times, we love coming here. The mussels starter is big enough to share between 2-3 people, and both the red and white creamy sauces are very tasty, although bare in mind the red sauce can be quite spicy. We've had the sirloin steaks, one with Diane sauce and the other with a red, anchovy sauce. They were cooked exactly as we asked them to be (medium, medium to rare) and they were perfect. The Inglese pizza is delicious, it's so flavourful and love the thin crust and egg on top! Once the egg was fried, but preferably the egg would be best cooked on top of the pizza. The salmon is a delight every time! Would recommend a glass of the Italian red wine, Barbera d'Asti, to go with the steak. The homemade chips on our first visit were a little undercooked and we mentioned it, and since then they've been delicious and crispy every single time. The herb potatoes are pleasant too. We shared a homemade cheesecake of the day (caramel cheesecake), it tasted like heaven! We would go back there just for the cheesecake alone! Tried the chocolate fudge cake with pouring cream, it was delightful! The liquor coffee was lovely too. The service was a bit slow, but it was nice to have long breaks between each dish and not feel rushed to eat like at other restaurants. Also, the first time we came here no one checked throughout our meal if everything was ok with our food, which is custom to do, but that's also been rectified since we mentioned it. We appreciate the fact our feedback has been taken seriously. We would recommend this restaurant 100% for the amazing food and lovely staff, we'll definitely be coming back...

We booked a table for 8:15. We didn't realise that Newcastle had been playing so when we got there it was absolutely bunged. We spoke to one of the waiters and explained we had booked a table. He checked us off the list and apologised that the table would still be a few minutes. We said it was fine. We waited about 10 minutes and someone came over and apologised that it would be a bit longer but would we like a couple of drinks on the house. We said no and it was fine. We'd had a great night in town so we weren't in any rush. The whole place was buzzing it was a great atmosphere. In the end we waited about half an hour but were finally seated. The waitress was apologising the whole time and we said not to worry.

We ordered our meals, starter mushrooms and calamari. Both delicious and plentiful!

Our table was cleared promptly and our mains came. A Mexicana pizza and carnivore pizza with sides of chips and onion rings to share. All well made and 100% amazing! Just what the doctor ordered.

We asked for our bill as we were both stuffed. A man, who I think was the manager came over and apologised for our wait again and asked if we would like dessert on the house. We said there was no need but he insisted and said he would put it in containers so we could take it home. He came back over with our bill and desserts, the whole thing came to £55. He had taken the drinks off the bill too as even though we had refused at the start of the night they were on the house.

Absolutely great service, attentive staff and great atmosphere.

Would we go back...

We had dinner here for our 4th Anniversary!

Ambiance was quaint and cosy, making for a warm and inviting environment.

Staff were friendly and they even honoures my booking request to be seated at a quiet table at the back of the restaurant! Not only that, our server was so personable, and offered us free drinks on the house! (I mean, we didn't expect it really, the nicely located table was just our goal, but they made our night!)

The food was amaaaaazing - we had the penne carbonara, tagliatelle gamberoni and the carnivore pizza - it was just chef's kiss! You could tell from the first bite that the food was made fresh!

Serving size wise, the amount was ample, and very justifiable with the quality of the food being served. Despite the place being busy, you could tell that they don't compromise food quality.

Plus, I had a view of the part of the kitchen were dishes were being cleaned - that kitchen porter - she was thorough! I have no doubt about how clean their dishes are! Perfection!

Initially, the food took time to be brought to our tables, but we patiently waited as we could see that the place was busy and jam-packed. But boy oh boy, the wait was worth it!

My poorly shot video won't do it justice, but we had an absolutely lovely dining experience! Will definitely, definitely come back...