Pizzeria Portofino — Restaurant in Chicago

Dear Management,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express my profound disappointment and dismay regarding an incident that occurred during my recent visit to your restaurant approximately two weeks ago April 27, 2024 at 12:30 pm. What began as a promising outing to enjoy the sunny day in Chicago turned into a distressing and deeply troubling experience marred by racism and unprofessional behavior.

During our visit, my friends and I, all of whom are Black women, encountered an incident that left us feeling humiliated and disrespected. As we completed our payment process, which was done online, some of us included our tip in combination with our bill, while others, including myself, opted to leave a cash tip. To our shock and dismay, a white woman with blonde hair, whom I presume to be an employee working in the front, approached our table under the pretense of inquiring about our dining experience.

However, instead of engaging in a polite and courteous manner, she proceeded to make a highly inappropriate and racially charged comment regarding the tip amount. In a tone that reeked of condescension and implicit bias, she remarked that she noticed the tip was less than 10%, insinuating that this was somehow indicative of a problem with the service. Such unwarranted scrutiny and baseless assumptions based on racial stereotypes were not only deeply offensive but also completely unwarranted.

To add insult to injury, this individual's behavior did not stop there. Despite our discomfort and protestations, she continued to press the issue until she noticed another tip left on the table, at which point she abruptly changed her tune, offering a dismissive and insincere apology. This blatant display of racial profiling and discrimination has left an indelible mark on our dining experience and tarnished what would have otherwise been an enjoyable visit.

Furthermore, I must also address the subpar service we received from our waiter during the course of our meal. Despite the pleasant atmosphere and the appeal of your restaurant's cuisine, the overall service was abysmal. Our waiter demonstrated a lack of attentiveness and professionalism, making only minimal attempts to check on our table throughout the duration of our visit. In contrast, the water servers were more diligent in their duties than he was, further exacerbating our disappointment.

I sincerely hope that you will take this complaint seriously and take immediate steps to address the issues raised herein. Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, and it is incumbent upon businesses such as yours to uphold principles of equality, inclusivity, and respect for all customers. I trust that you will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and implement appropriate measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to receiving your prompt response and assurances that corrective action will be...

Pizzeria Portofino has a nice riverfront setting with a great view of the always dirty Chicago river from the bar area. To get to it you can either take the stairs or the special elevator dedicated specifically to the Pizzeria Portofino down to the lower level of the riverfront. Prices are fair considering the area so I'm not going to be the guy ragging on a $22 pizza because I know between the ridiculous taxes & almost unregulated Chicago real estate market, businesses have to charge a certain amount just to stay afloat. The place was mostly empty when I came. Despite not being super busy, the workers were all buzzing about, running back and forth, stopping to talk to eachother every once in awhile.

The charred pepperoni pizza is barely charred with a light, airy crust that is the hallmark of neapolitan pizza. The sauce is light as well. As far as taste there's not much to it. You mostly taste the pepperoni which is good, but everything else barely has an impact except for a minor tangy flavor possibly coming from the tomato sauce. It definitely leaves you disappointed because you expected more out of it. The hot honey is simply honey mixed with crushed red peppers which is rather disappointing. The hot honey isn't spicy either so it definitely doesn't live up to its' moniker. There might be something like vinegar added to the honey since it is a bit tangy & the viscosity is way more liquid than normal. It does flesh out the flavor of the pizza somewhat though although in the end it's not a game changer.

Overall, this is a good hangout spot that I'm sure can get extremely intimate during the lunch rush. If you're there during the downtime then you can enjoy the view as well as excellent decorum. The food is ok, but definitely won't be why you're showing up. I suspect the pizza might ironically be the worst thing on the menu as others have noted. Pricewise it's your standard downtown Chicago prices meaning you can either spend $15 for a cheap glass of wine or literally $512 for some high-end liquor on the menu. What side of the menu you end up on depends on...

We reserved a patio table weeks in advance to celebrate our anniversary. When we got there, the place was very crowded and they had several people/companies having holiday celebrations. When our reservations were called, they led us to a table right by the bar, that was surrounded by people, we couldn't even pull out our chairs. The hostess was very nice about it and said they're working on clearing it up. However, my husband mentioned that we reserved a table on the patio and we would like to sit out there. They at first gave us one of those tiny overflow tables they put out, but we asked be sit where we would be out of the way of traffic and also a bigger table. It took a few minutes and they eventually got us a nicer table. The place is cute, and it's right on the river, but if you want to have a nice date night, this is not a good place for it.

The food was nothing special. We got the whipped ricotta to start 4/5. The bread was warm and the whipped ricotta wkth honey was pretty good.

Pear salad with some type of blue cheese, and a lemon dressing. 2/5. Was bitter and a little sour.

Charred pepperoni pizza (substituted for sausage) 3/5 have definitely had better pizza for a better price. There was nothing special about it.

Rigatoni vodka. 4/5 this was pretty good and gave enough sauce for the dish. I wish they would add sausage or something to it though, but it's just pasta and sauce.

Old fashioned. 2/5 it was good but the dam drink was $24 and a little watered down.

Overall, I would say it's a cute place to experience with friends but not to celebrate an anniversary or something intimate. There are definitely better food options out there. I think the hype of it being on the river walk is what makes it so appealing. I personally don't care to...