Il Porto Restaurant — Restaurant in Frederick

We recently dined here as part of a group (of 10) for a birthday. In general, everyone enjoyed their food and it was good. The baked ziti was very good and they were willing to make it without the sausage and shrimp they usually include for my vegetarian wife. The spaghetti carbonara was another high point, loaded with bacon. My nephews split a tomato and cheese pizza, which came on a thin crust, with an excellent sauce and tangy mozzarella.

There were a few hiccups. I had ordered the fried mozzarella appetizer (two of them) and the fried calamari appetizer for the table. We were brought the mozzarella caprese instead of the fried mozzarella. No biggie, we enjoyed it. The tomatoes were a little mealy and pink--not the bright vibrant red tomatoes that one would hope for in such a simple dish. The mozzarella was good and the fresh basil was in good shape. The dish was a bit pricey for what it was. The calamari was okay. I thought they lacked a little in salt and were slightly overcooked giving them a rubbery texture.

The service was generally prompt. One major service snafu occurred, however. Our 20-month son was dining with us. They offer a 1/2 portion of a number of their dishes for children. We ordered him the half portion of the spaghetti with oil and garlic (he's a huge fan of garlic). When they delivered the food, they delivered his first and set down a very hot bowl of pasta and oil directly in front of him. Before I could even reach him, he had his fingers in the spaghetti and let out a scream. I scooped him up and tried to comfort him, and used cool water to try to take the sting away. I touched the pasta myself and it was exceptionally hot, even for me, and had clearly just finished being cooked. I don't fault the restaurant for serving hot food, but their servers should know better than to put something mere inches away from a toddler without even so much as a warning that it was exceptionally hot. The only way we could get my son to calm down was to take him outside away from the bowl. My wife, mother-in-law, and I took turns walking around outside the restaurant as the rest of my family finished my mother's birthday meal. Any attempt to bring him back inside resulted in immediate crying (and we're not going to let him ruin other people's meals) No apology was given for the restaurant's careless act.

As a final note, the tables in the restaurant are exceptionally small. The bowls that the pasta is served in barely fit two across the narrow tables, leaving little room for the condiments, cheese, olive oil, bread, and balsamic that are...

Called ahead of time to say that I have a lot of allergies and asked if they could just do PLAIN CHICKEN AND PASTA COOKED IN OLIVE OIL WITH NO OTHER INGREDIENTS. They said they can do this in a enthusiastic manner and I came in. When the waiter took my order, I mentioned I had called and slowly repeated the order explaining I have severe allergies. Plain chicken and pasta cooked in olive oil with no other ingredients and seasonings. He repeated it back and said he understood after I insisted that it's important. He comes back with the food, and as I am eating and talking to my friend, I finally notice a ton of garlic and other things that were underneath the first layer of pasta. I unfortunately distractedly ingested some. I send it back, repeating again that I had severe allergies. He comes back with another plate, I asked if it's plain chicken and pasta cooked in olive oil. He says yes, "not even salt and pepper".

This time I notice halfway through eating that it's been drenched in vegetable oil. Not exaggerating when I say there was just a thick layer of oil (10-15% of the bowl) sitting there. I just gave up and asked for the check. After all this, they tried to charge me for the most expensive chicken item in the menu. When I called them out for this, they said that is just how much the meal costs. I pointed out how my friend got a full chicken lasagna dish for significantly less and they dropped mine to the price of her dish. I have been spending my night in pain and sick and nauseous even 7 hours later because they couldn't take my concerns seriously. This is cruel, and a slap in the face to be charged for the most expensive chicken dish after such severe negligence. Not taking someone's allergies seriously can cost you your job and...

Had heard amazing reviews of this place from both family and friends so my girlfriend and I decided to stop in for Valentine’s Day dinner. Kevin was our server for the night and boy did he disappoint. Had reservations at 7:30. We had a drink order in as soon as we sat down and, after we inquired about where they were, finally received them at 8:15. 45 minutes of sitting around being dodged by Kevin. Meanwhile tables that came in after us had their entree’s within 30 minutes, also served by Kevin. To keep things short, the service got worse. We ordered our appetizer at the same time as our entree and Kevin confirmed that he would deliver the appetizer first. Sure enough, here come the entrees, yet no appetizer. I asked where it was, and he appeared stunned… shocking, I know, seeing as the service was excellent before. Fast forward to the tail end of the night. He had completely forgotten the garlic bread appetizer for the table next to us… (they kindly gave it away to a new table that had just sat down). Anyways back to us, we put in one order of their Valentine’s Day special drink and he told my girlfriend he would wait until she was finished her current drink because, why order early? We also put in a desert order. Came out amazing just like all the other food, incredible taste. We’re now done desert and sitting with the check, oh and here now comes her 2nd drink that we ordered 20+ minutes ago. So we sat there all paid up and eager to leave not enjoying the beverage. Did Kevin offer anything more than an excuse as to it was Valentine’s Day? No. He even forgot to give me a pen to fill out the check. Honestly probably the worst service I have ever experienced. For that alone, I will not return. Food is great! If you do go, just...