Il Porto — Restaurant in Gaithersburg

My family and I came here a few nights ago for my mothers birthday. I have two kids and I wasn't sure how they would hold out (age 7 and 2) but because it was her birthday, we went song with it.

We had 7pm reservations. We arrived five minutes early and were pleasantly surprised to be sat immediately at a table already set for us. They have done some very nice upgrades since our last visit years back. But that's where the appeal stopped. We were sat at 6:55pm and didn't even have drinks on the table until 7:20. At that time we placed our dinner orders, which did come out in a timely manor. I hadn't seen a children's menu and asked our server to name the 2-3 most popular kids meals. We went with penne with meat sauce, for the two kids to split. The food was tasty, but nothing over the top that would stand out for me. At this point in our meal, I'd have rated our visit a 4 star. Service was painfully slow and we got one refill our entire stay (1.5 hours!).

By 8pm, we had been there for over an hour and it was time to go. I promptly asked for the check, as our two year old was showing signs of getting angsty. 8:10 rolls around, still no check. I asked another gentlemen who was working if our server could come over with the check. He came a few minutes later and literally insisted on clearing off our entire table before presenting the check. By this point, my husband already took the kids out to the car and I continued to wait. I finally paid at 8:24pm, 24 minutes after asking for the check. By this point, it went down to 3 stars because of the painfully obnoxious wait.

The rating went down to two stars after receiving the check and seeing the children's penne was $12.99. That's an insane price for a kids meal, completely NOT worth it. It was a pathetic amount.

Overall, we were not satisfied with our visit. It's highly unlikely we'd return, even...

Where do I start other than I wish I could have done less than one star for food? The date of our meal was 11/6/2024. My wife and I went for dinner. I asked if the meat lasagna was made with veal or ground beef. The waitress said ground beef, so I ordered it. My wife ordered Chicken Ramano. The first thing is that the restaurant smells like cleaning liquid, so there is no excellent smell of Italian food that makes you hungry (the reason for that comes later). The meals do not come with any sides like a salad or soup. Our meals came, and they brought my wife what was Chicken Marsala, but they refused to admit they brought the wrong meal and insisted it was Chicken Ramano. The lasagna they brought me tasted like they opened a can of tomato sauce (not spaghetti sauce) and poured over some lasagna noodles and ground meat. I have had a lot of lasagna in my life, including the one I make, and it was the most flavorless lasagna I have ever had. The meat on the lasagna was veal, and when I finally got the manager over, he said it was veal. I do not eat veal, and they could have cared less. They not only served my wife the wrong meal but that I had veal when I specifically asked if it was veal and was told it was not. My wife's meal had a side of spaghetti that tasted like Ragu sauce from a jar on it. If you want quality Italian food or just food with some flavor, AVOID THIS RESTAURANT!!! It was one of the top two worst Italian restaurant...

We recently hosted my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding at Il Porto Gaithersburg, and it was simply the best day of our lives. From day one, the owner Alberto was incredibly helpful and made sure every little detail was taken care of. His wife is an amazing human being who made us feel at home right away—like we could do anything we needed to make this day perfect.

We also want to express our deepest gratitude to Mayra, the owner’s daughter and the event planner. She was absolutely outstanding, with a beautiful heart and a true gift for making everything run seamlessly. Adriana, the owners’ younger daughter, was so kind and helpful, her warmth made us feel like we were part of the family.

The whole team, including Marvin, Herson, and everyone else, went above and beyond for us. They made sure everything ran smoothly, and they were so warm and caring throughout the entire event. Our guests were blown away by the food and the atmosphere—some of them even said they’re going to come back just to eat here again! And for us, we’ve found our new favorite Italian spot for life.

We’re so grateful for the kindness, warmth, and care that everyone at Il Porto shared with us. You didn’t just host our wedding—you made us feel like part of the family. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making this day so special and...