Portofino Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

I find it a bit off-putting when you walk into a restaurant and the first thing the host asks is which voucher you'll be using. Checking in on yelp, I realized their check-in special offered the same benefits as the groupon we used at dinner.

Food was okay (no big whoop) but dessert was delicious (more on this below) and our waiter was attentive. The weather was nice so we opted to sit on the deck, where 95% of the other patrons were as well. Even so, the restaurant was not crowded. Big space, love their design & red booths indoors.

Food- Shared hot antipasti for two- consisted of everything fried & stuffed, including fried cheese, stuffed clams & mushrooms, shrimp, calamari. Both got the surf & turf with steak. Be warned, never trust a restaurant where the menu lists steak as "steak." No cut, no ounces, nothing. Opted for my usual rare, came out more medium rare and quality is probably what you'd get at Sizzler. I did enjoy the lobster tail with stuffed crab meat, although the stuffing tasted like it was from a box. I left the majority of the steak on my plate, as it was too awful for consumption. The only highlight of last night was our dessert. SO and I got their tiramisu which was delicious! Sweet but not overpowering, soft, flavorful! We devoured this in no time! Wine- Our choice was "red" or "white." Opted for white, which was semi-sweet and a bit tart. Not the best, but have had worse.

Right after the waiter served dessert, he dropped off the check and came by a few times afterwards to see if we paid. A bit strange, but okay. Despite the other yelpers warning us, it was still surprising to see the value listed as $300+ for our table of 4. No matter, it was an experience, one that I will not be repeating.

While it was nice to check out Portofino and see City Island, this is not a restaurant I will...

DON'T WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY!!!!!Yesterday August 2nd we were celebrating an special ocassion with family everything was great the service good ,they asked us what was the reason we were there and we said it was an special ocassion The waiter was nice and talkative we order a couple of appetizers ,drinks and main courses,at the end of the meal they said they had something special for us,so they brought a big cart and started making frambe ,which we didn't ask for because we were satisfied with all the food we had eaten,then after we finished that complimentary dessert the waiter came and said he had an extra surprise for us and he brought after dinner drinks that we really didn't want but he was very insistent that we should have it ....guess what that was the catch He insisted that much because we were going to get charged for every single item he brought to the table without having the principle to ask if we wanted everything that he kept adding...people don't get fooled by this place ,they act nice and warm with you so they keep adding stuff to your tab,it is very disrespectful what he did to us ,the check was 621.00 and I almost fainted when i realized the kids meal which was chicken fingers and fries was 21 bucks, I mean really?this is not even an upscale restaurant,I've been to better places that this one...that is ridiculous He didn't even brought the kids menu he just said what they had to offered and the reason was because they don't want you to know the prices,overall I don't recommend this place to anyone if you don't want to get ripped off Very disappointed, you have to treat your customers with respect and always ask them if they want something,not force them,probably he was short of money and wanted to keep adding to make a good tip to save his day,just...

i don;t do reviews. Father's Day 2021.Party of 7. first visit.service here was horrible.staff went from slow service to NO SERVICE to INSULT. first off we had to request 4 additional place settings despite advance reservation.and confirmation before our15 min. wait for our table prep.2 different waitresses.1 took drink orders (25 min wait). then 2nd waitress took appetizer orders.i asked for lobster bisque she said they didnt have any,i asked for soup of the day.she replied "we don't have any soup because ITS TOO HOT FOR SOUP" Really? no clams or oysters. no crabs legs, no flounder.we were served a few orders of mussels( 6 per) in white wine and a couple of the most tired shrimp cocktails i've seen served in a restaurant.(sorry we were all so bummed no one took pix).our wait staff vanished and 40 mins later ( havind NO FOOD served to us) i got the attention of a passing wait person who offered to take our orders AGAIN?? we requested a manager and 10 minutes later a young man came over and in a rude and patronizing demeanor offered free drinks if we would stay.NO APOLOGY WHATSOEVER. we declined. he returned with a S176.00 check slapped it on the table, (still no apology) to group of retired vets, nypd and postal retirees. this could have been a one off but this place was TERRIBLE. mediocre appetizers (all we got to eat). rude, unprofessional waitstaff and horrible management. my worst restaurant experience ever. DON'T WASTE TIME OR MONEY on just a nice view. Be especially mindful if...