Port Vida Mexican Cantina — Restaurant in Newburyport

Coming from the West Coast, where fresh, bold flavors are a part of everyday life, I’ll admit I walked into Porta Vida with high expectations — and this spot delivered in every single way. It’s rare to find a place that blends authentic coastal-inspired food, a welcoming atmosphere, and genuinely great people, but Porta Vida absolutely nailed it.

One of the highlights of the night was meeting the owner, who just so happened to be having dinner at the bar next to us. You can always tell when a place is run with pride and passion, and this casual conversation confirmed exactly that. It’s the kind of personal touch that sticks with you and shows the heart behind the business.

The ceviche was the star of the meal. Fresh, bright, and full of flavor, it transported me straight back to the kind of coastal spots I love on the West Coast. You could taste the authenticity in every bite — perfectly balanced citrus, tender seafood, and just the right kick of heat.

We also ordered the flautas, which were packed with flavor and cooked to crispy perfection. Every bite was savory, satisfying, and made with clear attention to detail — the kind of dish that hits the spot and leaves you craving more.

And the drinks? Absolutely top-tier. Whether it was a cocktail, margarita, or one of their specialty drinks, every sip was perfectly mixed and packed with flavor. Creative, refreshing, and honestly just plain fun — they know what they’re doing behind the bar.

What really rounded out the experience was the staff — friendly, funny, and down-to-earth. It felt like we were hanging out with old friends rather than being waited on. That kind of service makes you want to come back, and we did — just three days later! The second visit was just as great as the first, which says a lot about the consistency and quality this place offers.

All in all, Porta Vida gets a solid A+++ from me. Whether you’re a local or a West Coaster like myself, this place is worth every visit. Authentic food, awesome drinks, genuine service — what more could you want? I can’t...

My husband and I were loyal customers of this restaurant since day one, drawn by its inviting atmosphere and friendly staff. While the food quality had been gradually declining over the past few months, we remained committed to supporting the restaurant. However, our dedication was tested on Sunday, May 5th, during their Cinco de Mayo celebration. Upon receiving our bill at the end of the evening, we discovered discrepancies: we were charged for more drinks than we had consumed, and a beer my husband had ordered was missing. Assuming it was a simple oversight, I approached the manager, Paola, politely requesting a review of the bill. To our shock, she responded with extreme aggression, adamantly insisting that we owed nothing and rudely demanding we leave immediately. Despite my insistence on paying the correct amount, she escalated the situation by yelling in front of her staff and other customers. To our disbelief, she even went so far as to call the police to forcibly remove us from the premises. This appalling behavior not only tarnished our long-standing perception of the restaurant but also left us feeling deeply disrespected and embarrassed. It is incomprehensible how she could assume we had any intention of not paying for what we had consumed. This regrettable incident has irreversibly altered our opinion of the restaurant, and we will not be returning. However, my husband did return the next day to rectify the situation and pay our fair amount. As we suspected, the waiter had indeed made a mistake, and the bill was corrected to the right amount. This is something that could have been resolved that night without the manager's aggressive response. I caution others to scrutinize their bills before departing, as I have heard similar complaints from other customers. Clients and supporters of businesses deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, qualities that were sorely lacking in this...

Just had one of the worst dine in experiences of my life today. (Would like to point out that the hostess and bartender were both absolutely wonderful and that this review is based solely on the actions of our server). I think the name was Lucina ? She was borderline aggressive in behavior and seemed very angry. Slamming plates, dagger eyes, whipping her hair aggressively …Her attitude was concerning, and while people are allowed to have bad days, they should not be aggressive with customers and slamming plates down. Her hygiene is not acceptable for serving food.Her very long nails were full of gunk and she absentmindedly used the corner of my credit card to clean and flick the gunk out of her nail right at our table. Per serve safe protocol -Nails should be short, filed, and clean. Long nails may harbor pathogens, or in our case weird food gunk. The next hygiene concern was our servers oozing cold sores as that is a highly contagious condition however another customer thought it could just be oozing botox injection sites. Either way a mask should be worn at a minimum.I imagine this is a relative of the owner or something because I don’t know how anyone would allow this level of unprofessionalism would have a service job. After writing this post the owner/manager did ask for an opportunity to discuss the situation. I tried calling several times and no one answered which leads me to believe the owner has no interest in actually hearing anything. We won’t be going back…if customer facing restaurant workers violate multiple protocols for food safety I hate to think what’s going on...