Portico Italian Social Food — Restaurant in Sebastopol

Food was just ok, customer service was less than satisfactory. We had reservations for a weekend night and got there early. They seated us promptly, which was nice. Wasn't too busy at all, so we were able to order a starter, drink, and our meals right away. I ordered a Moscow Mule and it was served in a glass cup with a lemon square instead of lime, which was odd. I've never had a MM served in anything but copper and never with lemon. But whatever. It was an ok drink, but I wouldn't order it again if I ever went there again...which I likely won't. Another table that got there after us got their appetizer before us, which I thought wasn't great, but maybe they said they were in a hurry. Overheard them say they hadn't ordered it, but they ate it anyway. Yeah, it was ours. The waiter apologized and said they were making us a new one from scratch. Odd, I'd hope they wouldn't use part of a used plate. Also heard the waiter say to the other table that it was a mixup and they would comp it for them and they could keep eating it. So another 10 or 15 minutes pass and we finally get our starter. We had both ordered lasagna and were given the warning that it would take 30 minutes to cook, which we expected. So we thought even with the mess up, we'd have time before our meal came. Nope. A couple minutes had passed before they came over and said our food was ready and asked if we wanted it then. While we were still eating the starter. The table was way too small, so we asked to wait a bit so we could finish. I had barely finished my last bite when a different waitress came over with our food. My boyfriend was still eating the rest of the starter, and there was still some food in the containers when she asked if she could take our plate. So we said sure since there wasn't space and we felt rushed to let her take it. At some point around here the owner or cook or something came over and apologized for the mistake earlier and said I would've offered you a glass of prosecco, but I see you already have a drink. I said yeah, we do. My boyfriend said something about yeah, we have this. And she pretty quickly took off. Like why even come over? It was so weird, she very clearly didn't want to actually give us anything for free. And they gave the other table our $20 appetizer for free. Would've been nice if she offered like a dessert or something since we had a drink (which my boyfriend and I shared since neither of us are big drinkers).

But anyway, it just felt very rushed. The lasagna seems like it sat out since we asked to wait on it after only just getting our starter. We figured it would be kept in a heated area, but guess not. The inside was a decent temp, but the outside had cooled a lot. The taste was fine, but nothing great. The bill is on a little automated machine and they stand there while you do it, so again, very rushed and you're on the spot for what you want to tip while they're standing over you.

I was expecting a nice italian dinner experience, but it ended with us frustrated and annoyed instead. I would not recommend their food or service. They also have a lot more dessert options on the website but did not have most of them on their...

The best handmade pasta I've tried in America, family-like service, and overall good vibes.

My only regret is enjoying the experience so much we forgot to take pictures.

Porticos is a lovely 6 year old spot owned by a couple who had a vision for bringing people together to talk and enjoy time together over good Italian food. Hence the social name. They have cards and games, a nice intimate setting encouraging face time.

You can tell the staff enjoy spending time with each other too, joking and laughing yet not distracting from their attentiveness to guests. Our waitress was patient and helped us navigate to the best recommendations for our half vegetarian and half meatatarian table.

Mediterranean salad: looked simple and underwhelming yet was shockingly good. The high quality olive oil and salt + marinated tomatoes made it such a party in your mouth we asked for bread to sop up all the juices. They gladly accommodated and gave us more!

We ordered 4 pastas. The saffron cream + vegetables The cream, peas, and prosciutto The first pasta in the menu with a tomato cream sauce + pesto Vegetarian lasagna

Wow their noodles are amazing. They do a 60% egg + 40% semolina. We had 2 different types, a fettuccine and 2 dishes with a pappardelle. Wow that pappardelle really made the noodles shine. Beautifully al dente, soft chewy and excellent flavor I haven't had anything like since the Italian chef in Jakarta Indonesia. Weird benchmark I know.

Only complaint, the vegetarian lasagna was not the best. Good flavors. Lots of veggies but overcooked / mushie maybe from sitting in the tray too long.

Made up for by the chocolate cherry torte. They use some real country style buttercream that makes the chocolate cherry bomb so good.

Also their espressos!...

Came here dinner with 2 young kids, my husband, and my mom for an early Mother’s Day dinner. The atmosphere was strange and not inviting. The 2 servers that “helped us” were quite cold, never smiled, and seemed like they couldn’t be bothered to help us. The food took forever, and was mediocre at best. We got bread to start for our kids and when it came out with olive oil I asked if they happen to have some butter- the waitresses response was “well we usually serve it like this with olive oil” to which I replied that my kids are 4 and 6 and would prefer butter. Insert eye roll while walking away, then slamming butter on the table saying “there, butter for the children.” I was so speechless I couldn’t find the words to say in the moment. The beet salad and burrata were ok (best items we had) but for uncooked appetizers they took a while, and the place wasn’t that busy. The pasta was not very good- stuck together so it wasn’t cooked equally, the pesto sauce on mine was so dark it was clearly old and the basil had oxidized, making it almost black in color instead of green, and it was luke warm not even close to hot. The chicken piccata was pitiful. 2 small pieces of chicken with maybe 1/4 cup of undercooked rice and 1/4 cup of sautéed veggies. The plate was appetizer sized. The sauce was gelatinous and flavorless. The chicken has no sear, it was just white. We didn’t bother with dessert and decided to go elsewhere instead. I usually give restaurants a second chance, but with both food AND service being horrible, we will most definitely NOT be returning. So much delicious and REAL Italian food in Sonoma county. I don’t know how this place...