Portofino’s Italian Restaurant Indian Land — Restaurant in South Carolina

When I think of what a casual meal in Italy should be, I think of the freshest ingredients prepared with the overall guidance of 'don't screw up what is already delicious thanks to nature.' Combine such ingredients with fresh pasta al-dente and a glass of wine that's pleasing but not pretentious and you've got the perfect setting for a memorable meal with friends and family. Sadly, Portofino's has none of this . . . Portofino's instead takes the cheapest of ingredients and thoroughly overcooks them so that you have a meal with all of the character of something that came out of a Chef-Boyardee box. Its wines are the cheapest you can find and sold for the same price for a glass as a bottle would cost you at the discount store. The atmosphere of the place screams "let's not spend any money, because we will likely be out of business in 12 months and need to sell it to be converted to Tex-Mex or something else." How Portofinos is still in business was initially a mystery until my wife commented that the patrons were almost exclusively retirees. Ah, lack of flavor means nothing to those folks from the nearby 'adult living' complex! To be fair, service was friendly and attentive. In addition, the restaurant was clean and the portions were large. (Too bad nobody wanted to eat the leftovers.) The bill for two adults and one child including two glasses of wine was $100 with a generous tip. Personally, I think our money would have been better spent just about...

Very poor experience celebrating a birthday. We made a reservation well in advance. When I called a day ahead to update the number from 10 to 9, it was very clear they didn’t have the reservation but they scrambled anyway. We were seated at the very back with a menu but no chair at the end of the table - a chair was provided after several minutes of standing and our 9th hues was placed directly in the way of the hall to the bathrooms. We didn’t order appetizers and our server’s disappointment was obvious. One guest’s glass of wine was delivered 30 minutes after ordering it. My son’s meal was incorrect twice and we actually had to argue with the server that Marsala doesn’t contain lemon (it was obviously piccata). Drinks were never filled - this would easily have been more added to the bill than appetizers would have been. Salads were served with balsamic vinegar instead of dressing, no oil. Some were given the wrong dressing with no offer for correction. It was clear that our reservation had been missed or lost, and they scrambled to find someone willing to take us at the last minute. Very disappointing all around, we will not be back. I understand we were a large party on a busy evening, I fully appreciate that. However, we did everything appropriate to make the reservation, and if it couldn’t be handled, we should’ve been told there were no...

We have been fans of portofinos for years. Their food is delicious (expensive, but definitely worth it). We haven't been eating out much since the pandemic. We decided we would get some portofinos to go last night as a treat. I was extremely disappointed to see not one staff member was wearing a mask. None of the front staff, none of the cooks, not one waiter or waitress. I honestly was shocked. One of the staff members behind the food prep area was openly drinking something in front of customers right by where food was bagged for to go. They were wearing gloves but not properly. When you wear gloves to prevent contamination you are supposed to change them after everything you touch. The staff never once changed gloves. So they would touch door handles then menus etc. I still got my food, even tipped and it was delicious (not correct but still delicious)...but I honestly don't know if I'll be back. I slept on it trying to decide if I should even say something but I woke up this morning still disappointed. I hope anyone who is immunocompromised or elderly may see this and think twice, at least be warned. I also hope the owner sees this and makes masks mandatory in their restaurants for staff...