Porta'Vino — Restaurant in The Woodlands

We recently visited a restaurant for the first time, but unfortunately, it will also be our last visit. Upon arrival, we learned from the waiter that their online menu was outdated, which was disappointing. The wine selection was limited, requiring the purchase of a whole bottle, and the options available for by-the-glass wine were quite restricted, primarily consisting of house brands.

We started our meal with mussels, which were flavorful. Encouraged by this, we decided to continue ordering despite our earlier concerns. I opted for a Caesar salad, which turned out to be dry, with hard croutons and very little cheese. The salad was also over-chopped, making it less enjoyable. In contrast, another salad ordered at the table, beet salad had better flavor and moisture.

For the main course, we tried the Double pork chop, which was a solid choice but could have benefited from additional seasoning. I also selected the meatballs and calamari as my appetizers for dinner. Unfortunately, the meatballs were quite dense and their red sauce overly sweet. The calamari appeared to be frozen rather than fresh, which impacted its texture and taste.

The dish featuring scallops was underwhelming as well; there were only four small scallops served, and they were placed atop what seemed to be a poorly made Italian risotto that was mushy and lacked flavor. Overall, the experience did not meet our...

Tonight we tried Porta Vino as a part of the Houston Restaurant Weeks special. It did not disappoint.

Tyler was our waiter. He was probably one of the best waiters I have had a long time. Attentive, helpful, informative, and best of all, entertaining. He could teach a lot of waiters how to do their job better.

The Houston Restaurant Weeks special was four courses for $55. It was a good value for excellent food.

My wife had the calamari appetizer, Caesar salad, lasagna, and coconut cream pie. My sister and I had the mussels appetizer, house salad, boar bolegnese, and coconut cream pie.

My sister heard the pizza there was good so we got the Il Tutto pizza. All of the food was very, very good but the Lasagna and the pizza were as good or better than any I've ever had. I don't know what they're using for mozzarella there but it was absolutely incredible on the pizza and lasagna.

Tyler also said the sea bass was very good and popular. I almost ordered it but my sister said the reviews raved about the boar bolegnesr so I got that instead. I saw other tables ordered the ice cream and coffee topping on the side and that looked incredible. Next time I'm going to have to get the sea bass and the ice cream dessert. And of course the pizza and lasagna.

I will absolutely be back

P.S. The food is as good or better left over than it was at...

Had Brunch for Easter Sunday and this was by far our worse experience. They offered a prefixed menu that included pastries to start and a choice of 3 salads, 4 entrees and 4 desserts. Mimosa's or Bellini's. Our pastry basket took 20 minutes to make it to our table, the salads were nothing special but the entrees were a huge disappointment. The "blackened" shrimp was nothing more that grilled shrimp with Cajun seasoning sprinkled on top. The polenta was pasty and under seasoned. The seabass appeared to be Tilapia served over under cooked vegetables. 2 of the 4 desserts were sold out at our arrival time of 12:30 and were okay. Service was slow and inconsistent and had to ask for our half eaten dishes to be taken away as they would just sit on our table half eaten for 15 minutes or longer. A manager came over at the end and provided complimentary free desserts on our next visit. We have eaten at this location on 8 or more occasions and have always had a good experience with good food and excellent wine prices. Our bill for 5 people with a $42.00 bottle of wine was $370 without tip which was outrageous given the quality of the food and poor service. Our Easter Sunday experience will keep us from returning for quite some...