Portofino

The Scene – Mere blocks off Buckhead's powder keg crossroads lies this rustic yet refined retreat. Its attentive staff knowledgably navigates the extensive wine selection and fields tables personably without being intrusive. Warm, neutral-toned dining rooms cradle colorful details, reflecting the approach to cuisine. A long nook offers an inviting bar, there's a fireplace for chilly nights, and warm months bring coveted patio dining. – – The Food – Squash soup is a sinful cream, and hearts of palm with tangerine oil are pleasantly sour, both overshadowing chewy pizza.…

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Editor's Tips

The Extras:: If you like the relaxed ambiance of Portofino, you might enjoy sister restaurant Toulouse which serves bistro fare.

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User Reviews (44)

ambiance	100.0% positive	“Everyone is extremely friendly; the waiters take excellent care of you but they're not too stuck up to relax and have fun with you.” “Food was excellent, the wine flights were fun and the atmosphere couldn't have been more pleasant.” “This is one of the most romantic restaraunts I've been to.” “To start off, the decor is really cool; when you first walk in, the front hall looks like the outside of an old house with a front door, roof and everything.” “Even though it's right in the middle of the city, there's no traffic noise and the tree-lined street provides for a beautiful view.” “It's a nice comfortable neighborhood restaurant.”
drinks	92.8600025177002% positive	“Since I only go during the week, the non-smoker's bar is never crowded and the staff is very friendly but unobtrusive so I can unwind in peace.” “He found us the perfect wine that everyone loved and made spot-on suggestions on the food.” “The waiter was very friendly and funny and prompt with our first round of drinks.” “Matt, the bartender, gave great wine recommendations, and was very sweet.” “The food was AWESOME and our server suggested some wines to go with our food that were PERFECT.” “Bottom line: Try the food, love the wine, and leave wanting more!” “The pricing was very reasonable: $120 for starters, dinner, and wine for the 3 of us.” “My favorite dish is a linguini with clams and herbs in a white wine sauce.” “The wine selection is massive, with wines from all over Italy and from all over the world, and the prices are very reasonable.” “The wine list has a variety of excellent choices at a great value and isn't limited to just Italian wines.” “Great wines, no attitude, pleasant staff, satisfying food.” “Again, excellent service, inexpensive wine list, great patio on quiet street, but for $100 with tip it has GOT to be better than this.” “Outstanding wine list offering tremendous value.” “Our waiter gave us some great recommendations on food and wine.” “Our server seemed very friendly and knowledgeable about the wine list and helped us pick the perfect wines to go with our dinners, which were delicious.” “sat at the bar and had a few appetizers and some wine, and I had the best evening.” “from the apex of poor service to bland and tasteless food selections, my glass of wine was the highlight of my dinner experience here.” “Food was excellent, the wine flights were fun and the atmosphere couldn't have been more pleasant.” “Great value, tremendous wine list” “stayed with cocktails, but have heard the place has good wine too.” “Great place for a glass of wine after work”
food quality	84.06000137329102% positive	“He found us the perfect wine that everyone loved and made spot-on suggestions on the food.” “The butternut squash soup, however, was absolutely amazing.” “could not possibly imagine either of these dishes as more perfect (and I do dabble in the kitchen just a bit).” “The food is great.” “Also, we really like the traditional Italian format that is divided into soups and salads, appetizers, pastas, and then entrees.” “The tomato bisque was delicious, (but then, how much can you do with tomato soup?)” “We started out with the fried artichokes (upon our waiter's suggestion) and they were wonderfully crispy with a delicious dipping sauce.” “Bottom line: Try the food, love the wine, and leave wanting more!” “My eggplant and goat cheese appetizer was delicious.” “Consistently good food at reasonable prices.” “Our server seemed very friendly and knowledgeable about the wine list and helped us pick the perfect wines to go with our dinners, which were delicious.” “Our food tasted "old" and the service was slow.” “It is rare, even for the best restaurants, to be so consistently enjoyable, and yet we have never had a bad meal there.” “Sad italianate food with nothing original and nothing good.” “Super fresh pasta.” “had a beet salad and an eggplant parmesan that were both very tasty.” “The food was great, and everyone at the table enjoyed themselves, but the staff was outstanding!” “How do you tip when it isnt good food?” “My favorite dish is the halibut, but everything else I've ever gotten has been equally scrumptious.” “The food was not that great.” “My favorite dish is a linguini with clams and herbs in a white wine sauce.” “Our entrees were: chicken piccata (I know, I don't order chicken either, when dining out, but this one is worth it) with a great mashed potato side, and a wonderful maple salmon dish that was served over a bacon and potato risotto.” “from the apex of poor service to bland and tasteless food selections, my glass of wine was the highlight of my dinner experience here.” “Every once in awhile, I'll order an appetizer and the food is always tasty too.” “The food is absolutely delicious.” “The food was not good, service and in particular the manager were friendly and helpful.” “Great wines, no attitude, pleasant staff, satisfying food.” “The food was AWESOME and our server suggested some wines to go with our food that were PERFECT.” “The best thing about this restaurant is that even though the menu had changed completely, the food was just as good as we'd remembered.” “Our waiter gave us some great recommendations on food and wine.” “The pork chop was perfectly tender, and my coworkers enjoyed their veal and fish as well.” “Bad food and service”
menu variety	71.4300012588501% positive	“They have this great menu where you can pick three selections from a long list of items, so you can get a different combination every time and they're all fantastic.” “The best thing about this restaurant is that even though the menu had changed completely, the food was just as good as we'd remembered.” “like the new monthly regional menus as it always gives me something new to order.” “from the apex of poor service to bland and tasteless food selections, my glass of wine was the highlight of my dinner experience here.” “The wine selection is massive, with wines from all over Italy and from all over the world, and the prices are very reasonable.” “The menu sounded inviting enough but the risotto was just plain awful.” “The wine list has a variety of excellent choices at a great value and isn't limited to just Italian wines.”
overall	100.0% positive	“The best thing about this restaurant is that even though the menu had changed completely, the food was just as good as we'd remembered.” “We like having a relaxed, great restaurant to show off to our friends from New York, Chicago and California.” “It's a nice comfortable neighborhood restaurant.” “If I were to have to pick a favorite restaurant in Atlanta this would be it.”
service	72.69000053405762% positive	“The bartender recommended a Zinfandel with a spanish name that was awesome.” “Great wines, no attitude, pleasant staff, satisfying food.” “Unpretentious restaurant with genuinely friendly staff.” “The food was not good, service and in particular the manager were friendly and helpful.” “Service was very friendly without being obtrusive.” “The staff is great, and they never seem to change.” “The food was great, and everyone at the table enjoyed themselves, but the staff was outstanding!” “(It's right by the Buckhead Whole Foods) Everyone we interacted with from the hostess to the bartender to the waiter was very friendly and made us feel right at home.” “The server was rude and unattentive, unless he had spilt something on me it couldnt have been worse.” “Bad food and service” “The waiter was very friendly and funny and prompt with our first round of drinks.” “Matt, the bartender, gave great wine recommendations, and was very sweet.” “Since I only go during the week, the non-smoker's bar is never crowded and the staff is very friendly but unobtrusive so I can unwind in peace.” “Our very helpful server made very good suggestions.” “The food was AWESOME and our server suggested some wines to go with our food that were PERFECT.” “The waiter was nice but I don't think he carded that much for our service.” “from the apex of poor service to bland and tasteless food selections, my glass of wine was the highlight of my dinner experience here.” “they should have given us a discount as a result of the POOR service, but they did not.” “My wife and I have been dining here for years and have always enjoyed the the experience, we even held my father's 70th birthday party for about thirty people at Portofino.” “Our waiter gave us some great recommendations on food and wine.” “Our food tasted "old" and the service was slow.” “Fantastic service.” “Our server seemed very friendly and knowledgeable about the wine list and helped us pick the perfect wines to go with our dinners, which were delicious.” “Again, excellent service, inexpensive wine list, great patio on quiet street, but for $100 with tip it has GOT to be better than this.” “Everyone is extremely friendly; the waiters take excellent care of you but they're not too stuck up to relax and have fun with you.” “the service was unreasonably slow.”
value	93.75% positive	“The pricing was very reasonable: $120 for starters, dinner, and wine for the 3 of us.” “Our entrees were: chicken piccata (I know, I don't order chicken either, when dining out, but this one is worth it) with a great mashed potato side, and a wonderful maple salmon dish that was served over a bacon and potato risotto.” “The wine list has a variety of excellent choices at a great value and isn't limited to just Italian wines.” “Again, excellent service, inexpensive wine list, great patio on quiet street, but for $100 with tip it has GOT to be better than this.” “Great value, tremendous wine list” “Consistently good food at reasonable prices.” “The wine selection is massive, with wines from all over Italy and from all over the world, and the prices are very reasonable.” “Outstanding wine list offering tremendous value.”
wait time	33.3299994468689% positive	“the service was unreasonably slow.” “Our food tasted "old" and the service was slow.” “They have this great menu where you can pick three selections from a long list of items, so you can get a different combination every time and they're all fantastic.”

02/14/11

Food not consistent, waiter not trained well

by Taylorb

Waiter was terrible, didnt know the wines, the food was not consistent. The steak was under cooked. This is the second time we've been here and were blown away the first time. Not sure what has happened in just 2 months! The waiter literally threw the check at us when we asked for our bill. Mind you, we did not complain about anything while we were there but he seriously needed to be trained! We wanted to bring friends here, but now not so sure if the service and quality of food and wine are sub par. Very Disappointed, this was our Valentine's day dinner! Considering the average bill here is about $100, I think they seriously need to consider revamping!

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10/05/10

Always Consistent

by smmiller

I used to go to Portofino with my family for birthdays, and we always went on Mother's Day.

These days I like to take out of town friends when they are visiting to try the wine list and have a place to catch up. Whether at the bar or on the patio, I always have a great time. The staff is friendly and accomodating. The food is consistently great, but I wish they had more small plates.

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02/10/10

Are you serious??

by CSMobileUser6

Ok, this has to be a joke. We have read all these reviews of this place. Let's make things truth. Lunch here is bad..ok..I mean bad. They got some old guy running the place and well....he is kinda gross. We had dinner last week and it was worse than the last time we went and..we gotta tell ya ..it was dead...like no one was there. Makes one wonder about freshness. The owner is obviously writing positive reviews cuz this place went to hell about a year ago. If you do enjoy this place...well then you don't get out much then do you?!

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01/19/10

Great restaraunt for an intimate dinner

by PCho

This is one of the most romantic restaraunts I've been to. My girlfriend and I celebrated last valentines day here and I've already made reservations for this year as well. The inside of the restaraunt is like being at home and the patio is out of this world, The patio overlooks a nice little scenic street without too much traffic despite being right in buckhead. My favorite dish is a linguini with clams and herbs in a white wine sauce. It pairs excellently with their sauvignon blanc from new zealand. I forget the name of it though. Can't wait for this valentines day!

Pros: Food, Wine, Service, Outdoor Dining
Cons: No reservations for outdoor dining

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01/14/10

Great Hidden Buckhead Restaurant

by Newbiefoodie

Though we had a little trouble finding the place, (I’d never been to this little side street before) we called and the hostess gave us very helpful directions. (It’s right by the Buckhead Whole Foods) Everyone we interacted with from the hostess to the bartender to the waiter was very friendly and made us feel right at home. Our waiter gave us some great recommendations on food and wine. We settled on an repasso wine that went very well with our food. We started out with the fried artichokes (upon our waiter’s suggestion) and they were wonderfully crispy with a delicious dipping sauce. For entrees, I had the veal and my wife had the shellfish pasta in tomato broth. We had a bit of a disagreement over which dish was better (it was totally mine). I fully intend to work my way through the rest of the menu on subsequent visits.

Portofino

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Editor's Tips

02/14/11

Food not consistent, waiter not trained well

by Taylorb

10/05/10

Always Consistent

by smmiller

02/10/10

Are you serious??

by CSMobileUser6

01/19/10

Great restaraunt for an intimate dinner

by PCho

01/14/10

Great Hidden Buckhead Restaurant

by Newbiefoodie

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