Portofino Cucina Italiana

Great food, great atmosphere, and surprisingly does gluten free versions of their pasta dishes on request. Never had a bad meal here, seems to attract the well heeled dining clientele.

We booked hours ahead, was given a table in the corner so small we almost touched elbows with the next person on a proper seat. Spaghetti carbonara was scramble eggs on pasta. The portions were HUGE! enough to feed a family of 12. The antipasto platter was advertised in the menu as ‘a selection their finest, and yet we were given a couple pieces of garlic bread. Some chopped raw cucumber and chopped tomato. No olives, nothing but a few cubes of feta cheese. I wouldnt be surprised if this closed down. Never will we come back. Experienced watching people bring food back and have a full blown argument with the waitress/ front of house lady. Food was thrown at her. Once you were a well known restaurant known for your quality and atmosphere. Id rather have gone to a local takeaway.

My favourite restaurant in Auckland hands down. Service is always amazing, the food even more so, have been coming here at least fortnightly for years now and can’t fault it at all, have had amazing dine in and takeaway meals from here.

I used to go to Portofino quite often from the mid 90 es when the original Macedonian family owned the franchise (not sure if new owners now but it all seem to hint towards that). This used to be a great and fine eatery with a lot of authentic Italian and Dalmatian food, which unfortunately doesn't seem to be the case these days. We ordered calamari for myself which were drowning in sauce and no or very little rice added to balance this, sponging up the remaining sauce with a fork is always a challenge so I used some of my son's pizza dough to do so. The size was Mains, 2 x the price of an entree served to the person next to me which was only slightly smaller in size. My son's Calzone pizza came filled with pineapple...to his surprise, as this is normally something linked to the Havaiian pizza, the tomato sauce wasn't a sauce, sorry to state it bluntly but it was a cheap supermarket off the shelf pizza paste. My wife's crumbed veal meal also left some to be desired. I agree with others here who commented the tables are too close to each other, this should be an easy fix. Look, I don't want to sound negative but our latest experience there left us wanting a little more, to say the least. Hope the restaurant picks up on these and addresses them, we all need a good Euro or Italian local eatery in our neighborhood let's make this a success story this place used to be for decades! Cheers.

A reliable neighbourhood local. In terms of the atmosphere, it can be hit and miss as when it’s busy it can be cramped and noisy, but if you are seated outside on a warm evening, or at a big table near the front it can be most pleasant. The food isn’t mind blowing but if you feel like some Italian comfort food it always hits the spot. My favourite dishes are the cannelloni and the spaghetti marinara. The marinara would benefit from some chunks of fish and a few less mussels, but all in all I’d say hit it up if you’re a Meadowbanker or in the area.