Ristorante Portofino

Nona's opened at 1130; Salada Beach Cafe was closed for the holidays and Nicks was having their carpets... more

Nona's opened at 1130; Salada Beach Cafe was closed for the holidays and Nicks was having their carpets cleaned. I saw the open sign in the window ... more

Nona's opened at 1130; Salada Beach Cafe was closed for the holidays and Nicks was having their carpets cleaned. I saw the open sign in the window ... more

This restaurant only offers a view. The food is ""ok,"" the service is awful, (what service you get) and the manager needs to take some communication courses to learn how to deal with customers. The catering manager isn't any better and actually lied to the Bureau. You have to wonder if the owners are even aware how their restaurant has been operating or if they care. I would definately not recommend this establishment to anyone. Pros: ""View"" Cons: Service more

Took out of town family here for a 55th wedding celebration. Got there at 7pm on the Solstice and watched the sunset on the longest day of the year. The view is out of this world. The appetizers were wonderful. (The Sicilian Candy for garlic lovers was superb! So was the Bruschetta and the Tomatoes with slices of Fresh Mozzarella) Our entrees were not great, but adequate for the price (veal saltimbocca). Desserts WERE great, especially the lemon sorbet frozen inside a real lemon. And I'm very happy to report, after reading other reviews, that management seems to have gotten the message about service. Our waiter could not have been nicer. He happily exchanged a ravioli order with cream sauce to marinara, came by often to refill water glasses, was prompt, attentive and charming (Italian). We'll be here again, and I for one will order the appetizers, drinks and desserts and watch the waves roll up like frosting on the beach with great pleasure. Pros: The Ocean View, more

first time, last time. i am a chef by profession and if i worked here I would jump in front of a bus. McDonald's has better beef. Waiter was ok, manager needs to go, useless Pros: View, and only the view Cons: everything but the view more

Food portions were large, and bread was warm and yummy. The view with the crashing waves was beautiful. Our server was borderline surly but seemed personable enough when he smiled. Lasagna was a little salty but was a large portion served in a bed of meat sauce. My tortellini dish had perfect amount of cream sauce and about 50 (no kidding) tortellinis. The problem? My husband and I went with my 9 year old daughter. We don't drink alcohol and generally don't order drinks (trying to save on the calories) but did order an ice tea tonight (so we're not big spenders, but we don't sit around long either - we were there less than 1 hour). I'm trying to lose weight but wanted a nice meal (yesterday was our wedding anniversary), so we ordered two entrees and shared it with my daughter. Since portions were large, there was no sense in ordering another dish for my daughter, and it keeps from overeating. When we were ready to go, I gave the waiter my Entertainment card. He took it and said there was a $6 fee for sharing! He didn't even split the plate, so it must be for the water to wash the plate! I was so stunned that I said it was okay. When he came back with the bill, I asked if the fee is on the menu, and he said no, but he explained it was the policy of the restaurant and that he couldn't do anything about it; he said for steaks, the fee would have been $10! For what?! I told him that if I knew earlier, I would have ordered a meal for my daughter, and he just said, ""oh."" We always tip on the total before the discount; I'm not sure if he added the fee because of the card. Now I wonder if he also added the 18% tips - we were so mad at that time, we didn't even think to look for it! We put down our cash and quickly left before we continued to seeth. Although the food and view are very nice, I will NOT return. Too bad because there aren't that many nice restaurants near us. Sorry to hear others have encountered bad service too! Pros: Great food, large menu of pasta and risotto choices Cons: A large fee for sharing food more

The ocean is nice, the music was good, and the Italian pinot grigio was tasty, but the food was horrible, and the waiter was surly, and the prices were extremely high for the attitude and greasy-spoon cuisine. Walk on the beach and go to Barolo just south of here. You will be much happier. I've lived in Pacifica for 1.5 years and tried every restaurant here that has a decent health code. This one is only good if you go for breakfast and don't expect much then either. more

It's a pity because this place has the best view and best guitar player but only visit this restaurant if you really enjoy the excruciating pain of horific service (maybe into S&M?). The management of Portofino gets kudos for treating its patrons in a manner fit of a Third World nation where I'm assuming was his training ground. If you want to feel cheated, please visit. If you want a romantic evening, do a quick walk around the promenade right outside of the restaurant, drink in the splendid view and either go to Nick's or Vallemar for a warm and inviting experience. Pros: Great View Cons: The Worst Service in the History of Restaurants more

It is too bad that the overall rating of the reviewers here is only 8.6 for a restaurant with an 11 out of 10 view, but alas, I have to agree that even the 8.6 may be over rating it.\r \r The problem is not the food. The chef is great. We've had salmon, and my favorite, the Cioppino is as rich as they come, well worth the $33 price and you can still bring some home to eat it again and get full both times. A real nice piece of crab in there as well as fresh fish and mussels. I can also recommend any of the Pasta dishes as being fine.\r \r The food is great but I wonder if the chef knows that the service is so poor that it turns people off to the food and view. Yeah, my wife and I went 5 times, just to be sure it wasn't a fluke of a night when the service was poor. No, it wasn't an errant waiter, though we had the same waiter twice and once the manager was watching and didn't intervene. Slow service, arrogant. \r And twice we've used the Entertainment card, the other times we didn't. When using the card the waiter automatically added 18% tip to the total bill. This was the waiter who gave poor service. I didn't want to pay it so went to look for the manager. He was gone by now.\r One good thing, they had music once, a guitar player and he was excellent. I think it was a Friday night. Pros: Great view, great chef, occasional live music Cons: overall poor service more

We have been here several times and always enjoy the food. The view is the best part of the dining experience. The service is inconsistant, this time it was fair. Since it was a Monday, hardly anyone there, you would think the service would be better. However, the food is great and the view of the ocean is unbeatable. The Cioppino is my favorite dish. If the service was more consistant my rating would be much higher. Pros: Right on the ocean, great extensive Italian menu Cons: Service is inconsistant more

My daughter booked one of their banquet rooms for her wedding. About 3 weeks before her wedding date the group manager informed her that she never signed a contract to hold the ceremony there, even though we had several emails back and forth over several months asking about and getting answers to our questions regarding the ceremony versus the reception. We had to change the time of the ceremony and send out that information since we had alreay sent inivtations. They did not have appropriate help to set up or to serve at the reception. Some of our guest waited an hour. Instead of servers serving the wine at the tables the bartender just opened bottles and allowed people to take full liter bottles to their tables, resulting in every bottle being opened and almost all ended up half full. I would not recomend this restaurant or it's management to arrange anything!! Pros: View Cons: Customer service more

The view can't be beat first of all. It looks directly onto the ocean. The restaurant is beautiful and dim on the inside with very nice booths looking to the windows. I have been there twice and the food is very good. The service seems hit or miss at times. My only complaint is that since it is in Rock-Away beach, it is overpriced. Pros: ocean view, ambiance, food Cons: value more

This was by far the worst restaurant experence of my life. It was Valentines Day, and to start, we were seated with just bread and water for 35 minutes before a waiter (the manager was our waiter) even took our drink and food order. 30 minutes later, we finally got our wine and it only went downhill from there. By the time the ordeal was over, it was 2.5 hours later! The manager (also our waiter) didn't comp a single thing, UNBELIEVABLE!!! DON'T EVER GO HERE!!! Pros: View, Atmosphere Cons: Service, Price, Service more

Great place to get a glass of wine and watch the surf. more

Well the food there is probably good, but we never got a chance to try it. We made a reservation 3 weeks prior to our dinner and then confirmed it 24 before going to the dinner. When we got to the there, we were told that the restarant is closing early and they could not sit us, and that the management knew that the restaraunt would be closed early a month and a half in advacne. The manager could not explain why they took our reservation in the first place and why our reservation was confirmed a day before the dinner. My advise is don't go there if you have an important dinner. The chances are, your reservation will not be honored. more

They had Great food , beautiful view and all you can ask for . Pros: view, Food, parking Cons: Cold weather more

The food here is the best I've ever had. The ambiance is the most desirable - the Pacific Ocean right next to you table. I loved every aspect of this restaurant. I recommend this to all who are visiting the San Francisco Bay Area. Pros: View, Romantic, free parking more

I have enjoyed this restaurant for many years along with family and friends. The food is quite satisfying and the restaurant management staff friendly and attentive. However, my last experience was not quite pleasurable. There are people in public that exhibit poor hygiene and bad manners that we must endure, although it is quite unfortunate. But, when its the owners family member (only made known to me from his constant boasting to those around him) shakes, scratches, and rubs his head of unkempt hair over customers tables it makes me question the standards of cleanliness of the entire restaurant management staff as well! more