Food was good but small portions. Service was poor and rushed.Atmosphere was crowded. The view of the harbor was ok. There was no harp music.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Michael Mcavoy
The food tasted very good but it was tiny and left me disappointed. The service sucked. I watched our server pass our table several times after we were ready to order and attend to other tables. The time between when we got our menus and when we finally got to order was entirely too long. Watching our server attend to others as we sat there was infuriating. After we ordered the food came within a reasonable time but it was not enough to make up for the previous delay & waste of my time. A person I think is the manager walked past our table without a word and then went to the other tables asking how they were doing and how their food was. Why she didn’t ask us, IDK, but she disregarded our table as if we were garbage. I’m never going there again.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Madison S.
We chose Cafe Portofino for dinner after a long day exploring the north shore. The reviews had us apprehensive but the convenience of walking to dinner from our resort played a big factor in our decision. Honestly, we were pleasantly surprised. Our waitress Nicole was kind and friendly. Average pizza, nothing special but got the job done. The fish of the day was pretty good, the piccata sauce was just okay but the mahi mahi was delicious. It came with carrot flan, scalloped potatoes, and steamed broccoli on the side. These were a little interesting but overall yummy. We probably won't be back, but it is an easy safe choice if you are staying nearby.
Anne
The best dinner we had during our whole stay in Kauai. Food was hot, plentiful and reasonably priced. The tables are set with tablecloths and the view is beautiful. Service was impeccable. Highly recommend eating there!
Jeffrey DeCamp
My family has been an owner at Marriott since 2001. We have been coming to Portofino for years. This year however will be our last. We were a party of 6, one being a 5 year old, so we were automatically charged a gratuity of 20%. We informed the waitress from the start that we wanted a split check. One guest with her own check, and the other 5 on the second. The waitress from the beginning was rude and seemed to be hurrying us through service. The food was ok and served in a timely manner, but for what you pay, one would expect larger portions than what we received. When it came time to leave we were presented with one check. The waitress told us just to give her two cards and she would split at the register. This was not ok and not what we wanted. We did finally receive 2 checks, but it shouldn't have been that big of deal to do it correctly from the start. With the poor service and bad attitude of the waitress, she would not have received a 20% tip, but we had no choice.
Tess
Very disappointed with both service and food. My chicken Marsala was VERY chewy and not enjoyable. Left half. Our server seldom came back to refresh drinks. I think he was disappointed from the start when we both chose water Kind of rude about using a Marriott Vacation club coupon. Will not return, nor recommend. Go to Duke's instead.
Garrett A.
First and foremost the view is great. Eating out on a patio looking out to the water is amazing. But everything else was just okay. The service was interesting. Our waiter was a tad bit stand-offish and I don't know if that was something we did or maybe just an off day but it made the evening a little strange. We also felt a bit rushed when ordering. We are the type to get a drink and app and enjoy ourselves for a bit before the main meal but it seemed like we were rushed to get an order in and it all came out at once. I do want to give a shoutout to a young man who was bussing the different tables who was incredible. He asked about our food, evening, where we were from, he just sparked a great conversation with us. He should be serving asap! Outside of the service the food was good! But overpriced. There are some places you walk away from knowing it was worth the price unfortunately this is not one of them. If they dropped everything about $10 I think it would be in the sweet spot for them. Overall it's good! Just a little overpriced and the service a bit awkward.
Stephen Pearson
Very pleasant experience. Food, service and setting very good. Our server Angela was available without hovering. No loud obnoxious music, so we were able to chat. I had the chicken picatta. Wife had the Shrimp Trastevere. Both good. Overlooks ocean. Will return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dex A.
I'll just start chronologically and work through our experience at Cafe Portofino. First, we walked up to where the host station and no one was there for about 5 minutes. A guy finally showed up, grabbed two menus, and told us to follow him when we told him we had reservations through Open Table (we want to get our points right?). He literally rolled his eyes while trying to find our name. Eeks. Sorry to trouble you, dude. We were sat at a table and given the menus. Even though the menus posted outside and online contained listings for pizza, this was not actually a choice in the menus we were given. We found out later you have to ask about pizza and you'll be escorted to another part of the restaurant. Not sure why this is but it's very odd. Our server arrived and stood at the table staring at us. We werent sure what to do. I finally said, "I think we'll need a few minutes" and she walked away. Um okay. The ambiance was nice. We had a nice view from our table and didnt feel too close to the other tables. The server returned and stood there looking at us again, so we ordered. Look, I get the Kauaian attitude towards tourists ranges from begrudginly-polite to openly hostile, but cmon, treat us like we exist. The server at the next table was a younger man. I cant remember exactly what it was he said to the couple he was serving, but I remember it was odd and kind of rude. I think the customer asked him a question and the server thought it was a dumb question. I think he literally said "duh." He may have been high. We also heard our server at another table get asked questions about wine and she just made things up, not getting the countries of origin correct. Very weird. Our food was okay but under seasoned, the portions were small, and the plates were over-priced. We had a Neapolitan gelato for desert which wasnt a gelato nor particularly tasty. Overall we were disappointed. I would totally pass on this place if I were going to dinner in that area. The whole experience was just weird and awkward.
Food was good, if you need a change from eating fish & steak at every other restaurant this was a good deviation. Had the pesto pasta with chicken, husband had eggplant casserole. Both dishes tasty. Spinach salad was delicious. Hard to find where to actually park for the restaurant, we used the valet for Duke's which is right next door to Cafe Portofino.
My husband and I were really excited about eating here. Unfortunately, it was not a good experience at all. Everyone in the restaurant, including the wait staff seemed depressed. Or maybe just bored? It’s hard to say but the atmosphere was strange. I’m six months pregnant. When our food came out, the cream based scalloped potatoes that came on the side had clearly been cooked and then left out to cool to below room temperature. Really unsafe food handling with a high risk of food born illness. Especially with a cream based product. The rest of the food on the plate was warm, including the very over cooked shrimp. My husband ordered a pasta dish with anchovy's, which he described the flavor as “like kissing someone who just smoked a cigarette”. Over all it was just a really weird and disappointing experience. I will give them that they were gracious enough to not charge us after they offered to remake the food and we declined and told them we just wanted to leave.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Armando Sistos
The Italian food and pizza were outstanding. Probably the best Margherita pizza and Caesar salad I have ever had. Kelly found the perfect indoor table for us and shared some great Kauai knowledge.Our server Becky was attentive and great! We will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Margherita Pizza, Spaghetti with Meatballs
Food was not very good. A simple lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs. Tasted like it came out of a box. My rib eye was just ok. Very thin cut. Thought it would be a thicker cut. Manager or waiter never even mentioned anything about the birthday that was being celebrated. I spoke to the manager and he said that open table never said anything about a birthday. He then said he has no control of open table. Not sure what's going on?
MikeH
The food tasted good, but the portion was small for the price and the poor service was disappointing. Our waitress never delivered our salad that was ordered and acted like she really didn't care to be there. The restaurant could definitely use some refreshing inside.
NancyK
We found Cafe Portofino on our first trip to Kaui, around 15 years ago, and we come back every time we visit Kauai. Great food, great service. We already know we will be back next year!
Food was good but small portions. Service was poor and rushed.Atmosphere was crowded. The view of the harbor was ok. There was no harp music.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
The food tasted very good but it was tiny and left me disappointed. The service sucked. I watched our server pass our table several times after we were ready to order and attend to other tables. The time between when we got our menus and when we finally got to order was entirely too long. Watching our server attend to others as we sat there was infuriating. After we ordered the food came within a reasonable time but it was not enough to make up for the previous delay & waste of my time. A person I think is the manager walked past our table without a word and then went to the other tables asking how they were doing and how their food was. Why she didn’t ask us, IDK, but she disregarded our table as if we were garbage. I’m never going there again.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
We chose Cafe Portofino for dinner after a long day exploring the north shore. The reviews had us apprehensive but the convenience of walking to dinner from our resort played a big factor in our decision. Honestly, we were pleasantly surprised. Our waitress Nicole was kind and friendly. Average pizza, nothing special but got the job done. The fish of the day was pretty good, the piccata sauce was just okay but the mahi mahi was delicious. It came with carrot flan, scalloped potatoes, and steamed broccoli on the side. These were a little interesting but overall yummy. We probably won't be back, but it is an easy safe choice if you are staying nearby.
The best dinner we had during our whole stay in Kauai. Food was hot, plentiful and reasonably priced. The tables are set with tablecloths and the view is beautiful. Service was impeccable. Highly recommend eating there!
My family has been an owner at Marriott since 2001. We have been coming to Portofino for years. This year however will be our last. We were a party of 6, one being a 5 year old, so we were automatically charged a gratuity of 20%. We informed the waitress from the start that we wanted a split check. One guest with her own check, and the other 5 on the second. The waitress from the beginning was rude and seemed to be hurrying us through service. The food was ok and served in a timely manner, but for what you pay, one would expect larger portions than what we received. When it came time to leave we were presented with one check. The waitress told us just to give her two cards and she would split at the register. This was not ok and not what we wanted. We did finally receive 2 checks, but it shouldn't have been that big of deal to do it correctly from the start. With the poor service and bad attitude of the waitress, she would not have received a 20% tip, but we had no choice.
Very disappointed with both service and food. My chicken Marsala was VERY chewy and not enjoyable. Left half. Our server seldom came back to refresh drinks. I think he was disappointed from the start when we both chose water Kind of rude about using a Marriott Vacation club coupon. Will not return, nor recommend. Go to Duke's instead.
First and foremost the view is great. Eating out on a patio looking out to the water is amazing. But everything else was just okay. The service was interesting. Our waiter was a tad bit stand-offish and I don't know if that was something we did or maybe just an off day but it made the evening a little strange. We also felt a bit rushed when ordering. We are the type to get a drink and app and enjoy ourselves for a bit before the main meal but it seemed like we were rushed to get an order in and it all came out at once. I do want to give a shoutout to a young man who was bussing the different tables who was incredible. He asked about our food, evening, where we were from, he just sparked a great conversation with us. He should be serving asap! Outside of the service the food was good! But overpriced. There are some places you walk away from knowing it was worth the price unfortunately this is not one of them. If they dropped everything about $10 I think it would be in the sweet spot for them. Overall it's good! Just a little overpriced and the service a bit awkward.
Very pleasant experience. Food, service and setting very good. Our server Angela was available without hovering. No loud obnoxious music, so we were able to chat. I had the chicken picatta. Wife had the Shrimp Trastevere. Both good. Overlooks ocean. Will return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I'll just start chronologically and work through our experience at Cafe Portofino. First, we walked up to where the host station and no one was there for about 5 minutes. A guy finally showed up, grabbed two menus, and told us to follow him when we told him we had reservations through Open Table (we want to get our points right?). He literally rolled his eyes while trying to find our name. Eeks. Sorry to trouble you, dude. We were sat at a table and given the menus. Even though the menus posted outside and online contained listings for pizza, this was not actually a choice in the menus we were given. We found out later you have to ask about pizza and you'll be escorted to another part of the restaurant. Not sure why this is but it's very odd. Our server arrived and stood at the table staring at us. We werent sure what to do. I finally said, "I think we'll need a few minutes" and she walked away. Um okay. The ambiance was nice. We had a nice view from our table and didnt feel too close to the other tables. The server returned and stood there looking at us again, so we ordered. Look, I get the Kauaian attitude towards tourists ranges from begrudginly-polite to openly hostile, but cmon, treat us like we exist. The server at the next table was a younger man. I cant remember exactly what it was he said to the couple he was serving, but I remember it was odd and kind of rude. I think the customer asked him a question and the server thought it was a dumb question. I think he literally said "duh." He may have been high. We also heard our server at another table get asked questions about wine and she just made things up, not getting the countries of origin correct. Very weird. Our food was okay but under seasoned, the portions were small, and the plates were over-priced. We had a Neapolitan gelato for desert which wasnt a gelato nor particularly tasty. Overall we were disappointed. I would totally pass on this place if I were going to dinner in that area. The whole experience was just weird and awkward.
Food was good, if you need a change from eating fish & steak at every other restaurant this was a good deviation. Had the pesto pasta with chicken, husband had eggplant casserole. Both dishes tasty. Spinach salad was delicious. Hard to find where to actually park for the restaurant, we used the valet for Duke's which is right next door to Cafe Portofino.
Restaurantji Recommends
My husband and I were really excited about eating here. Unfortunately, it was not a good experience at all. Everyone in the restaurant, including the wait staff seemed depressed. Or maybe just bored? It’s hard to say but the atmosphere was strange. I’m six months pregnant. When our food came out, the cream based scalloped potatoes that came on the side had clearly been cooked and then left out to cool to below room temperature. Really unsafe food handling with a high risk of food born illness. Especially with a cream based product. The rest of the food on the plate was warm, including the very over cooked shrimp. My husband ordered a pasta dish with anchovy's, which he described the flavor as “like kissing someone who just smoked a cigarette”. Over all it was just a really weird and disappointing experience. I will give them that they were gracious enough to not charge us after they offered to remake the food and we declined and told them we just wanted to leave.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
The Italian food and pizza were outstanding. Probably the best Margherita pizza and Caesar salad I have ever had. Kelly found the perfect indoor table for us and shared some great Kauai knowledge.Our server Becky was attentive and great! We will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Margherita Pizza, Spaghetti with Meatballs
Food was not very good. A simple lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs. Tasted like it came out of a box. My rib eye was just ok. Very thin cut. Thought it would be a thicker cut. Manager or waiter never even mentioned anything about the birthday that was being celebrated. I spoke to the manager and he said that open table never said anything about a birthday. He then said he has no control of open table. Not sure what's going on?
The food tasted good, but the portion was small for the price and the poor service was disappointing. Our waitress never delivered our salad that was ordered and acted like she really didn't care to be there. The restaurant could definitely use some refreshing inside.
We found Cafe Portofino on our first trip to Kaui, around 15 years ago, and we come back every time we visit Kauai. Great food, great service. We already know we will be back next year!