I remember the first time at Al Porto was well before my Yelper days or at least over 15 years ago. I remember back then I got a Groupon deal to dine here. I recently came back with a big group. I got the presto lunch deal. The deal came with a soup of the day and a salad. I got the wild mushroom risotto. They served it with lots of risotto to my shocking surprise. It had truffle mushrooms and that was my favorite. The beef tenderloin was good. The soup of the day was a vegetable soup. I really like the Caesar salad. The ingredients used were fresh. I really like the bread that came with our meal. The decor looked almost the same as I remembered 15 years ago. Service was great here. read more

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Very enjoyable place to dine while exploring Vancouver. Friendly helpful service. Clean and pleasant setting. We enjoyed Happy Hour drinks, early dinner specials and tasty pizzas. Good location walkable from our downtown hotel and convenient for checking out Gastown. read more

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We stumbled upon this spot in the Gastown district of Vancouver, Canada, and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It wasn't very crowded, but the hospitality was spot on -- everyone was genuinely friendly. The iced tea was so good I kept going back for refills. I ordered the lobster tails and Willie had the spaghetti and meatballs, and we both really enjoyed our meals. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing, making it a nice place to unwind. If you're exploring Gastown, this is a lovely place to stop for a meal. read more

Al Porto - Lobster Tails - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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I thought our meal here was just okay. Nothing that I had was bad, per se, but in the ranking of various Italian food had over the years, it's relatively low. Out of an appetizer, soup, entrée, and dessert, my entrée was definitely my favorite. It was the osso bucco, which was a huge portion of veal shank and fettuccini. The smoked salmon appetizer tiramisu dessert weren't bad, but not super flavorful. I did not enjoy the soup. Overall, we did have a good time, with a good table and very friendly staff. Some good wine options, too. As a general restaurant choice, I wouldn't advise against it, but it wouldn't be where I go if I'm craving some hard-core Italian. read more

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Al Porto has incredible Italian food. The ambiance of this place is so charming and special. It feels like you might be in Italy having authentic food. Our server was so fun and helpful. We started with an app of toasty, bruschetta. This alone would have sufficed with wine. Next we ordered a pizza and some other goodies. Everything was fresh and flavorful and probably some of the best Italian food I've eaten. We tried the lemon tart for dessert and it was over the top delish! We enjoyed the entire experience and highly recommend if in the area. read more

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Delicious food; loved the bolognese!!! The wine list was great and the waiters were so friendly.

I was hesitant coming to this place because of the reviews but my experience was good! Locations is gorgeous, in Gastown. You walk down stairs to what seems like a basement but were sad adjacent to the trains with bright light windows. Service was great! We ordered the Early Dinner Special Daily 4:30-6:30 - $45 Pizza or pasta and dessert course with soup or salad. We ordered a few things so we could share. And they started with bread for the table! The Margarita pizza was huge! Thicker crust but still had the chew. Tons of cheese and basil. It was classic and really nice. Chopped salad (peppers, cucumber, tomato, romaines, olives, prosciutto, feta) was not a typical one but still very good. Lots of veg and the perfect about of feta and dressing. It was bright and light. Gnocchi of the day was a tomato and veg sauce! The pillow softness of the gnocchi and the rich and hearty sauce was delicious. canelloni di verdura (ricotta, spinach, pomodoro pesto cream sauce) were 2 logs of delicate pasta stuffed full and topped with their delicious pomodoro sayce and pesto. Not creamy IMO but perfect. We ended with their Tiramisu and Chocolate Tort! Wow! What a perfect meal!! read more

Al Porto - Gnocchi of the day - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Came here for a dinner and it was pretty quiet, didn't get too busy at any point during our meal. Cool decor, but because the space is so big, it feels a little empty. Our food took a while to come out, and although there were 6 of us, we watched tables around us order after us and get food before us. The server was apologetic about it, but not really sure what happened there. The bread they start you out with is nice and soft. I had the chefs choice gnocchi which happened to be pesto cream that day. Sauce was delicious, gnocchi was soft though I would have liked mine with a little more chew (might be a hot take). I tried some of the arrabiata pizza. I thought the egg was interesting, but didn't turn me off. The actual pizza crust was missing a bit of colour on the bottom, but was overall a decent pizza. I also had a few bites of the fettuccine buongustaio which I thought was done perfectly, with a good creamy sauce and al dente pasta. If you can make it here before 6:30, there's an early dinner special that seems like a really good deal, making your dinner into a three course meal for $45-65. For Italian food in this area, prices aren't too bad. I will say there are better deals out there, but if you're here for the early dinner deal it might be worth it. read more

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Atmosphere very Italian. We had the lunch special of soup, salad and pizza . It was delicious!! Neapolitan crust was perfect. Our server, Sixto, was very friendly and efficient. Definitely would recommend! read more

Very quaint little Italian restaurant in the Gaslight district. An easy walk from the convention center and cruise docks. Great food and ambiance before the Vancouver Marathon. Our waiter was a real character and helped make our dinner enjoyable. read more

I had a great time checking out Al Porto for some great pasta. The service was super friendly. Definitely would recommend checking out this spot. read more

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Al Porto is located in the Gastown area of the city. It is a district worth visiting with lots of restaurants and bars. We decided to try Al Porto (Borco Antico Ristorante) based on the positive reviews. The restaurant is located off Water Street in a smaller alley and down a set of stairs. The restaurant has a very large seating area. Service was efficient. We stared the evening with cocktails which were well made. For main courses, we had the catch of the day and a scallops & prawns. The food and service were good but it did feel a bit like mass produced meals. I assume they frequently cater to large groups. read more

Al Porto - Main dining area - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Wow! What a treat. We stumbled upon Al Porto by chance while walking in Gastown. Once downstairs we were greeted warmly and led through a spacious restaurant with linens on the tables and sparkling glassware. The waitstaff was prompt with water and menus. The menu offered plenty of choices. We decided to share a Caprese salad, which they divided and served perfectly on two plates. It was excellent. Next was a Quattro Stagioni Pizza. It was fantastic. Beautiful thin, rustic crust with great sauce. It was a great pizza. We finished with the Chocolate Ganache Torte. Excellent. The food was fantastic, and the service was top notch. It was our last night in Vancouver, and we could not have picked a better place to spend it. read more

I think this place is much better but I just caught them on an off night. Due to covid our party was split in 2 tables which they were very nice about and rearranged our tables so that we will still be able to see each other while distanced. It took awhile for our orders to be taken, even just for drinks. Our server wasn't warm and seemed to give me the vibe that he doesn't want to be helping us. Took awhile for our drinks to come, and then our server had to be flagged down to take our food orders. The food took awhile to arrive and some others in our group received their food while some others didn't. Timing was off. The food was just okay and I passed on dessert as the selection did not catch my eye. I wanted to try the creme brûlée but they didn't have it. I was accidentally charged for 2 wines which they obviously fixed. But overall, given they were not crazy busy (at least from what I saw) I expected better service. read more

Al Porto - Linguine pescataro - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I've been to Al Porto a total of three times now over about a five year span and unfortunately it's gotten worse over that time period. I went with a larger group (8 of us) for lunch and the restaurant was absolutely dead. That should have been red flag numero uno. The restaurant is quite large too so it's very obvious when empty and feels abit sad. I'm not sure they updated anything either over the course of the five years. But let's get to the food! We ordered an appetizer of calamari which was fine, and a dozen oysters that sadly were not shucked properly. I shuck at home so I know how to do it and they hadn't done the basics of detaching the muscle tissue which caused for quite a messy eating experience. I had to use my fork to detach them myself. We also had a few shell pieces in them too and while I know it's difficult to keep them out, I did expect a restaurant charging what they do to kind of nail it. The starter bread was also on the stale side and again not the quality you'd expect for the pricey restaurant. For my main, I had the mushroom risotto that comes with steak medallions on top. The risotto was over cooked and mushy and totally lacked a mushroom, wine or cheesey flavour to it. It was exceptionally bland which really was a shame. The best part was the meat ontop. I ate about half and left the rest because I knew if I reheated it, it's only get worse. My general sentiment was felt by the others too at my table. Overall a really disappointing meal that should have been half the cost. I would skip this restaurant altogether. read more

Hope everyone got to enjoy Dine out 2020! For my last Dine Out experience I went to @alportoristorante Their Veal was so tender and juicy! And their serving was huge! Plus their truffle mash on the side really added to flavor in the dish, i ended up packing half of it to save room for dessert cause i was getting full! The Linguine Pescatore ; seafood filled pasta! With a nice kick to it to spice up the ocean taste, cooked in a delicious house tomato sauce. Stuffed Salmon in top of a bed of truffle risotto- this was so well balanced, the risotto paired so nicely with their salmon, salmon cooked perfectly tender. Al Porto has an amazing Italian underground venue, service will make you feel like you are dinning in Italy! This would be a great location for an romantic evening as well! Will definitely be back again! (@foodaliciious) read more

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This restaurant is a hidden gem. We were greeted by our waiter Craig. He asked about our dietary preferences and made recommendations from the menu and the daily specials. The food from the kitchen was exceptional in taste, and customized to suit our palate. Overall a great experience. read more

Price/quality (3/4): Came here for Dine Out. I had the soup (minestrone) to start, which was great, and then I had the salmon. While the salmon itself was very tasty, the side dishes could have been somewhat better. In particular, the vegetables (green beans mostly) could have used some more seasoning. Maybe they should have been grilled instead, or maybe there should have been some zucchini... I'm sure there are ways to pair vegetables that aren't bland green beans with the salmon. I had the tiramisu for dessert, and that was great. The wine pairings were nice too. Service (1/1): Service was friendly and helpful. Dine Out is somewhat harder on the staff, so props to them for providing good service. Would I come here again: Yes read more

Al Porto - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

A bunch of us came here for the first night of our friend's bachelorette weekend and since there was such a large group we were able to reserve the private room of the restaurant. Those who came earlier were able to get drinks 'til everyone arrived, as there were about three servers waiting on us the entire night. Service was great, despite how large our group was and having to keep track of everyone's order was impressive. Not sure how they did it but they managed to get everyone's bill right AND most of all, we were able to split checks, which most restaurants would not allow given the size of our group. Again, service was wonderful here. Even when our group would get loud and boisterous (hey, we were celebrating!), the staff didn't seem to mind - they just closed the doors to our private room, without making it seem like they were annoyed. For dinner I ordered the house pizza, the Arrabbiata, which had merguez, ham, mushroom, banana peppers, mozz, and an egg! The food took a little long to arrive since they wanted to serve everyone at once, which was totally fine. In the meantime, there was complimentary bread with olive oil and balsamic to start with. I thought my pizza was fine. I had higher expectations for it since there was lamb and an egg with spicy peppers, all things I love, but wasn't too impressed with my meal. I did like that the pizza was thin-crust, which I prefer and the egg had a runny yolk, but the merguez seemed to be overcooked. It wasn't a bad pizza, but for 19 dollars, not sure it's worth the price. Great service and company, but wouldn't visit again for the food. read more

Al Porto - Complimentary Bread - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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I had the presto lunch cannelloni ( ricotta with spinach). This comes with a soup and a Caesar salad. Had a tiramisu as a dessert. I loved the salad :) that was my favorite in the meal. There was bread in the start which was good too read more

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Food is ok.needs more seasoning, there wasn't much taste...service was good though, kinda hidden in the alley. A little hard to notice if you're not looking for it on purpose. read more

Wouldn't know the restaurant was there without the sign in the street - last night of my business trip and wanted some comfort food so Italian it is. Be careful walking down the stairs - the restaurant is "underground". Started with a glass of pinot noir and a bowl of mussels; my entree was the spaghetti polpette (or spaghetti with house made meatballs). The pasta was al dente but the meatballs were a little bit dry - probably would not order it again. Finished off with some gelato (vanilla and coffee flavor) + a cup of cappuccino. You can work up an appetite by walking around the Gastown area for a while - lively area full of shops and restaurants. read more

Al Porto - Spaghetti with homemade meatballs - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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We are from out of town and ate here at the recommendation of our hotel. It did not disappoint. First, the ambience is great. I loved the decor and location. Next, the food was awesome. My daughter had the spaghetti and meatballs. They were some of the best meatballs I've ever tasted. The rest of us had pizza. It was all amazing. The server was great and very accommodating. He made great recommendations. I would recommend this place to anyone wanting great Italian. read more

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The food was delicious and the atmosphere was lovely. The waiter was really friendly and attentive. I'd definitely come back here.

Lovely ambiance, feels like you are in a cute Italian-themed movie set. Great for a quiet group dinner or a work dinner. The food was pretty good, nothing to rave about but very hearty, and healthy portions. The service was a bit off - they didn't bother with drink refills for the entire meal which was a bit odd. read more

Wow, unexpected good pasta at Al Porto!! I had a vistors in town and tour them around in downtown. At the last stop at gastown steam clock already 2.30, we were so hungry and went to Al porto for late lunch. The waiter was friendly and attentive, and took the time to go over their fairly extensive menu and make some recommendations for us. It is such a good deal and the pastas were absolutely delicious. spaghetti bolognese - ground beef in tomato sauce, fanastic!! linguine pescatore - seafoods were good and tasty. spaghetti carbonara - smoked bacon w/egg cream sauce was creamy and rich. read more

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I've lived in this city all my life but have never visited Al Porto. How is that possible? Maybe because their location in a touristy part of Gastown implied tourist trap, but that is NOT the case at all. In fact it's a bit of an oasis from the plethora of souvenir shops just outside on Water Street. The place is hidden away from the main street but well worth finding. The ambiance is old world and the service is also as traditional. Staff are very engaging and obliging. Menu items have all of the usual Italian offerings as well as daily specials. The food we had at our table of six was all well prepared and presented and the wine list is comprehensive. This is a hidden gem in Vancouver and it shouldn't be. read more

We have only been to Vancouver twice but both times dined at Al Porto. The food was delicious and the service was impeccable. Highly recommend! read more

Came here several times already but all for lunch. The table is almost guaranteed even if you phone in just 30min before arriving. The entrance of the restaurant is on the side of the building and the restaurant is located below ground level. The pasta combo is what I normally come for. For a regular price of any pasta, you get a small serve of Caesar salad and soup of the day. I orderered linguine pescatore in my last visit and was very impressed with the amount of seafood came with it. The linguine was made just right, neither too soft nor too hard. The seafood was fresh especially the fish and mussles. My friend ordered mushroom risotto which came with grilled beef tenderloin. I think there's at least 6oz of tenderloin there. I sampled a small bite of it and it tasted great. The service was great on my last visit, we got our complimentary bread and offered with pepper on time. I would come back to try the dinner menu one day. read more

Al Porto - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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We were traveling and looking for a special birthday dinner mid day on Canada Day. This restaurant was a calm in the storm, very nice atmosphere and the service was great even once they knew we were tourists. The pizza bread appetizer was something we wouldn't normally order but wow it was a surprise! Great dough balanced with herbs and good cheese. Osso Bocco was very good, a special birthday dinner. Only wish we'd had the family and friends along for the group setup, very inviting decor. read more

Al Porto - Osso Bocco - Italian Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Stay away from this place unless all you want is wine. Took my family here and spent over $350 on total crap. Not even the tiramisu is worth it. You can do better by cooking for yourself and buying desert at any local grocery store. Based on how long it took to be served, the bland food, and inconsistent temperature of the food I'd say they have a major issue in the kitchen. read more

Went here 09/24/22 - the service was 3/5 as the food took quite a bit of time to come out despite the restaurant being nearly empty and food quality was 2/5. read more

Delicious authentic Italian food at a very reasonable price. Early dining specials include salad, pizza or pasta, and dessert. The linguine vongole was tasty, as were the pizzas. The mango sorbet to, tiramisu, and lemon tart were outstanding. Service was excellent and the place was so charming it felt like we were actually in Italy. Recommend this place if you're hungry for Italian food. read more

Service was excellent, my son's pepperoni pizza was awesome, and I know it was because he ate it all. Rack of lamb was delicious but could have used another double bone rack. Risotto was okay, but not a ton of flavor. Didn't have any creme brulee, but the tiramisu was delicious. read more

For as highly rated as this restaurant was, I had hopes for better than we received. We made a 5:30pm reservation on a Monday night, which fell within their early dinner and happy hour time period. We ordered wine from their happy hour menu and ordered our meal off their early dining menu items which basically said if you ordered pasta/salad/dessert - $45CAN, or $55CAN for a meat meal/salad/dessert. The waitress recommended the chicken parmiagiana and said it could come with bolognese sauce. So I thought that sounded good, and decided to go for that. We had to ask for bread, which when it came, was cold, and a few very small slices. We asked for more, to which our waitress said we would be charged extra $5CAN, so we declined. Then she returned and said for the bolognese sauce, they would charge $5CAN extra. At this point it had been about 10 minutes since we placed our orders, so I didn't think I should change my order, but I wasn't happy. When the meal came, I'm sorry, I should have taken a picture because it was ridiculous! The chicken parmigiana was breaded, and had a square slice of white cheese barely melted on top. No sauce covered the chicken, and barely any Bolognese sauce covering the pasta. I looked at the waitress and said "you're actually charging me $5CAN additional for this?" and she said, "why? is there a problem?" The meal was edible, but hardly tasty, and as I stated, there was barely enough sauce to cover the pasta and none for the chicken, so it was dry and boring. We felt over charged, and that their restaurant under delivered. We have eaten better food in Canada, so you cannot believe THIS restaurant is one of your better Vancouver restaurants. Don't bother trying this restaurant. It's not worth your time or money! read more

LOL this was a fun experience! They lost our reservation and tried to argue despite the fact that we had an email confirmation as proof. The waiter was laughably snooty and kept this up the entire dinner (um you work in a mediocre restaurant, calm down) making it super awkward. They were out of half the menu, every item we asked for they didn't have. Food took 1.5 hours to be brought to us...hello, practically empty restaurant!!! Had to send 1 salad back because wasn't edible, and my hubby never, ever sends food back. It was that bad. They overcharged us on pretty much every item and waiter just argued his point and walked off in a huff. Happy to say will never be back to this overpriced shit hole. At least we had lots to laugh about over our anniversary dinner, so thanks for that :) read more

Slow service, mediocre dishes, tasteless risotto. My dad, uncle and I were big fans of Al Porto as a "family restaurant with decent pricing - great for big groups" even a year ago. It was "decent" and good for big groups, so we decided to go for Mother's Day. We were all very disappointed. Service Service was slow. We waited 30 mins for over server to ask us for drinks / offer bread; and another 20 mins to put in our orders. Food Got our food about 70 mins in, and were highly disappointed with even their Signature dishes (Cioppino / Osso bucco). Mediocre tasting at best. Risotto was flavourless. If you go, Seafood Antipasto is the best as a main. Dissatisifed to say the very least, and surprised that my experienced differed so much from before. read more

Was visiting downtown Vancouver from NorCal and made a reservation here through opentable and bought a $20 for $40 groupon. We were looking for Italian but not something too expensive and this place was perfect, although it would have been $$$ without the discount. This is a romantic, off the beaten path kinda restaurant with great service. As always I was tempted to order gnocchi but we planned to go out to the bars after so I decided on spaghetti and meatballs (which I barely are half of). I ordered the insalata caprese boccocini (sp?) as an app. I also has a dark purple cocktail (I forget the name, it's the last one on the martini drinks list) and 2 bc Chardonnays. Would recommend going here if you're in the mood for Italian. I don't know if I would come back without the discount but maybe if I wasn't paying! ;) read more

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Rarely do I find Italian places live up to a 4-star, but it's an easy repeat, especially if you're looking for atmosphere, classy service, food, and even a water view too. It's been ages since I've been here, and for their lunch special, well worth for what you're getting. Excellent for clients, lots of private areas here. Ordered the linguine pescatore, with all the seafood toppings, 2 each of clams, mussels, shrimp and one piece scallop. Very fresh. At first glance, didn't seem like much but halfway thru, this was just right lol, who needs all those carbs anyways. Didn't go for the extra few bucks for the risotto as a side, glad I didn't but perhaps for dinner. Complimentary bread, 2 different types, with the usual olive oil & vinegar. Amex yay, rightfully so. No riff raff clientele, and the servers are top notch, waiter knew his menu inside out. Private room of up to 50 ppl at the front entrance. read more

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We came here for dinner using a deal from Groupon. We were greeted and seated right away because we had a reservation. The place was very nice and cozy. Perfect for a romantic date! We ordered for calamari and crab cakes to start. They're are both fresh and tasty! For main, we got the Salsiccia pizza to share. It was very traditional and delicious! I loved how the crust was thin and crispy. For dessert, I had the tiramisu. It was beautifully plated and tasted really good! Our server was very nice and attentive. Not only we had a great dinner but we also saved some money because of the deal! We'll definitely come back and try their pasta and other dishes next time. read more

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