Relaxing elegant atmosphere. Great staff and food. Family friendly. Highly recommend.

Great Italian restaurant... ambient feeling is great and the staff is phenomenal. The food has always been great as well. Wait time is little long some things but we'll worth the wait. Beer is served in a white frosted cold glass, food is super fresh and steaming hot. Only issue is while you still have food on your plate and fork on hand, waiters ask "may I take this already?" Other than that it's a must for anyone to try. read more

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Caffe Portofino is always excellent! Many Italian restaurants serve the "pear pocket purses" but here they are house made raviolis with fresh pasta. The sauce is amazing. My husband ate the papardelle Bolognese and the sauce had their own special taste point. The service is always exceptional. You can even bring in your catch and they will prepare it for you. read more

The service was wonderful, however, not one time were we asked if we enjoyed our food. Extremely disappointing the food was bland and tasteless. The Fettuccine della nonna tasted like noodles with a can of diced tomatoes poured onto it and the Linguine Alle vongole just tasted like plain noodles with some oil on it :( read more

Food is superb, service is by most excellent and the prices are moderate!! It's a great restaurant, for a first date, or even after many dates. read more

Loves it amazing food I came for my bday and we all want to come back . Rapid service and enjoyable

I ordered the steak with mushroom risotto and it was delicious, my steak was cooked to perfection-medium rare, and the risotto was flavorful read more

Caffe Portofino - Italian Near Me - Miami, Florida

I read the great reviews, and thought we'd check it out. Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience. The service was outstanding, Estanislao was our server and he was very cordial and professional. The ambiance was also very nice, quiet and dimly lit. The food was not bad, but I honestly do not think it was worth the price. Portions were very small. I had the Chilean Sea Bass, normally my absolute favorite but it was a little bland. Pictures to follow. Will I return? Meh. Not likely. Way too many choices in South Florida. read more

this restaurant is awesome. food and service was great. Was highly recommended by many friends and did not disappoint. looking forward to going back soon!! read more

Well we'll well. We have found a good Italian restaurant in Pinecrest FL. For years I have been disappointed in the scarcity of decent Italian in area south of Miami. Albeit pricey the food and service was good. I'm from Philadelphia area the where good Italian we take for granted. So if your from out of town and are jonesing for food that really is authentic try this restaurant read more

Horrible. Loud Kids everywhere! The parent put the iPad in front of the kid and it was super loud all dinner. Extremely rude and the servers/manager allowed it . Way too expensive for a restaurant that does this. Horrible ambience. read more

Caffe Portofino - Italian Near Me - Miami, Florida

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Always a gourmet, amazing meal and wonderful service. A lot of people don't know that this local spot has also a select menu of exotic meats. If you are wanting to try something really different this is the place to go and they know exactly how to cook it. This is a consistently good meal type of place. It should be a wonderful place to go for a date night or family dinners. read more

I absolutely love cafe Portofino. Excellent service the food is unique. Attention is amazing

This small Italian restaurant is a hidden gem! It's tucked away in a shopping center, but don't let that fool you- everything is delicious! My husband and I took advantage of the "early bird" deals - $30 for a glass of wine (your choice), salad, and entree (from a limited menu). The options available were quite varied and if you wanted an upgrade, they had more options for only $6 more (including their daily specials). I'm definitely looking forward to going back here- the waitstaff were all very friendly and attentive! read more

This place is so perfect! From waiters to all personal here just thrive to give you great service!!!!! When wife and I come we are spoiled in great service then to come around and add more family members to our dinning they still come through THE FOOD ALWAYS IS PERFECT read more

Had a reservation for 9:45 with my girlfriend.. we were sat 5 minutes prior to our reservation (9:40). We were offered water (sparkling/regular) by one of the bussers as soon as we were sat. After almost 15 minutes I had to get up and speak with a manager in order to receive service (server had not greeted us). The manager explained there were only two servers in what looked like a 14 table restaurant. The manager basically took care of our table. We ordered a malanga soup and a eggplant portobello appetizer to start off. Both of which were fantastic. The manager (which took over the role of our server) offered us the risotto and filet. He kindly offered to split the entree. Food was very hot and the steak was cooked at the perfect temperature. For dessert, we decided to get a guava tart. Very hot pastry served with vanilla ice cream on top. Highly recommend! The reason I decided to give this experience a 5 star rating was because despite the long wait for a server the manager ended up taking care of our table. It shows that they care about their guests. Highly recommend! read more

Caffe Portofino - Italian Near Me - Miami, Florida

I am writing my review as I am progressing with my meal. The place is located in plaza. Tables outside very nicely setup and welcoming. Inside very cosy, nice bar, dark wood design, tables setup as in any very high class restaurant. Staff VERY nice and professional. Got my soup of the day. Sorry dont remember the name but it was a creamy potato soup. DELICIOUS! Waiting for my chicken parm. My wife ordered Penne alla Venezia. Both looking good (look for photos). Delicious - nothing else to say. 5/5 * read more

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Mushroom risotto was over priced and did not taste like mushrooms, pumpkin ravioli was better at other restaurants ( too cream cheese taste ) Too expensive for the level of quality. Service was good, vegetable soup good, but not incredible. Will try another place next time. read more

In these trying times we need to support our favorite restaurants. Thank you Mauricio for your excellent food and service. Your staff is amazing as always. The tuna was delicious, the chicken francés as always amazing!! The risotto was creamy and delicious. Thank you again for letting us bring Portofino to our home!! read more

This is my second time coming to restaurant under a month. I love the ambiance at this restaurant. Very family friendly. The food and wine is delicious. I definitely recommend!!! read more

Love this little community gem. Consistently good food and great service. They actually have an exceptional wine list for a restaurant of this size. The proprietor, Mauricio, is always there and greets and treats his regulars like family. Amazing little place. read more

I've been dinning here since 2005 when we moved to Palmetto Bay and this has been my favorite restaurant! Unfortunately the last couple of times I have been disappointed with the food. Not to mention the service provided by the new personnel. I had the Frutto de Mare today which I have had endless times throughout the years. Today it was truly tasteless and consisted mostly of calamari..I did comment to our server which he immediately replied there had been no change. Reluctant to receive any feedback. As well the dessert Guava tart again failed... definitely not the delicious fresh tart we have had in the past. It was hard to the point of unable to cut the tart. The guava was doubtful maybe a substitute and the ice cream was served melted. Definitely the change in Management has impacted this once neighbor gem! So sad read more

Place was noisy, disorganized. I ordered beef ravioli- firstly got an incorrect dish with some tomato sauce. I sent it back which was replaced only with alfredo sauce but no spinach or red pepper as per menu. By the time I got my correct order the rest of our group had finished eating. Everyone in our group shared their meal with me due to extreme delay. There was no apology and I was charged the full price for a dish I did not enjoy with friends. read more

Celebrated my birthday here with 9 people. It took a bit to get food out. But the food was great. We closed the restaurant but they still let us hang out outside on the covered walkway tables. It was a great night out. That's why I gave it 5 stars.. read more

I would give it 6 stars if I could! I wrote my first review two years ago, and must write again to reiterate that the fresh food, wine selection, and service of this place is excellent. We usually have dinner from the daily selections, and have not had anything that is not absolutely delicious and beautifully presented. It tends to be busy so reservations are recommended! read more

This place is awesome! I have been here several times and I have never ordered anything that wasn't fantastic. The risotto is to die for!The service is superb and the ambiance is very comfortable. Hands down, one of the best Italian/Argentine restaurant in Miami. read more

Talk about YUM!!! Came here one night because Sabrina M. was craving some pear & cheese raviolli. Found this place and overall the reviews were great. I am so glad we came here because the food was ah-mazing! The bruschetta that comes as a mini appetizers was great! A perfect balance of tomatoes. It didnt feel over done. And to top it off, it was FREE! Now off onto the entrees, the pear and cheese raviollis were fantastic! It took a minute for the flavors to kick in but once it did, it was gooooood! I had the veal lasagna and it was delish! It melted in your mouth and the flavors that came from it was just incredible. To top it off, the wine was top notch! I didnt give this place 5 stars because of the price. It was a bit pricey but I was not surprised from the location. The ratio of food to price was a bit off but I pretty sure they are not trying to be an Olive Garden style of Italian dining. This is an upscale spot for sure. Great date location. read more

I started out with the Caprese salad - $9 for 2 slices of tomato and mozzarela! Are you kidding me? It isn't like it's a difficult dish to make, like the ingredients are that expensive - unbelievably expensive for what you get. The osso bucco was very good though - definitely well prepared and tender enough to only need a fork. However, at almost $30 for the dish, it too was way over priced. My dates dish (pasta with marinara) was tasty but the price left a sore spot in my wallet. Love the art in the place and the servers were all attentive and well staffed. read more

I live a couple of blocks down from this restaurant and I've visited this plaza numerous times to either the Party City or the Ale House but I have never, ever seen this place until I found it randomly browsing for restaurants in the area with Yelp. When arriving you begin to wonder if the place will be too small, but as you walk in the door it feels as though you're walking into the Tardis. Super spacious, great decoration, all throughout. The food was pretty good for the area, the service was over the top. Some reviewer mentioned that it was too attentive for them and I could understand their point of view as it could be viewed as a bit excessive. I personally like the extra attention. We had the Tuna Tostone and Fried Calamari as appetizers, Braised Shortrib and Quinoa Long Pasta a la Nonna as entree. For the finishing touch we had a Dulce de Leche Crepe. The Tuna Tostone was six cuts of seared tuna on top of two squashed fried plantain and topped with lettuce and two different sauces. The Fried Calamari was fried to perfection and the marinara sauce that accompanied it was on point. The Quinoa Long Pasta a la Nonna was a combination of pasta, cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes and some other stuff. The combination was good and tasted healthy (that's a flavor nowadays, it stands for not overly salty or sweet) The Braised Short-rib was cooked well and covered by gravy, it comes with a selection of either vegetables, risotto, or pasta. My wife thought it to be too salty for her taste but my dog loved it. Our dessert was really sweet, but that's expected of what we ordered. It tastes good if you're into that stuff. Overall, Caffe Portofino is definitely a hidden gem of the area. I would have never known about it without Yelp. (Thanks Yelp) read more

I love the food here ! is amazing , always fresh and taste is delicious , I have tried a lot of plates and all of them so good and also the wine and ambiance is perfect I recommend it to everyone I love it read more

Wow. So impressed by this place I'm tempted to not put anything up so no more ppl will know about it. What an amazing find! Dropped by for a quick Sunday afternoon dinner and it turned out to be by far one of the best Italian places we've been to. Had the carpaccio di Manzo as a starter and it was delicious, and as a main course I ordered the braised short ribs with champagne risotto and my wife ordered the chicken parmigiana, with linguini and a pink sauce instead of the spaghetti with marinara that is on the menu. Very nice and accommodating staff with the change we requested, and the we couldn't be happier. The pasta and risotto were perfectly cooked, the sauces delicious, and the short rib well, you have to try it yourself. Dulce de leche flambé crepe for desert was the perfect end to the meal. Now stop reading this and come eat here! read more

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We have been here a few times and every time the food has been excellent! If you are not dinning early I do recommend reservations since they do get full fast. I must say this place is a hidden gem. They have the best ossobucco I have ever had. So good we have had to order it twice (we rarely order items twice since we love to try new ones). The blue cheese gnocchi is addicting as well. The hog snapper was on special and expertly cooked, if they happen to have it again you definitely must try it. The service is ok but the amazing food more than makes up for it. read more

All I can say is WOW! This place was so cozy and romantic. The food was Very good and nicely put together like you'd see on one of those chief shows. It was a lil pricy but then this isn't a Mc Ds. This is a romantic place you'd want to take a special someone to build a nice memory. The servers were so personal with the guest, and with all the guest conversing and laughing with flash going off from every angle as groups took pictures of one another, it made me feel like I was living or playing a part in one of those soap oprah dinning scene lol As the OWNER brought me and my sweetheart our desert, our waiter began to ding his spoon on a wine class very loud and fast, as the crowd got completely quit as his ding got slower and slower to a stop. At which point the owner Spoke up and said attention please everyone....I'd like to announce the engagement of Mr. Brown and Ms. Burkhalter! At this point the entire room began to applaud as one older fella yelled out OMG! lol that was so funny! I then went to one knee to propose, as every one began to aww and ooooooh, Lucky for me she said yes :) as everyone once again began to clap and perea. It sounded like someone made a touch down on TV in a sports bar lol That's not all.... Just as we thought the excitement was over, Here comes the owner himself with 2 fancy classes of Champagne for us to toast our new beginning! The waiter then poured himself a little Champagne and proposed a toast to our long and healthy prosperous relationship. My bride to be was in totally surprise and speechless lol She said she felt like she was in a movie scene : ) It was perfect. Thanks everyone for helping make it special for us...... read more

First time, I ordered the Lasagna which is made with sirloin steak. It was delicious. The portion was plenty for one and okay for two. The staff was friendly and fast. The price was $23.00. We returned to eat in the restaurant several weeks later and our food experience was horrible. We ordered the crab cakes, lobster bisque soup and Risotto. The crab cakes were filled with rice and not much crab. The lobster bisque was definitely not homemade. The soup no lobster. It was thick and salty. I was not able to finish it. The Risotto was pretty bland. read more

This is my Favorite Italian spot. The food Is great. Excellent Service. Try the Guava tart...it is the best!! Atmosphere is comfy and relaxing. They treat you like family. read more

The atmosphere is lovely. The food is very good, though my chicken parmesan was a bit on the salty side. On the down side, we were a party of 6 and were given a very small bowl of very good bruschetta, which was never replenished. The side of pasta is very small, as was the portion of chicken parmesan, but that the waiter did not speak English made it difficult to understand specials and inquire about the menu items which lead to a less than satisfactory experience. I don't expect this at a finer, more expensive restaurant in a nicer neighborhood. Also, for others to be aware, this is not New York Italian, it's Spanish Italian. We would go back if we had a server who understood us and that we could understand.It would make for a much more pleasant experience. read more

First timer at Caffe Portofino and I must say it was a pleasant experience. Service was quick and prompt. The atmosphere was classy, not somewhere to go in shorts and sandals,( Go across to Ale House for that). Had a Filet mignon as suggested by the waiter...thank you waiter. Dessert, a guava tart...yummmm. Only confusion was the Fried Plantain on my plate, but ate it anyways. Enjoy read more

From the moment you sit down at Caffe Portofino, be ready to be transported to the era when restaurants provided 4- star service, and did so with pride and paid meticulous attention to detail. The wine list is excellent with an additional "Grand Cru" Captain's list for those who prefer only the very best and brightest from vineyards around the world. The restaurant provides a classic European atmosphere for you to enjoy a leisurely 2-4 hour meal, according their scrumptious variety of scintillating culinary delights, the way dining out for an evening was meant to be. Caffe Portofino is a refreshing zephyr wind transporting you far away from the table-turning competition sadly all too frequently the norm these days. I doubt there would be even a single mediocre offering to be found here. I can count on one hand the number of times I have had Veal Piccata anywhere close to the perfection that I enjoyed here. My partner Mike's Champange Risotto was likewise enthusiastically enjoyed. Their unique flair was clearly evident in their astounding interpretation of Tiramisu. It easily ranks among my top five delights of all time. Everything we had was absolutely superior. The dining room service team was top notch and was a well-oiled Dynamo. read more

Very good food. Great service and ambiance. Wish they had a little better selection of meats but very good over all.

The staff here was on point with the wonderful service. The waiters recommendation for the linguine with clams was an awesome selection. The food was excellent and portion size on point. Do not skip dessert. The choclava with ice cream was delicious. read more