This is a hidden gem downtown! One of the coolest buildings I have been into. The bar is excellent to grab a drink at. The over all vibe of the place os so unique and fun! Went for a 4 course wine paired dinner and it was excellent. Will totally be going back for off the menu meal! read more

The weather was perfect while my brother was in town so we decided we wanted to eat outside. While walking towards State Street we passed the courtyard at Porta Bella and thought "Why not?" The courtyard is walled in w/big trees and several metal outdoor tables and chairs. We went inside to find the hostess stand. Inside is a dark warren of rooms. Looking around while waiting for the hostess I was conflicted between thinking "romantic, old-time atmosphere" and "this place could really stand to be updated and refurbished." The bathroom in particular was dated. We were seated outside. Our waitress was friendly and prompt. We ordered beer, cocktails, appetizers and entrees. We enjoyed the bread with oil, calamari strips, and spicy cheese bread. The soup was very tasty. I had the Cannelloni which was very filling. Nothing on the menu seemed to stand out as being particularly unusual but everything was flavorful and well-prepared. We left full and it felt like a decent value. I would not hesitate to come back here if we were in the mood for Italian food. read more

All these people are bogus for hating on this place. It's bomb AF. I would love to come back.

I'm guessing this place used to be the cream of the crop when it came to Italian, not so much anymore. My fiancé introduced me to this place and their sister restaurant Paisan's about a year ago. He went on and on about them both. To date, I have been there 5-6 times. Not once has my food been anything that I was satisfied with. I have tried tortellini, linguini, chicken, spaghetti... so it's not like just the ONE dish was bad. Spicy cheesy bread - yummy. That stuff us good, but it really seems like just cheese bread with crushed red pepper on it. Every time I order pasta, it is over cooked. This is an ITALIAN restaurant!! Why don't you cook your pasta even close to al dente? It has been mushy - so they missed the mark by far. No flavor to the noodles either. Some of their sauce is okay, but I'm not a fan of their red meat sauce. And the meatball I had was very dense so difficult to get through. Service is very slow. I can handle slow service if the food is worth the wait. Ambiance is dark and I know it's supposed to be romantic, but the restaurant is like a maze that has been added on to so I felt more "cave" than "fine dining". And finally, on the last trip, our daughter was served a water glass that was chipped. And our server actually asked "do you want a different glass?" Not to mention my fiancé did not get what he asked for and then we had to wait for that to be re-made, but there were no accommodations made to the bill. I don't know that I will return. read more

Very friendly and fast service with amazing pizza. I highly recommend the Italian Carne. There was an outdoor area that was very tranquil even though it was just one block off state street. read more

I ordered the three meat cannelloni and had high expectations. The menu indicated it would be in a tomato sauce but there was no sauce just a ton of cheese melted on top. I love cheese. It was overkill. Unfortunately only one out of the three was filled with meat. The other two were the seafood type. I like seafood but it wasn't good and especially problematic considering seafood is a common allergen. Thankful I am not allergic. I ordered takeout and considered going back to the restaurant to correct my meal but instead I cut my losses. read more

The decor is a nod to old school Italian-American aesthetics. The courtyard is great in the warmer midwestern months. The food is average, I split a bottle of Pinot noir, toasted ravioli app and a chicken florentino pizza. We were seated in an old school/retro 'mob-esk' burgundy bespoke booths with dim lighting. The overall atmosphere was 6/10. Nothing offensive or overly memorable. It was relatively clean and my waiter waiter was fairly attentive. I was able to talk to my date and didn't have to compete with music or other diners. The prices were reasonable, on the higher end of reasonable, but within reason. Rents, overhead and staffing considered. I suggest sitting in the courtyard on a warm afternoon for the full effect of this place. read more

I had my first dinner at Porta Bella in 1972. Enjoyed it just as much as I did then! The menu and décor has not changed much and that's fine. The Porta salad is still yummy as are the warm bread and pastas. Was there on a Thursday and it was not crowded -- a bonus! Server was excellent and very attentive. The negative reviews should be simply ignored! Always recommend!! read more

Awful, awful service. Our server seemed legitimately terrified of having to essentially do her job. The food was cold. I ended up spending the entire next day vomiting from food poisoning, confirmed by a doctor. We were a large party, and the server never asked how the bill would be split until the end of the meal. Splitting the bill 12 ways took an hour, and it was wrong. We received no help from the front of house manager, who also seemed to be upset to have to do his job. Overall, I would absolutely never recommend this establishment. Staff at Porta Bella, service is key. Mistakes are understandable, but own up. And make sure you wash your hands! read more

The ambiance is classy, yet warm and cozy. The food was amazing and Ed worked with us to plan a small Sunday lunch after my daughter's wedding. The room was large enough to provide ample spacing so people from the same household had their own table. We had to get creative trying to plan a something while remaining in compliance with rules and restrictions. After we went to our assigned table, the masked bride & groom was at least able to greet each guest table side for a short visit. Although we weren't allowed dancing or other wedding traditions, the smile on the brides face made me realize we pulled off the goal of still giving her a very special day. The staff was very accommodating and tended to our every need during the planning stages and the actual day of the event. The few people in attendance were very complimentary of our intimate gathering. read more

Porta Bella has turned into an overpriced Fazoli's, but honestly, Fazoli's is probably better. First off, I had to make a down payment of $75 to make a reservation. My husband and I have gone to nice places in Madison, like Rare and L'Etoile, and we've never seen that before. We ordered the Porta salads with our meal and asked for oil and vinegar. The waitress said she doesn't think she's seen that for awhile.... You mean to tell me an Italian restaurant does not have any olive oil and balsamic vinegar? They give you breadsticks that are identical to Fazoli's, I wouldn't be surprised if these came from a frozen bag from the grocery store. My husband and I both ordered the bolognese for entrees. This was $21 and it tasted, and looked, like they dumped a jar of marinara, some water, mushrooms and chopped up some frozen bagged meatballs over spaghetti which wasn't even al dente. It tasted terrible, I wouldn't even feed it to my cats. If you want good Italian food, stay far away from Porta Bella. Naples 15, Osteria Papavero, and Bar Coralini are all amazing and are actually worth your money. read more

I was VERY excited about coming to the Porta Bella. It's been about 17 years since I was last here. I remembered it was SOOOO good that I couldn't wait to come back. Well, I found myself in Madison and HAD to return. We went for lunch at 12:30 pm. The front was exactly how I remembered it. Beautiful walkway to the front door. Walked in, there was no one except a cash register. The place was very dark and no one was around. Made us wonder if they were open. We walked further into the restaurant and finally saw someone. We asked "Are you open?" The hostess replied "Yes" & immediately showed to a table around the corner. The dining room, even though very dimly lit, was very beautiful. The hostess was very friendly and invited us to look around the restaurant. We loved the secluded booths and the romantic atmosphere. I could easily see this as a perfect date restaurant. There was not much on the menu but then I remembered it was lunch and their dinner menu probably was much bigger. We all ordered Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. The sourdough bread was warm and very good, especially when you dip it into the oil. However, the entrees were so bland. They were all lacking seasoning and flavor. The chicken was so rubbery and it tasted like it was just cooked in the microwave. Gross. I could not eat it. I had mushrooms added to the dish, which helped. I was so disappointed after the entree. This was once the high end place I couldn't wait to go back to...now it's a place that serves bland pasta. So so disappointed. Would I go back? Yes, probably for a bottle of wine in their wine cellar but not for their food....unless their reviews on Yelp greatly improve. read more

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This has been our go to restaurant for a romantic dinner for the last 8 yrs we've been together and last night my boyfriend proposed to me in the rose room...so thank you portabella for some of my most memorable nights looking forward to so many more read more

Porta Bella - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This would be okay for a first date (if you're 13) and had not paid to dine out before. The waitress was very sweet BUT.. the food is absolutely TERRIBLE! Do NOT... I repeat do NOT order the combination dinner with manicotti and Canneloni and marinara pasta. You do NOT get canneloni, you do NOT get manicotti..what you get is a huge plate of only penne pasta with a large glob of unidentifiable tomato sauce with a lot of very overcooked vegies and mushy meat. NO parmesan on the dish or available at all. I'm certain the "olive oil" was crisco but definitely some vegetable oil which means if they don't have actual olive oil the cooking is also not done with olive oil. If you want to spend $30+ for each entree chose another restaurant. It honestly tasted like a premade, reheated frozen grocery store entree. For the same price or less you can get a GREAT meal at Tempest or Tornado Room (or just about any other place). RUN... don't walk to another restaurant. read more

Great old school place, love the atmosphere, good "comfort food" type Italian, food not super fancy but yummy!

Note: I have not eaten here, I merely attempted to. This rating has nothing to do with the food. I attempted to go to Porta Bella knowing that a former boss of mine almost a decade ago swore by it and my wife and I happened to be in the neighborhood doing our 1st casual stroll down state street in the last few years. We went in and the decor was a charming flashback to the 60s. Wood paneling, neat roundish booths with ample space, plush cushioned seats in the waiting area. It was encouraging, romantically lit, and held the promise of a nice time. We stood there for 5 minutes while people began to pile up behind us. After a few more minutes someone said, "Well, I'll go to the bar and find out if there's actually anyone here." He comes back a few minutes indicating the bartender said, "They're short staffed tonight." ... not, "Sorry, we'll send someone out as soon as we can!" or "We're short on people, let me see if I can find someone to help"... Coming to this page to write about my experience it seems like we're not alone and this has been a long standing issue. Slow seating, slow service. It's a shame, I can only assume that ownership changed from the days when my former boss would rave about Porta Bella. For better or worse I lacked the patience to wait when we were given such a blase answer so I headed out to find a better dining experience. read more

On January 15, 2023, we celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary at Porta Bella with five other family members. Got there early for a drink in the lounge but the lounge was closed because a bartender was unavailable. Disappointing. BYW, we had celebrated our 50th there a year earlier and the owner was the bartender at the time. We noted that our first date was at Porta bella 50 years hence. He shrugged it off and there was no response. This place is going down hill! read more

Food is marginal, but decor and service is horrible. We went for my sons birthday and the service was slow. The place is completely outdated. The kicker is the menu says there is a 20% gratuity for groups over 8 people, but there was only 7 of us. They stuck us with 20% even though we only had seven. This experience was 10% at best. I called the manager and owner and neither one really cared. Don't waste your time on this dump. read more

We decided to try Porta Bella while visiting Madison. The restaurant is quiet with low level lighting inside. The service was good and the menu selection was your typical Italian favorites. The food was average to good. I ordered the chicken parmigiana and it was average at best. Our pizza was luke warm as well as our entrees. There weren't too many other options for Italian food, so check it out if you absolutely need pasta and pizza. read more

Just tried to eat there. The hostess brought menus and that was the last we saw of anyone. When we left 20 minutes later she didn't even bother to look up from her phone. read more

I don't get all the haters. The food was all great. The fried calimari were nice big pieces and their 3 course meal to celebrate thier 50th anniversary was a deal and delicious. Service was great but it was a weekday so it wasn't super busy. If you like an old school italian evrionment, this is the spot for you. read more

Porta Bella - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

The interior is kitschy and romantic...the food is water-logged, unfocused and well suited for a nursing home cafeteria. Porta Bella does not invest the proper energy or passion to put out a quality product and I therefore will not exert any more of my energy in my review for them. read more

A romantic place,set back from the street. Fabulous food, staff and atmosphere! We are just delighted with this place!

I came here post football with my UW student and a few others .The service was really excellent , very on top of details without being too much. I can't say enough about the service. I think our server was named Liz. The decor in here is worth the visit, very old school. I loved it. The food was very good; stuffed mushrooms were great, and we had several Italian entrees that really hit the spot. read more

A great contender for Kitchen Nightmares! We were brought into this establishment after witnessing a brawl on the street which I am now convinced was a show the restaurant paid for in order to get people in. Upon entering, we asked the host if there was somewhere we could park our strollers to which he replied "that's a good question. We are going to the Rose room." Huh? The toasted ravioli was either microwaved or cooked under a salamander and came with no sauce. The plate was scorching hot after 15 minutes and the texture was soggy and gummy. We ordered penne and meatballs for the kids which was $10. My sister ordered the same but off of the adult menu and it was the exact same thing only hers came with a side salad and was $12 more. The meatballs tasted like those that come in a can of spaghettios. The pizza crust was burnt. The white sangria was red; just like all of the flags that this restaurant displayed during our visit. Save your money! read more

Disappointed is the best way to describe the recent dinner at Porta Bella. This place used to be favorite of mine but it has definitely faded. First, no one was manning the hostess stand when we walked in. After a few minutes, a gentlemen came to us saying that they were short staffed on this Saturday evening and didn't have a hostess. Since we had a reservation, our party of four moved to the bar for a cocktail. A single bartender was trying to handle both the table drinks and the people in the bar area. Once I was able to get his attention, he told me he could take my order as soon as he filled the dining room waitress' order and the orders for the two other parties in the bar. 15 minutes later he still had not got to us. Alas, on to dinner. I ordered the lasagna and a small Porta salad. The lasagna here used to be the bomb. The salad was still pretty good but the lasagna was just plain blah. As others reviewers have said, mushy, flavorless and way too much sauces. The others in the group said meals were just ok, nothing special. It is too bad the food and service have gone downhill. I really liked the atmosphere and decor of the place. It was always a good date night stop. Lots of other choices downtown so I doubt that I'll be back for a long time. read more

We went there for our New Year's Eve dinner and boy were we disappointed. The atmosphere was a dark romantic setting, but one look up to the ceiling and you'll find discolored tiles and rust. The bathrooms, while clean, could definitely use major touch-ups. The faucets were covered with white hard water staining and crusted over. It was the bathroom that you'd find in a hole-in-the-wall bar. The woodwork had a worn look to it, whether it was intentional or just unkempt is unknown. Now, the food. If you like frozen TV dinner lasagna, I recommend theirs. The noodles were mushy, the meat was gray and mushy as well, very little cheese, waaaaay too much sauce, and almost zero flavor.. it's like they knew it was mediocre and tried to cover it with the sauce (which was also mediocre!) My wife also got the lasagna, as we thought it'd be a safe bet after reading some of the other reviews, and she agreed on every aspect. She makes her own sauces and could instantly tell it wasn't authentic. Honestly, save your money, $18 for a microwave dinner is way too much! The Olive Garden would've been a way better choice, and we hate the Olive Garden. read more

Went here for restaurant week. It was shockingly poor. The plates were blazing hot for the hot food and freezing cold for the desert. The food was exactly Like something you would buy in the frozen food Italian section of the grocery store. It was presented like your mom heated it up and was in a hurry. I have never had worse Italian food at a restaurant. I'd rather have Fazolis. The lobster ravioli was a strange paste. The tiramisu was exactly from a Marie Callander box. We both got sick within two hours of eating here. Avoid it at all costs. read more

The waitress kept saying "you guys". The salad was served with plastic containers of salad dressings. The food was bland at best. The bar had no tap beers because the taps were "out". This use to be one of our favorite go to places...would always take out of town guests. So sorry we will never visit again. read more

This long-standing Italian gem is not what it used to be. We dined with friends who have been going there for over 40 years. Last night my husband wanted a screwdriver when we were in the bar before dinner. The bartender and staff scoured the restaurant for orange juice - none to be found. The bartender said he hadn't seen any for days. When we went in to dinner, the usual good Italian bread was missing. We were given stale rolls - including pumpernickel. Not Italian! My husband's soup was lukewarm and the server never cleared our salad plates which had been sitting on the end of the booth table near the aisle for at least ten minutes. I know restaurants have had an exceedingly tough time the past two years including being short staffed now, but there were just too many things wrong. We are happy to be able to patronize restaurants again but this was too much from start to finish. read more

Literally the worst Italian restaurant I've ever been to. Food was terrible, I had whole almonds in my chicken Alfredo. Service was terrible we waited an hour and a half for all our food to come out wrong. We were the only four people in the whole restaurant and we were still there foe 2 hours. Save yourself time and money and DO NOT COME HERE!!!! read more

I have been to Porta Bella several times over the years. Why I've gone there more than once I just don't know. I just want so badly to like this place but every time it truly disappoints. The only thing it has going is the semblance of a romantic atmosphere (although that's really only due to the low lighting). My last trip I had the pasta primavera, artichoke and spinach ravioli in a pesto sauce and sauteed veggies. The only problem was that there were 3 itty bitty raviolis in the entire dish. Trying to find them was like an archeology dig amongst unfresh and limp veggies. Next time you walk past the place do yourself a favor and just keep walking. The sub-par food and service aren't worth your time or money. read more

One of the worst Italian restaurants I've ever been to. Food is terrible. It's American Italian and its worse than olive gardens. Need I say more? Service was really slow. Pasta was not cooked al dente and was flavorless. Why oh why. Such terrible food at an otherwise beautifully decorated restaurant. read more

The only reason I won't give Porta Bella a 1 star rating is because they liquored me up and our waitress was a gem. The food, however, tasted synthetic. The chicken resembled something in a Hungry Man's dinner. The breading was soggy and the taste was bland. The pasta was cooked fine, however the sauce must have come out of a can. Go to Greenbush if you want good italian food in Madison. read more

We ate here in a family group of five, expecting the previous (apparently) menu that they had gotten to know and love. We were blindsided by something new. Despite my fiancee's constant talk of a tetrazzini, (12x in the car ride alone), she looked at me after tasting it and winced. I was unimpressed with the sirloin and gnocchi dish. Now I'm normally against steak at an Italian place, but the gnocchi looked quite good. The sirloin was overcooked and the gnocchi portion was tiny. Le sigh. Yet another Madison place I've visited with high expectations and been confronted with marginal food. I will say the service was average, not fast, slow or much to comment on. read more

Growing up in Madison, I have heard about this place for years. It is with that and Restaurant Week that my girlfriend and I ventured out there last night. The environment was great, nice and cozy with a higher class feel. Great lighting and seating arrangement. The service was good, nothing bad, but nothing spectacular. However, the point of this was for the food. Sadly, that did not live up to the hype, not even marginally. The bread and oil served as a precursor was incredible. The oil was infused with a nice spice that went great with the warm sourdough. For appetizers, we had the Italian Stuffed Mushrooms and the Spinach and Artichoke Dip. The dip was incredible, hot, gooey, with a crusty yet easily broken up bread. The mushrooms left much more to be desired. Initially, they tasted like a pizza without a crust, but as I chewed, the pepper became overwhelming. That was the first one. After that, I could scarcely taste anything but pepper. Our entrees were a stuffed steak, what I would refer to as a Steak Parmigiana and Stuffed Shrimp with Spinach Fettuccine. The marinara with the steak was ok, most likely homemade, but the steak was overcooked to the point of being tough. And overall the dish was rather bland, even with the sauce and cheese. The shrimp dish was no better. The shrimp itself was good, but the stuffing and the white sauce both had little to no flavor. What little flavor that they did have was from the pasta and the shrimp. The pasta itself was very good, as long as it was sauce free. It had a great texture, was cooked perfectly, and made me think it was made in-house. I did not eat most of this dish, which is nearly unheard for me. Then we had our desserts, a hazelnut gelato with a cream center and a chocolate cannoli. Both were good, but nothing to rave about. The cannoli's filling was very rich and it almost made itself less appealing the more I ate. I'm a chocolate fiend and have had varieties from many countries, so this was new to me. The cream center of the gelato was a great addition, but was offset a bit by the overabundance of cocoa on the outside. Again, neither was bad, but they fell short of memorable. This meal was mostly bland really. Short of a couple highlights, it was simply a below average meal. The one thing that I'd never think of Italian cuisine is bland. Even if you're not a fan of the flavors, they are always there and always intense. That's part of the draw. For Porta Bella, it's character-lacking food has persuaded me to look elsewhere. read more

This was a bad time. One of the worst bar experiences. Our bartender made us very uncomfortable (insisted on coming to out table, was just awkward, served us drinks and then asked us for ids, saying flags had gone off, it's hard to explain...he was just awkward and talked down to us in a really odd. It seemed like he might have been drunk) A super drunk off-duty employee came to our table, asked us for marketing advice and then tried to get our friend to go to Cask and Ale. So weird. Bad time. Will not go back. Would not recommend. Maybe the food is good. Get takeout maybe. read more

Just got back from an anniversary dinner at Porta Bella and I have to stay I think this place is all right but not anything to write home about. The staff was very friendly, and managed to walk the line between attentive and intrusive. The wine selection is sort of meh, but the bottle we had was pretty decent for the price (Shannon Ridge sauvignon blanc). The food is between decent and good (a little oily, but that's Midwestern Italian for ya), but more importantly, for its price it is a huge steal. As for atmosphere: the place is cozy and intimate. Some of the tables' conversations traveled, but the small booths are very private. And comfortable. Overall, I would recommend at least trying it out. EDIT: One of us got a bit sick the morning after. I would suggest avoiding any of the butter-garlic sauces. They are extremely oily (beyond anything reasonable). read more

It was "eh, alright." My husband and I went for a late dinner, around 9:30 pm on a Saturday. We ordered a bottle of the house chianti. That was delicious. He ordered the New York strip and I ordered the pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola sauce. The steak was juicy but maybe a bit too peppery for us. The pumpkin ravioli was alright. I think that it was microwaved (the food burnt the roof of my mouth and the edges of the pasta seemed dry) but I may be wrong. The sauce was yummy for the first few bites and then I think that it masked the taste of the pumpkin a bit. read more

Madison's most quaint and romantic little italian bistro (there aren't that many of them). Their wine cellar has a very extensive beer and wine list. read more

Porta Bella - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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