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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This restaurant is the perfect spot for date night, dinner with friends or even a business meeting. The layout of the restaurant maintains privacy for diners in defined booth spaces and the cozy old-world decor simply adds to the atmosphere. In the summer, you can dine in a charming outdoor patio - so very delightful. You start to relax even before the waitstaff asks for your beverage request. Whether you're visiting for lunch or dinner, the menu holds a diverse selection of Italian favorites and includes nightly specials for guests to enjoy. The wait for the food is relatively short or seemed that way, due to the intimacy of the place. When it arrives, it is high quality and very tasty. I don't think you can go wrong with your selection! Be sure to order dessert, even if you need to pack it to-go - the tiramisu and cannoli are both to die for. I'll definitely be back for lunch, dinner or cocktails. read more

I used to walk past Porta Bella all the time when I was in college, but never made time to visit! I really enjoyed my first visit to Porta Bella. I met up with a mentor of mine for a Friday lunch. The restaurant was really quiet and I can see how it would be perfect for a date night... Romantically lit with high booth backs. The lunch menu was limited to a few pasta dishes, some salads, and sandwiches. My companion ordered a salad and 1/2 portion of the hot cheese bread, which she said had been her go-to for years (a perfect portion, and just healthy enough...) I opted for the manicotti with tomato sauce-- two delicate rolls of fresh pasta filled with just enough cheese and spinach, baked in a flavorful sauce. It was a perfect lunch portion, supplemented with bread and spiced oil. The price was right at about $10 with lemonade. It's what I'd typically spend for a sit-down lunch. I look forward to going back! Oh, but watch your knees on the wrought iron table legs! read more

This experience started off extremely well. The entrance of the restaurant takes you through gates that open to an outdoor patio adorned with ivy covered walls and rod iron table and chairs. A really unique and peaceful setting in an otherwise busy area. The entrance to the inside of the restaurant greet you with dark, warm colors and low lighting. A great atmosphere! The service and food were another story however. We ordered wine, appetizers, salads, and entrees. Our appetizers came out and were okay (Sampler). The salads and entrees followed before we could finish any of the previous courses. Felt very rushed in what seems to be a very relaxed and intimate atmosphere. The Caesar salad was okay. Nothing to write home about. The entree, however, was aweful. Chicken Tetrozinni (spelling??), boasted a rich cheese sauce over chicken and rotini. I added mushrooms, which helped. The sauce was about as rich as a freshman on the UW campus. More like a weak alfredo than any kind of decent cheese sauce. Not to mention, there was no (and I mean NO) flavor to the dish. I asked for fresh cracked pepper, and they pepper mill was grinding out dust over my dish. All-in-all, I give it a 2 star rating for the atmosphere. But if you are going for a good Italian dish, there are better options within walking distance. Too bad too. The restaurants design and atmosphere are top notch. read more

The atmosphere is romantic but that is the only thing I liked about Porta Bella. The food is bland and flavorless. The salad was drowned in dressing and croutons. The pasta might has well have been a basic jar of sauce and boxed pasta read more

I love this quiet charming place, tucked into a small street with its romantic vines and recessed entryway! Reminds me of old Chicago where atmosphere of a certain time means as much as the food! read more

Went with my wife tonight. Great food and service again. Recommend. Will continue to come back and enjoy this restaurant.

When we first walked in I thought this is really kinda cool. We sat down and it took at least 10 minutes before our waitress came to see what we would like but did bring water and bread. That was good. Then we ordered a drinks..........after a long time our drinks arrived when we realized my husbands wasn't right. Bacardi and Coke isn't a difficult drink. They don't have regular Bacardi so they used Bacardi 151..ok just tell someone when you don't have what they ordered. My husband ordered veal Parmesan which my husband liked except it had raw green pepper and onion on top.we ordered regular fettuccini (warning only good of fettuccini or spinach fettuccini). Out food came with spinach fettuccini. They had to send it back. Fettuccini was very mushy I couldn't eat it. I would not recommend this restaurant ever. Our waitress was nice but didn't even blink an eye when she saw my plate barely touched. Skip this read more

Porta Bella - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Service was the only reason a Star was shared. Our waitress was pleasant. Had to be the worst food we have had in many years . Over sauced pumpkin ravioli that was cold. Corn chowder that had the texture of jelly and no taste of corn. As our server placed the olive oil with the bread on table, she apologized for the chef placing too much chili pepper in it, but it was served any way. Yes, way to hot. Madison being a stop over as we traveled, a person shared how wonderful it was. So we went. I suggest a experience else where Madison. read more

We visited Porta Bella for our favorite sandwich in all of the USA, the Garibaldi. The sandwich is still on the menu, but was not the same as it has been for the past 50 years. It was bland, the cheeses were not melted, the cook would not add bacon as I have had it for over fifty years, it was smaller and I am pretty sure it was not even cooked in the pizza oven. I was thoroughly disappointed. They should remove it from the menu or change it's name to "Warm Sub". read more

Pizza is okay, but I ordered the Pasta Siciliano, the Marinara sauce was terrible, worst flavor I have ever experienced.

It was fun to go to this classic restaurant. To be honest, the food wasn't great. We got the mushrooms and they were swimming in their own grease when they arrived. But the wine was great, the atmosphere took us way back and the service was great. read more

Love the decor of this place. Used to come here with the parents when I was at UW. Took my husband this time for a little walk down memory lane. Of course it looks exactly the same. And I absolutely love the old parlor feel. Bar is great. The food was yummy though nothing extraordinary and I was a little put off by the service. Super friendly but we never got a napkin even after asking and when the waitress nearly dropped a platter of another table's food, one entree of manicotti tipped over onto her breast shirt, she spilled quite a bit of sauce on her bare arm (which I am sure was very hot) then tilted it back upright with some of that sauce going back on the plate. It was a nice save and she remained calm throughout, but, she still gave the food to the customer. Ick. That definitely lost this restaurant a star. read more

While the dark, cozy atmosphere is always cited as romantic, it's also a fun place to go with friends or for lunch for something different. I highly recommend the lunch menu- about the same price as anywhere else ($8-9), but you leave with leftovers for lunch the next day too! The atmosphere, service, and variety makes this a much more interesting place to go than Tutto or Ginos, for basically the same price and much more satisfying food. read more

I can't say I care about the atmosphere...the main floor is very dark and it definitely doesn't inspire "romance." If you're self-conscious about how you're dressed, the lower level is more casual. But the food is delicious. I've been there a few times and tried different pastas and they're all really good. The portions are large enough to have leftovers so it's worth the price. Call ahead if you go during a holiday or a game day. It tends to be pretty busy during then. read more

Lovely garden seating. I was there on a beautiful summer day and they have tables with some shady trees around so it's nice even on a hot afternoon. We only ordered a couple of desserts and they were both good. If that's an indicator, I'm confident the food is good too. Unfortunately, they didn't have the garden seating open the last time I went there on a Saturday afternoon in late September. They said they don't open it when the the temperature drops below 60 or something. Which was very odd because it was a gorgeous day and it was a very busy weekend in Madison due to a football game. The inside seating is more upscale and intimate inside. Seems appropriate for a romantic dinner out. read more

My wife and I were here for a wedding reception. That part of our experience was outstanding... very good food, appetizers, desserts, and a well stocked and staffed bar. We arrived to the event early with another couple, so were looking forward to hanging out in the wine cellar. It was closed when we arrive around 5:00pm. When I asked if would open later, the hostess said the bar tender was late for work, but should open in 30 minutes. No problem! So, the 4 of us went to the main floor bar while we waited for the party to start. It was just the 4 of us and maybe 2-3 others in the bar. The bar was "staffed" with 2 people. At first it seemed like maybe we caught them a little early, for the main bar tender didn't even acknowledge our existence. We gave her a pass, but after 10+ more minutes of being blatantly ignored, one of us finally said: "Ahem! I think we'd iike to order drinks now". The bartender gave us a lame "okay" response, not even looking at us, then went back to doing whatever she was doing (anything but serving customers). At least 5-10 more minutes being ignored. Finally she took our order - at least 1 of the 4 of us. Took forever to get the first drink, in the meantime, the rest of us were hung out to dry another 5 minutes. After reading several of the Yelp reviews, it appears that our experience is not unique. How disappointing! This place was a top favorite when my wife and I attended UW 30 years ago. The ambiance is still outstanding, but after our experience and the reviews of the food quality, I can't see coming back except for the wine cellar (if the staff reports to work) read more

I really wanted to like this place. The food was downright bad as were the drinks. There are so many great places to eat in Madison, unfortunately this isn't one of them. read more

Really good Italian food. Service a bit slow (after we were done eating took about 20 min to get ck). I ordered jumbalya pasta. Was good. Served w meds shell pasta which I found an interesting choice. Fiancé got the mufeletta. Absolutely delish!!! Kid ordered burger and pretty sure it was a frozen patty. Tasted ok. Not great. Def stick w the Italian food. I really liked the atmosphere; but not necessarily 4 a sat lunch. I've always wanted to stop in and I'm glad I did. Next time I would like to go in the eve n get dressed up and order some drinks too. read more

So glad that some friends and I stopped in for lunch, as I haven't been there for a while. The romantic atmosphere wasn't lost on us though! We shared some laughs and some friendly love for one another over our sandwich/salad combo lunches. The tables around us were filled with an eclectic mix of patrons. I had the garibaldi sandwich and side porta salad ($8). The porta salad was as good as I remember. The garibaldi was dry and not as filled with ingredients (meat, cheese and veggies) as I've had before. The bread was so dry and crunchy, that it shredded the top of my mouth (similar thing happens when I eat funyuns). Pretty disappointed today. I think that Paisan's serves a better garibaldi. I've had a couple of Porta Bella's pizzas before and they are pretty darn good. I was bummed when no one from my table decided to get one. I may have to skip the garibaldi next time and get a pizza. I have to stick with my mantra, 'Go with what you know'. Oso's Night Rain was a nice addition to wash it all down. read more

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My wife and I stopped here yesterday for food. The decor in the outdoor patio lured us in. It was dimly lit, and seem to have a nice atmosphere. We liked the decor, and our waitress was pleasant. We made the mistake of not checking the reviews until after we were already inside the restaurant. Big mistake. Customer reviews are accurate--this place desetves its lackluster rating. The place has overpriced food and forgettable food, and it is expensive for what you get. The portions are tiny and the dish we had meat sauce over spaghetti. How do you ruin spaghetti? These people know how. The spaghetti was overcooked and waterlogged. The meat sauce tasted like it came out of a can. We got a chocolate cannoli for dessert. How do you screw that up? This restaurant knows how to. It was a huge mistake eating here. We don't plan on coming back ever again. Trust the reviews. That many people cannot be wrong--this place is terrible and overpriced. Amazingly enough, Olive Garden is way better than this place. read more

Worst dining experience ever. After 25 years of eating here, I know it has ups and downs. But tonight was worst. 1. Ordered a bottle of wine. Rather than traditional service for bottles, waitress set on table and that was it. No tasting, no pouring. 2. Ordered appetizer/starter. But soup and salad came before the appetizer. 3. Tomato basil soup was more like tomato water sans basil, with big chunks of zucchini. 4. Asked waitress to slow down the service so we could eat. But then main course came before we could finish, soup, salad and appetizer. At one point, two people had 8 plates on a small two person square table. 5. One main dish was okay but other was nasty. Meat was rancid and inedible. Waitress came by once after serving the main course. Diner 1 said okay since he had his first bite. The other diner with the rancid meat was still eating first course and had not tasted main so could not offer feedback to waitress. No additional table visits until time to bus the table. 6. Right now Immodium is my best friend. Threw up twice on way home from restaurant and now waiting patiently for anti-diarrheal pills to kick in. What the hell happened here? After 25 years of good dining (not excellent but usually pretty good), it is a train wreck in the kitchen and in the service. read more

Come here for all of my friends birthdays. Food is really good, but it takes a while to come out. Service is pretty good

This place has AMAZING ambiance, in a city with so many calculated restaurants this place feels unique and truly genuine. The food is pretty good and super affordable, I'd recommend this place to anyone who is looking to drink some wine while having a great and memorable night out with friends. This place is an established true madison gem. read more

We went with another couple to have a 'Best of Madison' experience since I have walked by Porta Bellas many times and told my wife I would like to try it some day. I'm just going to say it, great ambiance, good service, mediocre food and an OK price. You would be much better off going to Bellini's for an Italian experience. The food there is more authentic and the ambiance is just as good. read more

This recent dinner was my third trip to Porta Bella. The first experience we had I was actually quite impressed and we really enjoyed our meal. This was about 6 years ago. Then we visited again about 2 years ago and had a mediocre experience. This past Friday, we were looking for a place to have a romantic dinner and Porta Bella definitely provides an atmosphere and secluded seating which provides this. From the romantic/private standpoint, we got exactly what we were looking for, a booth for two in a secluded area. The food is where I have really struggled over the past two visits. First off, keeping in mind this is an Italian restaurant, they are very limited in their ability to accommodate any alteration to their meal . They have a pasta combo, which by default comes with lasagna and chicken tetrazzini. My wife, not being a fan of cream sauces, asked if she could simply get Spaghetti Bolognese instead of the tetrazzini. She was told that everything is pre-portioned so that you could not swap. Ok, whatever...she ordered the Bigoli Bolognese. Because she's pregnant, she can't eat cold cut meats and asked if they could "hold" the meat on her salad. We were again told this was not possible, because the salads are all pre-made. This seems crazy for an Italian restaurant, to essentially have everything pre-made up. As if pasta and sauce are hard to prepare. Clearly they are not doing anything too special in the kitchen to prepare our meals. In the end, the quality of the meal spoke to their effort in preparation. The bolognese sauce was rather flavorless and my seafood tetrazzini was even less flavorful and nearly dry. At an avg of around $15 per entree, I don't expect 5 star quality, but to be honest I could have gotten a better meal at an Italian chain restaurant and they would have been more accommodating in the meal preparation. I would recommend looking at many of the other Italian restaurants in Madison. read more

I really enjoyed my time there. Nice and romantic atmosphere. Had 3 course special. Ordered the Caesar salad, three meat cannelloni and chocolate chip cannolj. Food was good. Person I was with didn't like the dessert, so they accommodated her with a different one. Quick service and friendly staff. read more

I'm so sad how far downhill Porta Bella has gone since I was in college. While the romantic atmosphere remains, the food is awful. Our Bolognese smelled and tasted like Chef Boyardi:( Our waitress was so spacey and disinterested we had to laugh every time she left our table. I hope the owners can turn the menu around - I think they need rescuing by Robert Irvine of Restaurant Impossible. read more

I'm a little surprised by all the bad reviews here, with all due respect (everyone is entitled to their own opinion). Maybe part of the reason I like Porta Bella so much has to do more with nostalgia than anything else. My family and I would come here to celebrate special occasions back in the day. At that time, I was still a teenager and thought this was one of the fanciest restaurants in town. Maybe it was at the time, or maybe I just hadn't been to many other places. But I loved the big, round booths with the curtains (still do). The atmosphere is intimate, and cozy. Sure the interior has become outdated, but I think it has charm and personality. The service is fine, nothing stands out (good or bad). My go-to dish as a teenager was cheese tortellini with Alfredo sauce. I didn't branch out much, so this was a safe and consistent dish for me. Now that I have expanded my food preferences, I have ordered many types of dishes here from lobster ravioli, linguini with pesto sauce, manicotti, lasagna, etc. Every dish has been tasty, and fresh. Definitely not the best or most authentic Italian cuisine, but worth the price and it beats Olive Garden by a long shot. I don't go to Porta Bella often, but when I do I know I will have a great meal in a cozy atmosphere. read more

The food is a joke. I can understand if you like the atmosphere, but let's all get serious about the food.

We did arrive about 15 minutes late for our reservation and the hostess made sure to remind us that we absolutely had to be out of there by a specific time before she even showed us to our table. No problem. We understand that you have a reservation for the table after us, so you think that the waitress would have done everything to expedite us leaving. Nope. It took almost 45 minutes to get out 10 people's soup and salads. Since when does Caesar salad have olives, hard boiled eggs and mozzarella cheese? Another half hour later (we now have 15 minutes to eat) our entrees come out. My husband's crab stuffed shrimp had very little (if any) crab and... He found a vein in the second one. Needless to say, he was done eating at that point. Then there was my chicken rollatini... Not rolled, was missing most of the menu ingredients and it was cold. Most definitely not going to go back. Ever. read more

I came here for restaurant week and I've never had such a terrible dining experience before. The food and service here deserves 0 stars, however, the restaurant's decor is elegant. I ordered a blackberry salad for my appetizer and it was awful. The salad consisted of a few pieces of raw and undressed spinach, four blackberries, and sloppy hand shredded ham. My stuffed sole over pasta was disappointing. You can't call yourselves an italian restaurant when you overcook your pasta to the point of no return. There was no seasoning at all on the food (which would explain the salt and pepper shakers on the table). The fish was overcooked. My boyfriend ordered a steak with stuffed shrimp. They gave him two mere pieces of shrimp and the supposed "crabmeat" stuffing was mainly breading. The funniest part was the sauce they decided to put on the plate. They served the steak with a huge portion of sauce in a little dish which tasted like mustard straight from the squeeze bottle. Why is that supposed to be there again? Had one poured that all over the steak, one's palate would be drowned in horseradish. Dessert was mediocre. My almond cake tasted like a defrosted pound cake with reddiwhip on the side. You've been warned. Olive Garden may be a better pick. read more

We came here on a saturday night for restaurant week in madison. I had heard good things about the place but then when I came to look at yelp the reviews were not so great. We decided to go anyway. The stuffed mushrooms were absolutely wonderful, a good little appetizer before the meal. I chose the lobster ravioli with half alfredo and half vodka cream sauce. THIS WAS AMAZING. Just enough lobster flavor to add to the meal but the vodka cream and cheesy alfredo sauce turned this dish into heaven. The others at my table had prosciouto and panna that was also very delicious and creamy. To top off the meal it came with dessert and we had the almond cake and tiramisu. Let me just tell you if you get any dessert in your entire life get the almond cake! It is the best thing that has ever hit this planet I want to bathe in it! Unfortunately they only get it in for restaurant week so maybe they can change that! We got our food very fast. Our experience was wonderful, the wait staff was extremely friendly and helpful in choosing what to eat. You could tell they have eaten almost everything on the menu! The only down side of this experience was that there was an extremely loud table that complained about everything only at the end of the meal. This ruined the meal for many in the restaurant due to their insane rudeness and bargaining for discounts. I just want to say that if you can eat your entire meal without complaining there was nothing wrong with it! The wait staff handled them very graciously even though the rest of the restaurant wanted to kill them. I could not believe how rude they were. Please remember that waiters are humans too and have a very hard time when you scream at them for something that is basically your doing. The table proceeded to ask for multiple discounts and eventually did not want to tip. REMINDER: YOU MUST TIP YOUR WAITER. If you can afford to go to a nice restaurant then you can afford to tip. Overall it was wonderful for our first time here. I would definitely come back for date night and even desert and a glass of wine! read more

If you're someone who wants to enjoy some delicious pasta AND feel like you're in a Wes Anderson film, this is the place for you (and me). It is dimly lit and beautiful. The service was perfect and our food came quickly. Absolutely zero complaints here! read more

I went to this overpriced "Italian" restaurant last night and although I enjoyed the atmosphere and romantic ambiance of the restaurant and the service was fine, I found it really a big disappointment food wise. The cesar salad was iceberg lettuce, mozzarella and store bought croutons. My mushroom ravioli (which now I realize were $2/piece for a total of 6 ravioli) were boring and tasteless with again, a boring tomato sauce. My husband's lasagne was $f15 for poor quality lasagna with the same boring tomato sauce over top. I won't be back! read more

I went to porta bella's on a date. The setting is very romantic and the way the seating is set up makes it a more intimate setting. For an appetizer we ordered the bruschetta, it was okay...the feta cheese was over powering. I ordered the portabella mushroom fettuccine alfredo. My noodles were over cooked and the sauce was extremely bland. I will never eat here again. read more

We ended up at Porta Bella after our first choice was booked. It started fine, but it went downhill from there... It was HOT inside. I'd say high 70s or 80. I asked the server if they had a thermostat and she said "Yeah, it is hot." Something must have been wrong with the HVAC. Others at my table ordered pizzas and seemed happy. I ordered the lasagna from a recommendation. It was still cold in the middle when it was served. It had a cool look inside, but overall we were not impressed. read more

This restaurant is okay; not bad, not good, just okay. The first time I ate there, I got spaghetti with a marinara sauce and it was marginal. It lacked any great flavor, or any flavor at all; I believe I added salt to it. The second time I ate there, I shared a pizza and nobody really had any idea as to what half the pepperoni was on, which I cannot have eat. I ended up biting into pepperoni on my non-meat half. Apart from that, the pizza was really good. read more

We came here after my sister-in-law's graduation today. Unfortunately, Yelp is spot-on with this one. Although the ambiance was nice - very cozy and romantic with the side booths, the food was a big miss. The Caesar salad was decent, and the bread was delicious (and warm!) but the pasta (I had pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzala sauce) was a huge disappointment. The ravioli themselves were ok, although a tad too sweet for my tastes, but the sauce on them was terrible - think cold, congealed grocery store Alfredo. No hint of Gorgonzala at all. My fiance did like his pasta, the bolognese with homemade spaghetti, well enough. I thought it was pretty overpriced, especially for the area. Pasta dishes were mostly $13-$15 and entrees $16+. read more

I adore the location and atmosphere of Porta Bella! The last time I went, the food was good but not worth the cost. I feel like Olive Garden has tastier dishes for better prices. I hope they revamp their menu because I'd hate to see this place go. I had a steak and crab stuffed shrimp. Nothing memorable about the steak and the crab stuffed shrimp had very little crab, mostly breading. The service and atmosphere were great though! read more