Owners are not friendly at all. Service is horrendous. And don't go to the beach it's Gilligan's and they control that like a dictatorship. They will kick you off the beach they say they own if you use an easy up. And surely don't bring your own drinks because they say you have to buy it from them on the beach. And the beach I was digging out sand I sliced my finger on a discarded pop can read more

this place can't make water right but the view is amazing don't go there to eat they only open when they feel like it so theres nothing else to see read more

Left a review last year. A bad review on their facebook page. They blocked me so as not to have it seen. Stopped yesterday again for drinks. Asked for the wifi password for the guest account the very rude bartender lady said no. Told me to many people use it, well isn't that the point. We where the only six people there. Time after time this place disappoints us. The food is bad, service is bad, the only good thing about this place is the view Well there are plenty of other places with better food and good views on the lake. The time before that we stopped there were 8 of us half of us got hamburgers and they were absolutely horrible super dry they tasted worse than the generic frozen Walmart burgers. Another one got the Cuban Sandwich and said it was absolutely horrible and cold. Another one Ordered fish Sandwich and after an hour and a 1/2 when we finally got our food We waited at another half hour and by then we were already done eating and then the waitress came out and said sorry there's no more fish what else do you want. well what the h*** is at about. read more

Portofino Bay - Wifi - Italian Near Me - Mauston, Wisconsin

I keep trying to give this place a chance because the view is so great but service is borderline insulting for no reason, atmosphere is dull and dragging, food feels like robbery. Got the Philly cheesesteak sandwich. So dry could barely swallow it and meat or any substance between the bread was thinner than a sheet of paper. If your looking for the most beautiful not fun bar with over priced sub par food where people treat you like you did something wrong by going there this is the place your looking for. read more

Incredible food and views!! Try the truffle friend, Cuban sandwich and grilled chicken sandwich! Great service. Live bands on weekends, come to the hidden gem at castle rock lake! read more

See all

I manage some properties in the area, and stopped in to introduce myself to Jenica, the new owner. She is absolutely delightful, the most positive person and manager I've known at Portofino Bay in a long time. Let's match her positivity and energy and support her and the restaurant for a turnaround and comeback. We all sense the potential of Portofino.. The menu looks great and I have complete confidence in her. Next time I will have time to actually have a meal.. Until then, all the Best Jenica! read more

Band was awesome Friday night SuperTuesday their band name The venue is set up for large groups to hangout and listen to live music Beers were a buck a can cheap! All and all a good night out This bar is in the water at castle rock lake ! read more

Portofino Bay - Last night out great band!! - Italian Near Me - Mauston, Wisconsin

Continues to suck. Every year I come back and give it a try. Please sell this place to a competent owner. So much potential. Sunday Mary Bloody Bar doesn't exist. In fact they didn't even have enough Bloody Mary mix to make two Bloody Mary's. Not even a pickle. #justdontbother read more

Great pizza awesome service! The prosciutto and honey pizza is to die for. Good view and super kind staff

This posting is a fraud. They are not open for food except pizza. Restaurant has damage from winter snow and has not been repaired. Kitchen is closed. Bar on patio is open for business. Again, no food except pizza. read more

My sister and I stopped in--Tikki Bar was all that was open. We had drinks and the chicken Alfredo pizza. it was delicious and the young bartender was a gem! Will definitely stop again!, read more

Much appreciation to Donna, our server/ bartender, Shane who seemed to be a jack of all trades and our hostess with the big job. So first the food. Cheese pizza dripping in grease. The mushroom and arugula pizza was better but not outstanding. Hubs happy with his whaler sandwich but the only cheese available was American or Swiss. My grilled chicken was dry & chewy. Burger reviews were good. Shoestring fries were like McDonald's but the Parmesan truffle fries were outstanding as were the cheese curds. Drinks were limited. Wish there was a good craft beer. Way big thanks to everyone who tried to help us with our broken pontoon. Kids had fun at the playground? read more

Hard to rate this restaurant. Awesome view, awesome sun room with view of the lake. Service was slow, even though not too crowded, probably a really small kitchen. They could have sold a couple more rounds of beer if they stopped by our table a few more times. Food was ok once they came back with the right order for my son (butter noodles is not fettuccine alfredo) and they finished cooking the raw chicken served to my wife. So, go for the views, have a few drinks, and plan on staying a while. read more

Portofino Bay - View from sun room - Italian Near Me - Mauston, Wisconsin

The new bar manager, Rob Gerleman, is truly a character and knows how to run a good bar/ restaurants. 10/10

If you come here you better not complain about the food or else you will be treated very aggressively and violently by owner Luciano. Ordered Cuban sandwich and Philly steak. Cuban sandwich was soggy, cold bun, very small portion even worse than fast food quality. Dry chunk if pork fell out if sandwich looked disgusting. Told waitress about the problem then she called over owner Luciano. We just started saying what the problem was and he very aggressively with an attitude took our food not even offering something else or a discount. In other words "if you don't like my food then get out". Proceeded to violently kick us out by threatening to hit us the whole time, trying to throw ketchup bottle at us eventually spilling ketchup at us, and throwing a tree branch at us. Kept swearing and saying "out of pub" "get the f*** out of my pub". Even the waitresses had to hold back Luciano because he was coming so close to us. The waitress that was originally trying to calm us down and trying to hear our side, showed the middle finger at the end. Even when we were already going Luciano kept swearing and very aggressively telling us to get out. The pub barely had any people on a Saturday evening which makes sense now. Bartender wanted to serve us a long Island from a can. Very expensive prices for the quality and service. Do not recommend. read more

Terrible food, and terrible service...the owner must use it as a tax write off...such a perfect spot on castle rock lake yet they can't run a bar/restaurant....the only thing that keeps them in business is their outdoor patio with bands...I grew up on castle rock lake and this is the worst place by far ... hoping the owners change read more

Beyond Terrible! This place is a complete joke I should of gone on yelp before going there, just now seeing all the bad reviews... Agreed with the other review on here dj/band is very obnoxious when your trying to have a nice dinner, this restaurant is all over the place. You can clearly tell the owner has no experience in the restaurant industry The staff is extremely rude and so are the owners, took a very LONG time to get our food when we did get our food it was pretty gross... The couple sitting next to us seemed to agree and said that they didn't like their food either and the owner treated them pretty bad when they complained about how long the food took What a shame this is such a nice place and location, too bad the wrong people got involved. read more

Awesome breakfast on the deck and practically on the water. My husband loved the Bloody Mary bar. I would recommend the biscuits and gravy. It was pretty relaxing and looked like they were setting up for a party at the outside tiki bar. We will be back. read more

Portofino Bay - Drinks on the lake! - Italian Near Me - Mauston, Wisconsin

See all

Awesome view. Can't wait for the pool and big new patio bar to open! Food has been excellent except once. Service friendly but could improve a little. Overall great though. Atmosphere is great. read more

Portofino Bay - Killer view of the lake, beach area, and can't wait for the pool and patio bar to open - Italian Near Me - Mauston, Wisconsin

See all

We've been here several times and never been disappointed. Food and drinks are great! View is phenomenal! Wait staff is always friendly and willing to accommodate your needs. It's a laid back atmosphere and on a beautiful summer day, if you have to wait it's worth THE WAIT! read more

Great location on castle lake Good food and fun Dining inside or casual outside plus a huge bar. Easy boat parking read more

Portofino Bay - Great place to relax and enjoy good food - Italian Near Me - Mauston, Wisconsin

The food was great! I would say they are a little overpriced but it is a wonderful place to hangout! Music is great and the white sand beaches are pretty! Great outdoor bar and good service! read more

Stopped by on a warm Sunday afternoon. Had drinks on the outdoor patio. Very nice. Ordered the cheeseburger and fries. Delicious. Prices were very reasonable. Looking forward to coming back for their Friday night fish fry. read more

I wish that they would allow no stars to post. It saddens me to see such a beautiful place be so chaotic. I live in the area and whole heartily support local businesses. I can truly say that we have given this place one to many chances. The food if lucky comes right and the service stinks.The only good thing about the place is the view. The owners have poured tons of cash into the place. What they should truly do is fine a professional chef and wait staff that knows what the hell they are doing. Maybe if they paid their people better they could get a better caliber of help. I don't want to get my own drinks and menu. Four the people who gave 4 stars all I can say is you where very lucky. read more

My friend and I came here for dinner after wine tasting in New Lisbon. We entered through the dining room and stopped at the "Please Wait to be Seated" sign. We asked the server/ waitress if we could get a table outside and she said yes. Then she grabbed some drinks on tray and took them outside, so we waited for her to come back, assuming she'd seat us. When she came back in, she looked at us and said "oh, you can just go out there", so we snagged a table on the deck. After about 10 minutes she came back with menus for us and as she set them down asked us if we needed "a few more minutes". There was no drink menu or beer list anywhere, so I just asked what they had on tap, knowing my friend and I would likely both drink a beer. She looked at me with a confused stare and I said "beer. what beer do you have on tap?". She rattled off a few things, ending with Spotted Cow. My friend and I both quickly said that we'd each have a Spotted Cow and we also asked for water. The waitress came back a few minutes later with two cans of beer (note: NOT on tap!!), no glasses, and no water. We both sort of rolled our eyes and then rolled with it and enjoyed our beers and the view. We ordered food a while later, and asked again for water, which we did eventually get. The food itself was pretty good - my friend had a fish sandwich and I had a burger. The fries were good. My friend didn't get any tartar sauce with her sandwich (which we thought was included). When the waitress brought the food, she asked if we wanted ketchup. We said yes, but never got it. The view and outside deck really make this place great. Don't expect spectacular food and definitely don't expect any great service, but if you're looking for a nice outside spot on a beautiful lake, it's worth it! read more

Umm... Medium rare prime rib? More like well done. Great location but service and kitchen lacking to the extreme. Would love to see this place make it but it seems cursed. read more

Portofino Bay - Italian Near Me - Mauston, Wisconsin

The 3 stars are for the view. The food itself was OK. Service on the other hand was just atrocious. I was willing to give them a pass at first when they said that one of the servers called in sick and ours usually worked in the kitchen. But seeing the other reviews shows this is more than just an unusual experience. For starters, the staff getting the food from the kitchen was a total space cadet. She couldn't figure out who got what order even though we spoke slowly and in perfect English (we're all Americans!). When we asked for ketchup she asked how many. Since this seemed an odd question - we weren't that big a group so one bottle would suffice - I asked if they were packets or bottles. Her response was that she would ask if they had packets for us. When I tried to explain no I just wanted to know what they actually had - bottles or packets - because if bottles then we would just need one but if packets we would need a few, she got totally confused. Then she never brought 2 orders for 2 of the kids in our party. The ketchup fiasco must have thrown her off! When we asked the server, she disappeared for a while until those of us who got their food were done eating. The 2 kids were practically in tears from hunger by then. She finally came back and said they had to redo the orders because the original orders had been left out too long. One of the orders was a kid size fettuccini with fries. Because it was late, she upgraded it to an adult size but NO FRIES! And the dish was so covered up in Parmesan you couldn't taste the sauce. When the bill came it was all screwed up since our 2 families were paying separate checks. More waiting. To her credit she took the fettuccini off the bill and gave a discount to the family whose orders got delayed. But when I finally got our corrected bill, she stood over my shoulder while I signed the credit slip so I didn't get a chance to look over the receipt until after she left and already ran my credit card. Then I noticed a charge on my bill for a Heineken I never ordered. So when I brought it back to her at her station, she just waved me towards the bar (no apology) where I had to wait again to get my bill voided and redone. As of now my credit card shows both charges but no refunds. I guess I'll find out in 3 days if they ever gave me the refund or if I'll have to dispute the bill with my credit card company. On my way out I heard another table asking to talk to the manager. read more

If I could give it 0 stars I would. I am not a mean person but this place didn't even try. Had reservations for 8. No other tables full in the place. They were Highly unorganized. Couldn't get all our drink orders at the same time. Couldn't keep water full. Bring a pitcher, don't keep adding water glasses to the table. Dinners came out at 3 different times instead of all at once. Basically I couldn't eat with my wife. I think the kitchen is upstairs and they had the one server leave the dining room to get meals. Some were done before others were served. Refill drinks were hard to come by. Easier to go up to the bar. I saw a table of six come in and leave. They had only menus for at least 20 minutes. Run from here. Good location. Maybe someone could buy it and run it properly. read more

Awful food. Period. Would you like mechanically pressed chicken with that? How about romaine lettuce in place of arugula for your arugula salad? They don't tell you they're out. They think you just won't notice or care. Choking and need a glass of water? Don't ask the bartender for one. You'll have to wait until your order has been placed. The only good thing was the polite waitress. read more

This place has changed hands a few times, management a few more, and has been totally renovated. Hardly even recognizable from a few years ago. I have always loved this place and have endured some lows with the highs but the latest management change seems to be for the best. The drinks are awesome, the food is consistently great(we eat here every week at least once), the staff seems happier, and we always enjoy ourselves here. If you haven't been here in the last month or two, give it another chance. You will definitely notice the improvement. read more

What a beautiful place friendly staff and there food is very tasty the garlic shrimp prawns are delicious home made ravioli and meat balls and the best Italian beef I've ever had we are very happy and will dine here again read more

Do not order the spaghetti... Absolutely the worst spaghetti I have ever had. The sauce was simply tomato paste and was awful. The extra thick spaghetti noodles seemed to be wheat noodles? While the location is beautiful the food was less than expected. read more

Stopped in for a drink. Was told by the staff "I'm not going out there yo serve you". She was talking about the outdoor seating at the restaurant. She was very rude and told us we needed to come into the empty restaurant to order. We left. read more

EAT BEFORE COMING HERE, ANYWHERE. My date and I went there last night for a fish fry because we enjoy the band they booked for that night. we got there early to ensure we would get a table as traditionally the band "5th Gear" fills most places to capacity. The setting is beautiful on the lake, the property is clean and very nice. Eating here for the first time was an awful experience. We noticed upon arrival there were only a couple of people at the bar and only one table had patrons. There was plenty of friendly staff and the band was setting up. Our waitress was brand new and not experienced so I will not put this on her especially after reading all the negative feed back on this sight as well as face book and travel advisor which I should have read first but with our intentions of ordering a fish fry how bad can it be? Well after 3 beers we ordered our food. By this time the band was playing and there were about 6 tables with people and a half dozen at the bar. They were not busy and it took forever for our food. Finally a young man (I would assume some manager) delivered our cold fish. The fish was very slightly warm to the touch, the potato was warmer but not warm enough to melt butter on it. After the first bite I started to look for our waitress or the man nether could be flagged down so as being as starved as we were from waiting we ate. The young man stopped to clear our dishes and asked how the food was so I told him how it was. Both he and the waitress were very polite, he offered to mention this to his boss and have the bill adjusted. I never asked for that and did not intend to but felt it should be brought to there attention as would like to see this place succeed. When he came back he told me that his "higher up " adjusted the bill by $4.00. I paid, left a small tip but really regret that I didn't say something to this "higher up", $4.00 bucks?, really?? I would have felt less insulted had he told me to pound sand. I guess I should have ask that they accept $4.00 for the meal and they eat the $44.00 difference. What jerks, what crap food, what customer service. I probably would have come back since I live only 12 miles from there and try'd them again had they offered me something real like a drink coupon or a discounted dinner certificate or something similar but they couldn't have done much worse than they did. My advise if your coming here for the music stick with the canned beer and soda and eat down the road before you come. read more

My family lives in the area and we have seen this place be many different eating establishments in the past few years with the latest being Portofino Bay... We love to support local businesses and want to see them be successful, especially on the lake. With that being said how many chances do you give an establishment before you give up? I can safely say I think my family is all out of chances. Our last trip to Portofino's was the evening of 6/6 a Saturday. We decided that we would give them 15 minutes to make it to our table (because we have waited very long at times & we were seated outside) and after 15 minutes we would leave and we did. Our waitress who had other tables never even acknowledged us, not even to say I will be with you in a minute even after she served the table right next to us. On more than one occasion the owner and the manager have been spoken to by people in our party and they tell us they are aware of the issues. It is a shame because this place could truly be something and the locals really want to pull for you guys. But how long should it take to make it right? The view is great best on lake. The food is great when they are not out of items and they get your order right. The service SUCKS, I mean really sucks ALL THE TIME. They are slow and disorganized and most times your order is not right. read more

Went out Saturday for Prime Rib Special. Started out with Drinks . Took twenty minutes to get our drinks and they were not good . Rum and Coke was made with very flat coke and very little rum . Vodka martini dirty on ice was not dirty and no ice. Bartender said she was aware the coke was flat and said she had never made a martini before.......The waitress also was struggling and said it was her first day . I'm guessing by the quality of the food it may have been the cooks first day also ! Never Again! read more

We thought going back a year later the restaurant would have hired better servers and a better cook. Unfortunately, Rachel G. We must have just missed you as the service and food was awful for us too! We will never go back unless restaurant changes it name and owner read more

Been coming to this place since it opened. The service has been hit or miss but the food has always been great. We showed up there last Sunday around 7pm with our family of 13! The place was empty so we were a bit worried, but there is no snow and it was late Sunday. There was only one person working there, besides who was working in the kitchen. I think his name was Mike (I am bad with names) and we later found out that he has only been there a few weeks and is the new manager. Bottom line, we received the best service from him and the food was probably the best it's ever been from there (and we've been here at least 12-15 times). If this is any sign of new management, keep it going! I know it's hard keeping good help and having fresh food ready to serve when you don't know if your going to have any business. It is the best food on the lake, unfortunately we only get up to that area once or twice every month or two. We will be there to visit again in a few weeks. Hope there will be some snow!! read more

Went here last summer and was not impressed. Decided to give it another shot tonight and was very pleased with the changes. Steaks were cooked perfectly and as ordered. Vegetables were crisp and varied. Our waitress was very friendly and the manager attentive. The service was much improved from my first visit. Beautiful view. I had the eggplant Parmesan and felt it needed improvement but I am second generation Italian and have high expectations. The manager deducted that from the bill and offered another dinner. I will definitely go to this place again. read more

I recently returned to this restaurant because my wife made me ( first experience last year was not good). She wanted to give it another try because the view is beautiful and the facility was well kept. This time around was a completely different experience. My steak was juicy, cooked as ordered and delivered by a great staff member in a timely fashion. Salad, vegetables, drinks, desert all very good. I had to ask, what gives? We were informed the restaurant is under new management with a new chef, new manager and new wait staff. And it shows! I can now recommend this place! Stick with the steaks!!! read more