Tres bon mais le matto est meilleur

29 October, 2011 I ordered the lunch special: "Steak Frites," which came with soup, salad, dessert, and a glass of beer or wine. The soup was fine: a creamy combination of celery, onion, carrot, and mushroom. I ordered the steak "a point" ("medium" en francais) and it arrived "cru" (raw) on the inside. As for the "frites" (fries), there were about 12 on my plate, and the salad could have fit... more

belle carte des vins

Que du vraie..viva italia

Arrived Friday night of winter carnivale with our group after a very long car ride. We're able to get a table for 4 no problem at 630 pm. The interior is lovely with pops of red. The menu had so many amazing choices that our table took 30 minutes to decide what they wanted. Had a wonderful bottle of Barbera d'Asti and the table d'hote.  Wonderful pasta pescatore. Everyone loved their food. A... more

Portions so big and food was very very good, not a disappointment at all, wine list needs more by the glass choices though, service was good too!

I can't state this strongly enough, this 'charming' Italian restaurant is tourist trap.  The cute exterior gives way to a gaudy interior reminiscent of sports bar/Olive Garden establishment.  The owner waited on us, and was a bit of a snob.  The prices are extremely high for the quality.  A pasta dish runs $16 to 30, but the quality does not justify.  Skip this place.

Although it may technically be called "Wood Fire Oven" pizza due to the presence of wood, fire, and an oven in their kitchen, it's nothing like the pizza from Napoli, Italy.  It is your average thin crust pizza with standard mozzarella, not the white Buffalo Mozzarella.  Pizza sauce was nothing special, tastes similar to canned pizza sauce.  2 stars because their service was fast and they... more

Amazing food, great location!I've had the three course meal, Minestrone soup, sea food linguini and chocolate cake.....perfection!I don't want to make this review too long so I won't describe every course but I tell you, it's been few days already since my Portofino experience and all I can think of is their food. Food, service, location = five stars experience

Thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant. Good live music with dinner. Started with calamaria. Perfectly cooked. Wife had veal al limone. Basically veal picatta and said it was excellent. I had fettucine amatriana. Pasta seemed homemade and was perfectly al dente. Finshed with creme brulee and once again it was scrumptous. Reasonable price for Quebec City.

Absolutely love this place. Amazing Italian food right in the heart of old Quebec city. Prices are not that ridiculous and the food is great. They have huge selection of pasta dishes and wood fired pizzas. Definitely will visit it again

Very tasty Italian food, with a very good selection on the menu.  Friendly service, and no-problem if you don't speak French.  Jovial, fun decor; great location in the center of Haute Ville.  And pretty decent thin-crust pizza, even by Brooklyn standards.  You can park across the street at underground lot at the Hotel de Ville (city hall).

I had one of the specials that comes with salad, main course, dessert, and coffee or tea.  the watercress salad was not only yummy with endive and figs, but a beautiful presentation.  my main course was smoked duck ravioli, excellent flavor and nicely cooked.  the dessert was a nice light chocolate cake with berries and a small meringue cookie.  I also tried some of the thin-crust pizza, which... more

Usually hotel recommendations tend to be tourist traps, but this one was fantastic!Situated on a corner in lovely vieux Quebec, this Italian restaurant bills itself as Pizza, Pasta and Musica. And boy does it deliver!I was in Quebec alone and was seated in a lovely window-front table. The wait staff was attentive and friendly without hovering. The arrival of the food was timed extremely well (a... more

I have gotten several emails now asking where folks can find the delicious-looking pizza featured in my profile photo -- the answer is Portofino, and I am proud to finally be writing a review about it here.Portofino's pizza is the epitome of crispy thin crust pizza with an undeniably flavorful wood-fired oven taste.  And you know this is an authentic pizza joint because the first pizza listed... more

This cute Italian bistro resides on the corner of the crowded St. Jean street. It's a good place for people watching (if you sit outside) without feeling like you are in the middle of the busyness.Traveling alone in Quebec, I stumbled upon Portofino's and decided to have lunch here and found the wait staff to be extremely warm and attentive. They have a wide selection of pastas, entrees, wines,... more

Good place for a nice dinner. Happened to stroll upon it tonight while in "Old Town" Quebec, and liked the looks of the menu. After being seating by on man, a different guy comes to give us water and ask what we would like to drink, then another man comes to take our entree order, then a different dude to deliver it to our table (which had a great view of the bustling cobblestone street by the... more

The food at Portofino was correctly done. The pasta dishes we tried were tasty and the seafood fresh. The decor is a bit tacky - in between the soccer aficionado and the contemporary - but the staff is friendly. I found the prices to be steep for an Italian 'cantina' and leaves an aftertaste.

Portofino does a good job. I have been there four times while on vacation and I have not been disappointed. Portofino's is a "safe bet" while in Quebec

Popular spot, went for business (12) and...

Popular spot, went for business (12) and pleasure(2).In Rustic Rue St Jean area. Satisfied my desire for tatsy Italian food, and sometimes they have live entertainment troubadour "bonus". Not a large place, good atmosphere.

In a Hurry?

I agree with the person who called this place pretentious. We had seen the ratings on the restaurant and thought it might be good, however we were rushed out of the restaurant and did not enjoy the experience. We ordered a drink before dinner and were not even given an opportunity to order wine with the meal. We were done in less than an hour...what a crock. Very disapointing. The food was... more

My hotel recommended this hidden restaurant as a good place for lunch and I was not disappointed.  The thin-crust pizza and pasta lunch special was tasty with a slight hint of home-made quality.  The portion was good and satisfying.  The service was good too with mostly young good-looking people.