Located in the heart of Old Québec in an historic house built in 1760, Portofino welcomes you to a warm, friendly environment where every meal is a celebration. For a romantic meal for two, business meetings, or to celebrate a special event with a group, as Old Québec’s premier Italian restaurant, Portofino is the place to be. With seating for up to 140 people, Portofino can accommodate your every need and expectation.
Portofino Brasserie Italienne provides a memorable dining experience characterized by its warm, authentic atmosphere and high-quality Italian cuisine. Many guests frequently praise the delicious pasta dishes, wood-fired pizzas, and flavorful appetizers like the burrata and bruschetta. The service is often described as professional, friendly, and attentive, with staff members going out of their way to ensure a pleasant visit, even during busy periods. While the restaurant can become quite lively and bustling, this adds to the vibrant, cozy charm that makes it a popular destination for both locals and travelers. With a wide selection of wines and consistently well-prepared meals, the restaurant remains a highly recommended stop for anyone seeking an exceptional dining experience in the heart of Old Quebec.
Restaurant has a nice atmosphere & service was exceptional. Waitress gave many good recommendations. Veal was super tender. Gnocchi was very rich. Just what was called for on a cold, autumn day. Tiramisu for dessert was one of the best I ever had. Enough to split.
L'un des meilleurs restaurants italiens où j'ai eu la chance de manger dans ma vie ! De l'entrée au dessert, tout était absolument délicieux. Les plats sont savoureux, bien présentés, & on sent vraiment la passion pour la cuisine italienne authentique. Le service est impeccable, avec une équipe accueillante & aux petits soins. Si vous cherchez une véritable expérience culinaire italienne, ce restaurant est une adresse incontournable !"
I came to Quebec City with my family for our first visit, decided on an Italian meal a week before, & made reservations for 7:00 pm on a Wednesday at Portofino. After being seated & ordering, our appetizers came relatively quickly. However, as other tables left & the restaurant became less busy, we were surprised our main courses were taking so long. A table busser even came by, REMOVED OUR CUTLERY, & placed dessert menus on our table as it looked like we were finished our meal & just waiting. We informed her that our meal had not arrived yet, & she said, "The server asked me to come by & drop these off," & went to replace (most of) our cutlery. Really? The server asked you to remove our cutlery? Our meal finally came, but my wife did not have a fork (that was taken away), & she made eye contact with a blond server, who made eye contact back at her, then turned & walked away. My son felt bad, stood up, & went to another table to get a fork as no one came by for 3-4 minutes to check in on how the meal was. I started eating my lasagna, & the sauce was room temperature, but I didn't think much until I made my second cut into the middle of the lasagna, & it was literally COLD. I asked my wife if I was imagining my food was cold, & she stuck her finger in the middle of my lasagna & was taken aback. Everyone stopped eating & we all tried to get the attention of bussers & servers, & after a few minutes, finally got the attention of a busser (the one who took our cutlery away) to please get our server. After explaining our complaint, our server felt the underside of my plate & said, "I feel it is COLD under the plate, I'm so sorry." He offered another serving, but I was a little turned off at reheated lasagna so I decided to just replace my lasagna with something easy, like the spaghetti with bolognese sauce my son had ordered, & the waiter said, "I will make this my FIRST PRIORITY!" The waiter brought by 2 complimentary pieces of bruschetta so I could eat with my family (see pic 1). However, to our surprise, the amount of time to get what we thought was a relatively easy order took over 10 minutes. When I was finally served, the spaghetti was VERY HOT, & I was focused on eating my meal to try to catch up to the rest of the table. As I was half finished, I looked at my son's plate & asked if he was done. He said, "Yes," but had left some of his sauce. I tried some, as it looked different, & it tasted totally different, YET I ORDERED THE SAME MEAL as him We called the server over yet again, & he came up with this explanation: "Because we rushed the meal, the sauce didn't have time to reduce." Would a restaurant not have a large pot of bolognese sauce ready for the evening? The 2 sauces were obviously different, as mine was watery & not as flavourful as my son's dish (bottom pic 2). The server asked if we would like a complimentary dessert, but we had all had enough of this experience & asked for the bill. We were a little surprised as we looked the items over, & we were not'comped' the lasagna/spaghetti with'different' bolognese sauce. We asked the server & explained that it shouldn't be his fault to receive a 0% tip if the meal was not taken off the bill, to which he said, "You were very polite, did not yell, & were very reasonable & taking the lasagna/spaghetti off would not be a problem. I am not sure why we had to ask for the meal to be taken off the bill. The mere fact that a cold lasagna came out would warrant a comp, but to have a spaghetti with different bolognese sauce come out? The other 3 meals were enjoyed (hence the 2 stars), but I am not sure we will return again.
My fiance & I ate here tonight for an early supper. We ordered the bruschetta, ceasar salad, spaghetti bolognaise, surf & turf, & the xangos for dessert. Everything was marvelous! Start to finish I'll be thinking about everything we ate tonight for a long time. Everyone inside was very friendly & accommodating, I would recommend them to anyone looking for a nice relaxed place to have a great meal.
First time here. Loved the decor & ambiance. Great service! Delicious appetizerw, entree & dessert plates prepared with perfection. We enjoyed the autheticate italian food. Highly recommended. Definitely will return the next time I visit Québec City.
Sincèrement c'était vraiment une expérience inoubliable, extraordinaire & exceptionnelle. Rarement moi & ma femme on a été reçu aussi bien dans un restaurant. Le service était impeccable. Le serveur nous a recommandé des entrées, plats & desserts incroyables. J'ai été obligé de voler un peu du plat de ma femme. Vu que finalement j'aurais dû y aller avec ce plat. Mais il était trop tard. C'était la spécialité du restaurant. Je ne me souviens pas du nom. Tout était délicieux. C'est sûr qu'on va revenir. Je veux essayer le menu du midi. Je ne me souviens pas la dernière fois que j'ai vu quelqu'un cuire une pizza devant moi. J'ai vécu très longtemps au Brésil. Là-bas c'était normal. Ici beaucoup moins. C'est pas du tout la même culture. Merci infiniment pour tout.
My lasagna dinner was just that, a piece of lasagna..No bread or salad, just a piece of slightly burnt lasagna, for 29.00. My husband had veal Parmigiano, while the presentation was nice, it came with pasta & some veggies, the Parmigiano was very thin. Not alot for 38.00. The server suggested tiramisu for dessert. It came in a glass, not a piece of cake but a bunch of whipped cream with a little bit of cake particles in the bottom. For 14.00. Not impressed.
C'était notre première expérience à votre resto. Tout est vraiment exceptionnel!! Seule petite déception : une amie m'a dit que j'aurais un dessert gratuit pour mon anniversaire (que l'on soulignait ce soir-là), mais ce ne fut pas le cas.
