Review Portofino Mission Bay - Auckland Central

Can't get a better spot than Mission Bay. Our usual end of year restaurant and not disappointed. The Eye fillet was a perfect medium/rare. Tiramisu wasn't bad either! A very pleasant evening.

Good food and good vibe. Virgin margarita was okay but the cannelloni ricotta e spinaci was my favorite - cheesy and not overpowering. Salmon pasta and the seafood risotto was good too.

Are you in Auckland New Zealand and in Mission Bay. Try this cozy Italian place called Portofino, their food ambience and service is amazingly delicious and great.

This is some of the best food I have ever had. The staff were super friendly and did an amazing job!

We come here often for lunch and dinner, the service is always excellent, atmosphere is very good. The food is fantastic and so yummy. Thankyou to the wonderful staff

Portofino restaurant was very busy before level three lockdown. My children love to dine there. Hopefully there can survive through the pandemic. It was quite when we went there to get our takeaway. Hopefully it is not because of today wet weather. Our favorite are chicken pizza, chicken fettuccine con pollo. Of course you can also order non pastas and pizzas such as fish, veal or chicken. Will be back again.

Thoroughly enjoyed our visit here! Service was outstanding, the staff were so friendly, helpful and knowledgeable (we had 2 coeliacs in our group). Beautiful food and despite being in a busy area, the ambience was quiet and peaceful...can't wait to go back!

Great food and service, loved the place and location.

This place is amazing! 15 years since our first dinner here, and we are keep coming back. The staff are always welcome us with a smile, and kindness. Our favourite meal is the cozze alla genovese with garlic pizza pane❤️ Highly recommended place ❤️

Food was very nice. Ordered off the $20 lunch time menu. Lots to chose from. Soft drink price a bit steep -$5.50.

Nice and cosy restaurant right at mission bay. Easy stroll along the beach after a family meal. Good food, plenty of space. Highly recommended

The restaurant is in a great location, atmosphere is good. We went on the night before mothers day and the place was very crowded, staff looked a bit overwhelmed, but still everyone was very friendly and attentive. I ordered the ravioli and they were really good. However, all sauces (mine and others ordered at the table) were extremely salty, to the point that we couldn't finish the dishes. But it may have had to do with how busy the night was. We'll have to come back to confirm, we would give it another try. Pasta Portions are small sized, so I suggest ordering an entree (pizza bread was good).

Really delicious food and quick service! The staff were super nice too and checked on us regularly! amazing location with lots of seating space inside and some outside too. Would recommend!

Good portion size of meals. Friendly staff. Would highly recommend.

Me ain’t Italian but this one looks like Italian real cuisine. The owner is Italian, no surcharge on public holidays, price not cheap but food was great. I believe the Italians invented pizzas so this must be the closest pizzas to authentic

very delicious，and service is comfortable. Especially the pizza was very unique. but only the drink “Italian ice tea”tastes like Nestle ice tea.

On top of the already delicious food, and atmosphere, the service from the attendee Aman, was second to none. He was the perfect amount of attendance, customer interaction and had some great banter! Thank you Aman for taking a photo of my family and I - you really went the extra mile this evening. All the best!!! Will be back :)

Being an Italian food lover I have to say I love this restaurant. The atmosphere is relaxed and staffs are so friendly and patient. Went there for a lunch with my colleagues and we ordered chilli pizza and pesto pizza pane, cannelloni, rigatoni pasta, salmon penne pasta and seafood spaghetti. I was too hungry to take pictures 🙈. But all the pasta was tasty.

Enjoyed the experience overall.<br/> The food was delicious, We were hungry and found the plate is generous size for one person. We Tried Fettuccine White, Red Risotto another Tomato based Pasta. The fettucine was best, Red Rissotto , tasted like of butter chicken gravy. <br/>Overall Food was Very good. <br/><br/>Could have easily given it 5 but realised in that the small cup of extra sauce with Fries are not free, Not fair and not a big deal but maybe look into as the prices of the food are not low end. Been there 2nd time and can go back again. <br/><br/>If you are using Gold membership, Be aware that its the Devonport one and not Mission bay to be used at, I looked up Places and the Devonport one comes in Mission bay also making it look like you can use it, I should have asked management first so My Fault there.

Got a takeaway order and my food not only came in a broken plastic container which had much of the sauce from the rigatoni leaking out of it, but also one lasagna was leaking all over the bag and half its contents was squished everywhere - could have been the weight of the other lasagna.. But also the sealing of the packaging wasn't good enough. <br/>Did not look appetitising and basically ruined my car seat.<br/>The lasagna was very salty, and the rigatoni had virtually no sauce because it has all leaked into my car seat and the portioning for the rigatoni was very small.

Best Italian restaurant!

Great food and good customer service. The only downside was the spaghetti marinara I ordered was too bland and lacks of flavor. The others were delish and filled us up. We also had cocktails and Toblerone was so good I recommend everyone to order it.

This used to be our go to place. Service and food was good. However food quality has gone down a bit over previous few months. Good location.

Nice $20 lunch menu, many options to choose from. Good food but small portion. Ordered Pollo Milanese (Fried Chicken). Went in on my birthday for lunch.

Food here was delicious, had a lot of vegetarian options for my girlfriend and her brother. Amazing staff very nice and friendly. The ambience is very nice right next to the beach with a great view

I absolutely love this place 😍 me and my partner always go here when we’re around the area. The chicken risotto is our favourite and we also love the gnocchi! Definitely recommend ☺️👌🏼

Took my girlfriend for a date night and had an amazing experience. Super friendly staff and service, fast orders. Amazing service, nice and warm inside and the mood was beautiful. My girlfriend and I definitely enjoyed the Occassion, would highly recommend for couples.

i visited this place yesterday, 29-05-19 around not sure i think 5pm. we ordered a pasta, bread and a drink. The drink(lemon lime n bitter) was the worst. i told them them straight away that i didnt like it as it didnt meet my expectations. he dsnt even care about covering it up and explaining me why it was like that. Rather he straight away gave us the bill and being offhand he said that he cant do anything about it. I indicated towards the table pointing that glass full of drink lying there as it is. I was too excited to  visit as we were planning to visit from last week. I wont visit them ever again thats FOR SURE!!

It’s always exciting to try new eateries in Auckland, but once in a while, we like to visit the old haunts. Why? Because... nostalgia. Because simply-done pasta and pizza is still the best comfort food. And because one of our Huskies wanted to show us ‘his’ favourite first-date venue… hawhaw. Portofino Mission Bay seems to have been there since forever. Surrounded by floor-length windows overlooking Rangitoto, we enjoyed the company of our clients Krystal and Mike (#goodpeople) while breaking freshly toasted garlic bread together — stretchy triangles with edges charred just right, every bite had just the right amount of dough and crunch. Try the basil olive-oil version, it’s so good. The menu has your happy selection of calamari and chips, burgers, spaghetti marinaras and margherita pizzas. It’s no delicate French Café cuisine so don’t bring your hipster food critic snob. However, if you’re looking for something familiar and satisfying and are game for some legit cheesy-garlic-dough-triangles and ice-cold beersies, Portofino’s definitely got your name on it. <br/><br/>Check out our individual food reviews here: husk.co.nz/lunches/portofino-august-2018

we had our anniversary dinner here. Such a lovely place to be in on ur special day. food was just amazing and ambiance was perfect for us. This water front italian restaurant was all we needed to make our eve more special. would highly recommend this place as its perfect for all, friends,family and couples .

Food 2<br/>Service 3<br/>Atmosphere 4<br/>Location 5<br/><br/>I just landed in new zealand from switzerland so I was really craving for Italian food. I decided to try out this Italian restaurant at mission bay before going for a swim.<br/><br/>We ordered a hawaii pizza and a fettachini con pollo (chicken pasta).<br/><br/>One thing I realised about pasta in nz is that they are always drenched in source compared to what you'd get in Italy. If you like that style then you will love this pasta.<br/><br/>The pizza was dry and crust very hard.<br/><br/>What you see in the picture below is what we took away. I manage to make 2 more meals out of pasta just by using all the left over sauce with a bit of improvement with mushrooms and onions!<br/><br/>

A delicious Italian meal on the coast.<br/><br/>Service: 8/10<br/>After being seated, we were brought the menus and water. The waiter tried his best to help my father with the menu as he didn’t really understand the options. <br/>The food came in a decent amount of time so we didn’t wait that long.<br/><br/>Food: 9/10<br/>We ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo, Insalata Di Pollo and Gnocchi Del Casa.<br/>The gnocchi was a perfectly chewy consistency. The sauce was filled with a ton of mince meat. The bolognaise sauce was made up of juicy salty tomatoes. Even though it was packed with flavour, it wasn’t too overwhelming or strong.<br/><br/>Ambiance: 8/10<br/>This is the perfect location for a restaurant, on the coast with a gorgeous sea view and ocean breeze.<br/>Since it was past lunchtime, it was peaceful and quiet. <br/>The chairs and tables are a classical brown colour which doesn’t look very appealing. At least, the huge windows and doors allowed for beautiful sunshine to bless our meal.<br/><br/>This is probably one of the best options for a meal on the seaside.

The setting is nice, the staff are polite and professional and that gets them the 3 stars. However the food was average. The season vegetables side was over salted. The mussel pot was a bit tough even though the sauce was yummy and the risotto was just ok.<br/>I also ordered a spiced tomato juice which was fine, but my wife’s lemon iced tea lacked imagination or presentation.<br/>All in all an average experience. They can do a lot better especially based on the location

Came back to this place after a few years and I feel like they have stepped up their game majorly. Food was great, and they were accomodating in terms of us wanting to customise our meals despite having a full house. Only downside was that the wait time was about an hour (there were about ten of us though) but totally worth the wait. Great place to hit up in summer! <br/><br/>My dish below was a seafood Mariana, which I asked to swapped from seafood to chicken instead. This dish was a solid 5/5!

Went this afternoon. Food was good. No complaints although the mains did take quite some time to come after our entree for a quiet day today.

Industrial (frozen) food not tasting much, recipes not respected (a risotto is a plate of rice drenched in tomato sauce) and poor quality wines. On the upside: great location and big portions.

Undercooked meet bad service. I WILL EVER VISIT THIS RESTAURANT AGAIN. I rather go to other italian restaurants then this place. Even the water was bad.

Came in yesterday for a late birthday dinner. We got a window seat and I loved the view. Staff were really friendly and penne tasted very saucey. Loved the roasted mushrooms. Capers were really sour though. White sauce was creamy but didn’t really stick onto the chicken or the mushrooms in the fettuccine dish. Calamari was fried perfectly and seasoned well. Overall a good 4.5/5

Great Italian food - pasta and chicken breast is amazing. Fast and efficient service ! Really enjoyed the experience. Definitely will be back.

Walking in the breeze of winds<br/>Dint know it was time for lunch<br/>Number of restaurants... hard to choose but stopped right infront of PORTOFINO<br/>Saw many families and loved the ambience was not so rushy it was calm and enjoyable<br/>Ordered RISOTTO DI POLO<br/>loved t was more than enough for my tummy<br/>We can customize according to our wish<br/>Friendly staff<br/>Would recommend

This is by far the best Auckland Portofino.<br/>The staff are friendly and never have any problems accomodating my requests from sitting areas to food requests. The food always arrives promptly and hot! - awesome! <br/>I have never had an issue with their food and the pricing is reasonable.<br/>

Wait staff was polite. But the food was below average. Returned the plate and manager comes In to ask why and we told them how the chicken was sooo rubbery and veggies were off but he just was so rude. Didn’t take the feedback really well and just walked off. I hv had bad experience here before but I still decided to give it another chance. Never again. Seriously people DO NOT WASTE your money here. <br/>Worst service by the manager and food I have had so far in Auckland.

Be prepared to wait a little while especially if it's a bit busy but you can enjoy the ambience in the meantime. The staff are friendly and on their toes always to top up water and prepare your order.<br/><br/>We ordered an antipasto to begin with pesto pizza bread. Our main course was fettuccine con pollo, Insalata di pollo, scallop pasta and finally, a sweet Italian treat, Panna Cotta, to finish off the night. The fettuccine was rich in sauce and definitely didn't skimp on the amount of chicken. The salad itself was okay but the chicken in it was tender, with a crispy coating. The Panna Cotta was creamy and delicious.<br/><br/>Definitely worthwhile coming here for a date night or group of friends.

Great ambience, views and I like the environment's design. It was a cold day, but the restaurant was warm inside so I had a comfortable time dining and spending time with others. I ordered spaghetti marinara and for dessert I chose the gelato della casa. For the spaghetti marinara, the mixed seafood tasted well with the spaghetti and the sauce. The gelato della casa was a bit pricey for three small scoops of flavoured ice cream (Strawberry, chocolate, vanilla), but I liked how it was simple and sweet. The service was friendly and very approachable - we felt welcomed.

The night this cold reminds me of the last time on mission bay with winter breeze, delicious pasta, dim light and cocktail. These may seem like odd combination but sparks some good memories...

Excellent ambience and view, friendly and attentive staff and great food. We had The garlic pizza pane and cheese pizza pane for appetisers, Scallopine ai funghi, Pollo alla cacciatora and kid’s Chicken fettucine for mains. The veal and chicken breast were very tender. The mushroom panna sauce was delicious. The vegetables were all well-seasoned.

Probably not my favourite. It's great for a nice night out with your partner but the food isn't amazing. I once had to get my food returned to the kitchen and remade as it was not hot or tasted fresh.

Crappy service. This one old man who was a waiter, unbelievably rude. Took the menu off kids who were looking at it.<br/><br/>Food isn't that good. Spaghetti bolognese was very borderline average. Overpriced.<br/>

Average service. <br/><br/>Served by the manager(?) for our group of 8, our orders weren’t fulfilled - they forgot my whiskey, after repeating which one I wanted 2x (as well as pointing to it) and they left out one set of garlic bread. When we talked to the waitress, she checked the order and said it hadn’t be put in. <br/><br/>Food was okay. Not sure if I would come back here again as they need to work on improving their customer service. They weren’t very busy but obviously understaffed on the floor. <br/><br/>Bartender didn’t understand English very well - I asked if I could have a plaster/band aid and he referred me to another worker who then referred me to the manager(?) who took our table’s order. <br/><br/>Not sure if that is the entree or main size of calamari but it was massive (we asked for entree). <br/><br/>Bruschetta was disappointing. Not worth the price. Steak however was made perfectly medium rare. Generous amount of clams in the pasta. <br/><br/>Lucy Lim

Had dinner with my mum here one night and enjoyed each moment of it . Food was good , service was great and the atmosphere nice and relaxing . Would definitely come back here again.

I went here with my partner just to have a nice night out and boy did we the food was amazing the atmosphere great the service really good and so friendly did not approach to much either thumbs up to them, the food was amazing great portion sizes and the quality was top notch, will definitely go back, we spent 2 hours just having a lovely time enjoying good food

Popped in here for a quick lunch, however it is now my boyfriend's favorite restaurant. <br/><br/>The restaurant was pretty empty and we were served promptly. The waiter was nice and attentive, he regularly filled our water glasses as needed. We ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese and the Ravioli. Food also arrived fast as expected as the place was empty. I did enjoy my ravioli, however I have had better. The filling was interesting, a bit flat and the sauce didn't accompany that well. My boyfriend absolutely loved his spaghetti.<br/><br/>Definitely worth a visit, we will be returning :)

Great spot for a meal and catch up with friends or family. Dining space has large windows for views of mission bay. We sat in one of the booths which was nice and cosy.<br/><br/>We were shown our table and given menus straight away. The wait staff are friendly, helpful and attentive. They have a really great lunch menu with meals under $20. <br/><br/>The pizza lacked toppings in my opinion. The veal was on the thinner side but quite tender. The highlight of the veal dish was the incredibly delicious and creamy mushroom sauce it was lathered in.

We came here on a weekday for lunch and the restaurant was almost dead. Very very quiet. Service was average and waitress seemed impatient. Weird especially since there was no one else so we expected better service. The food was good though and great potion.

I am a big fan of Italian food and Portofino is my place to go whenever I crave Italian. The food is amazing and never disappoints me. the portion size is also great and I never have left feeling hungry after my meal. I usually go for dinner service and sometimes there is a wait to get a table but its totally worth is. my favourite is the chicken penny pasta and roller pasta filled with spinach and cheese. YUM!! Portofino is definitely better than the other Italian places I have been to and if you are in the CBD and want to treat yourself to amazing Italian food, then this place is a must to be visited.

Huge portions. Nothing extraordinary taste-wise. Tidy and spacious dining area. Staff were okay. I paid 89 dollars for 2 - a bit pricey considering we did not order any wine.

Only had their takeaway as they are right around the corner from home, but the spaghetti bolognese and carbonara are killer. Perfect for movie night in winter and cures any hangover.

Salmon pizza with green leaves on top also ordered salmon egg omellet!! My most 2 fav dish with Salmon. Will have to come back and try other dishes and it also has a good view to the beach!!<br/><br/>Customer service: friendly.<br/>Hygiene: 100% clean outside, inside and the toilets.<br/>

My go to Italian restaurant. Definitely make the most amazing pasta. Lovely staff and great service too. Usually go to this restaurant when I need a good comfort pasta food.

We got the Spaghetti Marinara, pollo pizza and penne pollo<br/><br/>- Loved every bite i had <br/>- pene pollo was nice and creamy with lots of chicken <br/>- Pizza had lots of topping on it it was so yummy <br/>- spaghetti marinara was really flavoursome with lots of seafood <br/><br/>

This restaurant has been in Mission Bay for years & years. Mostly exactly what you see is what you get. The menu hasn't changed but they have something for everyone. Some things are quite expensive & others great value.<br/>Service is generally very good. Wine list is good with lots of great options by the glass for less than $12<br/>We had our usual dishes - mushroom penne & Chicken cacciatore. They made the penne dairy free at our request too which was appreciated.<br/>Only issue on this visit is that one dish was delivered 5 mins before the other meaning you had to start eating or risk it getting cold. Dishes should always come out together unless specified.

Not my favourite Italian restaurant (sorry, Prego takes it) but definitely a place I like to visit now and then. With a wide selection of menu items and a prompt service of the meals, I enjoy each of my visits to this restaurant. <br/>Also, the lively ambience and staff make for a great experience

The reason why i'm rating this place a 2.5/5 is due to the observations my friend and i made twice when we went there. Once for dinner and once for lunch.<br/><br/>The waiting staff are super nice and friendly. So, we were very upset to see the owner giving one of the guys a telling off in front of other customers. She was very rude to the waitor, and did not seem like a very nice person to deal with at all. <br/><br/>The food is very good and full credit should go to the chefs. Good portion sizes and very tasty, food. The vegetarian risotto was delicious and so is the chicken fettuccine which we always get. The salmon pasta is also very tasty. So no points deducted on food 4.5/5<br/><br/>The first time we went here we used an entertainment card between the 6 of us. The owner was a guy on that night and was very cold towards us when we offered it for redemption.<br/><br/>Simply due to the owners/managers of this place, i would rather go to another Portofino branch. The Viaduct one was actually quite nice, and the Parnell one.

overall great the food was to die for,i recommend any of the pizzas,the service was outstanding i was never short of water,overall it was a good night and i will be coming again and i recommend to everyone :)

We stopped into Portofino for dinner last week, I had the gnocchi which turned out to be a crazy big portion, I couldn't finish it but it was really tasty. My friend had the chicken parmigiana and said it was good. Great front of house service by the guy who I think is the owner? Waitress seemed like it was her first night and perhaps she hadn't been in NZ for very long, very thick accent a little hard to understand and she had to come back to our table a few times to double check our order. I don't really understand why waitresses don't write orders down on paper when they take your order (or use a tablet like other places) - I'd rather you get my order right than try to impress me with your memory skills. Anyway! All good and overall it was as expected :-)

Very nice dinner i had here. everything tasted very nice and fresh. The olive oil they have on the table is amazing!<br/>Would definitely come here again to try other option on their menu.Slightly on the pricey end.

The food was just ok. The steak was ordered as medium rare, it came as well done finally, not too satisfied with that. The pasta was fine but a little bit too watery.<br/>The Pinot Noir wasn't so good at the first stage, so we asked to change, the attitude from the guy in the restaurant was a little bit funny, but in general, the service of this restaurant is ok.

Their chicken risotto is one of the nicest I've had in a while. The portion is huge and very tasty. Portions of mushrooms and chicken were generous too! The spaghetti marinara was very flavourful as well. Definitely one of the nicest Italian lunches we've had in a while. <br/>Staff were quite attentive too, except that they took a while to bring the Parmesan despite not being very busy. <br/>Will definitely return!

Insanely expensive Italian food!<br/><br/>Good food, but man that shows on the bill prepare your bank account for this in advance.  <br/>No idea why, as it was the same level of food I've had at La Porchetta, suspect we are paying for the service. <br/>The service here was excellent, especially if you really really need your water cup filled. the lady service must have offered us a refill for this like 10 times during a short 1 course meal! she wasn't even our waiter.<br/>Our garson was a gentleman with an noticeably Italian back ground, strong accent and friendly polite service. He even recommended an excellent Italian beer to try. I was not disappointed.<br/><br/>Again this all comes down to purpose. If this is a first date and you're looking to impress the partner of choice by showing off the size of your wallet, bring them here, but prepare foa long wait to get a seat, as this place is very popular (people who likely haven't seen the bill yet).  <br/>If you're on a budget and want food just as good, head to La Porchetta in the city same level of food quality and good service but half the price. <br/><br/>My single course meal for 2, 3 drinks set me back over $120!

We found the food in Portofino pretty good and reasonably priced, so we kept going back for lunch again and again. The service is also very good and friendly. However during our last visit, there were 2 things which made our meal less enjoyable. First spaghetti de Bolognese one of us ordered was very sour and didn't seem to have much mince. All the other four meals were very good. Secondly the whole place was very cold. It was a sunny day, but outside it was +13C the most. Not sure, why not one heater was working in the restaurant. Everyone was sitting in their winter coats. The staff seems also to keep the doors open.I understand, that when you walk fast around, you are warm, but when you sit down at the table. you feel cold and eating with your coat on, doesn't make it comfortable.

11 months after the Epic failure of Portofino Viaduct tried Mission Bay. Chicken Fettuccine good. Nice balance. Wife had Seafood Risotto but no scallops squid. Voila scallops turns up on the top of the plate. In fairness waiter was very obliging and a replacement meal arrived in about 8 to 10 minutes. On the whole it's fairly reasonable Italian food. Staff are obliging. <br/>Food 8@<br/>Service 6 (due to failure to follow order)<br/>Quality 8<br/><br/>Mission Bay has significant service over Viaduct.

Great food service and location. I have been a regular here for 6 years and although I have a portofino within walking distance I will drive to misson bay. I normally have the steak, pepperoni pizza and or rigatoni portofino pasta. Which over the last 6 years have been consistently very good.

Food - 4/5<br/>Drinks - 4.5/5<br/>Service - 5/5<br/><br/>Overall, lovely. We often hop in for lunch. The ambiance is nice and service is always friendly and polite.<br/>Unfortunately this time the cheese bread was a little hard. And spinach was salted but then again I have very little salt anyway - so perhaps next time it is on me to let them know.<br/>But the seasoned veggies were delish !!!  And I personally loved the hot chocolate -  a good one in a long time.<br/><br/>As always, will visit again.

We are celiac, dairy free and IBS. We enjoyed a delicious meal, accompanied by attentive service. After hearing of our food restrictions, the owner personally took over our ordering, and ensured that every part of the meal was safe for each person's dietary needs. Portion sizes were generous, including both wine and food, and the prices were very reasonable. <br/><br/>Dining out can be difficult on a strict diet, but during the entire evening we were treated as valued customers, and never made to feel uncomfortable or demanding. Instead we had a wonderful, relaxed evening, and are planning to return again soon. Highly recommend, thank you Portofino!

Went here for lunch on a summer day, it was busy but the waiter managed to find us seats. The service was good & so was the food. My food took a bit of time to get out which annoyed me a tad. <br/><br/>This restaurant had a very fancy vibe to it which I liked. <br/><br/>Would go back here although there isn't much variety on their menu which is disappointing.

Stopped by for a lunch, lovely service and a great view to dine over. The food came out quickly - we both ordered the seafood marinara which had a good amount of seafood in it and the pasta tasted fresh and the meal was very tasty. On the side we had some garlic bread which was also really nice.<br/> Definitely try this place out if you love Italian!

Excellent Italian restaurant if you want to ball out fancy for a special occasion. The dishes are very large and in good portion and comes with a price too $$. The service is terrific with Italian waiters and their customary of fine dining. Sometimes the food takes a bit too long to arrive.

Just been to Portofino Mission Bay to celebrate an 18th birthday. Honestly the food wasn't bad at all but the service was a real disappointment, no smiles throughout and a big surprise ruined! Earlier in the day I had gone out of my way to drop a birthday cake to portofino, to have as a surprise at the end of our dinner. But as soon as we had finished our meals, the waitress came over and asked us nonchalantly 'do you want to see the dessert menu or are you just having the cake'...carefully pre-planned surprise ruined in one sentence! Then when the cake was brought out to us, there was no smile, and initially no plates!! <br/>I've done similar things at other restaurants around Auckland for birthdays and the surprise has been kept until right at the last minute, with a perfectly timed cake appearing at the end of the meal. If I knew the surprise was going to be ruined like that, we may as well have brought the cake in with us as opposed to dropping it in earlier, the whole idea being that the birthday girl didn't know it was happening. <br/>Just a bit disappointing for a milestone birthday!

My friends & family hosted a surprise party for me here. The staff were amazing and so accomodating. The waiter knew what everyone ordered, saving the agonizing pain of 'who ordered what' when the bill time came. Made sure the kids had activities to entertain them as well. Had the Vegetarian Canelloni & it was amazing!!! So filling & taseful. Slightly in the greasy side due to the melted cheese - but definitely would eat it again!! Make sure you book a table prior to going as they tend to be quite busy on the weekend - however the service is superb regardless of how many people are in the restaurant.

Came here for dinner on a Saturday night around 6:30pm and much to my surprise it was not busy at all, which I liked. However, it did start to get a little packed as we were leaving. The service at Portofino is amazing. The waiter was happy to answer any questions I had about the dishes. You can also customize your pasta by changing the pasta type and sauce, which is great. Our meals came to us quickly. I got the chicken fettuccine and it was delicious! Generous portion with lots of chicken. I would definitely go back!

Great service and delicious food, had no troubles tailoring a dish to a vegans dietary requirements and is in such a beautiful location for a romantic dinner.

Great setting in Mission Bay!<br/>Food is amazing. Service is good.<br/>Garlic bread is nothing special.<br/>They need to do something special on the table to jazz up the place.<br/>

Amazing beef stake! Very juicy ribeye with wonderful mushroom sauce. Reasonable price with satisfied serving size. Ummm ... I have to achieve 140 characters.

We went after sunday lunch time. Late afternoon, early evening. Best time to go there as there are not a lot of people and thus service is good and they are taking better care of preparing our food/order. Our pasta was cooked perfectely and was fabulous. Sooo good. Will go again. Not during busy times.

Came here with no booking on a Saturday night. Even though it seemed busy, they had a table available and we were taken to it. The restaurant had a buzzy vibe which is a good indication of people enjoying their dinner! <br/><br/>If you are unfamiliar with Italian food then their menu might be a struggle to choose from as there are no pictures and plenty of options to read through. However they do give a good description of the dishes. <br/><br/>Our server came to us and took our drink and appetiser orders. She was friendly and attentive especially with refilling our water glasses. We had to wait a little longer for someone to take our food order and that was absolutely fine by us at the time as we hadn't fully decided yet anyway. It was also fairly busy so we were prepared to be patient. <br/><br/>My friend and I both ordered the steak - medium rare. It came with seasonal vegetables and salad so plenty of vegetables which I was very pleased about. The steak was done beautifully. I would have thought it was more rare than medium rare but again, I prefer it to be more on the rarer side than the other. The sauce was flavourful and completed the juicy meat. Definitely no regrets in choosing the steak! <br/><br/>Very well enjoyed dinner and would love to come back again. <br/><br/>

Awesome food and service <br/>The wait staff is very cool,friendly and at the same time very professional <br/>.<br/>We loved the prawn starter on rice and salad.<br/>The breads were fresh went well with balsamic and olive oil !<br/>We had eye fillet cooked medium rare and was perfect with the mushroom jus and vegetables with salad.<br/>The fettuccini Alfredo was very delicious .<br/>We had frutti de mare pizza and vegetarian pizza both were great.<br/>Some nice Peroni on tap and was a wonderful Sunday dinner .

They had a less than $20 deal for their meals. <br/><br/>Good service and a nice selection of dishes on the menu. I went with a clam spaghetti. It did take a while to get the food out but it was nice. The sauce had just a hint of chili and it would have been nicer if the clams were plumper. Nice flavour and made well.

Came as a party of 5 and was served by a friendly and professional waitress. Vegetarian choices were available and delicious, but most of us had seafood dishes. The mussel appetizer was served with a creamy tomato sauce, and really popped as it was slightly spicy. My spaghetti marinara was equally as good! The serving was generous with clams, mussels, squid and salmon amid a deliciously cheesy tomato puree.

Really lovely place to go too most of the food was nice and delicious, margarita pizza was really bland and also the lasagna, the pasta dishes were amazing flavourful, would go back again.

The night started off fine. My mother and I decided to go here because I could recommend it from the last time I had eaten here, a year ago. We weren't too hungry so just thought we would share everything. <br/>Firstly we ordered the melon with prosciutto and cracked pepper, it was served with a sprig of basil. We took one bite and my mother had to spit it out! It was so awful but being $18.90 for a starter we decided to (embarrassingly) put all that so called "fine meat" into a napkin to take it home for the dog. So basically we had twenty dollar rockmelon for entree.<br/>To follow we ordered a simple yet classic Italian margarita pizza, which consisted of four slices of pizza topped with maybe half a diced tomato in total, with a stingy sprinkle of chopped basil. That went down pretty quick because we were now hungry after the melon. But we may as well of gone to Pizza Hut for the type of pizza we were served. <br/>but wait there's more! <br/>For desert we ordered a strawberry cheesecake and a non-liqueur adffogato. Only to witness the (I assume) manager laying into our lovely waitress. The manager was basically publicly telling her off. Next minute the waitress returns to tell us they have no vanilla ice cream but offer strawberry or chocolate for the adffogato. Have you heard of such a thing???! This shouldn't have even been offered because that is far from an adffogato. My mother ordered a cappuccino instead.<br/>The cheesecake came and it was placed on top of some canned cream and the fakest, most artificial strawberry syrup I've ever come across. The cheesecake was also obviously made off site and not by the pastry chefs as you would expect. No sign of strawberries or any trace of seeds from them in it. <br/><br/>We won't be returning to this restaurant, was a let down to be honest. Perhaps there is new owners in place? <br/><br/>Not recommended :(

Portofinos has a prime location on the corner of Mission Bay outlooking the beach. The restaurant feels 5star the minute you walk in.<br/>My friend and I ordered a seafood pasta and a ham and mushroom pizza to share between us. The pasta was as delicious as I anticipated but the pizza was a small let down. But still good. <br/>We ordered dessert, a choc cake pudding for myself and the custard profiteroles. The chocolate cake was a little dry and the profiteroles tasted like something straight from a packet. Would not recommended getting dessert.<br/>The staff need some training to really bring the place together as they were a little slow to attend us and forgot one of our desserts. <br/>The meal came to $85 for the two of us which I thought was a little steep.<br/>Only real positive about the restaurant was the location and layout as well as the pasta dishes

Super friendly staff with over-achieving standards! Top quality food guys! Clean environment and good ambience! Great to take the family! Will definitely come back again very soon!

The best pasta I've ever had ! I'd highly recommend this restaurant to all foodies. Not only the food but the service you receive is exceptional. You won't be disappointed!! @zomatostudents

The pasta here are really good and the portions are so big I usually can't finish. The service is pretty good, especially if it's a quiet weeknight. Can't really go wrong with Portofino.

Love this place and great location too! The pizzas, pastas and seafood are amazing. Especially the chicken fettuccine. Great service and great lunch specials.

Have been dining at Portofino for 12 years and I cannot seem to get enough. I keep going back for more. Perfect summer venue to grab a quick bite. My favourite is Calamari Cristo 👍

Portofino has got to be one of my favourite restaurants! It is a little pricy, and my usually over there is the chicken fettucine which according to me is to die for! <br/><br/>I've only really had one bad experience there where I ordered the Ravioli I believe and I didn't enjoy the food as much.<br/><br/>In the past I've eaten their parmigana and again I loved it!

This is a cool dining place in a great corner location. The food is overall good and the dessert is interesting. The ambience reflects a good dining experience. The staff need to be better trained to do justice to this place. Will go again.

I was a bit hesitant to eat here because the reviews weren't all that great, but the service was fine, the waiters were very friendly and the food was great! It was fine.

my family of 4 came last Friday for dinner. We were greeted warmly and were given a table close to fireplace cause hubby requested for it. The staff were really helpful and never did we feel neglected, plates cleared immediately, drinks of water always present at the table. Food we ordered was plentiful for my children so they both took doggy bags. We did not have to wait long either for meals to arrive. Husband enjoyed his marinara in a long time! I ordered grilled chicken with veges and salad. My food was delicious. We did not mind the bill as we also had cocktails and were above satisfied. Def coming again.

Very average service, menu and meals. Was rather disappointed for the the prices they are charging!! Had a seafood pasta meal and scallops were cold in the centre, very unpleasant and waiter wasn't much help.

Some dishes were good, but this is the second time ive eaten here that one of the dishes had far far too much salt. Also again a restaurant that "accidentally" makes mistakes on your bill and "apologises" when you find it as you walk away. The steak was very small for the price. I would put the restaurant at the expensive end of the scale.

Great reputation however that's where it stops. The staff are awful the food is worse reheated I don't even think the chefs are Italian although it claims to be. Totally over rated there are plenty better Italian restaurants in Auckland close to this. Position is great right in Mission Bay and could make the most of it but unfortunately they are still riding on old reputation before it became a franchise. Simply put don't waste your money here.

Always the best dining experience. Food is always to a high standard as is the service (the funny indian waiter with the beard makes it all worthwhile- sorry don't know your name but will edit this when I do). Highly recommended.<br/>

Came here on a Friday evening and wasn't too busy. Staff were really nice, letting us choose where we wanted to sit and were quick with service. We ordered the garlic bread with cheese, the Lasagne, Chicken Parmigiana, and Carbonara (but asked to have it with tortellini - staff were very accommodating and didn't mind at all). The garlic bread was pretty tasty with a nice crisp base. The lasagne was really delicious - it was baked with heaps of stringy melted cheese on top - yumm. The chicken was a nice light meal (chicken wasn't crumbed, just grilled with ham & cheese), the veggies were cooked nicely with good flavour. The carbonara was also delicious, quite rich but very good. The tortellini was nice but nothing particularly special. Overall good food & service so will be returning :)

Great food as per usual. Recommend all the rigatoni pastas and the lasagna :). Also worth trying the Toblerone cocktail if your into milky alcoholic drinks. Very satisfied!

I went to portofino mission bay on the 27th of January with a few friends for a get together we were greeted at the door by a young man that was really friendly and served us amazingly.For entree we had a garlic bread and calamari which were cooked to perfection for main the eye fillet steak which perfectly cooked with a salad and Veges on the side and was covered with a delicious mushroom and bacon sauce.For desert I had the cheesecake which was just delicious.Through out the night we were asked several times for a water refill which is always good.At the end of the night we had an amazing experience we left the Resturant all in a happy mood with the amazing experience the manager which was taking the payments said see you next time I said you bet you will.

Great ambience, fine dining. We had a table for 7ppl and all of us felt satisfied. At an average price of $28.50 per head isn't on the cheapest but definitely well worth it. The Portions were also good and those who had meat n chicken dishes Salisbury had a lot of that in their dishes. My wife and I are vegetarian and the vegetarian options were also very well catered for. <br/>

i went here for my birthday & the place was empty. i must admit im not exactly sure why? the staff were friendly the food was good (and it was reasonably sized for what you pay) all in all a good experience. everybody enjoyed their food and we had a good night! ???? id definitely go back!

Last Saturday highlighted the weather we have all been missing. The sun was out and so was everyone in Mission bay. <br/><br/>A couple of friends and I drove down to grab a bit of lunch and have a walk along the beach. Our choice was made when we spotted a lunch time deal sign, hanging outside Mission Bay's Portofino. $20 lunch time meals! Although in the end we had just over a $100 meal, the option to eat cheaply was there. <br/><br/>We got a table outside, which was nicely placed in the sun and just out of the way of foot traffic. The service was really good, considering that the restaurant looked almost fully booked and it was peak time. <br/><br/>We ordered garlic bread and sparkling water to start. The garlic bread is amazing, warm and slightly salty - just the way I like it. For the mains, I ordered a Steak, and my friends ordered a pasta dish and a salad. <br/><br/>All the portions were great as you can see in the photographs and amazing value for money! <br/><br/>Would go back again, it made for a really nice lunch spot.<br/><br/>

Visited here Sat evening, 1-3-2014. Calamari was excellent. Ordered spag carbonara was much too creamy which made it difficult to eat. I advised two waiters who told me I was wrong. One waiter was visibly annoyed. Neither waiter handled it well.<br/><br/>No follow up about whether we enjoyed our meals or wanted coffee or dessert. <br/><br/>Their pizza is good though.

My friends and I had a lovely time at Portofino Mission Bay. Entering the restaurant was confusing as nobody greeted us at the door, but once we had a waiter it was up from there. We had a lovely gentleman who was funny and made lots of jokes. We ordered a bottle of wine which was served promptly and our meals were delicious. I ordered the chicken with apricot and brie, and it was divine. One of my friends could not finish her meal so we had this to take out, which is good because some restaurants do not allow food to be taken out. The restrooms were average, could have done with a spruce up during the night, but the overall cleanliness of the restaurant was good. The end of the night was good too as we were all allowed to split the bill between the three of us (some restaurants don't allow that). It's safe to say that we had a good time at Portofino Mission Bay :)

Our family has been to Portofino in Mission Bay many times over the years. We will not be going back any more though. We love Italian food and enjoy the pasta sauces at Portofino. However the pasta is always very overcooked almost to the point of falling apart. I have pointed this out several times to the waiting staff and even started asking when ordering that my pasta be cooked al dente but despite this it is still very overcooked floppy and breaking. I do not think it should be necessary to request al dente pasta when eating at an Italian restaurant - it should go without saying. It is a real pity as the flavours of the pasta sauces are very nice.

Portofino Restaurant in Mission Bay was pretty average, ordered a seafood risotto and it had 3 prawns, 2 scallops and 4 mussels, the rest was just rice! For $27 I expected a bit more value for money, really disappointing. I will not go back again.

A friend took us there last Sunday. It was our first time visiting here. My friend said the last time she had it was nice. So we just gave it a try. But it was disappointing, I ordered Rip eye medium rare, it came cooked, with 3 leaves of lettuce as the salad with no dressing what so ever~~, the plate was very plain looking, NO garnish at all!! Totally not impressed!! My partner ordered lasagne which was full of grease, the taste was okay. Our friends' dishes were pastas which weren't much different from ours. Plain looking, no garnish, totally it was just pasta with a very little bit of sauce and some small pieces of meat for the price of $25+<br/>Perhaps the staff saw I was holding the entertainment book and so they reduced the portion of food?? I don't know, hope not and better not.<br/><br/>The service was just fair, a bit to rough for me, but maybe because different culture, so that's understandable.<br/><br/>The only thing we liked was the garlic pizza bread, but it wasn't the best garlic pizza bread I have had... so I don't think I want to go back for just the garlic bread.

Good service. Excellent food.<br/>I have been going there for years and I will continue to do so.<br/>I love their garlic breads, it's to die for. It's my family's place of choice when it comes to birthdays:)

Took my wife out for lunch on Mothers Day, and seeing as they had a $20 lunch special we thought we'll give it a go.<br/><br/>The Garlic Bread was really nice.<br/><br/>My wife ordered a PENNE ALL’ ARRABBIATA and that was very nice.<br/><br/>For myself i ordered an OMELETTE ROMANI which i didn't think was as nice. My Omelette looked a little bit burnt underneath and there was hardly any pieces of salmon to be seen in it, which was disappointing. <br/><br/>Lesson learnt : Next time we will both order the Penne All' Arrabbiata!<br/><br/>The service was friendly - so we will give Portofino @ Mission Bay another chance :)

We enjoyed marinated feta (delicious), chilli pizza bread, marinara and another seafood pasta dish for lunch at Portofino.<br/><br/>Polite, prompt service a nice atmosphere and decent food.<br/><br/>This isn't fine dining but it's great value for the money, our lunch came in at around fifty dollars.

Came here for lunch yesterday with some friends. No one acknowledged us for 10 minutes. We had to seat ourselves. Food was ok. My fettuccine was lukewarm and my friends orders aren't so great either. Unless food and service improves.. I don't think ill waste my money here again.

My experience was what's so ever terrible. Being the second time myself and partner visited Portofino will make it our last. My partner had calamari whereas I had the fish with rissoto and shrimps on the side. Saying that the service was decadent smiling faces catering to our every need. As for our food entree garlic bread which was great but had alive ants crawling on my plat around the table. Which was a downfall towards the beginning of our meal. My partners meal calamari was rubbery and chewy vegetables where some what hot on the outside but cold on the inside. My meal the rissoto was not cook perfectly was hard rice fish as I know is suppose to fall apart once you cut into it. Whereas the one on my plate seemed as I was cutting a piece of steak. Goes on as we were guest at the restaurant not too sure if it were the co owners of the restaurant but they were speaking there language in a louse tone of voice to their children across the room. Either than that it was the worst experience ever I'll never go back there again.<br/><br/>With our waiter he was perfect didn't catch his name. He must have been Indian sorry not too sure. But left him with a generous tip. Thank you so much :)<br/><br/>From well payed customer.

Quite easily the worst meal I have had. Seafood platter was deep fried - destroyed the quality of the product, or maybe it was to hide something.<br/><br/>Everything was greasy. Shocker.<br/><br/>Won't be back and can't recommend

Had lunch today Monday. My wife's meal had cold vegetables when complained the waitress scraped the veges off to re heat then we found a hair in the meal. The whole meal was replaced, by this time I had finished my meal, which was good but also the veges were on the cold side, and had another 10 min wait for the replacement meal.<br/>Not very good for this class of restaurant. No compensation offered only an apology by the waitress not management.

Quite impressed. Had the seafood risotto and my partner had the fettuccine. Was very nice. Only downside was that we were seated next to a table of children with their parents seated on a different table. Children were screaming and running around right next to our table. Staff should of asked if we wanted to relocate or maybe had a word to the parents as we were not the only ones who seemed annoyed at the situation. <br/><br/>Will definitely revisit as I enjoyed the food.

Why aren't more people taking advantage of $20 lunches? The place was very quiet for lunch on a Monday and it was quite a lovely day. I had the calamari cristo and this dish is proof that one can be saved by a fantastic sauce. To say I liked it is a bit of an understatement, the sauce was devine! A savoury tangy lemon and citrus cream, yum! My partner had the veal masala. The masala, which by the time had been brought to us had split, reminded me more of a vanilla custard. It was slightly on the sweet <br/>side, and tasted a bit odd with the veal. Service was great, although I do feel he tried a little to hard towards the end and I felt he was hovering. Would I come back again? More than likely, why wouldn't you take up on a $20 lunch?

This place is great - always friendly

Portofino in Parnell is nice. Go there instead. There one is a lemon. I have been a bunch of times and am always disappointed. It can turn into a default choice as the rest of whats left in Mission Bay is generally quite poor. You have a choice, leave.

Had a really nice time here last Saturday night. Agree with other reviewers, no-one to greet us when we arrived but was good once we were seated. Food came out promptly and was very tasty. I had chicken fettuccine and my friend had the Spaghetti Marinara but she changed the spaghetti for fettuccine. Both meals were very good and we enjoyed them. The chicken fettuccine was very creamy with plenty of chicken. We shared the cheesecake for dessert which was a little over-priced at $14.90, although it was big enough for two, we actually couldn’t finish it. The cheesecake didn’t have enough flavor. When I have cheesecake i expect it be a slice of mouth-watering goodness. It was creamy and had a nice texture but the passion fruit flavor wasn’t rich enough. <br/><br/>Our waiter kept coming over to top up our water classes which I appreciated. However, to do this, he would lean over the table instead of going around to the other side, which was a bit awkward. He wasn’t particularly friendly or enthusiastic but he was very attentive. When we went to pay the man serving got a little annoyed that we wanted to split the bill and told us it made things complicated. What this restaurant needs is a charismatic maître d’ to greet you when you arrive and give you a great lasting impression when you leave. <br/><br/>I would go back to Mission Bay Portofino. I think the restaurant could be four stars if they just upped the ante a bit. The meals are a bit generic and are lacking character but they do taste good. <br/><br/>Overall a pleasant experience. We left feeling stuffed :)

An authentic Italian restaurant built on the viaduct avenue. Love the food here and the extensive menu giving you a wide range to choose from; be it for entrees, mains or even desserts. The choice of wines impressive. But what keeps you to the place is its sprawling outdoor space that overlooks the harbor with the boats parked. It's a perfect place to have a lunch on a sunny day. I didn't really find the place expensive though a lot of people say it is. The portion size is satisfying, the dishes are very well presented, staff is very friendly and they help you choose if in case you are confused on what you would like to order on the day. Pastas and pizzas are really nice here and well cooked to its optimum level.<br/><br/>I would say one of the best Italian restaurants and definitely on my list of favorites.