Review Portofino - Taupo

We had Risotto alla pescatora (seafood Risotto) and Piatto di mare (seafood platter). Both of them are delicious, but prefer the Risotto to the spaghetti. Seafood are Fresh. Their homemade cheesecake is of thick chocolate flavour, but too sweet for me. Excellent service, and good atmosphere.

This place deserves more than 5 star. Staff was so professional. We reached there after 9:30 they still let us in. Also the food was so good. I ordered penne pasta and my husband ordered Chicken Parm, both the dishes were really well made. Thank you for accommodating us.

Fabulous meal. Our party of 4 all loved their meals. The fish was exceptional with a beautiful sauce. The others had perfectly cooked steaks. The deserts were totally yum. Will definitely be back.The service was also faultless.

An unexpectedly charming spot! We had a late night dinner for 2 after a long day of driving and our server was attentive and kind. We sampled two lovely wines by the glass and the seafood main dish - which contained fresh shrimp, mussels, fish and oysters over spaghetti with marinara. Delicious and just enough for two without overdoing it! Very fresh and masterfully presented.

Delicious legit Italian and warm ambience! The antipasto plate was the highlight. We got a gnocchi and a risotto and both were wonderful. Hubby thought there could be a bigger portion with the gnocchi (our neighbours got penne and the portion size was much bigger). The cheesecake and the profiteroles we're both delicious

The residents and visitors to Taupo are lucky to have this restaurant in the town. The food was absolutely delicious and is a credit to the family who obviously put a lot of love in to their business. What a wonderful treat we had in dining at this restaurant.

Food was good and delicious. Bruschetta was a bit let down. Pasta was delicious and definitely great size portions. Service was good.

The staff were very friendly, a lovely atmosphere. The food was delicious, we had 3 dishes and shared them all but the carbonara was my personal favorite. We were also there for my cousins birthday and the staff put a little candle on the profiteroles which was a nice touch and earned that fifth star.

I had an absolutely fantastic dining experience at Portofino Italian restaurant in Taupo, New Zealand. The food was simply exceptional, starting with the delicious medium pizza that we ordered as an appetizer. The main course options were equally impressive; the chicken fettuccini was cooked to perfection, and the gnocchi was truly a taste sensation that left me wanting more. And let's not forget the tiramisu – a dessert that was not only elegant but also a delightful culmination of flavors. The top-notch service further enhanced the evening. The staff was attentive, friendly, and made us feel truly valued as customers. It's clear that the team at Portofino is dedicated to providing an unforgettable dining experience. I must say, Portofino Italian restaurant is a hidden gem in Taupo. If you find yourself in the area, I wholeheartedly recommend paying them a visit. The combination of exceptional food, elegant desserts, and outstanding service makes it a dining destination that's not to be missed. A definite five-star experience!

Excellent cold Peroni, definitely one of the best places to eat in Taupo. Excellent pizza it as soon as you can it's best fresh and hot. The lasagne was excellent to and Ravioli as well. It would be even better if if was open at lunch time a few days a week. Overall really good and the people speak Italian and their food has real flavor to which is important vs other places in NZ. I will be back forsure. Curious on trying another different dish as well. Keep up the great work.

Wonder friendly staff. Amazing food. Would definitely go here again 🙂

Had dinner with a small group of friends recently. The staff was very courteous, and the food was very tasty. I recommend anyone who likes some Italian food in the area, you won't be disappointed.

Pasta was really good but didn't like the garlic bread. It was very tangy, and slightly too oily. Left a yuck taste in the mouth. Recommend booking if you can, we went fairly early and were sat outside and it was absolutely freezing.

Beautiful little spot very friendly and staff go above and beyond for customers food was delicious!! Would definitely recommend!!!! I absolutely love the real woodstove in the back area

Amazing food extremely noisy with two large groups in same area. Was a little dissapointed as we had such a tremendous experience in Napier

Nice pizzeria in the centre of town. There is competition in this street with many eateries and italian restaurants. We selected this restaurant as I has more vegetarian options, only served italian food and gave a spik and span impression. We were not disappointed and enjoyed our salad, vegetariana pizza (a bit small in size) and their version of tiramisu. Recommendable place.

We were the first here tonight. We sat outside under the covered porch/sidewalk. Food was great! I had the Penne Al Salmone Affumicato. The smoked salmon had a great smoked flavor to it. I think it had a bit too much salt on the Salmon but still really tasty. My friend had the Risotto Alla Pescatora. The portions were just right. No leftovers. I also had the Peach tea. Yumm!

Came here for dinner on a Wednesday night. It was early and there was hardly anyone around. This restaurant is a hidden gem. The staff were lovely and the waitress and chef accommodated all of my fussy dining requests. The food was delicious and portions were great. I’m soo fussy and nothing was too hard for them. Highly recommend.

Such a shame. The spaghetti was not fresh and there was hardly any seafood in the marinara mix. On the flip side the seafood marinara mix strongly resembled something out of a packet so I’m glad it was used sparingly as it did not taste good. The pizza was ok just a lacked a good punchy sauce and a menu with more Italian inspired options. Wouldn’t call this place fine dining and wouldn’t go back. Service was nice though.

We were in Taupo for the weekend to celebrate a birthday and chose this restaurant because of its vast menu. We were not disappointed. We dined here on 6 June 2014. The three courses were delicious. Stand out for me was my Eye Fillet Steak - cooked to perfection - I like it Blue and many restaurants struggle to do this for me (usually looking puzzled at my choice as I am female). My husband had Pasta...and loved it. Scallops for me for entree (yum!) and Parma Ham around melon for him. Tirimisu for dessert. The service was great. Next time we are in Taupo we will be back.

Dined here April 2014 and my food was great (i don't usually like Italian). I had the Chicken Cacchiatore and have been craving it again ever since! Not sure what the bad reviews are about. Meals are quite pricey however, and the restaurant did fine it difficult to cater to two of my vegan friends despite them phoning and checking this beforehand.

Low level cafe service at restaurant prices. I had steak which was ok but vegetables cold. Teenage daughters had pasta which was overcooked and resembled a 'just add water' pasta meal. No water was offered and finally arrived after asking twice and towards the end of the mains with one glass...there were three of us! When I complained that the meals were not great the waitress replied 'oh ok', yeah, not really ok. I complained to the manager and was bombarded with excuses...not my problem, I am the paying customer. Will never go to one of these 'chain' Italians again. Very disappointing.

My partner, two teenage daughters and I went to this restaurant, were seated, and had our orders taken (which were 6 entrees, 2 soft drinks, 1 bottle of wine, and 2 desert which would have come to over $100 meal) only for the waitress to come back and say to us, that we were required to order mains otherwise we could not dine there. Unfortunately none of us were hungry enough to have a main, but thought smaller entrees should be suffice. The maitre'd/owner came over and insisted unless we ordered mains, we would have to leave. So we did! This is the absolute worst service I have ever encountered, and think that it a disgrace, and not at all typical of New Zealand and its hospitality. Shame on you Portofino Italian Restaurant - do not recommend!!

I'm surprised by the poor reviews that this restaurant has received. We ate there one evening with our two young children and we found that the meals were delicious. I had the penne with salmon and it was cooked to perfection and one of the nicest meals that I have ever had (my mouth is watering just thinking about it). My husband had the chicken with camembert and he thought it was delicious. Our children had Hawaiian pizzas which were beautiful, the bases were perfect and the children ate them all up which is saying something. The service was good and the food was served reasonably quickly. It's a shame that we couldn't stay for dessert.<br/>The only think that puzzled me was that they sat all the parties dining close together (there were only three parties). There were enough free tables that we didn't need to be packed in close together.

We went to Taupo to celebrate my husband's birthday with his family. We have a great Portofino in New Plymouth, and with the wide range of ages and tastes, we settled on Portofino and booked it some weeks in advance. They had booked another large booking at the same time. We couldn't move as we were in a long table but crowded by the other party. We waited ages to eat and when we ate, ( well some of us couldn't eat as it was still raw rice in the Risotto ) ..When raised with them, nothing other than "I'll let the kitchen know" Will never go to this restaurant again and honestly it is a terrible restaurant.... Spend your money elsewhere ...

VEGETARIANS DO NOT DINE HERE!!<br/><br/>We received service from a waitress that seemed as if she had received a frontal lobotomy. After asking for if a vegetarian gnocchi dish would be possible to meet my gluten free requirements (and with some further back and and forth to the kitchen) we found out that all of the pasta and pizza sauces are made with chicken stock, including all the dishes on the menu marked with a vegetarian (V)!!<br/><br/>Upon hearing our displeasure (all 4 of us are non meat eaters) the chef came out to talk to us, when asking him why the dishes marked vegetarian are actually not, he was dumbstruck and failed to be able to give an explanation.<br/><br/>We left the restaurant without eating and will never go there again.

Possibly the worst dining experience I have ever had. The service left a lot to be desired, the staff were rude and very unhelpful and quite frankly miserable. I asked for a simple alteration to one of the meals, I was told 'no, we are busy'. They had ran out of chicken and fish ! We were not offered any water. I was lucky that the company I had was fantastic or i'd have walked out. I don't like to write a completely negative review and had there been any redeeming qualities I would have balanced it out but there really was nothing good to say. Would not recommend this place to anyone

When we visit Taupo, we often visit this restaurant. Every time without exception we have found the food and service very good. <br/><br/>I am very surprised with some other less than complimentary posts about this eatery and I wonder if we are actually talking of the same place!!<br/><br/>It is very Italian and has a good atmosphere. We would definitely recommend this place to one and all.

Stay away from Portofino Taupo! <br/>Not only was service bad but the food was definitely not up to the "Portofino Takapuna" standard, where we have eaten before and loved it. <br/>We ordered a pasta carbonnara and it was overcooked with too much sauce in it, in other words: a mushy mess. We didn't think much of it since we are not usually 'complainers' and we continued trying to enjoy our evening. <br/>After trying to get any of the 3 waiting staff to pay some attention to us for about 10 minutes, we finally ordered a cheesecake and a tiramisu and they may just be the worst desserts we have ever tasted!<br/>We told a waitress that we were not going to eat the cheesecake because it was tasteless and she said literally: "don't worry, you don't have to finish it if you don't want it"... ha!!! We could not believe our ears! My partner stood up and went to talk directly to the owner and when he complained to her about desserts (without even mentioning the pasta) her reply was rude and completely out of line saying that everybody loves their desserts, that it wasn't her problem that we didn't like them and that we had to pay for them. My partner could not believe he was being treated in such a way, however he is not the confrontational type so he paid a very pricey dinner that we didn't even enjoy. Will never go again.

Agree with some of the other comments; lack of service - had to ask for water, had to ask for our byo to be opened, then had to asked for wine glasses, had to ask to order, not offered desserts, coffees. Food is good after a big day of biking round Taupo but very very salty - could really use that water right about now...

Service from the head matron was definately something that would make me think twice about dining here again. Specifically seating us next to the door when requested otherwise. I sat and ate only to watch her direct other "walk in" couples to tables further back. The food was not well prepared with the size of the bacon and onion pieces cut to something that would be expected from a primary school child rather than a chef. Take your hard earned money else where.

Hi I attended Portofino Restaurant last night I thought the service was top notch very happy with it. The waitress was helpful and very cheerful...Now the food was delightful to a point had chicken pasta dish I found the chicken was dry and tough my partner had the steak meal it was great to the taste. other than that a good night.

Dine here every time I visit Taupo. Great food selection. Pastas are very filling and are very flavourful. Great food and atmosphere!

I have to say that we had rather high expectations when we went to dine at Portofino Italian Restaurant, after being given a rave review of their Veal Parmigiana which was apparently 'to die for'.<br/>When we arrived we were impressed with the lovely smell that greeted us at the door, the décor and the friendly and efficient waiting staff.<br/>Sadly, this is where our positive experience at Portofino's ended. <br/>We decided on sharing a couple of mains, Veal Parmigiana and Prosciutto Pizza, with some garlic pizza bread to start with. The Pizza bread came out the same time as the mains.<br/>We started into our meal with great anticipation only to find that the Veal Parmigiana, while nice enough, certainly lacked any real flavour. I requested salt as there was none on the table and seasoned it generously to try and get some oomph out of it. The vegetables that came with it were very nice though - roasted courgette and carrot with potatoes and a bit of salad.<br/>Both the Pizza and Pizza bread however were so extremely salty (not to mention rubbery) that it left us gasping for water (I love well seasoned food but this was beyond the joke - especially when the previous meal was under seasoned) <br/>I thought that this may have been a mistake on the chef's behalf and that they may not have been aware that it was so salty - and when I went to pay the bill, I took the pizza bread up with me to get the head waiter to try it to get his opinion - his opinion was that 'it was how it always is and how it should be' and the chef, who seemed affronted my bringing it up, tried it also - his reaction was to smack his lips and say mwwwah whilst using a grand hand gesture as if to say that he thought I was crazy to be complaining!!<br/>There was no effort taken on behalf of the staff to say that they were sorry to hear that we hadn't enjoyed our meal - if anything it was me saying sorry... isn’t customer always supposed to be right?!<br/><br/>My partner and I left the restaurant very disgruntled and incredulous (not to mention bloated from the huge amounts of salt that obviously went into the pizza base and the subsequent water that we needed to consume to counteract the salt we had eaten)<br/>Upon leaving we noted that the overweight surly chef was sitting outside not only smoking like his life depended on it, but drinking a coffee and also a beer! (Could if be possible that his taste buds are shot?!?!?!?!)