Portobello

I was there for a graduation brunch! Food was excellent and the service fantastic! Servers extremely attentive! I will be back with family and friends!

My husband and I had an absolutely horrible experience here tonight. Despite the reviews, a good friend recommended we try it so we thought we would give it a shot. Mistake. Things started off well, we ordered wine and an appetizer while perusing the menu. The bread came out and there was olive/​cheese focaccia which was decent and a horrible stale chunk of regular bread. We weren’t that concerned at this point though and put in out entrée order. The stuffed zucchini appetizer came out and was pretty delicious, the sauce was good, things were looking up. 45 minutes later our entrees still had not arrived. We mentioned this and then waited another 15 minutes and they finally popped out. At this point the bottle of white wine had turned warm and we were down to a half glass each (we had planned on enjoying this with our dinner). My husband ordered the chicken francese which was pretty good but not anything to brag about. It had a side of vegetables, but no pasta or mashed potatoes which we thought was odd (it’s pretty standard to include at most Italian restaurants around here). I ordered the Riviera seafood platter and had high hopes but was disappointed to find my lobster tail and shrimp were hard as a rock. I usually am pretty cool about the cook on my food and rarely send anything back, but my husband insisted on saying something after we had waited so long for the entrees. The waiter apologized and immediately got the manager, but she seemed to doubt that the lobster and shrimp were overcooked. I prodded them a few times with my fork to show her just how dry, chewy, and clearly overdone they were and she said she was surprised because that never happens. She brought a plate for the tail and shrimp and asked if she could take them to the chef to show him. I agreed and sent them with her, but she didn’t let us know if I would be getting another or if that was it (we really don’t think she cared at all). I worked on the rest of my dish which was OK (not great though) and then we waited another half hour before the waiter asked if the manager told us what was going on. We let him know that we had no idea what was happening, but that we asked for her to take care of it (at this point I realized I would never get the succulent lobster and shrimp that I so hoped for). He told us he would find out what was happening, and then after another 15 minutes returned with our check with a slight discount for my dish. Overall we were there for 2 hours and 15 minutes and most of that time was spent waiting. The only good thing I can say is that our waiter was extremely apologetic of the entire situation and his service was excellent. We will never go back to this restaurant.

Waited 2 hours for our dinner and it never came. Took us 30 min. to get our appetizer and drinks. Our waiter kept going back to the kitchen to see where our food is. They kept saying another 10 min. it will be out. Finally we get to talk to the manager and he was absolutely no help and never even apologized. And they still charged us. Will never go there again. This place sucks and it’s disgusting with their broken windows.

I don’t normally write reviews but seeing as Portobello has an atrocious rating, I felt compelled to make my case. This place is awesome. I come here every few months when I visit family, and it never disappoints. This is one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve been to, and it beats out most of the Italian restaurants in NYC. The food is amazing, I’ve tried a number of the pastas here and each of them have been delicious. The hot appetizers are also all amazing. The portions are quite large also so it’s good value for your money. The décor is pretty great too; it feels like you’re dining in a medieval castle especially if you go for dinner. The service has always been fine and the waiters are quite attentive. The focaccia is also really good.
I don’t understand how a place with such delicious food can be rated so poorly, unless one is looking for cheap spaghetti and meatballs with plastic cheese. Please don’t go here if you are looking for baked ziti made from Barilla. This place is the real deal.

I could not find fault with any of the meals I have had here. We have been here three times. The calamari is outrageous. The cold antipasto is huge. The seafood is fresh. I have a sensitive stomach so I am a good judge of fresh food. I like the coffees with the cute names.
The deserts are big enough to share. If you have the chance, try the pumpkin tart with pumpkin ice cream.

If no stars was a possibility i would have selected that. Don’t go. NJ Housewives is clearly their priority. The wait staff has always been hampered by the buss staff (which has always sucked. (Always)). Completing table service is not a possibility with these cretins. The food is mediocre at best. There are many more good (excellent) options in the Oakland area. Avoid at all cost. Don’t go.

A good lunch place. The price is reasonable and the portion is good. I ordered the Capellini Marechiaro. It was delicious. My co-​worker had the Filet Mignon and Chicken Arrabblata and it looks so good. Overall experience is good, but it does take a little time for the food to come.

My family and I came to Portobellos for Easter dinner. We arrived 2 hours ago and we’ve only had our salad. I’ll update if our food ever gets here. That being said, 6 other groups larger than our group of 7 were seated after us and we’re served and have already left. Terrible service
Update:
The food finally came out almost 2 ½ hours after we were seated. While the food was delicious, it was definitely not worth the wait. We were about to leave because we were tired of waiting when the waiter stopped us and the food came out.

Just had Easter brunch at the banquet hall, it was the most disappointing experience of my life. I decided to take my whole family for brunch, we get there and the silverware was dirty, the glasses were dirty, the chairs were dirty and torn. Now for the food, the pancakes were dry, the waffles were dry, the eggs Benedict didn’t have hollandaise sauce on them, the seafood salad was smelly. I can keep going but I think you get the jist. Then the show stopper was the bill: $ 400 I complained, telling the management that my family hardly ate anything they apologized and took a percentage off the bill. That softened the blow a little. I’m just writing this to let people know my experience at the banquet hall.

This was worst Easter Sunday family meal in my life
This restaurant was overbooked and unable to satisfy anyone
A 2 hr wait for a
reservation time !!
Then their Easter special advertised for $ 26 was suddenly without warning raised to$ 42
??
The wait staff was overwhelmed
The food was industrial hospital food at best
Customer lined up outside were angry waiting for tables
Do not go! On Easter
Can you imagine what a Mothers Day fiasco is waiting to happen
I forgot the noise— thousands of people yelling at once

For starters, my family and I went out for my mothers birthday. Appetizers were fine but as we started to eat, another waiter approached our table telling us that our first waiter was to overwhelmed and randomly left our table. We waited over an hour for the main entrée and the food was horrible. My mothers steak was hard like rubber. More like it was sitting on the side until they decided to bring it out. My prime rib was burnt to crisp and my sister in laws salmon tasted like dry cardboard. Never will I go back to Portobello’s again. It took 3 separate arguments with management to get anything taken off the bill. Horrible service and atrocious management. Never again.

I had received gift cards so we made reservations and went out last night. The upstairs is much quieter so if you want to talk with your dinner guests, request the upstairs.
Our waitress was very nice & when one person asked her about the red snapper entrée, she honestly stated that they don’t usually sell that, which was a wonderful recommendation (to stay away from it) & maybe an indication that the menu is way too much. The menu has way too many options. I will say that the portions were huge. The mound of mashed potatoes I received on my plate was crazy!
It was «ok» — nothing special & I wouldn’t go back. To me, not worth the money as its quite costly.

WARNING: If Kitchen makes a mistake on your order, and you send it back to be corrected, you WILL BE CHARGED FOR BOTH MEALS!!! I had ordered Cheese Tortellini, verified with the waiter 4 times, Cheese, kitchen mess up. Been to Portobello’s many times over the years, while the menu was always challenging being a vegetarian (other family members loved it so we made due), the food was still okay. After going for lunch recently, this restaurant has gone down hill.
First, when our water glasses were brought over the bus boy was holding them from the top, with his fingers in the glass. Yuck. The windows were cracked and broken. Table was wobbly. The staff seemed to be walking on eggshells. When we ordered, we asked several times for the salad to be brought before the main meal, and we also ordered appetizers. Our waiter came back and read back our order to us several times, and this was concerning, he had the order absolutely correct but the dishes were still wrong.
Appetizers, we ordered Mozzeralla in Carozza, we found there was ham in it, the menu did not specify, and we sent it back.
Salads did not come, our meals came out then they were surprised we wanted our salads. What a mess the salads were. I had 3 large lettuce leaves and so did 2 others at the table, the 4^th person had a real salad, he had gotten cucumbers, onions, carrots and even radishes. Main course, was also messed up for 2 of us, (half the table) I had ordered Cheese Tortellini, and gotten meat. Turns out they do not have cheese, and instead of telling me, they gave me meat AFTER I returned an appetizer for having meat. I got another pasta dish, but I WAS CHARGED FOR BOTH DISHES!!! It was their mistake and we had to pay. The wait staff was doing their best, they were all nervous.

Came on a Saturday for lunch after a recommendation from a friend. I had the lobster and asparagus risotto, which was perfectly creamy with large chunks of lobster scattered liberally throughout. The portion was huge, like dinner portion huge. It was a great deal, especially since nothing on the lunch menu reached a double-​digit price. The rest of the group seemed happy with their choices also, but I was too busy gobbling up my risotto to notice.
The building itself makes a great impression, like a bright yellow Italian château randomly transported in the middle of New Jersey. The inside was festively decorated, with winding staircases and old-​world furniture. We had lunch under the centre of one soaring wooden dome, which helped set the mood. The place was pretty empty though, with our party being the only people in sight for most of our meal. A couple more tables trickled in about half-​way, but definitely a quiet place for a Saturday lunch.

This has been my all time favorite place to dine at since I was 15 years old! Food is spectacular! Service is literally the best I’ve had! Atmosphere is fabulous, romantic and cozy!
I had my engagement party here and it was a HUGE hit! The owner Frank and Carol are probably the nicest people I’ve met!
This place is a MUST try!

I am a regular here as I love there food so when it came time to find a place for my moms 70^th surprise bday party this is where we went. With 32 people attending we needed somewhere that could accommodate us. As always we were not disappointed. We had it in the library. It was a bit tight but worked out just fine. We did a family style with an open bar. We also had family style appetizers. At $ 45 per person everyone had plenty. There was so much that there was leftovers. The open bar was extra of course. Everything was awesome and they are very easy to work with. Highly recommend them for any function you may have.

Went for lunch after not eating here in a while. Service was poor. salad was served and entrée was brought 2 minutes later. Place is DIRTY… windows are broken in numerous areas on second floor around dining areas. Arms on upholstered chairs are BLACK with dirt and stuffing is exposed. Table was not wiped down.
GET WITH IT MANAGEMENT. YOU’RE LOSING CUSTOMERS!

This review is based on the the Sunday Brunch:
One of my worst restaurant experience ever!!!
A buddy raves about the décor and his dinner experience.
Figure try their Sunday brunch. The exterior of the restaurant really is amazing. Like a villa in the Italian country side. Of course everything went downhill from there.
Sat down and water was pour by the bus girl. No waiter came to ask if we wanted anything else to drink until after I finished my first plate of food.
All the waiters just hung out at the corner and talked and joked. Reminds me of the office water cooler, where no one wants to go back to work, lol.
The food was mediocre at best. The seafood salad was so blah. I’ve never had seafood so tasteless. How do you mess up shrimp cocktail?
Meat carving table? Meat were precut and sitting under headlamp for god knows how long, so dry.
Breakfast items were decent, but didn’t try the waffles or the pancakes.
Pastries were pretty decent too.
Now comes the check, and I finally realize why the service was bad. For the Sunday brunch, they automatically charge you 20% for tips. That means the wait staff already know they have the tips coming, they don’t need to provide a good service. What a scam, LOL!!!

Tough crowd up in here!
Ersatz Tuscan mansions might not be your taste in the middle of North Jersey, but the Saturday lunch menu was full of the expected standards, and the space was large and the service more than adequate.
Our table for five on the second floor was quiet and private, giving the family plenty of opportunity to catch up.
Everyone was happy with their lunches. My Eggplant Parm was thin sliced, sautéed twice in light breading, with good gravy and decent Mozza.
Was it the best Italian meal I ever had? Not at all. But, it was very far from the worst, and I can forgive the edifice complex of the original owner, as it did not detract from our experience.

I ate at Portobello last night with my sister. I usually only dine at Italian restaurants with 4+ stars but I decided to give this place a shot because it was exactly halfway between where each of us was coming from. I made a reservation & we were seated promptly. Service was slow overall except the for guy filling our water cups. He was on point… he should be promoted to a waiter.
Food (appetizers only) We split 4 appetizers. It was 2.5 stars overall.
Calamari Bruschetta– Calamari was complete rubber. Pretty bad overall and hard to eat because it was extremely messy. Kind of like a pile of rubber bands & arugula on soggy pieces of bread.
Spinach a la Caesar salad– Three huge, sort of cooked, pieces of bacon on top of spinach leaves and too much dressing. It was okay.
Grilled octopus– Don’t know what I was thinking when I ordered this. It’s not an easy thing to cook and this place failed at it. It was overcooked and tasteless.
Antipasto caldo– Mussels and clams were alright. Eggplant rolatini was one of the worst I’ve had.
On a brighter note, the restaurant itself is very large with unique décor. You almost feel like you’re on a patio is Italy or something. Unfortunately, I will not be back.