Positano Ristorante

This has always been one of our very favorite restaurants. We are delighted with their new location next to the Westport Playhouse. Great fireplace, charming rustic décor… Previously Paul Newman’ s location The food is terrific… The staff is attentive and professional… Live music every Saturday night … Not crazy loud like some places… Just right! Danced a bit! Nice bar. Good drinks… Cannot say enough good things about this place.
Beverly Ellsley

Nice dinner and excellent service
Veal, gnocchi, squid ink pasta & shrimp were all great. All food was very good. Wish the menu had a few more selections though. Service was excellent and the new location is very nice.

Yesterday, I had luncheon at Positano with eleven other women. Everything was excellent! The staff couldn’t have been more attentive; the décor was lovely; and the place was spotless! None of this would have mattered if the food wasn’t good, but it was more than good — it was superb! They offer a prix fixe for $ 17.95; a little high for lunch, but it was worth it. I had an interesting salad, and duck breast, which was tender with a delicious sauce. I was so sorry when I finished — it was that good. I will definitely return.

Note Positano has moved from MillBeach to a fabulous new location at Playhouse Square in Westport, CT.
Rosita and I loved the old Positano, but the new one exceeds your expectations. The Son, Fernando has joined with his Father Joseph in the kitchen, after finishing studies at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York. The new menu is very distinctive and food presented beautifully. The rest of the Family Ines the Wife and Aida the Daughter and exceptional Staff are still all involved in making the restaurant charming and warm. and the service impeccable. The wine list is expansive and Johnny, the maitre de is very knowledgeable. The consistency is great and we have been to the new Positano five times since it reopened in its Westpprt Playhouse Square location. Kemp and Rosita Moreno Coady

My first time in Positano at the theater location. The food was outstanding withe excellent portion. I had duck and my husband had chicken. Wow! it is so good. The service, my waiter Giannie, is very solicitous and professional. The host, Gaby, is also wonderful. I was not fond of the food at the old Positano by the beach location but this one is different and I love it. They also have prefix menu with an excellent price though I did not have prefix this time but I am sure that I will try next time. Tables are large with comfortable seating and excellent spacing from other dining neighbors. I had dessert for two which was excellent. My special house martini is really good as well. Great ambiance. I would recommend this restaurant to others and would return.

Disappointing. Friendly staff but long wait for our food. Prices are high and our meal, pasta, salad and eggplant, was only so-​so. Their proximity to the Playhouse is a lucky break for Positano but patrons deserve better.

Terrible. Terrible. Terrible.
Slightly stale bread, salads with no taste and it goes downhill from there.
No to mention the installation of blinking lights in the dining room. B l i n k i n g lights.
Takeout from Qdoba next door would be a far tastier choice.

I was so excited to have Positano re-​open as it was always a favorite of ours. People were friendly and the food was always good. They moved to the new location behind the Playhouse– what happened to the portions? The appetizers and meals were served on large plates and bowls which made the tiny portions look even smaller. It was the first time I went home hungry. PLEASE increase the portion size especially at those prices!

My parents and I dined here for my birthday dinner at a time before a crowd showed up. This was exactly the scene we were looking for. The location of the restaurant is hidden a bit off the main road which provided a quiet atmosphere. The food was tasty, and the portions weren’t overwhelming. (If you’re looking to stuff your face, this ain’t the place for you!)

Food was good, service a little slow, portions small for the price.

For the price, there are better restaurants in Westport, which is a very competitive restaurant town. We were hoping that the successor to The Dressing Room, the Paul Newman restaurant adjacent to the Westport Country Playhouse, would be high quality and somewhat more affordable than its predecessor. We were disappointed in our pasta and veal dishes, which lacked distinction. Portions were small. Service was friendly but the waiter seemed inexperienced. The only plus is its convenience to the Playhouse if you are having dinner before a performance but several other good restaurants in town offer a discount to Country Playhouse ticket holders and Positano does not.
Note that the restaurant was previously on Compo Beach in Westport and relocated to its new location earlier this year. Since we never visited the other location we do not have the basis for comparison. It would be nice to see this location succeed but there are so many other good restaurants I am unsure how quickly we will return.

Moving! No longer nice water views but I THINK it is going into the old space where The Dressing Room was on Post Road and that used to have really cool ambiance!

Enjoyed our dinner, celebrating our wedding anniversary. Started with fried calamari-​a bit rubbery, not the best I’ve had. Then each had an entrée: seafood capellini pasta & chicken scarpariello. Excellent dishes with very flavorful sauces which were similar but not exactly the same. Very nuanced. Wine list was well thought out. I had a lovely California Chardonnay, deliciously chilled.
Had chocolate hazelnut gelato for dessert-​shareable portion for sure. Loved the coral color décor and easy, attentive service. Will go back in daylight to get a better view of the water. Parking lot attached to restaurant; valet on weekends.

This was my third visit to this lovely oasis. This weekend we celebrated my daughter’s 21^st birthday. As a bonus it was Restaurant Week. The menu was great with something for everyone. Everyone in my party who had not previously dined there with me loved it. My 89 year old mother wants to go for her 90^th! The ambiance is elegant without being stuffy. The view of the water is lovely. The wine list is extensive with a price range for every pocketbook. The service-​like a 4 star hotel!

Googled for a restaurant with a waterview and decided on this Westport rest! The view was beautiful, it being right on the beach. However, inattentive staff (there were only 2 waiters). Long wait times for ordering each service (drink, appetizer, dinner, coffee, dessert). My chicken & sausage (pollo rustico) was blah and tasteless. I mentioned this to my waiter and he was not particularly concerned. I thought he would offer free coffee or dessert. Nope! Charged for everything. Not impressed by this place. Will not return.

Beautiful beach side views and nice people. If it where not for me putting Greenwich CT. In our GPS instead of East Greenwich RI. We would have never found the place. I am glad the food was perfect other wise when I hit the GPS to head back to Maine and found out I went 2 hours the wrong way I would have not been able to handle it! Smile… Thank you again Positano!

Great Sunday prix fixe $ 19.99! Food and service was great. Also really nice view of the waterfront.

Poor to terrible service. Distracted indifference pretty much sums it up. On the positive side, great location and good wine list, both by the bottle and glass. Quality of the food was average. The restaurant is right on Old Mill beach and looks to be an old converted house. The inside décor is a bit dated, think 1975 nice restaurant style.
We arrived for our reservation on time and our party of 8, was seated immediately. That was the end of the good service. Only 5 out of the 8 of us received a menu. The hostess left to (I thought) get more menu’s, instead she started doing other activities. 5 mins later we all had menu’s. Meanwhile, the waiter immediately asked if we’d like to order a drink. I said yes, but give us a minute to look at the wine list. A full 15 mins later I had to flag down a different waiter (first of several times) to order drinks. Ok drink orders now in and we wait and wait and wait again. Mind you this is a very small place. There’s only another 10 – 12 tables in the whole place. With at least 4 waiters running around and a dedicated bartender you’d think this would be a bit faster. The waiter that I flagged down was the same one every time, my «official» waiter was hardly at our table at all. Drinks finally arrived and we ordered dinner. What was real surprising now was the food came out fairly quickly. Not surprisingly, not one visit back from our waiter during the entire dinner.
Most of us ordered off the pre-​fixed menu. Includes an appetizer, entrée, coffee, and based on how it appeared on the menu we thought salad. The salad was completely separated from everything else on the menu, looking like it’s own section. So we get the appetizers and then the main course comes out. No salad, and frankly we forgot about it until after dinner walking to our cars. We all believed the salad was missed. So at home, I look at their website, the salad is one of the appetizer choices. Now I’m trying to decide what’s worse, missing the salad or the skimpiest pre-​fixe menu I’ve ever seen, 2 items? Why bother.
Overall; come down to Mill Pond, walk on the beach, watch the sunset, then go to either to downtown Westport or Saugatuck for a nice dinner.

This place is great. The staff are very friendly. The food is fantastic. The ambience is nice. When you combine that with the beautiful location next to the water, it’s a great spot.

This is a great authentic Italian restaurant — not fancy, but delicious, simple, well-​prepared food. And of course beautiful views of the water.
Food: great special appetizer of perfectly grilled and seasoned calamari over very well-​dressed mixed greens. The Positano Cappellini was incredibly delicious — shrimp, scallops, calamari (not as good as in the app), and clams over angel hair pasta in a very very tasty red sauce that’s on the lighter side.
Décor: Crazy 80s Italian kitsch! Coral textured walls, wispy floral frilly curtains, fake columns, white seagulls, intertwined lovebirds, and blue shells for wall decorations.
A perfect summer place to go to feel like you’re on the Amalfi coast — a staycation in Westport.