Cafe Portofino

This place is bomb
Great menu great drinks
The server was pretty honest and I appreciate that.
Went for the shrimp rasta pasta dude so good it’s weird sounding but a smörgåsbord of flavor!
this area is far from normal so go outside the box.
Hey I’ll see ya

I’ve been coming to Portos for over 6 years and have never left disappointed. They have some of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever had, especially the spiced sirloin and the creamy puttanesca.
Their bar/​game room area has only gotten better in the past year with all of the new tv’s that they purchased, as well as the new dart boards.
If you’ve never been here, just try it, I’m sure it will become one of your go-​to spots after just one trip!

My favorite restaurant in Boone. Get the spiced sirloin with your favorite beer. I have not tried anything here I did not like.

Absolutely love this place. I come get often because all of my classes are in the Beasley media complex (literally a 2 second walk from portos) and the food and service is always A+++. I also come here often on the weekends to drink with friends and with good specials, it never disappoints. Definitely one of my favorite spots in Boone.

A few of us stopped in here for lunch on Saturday. It was pretty slow and quiet. We sat in the bar area. It seemed as if the minute we got comfortable, they cut all the TV’s on loud, despite the fact that we said we didn’t care about TV. App State was playing Clemson. At least it was the local team.
Our servers were great. It seemed as if one guy was training and the regular server was just following him around. I had The Gondola sandwich. It’s made of sliced turkey, applewood bacon with sliced red onions & melted mozzarella, on foccacia with their horseradish sauce on the side. I had the them hold the onions. The sandwich came out without horseradish sauce and, though I was curious about this sauce, I didn’t mention it. Each sandwich is served w/​chips or a plate salad with romaine, tomatoes, red onions, and Parmesan cheese. I had the salad without tomatoes or onions. Balsamic dressing on the side.
We agreed that the food was good, but nothing amazing. Service was fast and friendly though. This café seems pretty cool, but I’d like to explore some others since this one was just A-​OK.

Dinner here each time we come to the area. We love the Spicy Sirloin Pasta w/​Ariabatta sauce. I sub chicken for the sirloin, and it is the perfect meal. Request a jar of sauce to go, you will thank me later.

We ate here for lunch. I shared a pizza w/​my sister & we both got house salads… The pizza was very good (pepperoni) and the salad was enough tho’ a bit wilted. The beers were ice cold.

Delectable food. Great atmosphere.
The night life at Porto’s is active. There are plenty of TV’s, dart boards, pool and foosball tables to keep everyone entertained. Not to mention, the dance floor is large enough to get a party started. Over run with college students — but what else can you expect in Boone?

Was pretty disappointed with this place. We knew that the garlic knots came highly recommended so we didn’t hesitate in ordering them. When they came out they were cold and nothing too spectacular about them. I couldn’t even taste the garlic, the only flavor I got out of the knots were the sprinkles of parmesan cheese that were on top of them. For my main dish I ordered the Shrimp Napoli. The pesto cream sauce sounded absolutely amazing but when I tried out the dish, the pasta was too bland and the pesto pretty bitter. Contrastingly, the shrimp was way too salty. It also was unappetizing to see all of the grease gathered at the bottom of my dish. My boyfriend tried out the Rose Chicken which again was average, nothing spectacular about it. For the quality that we got I felt that the prices were way too much. The interior is unique and you can see the cooks and there’s lots of space for seating. Our server was very nice and patient with us while we tried to make a decision. Was not very satisfied but I’d be willing to give it another try.

The pasta I got was extremely bland. There was no flavor at all. The chicken on top of if was burnt to a crisp. The service was poor, and everything is over priced. Boone has so many other wonderful restaurants. This is not one you need to go to. Waste of time and money.

Went there with friends near closing time and had a terrific meal. We started with the garlic knots, a little flower pot overflowing with delicious lightly seasoned bread rolls. Tasty but not overpowering. One person had the fried green tomato BLT which was described as most unusual and delicious. I had the Italian wonton appetizer and cheese island and both were delicious, not too heavy and very flavorful. Our other friend had the Mac and Cheese and wow, that was amazing. Rich and delicious, possibly the best mac and cheese I have ever tasted. It was so good I could only steal one forkful.
The service was great. We had a new waitress who was happy to be there, seemed to love her job, and didn’t care that we were there near closing. We never felt rushed and the entire staff was pleasant. It is attached to a bar if you want to stay and hang out after dinner. Overall a great place.

Had dinner with my niece.
Shared a pizza with her.
Had Caesar salad prior to the pizza.
Have to say, everything here was excellent.
Sat outside, blue skies, 65° weather.
Paradise!

Great location near ASU… Great beer and wine selection with fresh ingredients… the garlic knots are wonderful… Our waiter was very attentive and the food was good.

Such a truly wonderful location to spend time at. The food here is astounding and the service is just as good as well. The specials tend to be some of the best in the town and the beer prices are always good as well. I have always felt warm and welcome when i have came here to dine and left feeling like my money was well spent. Its one of the few places i go knowing i do not ever have to worry about the quality of the food or service.

We only used to come here about once a year for some drinks with friends, but once we heard about the new chef we decided to try the food again and WOW are we happy we did. Everything we have had so far has been great and we have been here about 4 times in the past few weeks never eating the same thing.
Service is always friendly, helpful and timely and the prices are reasonable. The only reason it is four stars is that the décor leaves something to be desired, ie it needs remodeled. All in all we have found a new food place frequent!

Given a hint that this place has decent beer we stumbled in after trying to find parking while in Boone. I’m so glad we did. This is your neighborhood bar type of place.
Small, cozy and comfortable. Come as you are type staff and friendly service top it off. Not to mention, the beer here. It’s great and the selection is right up any beer nerd’s alley. The pricing is also right in line so you won’t break the bank.
I didn’t have any food but my girlfriend did and she raved about the jalapeño poppers. Apparently they are made in house and are outstanding.

BEST chicken Parmesan I’ve ever had! & instead of the spaghetti I always get a side salad. I like this place a lot! Great for families.
The bar side is also great– lots of room and an area for pool and darts. Very knowledgable and attentive bar tenders!

We’ve been visiting this place for almost 10 years now and love it as much now as when we started. Service is great and the food is amazing. Great selection that should be able to satisfy everyone in your family. I really enjoy the leghorn appetizers and the spiced sirloin pasta. Also the fried green tomato BLT is incredible. I would pass on the soups though. They always sound really terrific but usually fall short.
On the downside, parking is a serious issue. Not sure if there is anything they can do about it but it certainly is a problem. Also if you’re not comfortable with a casual college (half bar/​half restaurant) atmosphere for your family it might be a concern. I wouldn’t hesitate to bring my kids here but I can see where other folks might.
Overall, the atmosphere is great, the food is very good and the prices are a non factor. Love this place and we will certainly be back. I only wish we could get back sooner.

Thanks to the recent downpours Boone has become quite a ghost town. My wife and I stopped by Sunday evening and there was only one diner besides us.
Server was very polite and attentive. Food came out fast and piping hot. We had the garlic knots for appetizer. My wife had the «legendary» spaghetti with meat sauce and I had the chicken parm. The spaghetti sauce was rich tasting with a good hint of Italian sausage. My chicken parm was a bit over fried and not enough pasta! However the dinner roll that came with the entrée was really good!
Overall we had a good experience. I wouldn’t call the meat sauce legendary though.

We ate at Café Portofino on ⁷⁄₇ for dinner. My wife was in the mood for pub food, so I messaged some friends of mine whom used to live in Boone for their suggestions, both indicated I should try Café Portofino.
It’s a big place, with multiple bar and seating areas as well as a game room. It even has a creek that runs underneath it.
The menu is great. They have a whole section of «dippers» which, as you would imagine, are things you can dip into various sauces. We had the jalapeño poppers. A quick note on jalapeño poppers — If you go to a restaurant (which I’m assuming you will based on the website you are currently reading) there is a 99% probability that the jalapeño poppers you order will have started their journey to your table from a freezer about 7 minutes prior to arriving. This leads to a very boring «popper experience» You know I’m talking about, the chicken nugget looking thing that is filled with a flavorless pepper and semi-​coagulated cream cheese that has been deep fried and is being served with some jazzed-​up ranch sauce. no bueno. At Café Portofino however these badboys are homemade, stuffed with all sorts of goodies, and fried, YOU CAN ACTUALLY TASTE THE PEPPER!!! Best poppers ever, hands down.
Wifey and I each had sammiches, she opted for the fried green tomato BLT and I procured an Italian sammy with assorted meats, mozz, lettuce and tomato. Both were delicious.
Service by Niko (Nicco?) was excellent, he was funny, and attentive without being overbearing. Aces.
We sat in the loft area which was very warm — only partially the restaurant’s fault as it was in the mid 90s outside that day and the only AC I saw was a window unit. But order a cold beer, eat some spicy stuff and you’ll cool right down.
All in all it was a good experience, We’ll be back on our next trip to Boone to try a few more items off the menu.