Cafe Portofino

"My husband and I were really excited about eating here. Unfortunately, it was not a good experience at all. Everyone in the restaurant, including the wait staff seemed depressed. Or maybe just bored? It’s hard to say but the atmosphere was strange. I’m six months pregnant. When our food came out, the cream based scalloped potatoes that came on the side had clearly been cooked and then left out to cool to below room temperature. Really unsafe food handling with a high risk of food born illness. Especially with a cream based product. The rest of the food on the plate was warm, including the very over cooked shrimp. My husband ordered a pasta dish with anchovy's, which he described the flavor as “like kissing someone who just smoked a cigarette”. Over all it was just a really weird and disappointing experience. I will give them that they were gracious enough to not charge us after they offered to remake the food and we declined and told them we just wanted to leave."

"We ate here while we were on vacation and staying at Royal Sonesta in Kauai. It’s right on the ocean and you can see the water, hear the waves, watch the sunset, and enjoy the tropical atmosphere while eating. We absolutely LOVED it! The food was phenomenal from the minestrone soup, entrees, dessert, and wine! We had chicken Marsala, lasagna, and fettuccine bolognese…each one was incredible and so tasty and delicious! We also tried 3 different desserts including tiramisu, chocolate mousse cake, and the profiteroles which was cream puffs with ice cream and chocolate and almonds…all were absolutely amazing! Nicole was our server and she was outstanding and treated us like family and even called us ma familia each time she came to check on us…her attention to detail and care was absolutely fantastic and she made the dinner even better! We highly recommend this restaurant and will definitely go again when we return to Kauai! Thank you Cafe Portofino and Nicole for the amazing experience! It truly was delicious!"

"Cafe Portofino brings real Italian to Lihue. They use real ingredients and legit recipes. The bread was well made but lacked flavor. My wife had the ravioli, which was good but not outstanding. She also has a side of meatball, which, in out opinions, were rolled too tight. I had the lamb. They cooked the whole 4 rib rack, then cut it, and served it, leaving the outer two chops overcooked and the inner two raw. I didn't mind the raw ones because I did ask for it as rare as they'd served it, but I terribly minded the out two being cooked medium. They also knocked off most of the crust, which was a shame because it was delicious. The highlight of the meal was my wife's chocolate mousse cake."

"We were quite apprehensive to try this restaurant after reading so many negative reviews but at the hotel we were staying there was very little choice of restaurants with which to have dinner. Bottom line, we were very glad we did. My wife had a special Seafood pasta of the day which is not on the menu; you have to ask for it, a pasta dish with mussels clams fish and shrimp which was absolutely delicious. I had one of my favorites which is also a tell-all of how good a restaurant is-- pasta carbonara. They used pancetta and after requesting to have it prepared crispy rather than undercooked as a lot of restaurants serve, it was one of the best carbonara dishes I've had anywhere. Another departure from all the reviews was the time of preparation. After ordering, the dishes actually came almost too fast, but they were piping hot and freshly prepared. I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant and to try it again if ever I were to visit this area of Kauai."