Portofino Italian Restaurant

I did not want to even give this restaurant one star which is VERY rare for me, but I had to in order to write this review. I found this restaurant online as I wanted some really great homemade manicotti so I ordered take-​out from this restaurant. I asked for extra mozzarella cheese melted on top and for Italian Vinaigrette dressing with my salad. When I opened my dinner at home the manicotti had NO mozzarella cheese at all on top — let alone extra cheese. The sauce on the manicotti had WAY to much sugar in it and tasted horrible (hint Portofino — just a touch of sugar is needed in ANY sauce with tomato to cut acidity). The salad dressing was NOT Italian Vinaigrette as I ordered but a mayonnaise, ketchup and garlic powder dressing that was horrendous and the salad greens were mostly the core part of the lettuce — not lettuce leafs. This was definitely my first and LAST visit to this restaurant and frankly I’m shocked they are still open.

This is my 2^nd and last time I will eat here. They advertise gluten free pasta but the wait staff have no idea what that is and I have had to ask multiple times because I felt they shrugged me off. This time I got a penne pasta even though I was told that the only gluten free pasta was spaghetti. When I got the bill it said whole wheat. The server said they didn’t have a gluten free button… Its my last trip and I hope I don’t get sick.

Used to go to Portofino’s with my Grandpa 10 years ago for the Stromboli. Moved back to the area and now have devoured the same cheese filled creation on multiple occasions. Love this place!

I always enjoy their food. The salads are fresh & bread is great! We’re a big fan of the pizza!

My fiancé and I are new to the area and decided to check out Portofino’s before we went to the movies at 10. We walked at 9:15 and to get a quick pizza before our movie and were turned away by the hostess, what looked like a bus boy and bus girl, because they said they close in 15 minutes. I understand that this location closes at 9:30, but never in my life have I been turned away from a restaurant. Having waited tables all through college, I would have been fired if I had turned away paying customers on a Friday night. If this was my restaurant, I would be furious. Needless to say, we will not be spending our money here in the future.

Fantastic food best in town. My favorite place but I haven’t been in a while the service the last 2 times was horrible. First time we sat for 20 min no one ever came over we left. 2 nd time order took forever then server brought out wrong order then brought us a pizza over said it was on the house then walked over said no never mind this was for someone else worst service ever. We haven’t been back. I am crushed

I tried this for the first time today. The owner appears to be an old-​school Italian, so you know the food will be excellent. The pizza was very good… the best new york style pizza I have tried in the Charlotte area. The wings were pretty good too. They were cooked to perfection with a little crispiness on the outside, tender on the inside. The wing sauce wasn’t great, but nothing that can’t be fixed… next time I will bring my own sauce. I will be back again next week.

I really enjoy their calzone and my boyfriend loves the pizza, the crust alone made him give me two thumbs up! They’re very generous with the cheese and I love that. I tried penne ala vodka, and it was just okay. Ylit had very subtle flavors that the garlic bread we ordered just overpowered. It just needed some oomph! The service is very hit or miss depending on who you get. You can have the best waitress ever who works like a machine and never lets your glass go below half full OR you can have the nightmare guy that is slow as anything and forgets you exist until the food comes out. My boyfriend had to get up and ask for more drinks after waiting 20 minutes.
Moral of the story? Calzone to go, can’t go wrong!

I love their pizza. It’s New York style, and they do it so well. I can’t comment on their other dishes, because their pizza is so perfect, I don’t look at the rest of the menu, LOL. I will say this. I eat there by myself. I’m not a big spender — I get a small cheese pizza and a couple of beers, and I tip 20−25% because the service is always wonderful. And the last time I ate there, which was maybe the fourth or fifth time ever, a beautiful woman that I believe is one of the owners came to my table and commented that I wasn’t at my usual table (for whatever reason, I don’t ask, I usually get seated at a table near the back). I was floored that the woman recognized me, let alone remembered that I normally sat near the back. And she radiated warmth and family. I’m sure if I start ordering other dishes I’ll come across one I don’t like. But I will never stop appreciating the hospitality I always feel as soon as I step inside. It’s like a sanctuary. I’m going there tomorrow. I just talked myself into it, LOL.

Closest thing to real Italian in the region? Please. Their pasta comes from a box and they charge $ 15 a plate. I would only go for pizza.
The grilled salmon salad was almost on point… the salmon was cooked perfectly, but the salad was a bit skimp– the waitress said so herself.
The best part is the paper placemats they sit down in front of you after you’ve already started reading the menu… they tabletops are glass, so it’s not serving any purpose; they must want the tacky Italian restaurant in franklin square look.

Best pizza in town, actually the best in the region. They close early (9 pm) on weeknight a and are crowded on the weekends.

I have tried to eat here on 3 different occasions and still have not been successful. One time we got there before closing time and they said it was too late to be served. Second time we were seated, but the waitress ignored us for 15 minutes, she passed our table and served two other tables and never came to us as if we were invisible. We told the front staff supervisor who brought us some water, but the waitress still never came to our table. We walked out and no one seemed to care. I would have fired the waitress on the spot knowing customers walked out the door. The third time the restaurant was not open yet on Sunday and we did not have time to wait before leaving for the airport.

My wife and I dined here about 6 months ago and the experience was terrible. At that time we were told that they didn’t pay their power bill (because they didn’t get a bill?) so they were running on backup generators. Honestly, we should have just left then. The food was terrible.
We went in again tonight because we were in a pinch and just wanted some pizza. The bread they bring you before the meal was delicious. We ordered a meat lovers pizza.
When our server brought the pizza she dropped off the pizza and then left without asked/​refilling either of drinks (which were both empty). I find it hard to excuse that. It took my wife getting up (about 10 minutes later) to ask the manager at the counter for refills.
The pizza was terrible. The crust was so thin that it couldn’t hold up the toppings and was so soaked with grease that it was literally dripping.

Hands down best pizza in Gastonia! Won’t find a better NY style pie in town. Took a while to find this place and so glad that I did.

I’ve eaten at Portifino’s several times. Here and at the Charlotte location. I really enjoy their food from the warm bread, the crisp salads, and the fantastic pizza, calzones, and entrees. I’ve had their eggplant parm and my husband has had their veal (I forget what he ordered).
I went last weekend. The service was good. Our waiter seemed a little nervous so I think he might have been new and our friends who were with us tend to intimidate waiters.
My husband ordered a cannoli and it was great.

Going here will remind you of three well known films, The Godfather? No, Lady and the Tramp? No, more like The Sandlot, Stand by Me and The Fly. Why you ask? Cause their food will remind you of what these three films have in common, projectile vomits scenes, this used to be the best place to get Italian food, not anymore.

It was clean. Otherwise, the waitress was polite but not well informed on the menu. We had white pizza, ravioli, and the grilled ckn salad. The salad entrée arrived 5m before the raviolis and the pizza 5m after the raviolis… not the best planning.
Lastly, the food. The pizza was ok but very bland (really not worth the money or calories). The raviolis and ckn salad about the same. This was probably my first and last visit here. There are better options in Gastonia and CLT.

I tried Portofino’s again for the first time in 15 years. I thought I would give them another fair shot. The salads were fresh and the bread was warm but I am a lasagna snob and really wasn’t pleased with theirs. I was craving a rich red meaty sauce and instead I got a very bland orange-​colored thin sauce. I never add salt to food but I had to salt the lasagna because it was lacking taste and texture.
My mom got the spaghetti and meatballs on half and bolognese on the other half. The noodles were watery (that’s my pet peeve with spaghetti). I like dry noodles so the sauce clings to the noodles, not a wet watery mess. The sauce wasn’t that good and she had to salt her spaghetti as well.
Our waiter rarely checked back, I had to wait for his return to ask for straws and more bread and a box.
She and I both agreed we wouldn’t be back for a pasta dish if anything at all.

My husband, mother, and I were passing through town, on our way to Charlotte airport. It had been a bad day filled with travel nightmares.
I found Portofino’s on Unilocal,and even though I called exactly at their closing time, they graciously took my order over the phone, and had a hot, fresh pizza waiting when we arrived. Briefly told them my sad travel story when we got there, and they could not have been nicer, more sympathetic, or more accommodating.
They allowed us to stay and eat in the restaurant (again, after the official closing time), refreshed our drinks, and checked on us several times. All this for a $ 14 pizza order.
I don’t know when I’ll be back in Gastonia, but it would be worth a special trip back to be treated so kindly.
Oh yeah, and the mushroom pizza was darned tasty!

I’m sorry to knock you down a peg, Portofino’s, but I kinda have to. You see, I come from the land of lasagna, the place of pasta, the grove of gnocchi (sorry, that one was a stretch). No, not the old country, but a slice of it in Western PA. Sunday dinner at Grandma’s house was no joke. We’re serious about the sauce.
I have heard the pizza here is ah-​mah-​zing, but I wanted to try an old favorite — manicotti. I haven’t had it since the last time my mom made it, but I was highly disappointed. The shells were so thick, it kind of ruined the experience for me. The filling was good, and I really do like their sauce, but that shell just threw me off. Not thin and airy like my mama’s. Also, I ordered a glass of vino and they served it to me in a glass that just came out of the dishwasher, so it was warm, which was kind of gross.
I hope I can go back and try the pizza, hopefully it will be a better experience, because I want to love P-fino’s.