Porto-Bello Restaurant

First off, dirty plates. Secondly service was mediocre. The place looked tacky and for a place that charges $ 25 – 30 for a plate the décor was terrible. I decided to give this place the benefit of the and looked past all that, but to top it off, I found hair in my food. The waitress denied it was hair and did not apologize. The owner came out and asked what we wanted him to do because «things happen». Did not apologize and walked away. Never going there again.

My husband and I tried this place out this past weekend, ⁴⁄₉ after walking away from two other restaurants in the neighborhood due to 45 minute, or more, waits. This place was basically empty, maybe 2 or 3 other tables. The host did let us know there would be live entertainment shortly & we appreciated the heads up.
The place filled up as the night went on (we probably arrived about 7:30 pm) and it got a bit lively & loud, which is perfectly fine as we were almost done with our meal. The homemade Sangria really feels like red wine with some fruit slices in it. (I am not a red drinker either) so we returned it and the waitress removed it from our bill. Another appreciated gesture. We had the lamb shank and the pork chops, which we both enjoyed (though we wished we had more roasted potatoes than offered).
However, it took us about 45 minutes to get out of there. The hostess informed us that the bartender just walked out and they were extremely short staffed & asked us to bear with. Our waitress, in fact, never returned. As I was observing the place (you can see the entire restaurant from wherever you sit), I noticed the hostess hustling from bar to kitchen, to table and back. I noticed another waitress just basically sauntering around as if there weren’t tables to be taken care of. We finally got the lackadaisical waitress to clear our table and another wait for the bill. I don’t mean a 3 – 4 minute wait, I mean 12 – 15 minutes. And we were waiting so long for her to pick the check up my husband actually left to go to an ATM to get cash because he couldn’t imagine how long it would take to come back. Unfortunately I didn’t tell him to break some of the bills so we didn’t have to wait for change. Another unnecessary wait.
My husband even spoke to the owner about it was well. And while I was waiting for my change, by the door, another patron approached me to ask me if it was just her or was something screwy going on around there.
I really enjoyed their food (not so much their hiked up prices but so be it) and would like to try the place again with the knowledge that this was just an unfortunate incident. However, I feel like if I ever go again, I’ll be calling first to make sure they are properly staffed for the evening.

Not bad. better than average.

We will never go there again! My sister found a hair in her food and because she had already eaten most of her meal, they apologized but didn’t offer anything! They are quite expensive and the food was not that good! At least they didn’t charge extra for the hair! Ha!

Paint night was awesome but the bartending staff needs to get their shit together. They were clearly fighting with each other which is super unprofessional. I don’t appreciate an attitude bc you’re not getting along with your coworker. I don’t mind waiting for drinks but a little friendliness goes a long way. Then the food I ordered never came. When I went to cash out along with everyone else, there seemed to be too much confusion for what was not that busy of nights. Overall I was bummed I didn’t get to try the food and doubt that I will ever go back. Get it together especially if you’re a participating restaurant in paint night.

OMG. I got the Groupon for this restauraunt. I came all the way from Manchester nh. I’ve been to 100s of restaurants in my life and this is now and will always be my favorite. The food was just absolutely amazing. The inside was so awesome. If you want a place that will cater to your mouth. This is the place.
Me and my date cannot stop thinking about going back. Chicken parm a 10. Seafood casserole a 10
They have so many choices from Portuguese to American. I feel so strongly that you will love this place I will refund your money back. :)))
On the review from 2015. I was told they changed the inside 100 percent late last year.

We tried this place on a Thursday evening, the food was excellent. I had the lobster ravioli and hubs had the chicken parm. Our waitresses couldn’t have been nicer. We were told that on Fridays they do pizza to go, we came back the following week to give it a try… OMG so good. We are so happy we found this little gem of a place we will be back… (Ps bathrooms immaculate !!)

Love the new renovations. Food and service was excellent. Can’t wait to go back when it’s warm and try the outside patio.

I eat bruschetta everywhere go, not just in Boston and no place compares to this place for that. It’s the best I’ve ever had.

Been here once a long time ago! Thought we’d try it again as we heard things had improved. So it was true it did improve! The food was great! However, the service was slow. My feeling is they did not have enough staff. Our waitress was great, I just felt she was overwhelmed!

Small portion for price. And I am not a big eater. Food was tasty. Overpriced. Will not return.

«prices subject to change without notice» from 19.99 on the website to 25.99 when you go in. Just sayin’…

When I first moved to Wakefield I was very interested to try this restaurant as it is walking distance from my house. They seemed to be closed a lot but finally we caught them when they were open. The décor is overwhelming and dusty. The first words out of the servers mouth were «do you have a groupon or something?» Is it so hard to believe that I would show up without some sort of incentive? The food was very overpriced and pretty bad. The worst part was when I asked about desert. The server brought over this desert tray and one of the deserts was MOLDY! My husband and I now joke that this restaurant must be a money laundering front because it is always empty and the prices are insane so I cannot understand how it stays open.

I went here with my family on a week night, my mom had a groupon.
We started with the stuffed clams and bruschetta, both were excellent! It was 3 stuffed clams per order and 5 pieces of bruschetta, so depending on your party you may need multiple orders.
For entrees, everyone was very pleased with their dishes. I got the tortellini with prosciutto in a light cream sauce which was very good, great flavors. My Mom got the mussels (special that night) that she enjoyed. My sister got the gnocchi Portobello which she loved and my boyfriend got chicken francese, it was a huge piece of chicken! Everyone ate their entire dish, so portions are on the small size, but enough food that we couldn’t order any dessert.
No 5^th star for prices — high for the location.

Me and a couple friends went here on a Friday night for dinner. We got great deal on a $ 50 Groupon, otherwise we would have not have been eating here. We had a 6:00 reservation. When we arrived, it looked closed because no one was inside. We tried a couple doors until we found the one that opened. We got in and yes, the place was empty except one couple.
They sat us in a booth covered with teal vinyl that sprung when you sat on it. The décor included old plastic ivy threaded through unfinished Home Depot latticework on the ceilings. The floors were an old linoleum probably from the late 80’s/early 90’s. The tables themselves had tablecloths but were covered in an uncomfortable thick plate of glass. The menus looked like they came from a small town diner. The music was sappy new-​age Italian operatic played over an annoyingly loud and staticy speaker. The men’s bathroom was unlit; the floor had a strange stickiness to it, as if someone had eaten a bunch of Jolly Ranchers and spit them all over the floor. If you could imagine an ‘Olive Garden’ being planted in the food court of a Kmart, you might get an idea for the feel of the place.
The prices were sky-​high. One friend and I got the gnocchi with prosciutto for about $ 21. My other friend had the eggplant parmesan with pasta for somewhere around $ 25. The food was hideous. My gnocchi were fine but sat on a thin layer of grease. The prosciutto was the lowest quality they could find — salty to the point of being borderline inedible (and yes, believe me it was. Imagine the saltiest bacon you could find and double it. And I LOVE prosciutto but left it uneaten on the plate). The eggplant parm was ghastly. Underseasoned and greasy, something my grandma would make if she had just found a recipe on Pinterest and was giving it a go for the first time. The sauce for the pasta was fresh-​from-​the-​can, unseasoned, complete boringness.
The waitresses were half dead. The looks on their faces were as if to say «why are you eating here?» And we wondered the same thing. With SO MANY options on the North Shore, especially in THIS price range ($ 22-​$ 30 meals), why would anyone eat here? The entire time we joked about being in an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Kitchen Nightmares’. We got a laugh out of it because we had the Groupon. But if we had paid full price for this meal ($ 70+ for three with only waters to drink and no salads (no, salad is not included with the meal)), we would have been livid. I would have refused to pay.
Why ruin a perfectly good night going here? Your date will not be impressed. Take her somewhere twice as good for half the price.

Service was great! We used a Groupon — $ 25 for $ 50 and it was WELL worth the price. I had the butternut squash ravioli, which was perfect. For drinks I started with a grey goose Martini up with a twist, but it was a little heavy on the vermouth. Following that I had a glass of house malbec which was great, and their chocolate espresso Martini for desert, which was delicious.
Overall we had a great experience, and the server even gave us a coupon for a return visit to save on the next meal. Seems to be sort of an older atmosphere, but as someone in their mid 20s I still didn’t feel out of place, which was nice, too. We’ll be back!

The first tip off this was going to be a bad experience was finding this place with no real sign making the outside. The second tip off was there was only 5 people in there on a Saturday night.
The restaurant is SO outdated it isn’t even funny. The plastic vines overhead, god only knows when they were last cleaned, is truly tacky and made me wonder what could be falling onto our table.
We ordered our food, I ordered the Costata Portabella and my wife ordered the Pollo Marsala. My steak was so thin it probably took three minutes to cook! My wife who did not say anything till we left said it was the worst meal she has ever had. Not to mention while they were cooking, which took 45 minutes, the whole dining room filled with smoke!!! Absolutely one of the worst restaurant experiences I have EVER had! One of the worst dining experiences in my entire life!
I always believe in second chances but I am honestly afraid to go back!

It had been years since I ate at Porto Bello’s. The last time I was there, the service was terrible, and they nickled & dimed us (charged for extra marinara sauce as there wasn’t enough with the dish). I saw a groupon deal pop up for them, so decided to give them another shot, but as you can see from my rating, I wasn’t really impressed.
Ambiance — It’s a small place located in a strip mall on Main St. It’s very dark in there, and when driving by, it often looks like they’re closed (as it’s so dark). Inside, the look in feel is simple but nice.
Service — There was only one waitress handling the floor, and once 5 tables were seated, she struggled a bit to keep up. I felt a bit of up-​selling pressure on every order, which is a bit annoying, but whatever.
Quantity — We ordered the Chicken Frances, Gnocci, and Butternut Squash ravioli. All portion sizes were decent.
Quality — Food was good. The chicken frances was just a $ 2 chicken breast, nothing special. The sauce with the gnocci was very rich and herby (lots of sage). The ravioli was very plump and filled nicely.
Value — They charge $ 2.75 per soda, and don’t offer free refills. Reminded me of the last time I was there… $ 27 for gnocci is steep, $ 22 for 1 chicken breast and fettuccine is also pricey. We definitely spent more than we were expecting for a mediocre meal.
Overall — It’ll probably be another 5 years before I go back. The service was ok, the food quantity and quality were ok, but definitely not worth the price-​tag. $ 2.75 per soda, without refills is absurd to me, was I at a movie theater? $ 1.50 a soda and no refills, or $ 3 with endless refills, choose one.

This place kind of reminds of the dinner version of Neighborhood Restaurant and Bakery.
The portions are huge and delicious!
The wait staff were friendly.
The pork chop with figs was my favorite out of the dishes we got!
Only down side was they had veal parmesan but not chicken and they don’t do substitutions which is a little limiting since the place on a Friday evening was half empty.
P.S, The house sangria is indeed tasty and refreshing!

Echoing the other reviews — the seating/​reservation arrangement is very strange. We made a 7:00 reservation and showed up 20 minutes earlier, but we were asked to wait even though half the restaurant is empty.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is romantic, and it’s slightly dressy — I was definitely out of place in shorts. The services were lukewarm. The food was decent, probably deserves a 3 star on its own, but not excellent. I got the salmon fettuccini con shrimp in pomodoro sauce, the shrimp was great — properly cooked and tasty and the sauce was quite yummy. But the salmon was lingering between a cooked and uncooked state, I finished eating it and was still unsure whether the inside was still raw. The sundried tomato was strange tasting, it’s very big and almost tasted like apricot and the flavor was very heavy and sour, definitely not what I am used to for sundried tomato. The peas are a little hard and undercooked. Bf got the chicken with penne in a cream sauce, the sauce was on the lighter side which is good, but the chicken was cooked a little tough.
We did have a Groupon ($ 25 for $ 50) so it was okay for the price we paid. But for the regular price of around ~$ 20 a dish, it’s definitely steep for the quality of food and service. I would hit up North End for a better meal.