Best In the Northwest
DESCRIPTION: Portofino is without a doubt the best Italian Restaurant I have ever experienced. I recently went to Sellwood and tried for dinner at Gino's, located a few doors down from Portofino. The service was rude and made me feel as though we were an inconvenience to them. After 25 minutes of waiting for a server to take our order, we decided to leave and find a more inviting environment. As we walked just a few doors down, we saw Portofino and decided to go in. The server promptly greeted us with an infectious smile and we felt like royalty the entire time we were there. The Cosmopolitans we had to start with were a great first drink. Try the Trentadue Petite Syrah with dinner. Excellent wine to pair with awesome food. Don't miss the Gnocchi Gorgonzola appetizer, it is amazing. For dinner, I would recommend the incredible Chicken Canneloni with their famous creamy tomato vodka sauce. My friend had the Veal Saltimboca, which was incredible. Veal so tender, no need for a knife!!! His wife had the Filet Mignon and described it as the most enjoyable thing her tongue has ever encountered. For Dessert, try one of their authentic Italian Desserts or, my favorite, the homemade Tiramisu, made right there at the restaurant. While dining, we had the great pleasure of joining in on the celebration of a couple other table's birthday celebration, as our charismatic server sang beautiful renditions of Happy Birthday, followed by a couple of selections from his own music library. The owner, who has lived a lot of different life experiences, as we learned having a delightful conversation with him, made us an amazing after dinner drink. He called it the Velvet Hammer. A delicious chilled coffee drink. All in all, the experience was incredible. From now on, when it's Italian, it's Portofino.
DATE: 2003-05-18
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 8
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 10
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Chicken Canneloni, Filet Mignon, Veal Saltimboca

tart cherry cheesecake
DESCRIPTION: This was the best cheesecake I have ever tasted. It had a softer, more elegant texture and the cherries were just the right degree of tart/sweet to balance the cheese filling. The crust was also good, though I wonder how almonds would be in it....
DATE: 2004-01-15
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Cheesecake, Steak, pasta dishes

Who's the chef?
DESCRIPTION: I always enjoy eating at da Vinci's, especially trying their specials of the day. The chef is obviously skilled in preparing dishes to taste their absolute best. Certain foods that could easily be ruined by too much of this or that are superbly handled by this artisan. My compliments!
DATE: 2000-02-24
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 8
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : The chopinio and anything with gorgonzola!