The Restaurant
On Oct. 7th, the last night of our honeymoon in Kauai, my husband and I went to Cafe Portofino with a reservation. The owner himself gave us the worst table (too much traffic) although there were many tables available. (By the way, I wore a dress and my husband was in short pants and polo shirt.) We got a nice table outside after requesting our waitress for another table. The dinner was good....until we found a piece of plastic wrap in his meal, egg plant parmigiana. The waitress was very sorry and reported it to the chef and the owner. Neither of them came to our table for an apology. Moreover, the restaurant charged us for a full dinner....without any discount for the meal contained a piece of plastic wrap. When we left the restaurant, we saw the owner having his own dinner and chatting his bartender. It is very clear that the owner does not care about the cust    [16 Oct 2001 19:40:10]

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Recommended Dishes: egg plant parmigiana....? (see what's in it)

     ­Anonymous   

Pity this is the only Italian restaurant in Lihue
We've sampled most of the menu here. Most dishes here seem prepared too far ahead, are overpriced and lack real Italian flavor pizzaz. Salads are miniscule for the money. The basic wine list is super market stuff, but priced like boutique wines elsewhere on Kauai. There is also an over-expensive "private cellar" selection, but no middle ground. The wines served by the glass taste like box wine. Frequent staff changes result in poor service. Typical wait for a drink is twenty minutes. Food service is not much faster.    [21 Oct 2001 18:38:59]

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Recommended Dishes: Pasta Marinara is generally good.

     ­Anonymous   

Good Meal Had by All
After being asked our seating preference, we accepted a table on the outdoor patio overlooking the harbor shopping area. Our orders were promptly taken and our meals arrived after about 15 minutes. Each item was very well prepared. Desert was equally good and very ample (we were forced by full stomachs to stop before completing the deserts). All in all, I would strongly recommend this restaurant to anyone finding themselves in the Lihue area and in the mood for Italian.    [05 Jan 2003 01:12:40]

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Recommended Dishes: Canelloni, Scampi

     ­Buckberger   

We just showed up for an early dinner in May of 2003, at Cafe Portofino because of many friends that had 'highly' recommended it. It was everything that they had 'raved' about and even more. Great 'house wine,' and our veal dinners - outstanding. Service with our waitress was great. This restaurant should not to be missed in Kauai - it's part of the romance of the Island.    [12 Jun 2003 00:49:47]

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Recommended Dishes: Veal - any dish with...

     ­Vigil's from San Diego   

Very poor service
Poor food quality. Very Poor service. Owner had a lot of excuses. The awards are not current. He should be forced to remove them from his ads. Gourmet would cringe if they ate there now.    [25 Aug 2004 12:45:51]

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     ­Anonymous   

The food is great, but your kids are not welcome!
I have been a customer of Cafe Portofino for 11 years, and have always enjoyed the food and hospitality. Last week, my family and I were in Kauai, and I called to make reservations for 5 or 5:30....not exactly peak hours there. I told the person I would need to be seated somewhere such that my kids would not disturb anyone. (My kids are not complete monsters, but are typical two year olds.)

I was told, "Maam, this is a fine dining restaurant." Clear implication.....we were not welcome there. I was livid, and walked over to the restaurant at 5:30 (the appointed time) and found it empty except for about 2 tables!

I told Guiseppe (the owner) what had happened and mentioned how upsetting this was to me, as a long term and loyal customer. He said that he had 25 employees and could not control them. Huh? Last time I checked, he is the owner. In my mind, he totally failed to take ownership of the problem.

I will never dine there again.    [01 Jul 2005 12:43:22]

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Recommended Dishes: Penne Salsiccia

     ­Anonymous, San Jose, CA   

A Great Restaurant!
First of all I have read the reviews at this site and what bothers me are the individuals that complain about the resturant but do not have the courage to give their name and instead sign it aonoymous... if you want to complain give a name!
My wife and I vacation to Kauai almost every year for the past 18 years and have eaten at the Portofino many, many times and have always enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere, and will again when we are there for two weeks next week.    [15 Sep 2005 15:35:36]

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Recommended Dishes: Osso Buco

     ­Walter and Jean Patti   

Excellent Restaurant
We had dinner at Cafe Portifino on Friday, Oct. 20th 2006. We were seated at a great table, overlooking the bay. The scampi was outstanding, cooked just perfect. And the potatoes, much like scalloped potatoes were the best we've ever tasted. In fact, my husband is not a potato eater and he finished every last bite,saying he has never had potatoes so good. Can we get the receipe for them?
We will return to Cafe Portafino next trip, next year, to Kauai. We recommend it highly.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert E. & Mrs. Virginia I. Sprott
Napa, CA    [24 Oct 2006 17:27:46]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Potatoes (like scalloped), scampi, veal dishes, cannaloni

     ­Dr. Robert & Mrs. Virginia Sprott   drsprott at comcast dot net