We eat here every time we’re on the island and they never disappoint! Homemade pasta…yum!
Jess
In our opinion, this beachside Italian fine dining restaurant remains a must for anyone visiting Lihue. Great food, service and atmosphere. The pastas are simply incredible.
Elise
Different for us to have excellent Italian food in Kauai. Great menu choices. Excellent service. Best surprise was the violin music that was perfect for the restaurant and setting.
Jordan
Ok. So, this place was really disappointing. The interior of overly dated and formal for Kauai, despite a lovely large covered patio. The whole place looks like a banquet room in a hotel or on a cruise ship; but shabbier. Seriously awkward experience where waitstaff were obviously uncomfortable and/or bored. Our res was early to catch our flight, but the place was very big, and very empty, with no happy hour crowd, and the floor is set up so that there's no way for it to not be empty and awkward. Food was actually decent, but didn't make up for the awkward vibe. The whole area caters to the resort and cruise ship crowd and this place is no exception. Parking was difficult to find as was the entrance to the restaurant, in comparison with the neighboring restaurant. They clearly do a robust (wood fired?) pizza/takeout business which may be the way to go. All in all, this was one of the most laughably awkward dining experiences we've had anywhere, let alone on Kauai. 3 stars feels generous and is for food quality alone.
Steve
Our first meal on vacation - June 2025. We dined late (8:30) and decided to sit outside. We started with Traditional Calamari fritti and it was amazing, lightly breaded and mostly rings, just one tentacle. The bread was freshly baked and had a hard crunchy crust. We also ordered the garlic bread - visually was beautiful but not my favorite. Amazing service from Nat! Made us feel right at home and provided great insights about the island. Family Entrees: Trofie Al Pesto $25. Genovese pasta in homemade pesto cream sauce topped with pine nuts. Added chicken. Fettuccine Alfredo $26. Flat egg pasta in a rich cream and parmesan sauce. Spaghettini Alla Marinara $22. pasta in a fresh tomato and basil sauce. Pollo Porcini $38. chicken sautéed with a light porcini mushroom cream sauce. Meal also came with roasted vegetables and a carrot soufflé. The chicken was so tender and very thin. Excellent meal.
Jeanette
Family dinner (6 adults) - we enjoyed thoroughly! Great service and wonderful food. Thank you for taking such good care of our table.
Catherine
The restaurant is in a beautiful location with views of the bay. The service was excellent. Unfortunately, those are the only two things the restaurant has going for it. The decor is leftover hotel ballroom - no ambviance. The food was inedible, literally. The salad was so old that the lettuce was almost completely tinged with orange. I could not eat it. The fish was rubbery and old and the sauce really badly done. We could not eat most of the meal. Do not go here.
Bob
Great Food and service. I highly recommend Cafe Portofino for a wonderful dining experience.
Richard
Nice view of the water. The staff is friendly and they provide good service. The food was great, we enjoyed everything we ordered. It small and tables are close together, but the place is great for a nice evening dinner. The cocktails were a tab strong. They also had live music the 2 times we were there. The second time we ate there we just had pizza in the back area by the bar.
Jay
Service was great. Chicken Marsala and the Carbonara were wonderful. Lovely setting and and enjoyable time.
The food was really quite good. The venue also was beautiful. However the restaurant seemed to be suffering from staffing issues which resulted in long wait times. It took us about 25 minutes from being seated to have the opportunity to submit our first part of the order. The cocktails were ok with the exception of the espresso martini which was amazing.
Davo Paul
Wife and I had a beautiful time there! Great service from Francesco! Great view! Loved it! Will be back!
Bradley
First off the service was amazing! I ordered the lamb medium rare and it was at least medium to medium well, my bad for not sending back but I should not of had to. My wife have the Diablo pasta it was very good in taste, but cold. We are on the island often, but there is to many choices to come back here again.
James
Both food and service are spotty. One trip it is excellent, next trip it is not so good. Went there twice on recent trip and had great meal and service the first time, not so good on second trip as food wasn't as good and same waiter wasn't as good, even though we tipped him 20% on first trip. Went back for pizza on final night and suggested wine was awful, got them to give me another glass, one pizza delivered with wrong ingredients, waiter knew it but didn't offer to fix, service was sub-par. We really like the place for both food and ambiance but they need to improve their consistency and service.
MARIE
Two things took away from this dining experience. First was the shrimp in the scampi was undercooked for my taste, second the bill we received was incorrect. They offered to comp us a free dessert and the hostess gave me her personal cell number to call in case the refund and rebill didn't process correctly. All in all a lovely place. Just not my day I guess.
We eat here every time we’re on the island and they never disappoint! Homemade pasta…yum!
In our opinion, this beachside Italian fine dining restaurant remains a must for anyone visiting Lihue. Great food, service and atmosphere. The pastas are simply incredible.
Different for us to have excellent Italian food in Kauai. Great menu choices. Excellent service. Best surprise was the violin music that was perfect for the restaurant and setting.
Ok. So, this place was really disappointing. The interior of overly dated and formal for Kauai, despite a lovely large covered patio. The whole place looks like a banquet room in a hotel or on a cruise ship; but shabbier. Seriously awkward experience where waitstaff were obviously uncomfortable and/or bored. Our res was early to catch our flight, but the place was very big, and very empty, with no happy hour crowd, and the floor is set up so that there's no way for it to not be empty and awkward. Food was actually decent, but didn't make up for the awkward vibe. The whole area caters to the resort and cruise ship crowd and this place is no exception. Parking was difficult to find as was the entrance to the restaurant, in comparison with the neighboring restaurant. They clearly do a robust (wood fired?) pizza/takeout business which may be the way to go. All in all, this was one of the most laughably awkward dining experiences we've had anywhere, let alone on Kauai. 3 stars feels generous and is for food quality alone.
Our first meal on vacation - June 2025. We dined late (8:30) and decided to sit outside. We started with Traditional Calamari fritti and it was amazing, lightly breaded and mostly rings, just one tentacle. The bread was freshly baked and had a hard crunchy crust. We also ordered the garlic bread - visually was beautiful but not my favorite. Amazing service from Nat! Made us feel right at home and provided great insights about the island. Family Entrees: Trofie Al Pesto $25. Genovese pasta in homemade pesto cream sauce topped with pine nuts. Added chicken. Fettuccine Alfredo $26. Flat egg pasta in a rich cream and parmesan sauce. Spaghettini Alla Marinara $22. pasta in a fresh tomato and basil sauce. Pollo Porcini $38. chicken sautéed with a light porcini mushroom cream sauce. Meal also came with roasted vegetables and a carrot soufflé. The chicken was so tender and very thin. Excellent meal.
Family dinner (6 adults) - we enjoyed thoroughly! Great service and wonderful food. Thank you for taking such good care of our table.
The restaurant is in a beautiful location with views of the bay. The service was excellent. Unfortunately, those are the only two things the restaurant has going for it. The decor is leftover hotel ballroom - no ambviance. The food was inedible, literally. The salad was so old that the lettuce was almost completely tinged with orange. I could not eat it. The fish was rubbery and old and the sauce really badly done. We could not eat most of the meal. Do not go here.
Great Food and service. I highly recommend Cafe Portofino for a wonderful dining experience.
Nice view of the water. The staff is friendly and they provide good service. The food was great, we enjoyed everything we ordered. It small and tables are close together, but the place is great for a nice evening dinner. The cocktails were a tab strong. They also had live music the 2 times we were there. The second time we ate there we just had pizza in the back area by the bar.
Service was great. Chicken Marsala and the Carbonara were wonderful. Lovely setting and and enjoyable time.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was really quite good. The venue also was beautiful. However the restaurant seemed to be suffering from staffing issues which resulted in long wait times. It took us about 25 minutes from being seated to have the opportunity to submit our first part of the order. The cocktails were ok with the exception of the espresso martini which was amazing.
Wife and I had a beautiful time there! Great service from Francesco! Great view! Loved it! Will be back!
First off the service was amazing! I ordered the lamb medium rare and it was at least medium to medium well, my bad for not sending back but I should not of had to. My wife have the Diablo pasta it was very good in taste, but cold. We are on the island often, but there is to many choices to come back here again.
Both food and service are spotty. One trip it is excellent, next trip it is not so good. Went there twice on recent trip and had great meal and service the first time, not so good on second trip as food wasn't as good and same waiter wasn't as good, even though we tipped him 20% on first trip. Went back for pizza on final night and suggested wine was awful, got them to give me another glass, one pizza delivered with wrong ingredients, waiter knew it but didn't offer to fix, service was sub-par. We really like the place for both food and ambiance but they need to improve their consistency and service.
Two things took away from this dining experience. First was the shrimp in the scampi was undercooked for my taste, second the bill we received was incorrect. They offered to comp us a free dessert and the hostess gave me her personal cell number to call in case the refund and rebill didn't process correctly. All in all a lovely place. Just not my day I guess.
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