Portale

First dinner at Portale. Exceptional.Being in the interior design business, there are a few flaws in the space but not bad enough to elaborate on. It's a white modern interior that isn't "cold". White painted barn wood walls and modern art is the look. It was also pretty quiet even though the place was packed.We ordered 3 of their specialty cocktails and they were all worth getting again. Compliments to the bar staff.The pasta dishes are all beautifully plated and delicious. The focaccia is an art piece of its own...a beautiful perfect little crunchy loaf that hides olives in a beautiful cavern like interior.We only had the pasta dishes this time, but can't wait to return for the more hearty fare.I was a little leary of the reports of the waitstaff being "abrupt". We didn't see a problem although the bus boys were a little too eager to clear plates. Not a real problem though. All in all, highly recommend this place.And they even brought us complimentary dessert wine after our olive oil cake which was excellent.

Came here between Xmas and New Years for a dinner date with my husband and couldn't have asked for a better experience. Warm cozy and beautiful atmosphere with excellent and friendly service, and spectacular food. Idk if others comment on bathrooms but I always care about these little details, and their bathrooms are all individual and spacious, smell amazing, and beautiful! I'm glad I read other yelp reviews to help guide what we'd order because we were certainly not disappointed. I had the Lobster Mafaldine and my husband had the duck breast. My pasta was SO delicious it was hard to be willing to share more than one bite with my own hubs! The pasta itself was delicious too - many places have the pasta rely on the sauce for taste but this place gets it perfect. Duck was amazing too.Focaccia like everyone says is a MUST - this is no ordinary focaccia! So crusty hot and has olives in the bread, yum!I also ordered the olive oil cake which many other reviews recommended and I like theirs more than L'artusi! The outside had a nice crunch but was so soft inside. Can't wait to come back and try the other stuff on the menu! Sadly none of my own photos do the food justice but I see other photos here that do a good job!

A true 5 star experience. To understand the excellence of Portale, it's important to have some context on the history behind it. If you're in your 30s or older, you hopefully had the pleasure of dining at Gotham Bar & Grille at some point in the 80s, 90s or earlier 2000s. If you're younger and unfamiliar - Gotham was a NYC staple for 40 years before it closed more recently. It was known for its consistency, excellence across a wide variety of dishes, and culinary creativity. It was hard to have a bad meal there. One of the main forces behind this culinary institution was Alfred Portale - the head chef for over 3 decades. He's as influential a chef as they come given his role at Gotham for so many years. So it was a big deal when he stepped out to open his own restaurant. Enter Portale - a much smaller, cozier, but equally excellent culinary experience. Here's the breakdown:FOOD: definite 5 stars, no question. What makes this place so amazing is their ability to deliver across so many different cuisines, dishes and food types. Whether it's a Caesar salad, a shrimp cocktail, a homemade pasta, a perfectly seared duck breast, a piece of red meat - you name it and they do it perfectly. This is rare to find. Their appetizers are all excellent. Caesar salad is maybe the best we've ever had but you can't go wrong with any appy. Oh, and on the topic, while I'd never typically order bread to start, they did bring us their focaccia complimentary due to a wait and it was unlike any bread I've ever had. Almost like a topover, very hollow inside and crispy deliciousness outside, served with a nice ricotta and olive oil. Try it!! For mids, we did 2 pastas. Lumache which is a bolognese in a WHITE sauce with a touch of truffle. Unique and not often to find white meat sauce. If you're into a white sauce and truffle -- get it -- heavenly. Also got their mafaldine which was perfectly al dente is a semi spicy orange sauce with fresh lobster chunks and breadcrumbs. Really excellent too. After pastas we split a duck breast which was arguably the best I've had. Perfectly seared skin, beyond tender and voluptuous, perfectly flavored. A++. For dessert we did the cheesecake which was actually super tart and the least enjoyable part of the meal but not complaining relative to how good everything else was. AMBIANCE: so the space is a bit strange. Once you settle into the main room, it's a nice experience. Cozy, dimlit, well appointed. It is a bit loud but not ruin your meal loud. But the experience to get to your table can be tough and having worked in hospitality I was surprised and how seemingly little thought was put into this part of the experience. You enter to immediately hit a somewhat strangely placed coatcheck which immediately blocks traffic in and out of the restaurant. You walk through a second door to hit an equally poorly placed hostess stand which severely blocks traffic. Creates a bit of a chaotic scene upon entering which definitely isn't how I'd want to welcome customers into the first moments of my restaurant. Again, relative to the actual dining experience, not going to overindex for this but definitely the poorest experience of the night. Also, we had to wait 20 minutes for our table and the bar is also similarly awkward and super narrow so not even a good bar to be able to hang out while waiting. But again, once we got past that and into the main dining room, we had a lovely experience. SERVICE: overall, solid. Frankly, not on par with what i would've expected and what you would've gotten at Gotham. Nothing overtly wrong with it just little things that felt a tad subpar. Server was fine, but super abrupt. First time touching our table asked us if we were ready to order - zero introduction, zero prompting if we had questions, zero welcome to the restaurant. Was definitely strange. A few other service moments like this that were kind of head scratchers for a restaurant Alfred Portale is behind. But overall, service was good enough. In short - the culinary creations here are show stoppers. And the kind of menu you can't go wrong with anything you get which is super impressive. Ambiance is nice once you're inside the dining room and service won't blow you away but also won't detract from your meal. Go enjoy this wonderful establishment!!

I think Portale is underrated, especially as a pasta destination! I've been twice and both times found it to be a lovely experience all around but was particularly impressed with the food and drinks. The service and ambience were also good, though I don't have that much else to say about either. On my most recent visit, our group of four tried the following:Pane di casa (Focaccia, castelvetrano olives, rosemary, whipped ricotta, olio verde): The bread was crispy on the outside and impossibly fluffy on the inside. The olive oil/ricotta dipping combo was so good. This was perfect for our table of four, but I think it would be a bit filling for smaller parties. Our group tried three of the most excellent pastas, and at the end of the course we all played rock-paper-scissors-pointtoyourfavoritepasta (very fun, recommend playing). Each pasta was favorited by someone, which I think speaks to the quality of the full menu. My fave was the cavatelli (ricotta, arrabbiata, cilantro pesto), which featured the best possible version of a lightly spicy red sauce, creamy pesto, and fresh herbs. Simple, but fantastic! Others favored the Lobster Mafaldine, which had excellent pasta and a lobster flavor seemingly infused into its mildly spiced sauce, and the lumache (bolognese bianco, black truffle parmigiano), which was good but I thought the cheesy truffle sauce wasn't too remarkable. For a main, two of us split the branzino (broccoli rabe, confit cherry tomato eggplant purée, taggiasca olives). The fish was well-prepared and the fresh tomato puree flavor was prominent. This was good, but not as much of a highlight as the pastas. Olive oil cake is an excellent way to end the meal. The cake itself is succulent and dense, but not heavy. I especially enjoyed the little tahini-almond crumbles on top. Make sure you pair each bite with some of the berry sauce and vanilla gelato. Another great end to the meal? The espresso martini. This version has the honor of being the most espresso-forward espresso martini I've ever had. It really tasted like I was straight up having an espresso in a coupe glass. Which is great, if that's what you're after. I certainly wasn't against it!

Took the beau here for a date with great anticipation after all the positive things I've read about Portale. We were not disappointed! From the moment we stepped inside it was apparent that this restaurant is professionally run with the diners experience in mind. The smallest of details made the biggest impact. Not only is the service top notch, the food is excellent on every level. Our server, Brie, was quite busy but she never forgot the things we mentioned or asked for every time she came by. Her ability to make us feel like we were important guests is a rarity these days. The sommelier was helpful and relatable instead of pretentious and condescending. He helped us choose a very special wine. The pastas are expertly prepared, the bread baked with goodness, even the cocktails were a step above. Our budino dessert was excellent and just what we needed. We may have even ordered the cheesecake to go for later consumption. I haven't been to a restaurant of this level in some time and I can see why they appear to be thriving on a Saturday night. Thank you to everyone there who helped make this a memorable evening.

Most of the Italian spots I've tried in the city haven't really impressed me, but a friend recommended Portale and I was quite happy with our dining experience here.The ambiance was elegant and classy, and would be perfect for a date night.We started with the olive focaccia bread, which came with a ricotta cream on the side. The bread was so light and airy and had great texture. For the mains, my partner and I split the lobster pasta and the duck. I really appreciated that when we mentioned that we would split everything, they split the portion and brought out two plates--how thoughtful. Both dishes were delicious, but we definitely thought the pasta was the star--the sauce was so flavorful without being too heavy, and the pasta had great texture.We finished with an olive oil cake. Thought this was solid, but probably wouldn't get it again.

Portale is an upscale Italian restaurant. I had a wonderful time and felt the experience was very special. We were greeted warmly and no drama. Our server was patient and not pushy. Ambiance felt very upscale and noise level is perfect and music matched well with the setting. The menu was concise and easy to read. The food was cooked perfectly and seasoned wonderfully. Even though this is not a steak house the N.Y. strip was seasoned and cooked perfectly. Pasta was cooked just right and prepared nicely. What will elevate this place one day will be the plating. A bit more creative touches it would definitely be of 1-2 star Michelin quality.

This restaurant was just fantastic! I visited on my birthday back in December, but I'm finally getting around to leaving a review. I had the mafaldine, and it was heaven to my tastebuds. It was so delicious, so flavorful. They give you just enough to make you full, but also keep wanting more. The service was great as well. When we came in, we were seated at a table that just didn't feel right and they happily moved our seat to a nice half booth w/ a table. We actually ended up getting a really nice view of the restaurant.The entrance is very tight, so prepare for that. It is very cozy but still comfortable. However, if you aren't a fan of being seated very close to other diners, you miiiight not like this place but it is worth a try. I'm sure it all depends on the night, anyway! Definitely want to visit again!

From the moment you walk into, to the time you leave the staff is attentive to your needs. The drinks were amazing, and the food was so good. We had another resv at another top Italian spot but opted for here because it was closer to where we were in city. Glad we did. I Found this by scrolling on Open table and happy we did. Can not wait to go back there.

Great food, small portions, expensive, that's it. Large crowds of young people so it is very loud. Round table for three people was to large. Did I like it, for the first and last time..