TLDR: Every pizza here is excellent, but I think the biggest testament is that Portofino can get me to enjoy a white sauce pizza, which is impressive. Extended version, love it here and go out of my way to come back. The view of the riverwalk, the FOOD, everyone who works there has been nothing but kind, I've sincerely always enjoyed myself here. It's easily my favorite place to bring out of towers before doing any activity in River North - last time was the architecture boat tour and our server was GREAT at helping us pace everything we wanted to order and still make our boat time without running. A standout on the menu was the Portuguese octopus appetizer. I order it whenever I see it on a menu and this is one of my favorites in the city for the sauce they serve it with alone. Get this and the side of fries to dip in the sauce when you're done. Everything here rocks and is worth making the silly reservation a month out just do it

I had such a lovely time here! It was a bit chilly (~60 degree night in early October) but sitting out by the river was still so nice! It is kind of windy though so make sure to layer up. We shared 3 dishes between 3 people, and the portions were so much larger than I was expecting! We finished everything and I was absolutely stuffed. I enjoyed every dish! The Prosciutto San Daniele was so good and came with so much for an appetizer! The prosciutto was great, the whipped ricotta was creamy and delicious, and the focaccia bread was garlicy and had a perfect texture! The Italian Sausage and Fennel pizza was very good, I feel like it was the first time in a long time I really appreciated the flavor and texture of the crust. The italian sausage and caramelized onions were yummy and all the flavors worked together nicely. The cacio e pepe pasta was pretty good, very simple so I feel like it complemented the more rich dishes we ordered very nicely. Overall, I would definitely come again (hopefully sometime in the summer) and would recommend!

Wow, what an incredible experience at Pizzeria Portofino! My wife and I were celebrating her special birthday, and thanks to Matt from corporate, every detail was perfectly planned for the occasion. The restaurant customized the menu with a Happy Birthday message which was a great surprise. The food was outstanding from start to finish. We began with the garlic bread and Mediterranean salad, both absolutely delicious. For our main dishes, we indulged in the Rigatoni in Vodka sauce and the Three Cheese Truffle Pizza--both were bursting with flavor and thoroughly enjoyable. Sitting on the expansive riverfront patio, we were treated to breathtaking views of the Chicago River and skyline, which added an extra touch of magic to our experience. Our server, Rachel, was friendly, attentive, and truly made the experience memorable. She surprised my wife with an unforgettable Nutella cookie dessert, topped with salted caramel ice cream and a sparkler, which was absolutely to die for. Overall, it was fantastic, and we can't wait to dine here again!

Had a great first meal here. A 1:45p reservation was the only time available for the weekend. We arrived a few mins early, i asked to sit on the patio bc there were a lot of open tables and told they were all reserved. So we were sat inside, it was hot af in there. The remainder of our visit, the tables outside were never occupied. The charred octopus and lemon potatoes were my favorite. The pepperoni pizza was also delicious and we got a side of the spicy honey for drizzle. We also had an order of the meatballs, forgot the pic of those but the three large meatballs were a perfect starter to the meal. Will def return.

This place sure knows how to bring a piece of Italy to the states. Italy is my dream destination so dining here had me daydreaming. Let me just start off by saying, why did I wait so long to visit Chicago? I will never stop saying that. Chicago in the summer is truly unmatched and I am saddened to know that people knew about this wonderful experience and chose to leave me out the loop! Better late than never I suppose. Sitting right on the river with a fantastic view, even from the inside, we were quickly greeted and although we didn't have a reservation (rookie mistake), we were seated rather quickly. Do they take resys? Wouldn't even know, lol! Anyhow, first order of business; drinks! Hello! when in an Ital(ian) restaurant you order a spritz. Very summery, very demure right? In my case, I ordered the Amalfi Spritz; limoncello, prosecco and pinot grigio and then the watermelon splendido. Michael was our server. He gave great suggestions and he was very attentive in an otherwise very busy, mildly chaotic establishment (don't worry, the good kind of chaos!). the FOOD! Omg incredible. Hats off to the chef because he/she put their foot, elbow, pinky and thumb in that food (it's an expression that means the food was incredibly delicious ya'll please!). The charred pepperoni pizza... listen. That pizza deserves an award. I am convinced it's the Portofino hot honey. We were contemplating whether we should order another. You can never go wrong with a great caesar salad and we are here for the pizza and salad balance. We also had to try a pasta, and in my long pasta eating history, rigatoni never stirred me wrong. Whipped burrata me please and thank you! Oh we didn't stop there. We looked over to another table and we spotted mussels, so we of course had to try them. The bar harbour mussels, 10/10. I am thoroughly convinced there isn't a single bad dish on this menu. Ya'll go visit and prove me right

We were in Chicago for a nice weekend and went to lunch for my birthday on August 10, 2024. The weather was beautiful, temp in the upper to mid 70s so we sat outside. The service was amazing and they had a special appetizer of strawberry bruschetta which was delicious. Then we shared a pepperoni pizza and the salmon entrée - pizza great, salmon was perfectly seasoned and fresh. Everything was amazing and it was a wonderful experience! Highly recommended!

We were really hoping to get the chance to dine at Pizzeria Portofino, and we came in as a walk-in party during lunch on a Monday. To our delight, we were immediately seated! The ambiance in here is so cute, bright, and hip. There is also a patio along the river (that you can be seated at for an additional fee per person). Even though we weren't outside, the sliding windows were open, so we could catch glimpses of the water. The food here is AMAZING!! I usually associate river walk restaurants with overpriced and mediocre food, but this place blew us away. We started with the strawberry bruschetta, which was the perfect texture of crunchy bread and soft cheese. The bread was awesome. We also split two pastas - the vodka rigatoni and the pesto. I had trouble picking with one I liked most! Would highly recommend all three of those selections, but the other food on the menu looked amazing as well. The only issues to note were on the service side. Our waiter was kind of MIA for a period of time (took a while to come take our orders, didn't fill up our empty waters for a bit), but it was really busy at the time and we still loved the experience. If you pay online, 25% tip is automatically selected - so make sure you double check before clicking confirm if you want to change that amount.

Love the atmosphere and the interior decorations. It was a fun spot to stop by with my friends for dinner. Both sitting inside and outside are great: outside, you get the river, and inside, the moody lighting and overall look of the restaurant is really nice. I tried the Pesto Genovese was pretty good. The pesto was a little runnier than I would have liked, but I ate the whole plate! Their pizza is thin crust (which is the best), and my friends really enjoyed the margharita pizza. Overall, would definitely come back!

I've been told Pizzeria Portofino is one of the harder reservations to get so we braved the heat to come here on a Monday evening. We sat at the beautiful riverfront patio which looks towards the Loop. For starters, we tried the parmesan fries and the strawberry bruschetta. The bruschetta feels almost like a dessert item but the richness of the strawberry was delicious. The fries were also fantastic. Next, I had the pepperoni pizza. It was pretty good but didn't shine the same way the starters did. I would've liked a little more substance to my crust but it was delicious nonetheless. For drinks, we had the River North and the Amalfi. They were both very refreshing but the River North was more my style. Unfortunately, the Portofino purses were broken, so I guess I will have to come back and try it some other time.