Recommending a birthday dinner spot is not a task I take lightly. There are few social risks greater than choosing the restaurant that dictates the mood, photos and vibe of someone else’s celebration.
So when my friend asked for suggestions, I performed meticulous research before landing on Pizzeria Portofino — a place I had, admittedly, never been. Fortunately, the gamble paid off.
With a prime location directly along the Chicago River, Pizzeria Portofino is a trek from Northwestern, but the convenient setting and lively neighborhood chock-full of places to go make the trip worthwhile. The restaurant feels celebratory without tipping into tacky, a huge feat for many Italian-American restaurants. While it didn’t scream “traditional trattoria,” it certainly didn’t scream “vibrant, overly-decorated tourist trap” either. Pizzeria Portofino strikes a classy in-between.
On a Friday night, the restaurant was packed. We waited 15 minutes past our reservation time to be seated. Though annoying in the moment, I’ll give credit where it’s due: we secured our 8:45 p.m. reservation only a week in advance, which is practically unheard of for popular downtown restaurants.
We began with the complimentary arancini. While I appreciated the gesture and the plating, the apple flavor wasn’t my personal favorite. However, the rest of the table disagreed with me, so I’ll concede that this may simply be a matter of taste.
To make up for lost time, we ordered everything at once: fries, two pastas and a pizza. After all, we did have an extra 15 minutes to peruse the menu! Each dish arrived in an appropriate amount of time, well-paced and thoughtfully presented. Not once did we wonder when the rest of the food would arrive, and the number of dishes we ordered was more than enough for four people.
Our first shared dish, the crispy parmesan fries served with garlic aioli, was nothing short of phenomenal. While it might be hard to think of fries as the headline act, these certainly were. Perfectly crispy and salted, they were dusted with a generous helping of parmesan and came in a portion suitable for far more than four people.
Next came the pastas. The spaghetti limone (left) tasted fresh, and the noodles’ slightly thicker cut helped the flavor shine even more. However, the rigatoni vodka (right) was my absolute favorite. As someone who prefers non-spicy vodka sauce, I was relieved to find a vodka pasta dish that leaned tomatoey and creamy rather than fiery. It was also on the saltier side, but I found that the salt amplified the flavor rather than masked it.
Along with the pastas came the pizza — the charred pepperoni in what was intended to be a heart shape (for an extra $5). Was the heart perfectly defined? Not exactly. But was the pizza itself excellent? Absolutely. The crust had the ideal crispness and thinness, the light char only complemented the toppings and the pepperoni delivered flavor without an overpowering spice.
For dessert, we indulged in the restaurant’s classic tiramisu. Each layer was perfectly defined, and the dish itself wasn’t overly sweet. However, I would’ve welcomed a refreshing element, like a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, to provide some contrast. Nevertheless, it was definitely a delicious way to end the meal!
While the food and atmosphere were certainly impressive, perhaps the most surprising part of the night was the bill. For fries, two pastas, a pizza, arancini, dessert and drinks, our total came in at around $140, which I deem impressive for a riverfront restaurant in downtown Chicago serving four people. At similar spots, the bill would likely have been upward of $200.
Altogether, Pizzeria Portofino delivers where it matters, with consistently strong dishes, polished plating, and a tasteful ambiance. It may not transport you to Portofino itself, but I’d argue that it doesn’t try very hard to — and that is what makes it work. Instead, it offers well-executed Italian-American classics in a modern, picturesque setting that doesn’t need to lean into cliché formulas of what an “authentically” Italian restaurant looks like.
So, would I recommend Pizzeria Portofino for a birthday dinner? Yes, without hesitation.