Portofino in Hartlepool

Not a place to drink £ but an excellent place to eat. Great service from lovely staff. Very enjoyable.

They do a very good lunchtime menu with an extensive choice. I had the Parmo which was very tasty. The staff are very helpful and friendly.

Starter was very small, but overall the food was good and the service was excellent

With my main course ordered potatoes and vegetables and received deep fried greasy potatoes and the vegetables had been microwaved so we're shrivelled and overcooked and the chicken sauce watery , I advised the servers when asked if food OK to be told the roast potatoes are always deep fried !!! My husbands meal served with greasy over cooked chips .so basically no option other than fried potatoes!! From previous visits the standards seem to have dropped so will not be returning

Lovely restaurant, food was amazing with good portion sizes (no one will go hungry here!), all at reasonable prices. 10/10 will come again

Have visited today at 18.00. Busy but not crowed. We had 4 different food types. Pasta, paella, pizza and Parmo (local dish I think). All cooked very well, served very hot and all enjoyed. Completely clean plates at the end. Good starters, part of a meal deal, (check when available). Great service friendly staff. Enjoyed whole visit! Value for money and will definitely dine again!

The food was really nice, the service was really slow but staff were friendly.

Can't fault Sunday lunch, huge portions at a sensible price, good service and clean environment.

A treat for my son's Birthday. Never disappointed. Food was amazing. I had the Chicken breast stuffed with king prawns

Lovely friendly staff very efficient nothing is to much trouble.

Table half cleared between courses, had to ask for steak knives, no check backs, no checks to see if we needed more drinks, ordered an Italian merlot - served Chilean with no heads up. On their own not major things but combined very disappointing. Food was good.

gorgeous food and lovely atmosphere

Didn't book a table. We just turned up around 6.45pm. They just told us to sit for a few minutes whilst they cleaned a table for us. The restraunt itself is very well lit and beautiful with all the fairy lights, the lovely hanging ivy and the balconies it's easy on the eyes. It's also very colourful and has a lot of little quirky things you'll notice. The food was amazing, and i will definitely be returning and also recommending this bistro. Before our starters came, they brought us a bowl of fresh bread with butter. You could tell it was freshly made. First, we ordered 2 starters, the chicken stripes and garlic mushrooms. My partner liked the fact that the garlic mushrooms were cooked in garlic instead of just stuffed and said they were the best she's ever eaten. The chicken stripes were amazing with panko breadcrumbs. I ordered the hot shot parmesan with chips, the parmesan was nice, the chicken tender, and the breadcrumbs were tasty. The chips were among some of the best I've eaten well cooked and crispy but yet soft on the inside. My partner ordered the slow-cookrd beef in red wine with root vegetables. She said the beef was melt in your mouth tender - however, there were 2 small pieces that were a little fatty, The mash was perfect👌. The vegetables were delicious, and it was also served with roasties, which she said was unneeded as she had mash but said they were perfect crispy outside and fluffy inside. Considering all the food we ordered and a pint each, we were pleasantly surprised with the price we did go during the happy hour promotion, though.

Food was fab service was great went for my daughter’s 21st today and we all really enjoyed ourselves. Thank you.

The food was amazing. Very quick service. Good all round 👍

I really loved crispy chicken as hot starter, and veggie pizza. It was amazing. Definitely I will go there again. Thanks

Good quality and good portions, very accommodating and pleasant staff good atmosphere

Love this place. Food and staff are great. Went last week for the second time in a fortnight. Definitely need to pre book though as extremely busy every time I’ve been.

Love Portofino in Hartlepool. Had a beautiful parmo. Everyone else enjoyed what they had. The potato skins are proper skins and not wedges. Excellent!

First time coming here nice food plenty of it well worth the visit.Came again 08/08/24 food still the same standard I have never had a bad meal here and service excellent highly recommend this place.

Fabulous restaurant & food. The service we received was very good considering there was a large group of people in. The food came out hot & tasted excellent. The prices were excellent for the quality of food. Portofino comes highly recommended.

Fantastic Sunday dinner, plenty of vegetables roasties, and served on a hot dinner plate! Very good value for money!

Fantastic restaurant food marvellous we had 2 children with us who are vegan great menu for them also highly recommended been again today food is absolutely amazing Algerian sausage is fabulous also the lamb tagine far too much to eat with salad and chips or roast potatoes and vegetables next to the naval museum in hartlepool great for couples or family

Lovely food as always and great value

Will be going back easy parking food was lovely staff really helpful 😀

Absolutely love the restaurant. Food is always amazing. Service is fabulous and you don't wait ages for your food. 10/10

Fantastic little place. I had the best pizza ever and that’s not exaggerating. Nice atmosphere, friendly staff and reasonable prices.

Very very nice meals not over priced staff very good and helpful 10/10

What an incredible restaurant...thoroughly recommended

Portofino is an absolute must. We booked up for a Friday night. It was busy with a big stream of people waiting to come in, which can only mean it’s good! We were seated and had a huge variety of choice on the menu. There was a fantastic vegan menu too! Our table had an amazing view of HMS Trincomalee and had a lovely cosy atmosphere. We ordered the spicy potato skins and Boureks starters and a lovely bread basket was brought to the table. They were gorgeous. Mains were a vegetarian gratin, which was stunning, and a cheese and meat tortellini. Along with a beer and gin, the total came to £44. All in all - well worth it for fresh tasty food!

Found Portofino by chance whilst staying in town for a few days great food particularly the garlic mushroom starter and Kiev Calzone been all over world and UK but Hartlepool surprised us around the Marina Area and finding Portofino capped off a great few days give it a go you won't be disappointed thank you

Ordered food for takeout. Have tried a few times but always busy. Luckily this time were able to place order was ready for collectiin within 30mins of phoning. Food was all well packaged. Staff all really friendly and helpful. The food was amazing all fresh and good portion sizes. Its great all the vegetarian and vegan options aswell.

Went for lunch today been a number of times now and they do not disappoint. Potatoe skins are literally the best around

Absolutely fabulous .. I cannot rate this place highly enough. The service is really good, the food and plates are piping hot and it is a great price, especially during their Monday to Friday deals. I go to many Italian restaurant, and also visit Italy where I think food can be pretty bland. But no word of a lie, this has to be the best and tastiest Italian I have ever been to. It knocks the socks off anything else. I have been here probably a dozen times and each time has been outstanding.

Stunning food as always, the wait staff are unbelievably nice and can't do enough for you! One suggestion might be considering a adults only section (maybe the back part) or a adults only hour? Kids really ruin the mood when they can't behave.

Just got back from a delicious meal here for my brother in law's 50th birthday. I have always absolutely loved the chicken a la creme but 6 years ago had to give up dairy due to an intolerance so haven't had it in years. When I sent the restaurant an email just asking if there'd be any possible way they could create a dairy-free version, they replied really quickly saying they'd look into it. They then bought in dairy free cream especially, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Such a treat. Thanks so much again. The staff are also absolutely lovely and so friendly. ✨

Variety menu to choose from. They even have a happy hour. But it was far too hot to enjoy the food. All I wanted to do is going outside to get some fresh air. It was winter and it was cold outside. I'm not sure why it was that hot there. It has nice decorations and despite being on a first floor you could forget that and think you're in the middle of the street in a restaurant terrace

Attended for a birthday party, easy to book and service was fast and efficient. The food was ok but there was a mix up on the order and a delay in getting the food for one of the party members. Staff friendly and happy to help

Lovely feel to the place ,nice food ,wasn't keen on the Parmo but that was just preference as o had never had it before not being local to the north east. Algerian sausage lovely as was all our our parties meals.

Best restaurant in hartlepool 💙💙

Really nice will have to come again with the wife food was amazing

Amazing food, we had never visited before we went for my daughters football Christmas party and we will definitely visit again

Food and service great as Ever,

Delicious food great atmosphere and lovely staff

Went for a Christmas meal with colleagues and was treated to an excellent feast. Starter was a very generous helping of potato skins with choice of dipping sauce, but the other starters I saw made we want to try them too. Garlic mushrooms looked amazing as did the chicken goujons. I went for traditional Christmas dinner and wasn't disappointed. It was piping hot, delicious and very filling and I would have no problem having the same again and recommending it wholly. Having said that the steak and chips my colleague had also looked amazing so I would be tempted to try that on my next visit ... And there will be a next visit as the food was excellent. Service was outstanding as the servers took our names and ensured we all got the correct meals and kept us supplied with drinks throughout. As the food was so delicious and filling none of us could face a sweet so I can't comment on those, but based on everything else I would definitely be happy to try one if I could manage to save a bit of room for it. The only downside was I got Whammageddoned during my meal ... But as I'm in a happy Christmas mood I won't knock a star off for that. 😉 Plenty of parking outside and not too far from the Centre of Hartlepool if you fancy a short walk. The only downside I could see (for some) would be the access via a fairly steep metal exterior staircase. This wasn't a problem for me but it may limit others ability to get inside.

Have been coming here for almost as long as it has been open.By far our favourite restaurant.Good value for money and the food is of adequate portions and delicious ! Never had a bad meal here.

Excellent quality and friendly staff would recommend it

Birthday tea out , lovely food , staff great especially Emily looked after us all.

Top quality food and lovely staff 👌

Staff were extremely kind and helpful when I took my son and his family to dinner. They helped surprise my granddaughter with birthday cake.

Not been for a while, first time with kids. No one left disappointed, food was amazing. Fitted us in without booking but turned others away after, always a busy and popular place.

We pre-booked a table for 3 and paid a £5 reservation fee per person. We turned up on time and ended up waiting over an hour without receiving our mains. At least 2 other bigger tables who came in well after us received their meals quickly and before us, and multiple takeaway orders/ collections left the building during this time (to pay a reservation fee for a table inside a restaurant and then receive less priority than takeaway orders was frustrating). Upon enquiring about our mains, we were met with a defensive response and an attempt to justify why others had received their meals before us despite arriving well after us, rather than a solution or apology. My mum is very polite and courteous, and I felt quite annoyed at the way she was spoken to. We paid for our drinks and starters and left feeling annoyed, disappointed and hungry. It was a pretty unpleasant experience and not one I’d ever choose to repeat. Some corrections regarding your response on my dad's review. it was well over 25 mins after starters before asking about our mains. There was no attempt to rectify, and we definitely weren't offered meals at no charge etc. I can't ever remember leaving a negative review for any business, but my experience today, and your inaccurate response has made it necessary when in fact things could have been easily diffused with a more understanding approach or an actual attempt to rectify.

Very disappointing, just got back home after waiting an eternity for Sunday lunch. People coming in after us and getting served immediately and many meals going out the door by deliveroo or whatever other takeaway method. When questioned the waitress said they were waiting for puddings, all the while customers who came in much later than us were served their dinners including yorkshire puddings. Left the premises after cancelling the main meal. Used to be a pleasant experience many years ago when Krimo had it but I certainly won't be going back. They need to think more about the customers who'd paid the £5 per person booking fee and are waiting in the restaurant to be served.

A very cosy and atmospheric place! The food here is very high quality and tastes delicious! The staff here are very friendly and go above and beyond with their customer service! Going here is a MUST! 5 stars all around!

Good to see that Portofino is still thriving. Food full marks as both meals were delicious (if a long time coming) and our requests of no onion had been followed. Service - 1 mark deducted for not noticing required more cutlery; starter almost, but not quite, thrown at me; drink I ordered at the start of the meal arriving after had finished. Atmosphere - so loud! So much so that, despite food being delicious, I would hesitate in returning (I was in another just as busy restaurant recently where the volume of noise was not such an issue).

This was my first visit, after a friend recommended it. What a fantastic evening. Great food and service. It was busy and I can see why. This is a superb restaurant with a wide range of choice for every pallet.

As soon as you entered this small cosy hidden gem, you felt as though you were somewhere other than Hartlepool. We were seated overlooking the sea, which was amazing. It was noted that we could almost be in the med if it were not for the weather! Lol. The food was delicious, staff were friendly and attentive, and we were not rushed. Despite not having a reservation, we were seated pretty quickly, considering they were busy. It's definitely a place to eat either with family or with friends.

Great fresh food, service a little slow but at least we weren't rushed either.

Not bad. Had fond memories from the last visit which was a few years back now. This time both of us thought the meal was just OK. Not bad, just OK. Plenty of people dining though so still a popular venue. We will return and try another dish.

Very loud, not enough personal and too much to do .Not disabled friendly

Me and my friends have been coming here every few months for the last few years. The foods always been nice but the service has always been quite poor, yet we’ve always overlooked it. Today halfway through our meal, we were already served and eating our food at this point, a lady came over to us and told us that the owner wanted to let us know that our meal wouldn’t count for the Happy Hour deal because my friends were sharing their meal where I was having mine on my own. I told her that they have always shared their meal and has always had their meal in whatever deal they’ve had on that day but she shrugged her shoulders and told us it’s just how it was. It ruined the vibe of the rest of the dinner and we felt so uncomfortable for the rest of the night

Visited today 4/8/23 with 3 friends for lunch . Hadn't booked a table as a £5 deposit is required which we don't think is a good policy. We were seated at a nice table, menu is very varied with lots of choice. 1 of my friends waited quite a long time for her drink & had to ask another member of staff where it was . Food was absolutely delicious, portions are very large, lovely atmosphere.would definitely return , the only downside are the drinks as in most places these days they are too expensive.

Lovely meal for my birthday with my family, food was wonderful and the staff were so friendly

Fantastic food and brilliant service. Very quick to be served despite it being peak time on a Saturday night. Quality of the food was unreal, and very affordable for such high quality. Well worth a visit to this restaurant.

Great food at reasonable prices. Good service from all. Thank you

Lively little restaurant overlooking the marina. Although you'd be lucky get a table by the window, as very busy (pre-booking advised). Nice food and reasonable prices too.

Used the take away option for the first time and as usual food was amazing

Had a lovely meal here for birthday treat, there were 7 of us for Sunday lunch. Was great that other menu was available too for my parmo lovers! Lamb had quite a lot of fat left on, however the portion sizes were generous enough. Beef went down well, although would have preferred to have the gravy separate as my son's plate was rather full and he doesn't like a lot! Only gripe really was the cutlery was very blunt and we all struggled to cut the meat! The service was fab. We waited quite a while for food but there were 7 meals to prepare and we didn't notice too much! I know there were new members of staff on, however they were very polite and couldn't fault the service to the table at all. Service with a smile and couldn't do more for us ❤️ Thank you for a delightful meal, we will return soon I'm sure!

We had a table of 6 with 2 kids. Very reasonably priced. The lunch menu has a good selection. Service was good. Food was good. Would highly recommend

Excellent food everytime, just a shame they don't value their staff like they do their customers.

Was working in Hartlepool and unfortunately only found this gem on last night. Lovely fresh food, great sized portions, warm and friendly staff. Was busy but that shows it’s good!! Recommend….

Really lovely place, friendly helpful staff, amazing tasty food a little gem of a place definitely recommend this place.

Not been to Portfinos for a while and decided to go for my birthday Sunday dinner with the family, very disappointed. We pre-booked with a £5per person reservation fee, we turned up on time, and then waited nearly 1hr to get a meal and the dinner was disappointing. The excuse was they lost the order in the kitchen. However, to me it seemed the kitchen were concentrating more on takeaway dinners which seemed to be taking priority over seated customer orders, so what was the reservation fee for in the first place, and why have a restaurant. Usually the food is quite nice, but on this occasion it wasn't.

Fantastic food, friendly, efficient staff, value for money with massive portions and a brilliant atmosphere. A great place to celebrate my birthday 🎂

Really nice food, didn't have to wait long to be served, can recommend a visit. Parking outside, access is up stairs on the outside of the building, not sure if there is a lift

Lovely ad hoc visit with my wife & grandson. Service was excellent and the food was lovely. Been here numerous times and will be back.

Lovely food and service. The parmos are top class. 😋

Delicious food excellent service x lovely friendly staff x

Sunday lunch was absolutely gorgeous everything about it was perfect! I can highly recommend it.

We visited there to have lunch. This restaurant with a nice view and comfortable environment. The soup and pasta are too salty for us.

My second visit and it didn't let me down - the menu has literally something for everyone. Great value eatery, you must try. Better book in advance though it's BUSY.

Food is good. Service quick. Prices reasonable and also do a meal deal. Will package left over food for you if you ask which saves wastage (a plus for the environment).

I absolutely love this place. Been many times and never disappointed. Looking forward to going back on the 27th for another family birthday.

Lovely place and fantastic food. Very nice ☺️. Will hopefully be going back again soon.

Food was absolutely gorgeous as usual!!

Food is always top notch whenever I visit my girlfriends family in Hartlepool. Impressed how you can offer so many dishes and pretty much perfect them all!

Lovely atmosphere, great service and delicious food.

Food was really nice good service. Lively atmosphere

Great taste. Good value with offers. Lovely Pizza.... Vegan options good

Been here many many times and had no issue's. But on this occasion it wasn't its best . The garlic mushrooms swimming in oil and so was the salad ( who eats warm salad) .the pizza was bland and hardly any taste . The bread was nice as all ways

Was very busy, service was a little bit slow. Sotaff did apologise..

Celebrated my husband's 70th birthday, 20 of us. Food was good, service good and staff were very nice. Good atmosphere, great night.

Great food, gorgeous decor and ambience, and very friendly and efficient staff

Excellent pizza!!!! It was a good experience overall nice location I definitely recommend specially for the area the food was heads above the rest.

Returned to Portofino's restaurant to find a lovely atmosphere with a full house. Service was at the level you always look for when eating out and the food was very tasty, well cooked and hot to the table. It was like we had never been away.

It was our first time dining at Portofino (due to being new in the area), and we were not disappointed. The food, service and staff were outstanding. We'll done

Put us (6 people) on some small joined up tables that wa not at the same height, 25 minutes to take our drinks order, was a bit of a struggle to get all the main meals on the tables 🙄 aswell as our drinks, food was ok atmosphere was ok, Staff we're friendly.

Lovely looking restaurant, nice atmosphere, had the garlic mushrooms they were good... had a pizza for main...not great....had almost no cheese on it. Maybe some crusty bread instead of sliced loaf would be nice too! I'd deffo give it another go tho.

Really like portofino. Never had a bad meal, looking out over the dock. Small enough to have an atmosphere, early bird excellent value

Nice Italian restaurant very popular so recommended booking and not to be late as you booking is void after 15min of your renovation.