Al Porto Ristorante Review

Great place for lunch. Presto lunch is about $15. Soup, salad and pasta or pizza. Great deal especially in Gastown!

We recently went there with 17 people. Food was excellent and all came out at the same time. We were very impressed. We ate in a semi private room. The music was not too loud and we could have great conversation. Service was excellent. We had such a wonderful evening. We will for sure be back. Sincere thanks for a great evening.

The food was ok as well as the service. I ordered jumbo seared scallops that were not jumbo nor seared. The bathrooms were disgusting. The drinks were amazing so we're the mussels.

Went here with a group party, I would rate this place 2.5 stars. First off I can say is the seafood that we had was fresh and the protein was also not too bad. But the risotto a few of us had was extremely salty. Was quite happy when servers address you with 'yo' . Also we had a nice surprise with one of our chairs at the end of the meal. Would not recommend, much better Italian restaurants out there~

Very attentive service, delicious food. We dined in the private room

Food here is quite delicious and service is decent. Definitely a good Italian restaurant. Worth checking out.

I regret that day and that impulse which made me buy Groupon for Al Porto Ristorante. It happened that I've been there twice, and both times it was very disappointing.
First time I went there with my mom who came from Russia. I hoped to show her some fine dining experience of Vancouver. If I knew how I was wrong! We ordered food and guess what, we waited for our order for.....45 minutes! As we were told the chef screwed up and somehow missed our order. Am I supposed to be happy with that explanation???? As an apology they offered free dessert which my mom accepted.
Second time I went there on November 25th, with my friend. This time the food was on time and it was good, and I almost changed my opinion about this place but.... There's always a but, right? When it came to payment the price was adjusted to Groupon discount, and I tipped from that amount. But the server (John Rives, namely) said exactly this: "You HAVE to tip from the full amount". Can you imagine this????
First of all, I DON'T HAVE to tip if I don't feel like that. Second, tips NEED to be deserved which didn't happen (this time they brought dessert menu but didn't come to take the order for 10 minutes although the restaurant was almost empty. In the end, my friend decided against dessert because of waiting time). And they want tips after that???
When the guy saw the tips amount he didn't even try to conceal how he was disappointed... Guess, how disappointed we were!
Never again!

lThe food was just okay. The ambience seems very outdated. It also didn't help that the upstairs was flooding and water was pooring everywhere from the roof. The price was set for a high end dinner, which didn't feel satisfying when the bill came. Overpriced, and while plated nicely, the food just okay. Service was great.

Al Porto is tucked away in Gastown and is a place that has consistently served good Italian food for several decades. The big secret is their wonderful lunch offerings that are perfect for a business lunch or a lunch with friends. The service is attentive but not rushed, there is home made bread offered with fresh olive oils, and the pasta is very well prepared. It is a great go to place.

Very good authentic trattoria, great menu and great food

Our office holiday party was held upstairs in the private room. The servers were great and the food was even better. The NY steak was super tender and the saffron risotto was good.

Had the most wonderful evening Jan 31 with my ladies at Al Porto for a dinner and study session. It was the first time for all 4 of us and we all enjoyed our meals, the ambiance, and our server. The prawn appie was delicious, two of us had the prawn/scallop/risotto/veg dinner (yum), one had steak (tender and delicious) and the other had the special gnocchi. My keto and flexitarian friends liked it so much we will go back again next month. The music was lovely background music that allowed us to talk and catch up, the lighting was sufficient that we could review our study notes, we had the best time with Stephany, our server. I would not be surprised if my friends are there for other occasions as well - there are lots of options for parties/special occasions/groups as well!

I love this restaurant for being so quaint in the heart of Gastown. I love having their entrance on the side and the staff were friendly. The food was amazing, perfectly made in a reasonable amount of time. I would recommend for a Smart Casual date

I could be a good credit because I was Born and raced in Italy and this restaurant remembered me of my home country. Pizza is truly italian and ti recommend. The wines are amazing and good because of the opportunity of choise, they are many. The Place is romantic and the atmosphere peacefull. Strongly recomended.

I was there with a large group of friends so the server would receive 18% of tips automatically. There are times where we would requests for something and normally you would get a response like "sure no problem" or even an okay. However he just turns around and walks away and we have no idea whether he heard us or not. While I was ordering I pointed to who I was sharing this appetizer with so he can split the bill. He cuts me off and asked "what about my main". So i assumed he hear and saw me point...when the bill came it wasn't split and when I asked him to..he didn't say anything and turned around, walked away, and slammed the debit machine on his stand very loud.
Just because you automatically get 18% tip. I expect some service. Not once did he come over and asked how our food was or to check up on us.

Food was average, nothing special.

Good spot to grab a pizza at lunch if you work downtown. A few pleasant touches like sparkling water and table bread. Pizza was a healthy portion and of acceptable quality. No budget house wines by the glass, if you're looking for a drop of grape juice with your pizza youre going to be paying nearly as much for the glass of wine as the pie.

Great food, great wine. Good place for a group evening in the 'wine cellar'.

Great prices, great food, perfect portions, and a wonderful atmosphere. It's not crowded or unpleasant in any way. Our waiter was very friendly - almost too friendly =)

The staffs working here are always very professional and friendly. They have a good deal for early dinner time. Highly recommended!

food was ok but nothing special. the mushroom pasta was petty good but the linguine and clam sauce had to much lemon. they tried to fix it and tasted the same. very pricy for the quality.

Great service very friendly, Excellent tasting pizza. Great price

We had a splendid evening. The food was great! The waiters friendly. Thank you!

It's Valentine's Day today, I had a reservation for 9:15 PM but that didn't matter. We waited for 40 minutes and nobody came to even take our order. We had a glass of water and walked out of this place. Our server walked by us at least 3 times and was very leisurely serving wine to guests who came 30 minutes after us. We've never experienced this type of service anywhere ever. Absolutely terrible experience and from reading some other reviews, we're not the only ones. I can't even comment on the food because we never got to eat any. Save your money and your time and enjoy some of the other quality restaurants in Gastown.

Classic Italian atmosphere. I had the chicken parm and it was well above the norm. Fantistic flavour! Well done!

Had an amazing time as always! Amazing food, amazing service!

Great service, okay Italian - but that's me being super picky.

I can't understand how this place has any good reviews - maybe my experience was unique but then again looking at what other people have written, maybe not.

I came here for my birthday - my boyfriend had asked for one of their best tables when he made the booking. When we arrived, we were led through the restaurant to the very back, where "apparently" the best table in the house was - hardly. It was right under a dusty window with a draft coming in, and right outside was the railway tracks. If I squinted through the mouldy blinds covering half the window then I could maybe see the top of a mountain, but even this was ruined when a train came past.

So unimpressed with the table, we went ahead and ordered our food and a bottle of house white. When the waiter asked what kind of house white, "as we have many house wines", I asked for sauvingon blanc (more on this later). I ordered rack of lamb and asked for it medium rare. When it came it was grey. Not even just slightly overcooked but grey. I had to sent it back - much to the waiters obvious annoyance. When it finally arrived, 20 minutes later, the lamb was great, but for some reason they had put an inch of mustard crust around the small rack - the whole thing was totally inedible.

We got the bill as we needed to get out of there as quick as possible. The final straw was when looking at the bill, the "house wine" was $75!! I mean, it was quite nice wine, but $75?? I couldn't believe it but of course we had to pay. Leaving little to no tip, we left.

I have absolutely no reason to go to this pretentious tourist trap ever again.

This place hits all the right notes - it transports you from the streets of Gastown to a quaint Italian kitchen. Great decor, professional and helpful staff, and awesome food. If Italian food is what you're looking for, you won't go wrong with this one.

A little hidden away... food can be great sometimes and a little disappointing other times... leaves you very confused with the inconsistancy.... they have a economical happy hour though

Courteous staff and delicious pizza. That was a nice ambience. Thanks, Al Porto!

We went in last night, the place was very quiet, my wife and I went to the bar and grabbed a seat. I'm not sure why, but we were obviously ignored and not wanted. When we got up to leave, we were approached by a staff person who told us to go try to find a place in Yaletown. It was a very odd experience, oddly enough the next place we went was great and happy to take our money. It all worked out in the end, I'd love to know why they didn't want us there.

Authentic Italian, wooded stoves to make amazing pizza and fabulous rustic paintings ! Makes you question if you are really in Rome or Vancouver

I had the seafood pasta . Pasty dried source with over cooked fish. Than I had desert chocolate cake . They could have fooled me into thinking it was sawdust . Nice location good service .

Wine, service, decor, veal, fish, pasta, bread were all excellent. Great for romantic dates or for large gatherings of friends.

Lunch special here is great value. Friendly staff and top notch service.

We were in Vancouver for the day and found your restaurant on a Google search. we decided to give it a try and we were not disappointed! Our server was awesome and made us feel welcome as soon as we sat down. We ordered an appetizer and 2 pizzas that were all amazing! I am so happy we found this restaurant!!

Nice Italian restaurant in the touristy part of town. The location was an old storage depot for the Hudson's Bay Company half a century ago and was transformed keeping some of the old world charm. The food was very good although on the pricey side, hence the 4 vs 5 stars. The scallops and prawns was nice served with sweet pea and saffron risotto, pernod herb butter. The spaghetti Bolognese was ordered and received plain keeping the ground beef and veal ragu, marinara sauce. The seafood risotto was ordered and received without the mussels, clams but included scallops, salmon, halibut and prawns. The seared Ahi Tuna came with a nice ginger-sesame and ponzu sauce, seared rare to perfection with a small apple fennel salad with citrus dressing. Overall a nice experience and nice to see that a touristy area can have a nice restaurant.

An Old-World Italian Charm to the decor. Strong Service and atmosphere. Pasta was rich and tasty.

Horrible customer service. The waiter was downright rude to us the entire time and it took forever to get any service. We waited twenty minutes to pay for our meal and had to stand up and find our waiter to finish paying. Even when we were polite enough to say thank you after the terrible service, we got heavy sarcasm and rude remarks from the waiter. Unbelievable, never eat here.

Great food and ambience. Friendly happy staff who knew their stuff.

We stopped by for an early evening Italian dinner. It was served by an absolutely charming Irish waiter, the food was excellent, the wine was just as good and the table service was great.

The portions are tiny. They serve the lasagna on a huge plate with a tiny sort of bowl in the middle. Way overpriced. If you want to be full when you leave, you have to spend about 100 bucks per person. The food we had was good, but the portion was extra small and expensive. Why a rip off.

Great atmosphere. Selections of Single Malt Scotch, superb. Cosmos good. Food 87 % good.

Had a reservation for 4. Arrived to the place in time and even though there was plenty of empty tables they had us waiting for 20 min... Food was okeish, the lasagna was dry and a bit over salted. I think it was not worth the prize.

Came at 5:30 and sat by the windows. View looked different than the photos as the glass pane was a bit covered. Still nice natural lighting. They had happy hour wine for $6 which was nice. My bf ordered the catch of the day which was halibut with risotto and said the halibut was overcooked, however this is quite a hard fish to perfect. I had the veal lasagna as recommended by our server. Great taste but a bit pricy for the size as it was not served with anything else. Tiramisu for dessert was decent nothing spectacular but still good to end the meal. Our service was superb.

Al Porto is a classic Italian restaurant with such a lovely atmosphere! The menu contains a wide variety of appetizers and mains to suit many preferences and the staff were highly attentive.

It was my first time to go, but the food was excellent. I went with a friend and had a great time.

It was a really great space for our office Christmas party.

Service was a bit slow but food quality was very good.

Wonderful Food, excellent Waiter service and Happy Hour made the meal so much more affordable. The Restaurant is very authentic Italian taverna and we had a great evening.

Came here with two friends excited to try some "authentic Italian". $15.95 for a small pizza which was SO SALTY I couldn't finish it! My friends paid over $20 each for small portions of absolutely average pasta. Overpriced and really not very good.

Wait staff was great but food service took too long!

We went to Al porto for a Christmas party, great venue for a larger party. Food was good (specially their gnnochi, steak and some of their appetizers) and their wine was great. The staff were also very friendly.

The food is incredible and the service is top notch. The waiter apologized for our "long wait" (it was not long at all) by offering us free desert. Very friendly.

Great food we came in with no reservation and they got us a table fast. Food was great and reasonably priced.

The dinner was superb, I had the veal piccata....and our waiter was very obliging and efficient. Kinda cute too.

Great food, great staff. Loved the ambiance and the service. Seafood risotto was cooked perfectly. Great for large parties and small, intimate gatherings as well.

Places the best rack of lamb we've ever had at Al Porto

Took advantage of the early bird offer between 16:30 & 18:30. Food was fantastic. Highly recommend the seafood linguine

While visiting Vancouver, someone at our hotel recommended Al Porto. So glad they did. Superb dining experience from top to bottom. I had the linguine in a "vongole" sauce, which I never heard of before. It's a broth and butter based sauce that was terrific.

Kind service, clean space, the food resembled Italian food in some ways.

Beautiful place, yummy pasta and steaks and fish. Comfortable yet elegant fine dining.

Not sure what I was expecting from a tourist-centric restaurant, but $20 for a veal milanisa the size (and texture) of a flattened baby mouse was downright shameful. The seafood pasta was equally bad - light on substance, and soaked in a thin, acidic sauce. The waiters all seemed to know the score - you could tell they weren't happy with what they were serving. Avoid - there are way better options in the area.

Probably one of the most authentic Italian restaurant in Vancouver. I love how it s underground because the moment you enter it, you get this classic, dark and cozy atmosphere of an Italian restaurant. It s a bit fancy so you can definitely dress up for a romantic date night. They have amazing selections of wine and pasta. You get free warm bread with olive oil and vinegar which is so delicious! The staffs are dressed-up and friendly. Don t get me started on their pasta because it s unreal! I always order their seafood linguine and it s a very decent portion so you actually do get full! Highly recommend!

I liked this place a lot. It wasn't obvious how to get to the restaurant from the street but i'm happy that I went in to check out the menu. I had an early lunch of Minestrone (shown below) and appetizer of meatballs that did not make the photo. The wine of choice Sangiovese which was so tasty that I had two glasses! I love the decor and the view as well.

Food was excellent. Service was OK. Table was wobbly. They could have served olive oil and a better bread while we waited.

My wife and I popped in for lunch while walking through gas town. We were Christmas shopping and just thinking of getting a quick bite and walked in with no pre-conceptions. The restaurant was bussy with Christmas parties and there was a several minute wait before the staff came over. The waitress came over, apologized, and took our order. This was followed swiftly by the manager coming over and profusely apologizing. It was not an issue at all, however they handeled it very nicely. The food and wine came out fast and was phenomenal. The survice was friendly and caring. The atmosphere is very cute and warming. By the end of lunch we were laughing and just having a blast. To top it off they brought us a complimentary tiramisu (which was the best I've ever had, like just thinking of it makes me salivate). The prices are very reasonable and the portions are good. It was a wonderful and refreshing dining experience. Would highly recommend this restaurant to others and we will definitely be coming back. I plan on taking family here whenever I have them in town from now on.
Cheers.

Excellent attention. Good food and fair prices. I will return and recommend with pleasure. Thank you