Address: | 245 Muddy Branch Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, USA |
Phone: | +1 301-590-0735 |
Site: | ilportogaithersburg.com |
Rating: | 4.2 |
Working: | 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–9PM |
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A Private User
We were stopping for the night in Rockville MD in the midst of a long, wearying car trip back to NC. I had three dinner house recommendations from the hotel people (they usually come up with great suggestions) for nearby, non-chain restaurants - Il Porto was not one of them. But then my wife got involved in the search, made a call, and was convinced this was the place for us. Driving up to the strip mall, my doubts about her choice deepened, as the exterior (barely just a doorway in an otherwise drab, downmarket shopping center) failed to inspire thoughts of a promising dining experience. Glad we went through the door anyway. Wonderful, not too fussy ambience, pleasant staff, excellent menu with specials. The waiters timing was impeccable (I am a stickler about being alternately ignored, badgered or fussed over), and the food was so well done. Starting with the bread basket, we knew we could look forward to the rest of the meal being prepared with art and attention. I ordered from the Daily Special menu - Chilean sea bass ... I know, I know, not the expected call in an Italian restaurant, but I love me some sea bass, and I was willing to let these folks forever stain their reputation in my eyes by botching my all-time favorite. They wowed me. They also reminded me of their pedigree by serving me a side of fettucine w/marinara (which was so perfectly prepared, sauced, and spiced - ditto the fresh steamed vegetables). My dinner partner spoke warmly about the chicken alfredo. I dont do desserts anymore, but my table mate ordered the mocha gelato, which I understand was quite toothsome and - to my eyes - nicely presented. The frost on the parfait glass indicated that the dessert had been pulled from the freezer and garnished - a minor quibble. In all, what could have been just one more soul-wrenching dissappointment in a day full of travel disasters turned out to be a lovely grace note. Thanks!
JO
Joe Volpe
My family and I came here a few nights ago for my mothers birthday. I have two kids and I wasnt sure how they would hold out (age 7 and 2) but because it was her birthday, we went song with it. We had 7pm reservations. We arrived five minutes early and were pleasantly surprised to be sat immediately at a table already set for us. They have done some very nice upgrades since our last visit years back. But thats where the appeal stopped. We were sat at 6:55pm and didnt even have drinks on the table until 7:20. At that time we placed our dinner orders, which did come out in a timely manor. I hadnt seen a childrens menu and asked our server to name the 2-3 most popular kids meals. We went with penne with meat sauce, for the two kids to split. The food was tasty, but nothing over the top that would stand out for me. At this point in our meal, Id have rated our visit a 4 star. Service was painfully slow and we got one refill our entire stay (1.5 hours!). By 8pm, we had been there for over an hour and it was time to go. I promptly asked for the check, as our two year old was showing signs of getting angsty. 8:10 rolls around, still no check. I asked another gentlemen who was working if our server could come over with the check. He came a few minutes later and literally insisted on clearing off our entire table before presenting the check. By this point, my husband already took the kids out to the car and I continued to wait. I finally paid at 8:24pm, 24 minutes after asking for the check. By this point, it went down to 3 stars because of the painfully obnoxious wait. The rating went down to two stars after receiving the check and seeing the childrens penne was $12.99. Thats an insane price for a kids meal, completely NOT worth it. It was a pathetic amount. Overall, we were not satisfied with our visit. Its highly unlikely wed return, even without kids.
JO
Joan Weller
Wonderful evening! Nine of us were helping a friend celebrate her birthday. Dinner , as always, was great. Everyone was pleasant. We all enjoyed the salads . Fried calamari is also a great choice for an appetizer. Tonight, the softshell crabs were popular with the group and excellent! Several of us chose the vegetables rather than pasta but both are wonderful. I always choose the sauteed spinach. Everything was delicious! Our group mainly ordered off the "specials" menu . The fish and the Chapinno ( lobster and shrimp in a delicious cream sauce ) were both also very popular entrees with our group. Everyone thought their entrees were delicious. Since it was Monday night, the bottles of wine were 1/2 price. We enjoyed two bottles of Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay. IL Porto was busy but the service was good as always. Its a great place to enjoy an evening with friends.
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Tristan M
First things first we feel like we got a bit ripped of by the "specials" menu, which admittedly didnt have prices on it. My girlfriend ordered the crab cakes assuming it wouldnt be much more than $15-$20 (the price of the more expensive items on the menu was about $16) but we were surprised when the bill came, $30 for two crab cakes, steamed vegetables and a ball of yellow rice that was supposed to be risotto but wasnt??? That seemed a bit ridiculous to us especially because the beer, glass of wine and my meal added up to $25. The service was decent but not outstanding, the servers did seem a bit pushy to order extra items. Both of the meals were mediocre at best, could have gotten the same quality if not better at noodles and company. The outdoor seating is nice so long as there arent people constantly driving by blasting the ying yang twins. :P
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Tami Nocket
We just threw a 18th birthday dinner party at Il Porto on New Years Eve. Our daughter is a picky eater and her favorite is Italian and one of those major chain restaurants. Her dad and I stumbled upon Il Porto in October and LOVED the food. After bringing our daughter to eat there and talking with the owner Alberto, we started putting together her birthday celebration at his restaurant. I could not have been more pleased and accommodated. From changing my mind a LOT , Alberto was the BEST person to work with. He made everything perfect. I had more than enough help setting up and severs. The ONLY thing that was not spot on was the fact the birthday girls dinner was served last but hey, they saved the best for last and they were BUSY and it was only 5p!! They are that good
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Nathaniel Young
Whenever I go into a restaurant and see a menu that is nearly 100 items long I know Im in for an unpleasant experience. With a menu that long there is no way that most of the food items wont be frozen or from a can, and that was certainly the case here. I had the veal parmigiana, and it was nearly tasteless. The sauce was completely unseasonably and tasted like generic tomato sauce from a can. The diner with me had the lasagna, and it was equally unseasoned, even with garlic, there was hardly any cheese and the noodles appeared to have been wrapped like a burrito rather than layered as would be expected with lasagna. All in all I was extremely disappointed that a restaurant this highly-rated would be so bland and forgettable.