Portofino Italian at Lucky Garden, Bangsar: Restaurant Review

European cooking is boiling over in Bangsar this month; for this entry, we  reveal the first public peek into Portofino, a new Italian outlet that has spun off from the Porto Romano family.

Italian Classics

Porto Romano casts a wide net across the Mediterranean for its menu, but Portofino sticks to the Italian classics; expect the likes of freshly made pappardelle with tangy-salty duck ragout (RM36+).

Creamy Potato Gnocchi

Portofino is blessed with a very good service team, but in terms of its food, some of the dishes might lack the nuances of truly terrific Italian cooking; the potato gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce & beef bacon (RM36++) errs on the side of uber-creaminess, making it too cloying after several bites. It’s (rather one-dimensionally) tasty in flavour, but it evokes more guilt than pleasure.

Risotto with sweet curry spices, prawns, apple slices & parmesan (RM36++), also heavy-handed with the cream. Best shared.

Alcoholic affogato?

Count us in; Portofino’s features a kahlua kick (RM19++).

Decent wine list at Portofino; house pourings start at RM19.90+ by the glass & RM90+ by the bottle.

Location and Contact Details

Portofino Italian Restaurant

1 Persiaran Ara Kiri, Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03 2094 8490

Open daily, lunch through late.

Find: Portofino Italian Restaurant directory page here.