Established in 1989 by a first generation Italian restaurateur, Café Portofino elegantly presents authentic Northern Italian fare, as well as expertly prepared steaks and seafood, in a beautiful upscale restaurant overlooking the ocean. Join us for dinner and enjoy our award-winning cuisine, extensive wine list, live entertainment, and breathtaking views.
Classic, upscale Northern Italian dishes served in the open air & accompanied by subdued harp music. Based on 586 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 3.7 stars. Price $$$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Takeout ✔️ No delivery
Address:
3481 Ho’Olaulea Wy, Lihue, HI 96766
Phone: (808) 245-2121
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Saturday | 5–9 PM |
| Sunday | 5–9 PM |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
5–9 PM
Hours might differ
|
| Tuesday | 5–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 5–9 PM |
| Thursday | 5–9 PM |
| Friday | 5–9 PM |
Menu
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Photo Gallery
Order and Reservations
Reservations: opentable.com
Reviews
The two Shippleys
Cafe Portofino brings real Italian to Lihue. They use real ingredients and legit recipes. The bread was well made but lacked flavor. My wife had the ravioli, which was good but not outstanding. She also has a side of meatball, which, in out opinions, were rolled too tight. I had the lamb. They cooked the whole 4 rib rack, then cut it, and served it, leaving the outer two chops overcooked and the inner two raw. I didn’t mind the raw ones because I did ask for it as rare as they’d served it, but I terribly minded the out two being cooked medium. They also knocked off most of the crust, which was a shame because it was delicious. The highlight of the meal was my wife’s chocolate mousse cake.
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William Sette
We were quite apprehensive to try this restaurant after reading so many negative reviews but at the hotel we were staying there was very little choice of restaurants with which to have dinner. Bottom line, we were very glad we did. My wife had a special Seafood pasta of the day which is not on the menu; you have to ask for it, a pasta dish with mussels clams fish and shrimp which was absolutely delicious. I had one of my favorites which is also a tell-all of how good a restaurant is– pasta carbonara. They used pancetta and after requesting to have it prepared crispy rather than undercooked as a lot of restaurants serve, it was one of the best carbonara dishes I’ve had anywhere. Another departure from all the reviews was the time of preparation. After ordering, the dishes actually came almost too fast, but they were piping hot and freshly prepared. I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant and to try it again if ever I were to visit this area of Kauai.
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Rebecca Ludtka
Delicious Italian cuisine on the beach. Beautiful views, lovely dinner music.
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Angela G
We had high expectations because we heard good things from someone else. We arrived, told them we wanted pizza, and they told us to wait 20min and took our phone number. We never got a call so we went back and told them again that we were here to order pizza, and another worker took us to the inside area. We waited another 5 minutes for a server to come to us. She asked us if we wanted pizzas, asked about appetizers, but never asked about beverages until I asked for water. She came back, we got water with no ice, and when we asked about the other drinks she said “whatever the bar has.” Very unhelpful but I think she was new. We ordered a gluten free pizza and ravioli. 20 minutes later the server comes back and says that they are out of gluten free, and we asked for another minute to decide what else to order. We ended up asking to cancel the order but the server said the ravioli was already done and we had to take it and pay. We took it to go, the portion was much smaller than anticipated, and had already gotten cold. It would’ve been helpful to let us know ahead of time if something as important as a gluten free dough is gone since we had an allergy. The people next to us also had a bad experience with an uncooked pizza. No attention to the inside customers. Hope they get themselves together soon as this was an awful experience.
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Diedrick Griep
We talked about going here for a few years now. The parking is minimal and we were happy to finally find some parking this time around. The food we had was ono
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Ma Gabriela Quintero
We want to try this place before left the island and to be honest we were glad to make it…. We try the special of the day, pasta with shrimp, fish marlins, and mussels, in red sauce, that was more than delicious, another level, my husband ordered carbonara and was super yummy, for dessert tiramisu and caramel crusted, the last one was my favorite! The view is priceless… customer service was excellent, if you have time don’t hesitate to visit this place, also they have pizza that looks and smell so good, but we didn’t try, we choose dessert instead to try pizza.
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Cambry Burt
If you’re looking for a sign to eat elsewhere, this review is it.
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Ryan Swartz
Read some prior reviews that made us worry, but overall the food and experience was worth trying. It was busy (Christmas Eve) so service was a little slow with large groups of family seated before us, but the staff was top notch. Great view especially at sunset!
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Kathryn Flores
The food here was absolutely spectacular. Some of the best wood fired pizza and *homemade* pasta I’ve ever had in my life. And I’ve had a lot. Their MAJOR issue here is their ridiculously asinine and patron-unfriendly rules. You literally are NOT allowed to order or eat pizza on their terrace that overlooks the beautiful beach. Yes you read that right and it’s as crazy as it sounds. If you want pizza you have to eat inside an enclosed room that has their bar and doubles as a club. So we went inside and sat at the bar and ordered Pepsi and pizza, and I kid you not, you’re *not allowed to eat at the bar*!!. So we got our pizza and Pepsi to-go, and no joke, they wouldn’t let me get my Pepsi to-go because they have a no open container policy! So I had to chug my Pepsi at the bar and take my pizza to eat on the grass on the beach, with no beverage at all. Absolutely NUTS, especially for an expensive restaurant.
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Marianne Charles
As part of the grounds at our hotel is was great. Can walk from our room and the view was beautiful at sunset. Food ok, not great and people very nice. Overall, enjoyable but would not go if not on the grounds of the hotel.
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