Tony Emails:
Rad site! But one comment from an "Italian-American" how could you NOT have Portobello's on the restaurant directory, they are one of the BEST restaurants in Rochester!

Editor writes: We had a really nice meal here about a year before we started doing this Italian roundup. The place was busy and full of healthy looking people. I remember that. It seemed like they were all in the know. Portabello's Yellow Pages' ad reads, "Contemporary Italian Cuisine as found in the Italy of Today".

We made reservations for a Friday night on the weekend of our anniversary. Portobello Ristorante is located on Mount Hope Avenue in the middle of what what is about the only residential stretch left. It is not so far out that you are in the dreaded Henrietta. It may actually be in Brighton. This place used to be painted white but it is now green. I liked the white better. And before the white it was a Scandinavian smorgasbord restaurant called "Wunders".

That is a Porsche and Mercedes parked out front. It wasn't all that crowded inside. Our waitress recommended a bottle of Coppola 2002 Claret that was very nice. Their ad said Chef Luis Vasquez was back but Tomas from Chile was in the kitchen the night we were there. Our waitress told us that Tony and Paula Vitale who used to own this place had split up. Tony was now running the new Italian restaurant in the old Water Street Grill. And Paula runs this place. Her paintings are on the wall.

We started wit Insalata Trecolore and aan Insalata Arugata. I took a phot of them because they were presented so nicely. As entrees we ordered Tilapia and Shrimp San Remo pan seared with basilwith green imported olives and garlic sauce. My wife ordered Linguini Shrimp with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Onions. The shrimp was suteed in garlic white wine sauce and topped with goat cheese. The food was great.

I took this shot out the bathroom window because it seemed so odd that a restaurant would have such a great big suburban back yard.