Portofino tempts groups with generous portions of traditional Italian cuisine

Senior chef Domenico Cicchetti masterminds a generous menu of fresh seafood, pastas and pizzas in an intimate, contemporary setting that’s just right for groups

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Portofino is an intimate, contemporary restaurant with a tasty Italian menu for groups.

Published: 9:32am, 18 Jun 2018Updated: 9:32am, 18 Jun 2018

The Venetian Macao’s signature Italian restaurant, Portofino, is intimate, contemporary and a fine option for group dining as its traditional dishes are generously portioned. Its senior chef, Domenico Cicchetti, comes from the Abruzzo region of Italy and brings more than 20 years of international culinary experience to a restaurant that is well-known for its fresh seafood, pastas and pizzas. Our starters were seasonal oysters from the US and Kumamoto, Japan, and they were fresh, slightly briny and sweet. It was pleasant to pair the oysters with a glass of Fontanafredda Gavi di Gavi, a dry and well-balanced white wine from Piedmont.

We then went for the wild mushroom soup and chitarrina con polpettine. The soup was mild and creamy, flavoured with garlic and thyme, and cooked with white truffle essence and Parmesan croutons. The home-made chitarra pasta with mini meatballs, tomato sauce and pecorino, was cooked al dente and was very tasty.

The pizza de crescenzo is worth a try at Portofino, in the Venetian Macao.

We then tried the Pizza de crescenzo (left), one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. The pizza was stuffed with San Marzano tomato, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, Italian black truffle paste, and was cheesy and filling. Desserts such as the amaretto crème brûlée and cassata Siciliana al cioccolato are a fine way to wrap up the night.