There's not a whole lot of Italian fare in gastown, and for the last year I had been heading over to the Old Spaghetti Factory across the street from where I work whenever I had a hankering for Italian. It was kind of a running joke among the staff -- the food's pretty awful there but we just kept on going. Until someone told us to check out Al Porto up the street. MUCH BETTER. They run a lunch special which is actually a very good deal. At dinner they also make the best veal gnocchi, it's tender and well seasoned (and I usually don't like gnocchi!) It's also got more of that local family-owned feel than a lot of the chain restaurants in the city. Definitely would recommend.

We decided to give Al Porto a try while in Gastown last week. The restaurants ambiance is quite nice, cozy, Italian and inviting. We were warmly greeted and quickly shown to a table (without a reso)by the hostess. Our server arrived quickly and offered the daily specials. Service was friendly, attentive and helpful. All our needs were anticipated (extra share plates, cutlery, fresh cracked pepper & parmigiano with all courses.)Being lunch time, our party of four decided to order two starters and two pizzas to share. The Tomato Basil Soup was delicious (with Parmesan of course!) The Catanese salad was just okay. The menu described the dish as being served with roasted red peppers and feta, we received 2 slices of fresh red bell pepper and no feta, dressing was tasy but the rest of the salad needed work! Margherita and Quattro Formaggio Pizzas were quite good. Not the best Italian inspired pizzas we've had but really quite tasty, evident fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes were used. Complimentry bread was apreciated, would have been better served warm with room temperature butter instead of room temperature with frozen butter. Overall we'd definitely give Al Porto a try for dinner, would love to try their pastas and other starters! Would reccomend this restaurant for an Italian evening in Gastown.

I went to this restaurant for my anniversary after reading positive reviews on this site and others. I had high expectations and ended up disappointed.

First, we were sitting upstairs which is supposed to be a little more swanky. The waitress warned us that is was really busy downstairs and that our service would be slow. It was. Strike 1.

When our starter bread came, it wasn't warm. Plus, the butter was hard and cold! It was terribly hard to spread and seemed like a terrible oversite for an Italian restaurant. Strike 2.

My boyfriend ordered one of the meat entrees which he said was OK. I ordered a margherita pizza and was shocked to see one side totally burned and inedible! Because of this restaurant's reputation, I thought I was in for the best pizza of my life. Not so. Strike 3.

I'd like to excuse them because they were super busy. But, all restaurants get super busy on the weekends. If you want to maintain a top reputation, you need to offer high end service any night of the week.

Al Porto has got to be the strangest little Italian dining establishment in the world.

Think about it: basement/"dungeon" level dining, no host/hostess, cranky staff, gaudy artwork, yet good food. The calamari alone is worth trying.

But... the initial service is below passing grade - I give it a solid F.

Why do they even participate in "Dine Out" if they are going to insult every customer who wants to sample their menu and try the promo? Absolute hypocrites.

After being insulted and complaining directly to the waiter, I received a wimpy handshake and apology from the flustered manager who seated me, and a complimentary bottle of rather satisfactory Chianti.

Poor poor service right through the door, confusing floor tiles (which induce vertigo on cue), a chef from heaven, weird atmosphere with a hint of Spanish villa for some reason.

Strange little place.

Stay away. Or boycott like I shall.

Grade: D-

Fantastic slice of pizza! Vancouver's best for sure. My slices were a thick slice of heaven. Very tasty sauce, just enough cheese, and amazing artichoke topping! I couldn't finish the whole pizza myself even when pushing down with wine, so its exceptional value for your dollar.

This pizza was served in a dimly lit fancy shamzy restaurant sure but the service is good and attractive and they could sell it for double! AND they are very busy! Flavourful and recommended.

Another couple joined us for dinner here over the wknd. We had a reso and were sat right away. Although I was slightly disappointed where we were sat, it was very close to the entrance at a large 6 person round table, we all felt really far away from eachother but got over it shortly after; we noticed that it was super busy and that there would be no where to move us if we had asked.
They offered us the Dine Out menu, the regular menu and the wine list. Nothing terribly interesting jumped out at me from the DO menu so we opted to share a few plates instead, my girl friend ordered from the regular menu and her bf tried Dine Out.
Our food was nice, we shared the beef carpaccio - capers, vinagrette, fairly mild, not too much flavor from the beef, the mussels - 'traditional broth', I've definatley had better elsewhere, the broth was salty and the meat was really small; I know they can't help that but the type wasn't that greatest, still ate it though; obviously. We also shared a ceasar salad which was good.
Our gf also had the mussels and she felt the same way we did, for her entree she had the clam pasta; she wasn't a fan but I tried it and I really liked it, fresh, clean clam flavour, perfectly cooked pasta, light olive oil base. Yummy, I'd definalty order that.
As for the DOV- who are friend had- looked really poor. The carpaccio was the same as ours, good not great, his pasta course was rigatoni in a tomato sauce but it tasted like ketchup- really sweet, it was poorly seasoned and bland, plain, it tasted like pizza sauce not pasta sauce. His dessert was also really sad looking, 2 limp pieces of chocolate 'fudge' cake, thin, thin piece with a drizzle of white chocolate sauce. We commented to the server who btw was really nice; he was new and nervous but did a great job, and made our dining experience enjoyable- anyhow we mentioned it tasted like tootsie rolls that you get at halloween; he got a kick out of that for sure; he mentioned that people always comment on the dessert, enough said.
Overall we had a good time, nice wine list, lovely service, solid food.
I'd definalty come back eventually - but I'd ask to be sat at a better table or at least away from the door next time, as for dine out I'd skip it and order off the regular menu which was plentiful and I'm sure pretty good.

Had lunch today and I was very surpised as the food and service was not bad. I had the blue cheese salad which is ok but not outstanding. The special they had today was black cod which was very good. The portion size was good and it was very well presented with some lentils. I like this and so would not right it off like my previous review.

The restaurant was not busy at lunch today.

Keep up with the good work.

I've been here a few times in the last 4 years, on weeknights and weekends, and finally this week for lunch. I always enjoy the meal but am surprised that the place is never more than half full. I think locals consider it more of a restaurant for the tourists. I have found it quite consistent, with good food, usually decent service, and nice decor.

I was spoiled with extremely good gnocchi in Niagara the first time I tried it so I'm quite critical and Al Porto is one place that does a great gnocchi. It's just a shame (to me) that they only serve it with tomato-based sauces. I prefer a mushroom cream or cheese sauce, but that's just me. They make all their pastas fresh and I've enjoyed each one that I've tried. I have also enjoyed the duck and yesterday I tried the veal milanese and that was also good. The chocolate ganache torte was velvety goodness for dessert, just enough to be satisfying.

Service has always been decent on our visits, but never outstanding. The male waiters are always friendly and a bit talkative but seem a bit over-the-top to me, like they're trying too hard to make you feel good so you'll tip well. Yesterday the waiter was doing that to me but almost completely ignoring my uncle, to the extent that when I ordered my dessert he walked away from the table without asking if my uncle wanted anything! Other than that he was good, though... noticed when he took our drink order that the bread hadn't arrived and brought it right away, and our waters were topped-up regularly enough. On our first visit we were given a fabulous recommendation on a red wine, just like a previous reviewer. This is a place to linger a bit as the kitchen isn't super speedy with each course.

The prices aren't cheap, but the food is always good so I'd say the value is solid. It's cheaper than somewhere like Il Giardino, which it should be because it doesn't have premium inventive dishes on the menu. And for dinner you can get 2-for-1 entrees with the Entertainment book, repeatedly throughout the year, so you don't have to wait for Dine Out for better value.

We dined at Al Porto with a larger-ish group (8 ppl or so) for Dine Out Vancouver. Although the restaurant wasn't terribly busy, our waiter was impatient, inattentive and flat out rude. He seemed so annoyed that he even had to wait on our table. And when he came to tell us that some of the listed specials on the fixed menu were not available at the time, he didn't apologize or give an explanation, he merely told us that it was our bad luck that we couldn't have them.

We couldn't figure out what we had done to be treated so poorly, because we are certainly not a group of people that would leave a bad tip or even dine and dash! We are also avid foodies, always looking for new exciting restaurants to dine at. We enjoy Dine Out Vancouver because (normally) it's a chance for restaurants to showcase themselves. Unfortunately, Al Porto demonstrated itself to have absolutely terrible service, mediocre ambiance, and an uninviting atmosphere.

I don't recommend Al Porto, and strongly encourage others to eat elsewhere.

Food was poor:
The plates were hot, the food was not. The pizza was poorly made, it was soggy in the center, and badly baked. There was flour that came off on our hands, and we could taste the raw flour. The other dishes were ordered were too salty. We sent the pizza back.

I'm basing decent food as food I would get from McDonalds. McDonalds food is hot and edible. Lukeware and overly salty food is poor food in my standards.

Service:
The bread took 30 minutes to arrive, the appetizers took 1 hour to arrive, the main course took 2 hours to arrive. The pizza we sent back wasn't even taken off our bill until we reminded the waitress, and even then, we had to remind the waitress twice.

30 minutes after we arrived the candle on the table went out and it wasn't relit until the food came almost 2 hours since we arrived.

Value:
If the food was warm, not overly salty, and the pizza was not half-baked it may have been worth it.
However, 15% gratuity on service and lukewarm overly salty food is not my idea of good value.

Ambiance:
The place was dim and loud. Decore was nice.