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Portofino vs Chops

barbcsogi88

By barbcsogi88,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Luvs2Cruise1982

Luvs2Cruise1982

Posted
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Wondering what peoples opinions are on Portofinos vs Chops. I have dined in Portofinos and love it but never Chops. Going on the Liberty in 3 weeks and just looking for so opinions...

 

lol- i'm actually looking for the opposite info. We have been in Chops but never Portofino. We really liked Chops on Enchantment. Its a beautiful restaurant and the food was amazing!! Red velvet cake was worth the fee alone!!! What is Portofino like?

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peteukmcr

peteukmcr

Posted
Posted
Wondering what peoples opinions are on Portofinos vs Chops. I have dined in Portofinos and love it but never Chops. Going on the Liberty in 3 weeks and just looking for so opinions...
I can only provide our opinions, but we visited Chops and Portofino each twice on Liberty on our westbound TA last year.

 

I feel that if you want a selection of steaks to choose from, then you need to try Chops. However, if you are happy with a filet, then Portofino serve an excellent filet and the additional charge is only $20 in Portofino whereas it has recently increased to $30 in Chops. (waiting for RCI to increase this though).

 

I think the choice of sides in Chops are greater than in Portofino, but that's not a deal breaker for us and there maybe a great selection of desserts.

 

However, we love the breads, dipping oils, dessert samplers in Portofino and that wonderful Tiramisu!

 

To be honest, always enjoyed Chops but am leaning more to Portofino, but that doesn't mean we won't be visiting Chops on our next Liberty sailing in May.

 

Sorry if that hasn't helped!

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Tanker4

Tanker4

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I can only provide our opinions, but we visited Chops and Portofino each twice on Liberty on our westbound TA last year.

 

I feel that if you want a selection of steaks to choose from, then you need to try Chops. However, if you are happy with a filet, then Portofino serve an excellent filet and the additional charge is only $20 in Portofino whereas it has recently increased to $30 in Chops. (waiting for RCI to increase this though).

 

I think the choice of sides in Chops are greater than in Portofino, but that's not a deal breaker for us and there maybe a great selection of desserts.

 

However, we love the breads, dipping oils, dessert samplers in Portofino and that wonderful Tiramisu!

 

To be honest, always enjoyed Chops but am leaning more to Portofino, but that doesn't mean we won't be visiting Chops on our next Liberty sailing in May.

 

Sorry if that hasn't helped!

 

Have to agree with you. We like Chops and will continue to dine there once in awhile but if we had to make a choice, it would be Portofino. Have reservations at both next week on the Jewel.:D

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Mickeylee

Mickeylee

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I'm of the opposite opinion - we always eat in Chops and love it, while I don't think I would eat in Portofino again.

 

We had fantastic service, and the atmosphere is excellent, but the menu is just not to our liking. He's allergic to seafood and I don't, for the most part, eat it (not allergic - just don't like it). DH had the steak which he loved, but the veal dish I had, while very well prepared, just didn't appeal to me.

 

I would suggest checking out the menu and see if it interests you. I know that I have read many reviews from people who love Portofino; it just doesn't work for us. On the other hand, we love Chops and eat there several times each cruise.

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Erik101

Erik101

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These are two very different restaurants to compare and contrast and I hope that you receive enough feedback to make a decision of your liking.

 

With that said, I have dined in both restaurants and this is my opinion: Chops is okay for a steakhouse! I don't think it's a reason to write home about. The filet was good but honestly, I've had better steak on land. If you're ever in California, go to the Hitching Post in Buellton. This restaurant was featured in the movie Sideways and the steaks were incredible, lots of flavor, etc. Back to Chops, the portions were good and the wait staff made sure that we knew how our steaks were being prepared. They were very educational about the process. I give them kudos to that!

 

As for Portofino, it was also okay, nothing spectacular! The best Italian eateries I've been to were local restaurants in Brooklyn. But, the two things that I did like about Portofino are: 1) They were able to fix the portion as I requested. Since Italian food can be very heavy, I asked them to fix the dishes in small portions so that I would be able to enjoy the multiple servings. I'm a believer in quality and not quantity so I left the restaurant full and not stuffed! 2) Each party at my table got 4 types of desserts, which were well presented and tasted great!

 

Have you looked at the menu for both restaurants? I think you can view them on the RCI website. Best wishes to you! And have a great time! :)

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ryano

ryano

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I am going to try Portofino this time but honestly, not much on the menu appeals to me at all besides the seafood skewer or the filet.

 

I know one thing for sure. The sides at Chops were way more to my liking than those on the Portofino menu on my last cruise.

 

LOVED the jumbo shrimp cocktail!

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CarefreeCruising

CarefreeCruising

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They're both great restaurants. I think it all comes down to a matter of taste. I prefer Portofino while my husband prefers Chops.... so we're going to both on our next cruise! :D

 

My husband prefers Chops because he's a "meat and potatoes" person and loves steak. What you will find there are mostely steak and typical sides (baked potatoes, vegetables, onion rings, etc) prepared excellently in a steakhouse atmosphere.

 

I prefer Portofino because I love the ambiance there which I find to be more romantic than Chops. (We usually do one specialty with our friends and one just the two of us. We do Portofino just the two of us for this reason.) I also find the food at Portofino to be a bit more creative and unexpected than the food at Chops. If you have a picky eater in your group, Chops is an excellent choice. But, if you are more of a "foodie" and find yourself liking to try new things and are a big fan of the presentation of a dish, you may gravitate towards Portofino.

 

You really can't go wrong either way.

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Sequim88

Sequim88

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We prefer Portofino 2-to-1 over Chops. That ratio because on 14-15 night cruise we go to Portofino twice and Chops once. :D DW is not a meat fan like me so it is more of a struggle to get to go to Chops even once.

 

The Seafood Skewer at Portofino is amazing and worth going all by itself. Last time we went to Portofino twice I tried the Fillet on second visit and it was actually a better steak than I had had at Chops. But as noted Chops as more variety of steak cuts.

 

Atmosphere at Portofino was light and airy where as they did (on Brilliance anyway) make Chops a darker old school elegant steakhouse feel.

 

Side note. On last cruise we only did specialty once and only at Portofino. Our MDR waiter was so good he even visited us there so make sure it was all good. We told him he should work there he was so good and he said he actually used to but prefered MDR doing MTD tables. Tips are better due to more people servered. Looked to me like the specialty places are training ground (slower pace, fewer diners) for new wait staff under close supervision to make sure service level remains high

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crusin nut

crusin nut

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Our vote is without a doubt--Chops! We have done Portofino many many times as they do not have a chops on Adventure or Voyager but I agree it is just what kind of food you like. Too much fish for us at Portofino but their deserts are to die for. Steak and the sides are our thing and any ship with a Chops--we are their!! Now we will be their on Valentines Day this year--can hardly wait!!

 

Crusin Nut

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T_Bone2012

T_Bone2012

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We enjoyed them both last week! The steaks were great at chops, and I had seared Tuna at Portofino. The deserts at Portofinos were incredible. We ate at one on Wednesday night (beef stroganoff in the MD), and one on the last night (perfect way to end the cruise).

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seafoy

seafoy

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Definitely in the minority here, but I did both on the Liberty in Janurary and didn't feel either were that great. We actually fared better in the MDR...and was NOT expecting that with all the raves on these boards. May try again on a different cruise on a different ship to see if it was a fluke, but not impressed at all.

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