Portofino vs Chops

[fun_one]

I found the Chops menu online but can't seem to locate the one for Portofino's. Does anyone have it or a link to one already posted?

Thanks,

Barbara

[megr1125]

Great...food porn!!

 

I've been to both, and they were both good. My filet at Portofino this past November was perfectly cooked, and the shrimp risotto was delicious...

 

Can't remember what i had for dessert....wasn't tiramisu, and i don't think i had the dessert sampler....Hmmm...

 

you get a LOT of food.....the bread was delicious too......

 

I do love Chops though....maybe I will try them again on future cruises, but i love the MDR as well.....(potato croquettes!) I do recall that all our sides at chops (on NV) were cold.....they were taken away and immediately replaced, and the server, assistant and dining room manager stood there while we made sure the new ones were ok!

 

(i love the Chops filet, and have ordered it in the dining room a couple times on EX...it's worth the 15 bucks...and even this meatatarian was unable to finish it....)

[peteukmcr]

Great...food porn!!

 

I've been to both, and they were both good. My filet at Portofino this past November was perfectly cooked, and the shrimp risotto was delicious...

 

Can't remember what i had for dessert....wasn't tiramisu, and i don't think i had the dessert sampler....Hmmm...

 

you get a LOT of food.....the bread was delicious too......

 

I do love Chops though....maybe I will try them again on future cruises, but i love the MDR as well.....(potato croquettes!) I do recall that all our sides at chops (on NV) were cold.....they were taken away and immediately replaced, and the server, assistant and dining room manager stood there while we made sure the new ones were ok!

 

(i love the Chops filet, and have ordered it in the dining room a couple times on EX...it's worth the 15 bucks...and even this meatatarian was unable to finish it....)

I'd forgotten about the shrimp rissoto, excellent and the breads with the oils, pesto and black olive paste, yum.

 

What's the red cake dessert from Chops? Only managed part of it once, it was huge!

[maxxedout2]

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...

 

Lucky you, Liberty.

 

Just got off Liberty, did both Portofino and Chops.

 

Portofino is my/our favorite. Food comes plated. Chefs are artists

at presentation. I always order Filet everywhere but DW enjoys the chops.

Bread basket is a mix and comes with 3 interesting spreads.

Nice portions. We liked the 'tiramisu and a shot' dessert.

 

Chops is kind of family style. Separate plates for everything

and a loaf of bread. Larger portions of sides...too much food

for a solo cruiser, ....:D....

 

Don't get me wrong...both are worth it. Not sure why Chops

gets an extra $10 though? Because if it is a service charge...

the service was no better than Portofino.

 

Enjoy.

:cool:

 

PS...you can order several appetizers or desserts...one entree though

unless you want to pay a little more for 2 entrees.

 

We also ordered an appetizer-sized pasta, to try, no problem.

 

Agree...also liked the shrimp risotto in Portofino and the 4 large shrimp cocktail

in Chops.

[ScubaNPcruiser]

We are on the Serenade in May. Are reservations usually available same day in Chops and/or Portifinos or will I need to reserve pre-cruise or when we board? I'm thinking if we see the MDR menu and don't like the offering that day can we then choose one of pay options?

 

Thanks for the opinions about both restaurants. I'm leaning toward Portifinos and my DH Chops : ) Guess we'll do both on the 12 day cruise.

[CruiseLover15]

I had always been to Chops and never tried Portofinos. I kept reading that the filet was better in Portofinos and I always get a filet in Chops so I tried it. What I read was correct, the filet was awesome in Portofinos.

[Vonodin]

Mariner, March 18 out of Galveston. Sounds like the 8 of us are going to try Portofino first.

[Cruising89143]

Just back from the Allure and Chops was a disappointment this time. Seems to us that they have changed a few things and we noticed some cut backs in the quality of the food. We actually canceled our reservation for a second night and moved it to Giovanni's.

 

We have always enjoyed Chops and will give them another try on our next cruise but I hope that this was just a one time issue.

[Sunebeach]

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?

 

Portofino's was excellent, I have never had lobster that was cooked perfectly...not chewy or rubbery...and the other dishes were divine...worth the extra money and we will do this again on Allure in October...

[T_Bone2012]

Mariner, March 18 out of Galveston. Sounds like the 8 of us are going to try Portofino first.

 

I would suggest either Tuesday or Wednesday night. After you eat there once, you will want to eat there another night, as their menu is very diversified.

[peteukmcr]

Portofino's was excellent, I have never had lobster that was cooked perfectly...not chewy or rubbery...and the other dishes were divine...worth the extra money and we will do this again on Allure in October...

Unfortunately there isn't a Portofino on Allure, that's the one disappointment, but I have heard good reports of Giovanni's. Also read good reports of the Samba Grill so looking forward to trying that too.

[funkette69]

This is our 1st cruise and we are gonna try both! If I was you I would try the place you havnt dined at before and make up your own mind............as the saying goes "One man's meat is another man's gravy".

[SuchAVirgo]

Chops examples:

 

Tuna

 

Crab Cake

 

Both were excellent!!

[SuchAVirgo]

Dessert

[fun_one]

I just got back from the Mariner of the Seas and we decided to do one Special restaurant and having eaten at both Portofino's and Chops in the past, we decided on Portofino's and we were NOT disappointed. The food and service was FANTASTIC. The same person manages both restaurants so I am sure the service was just as good at Chops but the variety of food on the menu at Portofino's was outstanding. I love a good steak but I like options. I actually did end up ordering the filet at Portofino's but the others at my table had seafood or osso buca and were not disappointed. The appetizers were great and our server gave us a variety of things from start to finish. We skipped salads as there really isn't room for that much food to include a salad. Just my 2 cents.

Barbara