Portofinos or Chops???

[gamomluvs2cruise]

We are cruising in 4 weeks on the Mariner!:D Which of the two is the best...Portofinos or Chop and why? Thanks!

 

Carol

[PTarbay]

http://cruiseclues.com/menus.htm

You can see the menus for both here.That might help you decide.

[curly4dana]

personally we prefer portofino's...it was very close to being in an italian restaurant in italy...many many courses and many many choices. the food was awesome! we could not eat everything they gave us...it was waaaaay too much, but we did get to taste every single thing! how could we not? lol

as for chops...well, we have a couple of great steak houses near us, and we do a ton of grilling, so it wasn't really a choice for us. also, having grown up in nyc, i'm spoiled by peter lugers. no one can beat that!

[yarlenna]

Ditto, Portifinos gets my vote. We ate at both twice. If you go expecting American-Italian food, you won't like it. If you go expecting good food served nicely, the experience may make your cruise. IF you can afford to do both, that would be perfect. I found it to be well worth the few dollars they charged.

[gamomluvs2cruise]

Thanks so much for the advice and the link to the menus! I know that they are probably both great, but I am leaning towards Portofinos.

 

Thanks again...Carol:)

[shuggee]

I've only eaten in Chops on the Brilliance but plan to eat in both on the Jewel. Chops was very good and the service was superb.

[Fairsailing]

We went to Chops on the Mariner in April. It was great. Comparable to a gormet steakhouse at home- but only $20!:) Looking forward to Portofinos on Brilliance next month...

[gamomluvs2cruise]

Thanks again! Decisions! Decisions! It looks as if I can't go wrong by choosing either!

 

 

 

Carol

[CruisingCatherine]

Carol;

 

I think I am leaning towards Chops on our cruise....(can't wait, we are almost there!!) We have a Marano's Macaroni Grill here in Nashville. Best Italian I have ever ate...including when I lived in Chicago. I don't think that Portifino's could compare.

[hblackmon]

We have Macaroni Grill here in Atlanta as well (in fact, my sister used to work there), but it doesn't even come close to Portofino's! In my opinion, Portofino's has the best italian food outside of Italy. We have been on 3 RCCL cruises in the past three years (our 4th is in a week) and we always go to Portofino's. Don't miss it - it's well worth the $20 fee!

[isujim]

We did both on the Brilliance in April...........I loved Chops and my wife loved Portofino's...........so there you go! ;) I just don't care for Italian that much and my wife doesn't like steak that much...........both were excellant and well worth the money.

[Hawaii5o]

We are on the Jewel in November and have thought about doing both restaurants. How far in advance should we make reservations?

 

Thanks!

[desertheat]

We tried Chops and it wasn't all that great. The lamb chops I ordered were great but husband said he had better steak in the dining room. Service was okay but nothing to brag about. Maybe that was because we had a fantastic waiter and busboy in the dining room. They were so polite, so much fun and always ready to please. Next time we will try Portofino's.

[dizzykat]

We ate in Portofino's when we were on the Adventure of the Seas 2 years ago. It was fantastic! Just took a cruise on Jewel of the Seas a couple months ago and tried Chops this time. Equally fantastic. I think it just depends on your food preferences. I think you'll enjoy either one.

 

One thing to note, especially when viewing the menus on the link that was posted, is that the menus for both restuarants have changed. In Portofino's the lobster ravioli and lobster tail entree were no longer offered, among other things. I remember this clearly because that's what I had while dining there on AOS and they were not on the menu for the Jewel. And the desserts in Chops were more limited. You also might want to ask if there will be any specials on the menu the night you are dining, when we ate in Portofino's they offered rack of lamb as an entree, which wasn't on the menu. Don't know if they still do that or not.

Kathy

[hstrybuf]

We're leaning toward trying Portofino's on the Navigator. Can anyone compare it to Sabatini's on Princess?