9. Portofino
Portofino Restaurant
Portofino, at 555 City Island Avenue, is an old-school seafood-focused Italian restaurant and staple of the City Island dining community. Most of the eateries on this list offer a selection of Italian options, but Portofino is one of the only eateries on the island devoted entirely to classic Italian cooking. Facing the harbor, the dining room has a rustic feel with red leather chairs and booths and brown walls painted with scenes of the Italian countryside.
Appetizers include a selection of seafood dishes like spedini, fresh mozzarella with an anchovy and caper sauce, baked clams, and seafood salad, in addition to escargots with parsley and garlic. Salads range from their Adriatic salad with fruit and walnuts to their Tri Color salad with arugula, radicchio, and endives.
Portofino offers a small selection of pastas like seafood linguine with calamari, shrimp, clams and mussels, risotto pescatore prepared with a selection of seafood, and fettuccine puttanesca with capers, olives, and anchovies. Meat entrees include classics like chicken alla Romana with prosciutto and fontina cheese and filet mignon as well as original creations like Veal Portofino, veal scallopini with crab and mozzarella in a champagne sauce. Seafood dishes like lobster Allargiatta, deep-fried lobster sauteed with garlic and hot spices, lobster tails, and stuffed tilapia are all popular among seafood lovers.