Delicious Italian food with generous portions and great flavor. The pasta was excellent, and the…read moreservice was warm and attentive. Would happily return!

This place was fantastic! From the moment we walked in, I was impressed with the service. The food…read morealso delicious. Our waiter was top notch as well! You can't go wrong here!! Enjoy!

"And yes, her jeans are tight now She gonna travel light now…read more Oh, but I got one for you Portobello belle" (Dire Straits) Put a great meal in a beautifully designed space, add a server with a 1,000 megawatt personality, and finish with a warm, unexpected visit from the owner. Well, that's the checklist for the standout lunch experience we had at Portobello yesterday. The European street scene dining room is very pretty, with two huge Italian landscape paintings on the brick walls, lantern lights, a wide plank hardwood floor, dark furniture and white tablecloths. Molto elegante! So, our experience was positive from the minute we sat down but got even better when Dee made her appearance. She may have been my favorite server of 2026! What a joy she was, with her sunny disposition, whip smart sense of humor, and plain overall charm. We dove into the lunch menu and saw they had a ton of options within their Appetizer, Soup, Salad, Entrée. Burger, Pasta, and Sandwich/Wrap groupings. We went for two sandwiches - Eggplant with fries ($19) and Balsamic Marinated Portobello Mushroom Panini ($16.00) with fresh mozzarella, oven-fried tomatoes, arugula, roasted pepper aioli and a side salad. The Mushroom Panini was mine and it was fantastic; I loved every bite of it. I love mushrooms and that big Portobello, tomato, aioli combination was delicious. Toward the end of the meal, none other than owner Seyo Cecunjanin came over to thank us for our patronage and asked how we liked the meal. When we told him we loved it and we were first timers, he thanked us again in the form of a complimentary slice of their Pistachio cake! Portobello has a Happy Hour (how does a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Martini sound?), and that makes Portobello even more of a sweet destination to seek out and support. Thank you, Dee, Seyo, and everyone at Portobello for a five star experience.

Portobello is the best Italian restaurant in this area! The…read morefood is so fresh and well-seasoned. Theirseafood options are unparalleled. I had the linguine with clams and it was chock full of whole and chopped clams- to die for! The service and ambiance are great. I already can't wait to return . . .

The. Best. Restaurant. In West Hartford…read more The food is unbelievable. All fresh!! Every time we come it just gets better and better. Love the ambiance inside and service is always fantastic. Can't beat Bricco.

Restaurant Bricco, a modern Italian restaurant, has been a longtime fixture in West Hartford…read moreCenter. Until this Summer, I hadn't been in many years. Primarily because I live closer to the Glastonbury Bricco when I'm looking for something similar. The primary reason I visited, was that a friend told me he thinks Bricco has the best vodka sauce in CT. I love vodka sauce. So I vowed to visit at some point. I sat in the bar, which is very cool, when I visited. Service was attentive and friendly. I ordered penne alla vodka when I visited and I added a chicken cutlet. I was disappointed when the dish arrived, because the cutlet was cut in strips (which was fine) and placed on top of the pasta, but it was not sauced or incorporated into the sauced pasta at all. At a minimum, I would have liked to see some sort of sauce drizzled over part of the cutlet. The components were all good. I can't say it was my favorite CT vodka sauce because I prefer a brighter flavored sauce. To me, the sauce tasted more like a tasty thick tomato soup. Good, but not my preference. In any event, I've had a number of good experiences at Bricco over the years and it has my recommendation. This experience was 4.25 Stars.

This is my newest post-bowling hangout place! I have a rare chance to grab a drink and some food on…read morethe way home tonight from bowling. The restaurant is located on 389 Main St. in East Hartford. Their kitchen is built fresh, from scratch, and all homemade. Their appetizers, pasta, entrees and desserts combine old-world traditional Italian flavor with a modern flair for presentation, and the freshest ingredients around. Menu staples like calamari, chicken milanese, fettucine carbonara and ravioli are paired with unique recipes like pappardelle with sausage and tenderloin steaks. They have staffed our kitchen with a dream team of local chefs that ensure our quality does not waiver and our kitchen is always OPEN! You just can't go wrong. I had the pleasure of speaking with the legendary Carmine (the owner of this great place). He has quite a few great stories to tell! For my first drink, I'm having the Pratt & Whiskey. It is made with Woodford Reserve bourbon, sweet vermouth, red wine and sour mix. This drink is a play on Pratt & Whitney (which is literally right across the street). This is like a Manhattan. It is nicely garnished, chilled and tastes great. You can taste the alcohol and the wine stands out! This is a very unique drink! For my first item, I'm having a Half Caesar Salad. A Caesar salad is a crisp green salad made with romaine lettuce, garlic croutons, Parmesan cheese, and a creamy dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. I like their use of cloth napkins and metal silverware. I do not care for plastic silverware or paper napkins unless the situation calls for it. This is tossed nicely! I do not care for a Caesar salad where they give you a side of the dressing. Don't forget to sprinkle on pepper. It goes well with this dish! The croutons are good and I like the large pieces of Parmesan cheese! There's lots of dressing too! This dish is even better with sardines but they aren't cheap. For my appetizer, I'm having the House-made Soup of the Day. I'm told it's Vegetable Beef Barley. Extra spicy, of course! It is absolutely huge and spicy as can be! It's hot too and a good sized portion! Wow! This is spicy! I added a little new hot pepper powder (mine) called Three Ghosts made by NoBull Spice Co. The blend begins with the bold, nutty smokiness of Red de Árbol, laying a rich foundation for the trio of Ghost Peppers. Red Ghost brings bright fruitiness, floral notes, and classic Ghost Pepper heat. Chocolate Ghost adds deep earthy richness with hints of bittersweet cocoa and smoke, while Green Ghost finishes with fresh grassy citrus notes that brighten the blend before unleashing an unforgettable, lingering burn. This is rated as 300,000 Scoville units. Be careful with this stuff! There is just no better than this! They have open mike (jazz) here tonight! This place is famous for live music! These people are good! I could stay here all night! For my next drink, I am having the Manhattan's Creek made with Knob's Creek bourbon, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth and Angostura bitters. This is actually a Perfect Manhattan martini. This is "perfect"! It is very well chilled, garnished with a maraschino cherry and is perfectly balanced. Wow! It's nice and strong! What an incredible drink! For my entrée, I'm having the Chicken A La Vodka. This is grilled chicken breast served with traditional vodka sauce, peas (extra for me!), sun-dried tomatoes and rigatoni with crispy prosciutto with Parmesan (light for real me). This is spicy! The bowl is real hot too! For my final drink, I'm having a Negroni. A Negroni is an Italian cocktail, made of equal parts gin, vermouth rosso (red, semi-sweet), and Campari, generally served with ice, and commonly garnished with an orange slice or orange peel. It is considered an apéritif. Apéritifs are drinks, typically alcoholic, that are normally served respectively before and after a meal. Well, in my case, during the meal! Let's see how the "new" Tuesday bartender does. This is a perfect drink! It's chilled and nicely garnished! It's perfectly poured too! I would like the single large ice cube but not every place has that luxury. Still she is very good! For dessert, I'm having the Toasted Almond which is soaked in Amaretto, layered with light custard and topped with crushed almonds. I don't think I've ever had this before! I love whipped cream!!! This is the bomb! What a fantastic experience here! There's never a disappointing night at this place! It just doesn't get any better! Thank you Carmine!

Random selection in my travels off Rt 84. Food was delicious and I happily stumbled on live music…read more Mixed crowd Cappuccino gelato truffle, JD tips over pasta and 1/2 Caesar salad

Can a restaurant be this good consistently? All the yes…read more I recently went back for a quick lunch and was floored by how good their pastas still are. I had the gnocchi with sausage and broccoli rabe and I wanted to eat it in mini bites to savor every morsel. It's just creamy and melt in mouth delicious. A little salty, a little savory, just a little slight bitter of the broccoli rabe that just works in the best way. Service was professional and attentive. Treva remains a standout in the Center and a must visit for anyone. Top tier.

Second time to Treva Saturday night. Always busy. All the restaurants are like this in West…read moreHartford but they pack you in so tight you can barely move. To the point where trying to get in to the table my purse knocked over a water glass and it smashed. I'm not large either. Anyway. First time here I felt my dish was much better. I had the Branzino and it was great. This time I had the fruitta de mare and the sauce was extremely bland. Dish felt dried out. Not enough variety of seafood either. Mostly mussels and calamari. Was presented in a weird dish too. I did not care for it at all. They gave me gnocchi for gluten free pasta. It was fine just sauce was bland as mentioned. My boyfriend loved his Orrechiete and it was very good. I will say from the mozzarella bar we had the burrata and the tomatoes were flavored beautifully and the bread also looked quite nice. Bf said it was great. Giving Treva a 4 for last time it was great and everything other than my entree this time was good.

For a Thursday evening it was not busy. We had reservations, but did t look like we needed them…read more Both the pizza and pasta were fresh and tasty. Next time we will try the dish bread. It looked amazing

Order screwed up - side and pasta came out before main - promised main would be ready in ten…read moreminutes- after 25 minutes gave up - I'm at the bar - is it that difficult to check in - drink was good, but I was hoping for a balanced meal..,

We love it here. The chicken à la vodka is my favorite. Family friendly atmosphere. Last night I…read moregot the blue cheese & pear pizza, though, and I wouldn't order that again. But I'll be back for my chicken à la vodka.

Tonight I went with a friend for dinner. The atmosphere was beautiful, customer service so nice. My…read morefriend's eggplant parm came too hot, while my rigatoni bolognese was room temperature at best. Obviously mine was ready first and waited. Also, I got ice and water splattered on me not once but twice. The first time she didn't notice. The second time it was everywhere. I am hopeful it was just a one time experience, and the food was really tasty anyway. I'd like to try again.

The food was excellent. Unfortunately, much was unfamiliar to me so I had to ask.'it was well worth…read moreit. I would go back!

I was looking for a BYOB spot in Hartford before seeing a show and this was a great choice. They…read morehave a large comfortable dining room and the service was very good. I ordered the Chicken Picatta and it was a large serving and very tasty. The cheesy garlic bread was also great. The menu is mostly Italian but they also feature Balkan items. The music in the dining room was primarily Croatian and Serbian which was interesting and different. I will definitely be back.

We had such a wonderful dining experience! There were five of us--two vegetarians and three meat…read moreeaters and everyone found something they absolutely loved. Everything was exceptional, from the drinks and ambiance to the salads, entrées, and desserts. The kale salad was fresh and delicious, the Pasta alla Vodka was outstanding, and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the Chicken Parmesan (I completely forgot to take a picture because she was so excited to dig in!). The hazelnut pie was the perfect way to end the meal and cobbler pie A special shout-out to Rory, who took such great care of us. I was hoping for a Dubai Chocolate Espresso Martini, which wasn't on the menu, and she went above and beyond by checking with the bartender and putting in a special request for me. That thoughtful gesture made my evening extra special and truly reflected the outstanding hospitality. We left happy, full, and already looking forward to coming back to explore more of the menu. Highly recommend and more sensible way was giving the salads separately in two plates. We mentioned we would be sharing the salad and pasta Ella vodka which was the first time I have ever seen in a restaurant, most restaurants would give a big one and we need to portion it out. Amazing experience.

Bricco Bricco is…read moreclearly one of the more popular spots in town, and it's easy to see why -- but our visit was a mix of highs and lows. We started with the shrimp alla vodka pasta, which was genuinely good and a dish I'd order again. We also shared an apple arugula salad that was fresh and well balanced, along with a side of fries that were just okay -- nothing special, but they did the job. The evening didn't start off smoothly, though. The restaurant was busy, and the wait to be seated took a while. Once we were seated, the service was okay at best -- attentive enough to get our order right, but not particularly warm or fast. That became more of an issue when our prosecco arrived flat. We had to work to get our waiter's attention to have it replaced, and it took much longer than it should have for someone to notice and follow up. We also tried a lavender vodka drink, which ended up being a bit of a letdown. It was expensive for what amounted to a small pour, and honestly the best part of it was the fancy glass it came in -- the drink itself didn't quite justify the price. Overall, the food carried the night. The pasta and salad were highlights, and I'd come back for those alone. But the service hiccups and pricey, underwhelming cocktails took some shine off the experience. If you go, stick to the pasta and maybe skip the specialty drinks.

"Rose darling come to me All I ask of you…read moreIs make my wildest dreams come true" (Steely Dan) You probably don't need a PHD in linguistics to surmise that the Italian words "La Rosa" translates into the English words "The Rose". And if your wildest dreams happen to revolve around Italian comfort foods and well stacked sandwiches, well, do I have a place to make those wildest dreams come true for you! La Rosa is your quintessential Italian deli with dozens of grinders, paninis, wraps, salads, soups and a daily hot bar of pasta and chicken entrees. We ordered a grilled Panino Melenzani ($12) with eggplant, tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and olive oil. It was grilled right in front of our eyes, so it was as fresh as could be. It had plenty of tender sliced eggplant, yummy cheese and fresh tomatoes. I went with my usual, an Italian Combo (half size for $14) stacked a mile high with Ham, Turkey, Genoa, Mortadella, Capicola, and Provolone with lettuce, tomato, onions, and peppers on a fresh loaf of Italian bread. It was superb, and the portion size was so generous that it lasted me for three lunches. As we were paying, we spied some home-made cookies by the register and grabbed an oatmeal and a chocolate chip to take home. Everything ran $32 for a ton of wonderful Italian goodness. We didn't get a chance to check out the hot bar. It wasn't open today because LaRosa's Marketplace was closing early for personal reasons. But I promise you, the next time we visit we'll leave with one of their chicken or pasta entrees. We love our Italian delis, and LaRosa's has immediately shot up into our top tier.

Delicious sausage grinder! The sausage is really good as it doesn't have a lot of fat to it…read more Perfect grinder bread. The best sauce that reminds me of my nonnas!