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  5. Portola Valley

Portola Kitchen

4.4
4.4
855 Reviews
$30 and under
Italian
Portola Kitchen is a place to gather with family and friends to enjoy the simplicity of rustic Italian-American cooking. Bringing you authentic cuisine, we use locally grown ingredients whenever possible, make our pasta in-house, and give our support to near-by wineries.

We believe the purity of our concept lies in the quality of our ingredients and the simplicity of our dishes. We are dedicated to bringing simple yet refined Italian-American cooking to our neighborhood and look forward to serving you and our community.

Along with our seasonal menu, we offer a full bar and a unique selection of California and Italian wines. Our menus are constantly changing, so the options for Dinner, Lunch and Brunch are endless. We also have a menu just for the kids.

Please join us and enjoy the rustic ambiance of Portola Kitchen. Whether it’s inside or out on our patio, we’d love to see you!

Make a reservation

2 people

8:30 PM


Booked 7 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Californian, American
  • Hours of operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 10:00 am–2:00 pm Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–8:30 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (650) 851-6453
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive chef
    Juan Valencia
  • Neighborhood
    Portola Valley
  • Cross street
    280 Freeway
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Additional
    Bar Dining, Beer, BYO Wine, Corkage Fee, Farm to Table, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 855 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.4
4.4 based on recent ratings
  • 4.3Food
  • 4.5Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4.2Value

NoiseModerate

855 Reviews
  1. alterkocker

    San Francisco

    35 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    35 reviews

    Dined on July 26, 2023

    overall4food4service4ambience4
    Portola Kitchen is a generally very good neighborhood restaurant. There is a fairly creative menu, and the wine list is pretty good. My wife and I split a grilled peach salad with arugula and a very nice dressing. She had a very bland pork chop for the main course and I had eggplant Parmesan. The sauce on the eggplant was outstanding but the eggplant was a little undercooked and tough. The ambience here is nice, and it is generally a delight to eat outside where there are probably a dozen tables. Inside is always quite noisy, so we always tend to avoid sitting where it’s difficult to hear each other talk. 

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  2. KellyB

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    4.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on July 8, 2023

    overall4food4service5ambience3
    We were seated on time and the wait staff was attentive but not overly bothersome. The appetizers came out quickly and we were sitting with our drinks enjoying the calamari in no time. The meal wasn't rushed and when the entrees arrived hot and were delicious. Our server let us linger over the meal and enjoy our last bites without feeling rushed. A wonderful evening meal. We'll definitely keep this spot on the top of our list for future dinners.

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  3. Anita

    San Francisco

    9 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on July 7, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience4
    Service and food was amazing . Will surely visit again.

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  4. DaveH

    San Francisco

    17 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    17 reviews

    Dined on July 2, 2023

    overall5food4service5ambience4
    Consistently a positive dining experience at Portola Kitchen! Old favorites plus specials always make for a good variety of options. Topped off by excellent service, such as we had from Ernesto last night, it makes for a very good restaurant outing.

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  5. JenniferL

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on June 19, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Loved it! Great food! Wonderful service! Highly recommend

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  6. Discrimanating

    San Francisco

    105 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    105 reviews

    Dined on June 15, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    GREAT neighborhood restaurant. Our "go to" place where we know we will ALWAYS get great food and service

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  7. RichardE

    San Francisco

    55 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    55 reviews

    Dined on June 4, 2023

    overall5food4service5ambience5
    We have been here many times and always enjoyed the good and wine selection. Outside seating in summer months is nice and not so loud for having a conversation. Hope they open for lunch again soon. Mike, the owner, came by and talked to us for a while and said maybe in the future will open for lunch again. We have only eaten inside once when it was cold outside and enjoyed that experienced also. Suggest reservations but you may be able to walk in. Just call ahead.

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  8. MarkE

    Central Coast

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on May 20, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Always consistent high quality meals served right out of the kitchen.

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  9. SFFoodie

    San Francisco

    53 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    53 reviews

    Dined on May 15, 2023

    overall3food3service3ambience2
    Service was a bit slow. The food was good, and the potion was surprisingly big. However, we had to wait almost 40 minutes even though we made a reservation. We understand it was Mother's Day, and they were probably short on staff. And the lady in charge was very apologetic and offered us free drinks, which was very nice of her. However, the management could be a bit more efficient. They might also be overbooked. For a restaurant that has been around for such a long time, I felt that they should have anticipated the crowd and handled their reservations better. We will definitely still come back. I hope this was just one unusual day and not a regular thing.

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  10. OpenTable Diner

    Los Angeles

    10 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    10 reviews

    Dined on April 25, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    What a great time, the pizza and pasta were both excellent. Also the fish is very good. We had cocktails and wine and they were good as was the service.

    1 person found this helpful

  11. ValS

    San Francisco

    6 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on April 25, 2023

    overall3food2service4ambience4
    I’ve eaten here several times & enjoyed the food. This time was different: my friend’s risotto was so bland she had to douse it in salt & Parmesan to make it edible. My swordfish was also bland with very few capers & no flavor. All in all very disappointing.

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  12. Jane

    San Francisco

    68 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    68 reviews

    Dined on April 22, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Excellent, Caesar salad, pear, salad, swordfish, and chicken. We had the other night. Service was really good and very relaxed atmosphere. Parking can be challenging around 6 o’clock so allow time for that.

    1 person found this helpful

  13. Discrimanating

    San Francisco

    105 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    105 reviews

    Dined on March 31, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    As always, Portola Kitchen continues to set a high standard for food, service and ambience. Will return many, many times

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  14. Nico

    San Francisco

    14 reviews

    4.0

    14 reviews

    Dined on March 27, 2023

    overall4food4service5ambience4
    Portola Kitchen is one of our go to restaurants. Enjoy the fact that they have a very nice outdoor area for outdoor dining. The food is excellent and there is quite a variety along with Pizza's! We had the Chicken Daviola, the Salmon with Spaghettia and the Maffolada pasta (spelling). We all enjoyed our dishes and our drinks!

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  15. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    119 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    119 reviews

    Dined on March 26, 2023

    overall3food3service4ambience4
    We loved the pizza, but nothing else was really that great. The ahi tuna appetizer was a big disappointment. The tuna had the texture of beef jerky. My skirt steak, which I ordered a medium rare came well done and needed to be returned back to the kitchen. When I got it back the second time, it was purely rare and hard to eat. All in all I would say I was disappointed and so is My Husband. The margarita and pizza for the icing on the cake.

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  16. CindyT

    San Francisco

    9 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on March 13, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Friendly staff and delicious food! Lovely pasta dishes and wished we had left room for some of their amazing looking desserts!

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  17. Mike

    Portland

    27 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    27 reviews

    Dined on March 12, 2023

    overall5food5service4ambience4
    Great Italian cuisine, pastas are terrific, seafood terrific, a real neighborhood gem. Delicious and nice folks. Good cocktails, too!

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  18. AmyG

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on March 12, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Great food and service...never disappoints and has a menu offering for every discerning appetite.

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  19. Hopefull

    San Francisco

    30 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    30 reviews

    Dined on March 5, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Our server was extremely friendly, polite and professional. Food was excellent. They do not overcharge for corkage fee; very fair. Will definitely be returning.

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  20. OpenTable Diner

    New York Area

    5 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on March 4, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    The bread rolls were amazing !!

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  21. anil

    San Francisco

    15 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    15 reviews

    Dined on February 26, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Lovely restaurant, food and drinks. Rose and the entire service staff were amazing! Will go there again and again!

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  22. OpenTable Diner

    Demoland (US)

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on February 23, 2023

    overall5food4service5ambience5
    The. Half Chicken dinner was wonderful! My hubby was disappointed with the pear salad! Not nearly as good as he remembered! Please prepare like before! Big an impressive!

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  23. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on February 16, 2023

    overall5food4service5ambience5
    Always a great experience!

    Is this helpful?

  24. Yung

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on February 15, 2023

    overall4food5service4ambience4
    quality of food was excellent. large airy room so it is hard to hear the person talking across the table. service is slow but friendly. excellent option for nice family or work dinner.

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  25. Faithypants

    Los Angeles

    6 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on February 9, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    A lovely restaurant in Palo Alto that has delicious specialty cocktails and delicious menu items.

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  26. Discrimanating

    San Francisco

    105 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    105 reviews

    Dined on February 9, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    As always, Portola Kitchen met or exceeded my expectations.

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  27. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on February 5, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    The food was amazing and it’s not stuffy or fancy but still great quality!

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  28. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    4.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on February 4, 2023

    overall4food4service3ambience4
    Always fun, good energy and ambiance and reliable tasty food. We always have to wait at least 15 minutes (usually more) for our table in spite of reservations. I suggest they re-look at the time allotment per table and make some adjustments. It’s no fun to be standing around waiting by the door especially with the busy waitstaff trying to get by to service the outdoor diners. Otherwise we enjoy this spot.

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  29. SSPT

    San Francisco

    24 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    24 reviews

    Dined on January 24, 2023

    overall4food5service5ambience4
    The place was busy, the food was great and the service was good. Sometimes gets a little loud and hard for my senior mother to hear, but she loved the food. We will go back!

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  30. Bill

    New York Area

    13 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    13 reviews

    Dined on December 31, 2022

    overall5food5service5ambience4
    Eggplant parmigiana and pizza always great attentive but not intrusive service. Not too loud. It’s why we come.

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  31. OpenTable Diner

    Los Angeles

    10 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    10 reviews

    Dined on December 28, 2022

    overall5food5service5ambience4
    Very happy with wait staff here, they’re very flexible about pretty much everything and the pizza is great. We usually have pizza as a starter and split a few ways and then go onto the pasta, fish or meat. We are not enamoured of he wine list, but the cocktails are good. We keep going back and we don’t get tired of doing so.

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  32. OpenTable Diner

    Central Coast

    3 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on December 17, 2022

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    We love coming back! The food is great and the staff is always so warm and welcoming.

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  33. APoeta

    Greater Boston

    1 review

    vip
    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 4, 2022

    overall1food1service1ambience1
    Extremely poor service. Nobody even came to our table to offer water, let alone take our order for close to 30 min. When we asked at the front desk, a server came out looking annoyed that we bothered to ask for service, and proceeded to inform us that the food was going to take even longer. It was all downhill from there.

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  34. MonikaH

    San Francisco

    22 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    22 reviews

    Dined on December 3, 2022

    overall4food4service5ambience4
    Service was really great, super friendly and faster than usual. Food was really good as well.

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  35. carlick

    San Francisco

    53 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    53 reviews

    Dined on November 23, 2022

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    We are regulars, because, food, service, management, location, ambience, all excellent and so, we go back and back and back. It is a real pleasure in life to have such a dependable and excellent place in the neighborhood.

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  36. HappyDiner

    San Francisco

    47 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    47 reviews

    Dined on November 21, 2022

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Back for a second visit with our friends because the first was so good. The homemade pasta dishes are delicious, plentiful and comforting. The butternut squash raviolis on special were tasty! The pork and mushroom pasta dish with a brandy cream sauce was another special greatly enjoyed. A friend enjoyed the grilled salmon which looks fresh and delicious. Our server was very friendly and helpful. Look forward to another meal

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  37. DebbieB

    San Francisco

    42 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    42 reviews

    Dined on November 17, 2022

    overall5food5service5ambience4
    We had a girls night out for dinner here last night and the food was all delicious. I had the special butternut squash ravioli, one had the chicken mattone, one the beet salad with prawns added and one mixed green salad with chicken. All of the entrees were so good...sadly we didn't have room for dessert. Our waitress was also very friendly.

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  38. 5678

    San Francisco

    12 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    12 reviews

    Dined on November 12, 2022

    overall3food5service3ambience5
    Portola Kitchen is understaffed. No one greeted us for 5 minutes. After being seated, no waiter approached us until I grabbed one walking by. One 1st course was delayed and arrived with entree. Otherwise, food was great. Hopefully this is temporary until they pay enough to retain staff. We like this place a lot.

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  39. LindaA

    San Francisco

    29 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    29 reviews

    Dined on November 6, 2022

    overall4food3service5ambience5
    The poached eggs were over cooked, but to balance that off, the OJ and everything else was perfect.

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  40. LisaP

    San Francisco

    5 reviews

    2.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on November 6, 2022

    overall2food1service1ambience3
    Service was very, very slow and poor. Asked about dish and was misinformed by waitress. Then when dish arrived, the eggs tasted like fish. They must have not cleaned the gril. Overall terrible experience.

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FAQs

Portola Kitchen offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (650) 851-6453.

Portola Kitchen is rated 4.4 stars by 855 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

8:30 PM


Booked 7 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Portola Kitchen

3130 Alpine Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028

Additional information

  • Cross street
    280 Freeway
  • Neighborhood
    Portola Valley
  • Hours of operation
    Brunch Sat, Sun 10:00 am–2:00 pm Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–8:30 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Californian, American
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Juan Valencia
  • Additional
    Bar Dining, Beer, BYO Wine, Corkage Fee, Farm to Table, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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