Two words: brick oven. Not all Italian restaurants have one and it is definitely a selling point for Portofino.
After you've been seated and ordered your meal, your server will bring you complimentary bread that has most likely been baked in the brick oven: crusty, light, and fluffy. I got half-full on the bread before the first dish was served. It's hard to not eat so much with several different spreads (tomato salad, salsa verde, and... romesco, I think?) and some balsamic and olive oil.
The Caprese salad is not as flavorful as I had hoped. Since the salad only contains four ingredients, the quality of each ingredient will show. The cherry tomatoes are delicious, different from the typical Indonesian tomatoes that I find grainy. The mozzarella is almost tasteless but has a wonderful soft, pillowy texture. The dish could've used more than two basil leaves.
When there's a brick oven, you have to order the pizza! Their pizza is light with crunchy edges, sure to appeal to the Indonesian palate. They have plenty of different toppings including Parma ham. I am normally apprehensive of charcuterie as I normally get diarrhea (and even food poisoning from one shitty "Italian" hellhole that I will not name), perhaps due to improper storage, but this one was fine. I was not afraid of ordering it from such a fine establishment.
Portofino's signature pasta is the freshly made porcini ravioli with sage brown butter sauce and shaved parmesan. Perhaps customers order the pasta so often that the porcini stays fresh (as far as dried goods go), unlike in other Italian restaurants where customers opt for cheaper options. The porcini retains its strong earthy flavor and aroma.
The osso bucco was so tender the meat fell off the bone. I wish more marrow remained in the bone, though. They must've melted off through the long cooking time. The risotto leaves something to be desired as it was tasteless and bland--probably the broth/stock. It could use more parmesan too. According to the menu, the risotto alla Milanese is made with saffron, but I didn't detect the smell at all. Overall a good dish but they need to work on the risotto.
The chocolate lava cake is delicious. The shell is very thin and the cake is almost entirely liquid. It comes with a scoop of Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream, raspberry coulis, and ganache.
Do know that the portions are huge so a single pizza or appetizer to share with the table and one piatto for each diner should be enough. Don't be a showoff and order a full-course meal--you won't finish it. I do wish Portofino would offer a tasting menu, though, or perhaps alternatives with smaller portions for those who want to order several dishes.
The price is steep since it's in a five-star Shangri-La. Expect to spend Rp. 200-300k per person. If you know someone with a membership card, you can get between 30-50% discount, which will make going to Portofino completely worth it! I knew it was expensive but I left feeling satisfied, not ripped off at all.
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