Portofino closes this month, Portland’s latest 30-year-old restaurant casualty

Carlo Rostagni, Portofino's original owner, was known for whipping up orders of zabaglione, a warm, frothy egg custard, tableside.
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Portofino, the long-running Sellwood neighborhood Italian restaurant, will close after service Saturday, owner Matthew Johnson wrote in an email.

“For the last 30 years Portofino’s has been a neighborhood staple providing high quality Italian food in a cozy environment,” Johnson wrote. “It is with sadden (sic) that we say that run has come to its end, we will be closing our doors as of September 24.”

Portofino made a splash when it opened in 1991, especially when owner Carlo Rostagni dropped by your table to whip up an order of garlic shrimp or egg custard dessert tableside. Rostagni would go on to open Lake Grove Bistro in Lake Oswego.

Quality rose and fell over the years under a handful of owners. Johnson took over from former Tapalaya owners Seth Matasar and Chantal Angot in 2018.

Find Portofino before it closes at 8075 S.E. 13th Ave.

— Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com; @tdmrussell

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