THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Portabella Ristorante

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Portabella Ristorante Restaurant Review:

This could be a really good restaurant, and we think that in time it may become one. New owners have taken over the long-running Café D’Oro space and changed the menu but not the space, which is fine. In the basement of the so-called mall---a tiny, funky-chic building with a few arty shops that come and go---the restaurant has a European feeling. It’s subtly lit and cozy, though not small, with lots of brick and wood. The Italian menu offers many choices. Standouts include the grilled portabella mushroom appetizer, a large cap filled with sautéed escarole and topped with red wine-onion relish; a carpachio salad of smoked salmon over fresh spinach with calamata olives, beets, shaved kasseri cheese and balsamic vinaigrette; spinach gnocchi with shrimp, served with gorgonzola sauce, pancetta and sweet red peppers; and seafood risotto, with shrimp, calamari, mussels and smoked salmon. There are also nine chicken, veal and steak entrées, wood-fired pizzas (you create your own from 20 listed toppings), and several other pasta dishes (the menu also says you can ask your waiter about other possibilities). Service is very friendly and helpful.