On Friday evening we went to dinner at Portalli's in Ellicott City. It was early, but they were packed. We've eaten there four or five times now. We only had one bad experience; this was not the case on Friday. My boyfriend and I opted to eat at the bar rather than wait 45 minutes for a table. We started with an appetizer of Oysters Romano (baked with garlic cream, crispy pancetta, caramelized leeks, and parmesan). They were delicious, so smooth and creamy. They melted on the tongue. For entrees, I had Chicken Piccata. The polenta was done to perfection. The parsley pesto and lemon caper buerre blanc sauce was delicate, not at all overbearing. My boyfriend had Prawn Scampi; it too had a lemon caper butter sauce, but it was done with wilted spinach and served over linguini. The flavors blended well. It was delicious too. Although the portions are generous, there were so many wonderful sounding things on the menu that we were compelled to order side dishes. We had the Celery & Cauliflower Risotto and the Spinach & Prosciutto. Both were amazing, but the spinach was "to die for" (personally I'm not a huge fan of risotto). There was no room for dessert. In fact, I took half of my entree home. It was lunch the next day.
In addition to excellent food, there is a full bar with specialty drinks. I would recommend the Bellintini, but the Limoncello Drop was also good. Portalli's Manhattan was intense (brandied cherries - yum!). They also have a wine list.
You can usually find the owner on the premises, and he is always pleased to talk about his establishment. This is a wonderful place. The prices are reasonable; the ambiance is plush and comfortable.
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