Il Porto

What an extraordinary experience. If you are looking for a truly authentic Italian restaurant, this is the place. My whole family came out to celebrate my mom’s 60th birthday and with the amazing selection of restaurants in Frederick it was hard to narrow it down, but this place is something special. You can tell the entire staff puts their hearts into the atmosphere, service, and most importantly the food. A wide but not overwhelming variety of plates including chef specials, and every dish was prepared with flavor, flare, and depth. If you haven’t noticed, I cannot say enough good things about this place. I look forward to going back again, for another sensational meal.

This is one of our favorite restaurants for several reasons. Service is consistently great (every one is friendly and listens to us attentively); there are plenty to choose for both meat lovers and vegetarians; the restaurant maintains its brightness and clean even though it is a type of historic location; one can always find a parking in a near distance. The only advise is that sometimes, the music (Italian Opera) is a bit loud but some customers enjoy it ^-^

Service was very good. Two photos show lobster and shrimp white sauce special ($37.00) and seafood platter red sauce ($23.00). I had the red and it was mostly large calamari as you can see with 4 clams, 2 scallops, 6 mussels and two shrimp. I counted over 30 calamari rings. In my opinion and experience a seafood platter has a balance of seafood, e.g., 6 mussels, 4 clams 5 scallops, 5 shrimp and 10 calamari. A colossal ripoff here. The red sauce was slightly bitter and not very tasty. My partners lobster & shrimp was rated as a flat taste white sauce with 4 shrimp and lobster. We probably will not return.

Great food and delish wine. I loved their antipasta selection. The service was strange but it was good. The place is a lot smaller than I expected! Luckily they cook the food quickly because that place was TINY. Definitely a place that's been around for a bit. We sat outside and there wasn't much space. Sitting outside is best for couples, more than 2 is when seating becomes complicated. Overall I enjoyed the place and would definitely visit again if I'm ever in the area. 😊

Absolutely amazing. The atmosphere is wonderful, service is top tier and the food... just the beat. It's a 100-mile round trip to Frederick, and the food at Il Porto makes the drive worth it enough to become a regular stop. The ONLY downside is parking. The restaurant doesn't have a dedicated parking lot, so competing with downtown traffic for a good spot is a bit frustrating.