The story
Portale Restaurant serves contemporary Italian food at 126 W. 18th St. in New York City, and Wine Spectator gave its wine program a Best of Award of Excellence in 2022. The restaurant is in Chelsea, in a renovated carriage house that Chef Alfred Portale opened under his own name.
Portale, the executive chef and owner, draws on his heritage and his interest in Italian cooking. Jacinto Guadarrama is the chef de cuisine. The menu moves across the regions of Italy and follows the seasons, with roasted vegetables, market salads, pastas, and grilled meat and fish. Michelin has listed the restaurant as Recommended for 2026.
The burrata comes with prosciutto di Parma, strawberries, and poached rhubarb, finished with balsamic and saba. Agnolotti are filled with sheep's milk ricotta and wild mushrooms and served in double chicken brodo. The bucatini is made with Manila clams, guanciale, and a pancetta pomodoro. On the dinner menu you will also find a risotto with Montauk red shrimp and branzino with taggiasca olives. The Italian kitchen changes its lunch and weekend offerings, so the printed menus are the best guide to what is available on a given day.
The dining room sits in a carriage house on West 18th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. INC Architecture & Design shaped the interior, combining raw materials with refined finishes. The result feels sleek and metropolitan, with a comfortable, homespun warmth. Private wine dinners are held in the Etna Room, the restaurant's private dining room.
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