Signs for The Portofino Restaurant’s 55th anniversary in Crystal City (staff photo by Katie Taranto)
The Portofino Restaurant’s back entrance (staff photo by Katie Taranto)
Inside The Portofino Restaurant in Crystal City (staff photo by Katie Taranto)
The Portofino Restaurant in Crystal City (staff photo by Katie Taranto)
Micheli family photos at The Portofino Restaurant (staff photo by Katie Taranto)
Sergio Micheli’s Italian Navy uniform (staff photo by Katie Taranto)
One of the oldest restaurants on Restaurant Row is celebrating its 55-year anniversary in Crystal City this summer.
The Portofino Restaurant will ring in its anniversary next month with a tomato-themed dinner on Sunday, Aug. 10. However, the restaurant has been celebrating 55 years in business since January, hosting monthly events like wine dinners, live music and raffles.
It’s all a celebration of this haven for old-school Northern Italian cuisine in Arlington, which serves pasta dishes with homemade sauce and Tuscan specialties passed down through generations of owner Rich Micheli’s family.
Chandeliers pour warm light and black-and-white family photos line the walls of the restaurant’s renovated cottage at 526 23rd Street S., where some employees have been working for decades.
“It’s just a homey feeling when you walk in,” Rich Micheli told ARLnow. “We have waiters and servers that have been 30 years with us. We have a couple others that have been in the kitchen for 50 years. That’s saying a lot.”
The story of The Portofino begins in the 1960s, when Rich Micheli’s grandfather, Adelmo Micheli, immigrated to the States to work alongside his son, Sergio, at a Georgetown restaurant called 1789. Sergio Micheli initially came to the D.C.-area through a job as a limousine driver with the Italian Navy.
“Then [Adelmo] ended up getting a job at a restaurant in Dupont Circle called Portofino,” Rich Micheli said. “When that Portofino closed, my grandfather had an opportunity to open this restaurant … they liked the name Portofino, so they just transferred the name.”
The restaurant opened its doors on Aug. 20, 1970, before the arrival of several U.S. agencies, businesses and a Metrorail station to Crystal City. It was a time when Restaurant Row was not yet the developed strip of local eateries and bars it is today.
The Portofino was one of Restaurant Row’s first sit-down restaurants, and Rich Micheli grew up assisting his family with front-of-house duties before attending James Madison University and the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
Today, Rich Micheli manages Portofino with his older sister, Maria Puletti.
“I have no memories without the family business,” Micheli said. “My mother, Pilar, always explains that when she was working here, she would just put me in a bassinet in the corner.”
Although the restaurant’s official anniversary is next month, the family has been celebrating 55 years in business since January, hosting monthly events like wine dinners, live music and raffles.
The Aug. 10 event is $85 per person and promises “the vibrant flavors of local heirloom tomatoes paired beautifully with Virginia wines.”
“Let’s toast to summer with fresh ingredients, fine wines, and unforgettable company,” a social media post says. “Don’t miss out — seating is limited!”