Portico: A Country Cottage With An Italian-Inspired Menu

We'll take 3 orders of Penne A La Vodka please!! 😅 With the winter weather cancelling my Galentines plans last month (😤), I finally got to celebrate at Portico over the weekend! Portico Restaurant is located at a charming country cottage nestled on River Road near the Goochland-Henrico county border (~25 min drive from downtown RVA). One of my friends is a Portico ✨regular✨ and recommended the Penne A La Vodka, so that's what we all ended up getting (but we added different proteins). 😂

I added sausage to mine and it was AMAZE! 🍝 Personally, I am not a huge fan of plain marinara sauce on pasta but this a la vodka sauce was so creamy and rich it was perfection! 😍 And no, you cannot taste the vodka lol. I've also heard good things about all their other pastas, pizzas, and Lamb Risotto. For dessert, I tried the Sformato which was a vanilla custard with blueberries. 🍨🍓

It was honestly one of the best desserts I've EVER had and I was SO tempted to order a second one after I finished the first. 😋 Also pictured is their Limoncello Layer Cake. 🍰🍋 They even serve numerous selections of Gelati Celesti ice cream for dessert. 🍦 From what I saw, their outdoor heated patio is one of the nicest and most expansive ones I've seen in Richmond, set up with a stone fireplace, large tent, and multiple heaters. 🔥

I am already counting down the days until spring/summer when I can eat lunch on their patio with the beautiful flower gardens surrounding the cottage. 🌼🌷🌸 FYI, I HIGHLY recommend making a reservation as there are only about 10 tables inside and probably another 10 or so outside and the place was packed!