Keeping it simple. That’s how Pierre Langlois and his crew at Portofino Italian Ristorante envision the restaurant — fresh ingredients and simple, honest recipes.
And so far it seems to be working, as shown by topping the votes in three divisions on the Cochrane Eagle’s ‘Best of Cochrane’ survey: ‘best romantic restaurant’, ‘best pasta’ and — la crčme de la crčme — ‘best restaurant in Cochrane.’
“We wanted to bring Calgary-level service and expectation to Cochrane,” said Langlois. “We never had big dreams, we just wanted to have a nice restaurant.
“From Day 1 the community in Cochrane accepted us. The biggest change for us was the down-to-earth, relaxed nature of the people.”
To those who know his background, Langlois’ success with Portofino isn’t a surprise. Growing up in Sherbrooke, Que., he first got started working alongside his father in the restaurant and hospitality industry.
And he never left the industry; working with fine dining establishments in Montreal before bringing his talents to Alberta in 1973. In Calgary, Langlois has had a hand in the development of restaurants such as Gaston’s Ristorante and La Dolce Vita.
Moving to Cochrane in 2004, Langlois started up Portofino with the help of his partner Jacqueline Sleeth and his son Robert Langlois. Pierre runs the front of the house, Sleeth keeps track of the administration work and Robert masters the kitchen.
“I think we’ve achieved here what we aimed to do,” said Pierre, reflecting back on his original vision of the restaurant. “We produce simple, honest, fresh food. It’s all about the freshness of the product. If you buy the best there is, it’s up to you to screw up the recipe.”
Tucked into a plaza on the corner of Main Street and River Avenue, the intimate-feeling restaurant seats about 60 people. Pierre said that most weekend nights the space is bustling and recommends reservations to guarantee a seat.
With a menu boasting a variety of pastas and risotto, veal, and seafood, it’s no wonder it can be difficult to find a seat. Even though all the meals are created from scratch, Pierre said the most popular dishes are the seafood linguine, the lamb rack and the veal dishes.
“People always ask what a French man is doing with an Italian restaurant,” laughed Pierre. “But it’s not just about pastas and pizza. And it’s more than just an eating place. It’s about the freshest ingredients and watching customers leave happy.”
In addition to topping three categories in the survey, Portofino Italian Ristorante ranked silver for the ‘best restaurant when someone else is paying’ and for the ‘best service.’
To learn more about the Eagle’s Reader’s Choice Award for ‘best restaurant in Cochrane’ 2013, visit portofinoristorante.ca.
