I moved to Madison in 1968 and lived in an old run-down house at 933 W. Dayton Street. Kathy moved to Madison in 1968 and lived in the Liz Waters Girls Dorm on Bascom Hill. In those days the dorms didn’t serve meals on Sunday evening, so students had to fend for themselves. Quite a few of the restaurants near campus were Italian and we often ate at Gino’s, Gargano’s, Paisan’s or Porta Bella.
Gargano’s and Paisan’s are no longer in business, Gino’s is now located very far from campus, and, after 58 years in business, Porta Bella closed on February 28. The opening of a new restaurant in that location would have been nice, but sadly, Porta Bella will soon be replaced by a 16-story apartment building.
Kathy and I went to Porta Bella on February 23 hoping to get one more meal before they closed. I was looking forward to enjoying a Garibaldi Sandwich, my favorite, with banana peppers, of course. Unfortunately, much to my dismay, they were completely booked up through their final day. However, much to my joy, on February 26 a very good friend, Marsha Van Domelen, stopped over and gave me a Garibaldi Sandwich that she had just purchased for me! She had been smart enough to make a reservation when she heard the restaurant was closing! Having seen my sorrowful post on Facebook, she knew of my quandary and, bless her heart, was kind enough buy one for me and deliver it!
What I liked about Porta Bella was that they not only had great food, but they also had a unique ambiance. Unlike many restaurants, it wasn’t just an open room with tables along the walls or spread around the room, it was an interesting, softly-lit maze of hallways with tables in booths lit by small chandeliers. A story in the March 11, 2026, Capitol Times describes the interior as “grand and intimate.” One employee said this was the place to come “if you were ever on a romantic date.”
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Even though I was unable to have one last “romantic date” there with my wife, I was able to capture some digital memories of Porta Bella when the co-owners, Wally Borowski and Ed Shinnick, allowed a small group of photographers to walk through and see the now-empty restaurant.
Later I discovered that the building was open for the public to view items prior to an online auction. Kathy and I took advantage of that opportunity to go down and take a final tour. If you were unable to get reservations for one of their final open days, let me at least take you on a private tour.
You reach the entrance by passing through a courtyard with beautiful ironwork on the left and stern looking lions on the right. When the restaurant was open, this courtyard was filled with tables for guests who wanted to dine alfresco.
Just inside the entrance there’s a stairway that was used when Paisan’s was located in the basement. Paisan’s restaurant moved around a bit over the years and I remember eating at Paisan’s in three different locations, including this one. In later years the lower level became “The Cellar” and offered wine tasting and drinks.
Though the dimly-lit aisles lined with small booths set the atmosphere, the restaurant was much more than that. The large light fixtures hanging over the bar were beautiful. The bar itself was ensconced by statues of golden maidens holding “candle” lights over their heads.
If you tired of red, you could turn the corner and walk into an aisle decked out in green. Since the Italian flag is green, white and red, I thought the two primary colors inside the restaurant represented the colors of Italy. In one place a long table sat in front of a wall covered with a large painting. The lights over the table reflected in the ceiling. In another place the walls were dressed in a rich dark wallpaper covered with red roses.
A portrait of Rose McCormick graces the wall by the Rose Room. According the The Capital Times, Rose McCormick was a member of a prominent Italian family in Madison. Many of the recipes at Porta Bella came from her family. In one corner stood a statue of a young woman pouring an incredible volume of wine, I assume it was wine, from a small urn.
Along a wall near the entrance was what I took to be a faux fireplace mantle. The woodwork was very intricate and the dark color was perfect for Porta Bella. A small case with a colorful painting of grapes displayed bottles of “Wines Featured Downstairs.”
I must admit that I did not know that Porta Bella had a banquet room, a very large banquet room. Looking at the far wall you would think you were viewing scenes of Italy outside. The scenes were actually photographs hanging behind “windows.” There was also a portrait that I took to be three sisters, but that could be because I have three sisters. A great bar was located at one end of the banquet room. Unfortunately, it was closed. However, bottles of Vodka stood on a shelf above the bar . . . just out of reach.
Finally, it takes a lot of work behind the scenes to run a restaurant, so here are some images of ovens, sinks, beer taps, pots and pans, and their first two million dollars. Though I wouldn’t normally take people on a tour of the bathroom, this unique sink was definitely worth seeing.
As we left I tried to keep smiling since we have many happy memories.
