Loews Resorts at Universal Orlando
Harbor Nights La Dolce Vita 2021
September 17th, 2021
| by Mealtrip
It's back! Harbor Nights La Dolce Vita is an amazing one night event over at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel — that hasn't been around for almost 18 months.It's taken a loooong pause because of that pesky airborne virus that took over the world — but now that various restaurants, buffets, and large scale foodie events are gradually being planned again — I couldn't be happier to see Harbor Nights back on the schedule.
The main piazza courtyard at Loews Portofino Bay is the location where all the Harbor Night events take place.
The seasonal event's full name is "Harbor Nights — La Dolce Vita" and will take place on Friday, October 22nd, 2021. (If you miss this one, there's usually another one around the Holiday's called Holiday Harbor Nights.)
Harbor Nights is a seasonal event that takes place for one night three or four times a year. The Holiday Harbor Nights pictured here, features a large tree in the main piazza courtyard.
At $69 (per person, plus tax) for a "Standing / Strolling" ticket, it's one of the best "deal" around for a large-scale event. You'll get access to all the live entertainment (there's usually a band and live opera singers on one of the balconies that take turns performing at multiple times throughout the night), and all the food and beverage stations that are located on the main Piazza. You can visit the food and beverage stations as often as you would like over the course of the two and a half hour event!
Many of the restaurants located at the Loews Portofino Bay Resort set up culinary stations at the event, and offer seasonally themed tapas-sized plates to guests.
For $99 (per person, plus tax) for a "VIP" ticket — you get everything I mentioned above, plus — a reserved place to sit down for the entire night, and some additional hors d’oeuvres (which have been really great in the past) and an exclusive food and wine station.
The VIP's don't just get reserved seating... there's extra food! This is a family-style antipasto plate that was shared at our private table at one of the previous Harbor Nights events.
The "exclusive food and wine station" serves the same food that's offered on the main Piazza — but lines can get long, so having a couple of stations dedicated to the VIP guests makes trying out all the food and wines a little easier.
Having a table and chair is a really nice part of the VIP ticket. Another great perk is the addition of a dedicated beverage station just for the VIP guests. The wine stations in the general ticket area can occasionally develop long lines - having a station just for the VIP guests make trying out different wines go a little faster.
So basically, this is a stroll around to each station event — to try out the food and wine that they are offering — and then move on to the next station. It's all free-roaming so you can go wherever you want. If you find something you really like, you can totally go back for seconds, or thirds, or fourths! The stations are named after some of the restaurants at the Portofino Bay Hotel, so there's the "Mama Dells's Ristorante" station and the "Trattoria del Porto" station, etc.
The food at each Harbor Nights event is a little different, and changes with the season. Pictured here is a Seared Ocean Bass Osso Buco from a previous "Primavera" Harbor Nights event, that takes place in the spring.
There have been little standing tables set up here and there, but they're only intended for temporary occupation and as a place to put your plate and glass down momentarily, before moving on to the next station. If you like having a place to sit though — the $99 VIP ticket is the way to go.
While it may appear like there's plenty of VIP tables, the VIP tickets do sell out in advance of the event. Many guests like to experience Harbor Nights as VIP guests.
Here's a list of the food stations and wines that will be offered at the October 22nd, 2021 Harbor Nights.
Food Stations
- Gamberi Genovese
Sauté shrimp in pesto sauce, roasted pepper sauce.
Mama Della's Ristorante - Red Wine Braised Beef
Cheese polenta rustica, pickled heirloom tomato and fresh chives.
Trattoria del Porto - Panino Prosciutto
Napoletano flat sub, prosciutto, artichoke and fresh mozzarella.
Splendido Bar & Grill - Focaccia Pizza
Tomato ragu, cured meats and mozzarella cheese.
Sal's Market Deli - Chicken Cacciatore
Served with rosemary roasted potatoes.
Bice Ristorante - Desserts
- Pumpkin Spice Gelato
Gelateria - Triple Chocolate
Gelateria - Apple Spiced Crème Cake
- Milk Chocolate Raspberry Panna Cotta
And here's a look at the wine that will be available for the October 22nd, 2021 event...
Sparkling Wines
- Roscato Rosso Dolce Gold
Sparkling Red Wine — Italy - Lunetta
Prosecco — Italy
White Wines
- Barone Fini
Valdadige Pinot Grigio — Italy - Masi Modello
Bianco — Italy - Terra D'Oro
Chenin Blanc Viognier — California - Susana Balbo
Crios Torrontés — Argentina - La Gordonne
Font Freye Rosé — France - Ziobaffa
Pinot Grigio — Italy
Red Wines
- Mezzacorona Dinotte
Red Blend — Italy - Ruffino
Chianti Superiore — Italy - Querceto
Chianti Classico — Italy - Tormaresca
Cabernet Sauvignon — Italy
Nèprica Primitivo — Italy - Fantini
Montepulciano D'Abruzzo — Italy
Sangiovese Terre Di Chieti — Italy
I have posted a couple of reviews with lots of photos from some of the other seasonal Harbor Nights events (they all pretty much follow the same format though, just the food and wine offerings change a bit with the seasons). Click here to check out the very popular Holiday Harbor Nights event that usually takes place the day after Thanksgiving to kick-off the holiday season in style!
If you would like to see more from a previous "Holiday Harbor Nights" event, check out our complete review. There's also 41 photos from the event.
There's also a Harbor Nights Primavera event which takes place in late May to mid-April that welcomes in spring — click here to read more about that event.
There's two kinds of live entertainment at the Harbor Nights events. A live band (pictured here) and the Portofino Bay opera singers that are poised on a balcony overlooking the piazza.
The Harbor Nights events are all outdoors in the main Piazza, but if it really looks stormy, there is an indoor option available, and that has been used a few times in the past!
More information and a direct link to purchase tickets is available directly from the Harbor Nights official event page — click here to open that in a new window.
