Eat & Drink
Originally published on Friday, 22nd February 2008
Portal Restaurant & Bar
Forget the Brits, I like to boast that one of my first major concert experiences was seeing Pink Floyd play in Lisbon. But I have to admit that this is as far as my acquaintance with Portugal (or the Floyd) ever got, and my only restaurant memory of Lisbon was eating something we couldn't quite place so pronounced most likely to be foxes bottoms.
Hopefully my palate has become slightly more sophisticated since then, and Portuguese food certainly has if Portal is anything to go by. The St John Street dining room is one of those spaces that immediately puts you in a good mood - warm atmosphere, white tablecloths, light flooding in from a contemporary conservatory area and a menu that's perfect for this time of year, with things like bacalhau (salt cod) with a black olive crust, stuffed with presunto (a type of cured ham), and braised bisaro (a wild boar hybrid) with bean mash and madeira sauce.op, spinach and roasted potatoes.
And, starting next month, a selection of petiscos (tapas) will be prepared and served at the bar, so I might have to further prove how much more there is to Portuguese food than foxes bottoms.
Hours: Mon-Sun: Breakfast 7-11am (Sun from 8am) • Lunch 12-3pm • Dinner 6-10pm • Mon-Sat 12-3pm & 6-10.15pm
Place: 88 St John Street, EC1M 4EH
Cost: £40
Web: portalrestaurant.co.uk
Book: 020 7253 6950