Portal Restaurant & Bar

I concur with the previous review(s) about the service… awful with a abrupt rudeness that one should NEVER experience in any form of service industry.

The actual restuarnt is lovely in asthetics and atmosphere but the food is outshown by its peers and the general level of service is as I have said not just poor but rude.

The overall experience led me to actually write a letter of complaint (not something I take lightly as it meant I had to further spend time and energy with the restaurant. I did get a prompt response but they did not really pick up on the main thrust of my compaint around service preferring to pass blame on some of the minor issue that I had mentioned (various items on the menu not being available even though we had not arrived late or the restaurant being full) to their butcher.

With restaurant being highly recommended by a friend who was surprised by my experience I may give it another chance, BUT having now read several other reviews from members who also appear to have experienced the same low level of service I am not convinced that anything will improve (but would be delighted if I were proved wrong as it has so much potential as the setting/ambience are top notch).

For an establishment that has higher end prices there is no exuse not to have higher end service

Looks like a nice place from the outside, but a terrible experience as soon as you encounter the service…

I don't know if terrible service and a bad attitude are part of the “authentic” Portuguese experience, but the service, (and particularly the bartender) here couldn't have been more indifferent and awful.

We were literally the only two people in the entire bar area on a recent Friday night (maybe this should have been the first warning). I asked for a Manhattan, which is not an obscure request (even in Portugal) and the bar tender just said “No.” Uhh what? Ok, I guess I'll just settle for 2 small glasses of “house” white wine, (which was a mere 14 pounds). Seriously, if you want bad service at an unreasonable price, then by all means this place is for you…

Visited November 24 2011

Portal is a well planned and laid out venue. Good attention to detail especially in the glass roofed extension. The menu has a strong iberian feel with broad range of regional cooking The food is well presented and the staff while I was there were very attentive
prices are on the high side
overall well worth a visit

One of the most beautiful spaces in London, and a highly recommended atmospheric private room. I have been here several times, and whether celebrating my birthday in the small tapas room, having an intimate dinner, or a work dinner for 10, it has almost always delivered top marks. Main courses are well presented, delicious and portions are just right, and deserts are sublime. Starters aren't as successful, and staff although friendly don't always provide the most efficient and prompt service. The only major compliant are noise levels, which can escalate and become unbearable. I did have to walk out once with two guests as we were surrounded by massive parties (which I should have been warned about when booking my table), so make sure to ask about this when making a reservation. If booking a work event go for the gorgeous private room. Tapas in the front range can be excellent (Francezinhas), but sometimes portions are very stingy (olives). Excellent wine selection.

The prices would be OK if the food matched up. One of our party ordered the turbot and at £25 received a tiny portion, a joke really. Other items unavailable ( at only 7.30pm), or just not that exceptional. slow service.

Nice setting, food ok for the price but rude staff. The service was only average so we gave a tip of 10% rather than the full “optional” 12.5% service charge on a £400 bill – and were ordered out by the manager.

The staff there could really do with a reality check, it's the customer that shall decide whether their staff merit a reward, not them.

The worst restaurant I did in London…
It is not worth at all, we went there for valentine's day. Atmosphere and venue are quite nice but the food is very poor and the quantity is less than tiny. I really do not recommend this venue it is not worth spending your money there.

Four of us dined at Portal on a Wednesday evening recently. I had high hopes for a great evening, having longingly looked into the beautifully lit restaurant on many occasions as I made the trek home after a long day. All started well with a table in the lovely conservatory, but sadly the service fell down after the delivery of our starters. We had an unexplained 45 minute wait for our mains to appear despite a half full restaurant and no one helping with refilling our glasses. Eventually our mains arrived, but the sides took a further 10 minutes, which by then, they were not really wanted. Apparently there was a mad dash to get some missing ingredients, however, simply advising us of the delay would have helped the situation. We left without dessert (headed to Eastside Inn with service on another level altogether). But enough moaning – the food – it was really stunning when it arrived and the dining space is terrific. I'm hoping we simply got an ‘off night’. I think I'll give Portal another go, in the summer and sit out in the amazing courtyard.

Portal is one of those venues I've heard about but never had the chance to visit – being quite territorial it's not too often I get a chance to eat in the city however I'm glad I did with Portal. The main dining room is set in a beautiful conservatory giving plenty of natural light and is very relaxing. The menu is excellent and covers a great range of dishes – Including vegetarian and vegan and gluten free so something for everyone really. Starter of veal carpaccio with truffle oil, goat cheese ice cream sprinkled with purple shiso leaves was awesome and the following main of Confit suckling pig with sauté curly kale and ham, green apple mash and pepper sauce tender and very very tasty, always one to try a cheese board instead of the sweet option I was not disappointed with the selection and tastes. Service was smooth and slick and the vibe very relaxed – without table turns it's very easy to go here early evening and spend all night relaxing and enjoying fine food – how a dinner should be. Definitely one of my recent highlights.

Have eaten here twice, in the front section: tapas and wine. Great snacks which can make up a full meal. Very friendly; you get the feeling they'd do anything for you. A little gem.

Antonio and his team hosted my 40th birthday this year, when I took over the whole restaurants. They were excellent in the planning process, and all really worked hard to make the whole thing memorable. The evening was all canapes, and I received nothing but compliments from my guests as to the cooking and the service (especially the salt cod). The restaurant came up with two special vodka-based cocktails for the guests, and were very good with the choice of other drinks. I never once felt that I was being pushed into an unnecessarily high option that mighht not have been needed. All in all, I would not hesitate to recommend it for events. I also take guests there for a proper dinner regularly, and have never been disappointed.

This is a great looking restaurant and a good place to impress your friends with your intimate knowledge of London’s stylish dining scene. It has a small frontage, but expands tardis-like as you walk further through it, opening into a cool glass box at the back. All the design items such as lamps, chairs etc are very chic, but the place has a relaxed atmosphere all the same.

Service is pretty good and the strictly Portuguese menu interesting. I come here regularly and have never been disappointed, although I have heard a complaint about elderly fish like the other reviewer.

Fish and hearty meats dominate, but done in a much more refined and elegant manner than you find if you actually went to Portugal, resulting in a style that I would think is called modern continental.

Don’t even bother opening the wine list and just ask them to suggest some of their excellent Portuguese wines. Unless you are a real buff you won’t recognise any of them anyway.

It’s a great place for either a buzzy meal with friends or just the two of you, and is a big notch above most of the other choices in the area. I wholeheartedly recommend Portal.

There are some restaurants where the menu reads well but its promise is not fulfilled by what is delivered. Portal is one of these. You get the feeling that they probably once had a chef who knew how to cook the food to a good standard but it's his night off or he's left and a journeyman is trying to recreate something without actually having the ability.

I had a pigeon starter where the taste of the pigeon was drowned by the violence of the fruit chutney served with it. Maybe I should have known better. We then both had fish main courses: skate (boned as it turned out) with a bean stew and stone bass with some sort of sauce. Neither was very distinguished and the fish seemed tired rather than fresh off the boat.

(We did have a nice bottle of Portuguese wine which complied with the description we'd expressed to the waiter.)
For all this – 1 starter, 2 fish dishes and a bottle of wine (no dessert, no coffee etc) we paid £93 service included. That's a lot of money for an indifferent meal.