Portal Restaurant & Bar

First timers

Visited Portal for the first time this week having seen a recent review. We both enjoyed the Bisaro main course which was th ebeaytifully tasty 12 hour cooked pork. Re united with our favourite waiter who used to work at the Paternoster Chop House which was good as he looked after us very well.

very pleasant and welcoming staff . food was first class and the wine recommendation of a portuguese white was delicious and excellent value for money . will definitely make a return trip

I visited Portal with a large group and left underwhelmed. Although the restaurant is spacious and well decorated, serving staff are over-familiar and the food was vastly overpriced.

Almost 1.5 hours after arriving, we were served our starters. My Caldo Verde soup was exactly what is says on the tin – cabbage soup with a single piece of chorizo. It was fine – but fairly uninspired and certainly not worth 7.00. Other starters looked more appetising.

8 of our group opted for the suckling pig, which is meant to be served with salad, sauteed potatoes, crisps and oranges. It costs a mouthwatering 385.00 so we were expecting big things. The initial presentation was promising; the cooked pig was brought to the table for us to inspect on a tray and looked very nice. Unfortunately, it looked better than it tasted. We were each served two small pieces of meat along with a small pile of creamed spinach and a handful of potato crisps. No sauteed potatoes, no oranges and no salad.

The pig skin wasn't crisp, the meat was vastly over-salted (perhaps the oranges would have compensated had they ever arrived). The creamed spinach was flavourless and the crisps were a terrible accompaniment – the meal certainly didn't need more salt!

I would not return to Portal unless someone else paid and St. John's was full.

Dinner was a Friday night for four people.

Despite being busy, we were quickly shown to our table and offered a drink. Despite some bad reviews regarding service we were all pleasantly suprised with this aspect of our evening. A non-alcoholic cocktail for one of the party was no problem despite not being on the menu.

The restaurant itself is modern but understated and a good place for a relaxing evening with friends.

The food was good with the fig fondant being the overall winner on the night.

Although not cheap (three courses and wine) the overall enjoymenmt of the evening made it well worth the money.

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.