Restaurants

Portal deserves to be known not just as the scene of an attempt to bug Jose Mourinho’s table (the restaurant is a favourite of the Chelsea manager, apparently). Beyond a modishly penumbral and bare bar (for an interesting selection of Portuguese wines and and a lengthy and appetising range of petiscos, aka tapas) it opens up into a glamorous, glass-sided room that feels as close to eating outdoors as possible. Here premier division food put together with panache by head chef Ricardo Janco is served at premier division prices, and the space between tables explains the need for a listening device. The clientele are appropriately sharp-suited. Of the half-dozen dishes we sampled, the best stayed closest to traditional Portuguese cooking. Take the arroz de pollo, for example: a soupy stew of rice and octopus, luxuriously topped with extra fried tentacles. But with a ‘harmony’, ‘cornucopia’ and ‘symphony’ on the menu – as in a Portuguese crab salad in cornucopia and ginger pesto, for example – and stabs at Iberian-style experiments with foams, it pays to be cautious. Octopus carpaccio had slivers of cephalopod covering the plate like large scales, but was surprisingly successfully accessorised with squid ink and potato foam and red pepper sauce. But oxtail stuffed with carrots and spinach, with sticky-sweet slicks of pumpkin and tomato jam, was oversalted and unenjoyable. A board of terrific cheeses was let down by stale biscuits. Commendably, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian dishes are always available. For that extra-special occasion, you can order a whole Portuguese roast suckling pig at £420.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008