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Volto do Mar moved to 100 Draycott Avenue, SW3 3AD in 2023
Volta do Mar – a fancy Portuguese place housed in a Georgian corner pile off the Strand and opened by a founder of once-hot tapas bar Salt Yard – translates as ‘around the sea’. It’s an apt name: this is a spot that transcends the rustic staples of caldo verde and bacalhau, instead riding Portugal’s historic trade winds across a menu dotted with pan-African, Brazilian and south Indian notes.
In action, it was a bit of a mixed bag. A bitter-savoury sardine paté with charred sourdough was grand, and certainly the best of the snacks. Cured hunks of sea bream with a brûlée-style burnt sugar topping were objectively odd, though the pickled shimeji mushrooms and red peppercorns were a tingly, tangy foil.
A (reassuringly pink) Iberico pork vindaloo was humdrum; but the peri peri chicken was marvellous – juicy and crisp-skinned, the volcanic sauce provided in a teeny bowl for cautious self-serving. It may not all hit the mark, but there’s enough here to make Volta do Mar one of London’s more engaging Iberian eateries.