Portal

The food is great — I loved the slow cooked bisaro main, and the octopus starter. Portal also has one of the best dining environments in a «conservatory» like dining hall at the back with lots of natural light.
But the service was extremely slow, even though the restaurant was half full. Our three course meal took three hours, and it was only two of us on the table!
Price-​wise it is expensive. We spend £101 for two people, excluding drinks.
Food is 4.5 out of 5, but with the «business expenses» pricing and the slow service, and the hyper-​competitive London dining scene, this place can only really get 3 stars from me.

An amazing spot in London where you can get great Portuguese wine and food.
Either you can sit at the «bar» — which doesn’t mean you sit at the bar (it is actually a bunch of tables up front) where you order from the tapas menu or you can go for the more extensive menu at the «restaurant» in the back. I’ve eaten dinner (tapas) at the bar. I loved it and hope to be back soon.
If you’re sick of another bottle of forgettable wine at a pub, then you’ll really appreciate Portal. I enjoyed several of their reds. Normally I go for Duoro wine at a Portuguese place, but here the waiter suggested some other options which were even better!
Some of my favorite dishes were the selection of olives, squid tomato, and of course the padron peppers.
Gluten-​free notes: They were able to tell me what was off limits and I could eat tons of dishes on the menu!

Huge fan of this place, I had made bookings and cancelled a few times but had the opportunity to take clients and expense it. So glad to have now been.
The space, unassuming from the street, is beautiful inside, the glass and brickwork in the courtyard is lovely. high ceilings. space for a drink at the bar in your own private room.
the menu looked great, i’ll have to go back to try some more. steaks, cod, pork belly, octopus were all devoured. potatoes may have been a bit stingy for £4 a side. the wine list, all portuguese, threw up a couple of nice drops, at around £30−40 a bottle, after some recommendations from our waitress.
the service itself was superb; attentive and lowkey.
great restaurant and a bit of a hidden gem.

Beautiful, spacious, delicious. We were staying at The Rookery and wanted a place close by for dinner one night. Four of us started with the pata negra (special Portugese ham) and olives. For starters, we had prawn tempura (just OK) and both the sautéed green asparagus and grilled octopus (great!) For dinner, we ordered the beans and wild mushroom «Feijoada» (a vegan option), grilled sea bass and rack of lamb. All excellent. Service was very smooth, although the waiter had not mastered English translations and seemed at a loss when it came to describing dishes. Fortunately, it was a slow night and the maitre d’ was able to fill in the blanks.

I must say, whenever I go dining in Clerkenwell, I am pleasantly surprised; overwhelmed almost. This one landed up being unexpectedly romantic and the ambiance and setup of the restaurant had everything to do with it.
The welcome was warm, and I am glad I decided to come here straight from work, because had I gone home, I would surely have slipped into my jeans and that wouldn’t have gone off well in this place. Mostly everyone was somewhat dressed up (or perhaps it was just cold outside).
The place looks totally different from the outside, almost like a little run down, dilapidated pub, until you walk in and find exposed brick and industrial-​looking pipes; there are wine labels in frames on the walls, and the place has allegedly the most comprehensive Portuguese wine collection in London. So once you see what you see, you know you’re in the right place.
The starters were most definitely the best in the menu. The sautéed green asparagus with poached egg, nuts and sheep milk cheese sauce is excellent — heavily recommended. The slow cooked Bisaro is so tender and mouthwatering, it will make you cry! The grilled chicken leg is pretty good, but didn’t feel super exotic (or I am totally missing that subtle flavour that my taste buds decided to ignore).
Portal is not the best idea for dinner if you’ve been starving all day and are ready to devour an entire animal. The portions are not generous, and presentation and flavour are of paramount importance — so I would recommend a premeditated or restaurant recommended strategy to making your choice.
I’m going back soon!

We went here for a team dinner and I have to say the place was lovely. The décor was really nice and elegant. There was also some nice tables outside but it was a little too cold to take advantage in October!
The staff were very polite and friendly and offered recommendations on both the food and wine, which was especially helpful when nobody had tried Portuguese wine before.
The food was delicious and reasonably priced, it was a little strange have crisps although they were good quality crisps (or potato chips as they called them) with my fillet mignon but it worked well. I can definitely recommend the seasame chicken for a starter. My eyes were definitely bigger than my belly and could only manage half of the trio chocolate (which I substituted the chocolate ice cream to vanilla) which was very tasty just a little too rich for me!
We got there early so it was nice and quiet for a chat at around 6pm but by the time we left at around 9.30pm it was definitely buzzing but not too loud to still enjoy a decent conversation.

Fantastic atmosphere, good service and delicious food. Great find in the city! We had an array of appetizers to start — the octopus salad, sesame chicken fillets, and asparagus. All were nice! For my main, I had the seafood linguine and it was good, but a bit strange that the «bisque» was not actually soup, but just a thick sauce for the pasta. Then topped it off with Portuguese custard tarts for dessert. All in all, great meal!

Wow. How have I not been to Portal before? Portal serves exquisite high-​end Portuguese food. Seriously the best Portuguese food I’ve ever had.
The other reviewers are spot on — the venue is simply fantastic, high ceilings with a warehouse meets conservatory feel in the back restaurant. It’s a very upscale modern place. Perfect to impress a date or client.
Definitely get one of the Bisaro dishes (especially the braised slow cook version). Bisaro is a suckling pig. They also serve a whole one that serves 8 for £385 pounds. I will have to get a group together to try that. There are also quite a few baby goat items on the menus that seem to be must trys for my next go at Portal.
For dessert, the pumpkin souflee with strawberry ice cream was outstanding though not as good as my colleague’s warm chocolate fondant.
All in, Portal is an expensive meal (bring that expense account) but is one of the finest you’ll have in Clerkenwell. Highly recommended.

I’d walked past this place numerous times so decided to venture here with a couple of friends on a cold Monday night.
We booked a table in the restaurant for 8pm, though it turned out that we were the only diners they had all evening anyway!
The venue itself is fantastic — nicely done dining room set in a «green house» at the back of the building. Clever use of lighting outside made this an impressive setting even after dark. (the only downside were some terrible pieces of artwork on the walls, but at least they were a talking point.)
The starters (fois gras, scallops and goats cheese salad) were all good to great and the mains that followed (pork belly, vennison and duck) were superb. My pork belly was one of the best I’ve ever had!
2 out of 3 desserts were excellent, but the baked cheesecake seemed a bit pedestrian alongside the other food.
The bill came to £60ph, which wasn’t a bargain considering only one of us was drinking, but not terrible for this quality of food in central London.
A plus side of it being empty was very attentive service and even a visit from the chef! (He assured us that there was a lot more atmosphere on other nights of the week!).
Definitely recommended — I will be going back!

Really amazing food, and great to try high-​end portguese food.

This is a stellar dining experience. The restaurant is a beautiful space – large glass windows and ceiling. The service was attentive and the food was delicious. It is Portuguese food. I enjoyed a pork dish which was deliciously spiced and fell apart it was so perfectly cooked and I tasted the deep fried baccalau which was excellent. The goat cheese starter was divine and the crab salad was good. The presentation was fabulous. A really nice place – want to go back to eat tapas at the bar next time.

Fantastic food — but terrible serving staff. On the day we went (a Wednesday lunchtime, not their busiest time I’ll wager) we had to wait ages for our food.
I had had a change of heart and ordered something different for main when other people on my table were still ordering, so I was surprised to receive my first choice when the food came out.
Sadly the service got worse as the meal went on. Considering the restaurant is quite expensive and clearly going for the top end of the market, this really let it down. By the time we got our desserts, over an hour after ordering them when we finished our mains, we were quite frustrated to discover that ingredients mentioned in the menu were not included, Also warm puddings were cold as if left on the side while we were waiting. Our coffees were poured and left on the side in plain sight to go cold without anyone bringing them over. Eventually a colleague had to ask whether that was her drink cooling over there, and could she have it?
That all said the food was spectacular. The curried prawns I had were fantastic with a delicate spinich risotto. The lamb medallions and duck in orange main dishes had by my colleague were absolutely delicious. The desserts were amazing also (although don’t expect them to be warm or quite as billed) So if you have the afternoon off pop in for lunch! I would go again, but I’d not plan to be back in the office for a few hours.

Definitely worth a visit. Excellent Portuguese cuisine with the Portuguese black pudding a delicacy. Extensive and cultured wine list make this a first class dining experience. We will certainly become regulars.

I don’t really know much about Portuguese cuisine, bar sardines and bacalhau (salt cod). But I do know that Portgal has always looked outwards rather than to its bigger neighbour. And it’s thanks to Vasco de Gama and his ilk that SE Asia and the Indian subcontinent have chilli, so it can’t be all bad.
Portal’s had fantastic word-​of-​mouth and whether or not the menu included bacalfau and sardines somewhere (gross stereotyping moi?), I expected something good. The exterior certainly doesn’t give much away, just a low-​key dark wood frontage with no indication of what to expect inside. And my word, what we saw was not what I expected. At all.
Fado played softly in the background in a smart bar full of Portuguese wines and ports. So far so Portuguese. I expected. But once you got past that the restaurant unrolled in front of you in all dimensions. A high-​ceilinged, dark-​wood floored dining room with massive glass walls on two sides. Juxstaposed with 18^th century Clerkenwell brick it created a rare feeling of lightness and space.
But does the food live up to its surrounds? Here Portal’s kitchen delivered. In spades. Spades, shovels and dumper trucks. It was one of those rare menus where something doesn’t leap out at you straight away. Not because there’s nothing there, but because all the options look appealing.
Slow cooked Bacalhau or Red Mullet with Ros al Hanout, Braised Bisaro (a rare-​breed Portuguese pig-​boar) or confit suckling pig? The choice was wonderfully hard and peering round at other peoples’ plates didn’t help one bit. It all looked (and smelt) so good.
The squid stuffed with monkfish and prawns was well balanced both in flavour and texture. Grilled to perfection, the squid was all toothsome, silky-​smooth tenderness while the fish and prawns added a sea-​infused meatiness. Finely sliced squash, mushrooms and garlic lightly fried and dressed in soy added earthy notes to the maritime melody.
Grilled prawns and potato gnocchi came in a light, turmeric-​infused curry sauce. This had a gently fragrant, spicy flavour redolent of what I imagine Portuguese Goa was like a century ago. The prawns were simply grilled in their shell and the gnocchi were airy and fluffy. There was a light touch behind this, and not afraid of adding a bit of zip.
Salty and tender suckling pig was the star. Coming apart at the touch of a fork it was tasty in an almost gamey way with very little fat. Just enough to add a slight moistness to the meat, and not overly rich. That light touch again. The sauce it came with was a wee bit too salty but that was easily solved by not pouring any out of the wee ceramic jug it came in. Frites were average though, more good oven chips.
I’d never heard of a few of the desserts. I love it when that happens, it adds a little frisson of excitement to the ordering. We chose Torta de Azeitão, which was a light almond spongy almond roll good but not hitting the heights of the mains Pasteis de Nata with Bulgari ice cream, and some sorbets, which were perfect: intensely fresh and fruity.
The Pasteis were two traditional custard tarts with a creamy yoghurt ice cream. But these were so much more than just custard tarts. The pastry was flaky like filo and the filling oh the filling a light custard wobbling on the very edge of liquidity. Portal must be, to paraphrase Special Agent Dale Cooper, where good custard tarts come when they die. The yoghurt ice cream was heavier, and a touch savoury in it’s dairy goodness. A perfect accompaniment.

Portal on St John St certainly deserves more acclaim. This classy and understated Clerkenwell restaurant really shines with a beautiful conservatory and warm efficient service.
The food is excellent too and I enjoyed my three courses of fish soup, sucking pig with pumpkin galette and the poshest pasteis de nata ever. Around the table, others enjoyed the grilled venison with chestnut & mushroom ravioli and the braised bisaro with sweet potato mash.

Un excellent restaurant portugais avec des spécialités de poisson et de très bons desserts.
C’est aussi un lieu très agréable, élégant sans ostentation avec une belle cour intérieure.
Le service est de qualité et la salle peu bruyante ce qui est exceptionnel à Londres.
Une excellente surprise gourmande et conviviale.

This is one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. The first time I came here it was late and I was told that the dining room was full and that I would have to «settle» for tapas at the front bar – forget the dining room, the tapas were some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. Thinking about their gambas em alho makes my mouth water. I’ve gone back to try the regular menu in the dining room but still prefer the tapas. The atmosphere is warm and the natural décor/​setting is gorgeous. A bit pricey, but in my opinion definitely worth it.

I haven’t been to this upscale and modern Portuguese restaurant in awhile, but it’s honestly one of my faves in London and probably the best restaurant on St John St (Yes I’m sure you St John fans are shocked but I prefer Portal).
If you go, go with a companion and order the ribs. They’re gorgeous and juicy. Of course, I’ve never had a bad dish here (the fish is awesome too).
It’s a lovely setting as well. Evocatively lit and elegant dining area. Friendly service, the whole works.
Keep it in mind when you need to impress (or just really want to treat yourself to a fantastic meal).