The story
Portland in London has delivered consistent Modern European cooking since opening in January 2015. Executive chef Chris Bassett leads a kitchen that rejects traditional formalities like tablecloths in favour of precision technique and seasonal produce. The Good Food Guide and We’re Smart Green Guide both highlight this quiet commitment to innovation, noting remarkable consistency across recent seasons. His team operates an open layout at the rear of the Great Portland Street location, allowing diners to watch the preparation of each plate.
Small plates often introduce the menu with beef tartare paired alongside fermented ramsons and seaweed. Larger courses showcase the Modern European kitchen through vivid green nettle agnolotti enriched with smoked ricotta, bottarga, and Parmesan to build depth. Seafood selections range from a structured bouillabaisse with saffron potatoes to brioche crusted pollack resting on truffled hazelnut soubise. Sweet finishes avoid heavy sugar profiles, relying instead on strawberry and pine nut dacquoise finished with tonka beans and elderflower.
Unclothed tables set an informal tone across the modestly proportioned dining area. High window seating faces the street while general manager Ilaria Agrosi coordinates service details for guests. Beverage director Jessica Lambie curates a monthly changing wine list that pairs seamlessly with Modern European fare served daily. Glasses start at eight pounds and include selections from Kentish vineyards to Sicilian rosato. The venue also maintains a partnership with Château d’Yquem, offering three distinct vintages by the small glass.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Shoehorned in amid the bustle to the north of Oxford Street, Portland has clocked up nearly a decade already. Its quiet commitment to innovative contemporary cooking may not have made the greatest of waves, but in the opinion of one who enthusiastically returns, it is a haven of 'outstanding quality and consistency'. It feels like a true neighbourhood restaurant, modestly proportioned, with an open kitchen at the back and high seating at the window overlooking the pub opposite. Unclothed tables set an informal tone, the better to showcase the fireworks of executive chef Chris Bassett's exploratory style. Little appetisers might incorporate beef tartare with fermented ramsons and seaweed for a taste of what's to come – namely a range of assertive, colourful, ingredient-led dishes. Vivid green nettle agnolotti feature smoked ricotta, bottarga and Parmesan for true umami lift-off. A bouillabaisse of shellfish comes with rouille, saffron potatoes and apple, before perhaps brioche-crusted pollack and asparagus in truffled hazelnut soubise or mature hogget in Provençal array, with smoked aubergine, courgette, datterini tomatoes and wild garlic. Nor do desserts repine into sticky toffee safety; instead, expect the likes of strawberry and pine-nut dacquoise with tonka beans and elderflower. Wines by the glass (from £8) are truly commendable for their imaginative reach, opening with a Kentish sparkler and motoring through a peppery Sicilian rosato to a clutch of forthright, complex reds. Portland has a partnership arrangement with Château d'Yquem, no less, and three of its vintages – currently the splendid 2011, 2006 and 1994 – are available by the small glass.
3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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