MODERN BRITISH RESTAURANT, FITZROVIA, LONDON, UK

PORTLAND

Still one of my favourite restaurants since my first experience in 2015 and my first ramblings on it: I think the key points I remembered were the absolutely fantastic scallops I had (picture to follow below) and that our waiter then, James, was the spitting image of Hugh Grant!

I think I also remember having a conversation with a friend over social media who insisted that we order a portion of chips which turned out to be crispy potato millefeuille. And finally that the wine list was one of the highlights.

Well since then, after achieving one Michelin star in the same year that they opened, it still serves, in my opinion, the best dishes and has a very innovative wine list. To top this, the staff have achieved the perfect balance of service and friendliness no matter if they are front of house or working in the kitchen.

On this occasion I had the great opportunity to try their private dining room with tasting menu. Admittedly I was very hesitant at arranging the dinner since many of the guests had differing dietary requirements. I didn't think that they could possibly accommodate or even want to but I was wrong and sure enough, with 10 people around the table of differing requests, we sat down to a tasting menu for the evening.

A little about our guests: an eclectic group of people from different corners of the globe and backgrounds - their common denominator? All loved their food and wine and are able to converse in a diversity of subjects. And of course they all knew me but not necessarily did they know each other.

Isle of Mull Scallops from 2015 | Portland, Fitzrovia, London | ytTastes | Yvanne Teo

Scallops with buttermilk & lime in 2015

Private Dining | Portland, Fitzrovia, London, UK | ytTastes | Yvanne Teo

Private Dining Room

Main Restaurant | Portland, Fitzrovia, London, UK | ytTastes | Yvanne Teo

Main Dining room

Tasting Menu

As mentioned previously, there is an innovative wine list on offer - as we are in the UK, I thought the sparkling Wiston Estate Blanc de Blanc appropriate and I was not disappointed at all. This is a very drinkable, fresh, dry but not too dry sparkling wine.

Sparkling Wine: Wiston Estate Blanc de Blanc
White Wine: 2021 Gruener Vetliner from Malinga Christoph Heiss, Kamptal, Austria
Red Wine: 2019 Antonio Madeira, Vinhas Velhas Tinto, Portugal

(Images here have been taken from the internet)

English Sparkling from Wiston Estate | Portland, Fitzrovia, London, UK | ytTastes | Yvanne Teo

English Sparkling wine

Malinga Gruener Vetlinge | ytTastes | Yvanne Teo

Gruener Vetliner

Antonio Madeira Vinho Velhas

What makes for a good meal?

Naturally it is the quality of the food: presentation, taste and what it evokes when you eat it. But for me there is also the quality of the company that you have to experience it with. Not to forget to mention, the service during the meal - friendly interaction but discrete.

Here our are images of our welcome snacks as the menu indicates.

| Portland, Fitzrovia, London | ytTastes | Yvanne Teo

I had assumed that substitutions of the dishes due to dietary requirements would have been pre-planned. So I was quite impressed when this was done all 'on the fly' as each course was due to be served - now this is expert adaptability by the chef(s). We had a pescatarian among us, and a non-cooked fish eater, though shellfish is fine. So the substitution dish of a ravioli of crab was offered.

Another substitution on offer was the pork dish below. I do apologise for my clearly unimaginative description of the dish - I can only feign that I really didn't pay as much attention to the description and concentrated on the company of my fellow diners.

Would I recommend Private Dining at Portland? But of course! The tasting menu is deceptive as though the dishes kept coming out (or seemingly so) the Executive Chef Chris Bassett and his team have an incredible ability to judge quantity, quality and flair. Did I mention adaptability? I can't emphasize this enough - totally impressed!