Mind the gap

An Indian restaurant, a branch of Café Lazeez, has made way for the recently opened Portal in Clerkenwell. The premises, once an industrial paint shop, are attractively laid out with bar, conservatory and, at the back, a lofty dining area that looks on to a narrow strip of greenery between a glazed and brick wall.

To one side is a private dining room lined with wine bottles, a vista that could be said to represent the point of the place. Portal is a Douro-based wine company.

Maybe there were early-day problems in the kitchen, headed by Ricardo Costa, previously working at the two-Michelin-starred El Girasol in Alicante or maybe Costa wasn't there, but the wait for food seemed endless.

Two waves of amuse-bouches were sent out to fill the first gap. The first included a shot glass of tepid vegetable soup with chorizo oil. The second was a new potato stuffed with salt cod. "Like the Irish," opined my friend, "the Portuguese are devoted to spuds."

She bravely started with Portal sushi of bacalhau (salt cod) with Ratte potatoes and mixed leaves dressed with a soy-and-ginger velute (sic). The piece of salt cod was wrapped in nori (dried seaweed) but there any resemblance to sushi ended.

Equally perverse was a main course of bacalhau confit with houmous and a garlic-olive-oil sauce. How do you preserve in fat (confit) a dish made of soaked salted fish? Don't try answering that.

Everything was topsy-turvy; vegetables cooked to the point of near rawness, fish cooked to fluffiness. Arroz of veal used a long-grain rice where a short-grain rice would have hugely improved the dish. "Seriously weird" was the verdict on the truffle mousseline, which was served with the fish of the day (tuna and sea bass).

Our evening was redeemed by a very sweet, helpful waiter and the wines made by Portal: an intricate white Quinta do Portal Branca, Viosinho, Moscatel and Malvasia 2004 at £20 and the fragrant red Portal Reserva 2000 at £24.

Since the restaurant also offers a petiscos (tapas) list of dishes in the bar, I would suggest, until the kitchen gets into gear, the best option is to nibble on sliced hams and sausages, and drink the modestly priced, well-chosen wines and Ports.

Portal Restaurant & Bar
St. John Street, London, EC1M 4EH