The 5th choice by Carlos was the 1 Michelin star restaurant Portland an interesting and different choice.
We arrived at the restaurant about 15 minutes early as always but for the first time we experienced that the restaurant was not able to accommodate an early arrival. Basically the restaurant was tiny and didn’t have a bar area or even a space where we could stand and wait – so the only thing the waiter could do was to direct us to the pub on the opposite site of the road. Told him that this now meant we would be slightly late – but he was fine with that.
When we did get back to the restaurant we got seated next to the also very small and totally open kitchen – so had a great view to all the action in there. The whole restaurant was very different to any other Michelin restaurants we have tried before. Very relaxed atmosphere including the waiters outfit as everyone was running around wearing aprons. The restaurant don’t have a sommelier – so our waiter helped us with the wine list – but got some really nice wines, which were very fairly prices compared to other places we have been to.
However the restaurant does have a Tasting menu, which we all 4 went for and we got a big cheer from the kitchen next to us when we ordered the Tasting menu – so clearly also a highlight for them. There were 9 courses on the Tasting menu – but the first 4 were served together as they were smaller plates – but a really nice surprise actually. I particularly loved the Crispy Chicken Skins and the Lobster & Miso rolls, which were just delightful. The Cured Ocean Trout was also a lovely dish and the whole experience was just great value for money. They don’t have a cheese trolley – but we were able to add a few cheese plates in between our main and dessert – so did get a bit of a cheese experience as well.
The kitchen was too tiny to really ask for a kitchen tour and we could see the whole thing anyway. However we did ask for the main chefs to come to our table – so we could say hello and get our picture taken with them – which they were very happy to do.
Our final bill was one of the cheapest we have had, which was an added bonus – and despite that the whole place didn’t have the ambience of a typical Michelin restaurant – we all had a great evening. Continued the night at The Churchill Bar with some great whiskies and cigars as we thought it was time to introduce our newest member of the Michelin club James to this special place.
