Amazing food, views and service – too bad it’s only open for dinner two nights a week!

The Venue
Owned by Searcy, the restaurant group behind venues such as 30 St Mary Axe and the Champagne Bar at St Pancras International, The Portrait Restaurant is a long, narrow venue with a rounded bar area in one corner. Decor is minimal, because clearly the star of the show here is the view you can see out of the huge windows: Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and (slightly less distinguished but impressive nonetheless) the backside of Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square. The views are particularly beautiful at night, with the capital’s lights illuminating all the striking landmarks. You can get a good view of something no matter where you sit, but the best tables are against the window in the centre.

Strangely enough, for a restaurant called The Portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, there’s only one painting in the entire restaurant, against the wall closest to the entrance. The menu also has portrait of poet (and Londoner) Lord Byron on it, but clearly, all you need to look at is the view.

The Atmosphere
There’s a really healthy buzz of conversation, no matter where you sit. Most of the diners seem to be groups of friends or co-workers, with a few couples interspersed between their tables. The people here are dressed very smartly and look professional – no jeans are to be found. And even though the restaurant should be, by all means, a prime tourist target (a location in one of the capital’s most famous museums in one of the most famous squares), there seem to be none around – during dinner, anyway. The restaurant keeps somewhat odd hours (only open for dinner on Thursday and Friday till 8.30pm), so that might have something to do with it.

Service is absolutely seamless, with courses arriving promptly (and side dishes in quick succession). This is not really a family restaurant – that is, you might not want to bring kids here – mum and dad would probably appreciate it though.

The Food
A three course meal for two with a bottle of wine should only cost you around £80 – not bad considering that both the food and the views are more than worth it. The menu emphasises all things British, with the only nod to head chef Katarina Todosijevic Swedish roots being an amuse bouche of herring, cubes of beetroot and creme fraiche. Other dishes emphasise their British roots: black pudding, Welsh lamb, potted Cornish crab and Brixham Devon plaice, to name a few.

Recommended starters include a beetroot mousse with honeyed walnuts, cauliflower puree and salad. The mousse is fluffy but not too light, and the addition of the walnuts means that there’s a nice mixture of textures in the dish. The Lancashire cheese tart is also tasty; the plum tomatoes and organic cider onions are a perfect match with the cheese. However, although the balsamic sauce adds a nice, sharp edge to the dish, all the liquid means that the bottom of the tart gets soggy.

For mains, the mixed game pie with celeriac mash is a good choice for meat fans. A mix of tender pheasant, hare and venison, it’s actually more like a stew than a traditional pie. On top of the mix is balanced a fluffy and crisp disc of dough. The guinea fowl (from Yorkshire, naturally) is piece of juicy, perfectly cooked meat on the bone that comes with braised red cabbage and a sloe gin and redcurrant jus – heavenly. The sharpness of the gin and the sweetness of the redcurrant means everything is soaked in a tangy sauce that matches fantastically with the meat and cabbage. Portions are large as well, which means that you’ll struggle to finish, no matter how much you want to keep eating.

Desserts are quite traditional as well: a Bramley apple, pearl, blackberry and hazelnut crumble with vanilla ice cream is something that your grandmother would make – if she could, that is. The mixture of fruits is a good one, tart and sweet at the same time, whilst the hazelnuts crumbled on top add a crunchy layer that keeps the texture interesting. The caramel mousse millefeuille is several layers of creamy mousse between crisp biscuits, and comes with refreshing slices of pear in case all that sugar gets to be too much.

The Drink
The wine list is reasonably priced, with bottles ranging from £15 to about £50 (there are a few more expensive bottles for special occasions). The house red, a Vin de Pays d’Oc Rouge, Bergerie de la Bastide, is a nice, subtle choice with a deep red colour. The Portrait also does a series of afternoon teas, with a Champagne tea for only £18.50 per person, and the separate bar area also serves cocktails.

The Last Word
High quality food with views and service to match. Take someone you want to impress.