Portobello Ristorante Pizzeria

This Italian restaurant near Notting Hill Gate station has been here for many years. There is seating outside in the unlikely event of a sunny day, while the long dining room inside has exposed brick on one side and cream walls on the other., with further seating downstairs. There is a wooden floor and a generally casual feel, with no tablecloths and paper napkins. As well as the a la carte there was a two course lunch for £12.50, and plenty of specials of the day.

The four page wine list had the bizarre combination of detailed tasting notes yet no vintages. Wines included choices such as Ca’ Bolani Sauvignon Aquileia at £24 for a wine that retails at around £12, Fratelli Berlucchi Chardonnay at £29.50 for a wine you can pick up in a shop for around £20 (depending on the vintage) and La Selvaccia Brunello di Montalcino at £55 for a wine that costs perhaps £30 (again, this varies based on vintage). I was impressed that they made the bread here from scratch, and very nice it was too, with good texture (15/20).

A nice touch was some complimentary zeppole (a simple nibble of fried dough with parmesan, salt and pepper), which was a comforting way to spend the time browsing the menu (13/20). I began with charcoal-grilled sardines, which were very good, carefully cooked though served with a rather tasteless salad (13/20 due to the salad). I was able to sample some pizza but although this is made in an impressive looking oven I didn’t think the base that great, though certainly it was a cut above the high street places (12/20).  Rabbit tagliatelle had decent pasta and a nicely spiced tomato sauce, though the rabbit itself was a little dry (12/20). Service was very friendly, the manager in particular charming. The bill came to £25 with no alcohol, though this was for more food than I could actually finish.  Overall I found this a very enjoyable experience.