Portrait Restaurant

London, London, United Kingdom

National Portrait Gallery Restaurant

The Portrait Restaurant is a restaurant located on the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery in London. The restaurant boasts a great view, but we thought the view was better during daylight (and dusk). After the sun set, Big Ben was lit up, but most of the other buildings were dark. Everything we ate at the Portrait Restaurant was fantastic.

The restaurant has a separate entrance at the back of the gallery to use after the Portrait Gallery closes.

Dress

Smart casual dress, jeans and a nice shirt are fine, but some people were dressed up a bit more. A jacket wouldn't be out of place.

Cost

Most entrees were around £15-£20.

Reservations

Reservations are highly recommended. We were able to make ours on the same day, but by then all the tables next to the window were already reserved.

Items Ordered

Butternut Squash Salad

Butternut Squash Salad

The butternut squash salad mostly consisted of lettuce greens with a few pieces of roasted squash thrown in. It had a light vinaigrette dressing, and a bit of flavorful cheese, nuts and seeds. The salad was pretty good, but not the best thing we had here.

Vennison Stew

Vennison Stew

This was amazing. The blend of red wine sauce with berries and meat was just spectacular. The meat was very tender. It tasted like a wine sauce, and the sweet berries gave it a "Christmas" feel. The mashed potatoes were buttery and also good with the sauce.

Guinea Fowl

Guinea Fowl

The guinea fowl tasted and looked pretty much like a small chicken. The mashed potatoes were buttery, but tasted like they had something else mixed in. The sauce was very good, but different than the vennison sauce - it was more milder tasting. The vegetables tasted like brussel sprouts, and had the flavouring from the suace. The fowl was moist with a crispy skin.

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

I didn't taste any cinnamon, but it was still very good. The texture was a bit gelatinous, but it went well with the cream sauce (which tasted very creamy). There was a thin layer of plums in the middle of the dessert as well as a few plum slices on top.