Port House, The Strand

It’s one of those doorways you’ve walked past a thousand times, Port House in the Strand is an Irish owned tapas bar.

Plenty of room here for ridicule, but there is none to have.  No castanets, wine-filled donkey bladders, flamenco-dancing dolls or Irish memorabilia.     It’s a classic tapas bar, with Spanish and Portuguese serving staff, offering decent food and drink.  Don’t be fooled by the small facade, this place is Tardis-like, and there’s plenty of seating on the first floor.

Their port tasting menu consists of three 50ml glasses, ranging from age and price £8-£18.

I know little about Port, apart from it comes from Portugal, it tastes great and gives you a banger of a head if you go a little crazy after your Christmas dinner.

Their tapas menu is seriously good too, no complaints with the Padron Peppers I tried.

Bellota Ham

Whitebait

And classic calamari

Next time you’re in Covent Garden, don’t walk past, step in and take a look at their gin menu and the hundreds of Port bottles on display. Spanish and Portuguese wines are plentiful, with tasting information for those who need a little help when pairing with their tapas plates.

Their ‘Gintonic’ needs two hands and they’ve quite selection of gins from Ireland’s Dingle Gin to Spain’s Gin Mare.

The staff here are wonderfully helpful, know the menu inside out and the service is speedy.

The Port House, 417 Strand, London, WC2R 0PD