Porte Noire restaurant is an intimate wine bar at the foot of Gasholders London, opposite Regent’s Canal Towpath. The restaurant has an intimate atmosphere and serves excellent food that will leave you longing for more.
Whilst offering an extensive selection of exceptional international wines, artisanal cheese, and charcuterie, it’s the perfect spot for sharing plates with friends.
Well, don’t just take our word for it just yet. Let’s walk you through the culinary experience here.
Shall we?
Table of Contents
The Atmosphere at Porte Noire Restaurant
As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by the sight of wine bottles and luxury spirits lining the entrance. A cabinet showcased some of the best-cured meats and cheese around.
Porte Noire restaurant is home to an extensive wine selection, with around 800 wines to explore. Whether you’re looking for something rare, expensive, or budget-friendly, they have something to suit all tastes.
We were welcomed warmly by the manager and a waiter, who showed us to our table in the busy dining area.
The Starters
Porte Noire’s menu is rustic yet refined, with dishes perfect for sharing. The starters we ordered were a charcuterie board and olives. The charcuterie board was excellent – it came with various meat, cheeses, and bread.
The olives were also great – they were super juicy and the size of small plums. We also ordered a bottle of Sardinian Red wine – Keramos, Isola der Nuraghi Rossi.
The Mains at Porte Noire Restaurant
Porte Noire offers some mouth-watering options in its main course. The style of mains are small plates, so they are great for sharing. You’ll find amazing options like the steak tartare, which comes at a very generous portion, and its slow-cooked Beef Cheeks Bourguigonne, Paris mash, and lardons which are sure not to disappoint.
But for our main meal, we decided to try out something on its menu, plus we love great meat. So we settled for the Italian steak tartare, which was incredible and different from other traditional tartare. It was fresh and zingy as it had sun-dried tomatoes and basil mixed through it.
We also treated ourselves to the restaurant Sea bass ceviche, which was a great choice. It’s spicy but not too hot, and the flavour is fragrant and offered at a rather generous portion, which is great.
My dining partner and I couldn’t resist the temptation of great chips, so we also had Chickpea chips at our table. The chips were delicious, and the aioli dip was a great accompaniment.
Another main we had was the Mushroom fricassee which was garnished with egg yolk. At the first bite, I could tell from the expression on our faces that it was super rich, velvety, and a touch of garlic but the perfect accompaniment to a great meal.
Dessert & Cocktails
After such a culinary experience offered to us while feasting on our main dish, we still had some fight in us to round our dining experience up with dessert.
We had the Pistachio ice cream with olive oil, which was poured over, a strange combination, but it somehow worked.
Another personal favourite was the burnt matcha cheesecake, with a velvety, creamy filling and an Oreo base, the perfect combination.
If you’re looking for a drink to start or end your evening with, Porte Noire restaurant has a variety of cocktails made by its creative bartender, known as the ‘Professor’.
He makes refreshing takes on classics like Manhattans and came up with the signature Porte Noire Flower cocktail, which features hibiscus flower syrup and Dima’s vodka.
Final Verdict
Porte Noire Restaurant is the perfect place to wine and dine with friends. We were lucky to have David Farber, the charming co-owner of the restaurant, present, along with his dog Cooper, who was seated on a chair near us at one time.
The relaxed atmosphere, casual vibes, great selection of drinks, and delicious food make it the perfect spot for a date or a night out with friends or family.
- Address: Gasholder 10, Unit A 1 Lewis Cubitt Square N1C 4BY, London
- Phone: +44 (0)203 479 1914
- IG: @portenoirekx
- Visit the website
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