The Salt and Vinegar Martini at the National Portrait Gallery

If you’re in London, it’s time to visit the National Portrait Gallery. Even if you’ve been before, it’s had a refresh.

And while you’re there, it would be rude not to pop upstairs for a meal and a drink at the rooftop restaurant, The Portrait.

The Venue

Richard Corrigan’s brasserie reopened in July after a refurbishment and it’s got a very tempting menu.

One of the standout features of this venue is its view over central London, looking down towards Lord Nelson’s watchful silhouette keeping an eye on the Houses of Parliament.

As such, you could really get away with quite a lot of mediocrity in the restaurant, but they haven’t rested on their Trafalgar laurels, even though some aspects of the establishment have a slight haphazard feel.

The new interior feels retro and eclectic, with seemingly mismatched but beige-leaning styles from different eras and locations, with 70s-style textured surfaces, Japanese wabi sabi tableware and an array of houseplants under soft lighting.

Perhaps this soft mixture is meant to reflect the diversity of the works of art in the gallery below without distracting from them – or the menu.

As well as a sumptuous array of modern and creative food options, I noticed the prime excuse for me to write a blog post about the venue.

The Martini

The Salt & Vinegar Martini definitely looked like it could score highly in the pretentiousness department and I was somewhat hesitant about ordering one at lunch time but I decided it was simply a matter of duty on this occasion and ordered out of principle.

The waiting staff were as eclectically attired as the tableware but they were exceptionally attentive and clued up on the comprehensive menu items. I was very well looked after.

When my martini arrived it was in one of those small curved glasses that has seemingly become the disappointing default in London. I imagine it all comes down to the cost of living crisis and spiralling inflation but a martini that isn’t served in a V-shaped glass is always going to result in a 20% reduction in visual and kinesthetic satisfaction.

The former standard V-shaped glasses tend to hold more liquid than these new miniature coupes. Nonetheless, for a martini they really shouldn’t contain more than about 90-100ml liquid (those ridiculous big V-shaped glasses are for the lesser cocktails mixed with juices). So if you compare a good V-shaped glass with these depressing little curved cups it probably only comes down to a difference of 25ml drink in total and I’d gladly pay the difference for the far better experience.

Nonetheless, this seems to be the world we live in – or at least it seems to be the case in London. Take note, London establishments: Churchill would not approve of your little glasses.

Otherwise though, the drink was certainly intriguing from a visual perspective. Essentially a Gibson Martini with its dainty pickled onion garnish, the glass was also dressed with a delicate frosting of salt and vinegar powder around the edge. Top marks for creativity and execution. Glassware aside, this is a beautiful drink.

I was warned to hold the glass by its stem and not the cup as the powder can become sticky, but of course a martini should always be held by the stem so your hands don’t warm up the drink. Luckily you all know this already but I’m intrigued by the calibre of clients they have been serving martinis to in The Portrait in the few weeks since the venue opened.

Otherwise the beaded misting of moisture around the outside of the glass was testament to the temperature of the drink. It wasn’t ice cold but it was certainly very well chilled. Beautiful.

The drink itself was slightly sweet. I would’ve preferred something more dry and astringent to balance the natural sweetness of the vinegar powder and to compliment the food more appropriately. If I came back again I would specifically request it to be as dry as possible when ordering, but like many aspects of a good martini, it comes down to personal taste, and I am quite assured that had I requested it, the excellent staff at the venue would have accommodated graciously.

The Gin

Sapling gin must be good quality as it was a relatively smooth martini, despite not being frozen cold. Like most of the menu, the gin is a British produce. The botanicals were soft, and while it was leading on juniper it was mellow enough not to compete with the other flavours of the vinegar and food.

For every bottle of gin Sapling sell, they plant a tree in the London and Suffolk area. They also take part in numerous ecological and community based charity initiatives in both the UK and Morocco. It’s definitely one for further investigation.

Dining

In terms of food, I ordered Carlingford oysters and pig trotter on toast (gluten free is available).

I normally like my oysters plain, with plenty of brine and without accompaniments, but at the Portrait they come fairly drained of brine then topped with a mignonette-type seasoning, sweet chilli, crispy fried onions and coriander, which caught me off guard.

Nonetheless, they were absolutely delicious. Carlingford oysters usually have a mild flavour which obviously didn’t stand a chance against the Asian garnishes but they were nice and plump and the texture combination with the crispy onions was delectable. Additionally, a more flavoursome oyster type would have been wasted here. I’d order this as standard every time I came back, especially to go with the martini.

The pig trotter was deeply satisfying. The meat was very tender and the bread had a lovely springiness to it beneath the light crisp crunch of the toast. It was all topped with refreshing and lightly dressed salad and I’d definitely come back for more.

Pay a Visit

There was a train strike on the day I visited so it was quieter than normal. Otherwise I would recommend booking ahead to make sure you get a place at this popular eaterie.