With views across some of London’s best known landmarks, the Portrait Bar, located within the National Portrait Gallery, achieves its lofty ambitions and impresses with top quality, inventive cocktails.

The Venue
The Portrait Bar is located at the top of the National Portrait Gallery and the first thing that strikes you upon entering are the incredible views across London that will impress hardened Londoners as much as it will tourists. From its lofty position you’ll spy Nelson’s Column, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and theatreland. It’s a beautiful sight that makes you appreciate what the city has to offer.

The bar itself is light, airy and modern. Simple square grey tables spanned by black leather chairs are packed onto clean wooden floors within the well-sized space. Be sure to nab a seat by the window to really appreciate the fantastic views and, on a hot day, experience the full benefit of the air conditioning. An equally modern bar with clean lines sits in the corner, displaying its gleaming wares. A slanted white ceiling spans the room overhead with spotlights giving off a pleasantly bright light without being glaring. This leads into the restaurant, which extends back with flashes of red amongst all of the grey. It’s a clean, crisp, modern bar with a gallery-like style that will appeal to visitors of the gallery but also stands well as a destination in its own right.

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere at the Portrait Bar is surprisingly upbeat and you can hear the laughter and hubbub of conversation from the foot of the stairs leading into the bar. A mixture of tourists, local office workers and visitors of the gallery mix with trendy, attractive twentysomethings, making for an eclectic but upmarket crowd, although there’s no pretension and you won’t feel intimidated by the atmosphere. This is in large part thanks to the incredibly friendly, attentive staff who make you feel welcome with genuine smiles as soon as you walk through the door.

The staff really know their stuff when it comes to the menu and will happily engage you in conversation about wine, cocktails and food. It all helps to add to the atmosphere and the crowd at the bar lends a dynamic edge to the ambience if you’re sat at one of the tables away from the main throng.

The Food
There’s a succinct selection of bar snacks at the Portrait Bar, and you have the option of moving across to the restaurant if you’re feeling particularly hungry. The food is basic bar food with an upmarket twist that fits in with the style of the bar well.

Chunky chips with garlic mayo (£4) is a quite small but surprisingly filling dish of fat, homemade chips with a slightly crisp skin covering delicate, fluffy potato beneath. The garlic mayonnaise is creamy with a pleasant tang of garlic that isn’t overpowering. The Bella di Cerignola olives (£4) are plump, bright green olives that have a nice salty aftertaste but are a little too hard and aren’t pitted, which could be awkward if you’re on a date. A better choice is the salami (£4.50) - thick chunks of meat with a rich peppery taste that doesn’t overwhelm the palate. Highly recommended are the haddock fishcakes with tartar sauce (£4.50), which are fresh, light and full of flavour without the salty tang of the haddock overpowering the dish. The creamy tartar sauce has a pleasant bite that complements the fishcakes perfectly.

If you’re opting for wine then the British cheese board (£8) is also highly recommended. The heavy black slate it’s brought out on offers up four well presented cheeses – a surprisingly light Oxford Blue, a creamy Golden Cross goat cheese, a rich Lincolnshire cheddar and perfectly textured Waterloo Brie. You also get a warm, heavy fruit and nut loaf with a pleasant sweetness, a thin crisp bread and a delicious, buttery oatcake alongside a sweet chutney, celery and grapes. It’s a great dish if you’re peckish and fancy some quality cheeses.

The Drink
The drink offering at Portrait Bar is certainly impressive. There’s a nice choice of gin-based long cocktails that range in price from £7-£12, although you can order excellent classic martinis off menu. The Martin Miller’s Dry (gin shaken with cracked black pepper and orange oils; £9) comes presented in a long glass, filled with ice and is a refreshing, perfectly mixed cocktail with a pleasant citrus undertone cut through by the slight kick from the pepper.

Highly recommended are the Champagne cocktails. The Hush Fizz (Chambord, Frangelico, Absolut vodka, pomegranate juice, Balfour Brut Rose Champagne; £12) comes stunningly presented in a large martini-style glass with two raspberries floating within the vibrant red drink. The flavour is exquisite and it’s perfectly balanced and mixed. The frangelico leaves a pleasant aftertaste to each mouthful with a hint of marzipan coming through and the slight kick from the vodka is counteracted by the sweetness of the pomegranate. The Champagne adds the final pep with a pleasant sparkle.

Also excellent are the more traditional Berry Bellini (raspberries, strawberries, apple juice, Jeio Prosecco; £7.50) and Kir Royale (Creme de Cassis, Pol Roger Brut Reserve White Foil; £11). The Berry Bellini is a slightly sweeter take on the usual bellini with a pleasant berry flavour coming through courtesy of the strawberries and raspberries. The Kir Royale tastes like a decadent version of the popular drink thanks to the quality Champagne used. Both are served in impossibly delicate Champagne flutes that are unlike anything you’ll have seen before and it’s interesting to discover that every glass used in the bar for cocktails is handmade.

A nice touch are the special cocktails created to reflect gallery exhibitions, such as the Gay Icons Pink Cocktails. Highly recommended is the Strawberries and Cream (strawberries, Rum Lime, Cream; £8), which tastes more like a dessert than a cocktail but is surprisingly not sickening and contains whole pieces of strawberries, adding a pleasant texture to the creamy, rich pink drink.

If you prefer your drinks simpler then there’s a huge choice of premium spirits and a good selection of bottled beer, including Monteith Westons Organic Cider, Kasteel Cru, Peroni, Spitfire, Guinness and St Peters British Bitter (£3.95-£5.75). There's also the full wine list on offer from the Portrait Restaurant.

The Last Word
It would have been easy for the National Portrait Gallery to have been lazy with its bar as it’s guaranteed a busy crowd thanks to the location and the incredible views. However, it’s good to see they’ve not sat back and have produced an incredible selection of inventive cocktails, served by attentive, friendly staff. A destination in its own right.

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