High above the The National Portrait Gallery, almost eye to eye with Nelson, the Portrait Restaurant by Richard Coriggan serves a very good Sunday Roast with a great view

Most Sunday Roasts take place in pubs, which can be very cosy in the winter, but come spring it’s nice to have a serving of sunshine on the side. You could go into the pub garden, but if you do you’re at risk of other people’s children running around off the leash while their parents pretend not to notice.

Up in The Portrait though,  all is sweetness and light. Large windows give out onto a vista of rooftops and aircon units, but you can also see Lord Nelson, who for now still remains unaccountably uncanceled and on his column. The London Eye is also visible, plus that strange birdcage thing on top of ENO.

It’s clean, modern and very attractive and there’s a bar where we head to sample some cocktails based on the NPGs current special exhibition of photos from The Face. The plush stools are spring loaded to return to facing the bar and almost had us off on the first attempt, but we persevered and were soon sitting comfortably.

Crafty referential cocktail names are the order of the day and we order a Green Grass of Home (after Tom Jones) and a London Smoke (possibly linked to Jim Morrison and The Doors). I like the London Smoke – whisky, Earl Grey tea and a whisky foam – a lot, while Tom Jones’ tipple is a refreshing blend of gin (Welsh, of course), soda, cucumber and green Chartreuse. The sparkling open kitchen can be seen from here and I spy a big pile of Yorkshire Puddings, mmm nice! Time to eat.

We toyed with some rather fine breads with cultured butter (that’s butter that doesn’t pick its teeth at the table) and started on a 50cl carafe of Malbec.

I don’t think I have yet seen a Sunday Roast menu that doesn’t have some kind of pate or terrine on the menu and here it’s Game Terrine with quince compote and pickled shallot, but I had seen the most remarkable looking starter going out earlier and I had to have it – artichoke with crab mayonnaise.

This arrived as a giant flower on the plate, the crab mayo occupying the area where the choke had once been. It was fun to pull each leaf away with a ‘she loves me, she loves me not’ vibe, and drag off the juicy soft flesh with my teeth. The crab was fresh and delicious.

P loves beetroots, so had Beetroot, Blood Orange, Balsamic, Pistachio salad, and mopped up every last bit with evident enjoyment.  Lovely and colourful on a spring day, as well.

And so to mains with meat from Lake District Farmers, who deliver sustainable and free-range produce in this case  Cumbrian Blue Grey Beef Striploin, Herdwick Lamb Saddle or Corn Fed Anjou Poussin for the meat eaters, with veg and vegan options such as Roasted Hake and a Celeriac dish also on offer and sounding rather good.

I had the beef and it was excellent; cooked rare, but not endangered, with just the right blush of pink to deliver flavour and not be dry. Decent sized portion, too. I like that.

On the side the carrots were sweet, with some honey helping out. Served as batons, which I like as rounds reminds me too much of school dinners. No cabbage,but there was kale which was pleasantly soft and not stringy, and the roast spuds were fine if not completely crispy. That’s okay, no restaurant in my experience can do roasties as well as can be done at home, mainly for logistical reasons.

The Yorkshire was a good size, it fitted nicely on the plate, I don’t like giant yorkies, and it was crisp and buttery. My only ‘complaint’, if I can call it that, was the gravy. Very nice gravy, but it was pre-poured on the plate and I like to add my own on to the areas I want and in the quantity I prefer. I really dislike it when the plate is already a mini lake of gravy.

P went for lamb, which can be an iffy choice in some places but not here. Herdwick Lamb Saddle is a prime cut from the back of the lamb and is a lean and flavorful cut.

Desserts had a classic feel, my Sicilian Lemon Steamed Pudding with Custard balanced the acid and sweet very well and with an airy sponge. The custard had good vanilla flavour, but was a bit too thin and watery. It didn’t coat the spoon, which I think is the basic test.

Pot Crème, Rhubarb, Shortbread was very pleasant, you really can’t beat a bit of rhubarb at this time of year, its metallic tang seems to herald spring. A simple dish done very well.

Whether you’re going to view the works at the National Portrait Gallery or not, The Portrait is a very nice place to be on a Sunday or indeed any day of the week. Putting Corrigan in charge of food direction was a wise decision, he’s someone who understands modern European cooking very well and knows instinctively what makes a good Sunday Roast.

Recommended.

theportraitrestaurant.com