'Assured and strongly flavoured': Porta, West Didsbury, reviewed

"That's a right mess," I said to Gordo while staring at a collection of random and expensive food elements. That was eleven years ago and we were guests of Nacho Manzano at his two star Michelin restaurant in Asturias, northern Spain. 

The dish had been described as 'pigeon marinated in seaweeds with emulsion of Kalamata, herbs of the seaside and sardine cream’. There was fish with this too, a square of it, highly pickled or marinated. It looked a disaster and it was all horrible bordering on disgusting to eat. Manzano was doing upmarket surf and turf and as far as I was concerned it wasn't working. 

Of course every cuisine has the right to morph and experiment but, personally, I don't like too much buggering about with Spanish food. 

It's rare with any restaurant review, especially with the number of dishes we tried, for nothing to be a problem.

Once upon a time, long ago, in a galaxy far far away, I lived in Madrid. Tapas came free with every drink ordered at the bar. These came as tiny morsels, not dishes as such, but they were usually very good. But they could be odd too. I recall a collection of pigs' ear bits with hairs still attached. That was part of the fun: you never knew which one of the array of food under the glass cabinets on the bar was going to come your way. 

It was the quality of the raw materials that impressed in Madrid. I'd wander down Calle Fuencarral escaping my airless and liftless fifth floor flat and seek out the shade of a different bar or restaurant from ones I'd visited before. 

If I was dining out I'd often marvel at the hams, the vegetables, the fruit and in this most landlocked of European capitals the variety and the freshness of the fish. I adored the way much of the food was presented, often with scarcely any elaboration. This was grub that was just plain good but never plain. It was wholesome, robust, assured, strongly flavoured, elegant in its simplicity.

Porta Tapas, West Didsbury, in 2025 not in the mists of time, offers the same, as do the Salford and Altrincham branches. I'm not sure about the original restaurant in Chester having never been but I'm guessing that does too. This food is lovely from the specials board to the a la carte with its frequently changing cast of classics. 

The tomato salad (£6.95) on our visit glistened with sherry vinegar, sharpened by capers with onions and oregano, all scattered among the lush tomatoes which also featured hard, Mahon cheese from Menorca with its sea salt edge. 

Just about my favourite word in Spanish is alcachofas which carries a lovely resonance. Alcachofas are artichokes and the battered examples (£7.75) at Porta were just as resonant as the word and crammed with that distinct nutty flavour. Quince alioli added a welcome spicy bitterness. I don't know why but I love that artichokes are in the thistle family. 

The flat iron steak (£11.50), while maybe not a classic tapa, showed originality and flair. Served pink and chargrilled it came with a couple of triple score Scrabble words, quindilla tximitxurri. This is a form of chimichurri packed with herbs and heated with chilli. Both the sauce and the meat were just right for each other. 9/10 for this. The Atlantic tuna belly (£8.95) from Cantabria was firm and bold in flavour on a bed of sweet piquillo peppers. It looked a picture too. 

Let's dance a sevilliana for the other meats, for which a carafe of Monastrell was a perfect match. The jamon iberico (£8.75) and the air-dried beef cecina dressed with quindilla chillies (£6.95) were simplicity itself yet howling with flavour. 

The same goes for the boquerones (£6.50), marinated white anchovies. My local Porta is in Bexley Square, Salford, and the boquerones are a must on any visit. Black rice (£11.95) with its squid ink shading and its huge fishiness couldn't be faulted either. I didn't try the chocolate mousse (£4.95) but the person who did loved it. 

It's rare with any restaurant review, especially with the number of dishes we tried, for nothing to be a problem. Porta provides this experience time and again. It takes those superb Spanish raw materials and with the minimum of fuss, a few tweaks here and a few tweaks there, lets them speak for themselves. The result is an overwhelmingly satisfying experience. 

Veteran vegetarian restaurant Greens occupied this site for 33 years until closing in January last year. Many people mourned its loss. Porta Tapas is a fine replacement and although not vegetarian as such the veggie dishes were in double figures on the menu we tried. West Didsbury is fortunate to have gained this restaurant, which like its sister outlets doesn't put a foot wrong. I'll defintely return; any Porta in a storm, as nobody in their right mind might say. 

Porta Tapas, 41 Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2NT