Port, also known as Porto – that extra little glass of sweet, fortified red wine hailing from the Douro region of Northern Portugal that’s sometimes served to you with cheese at weddings – is named after the town of Oporto, where it’s aged and bottled.
And there’s nothing particularly rare about that – many popular drinks, ranging from Maragogipe Coffee, all Seltzers and Tequila to Capri Sun and literally like every wine ever have been named after their primary places of origin… HOWEVER only Port (the most popular of the three most famous fortified wines, alongside Sherry and Madeira, as you well know) is the focal point of a bunch of weekly dinners starting from 10th November at Disappearing Dining Club’s incongruously permanent north London gastropub The Dartmouth Arms.
Yes DDC – the OG of London’s convivial supperclub scene – is bringing A Taste Of Porto to its cosy North London pub from next week onwards, pairing some of Portugal’s tastiest dishes with a selection of top-shelf Portuguese wines in a series of weekly candlelit dinners that’ll be underscored by a vinyl-only Hi-Fi set up they love so much, it’s been painted on the wall. Walking in, you’ll receive a welcome white port & tonic, then settle in for a four-course feast of food inspired by Portuguese cuisine. It’ll all be put together by the DDC’s head chef Fred Bolin, with dishes including the likes of slow roasted pork belly and black bean stew; smoked pepper, salt cod & saffron soup; and a Portuguese rice pudding with cinnamon, orange & ginger.
Those dishes will all be paired with wine from the aforementioned Douro Valley – that’s the oldest demarcated wine region in the world, no big deal – as well as a tasting of vintage, rare and unusual ports from the Graham’s Port cellars; a company that’s been in business for two centuries…
…and has aged like a fine wine.
NOTE: A Taste of Porto takes place every Wednesday from the 10th November until 8th December 2021. Tickets cost £45 and include a welcome drink, four course Portuguese-inspired dinner, four paired glasses of Portuguese wine and a Graham’s Port tasting. Pretty good deal. You can get them right HERE.
The Dartmouth Arms | 35 York Rise, NW5 1SP
Like discovering new pubs? Here’s a list of pubs with open fires…