Portland St 358

This Smithdown Road haunt is the perfect place for burger lovers and offers so much street food from around the world it is utterly perplexing at first. The portions are massive, and the choices broad. Everything about the menu is big and juicy, and you’ll leave with a satisfied grin and the desire for more. Watch the eyes bulge in anticipation as the huge burgers arrive at your table, and wash it all down with some of their delicious cocktails.

The Vibe

It’s a fun place Portland St. In the past, it was a corner pub with no real clear identity. Just a cheap lager joint that always had 4 or 5 men stood at the bar at any time of day or night, we don’t remember ever seeing a woman in there – ever. Since Portland St. arrived though it has changed into a fusion, street food and burger restaurant that is loads of fun. Simple décor and a friendly vibe leave the focus purely on the menu, and that is worth the visit out to Smithdown Road.

The Food

There is loads on the menu, we mean absolutely loads. There is a big breakfast menu, with all the usual you’d expect, as well as pancake stacks, breakfast burgers and the intriguing breakfast pizza fries. There’s a lot of deep fried, guilty pleasure food at Portland St. but you do have the section of the menu with some healthier (lighter) options too. At this point you’ve got two real choices – go for the Asian street food, or the American soul food. For us, in a place like this it’s always going to be the burgers. The portions are huge, and each burger rammed full of as many toppings and sauce as they can manage. The Unicorn Burger is one of the favourites on the menu, with two juicy patties, bacon, BBQ sauce, melted cheese, and a panko onion ring. There are also burgers inspired by Tennessee, Cajun and creole cuisine, and great big side plates of wings and ribs – are you salivating yet?

The Price

Big breakfast plates for around £8, make Portland St. an attractive proposition for those after a hangover-busting feed. Many of the street food mains can be bought as small plates for around £6 and larger plates at around a tenner, whilst the showstopping burgers are all reasonably around the tenner mark or just below. All of the desserts are £6, and the extensive cocktail lists are £6.50 each.