Whenever I feel that work was really hectic and stressful, I know that I want to hang out somewhere quaint and cool but serves good food that won't hurt the pocket, the top place on my list is Portello Rosso. This Spanish tapas place never disappointed me yet, so I always find myself walking towards Warburton Lane, knowing that there's something unique and delicious in store for me. I found this place by accident, truly, when I wanted to go for a massage next door to it (wasn't satisfied) but this small place caught my eye. After taking note of the name and frame, I did some research and found out that this was actually one of the good lunch places where they serve individual size pizzas.
I've been to this place three times. The first was a take-away where I ordered pizza to share with some mates at the apartment. It was a memorable meal--pears, bluecheese and rocket. Good. Next time, I took note to go alone, remembering that time I was also so hung up on work, I know I need a place to unwind. I had a crisp wine that smelled and tasted of green apples. Very good. Along with a tapas of duck migas and fresh tomato salad. Understated, salty, a combination that worked well.
This time, after leaving work, I found my feet walking towards Warburton Lane again, this time, hungry for this black-footed pig called Iberico. I ordered wine first, after telling my server what I had in mind to order, she recommended an Italian red. The red was pungent and strong, acidic and peppery. Not for the faint hearted but dry and crisp at the end. No hint of sweetness whatsoever. I went for the Iberico ham, 30 grams with toasted bread and manchego cheese. Aside from that, I wanted to try something from the tapas menu. After being assured that the chillies won't blow my head off, I decided to try the Padron chillies.
I like the atmosphere at Portello Rosso. It's small, woody, dark with a multiple centered light pieces hanging above, plus a mezzanine. The best part I would say are the walled chalkboards, where they write on their specials and featured wines for the day and the walled cellar, where they "stack" their wines. Simple, creative and cool.
Padron Chillies. I can't begin to explain how this tastes like. They are lightly fried and spirnkled with sea salt, served on a scooped wooden cube. I held my breath and bit into a piece. Well, not too bad. There are different sizes to the chillies and the big ones are more pleasant than the small ones. The chillies are soft and juicy but the seeds gave the salty crunch. It almost tasted like light, slightly sweet green peppers. It's weird though. The smaller ones seem to taste bitter than the slightly larger ones. Every bite is a pleasant burst of a salty sap.
Joselito Iberico de bellota Jamon (30g). The king of ham came over and stole the show. Four perfect slices each topped with a thin slice of manchego cheese on a board with 2 pieces of bread. The slivers of ham were soft, glistening with lard and beckoning to be eaten. It was well marbled, no doubt, reddish and white sleek fat lining the sides. The taste. I don't know where to start. One word to describe is light. It is most definitely the lightest tasting ham that I've had, contrary to what I thought was very pungent meat. There was nuttiness, saltiness and light smokiness. You really have to concentrate to let all the flavors meld from your tongue to your throat to your brain. It won't work to hork down all that good meat. Aaaah, I thought I died and went to Spanish heaven. 
I've been to this place three times. The first was a take-away where I ordered pizza to share with some mates at the apartment. It was a memorable meal--pears, bluecheese and rocket. Good. Next time, I took note to go alone, remembering that time I was also so hung up on work, I know I need a place to unwind. I had a crisp wine that smelled and tasted of green apples. Very good. Along with a tapas of duck migas and fresh tomato salad. Understated, salty, a combination that worked well.
This time, after leaving work, I found my feet walking towards Warburton Lane again, this time, hungry for this black-footed pig called Iberico. I ordered wine first, after telling my server what I had in mind to order, she recommended an Italian red. The red was pungent and strong, acidic and peppery. Not for the faint hearted but dry and crisp at the end. No hint of sweetness whatsoever. I went for the Iberico ham, 30 grams with toasted bread and manchego cheese. Aside from that, I wanted to try something from the tapas menu. After being assured that the chillies won't blow my head off, I decided to try the Padron chillies. I like the atmosphere at Portello Rosso. It's small, woody, dark with a multiple centered light pieces hanging above, plus a mezzanine. The best part I would say are the walled chalkboards, where they write on their specials and featured wines for the day and the walled cellar, where they "stack" their wines. Simple, creative and cool.Padron Chillies. I can't begin to explain how this tastes like. They are lightly fried and spirnkled with sea salt, served on a scooped wooden cube. I held my breath and bit into a piece. Well, not too bad. There are different sizes to the chillies and the big ones are more pleasant than the small ones. The chillies are soft and juicy but the seeds gave the salty crunch. It almost tasted like light, slightly sweet green peppers. It's weird though. The smaller ones seem to taste bitter than the slightly larger ones. Every bite is a pleasant burst of a salty sap.
Joselito Iberico de bellota Jamon (30g). The king of ham came over and stole the show. Four perfect slices each topped with a thin slice of manchego cheese on a board with 2 pieces of bread. The slivers of ham were soft, glistening with lard and beckoning to be eaten. It was well marbled, no doubt, reddish and white sleek fat lining the sides. The taste. I don't know where to start. One word to describe is light. It is most definitely the lightest tasting ham that I've had, contrary to what I thought was very pungent meat. There was nuttiness, saltiness and light smokiness. You really have to concentrate to let all the flavors meld from your tongue to your throat to your brain. It won't work to hork down all that good meat. Aaaah, I thought I died and went to Spanish heaven.
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