Porta in Cheshire West and Chester

Wine 5/5 Service 5/5 Food 5/5 Absolute gem in Chester. Jamon iberico, albondigas, squid, pollo, patatas bravas, pan con tomate, pork belly and croquetas del dia (chicken and wild garlic) with a bottle of Rioja. Excellent service, fantastic atmosphere but most of all delicious food and wine. Why can’t all dining out experiences be this good!

Two of us. Sat us on a step literally!! Moved. Service awful. Missed a dish completely Awful seating. Ordered a dish. It never came. I went to the ladies and when I returned the staff had moved my seat!! Shocking

Delicious food and drinks. Really friendly staff. Portions are small but that’s the point of tapas! If you’re big eaters, 6-7 dishes between two will be enough. They had a special tortilla on with sobrassada sausage and rosemary infused oil. Top tier. I’d also recommend the pork belly. The chef was taking the p*** with how good the pork belly was! 100% recommend and would go back!

We ate here on a Friday night when we arrived in Chester and had a fabulous meal. This is a busy vibrant tapas bar providing an excellent choice of food and drink. We chose 5 dishes to share between us plus a bottle of wine and it was all good including the efficient and friendly service.

05/03/24 Nice place,good food and reasonably priced. Staff wise polite enough but no where near attentive enough. No one asked how the food was,more drinks or dessert. Alot of staff were chatting among themselves and not paying attention to guests, not just us. Quite strange, the food came out at different times too. 10%Tip already added too, apart from chef, would off taken it off.

Best meal out in the three days we spent in Chester. Great atmosphere, food, service. Meal for two with drinks came to £66. All our Tapas dishes were very tasty. Bill included an added 10% service charge. Shame it is closed Monday, otherwise we’d have gone back for more.

I'm glad we tried it but the jury's out on whether we'll go back. No issues with staff friendliness and service but we felt the size of some of the dishes was quite small for the money, even though I'll admit that what we had was very tasty. Still hungry after 6 plates between two of us, so we ordered two more and we are not usually huge eaters. Best value were the meat balls!

My wife and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary. Our daughter had got us a voucher for here. I don't really like busy places and was feeling a bit anxious. There was a queue to get in so we nearly didn't go in . We were waiting in the queue and a really nice member of staff came out keeping us updated as to how long it would be before a table was ready. He also brought out snacks and drinks for everyone in the queue. It wasn't long before we were sat at our table. I was very impressed with everything so far . As we weren't sure what we wanted to eat we asked the woman who served us to choose for us , she seemed excited to do this and I'm glad she did because everything we got was delicious. We had 6 dishes between us and this was more than enough , we were both very full . The white sangria was very nice too . The whole experience from start to finish was fantastic, the staff were lovely and so was the food. Great atmosphere, we will definitely be going back .

Absolutely amazing. Staff are so friendly and chat through the menu, we had fried squid, pork with mojo sauce, croquettes and dried pork sliced. One of the best restaurants in Chester and I will definitely be back 😍

Quite possibly Chesters best restaurant. Everything is fantastic. The food is absolutely delicious. The staff are great. Helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. The atmosphere is buzzing. Just a wonderful dining experience

Found this by accident. Lovely atmosphere, great friendly and busy staff. Food was superb, and reasonably priced too. Highly recommend !!

The food here was great. Lots of choice on the menu. Lovely friendly staff. This page has a great atmosphere, too. We'd definitely recommend a visit.

Came here for our first visit with my wife for her 40th birthday on a quiet Wednesday afternoon. Really warm friendly welcome. We have lived in Chester for 12 years and go out once a month for dinner. This is by far the best food we’ve eaten in Chester and it has firmly cemented itself as our favourite restaurant in the city! The special was a mushroom dish that was so good we ordered it twice. It was honestly some of the tastiest food we’ve ever had and the manager was fantastic and very helpful. We’ll most certainly be back for many times to come!!

First time visit, will be back. Great food and a lively atmosphere - nice selection of tapas. Great value, friendly and efficient staff.

Good selection of excellent Tapas, including vegetarian dishes. Busy buffet friendly atmosphere, staff managing the right combination of relaxed and efficient. Good price for the quality. A lucky find for us!

The food was served quickly, and presented to a high standard. Our waitress was highly attentive and informative. We had a lovely evening

Passed by early evening and aueried booking; we were told no reservations so returned early in the hope of securing a table. We were glad we did as, by 7.30 it was very busy with several couples waiting for a table. What we saw as this evolved, was exceptional management; everyone who walked though the door was greeted, given a realistic idea of the wait and invited to take a drink upstairs (the best majority did) In the meantime, we enjoyed a fabulous meal, comparable to the quality we’ve experienced both in Spain and in London. Particular highlights, the olives, the boquerones, the roasted squash and the turron cheesecake. We loved it and will be back next time we’re in Chester

Called into Porta for lunch whilst visiting Chester christmas market stalls & inside food hall. We had potato bravas, barley & chorizo stew, fried blue cheese & honey balls , pork belly & calamari , all cooked perfectly as usual. The service was excellent . It was very busy especially for a Tuesday afternoon , but due to the quality of the food , its not surprising really. Highly recommended

We visited 8th Dec and from the moment we walked in we felt welcome. It was a very busy Friday evening and at first no tables to eat were available. But the staff invited us to seating area to have a drink while a table was available. It only took about 15mins and they called us back to be seated. The food was delicious fresh and beautifully presented. The waiter helpfully identified vegetarian dishes. The service was outstanding so friendly and fast. Would highly recommend 👌

Fantastic place. Didn’t need to book as it was midweek. Very busy for a Tuesday evening. The food was delicious and hot. Staff were all very friendly

My daughter is an Opera Singer and she wasn’t free to eat until 10pm. We arrived at closing time and were the last to leave. They put themselves out to make our evening memorable even though the place was full and they were very busy. The food was exceptional, the service outstanding. A fabulous place . Thank you Porta for making our stay in Chester special.

Visited on a evening out in Chester.The restaurant seemed very busy for 18.00 but within 10 minutes they had found us a table for two. Once ordered all the food arrived hot and at intervals which allowed us to enjoy without feeling rushed. The food and wine was all enjoyable and we would return again.

Fantastic Spanish tapas and great service. All food is prepared and cooked on site not bought in pre packaged. Great flavours and great atmosphere

Visited with my daughter for her birthday. The restaurant is situated on the edge of the city centre prior to the Cathedral and German Christmas Market. Deceptively large, we found it busy but were allocated a table (I believe that you cannot book lunchtime). Tapas selection was varied and very tasty. We had about 7 dishes, wine and sangria. The bill came to £67 which I felt was fair. The food was lovely, I can understand why it was so busy! I would recommend this restaurant and definitely visit again.

The food, drinks and service were all great. Wonderful, authentic tapas with relaxed and friendly yet attentive service. Fantastic.

Great authentic Tapas bar. Quality of the food is exceptional. Its very popular with lots of repeat customers and if you have a tiny wait to get a table , dont let it put you off- it is worth it! Reasonably priced, friendly atmosphere - a must do ehen in Chester.

We’ve eaten here twice in recent months and both times the food has been outstanding. The menu changes regularly and there are always some interesting daily specials. Portion sizes and good and the food is clearly cooked to order, arriving as and when each dish is ready. The staff are friendly and attentive and have great knowledge of the menu. My only minor criticism is that the tables are on the small side and feel a little crammed in which given it’s a tapas restaurant it can actually be quite challenging making space for multiple dishes on the table. It’s minor criticism and certainly won’t stop us visiting again.

Amazing food as ever and service was excellent despite it being a very busy Saturday evening. An absolute gem or a restaurant

What a gem, we love tapas and have eaten at many tapas places on our travels but this was one of the best, the chef’s special of stuffed sweet peppers was amazing, please put on your main menu. Loved the blue cheese with walnuts and honey so much we ordered it twice, once with our main dishes and then instead of desert, whilst we finished off a lovely bottle of Spainish White. Will definitely be back!!!

Although I eat out regularly this is the first time I felt needed to give a review. This was our second visit to Porta and we decided to have Paella sharing meal. This was serves in a pan and comprised of a layer of rice with some tasteless squid rings and four Atlantic Prawns. It was not a cheap meal and we both agreed it was probably the worst we can remember having

Really enjoyed our visit to Porta - we went at 5.30pm on a Saturday & only had to wait 5 mins for a table. Food is delicious - we had paella, tortilla, olives, tomato bread & shared the cheesecake to finish. Can highly recommend all!! We also shared some sangria & vermouth which were lovely. Service was fab - staff were really efficient & friendly. Ambience was also excellent - very busy & vibrant with a good ‘buzz’. Lovely cosy bar upstairs to wait in too whilst your table is prepared. Can’t wait to return.

Dear oh dear oh dear The word I think of is desperate. I've tried to make allowances for the economy, possibly new ownership, Covid recovery etc etc., but goodness has this place fallen to a sensational level of mediocre. Not sure where to start .,...

This place is amazing. Porta is one of my all. Time favourites. The food is so good, the staff are great and the specials are always exciting.

Great tapas..each dish great size to taste and share with 2. Fresh and cooked to order. Delicious. Attentive helpful staff. Biggest surprise..marinated carrots ( cold), what a great change from ubiquitous pardon peppers, only £2.50 ..would be fab appetizer on hot summers day..were fab on...

Really great friendly bar. Went there to and from places in the town for pre dinner drinks and post dinner digestive’s. Good selection of drinks for these occasions, great attentive and friendly service, happy to chat and make you feel welcome. We only went for...

Stopped in on Sunday with some friends and was very warmly welcomed by the friendly and attentive staff. We had several plates of tapas - all of them very tasty. Highlights for me were the pork belly, boquerones and padron peppers (the tastiest thing I’ve...

Me and my partner came here spontaneously on a random weekday, it was very busy! we were offered to go and wait upstairs in the bar, though we were so hungry we were happy to sit outside and order. We ordered a variety of things,...

So good. Really want to come back here. The food was incredible and such good quality. Best tapas I’ve ever had, way better than a lot of the tapas I’ve actually had in Spain. Super delicious and the staff are really friendly too, help you...

Fantastic atmosphere. Very friendly staff and great service . Amazing tapas and dessert all served with a jug of their own recipe Sangria.

Fantastic little place with lovely food and really smiley, helpful and efficient staff. Quick service and everything was so tasty. Will be back to try the paella, that sounded amazing too. Thanks for a lovely visit.

Honestly the best tapas you will ever have. Authentic Spanish tapas, loads of choice, the atmosphere in there is great. Food and service is 10/10 staff are lovely! We sat in the bar area upstairs for around 15 mins before being seated and that was...

Simply Stunning! I’d go as far as saying that they offer the best tapas is Chester, Gorgeous authentic tapas dishes. Excellent service. We will 100% be back.

Lovely little spot hidden away at the North Gate to Chester. Small space so worth booking but atmosphere is lovely and the food is spectacular.

Lovely place with chilled out atmosphere. Staff very friendly and attentive. Food lovely and good choice for a good price. Very enjoyable experience.

After returning from Spain recently we fancied some tapas and Porta did not disappoint. Although on the pricier side for tapas, you get more than what you pay for. The quality of the food and presentation was exquisite. They know how to create the perfect...

Lugar de tapas españolas que no saben a nada, con un chef portugués que no tiene ni idea de la...

Beside the grand historic Gate, it was buzzing with busy-ness when we arrived. No outside tables and just one high-seat one inside that was gratefully accepted. Had gorgeous fare accompanied with a chilled white wine. Dessert was up next along with coffee and cappuccino. Staff...

Not really that confident with tapas but was pleasantly surprised with the food here. Delicious dishes served quickly and by waiters who were friendly and attentive. On my list to return next time I’m in Chester

Had a brilliant experience eating here. There were six of us. This is a walk in restaurant so be prepared to wait a little at busy times. We just had a drink in the upstairs bar and then we were taken to our table which...

Was staying in Chester for work and this restaurant was about 2 mins from our digs. It was really handy that no booking was required so we went on our first night. Got a table pretty quickly and got our drinks to help choose our...

The restaurant is located next to the North gate, pleasant very busy and has a no booking policy. The food was freshly cooked and very tasty, presented well. No rush to eat and move you on, loads of staff being very attentive.

Love this place! Arrived around 8pm & told it would be about a 30-min wait. We were expecting this so not an issue. Headed upstairs to their lovely little speakeasy-style bar. Quiet ambience across two rooms. Friendly bartender & well priced drinks list. As advertised...

Exceptional Tapas. Friendly service. Great value. Eaten fair bit of tapas in my time. This is amongst best.

Wow what a hidden Gem! We couldn’t stop raving about this place. It starts at the bar with a cocktail that was created by the gorgeous flamboyant mixologist, I can’t remember the name of it but it was summer in a glass! The Rioja was...

NO CASH ACCEPTED. This is very poor form, if you don't accept cash put a sign up don't wait till we have spent £200 and they say so sorry card only. Never again.

Too English. Food was amazing but since it’s been taken over the ambience is not what it used to be. It’s a Spanish restaurant so there should be at least one Spanish waiter and definitely Spanish music not the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Arctic...

Lovely little hidden gem ! Staff were friendly & efficient .. short wait only for an outside table on a very warm evening. Lovely vibe and excellent food at reasonable prices. Would highly recommend 👌

We called here after a quick look on Google, it said no bookings, just call in. So glad we did. The food was fantastic, I did Not take any pictures as it was so good I could not stop eating. This was tapas at its...

Absolutely loved it here and will definitely go back when we visit Chester again. Food was amazing and not expensive particularly for a city centre restaurant. The staff were all lovely and very attentive. On the way out of the city so could easily be...

Had another beautiful dinner at Porta last night . But unfortunately spoiled by a guy who loudly and obnoxiously complained about having to wait for the card machine to be back up and running (there was an outage due to the storm) . Why do...

Genuine food by people who want to give punters a good time. Service was excellent and food was great as far as I can remember (the wine was flowing).

The food was tasty but very annoyed to find they didn't take cash and they added a 10% service charge to the bill without asking.

We paid a return visit this time with recently discovered family over from Canada. They were very impressed with everything about Porta, the choice and quality of the food and the first class service. Everything was freshly cooked and brought to the table piping hot....

Tapas is such a simple idea, but one that a lot of UK places get wrong. Porta does it right. Fun. Fresh food. Actual cooking.

Lovely tapas, fresh, covering fish, pork and veg dishes. Lovely buzz across restaurant.Service excellent, informative, attentive and cheerful. First visit will be back!

Popped into Porta for a glass of wine and some tapas in the sun this afternoon, before walking home after an after an afternoon’s shopping. Nice selection of wines, well priced tapas and super friendly staff. Our puppy Gus was the star of the show...

The title says it all really! The food is sublime and the staff are absolutely fantastic. They really know what they’re doing and each and every one of them went above and beyond. We will definitely be back soon!

Book in advance to avoid disappointment. Tapas was fabulous as usual, went for the chimichurri squid special and can’t go wrong when a jug of sangria.

Even though Porta is a regular eatery for me I am never disappointed. The food is soooo tasty. But what is important, what you think might not take your fancy, or might not sound particularly inviting, try it! I had the ‘carrots done Porta style’...

We had a prompt lunch for 6 securing a big table on a Saturday as the restaurant fills up very quickly . The house Tempranillo was good and we had a good spread of dishes which arrived in timely considered fashion, with bites to start...

Lovely Tapas lunch, the food was excellent quality and great choice, sangria was also nice to drink. Service was great, really friendly and helpful. Will definitely return.

It was incredible. We shared every dish and are usually quite picky but we enjoyed everything. The roasted pumpkin was stunning, the Patatas bravas was perfectly crisp, the chorizo and lentil stew was rich. My favourite was the salted cod and chickpeas I usually don’t...

Authentic Catalan tapas - really great quality food, good value for money and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. It would be nice to see a few more vegetarian options on the menu.

A nice little wine bar / tapas restaurant. The food is classic tapas, reminiscent of Barcelona, nothing fancy just good quality food. It would be nice to have a few more vegetarian options.

First impressions / Nice atmosphere, buzzing and lively with nice ambience. The place is very small and cramped and the four of us were squashed together on a tiny table sitting on stools which weren’t the most comfortable to be honest. Had a glass of...

Walked past and smelt the food it drew us in. Jess and Blythe were amazing and helped us a lot with our choices. 5* food and 5* service.

We visited last night as we do at least once a month and were met with the same level of customer service and delicious food we have come to expect from this beautiful, independent restaurant. I would never normally feel it necessary to pass comment...

We queued for 20 mins no problem as we aware told it would be 20mins ish. Then we were hearses upstairs with a numbered wooden spoon .. never explained that there is yet more of a wait … now an hour and a half after...

Porta was one of three places recommended to us by locals. We were in the mood for tapas so went to try to book a table. We discovered they only take walk ins so turned up at 7pm on a Saturday night. We had to...

We were here several years ago and were impressed. They have expanded the bar and at lunchtime mid week, most of the tables were in use. The owners say it is their aim to provide a similar relaxed atmosphere similar to the bars in northern...

We had been recommended to visit Porta and arrived at lunchtime on Friday to find the place pretty full. Happily the nice guy at the bar gave us a warm welcome and a second man found a good window table for us at once. We...

We had a lovely random lunch here on Valentine's Day when lots of places were booked up. At first glance there wasn't much available for me as a vegetarian as nothing's marked with a 'V' but there are enough dishes to make a good meal....

A very good quality, professional restaurant near the walls servicing very tasty Spanish tapas. The selection was good and all the dishes were lovely. There is an upper bar and waiting area as the testy is very busy. It’s quite an informal and lively atmosphere....

Beautiful tapas served swiftly (don’t confuse this with undue haste 😉), accompanied by an excellent Rioja. Great surroundings and very friendly service.

This restaurant is five star no question. Unbelievable food, seasonal menu. Great staff seriously such a good restaurant.

Excellent tapas, with great service and great value. Loved it! If you like tapas (and we do) go there - if only for the wonderful prawns.

Had heard this place was good so have it a go. Welcome lovely atmosphere great Beer and wine lovely. Our tomato breast amazing so off to a goi start. The prawns were awful and the serano ham vey pale and vey fatty I have lived...

Fantastic food and atmosphere. I thoroughly recommend. Grace our waitress was exceptional! The menu represented excellent value!

We were recommended 3 restaurants by the lovely staff at Chalk Coffee House this was the second of them. Our friends chose this one of the 3 recommended to us. Iberian small plates, tapas great service and ambience. The service was swift, the food excellent...

Great food, Great ambiance, and most importantly of all great service. This is a great place to meet, and there are plenty of hotels nearby. Delicious tapas food, great wine, and staff must be the envy of many of the nearby restaurants, knowledgeable and chatty...

We visited on a Sunday night in January and after walking past several restaurants and pubs which were relatively empty, were quite surprised when we arrived at Porta, to find it was almost full…..always a good indication of the quality of food to come! It’s...

My friends and I arrived and although the place was full, we waited outside for only 10 mins before a table for 4 became available. Beautiful place and the tapas was Devine. We sampled everything and more on the menu. I especially enjoyed the pumpkin...

Try to get to Porta every time we are in Chester. Exceptional food and great staff too! Always super fresh and great choice. The picos blue is our favourite and the tortilla is gorgeous. Best restaurant in Chester!

Thought would try after recommendation. Very disappointed. Would not go back food was not up to standard. May because time of year. Bread with olive oil nothing added awful

Lovely lunch as always. Very good friendly service and well informed. Food top class and enjoy daily specials. Looking forward to visiting again soon.

Super, authentic tapas in a friendly buzzing environment. Lovely food, lovely service, great atmosphere. Highly recommended!

Busy, buzzy atmosphere, great staff and service. Early table, some more original tapas dishes as well as perennial crowd pleasers. Porta spritzes went down very well. Good range of beers. Queueing outside when we left. Fantastic evening! Thanks very much for looking after us so...

Swift service, attentive staff. Really excellent, tasty tapas. Warm, relaxed atmosphere. Dishes came out as soon as each one was ready. High quality food which isn’t overpriced. My favourite place to eat in Chester.

There's so much to love here which is why we keep returning. Some of the best tapas around, small but perfectly formed wine list and the staff are really friendly. I always feel like i'm walking into one of the marbella old town tapas restaurants,...

Excellent authentic Spanish Tapas. Spanish wine and beer. Excellent food , authentic tic Spanish cooked by Spanish head chef. Good value for money as well