Portello Rosso Tapas & Jamon Bar

Portello Rosso is a hidden jewel of a place, tucked away in an alley. The restaurant is quite beautiful, but small.
The group before us was clearly having too good a time, so we had to wait a little while. Our charming waitress directed us to a nearby upstairs lounge bar where we were greeted by warm and friendly bar staff who happily indulged our banter and helped us discover beers we’d never tried before.
A few minutes later our waitress came up to the bar and escorted us and the beers to our table. Throughout our stay we met 3 different waitresses and didn’t have to repeat ourselves at all, so they communicated well with each other about our table. They were happy to answer all our questions and have a friendly little chat. It was our first visit, but they made us feel like we’d been there a dozen times before. Lovely.
A broad sampling of the menu among our group proved that you can’t go very wrong at Portello Rosso.
The duck legs were crispy on the outside, tender and moist in the middle. The pork belly was gorgeous though the crackling was a minor let-​down. The tender lamb ribs were braised in the kind of sticky, sweet and salty deliciousness you just want to dunk your face into. Wonderful. That was the dish of the night for us.
I love a seafood paella, but being fond of making them myself, I found it lacking a bit of seasoning and light on saffron, as well as oddly priced considering the rest of the menu. I’d also have given it a bit more heat to make sure the base was good and crusty. The paella was still delicious but the combination of price per head (for the paella itself) and less than stellar execution is where the missing star in this review went.
Wanting to leave with the taste of charcuterie on our lips, we ordered platters of jamón serrano and iberico with manchego cheese, caper berries and cornichons as a dessert course. Brilliant way to top off a very nice evening.
I’d have no hesitation about coming back. There’s plenty more on the menu left to try.

This place is a true gem. A total surprise. We tried a selection of menu items all of them good to great. The sangria is tip top too.
A casual eatery with capable, competent and courteous service, who took the time to explain the menu and identify what the less adventurous amongst us might start with. Everything that we ordered was eaten. The octopus & prawn dishes were super good and gets my recommendations.
This is a place to go with friends when you want to eat, drink & be merry.

These guys have a lot of potential… but unfortunately misses the mark on a few things. The jamon were nice but were served quite cold (chilled) which ruined the taste of a good iberico, the patatas bravas was dry which is disappointing as the dish is fried in oil and meant to be smothered in mayo (they should’ve upped the mayo). The sangria was watery but the negroni was delicious.
The girls that served us were really nice but were stretched and so the service was quite slow. These guys have all the right elements to make this cute little tapas bar amazing, but will need to improve their execution.

Lovely little tapas and jamon bar down a lane way like many of Melbourne’s best eateries. With a fantastic tapas range, all delicious, and perfect atmosphere with very friendly staff.

Ok so this is a two part review … The first half is our anticipation to visit Melbourne’s very own Jamon Bar. To set the scene, I love Jamon since visiting Madrid. The bars in Spain serve Jamon with your Cerveza.
…
Ok so today we made a reservation at Portello Rosso. And I was completely underwhelmed. From being seated, selecting drinks and wait.
Still waiting … Wondering if we should stay and someone take or order. After ordering the food and Sangria flowed consistently. The Jamon was definitely yummo (but I could have got that from Vic Markets). The food was tasty but just missed the mark.
Now we are on the lookout for Melbourne’s best Spanish …

This was an amazing little restaurant, hidden in the middle of Melbourne, so hardly any tourists there, and the food was fabulous. Recommend getting their Sangria as well, it is the best you will have unless you go to Spain.
Service and atmosphere, fabulous.

Totally trusted TripAdvisor on this one — first time in Melbourne and certainly first time eating here. Down a dark little alley — the most fabulous tapas on earth. A liter of white Sangria — not too sweet — not too weak and 2 glorious starters of pan with cheese and a wonderful mince — then roasted green peppers with rock salt — oooh, to die for! Then Carne Paella (no seafood or fish) and it was so flavorful. Really, the best paella ever. The rice was succulent and rich with flavor. Wonderful ambiance — just like a hidden gem in Barcelona. This place is wonderful. Casual, warm, friendly, delicious. Doesn’t get better than this.

Get the Chef’s 8-​course tasting menu and let Sebastian order for you. He made excellent choices (we’re adventurous eaters) and we destroyed plate after plate — stewed chorizo, brussels sprouts that will make you slap your grandma, marinated octopus, empanadas oozing with braised meaty goodness. I die. As if that wasn’t indulgent enough, we ordered the spiced baked chocolate pudding, which was served bubbling over the side of its ramekin and topped with a massive scoop of velvety vanilla ice cream. Wine recommendation was solid as well — we went with the Schwarz Dust Kicker.
Overall, the tab was around $ 160 for an amazing bottle of wine and an overwhelming selection of tapas that were flawlessly executed. My body hated him the next day for recommending a visit to Murmur next door afterwards, though; worst hangover evah.

Excellent service and tasty food. However, this new trend of sittings and sessions; it a bit of a farce. We were there with friends on a Thursday night, and at the allotted time we politley asked to move on. As we left the restaurant, there was ample seating downstairs, and no queue to get in for more food, this ruined an otherwise ecellent night out.

WOW what a great experience, the food is fantastic in fact the waiter offered to order for me so how could I refuse; had sardines with goats cheese (just fantastic) prawns, pork belly and finished with a great dessert dipped in chocolate. Service was excellent, food was excellent, atmosphere was relaxed.
Will go again for sure

Portello Rosso is a rather beautiful restaurant, I don’t easily dish out the high praise but their interiors are simple and stunning.
Housed in a converted brick building the décor plays on its heritage combining contemporary and industrial décor. Brick walls have been painted white and the soaring ceilings allow space for mezzanine dining providing a sense of light and space. There is a downstairs bar and informal dining seating, while upstairs is a larger dining section that caters for more «napkin on lap» intimate dining.
Spanish Tapas is the deal here as well a delicious spanish wine selection. I love tapas and have gorged on nothing else in Barcelona so when I had dinner here with a group of friends and we were on more of a «dumpling budget» at the time I wasn’t overly impressed at delicious but minuscule servings of lamb on bread. All the food is delicious, just remember to order more than you think is necessary. Dinner for four + wine + dessert expect to pay around $ 35pp.

Talk about hard to find! Portello is SO worth the search though.
HUGE tapas menu, so I’ll tell you the standout items:
Zucchini and corn fritters
Patatas bravas (I know, they’re just potatoes, but you’re gonna love these!)
Crispy pork belly
Meatballs with pork and lamb
Get the charcuterie plate, that way you can try all the cured meats, and have some cheese, cornichons and bread too!
And you ABSOLUTELY must get the spiced chocolate pudding! It’s like a French soufflé, but I promise this will taste far far better!

Das Portello Rosso liegt wunderschoön versteckt in einer der typischen kleinen Restarantstraßen von Melbourne. Wir haben hier noch kurzfristig einen Tisch für 7 Personen bekommen, was (zumindest am Telefon) nicht so einfach war (klang).
Die Location is gemütlich und individuell eingerichtet, die Karte hat einige Schmankerl zu bieten. Allerdings hatten wir das Gefühl, die Bedienung fühlte sich durch unsere Anwesenheit eher gestört als erfreut.
Man hatte uns von vornherein gesagt, dass wir nur 2,5 Stunden bleiben können, weil dann der Tisch reserviert ist. Nach 1,5 Stunden begann unsere Bedienung jedoch bereits unruhig zu werden, was etwas ungemütlich war.
Als wir dann (pünktlich nach 2,5) gegangen sind, war das halbe Restaurant leer.
Das Essen war sehr lecker und schmackhaft angerichtet.
Allerdings sind die Preise ordentlich, unter AUD 60/​Person geht man da nicht raus (mit Wein).