Part of our Best Pubs in London microsite. Is your local listed?
Looking for somewhere to eat or drink after visiting Frameless or Moco Museum? Head a few streets back from Edgware Road to this smart and friendly corner house.
The Portman is part of the small, family-run Indagroup collection of pubs, each of which manages to balance a modern, food-led experience with the qualities of a traditional pub — chiefly, 'somewhere you can order a pint and not feel like you should be dining'. It's definitely gone up in the world since our last visit in the 2010s.
It has much older history. Under its former guise as the Masons Arms, it dates back to the 18th century, and was one of those pubs where the condemned supposedly enjoyed a last tipple before hanging round the corner at Tyburn.
None of that grim history is apparent in the bright, breezy pub of today. Fizz and wine lead the offering, along with a handful of cocktails, but there's also a small but excellent range of keg beers and a couple of cask ales to choose from.
Besides the main bar, there's an elegant dining room upstairs, available for private hire. In the summer, the kerb-side tables quickly fill up. When you've had your fill, there's an effortless pub crawl to be had, with a shimmy a few doors down to the Carpenters Arms.
