Bar Douro to double up with new City restaurant

Bar-Douro-City-1-Finsbury-Avenue-development-new-London-restaurant.png

Southwark-based Portuguese restaurant and wine bar Bar Douro is to launch a second London restaurant this summer.

Bar Douro City will be located at the 1 Finsbury Avenue development near Liverpool Street station and will serve a larger menu and stock a wider selection of Portuguese wines.

In Flat Iron Square, the original Bar Douro (pictured) was launched in 2016 by Max Graham, who spent his childhood in Porto, where his family have been producing wine in the Douro Valley for over two centuries (the family business Churchill’s Port).

The restaurant is well-regarded for its authentic yet contemporary take on Portuguese cuisine, which is served alongside carefully sourced regional wines.

Head chef Sean Marsh has penned a more wide ranging menu that includes petiscos (snacks), pratinhos (small plates) and pratos (large plates), with desserts including the famed Portuguese custard tart pastel de nata.

A ‘carefully curated’ Portuguese wine list will be available, offering one of London’s largest selections of Portuguese wines with Graham and general manager Sol Leon working closely with independent winemakers, importing a variety of wines not currently available in the UK.

Bar Douro City will also host regular wine dinners with an array of acclaimed winemakers, following the success of previous of Graham’s ‘In Conversation’ wine dinners in Flat Iron Square.

Located in a Grade II-listed building, the design will be led by  Steph Gallia. Design features will include hand-painted Portuguese tiles - ‘Azulejos’, inspired by 15th-16th century motifs in the Azulejo Museum in Lisbon, a statement Portuguese marble counter imported from Aveiro in Portugal, and a traditional mosaic floor of hand-cut stone - 'Calçada Portuguesa'.

There will be an open kitchen and bar, with counter dining, along with tables throughout the restaurant, with a total capacity of 44 covers. A sheltered outdoor terrace will offer an additional 22 covers.

“We are hugely excited to be opening a second Bar Douro in Broadgate, continuing our mission to be a platform for Portugal in London, showcasing the very best of Portuguese food and wine,” says Graham.