"a hugely ambitious project"

We first got wind of Portfolio opening long before a property was even secured, so when the doors to the bar facet of the operation opened in late 2025, hot off a deftly timed personal trip to the Champagne region, I was more than a bit excited so called in to enjoy a stunning bottle of Larmandier Bernier as a bit of a holiday extension.  Even then, you could sense that this was a hugely ambitious project and got the impression that corner cutting wouldn’t be a thing, perhaps apart from the use of table handbag hooks, which you know I'm just a bit fond of.

So ever since we've been hotly anticipating the launch of Portfolio's food offering, driven by the massively talented Julian Pizer who's already put a couple of Manchester dining rooms on the culinary map.  Accordingly, we had very high expectations of the incoming restaurant.

Now as much as I have a clear penchant for anything which comes from the Champagne region whether it be fizzy, still or sweet, and this is indeed a Champagne driven establishment, I'll broadly keep this piece about the food since this is a restaurant review site, after all.  But it's needless to say that the wine offering here is exceptional in both quality and variety, and you should 100% visit the bar area to explore the wine list aside from this food related blurb.

During the press and media launch which we sadly missed due to a wedding anniversary, some local food writers/bloggers declared the lesser known Champagne styles such as the reds, still whites and sweet options as newly discovered diamonds, asking 'who knew about this' before?  Well, anybody who claims to be a food and drink professional and carries decent enough subject knowledge?  Anyway.

The menu is comprised of one-bites, or snacks are they are more commonly known.  The full fat menu which we were treated to contains 18 of them for a price tag of £155, and a Champagne pairing to accompany the edibles costs £110.  For that you'll receive a compilation of Champagne styles, all expertly curated and announced by Nikolaj Kuklenko, formerly of Climat, Musu, The Bull & Bear, along with the Michelin Starred Mana.  Again, it's esteemed lineage outlining that Portfolio is an ambitious venture and the prices reflect that ambition. 

Dishes land in waves of 3 at a time, starting with the Chicken and Oyster with sour cream and chives.  It was a huge flavour hit straight out of the blocks and Julian's intent was crystal clear from the start of our experience.  Carrot Tart was next up, and this was an early contradiction to the one-bite concept.  Delicious, but this was absolutely two bites at least even for somebody with a mouth as sizeable as mine.  But on the plus side, that was two mouthfuls of deliciousness.

Beef Fat Hash was a dish which concerned me ahead of arrival as to be blunt, all the press and influencer snaps online from the launch event made it resemble a little jellyfish sat atop some corks, which must be a pain in the backside to clean/reuse continually.  Our shot was purposely taken from the side so that you can see beyond the jelly, and it was absolutely delicious despite my initial fears. 

The second wave of dishes started with the Beetroot Rose; stunning in presentation and originality.  Bags of earthiness with a natural sweetness, tempered with a superb smoky burnt cream, cocoa and pine.  Smoked Eel and Crab followed, sat atop a robust yet airy mini crumpet, all topped with a cute crab cracker and a hefty dollop of pristine N25 caviar. You could feel the menu's pace rising somewhat.

The following artichoke dish was one of the evening's outstanding offerings.  A scooped out then deep-fried artichoke skin, refilled using a hugely complex sauce which delivered on the one bite concept.  This dish would happily grace the snack section of any menu in the city, and felt like Julian's style of cooking, unleashed. 

Orkney Scallop was yet more luxurious produce, treated respectfully and not messed with too much. The mollusc itself was cooked wonderfully well with just a touch of colour on top, bathed/poahed in a beautifully flavour-layered broth which sang loudly. The whole stone bowl had been baked in the oven to give it a lovely warmth. Lovely restrained cooking with a true focus on simplicity and allowing the produce to shine.

Lobster Roll was a clear front runner as one of the menu's biggest draws.  A massively rich pork fat brioche working wonders alongside the sweet, delicate lobster.  It's a dish which is quite simply made to be side-kicked with a glass of traditional white Champagne, and luckily for us, it was on this occasion.  A blast of welcome and superbly well-timed freshness followed the lobster with the evening's salad course; a Spring shoot 'taco' which was rolled and picked, akin to a lettuce wrap.

A few courses down the line and it was clear that side plates are definitely needed for those who want to make their smaller courses last for a few bites, yet don’t fancy sharing the presentation plate with fellow diners' half eaten efforts.  We fed this back to Chef on the evening as these articles should never bring about any surprises to a venue who kindly invited us in.  We are assured that charger plates are en-route before too long.

'The whole duck' was a skewer containing various duck preparations from a tranche of breast, a brilliant bonbon, to a stunning piece of sausage. Saucing came courtesy of a hugely accomplished mole, as in the complex and labour intensive Mexican sauce commonly made with 25+ ingredients, rather than the small animal which I know you just envisaged?  The duck breast's fat could have been rendered a bit more, but there was no mistaking the overall quality.

Iberian pork belly followed with lovely quality protein, and nobody does it better than Spain when it comes to all things pig.  A tidy cube served on a hefty custom made wooden fork; it was so tender and juicy.   For us, the skin could have been crispier or replaced with some cracking/crumb to give a more complete and varied mouth feel.  Again, we respectfully fed this opinion back on the night, along with all our balanced thoughts.

But the next course blew our socks off.  A perfectly formed lamb cutlet, cooked just brilliantly then topped with a super fresh pea, mint and feta menagerie.  I ate this in about 5 bites rather than 1, just as you'd never down a glass of Jacques Selosse.  Some things are meant to be savoured and this was one of those things.  One of the best dishes that we've eaten in Manchester all year.

After nursing our lamb cutlets to prolong the joy, Chef Julian began prepping the dining room's main course, so we took the opportunity to pacify our leaning towards being absolute food geeks and captured a few close up shots of the action as it played out on the pass.

It wasn’t long before the completed plates started to leave the kitchen, and a blushing piece of ex dairy beef, finished with French Onion, wholegrain mustard and Guiness sauce and a copious amount of black truffle, which you could smell from a couple of metres away.  A fitting main event.

And those who've followed Julian's Manchester journey for as long as we have now expect there to be hassleback potato on any of his menus, and he doesn’t let you down at Portfolio.  Here it comes served as a baby potato topped with Buttermilk/Black Garlic; another ingredient which screams Julian, and acts as the perfect informal side to that beef.

As the menu starts to wind down, expect a palate refreshing melon cube, spiked with chilli marg, which got the sugar based courses rolling.   These were followed by a chunky blue cheese and white chocolate donut; sweet, savoury and salty.  This was fun, delicious and absolutely crowd pleasing in every area.

The headline desert is a course that Ill state even at this fledgeling stage of the menu, can probably never come off.  Pavlova is a New Zealand icon that here is made to the exact recipe of Chef Julian's Gran.   Execution wise it was perfectly done, with a thin, barely dehydrated crust which just about held together to contain its oozy meringue centre.  It's a dish which needs to be talked about more as a key part of a personal  journey, in the same vein of Skof's Tiramisu.  The dish tells an all-important story which is sadly lacking in most dishes these days, plus its delicious.

Following a final pleasing bite of an ice cream sandwich, we sat and had a good long chat with Chef Julian and co-owner/Champagne maestro Cameron Foster following dinner, putting the world to rights, discussing the evening's dishes and pretty much everything else in the world of hospitality and food media.  We might just have enjoyed a few more glasses of fizz as well, and it's absolutely clear that the intention for Portfolio is to become a notable food destination in its own right, as well as a shrine to all things wet-led Champagne.

Now this review caused a bit of a debate in our office.  For 27 years, we've staunchly shied away from reviewing comped invites and instead headlined them as 'Previews', as to remove any suspicion of bias or a lack of transparency, which is uber-common in the food writing industry whether it be from bloggers, content creators, general food writers, or even dare I say it from some legit big-publication London based critics these days.  But in this case we unbegrudgingly paid for our drinks which after an evening of self-inflicted excess came to about £350; a sum which would cover the bill for dinner and drinks for 2 in 99% of the city/s dining rooms.  So based on that, we feel that a proper scored review is suitable since we covered most of the damage.

But it will be interesting to see how Portfolio spreads its wings now that both sides of the operation are up and running, as things intrinsically develop and fine tune over the coming months once customer patterns and feedback roll in.  As touched on, it's towards the upper end of the city's pricing range, costing more than The French, marginally less than Mana, and also a few quid less than Skof's pricier menu. 

But we can see why really.  Just look at the menu. N25 Caviar.  Lobster.  Crab.  Scallop. Truffle, all included with no supplements for things like a huge serving of caviar on 2 courses.  This is always going to be a premium experience for a select customer and as good as it is, we just hope that in a time where customers are seeking bargains regardless of the price point, enough people are keen to experience the premium.

** Our food was gratefully comped **