Food reviews

Santo

Billing itself a “home cooking and Margarita bar”, recently opened Santo is a stylish and easy Portobello eaterie. Popular with a trendy but grown-up Notting Hill crowd, it made a fun and relaxed warm Friday night stop with busy tables outside and a breezy feel inside.
It’s an extensive menu with a lot of light lunch options (we were tempted by the bowl combo dishes) plus some creative breakfast ideas. There are various small snack options as well as some appealing variations on the margarita theme in an impressive cocktail list. But we were here for dinner, when the menu’s full of more substantial offerings. First we munched on tasty, not too salty, corn totopos with tangy chunky guacamole and delicious fresh cream cheese with onions and green chillis. My main course was a satisfying battered poblano chilli stuffed with goats cheese and served with rice, refried beans and tortillas, which was unpretentious and tasty, fitting the home cooking bill. Mole con pollo, a chicken breast covered in thick dry chile, nut and chocolate salsa was another substantial and tasty dish, full of intriguing flavours.
Stylewise, it’s all exposed brickwork and cactus murals in a minimalist way. The space works as a drinks venue too, with highly alcoholic Margaritas that are good enough to get very used to, though they’re pretty pricey and explain the surprisingly large bill we racked up. Next time we’ll come at lunch and try bowls and no cocktails. l PH