Picture this: It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon and you are in search of the perfect place for an end-of-week treat that won’t break the bank. We have the perfect place for you! Tucked away in the Southwark Quarter by London Bridge is Bar Douro; a Portuguese bar and restaurant. The restaurant is small, intimate and cosy - ideal for rainy days sipping on a glass of red. There is also an outdoor terrace, which is great in the summer.
The menu has various traditional Portuguese tapas divided into 4 sections: snacks, garden, sea and land. These dishes are meant for sharing and the waitress recommended two to three plates per person. What we loved was that she also gave her recommendations based on what reminded her of home - a great personal touch! There is quite a wide price range, from £5 to £17, so you can choose how much you want to splurge on food. Our favourite dishes were the mushroom pie (a new addition to the menu) and the croquetes de alheira.
Now onto the exciting part - the wine. The extensive cellar list is filled with Portuguese wines organised by colour and then by region. This can naturally be confusing if you are not familiar with Portuguese wine regions, so a handy map is included, which also explains the key characteristics of the grapes. What filled us with even more excitement is that on Sundays, Bar Douro has a selection of wines sold at cellar prices (what they are calling “Festa Sundays”). We tried the Domino Foxtrot 2020, a beautiful light red from the Alentejo region for only £20. This wine was a light-bodied, easy drinking red, with notes of ripe red fruits, and went well with the wide variety of dishes we tried.
Bar Douro is ideal for: Date night, or dinner with a friend. Due to the smaller space, we wouldn’t recommend large groups (4+)
Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Range: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: 9/10
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Words by Hannah van Houweninge.
