A Big announcement from PORTA x Joseph Benjamin #News

Victoria Hayes
30th July 2021

Big Changes are afoot on Northgate Street, Chester.  Here is the latest news from our friends at Joseph Benjamin.

Building on the ongoing popularity of our little tapas bar, Porta, we are making the leap to convert our entire Chester operation – Porta & Joseph Benjamin – in to one single larger Porta Tapas Bar.

The new expanded restaurant will embrace the informal, buzzing atmosphere and top-quality tapas for which Porta is well known and we’re also incorporating the sensational paella that has become the backbone of the post-lockdown JB menu. Our paella have gained a huge following and it’s fantastic seeing how much you all love them – as I’ve said elsewhere, those pans of tasty rice totally sum up what we’ve always loved about good food and restaurants; proper ingredients, skilled cheffing, good value, flavour-packed and low on faff!

It’s a nice feeling knowing that almost exactly 15 years after we opened, we can draw a line under Joseph Benjamin while it’s a busy, popular restaurant. We’ve been a little anxious about this announcement – there’s some sentimentality, of course – but we’re super-proud of everything JB’s has achieved over the years from tiny deli to 10 years of Michelin Bib Gourmand (by the way, we’ll aim to keep that, Michelin if you’re listening!). With the current iteration of the JB menu majoring on small plates and paella, you actually may not find this latest development all that surprising!

Aligning our Chester operation more closely to our Altrincham and Salford sites (both are Porta) makes so much sense and is very much about ‘doing one thing well’. The complications of Covid and Brexit have brought things in to sharp focus and we’re determined to come out of this challenging (obstinate, lingering) period as a stronger, fitter, better business.

To enable this change, we’ll close for a week in September to refurbish the restaurant and kitchen. Last table bookings for Joseph Benjamin will be Saturday 4th September. Please do join us for some fun there over the next few weeks!

We’re really happy to be making positive, proactive changes for the future. We love Porta and everything it stands for.
Thanks so much for all your support. We hope you’ll join us on the next leg of our journey.

¡Hasta luego!
Ben & Joe