Ben and Joe Wright, the brothers behind successful tapas restaurants Porta in Altrincham, Salford and Chester have revealed that they have decided to turn Joseph Benjamin, their award-winning Chester bistro, into another Porta.
Joseph Benjamin has been a huge success since it opened fifteen years ago, being awarded a highly coveted ‘Bib Gourmand’ for nine years running. (Manchester only has one Bib Gourmand restaurant – El Gato Negro.) The Bib Gourmand distinction is awarded by the Michelin Guide to highlight restaurants which offer ‘good quality, good value cooking’, promising a good meal at a great price.
The first Porta opened in 2015 next door to their Northgate Street restaurant in Chester, in the shadow of the city walls. They wanted it to be the type of relaxed, informal place the JB team would want to go for a drink and a light bite before or after work. Inspired by the tiniest independent tapas bars of Barcelona and Madrid, the menu is enthusiastically Iberian, representing many tapas bar classics along beer, wine, sangria and sherry. Porta doesn’t take bookings and is open to walk-in customers only.
Porta became so successful, Ben and Joe decided to open a second branch in 2016 adjacent to Altrincham Market which was being renovated at the time. A third Porta opened on the site of a former bank on Chapel Street in Salford in 2018 – only a ten-minute walk from Manchester City Centre.
“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,” Ben and Joe said in a recent statement posted on social media.
The statement continues, “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 into sharp focus and we’re determined to come out of this challenging (obstinate, lingering) period as a stronger, fitter, better business.”
Last table bookings for Joseph Benjamin, Chester will be Saturday 4th September before the restaurant closes for a week to refurbish the restaurant and kitchen.
“We’re really happy to be making positive, proactive changes for the future,” adds Ben. “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.”
Porta Salford - 216 Chapel Street, Bexley Square, Salford, M3 6BY
Porta Altrincham - 50 Greenwood St, Altrincham, WA14 1RZ