Beloved Soho restaurant 10 Greek Street has its final service this weekend, on August 8. But the space won’t remain empty for long – the third outpost of Portuguese restaurant group Bar Douro will open there in October, bringing unique-to-the-UK beef, regional specialties and an extensive wine list.
Bar Douro opened its first restaurant 10 years ago in London Bridge, and another followed in Broadgate in 2020. It was founded by Max Graham, who spent his childhood in Porto, where his family run storied port house Churchill’s and has two centuries of winemaking experience. The restaurants are inspired by the traditional tascas of Portugal, and celebrate Portuguese cuisine, ingredients and producers. Graham says it’s a full-circle moment – he ran a Churchill’s pop-up on Greek Street three years before he founded Bar Douro.
“In 2013 I was standing on Greek Street pouring port, persuading Londoners that Portugal was one of Europe’s most exciting food and wine cultures," Graham said in a statement. “Coming back to Soho all these years later feels incredibly special.”
Bar Douro number three will introduce something new to the menu: Maronesa vaca velha (mature cow), becoming the first restaurant to bring it to the UK. It’s bred in the mountains of Trás-os-Montes, and its age means it develops rich marbling and depth of flavour. It will be used across multiple dishes, including ribeye on the bone.
Bar Douro number three will dive even further into Portuguese culture, ingredients and dishes that are lesser known in the UK. Alongside the unique beef, there’ll be a series of regional Portuguese dishes like bacalhau à brás (salted cod with potatoes and eggs), secretos de porco preto (hard-to-find acorn-fed pork) and garlic prawns.
Like Bar Douro number one and two, wine will remain a large focus, with drops sourced from across Portugal’s regions that nod to its diversity of winemaking traditions. That equals leading names like Hugo Mendes, António Picotes and Quinta das Bágeiras, alongside pours from Churchill’s.
The room at 10 Greek Street will be transformed from the minimalism of its predecessor with a dining room tiled in azulejo tiles and an open kitchen. A cellar room will host wine tastings and events.
“Soho is where the dream started,” said Graham. “Now we’re bringing everything we've learnt over the last decade back to where it all began.”
Bar Douro Soho opens at 10 Greek Street, W1D 4DH, in October.
