Madeira-born restaurateur Sebastian da Silva is no stranger to the world of Gloucester eateries, having launched a couple of successful restaurants in the city over the past two decades. And while the positioning of his latest venture – Sebz Restaurant on Northgate Street situated nearby the likes of Cash Converters – might not be where you would expect to find a decent bite to eat, you will occasionally find a diamond in the rough.

Warmly-welcomed by the eponymous owner and energetic host, we were soon sampling glasses of cold Czech Budweiser Budvar – both pale and dark varieties – enjoying good quality olives and mouthfuls of fresh bread while scanning the comprehensive menu of Portuguese and Mediterranean delights.

The atmosphere was immediately relaxing – warm and informal – with the layout, decoration and music all making Sebz a fusion somewhere between restaurant, bar and café. It didn’t matter that we were the only guests in attendance – it was early on Friday afternoon, after all – but no sooner had we made our choices than customers came through the door one after another, greeting the owner by name and not even needing to see a menu. A very promising sign for things to come.

Taking advantage of the well-priced lunchtime promotion of three tapas for £6.95, we both fought over the ‘frango a piri piri’ – moist pieces of chargrilled chicken on the bone, glistening with a warming, spicy marinade of piri piri sauce in what was a delicious take on this Portuguese favourite. The ‘sardinhas grilhadas com azeite e’ too proved excellent – fresh, oily sardines with olive oil and garlic, falling away from the bone with strong, simple flavours. The ‘paella valenciana com frango e marisco’ – rice with seafood and chicken – wasn’t quite up to the same standard and remained the only dish left unfinished, but two out of three wasn’t bad at all.

By now the other customers had all settled in for the afternoon, and made up just about as diverse a mix as you could hope to find; one chap relaxed reading the paper while sipping a cappuccino, a lady and her friend enjoyed glasses of specially imported Portuguese wine, two older gentleman remarked on how the tapas was even better than last time they came and a group of six young office workers were making the most of what was a very lively Friday lunch.

Although already feeling a little full we took plenty of time to enjoy our main courses, both delivered piping hot and well presented from the kitchen courtesy of the smiling waitress. My Portuguese-style ‘lombo de biffe’ was a chargrilled 10oz steak, with a topping of Serrano ham alongside scalloped potatoes, creamy spinach and a red wine jus. Perfectly medium-rare as ordered, the dish boasted an unusual combination of flavours and very good quality ingredients, delivering on the promise of authentic Portuguese cuisine.

A change to the ‘peito de frango’ advertised on the menu, the chicken breast stuffed with Ardennes paté also proved an unusual marriage of flavours, and while slightly on the dry-side and accompanied by a few too many potatoes and vegetables – this was another successful dish drawing upon good produce.

Now far too full we managed only a few mouthfuls of the calorific Bailey’s cheesecake – more of a gateaux-style dessert presented alongside squirty cream which would satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth – before enjoying long lattes, soaking up the relaxing vibe and putting off heading back out into the world for as long as possible.

While Sebz Restaurant doesn’t offer fine cuisine it doesn’t pretend to do so either. But what is does boast is an atmosphere unparalleled in Gloucester city centre, hearty food doing justice to the country from which it is inspired and a very welcome addition to the county. Having recently celebrated its first birthday, I for one hope to see this independent Portuguese eatery go from strength to strength.

The average price for a three-course meal for two at Sebz Restaurant, excluding drinks, is around £40.

James Fryer
3 March 2008