Porters is what British Isles food SHOULD be - tasty, comforting, simple, the kind of thing you'd expect to be eating by a roaring fireplace in a boisterous pub in a town that was named something along the lines of Blank-upon-blank, maybe Yorkshire-Upon-Pudding, or Lamb-Upon-Pie. No "noveau" concoctions that try to disguise sausages as gourmand extravaganzas here, but don't expect bland either.

Skip an appetizer - portions are large, and the food filling - and head straight for the pies for which Porters is famous. The lamb and apricot is tasty and interesting, but the Steak, Guinness and Mushroom can't be missed if you're only gonna be here once. The flaky melt-in-your-mouth crust gives way to ridiculously tender chunks of beef, mushrooms, and that earthy, homey flavor that just makes you feel sorta cozy. Get it with the new potatoes as a side - they're delicious.

Whatever you do...no matter how much you want to gorge yourself on meat and potatoes...save room for dessert, and get Lady Bradford's Sticky Gingerbread Pudding. It's mouthwatering, and a perfect end to the meal. Try it with a glass of Fladgate 15 port. You pay a bit more at Porters, but they do it all right. For quality British food, this is the place to go!

I am not trying to pretend that this is gourmet dining, it isn’t nor does it pretend to be. It is much more pub gone yuppie. It is done in wood, brass and green and is a noisy and fun place to eat. You will see families, singles and seniors. It isn’t only tourist either. This is the third time we have eaten here and it is always an enjoyable experience.

The dining rooms are spread out over two floors, one being the lower level. I prefer the lower level because it has some booths. This time we were glad to get a table for four behind the entrance to the stairs because we didn't have a reservation.

We ordered appetizers; I had the breaded mushrooms, which were subtle and very delicious. Bob and Joe had salads. For our Main Course, Al and I both had roast beef and vegetables, which was tender and served with potatoes, carrots and a Yorkshire pudding. Bob and Joe had lamb and apricot pie, it had chunks of lamb and fruit under a flaky crust. Dessert is where they really shine; I had a hot lemon pudding, which has a small cake that oozed a wonderful tart lemon sauce. Bob had the summer pudding, which was absolutely gorgeous, and if I hadn’t just eaten one the night before at Gealles I would have gotten again in a heartbeat. Al's Burnt Trinity Coffee Cream claimed to be the mother of creme brulee. It was way to good.

Service was efficient and when we told our server that we had a show to attend he moved everything along at a good pace.

Take the Picadilly line to Covent Garden. Henrietta St. is across the plaza from where the tube drops you. Henrietta St. is the St. right beyond St. James Church. Go down Henrietta St. more than half way, Porters is on the left.