Porta and Tartuffe have spent months building a 10 course Spanish-inspired menu of Gildas, grilled seafood, chicken thighs and giant open-fire paella.
There are few restaurants that inspire the kind of loyalty Porta does. The sort of place where you go in for a vermouth and a couple of plates, then realise two hours later that you’ve ordered half the menu and are seriously considering another round.
That easy-going, no-fuss approach has made the walk-in-only tapas bar a favourite across its four sites in Chester, Altrincham, Salford and West Didsbury. Founded by brothers Ben and Joe Wright, Porta takes its cues from the neighbourhood bars of Spain: short menus, good produce, plenty of sherry and vermouth, and food designed to keep arriving while the conversation carries on.
For the next Open Fire Dining Club, that Spanish influence is being taken out of Porta’s dining rooms and into the open air at Torr Vale Mill. Across the food and drink, the afternoon will move around the western Mediterranean – from Gildas, grilled seafood and giant paella to three very different rosés from Provence.
On 18 and 19 July, Porta joins resident chefs Tartuffe for a collaboration that has been in the works for months.
Tartuffe’s Gary Weir and Porta’s executive chef José Garzón have spent that time trading ideas and finding the right meeting point between the two kitchens. José brings an extensive knowledge of Spanish cooking, while Gary has his own history with the country after spending time there working as a chef. The result is a menu that doesn’t simply transplant Porta outdoors or dress Tartuffe up as a tapas bar. It sits somewhere between the two.
There are recognisable signatures from both sides. Porta’s much-loved grilled chicken thighs make an appearance with mojo picón and smoked potato. Tartuffe’s Gilda, a regular on its own menu, has been reworked as a gilda de pulpo with Gordal olive, pickled chilli and braised octopus.
Elsewhere, Cantabrian anchovy comes on toasted coca bread with smoked requesón cheese; leeks are grilled on the Big Green Egg and served with romesco; and Galician queen scallops are paired with ajada dressing. There’s also oxtail with piquillo peppers, plus a Carlingford oyster with guindilla tximitxurri to get things started.
The main event, though, is the paella. Bomba rice, grilled squid and smoked allioli will be cooked over open flame in an extra-large paella pan and burner, turning one of Spain’s great communal dishes into something guests can watch take shape in front of them. It’s exactly the kind of dish Open Fire Dining Club was built for: generous, social and as much about the cooking process as the finished plate.
Alongside the Spanish cooking, the wine list heads up the Mediterranean coast to Provence, with three rosés poured at different points across the afternoon.
Guests will start with Minuty Prestige Rosé 2025 from Saint-Tropez, fresh and elegant with notes of citrus, white peach and florals. Rock Angel Côtes de Provence Rosé 2025, made by the team behind Whispering Angel, will be served alongside the paella, bringing a little more richness, minerality and structure.
To finish, Château Galoupet Cru Classé 2023 will be poured with dessert — an organic coastal rosé with bright citrus, wild herbs and a distinctive saline edge.
For Tartuffe’s Ruby Fryman, the collaboration is a particularly personal one. She lives a few minutes from Porta Salford and has spent birthdays and plenty of sunny evenings there over the years. That familiarity is perhaps the best way to understand why this pairing makes sense: not as two restaurants forced together for a one-off menu, but as a genuine meeting of cooks who know and like each other’s food.
All of it takes place at Torr Vale Mill, the 200-year-old former cotton mill beside the River Goyt on the edge of the Peak District. It’s close enough to Manchester to reach in under half an hour by train, but far enough away to make dinner feel like a proper departure from the usual Saturday night.
Porta x Tartuffe is the next Open Fire Dining Club of the summer, with further guest collaborations still to be announced for August and September.
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Open Fire Dining Club: Porta x Tartuffe
– Welcome glass of Minuty Prestige Rosé 2025
– 10 course dinner
– Glass of Rock Angel Côtes de Provence Rosé 2024
– Glass of Chateau Galoupet Cru Classé 2023 to finish
Dates: Saturday 18 + Sunday 19 July 2026
Time: Doors + drinks: 4pm / Food: 5pm / Finish around: 9:30pm
Where: Torr Vale Mill, Torrvale Rd, High Peak, SK22 3HS
Cost: £110