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It’s possible that you’ve never paid much attention to London’s gallery and museum restaurants, but once you start looking for them, there are many. The British Museum’s Great Court Restaurant, under its iconic glass ceiling; Skye Gyngell’s temple to veg, Spring, at Somerset House; high-end tapas at José Pizarro at the Royal Academy of Arts. They’re not the edgiest joints in town, nor somewhere you’d drop in for an impromptu bite. Instead, what they’re great for is a gift – an art fix and a posh lunch or dinner as a day out. I have such a food-and-art pairing in mind when I take my dad to The Portrait, the new Richard Corrigan restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery. Tucked at the top of the Trafalgar Square building, in a former glass-edged event space where windows are filled with a pleasing cityscape of London rooftops, it opened on 5 July, the final touch to a major three-year renovation of the gallery that finished in June. It’s open for lunch Sunday to Tuesday, and both lunch and dinner Wednesday to Saturday. The Portrait also opened just days after the launch, to much fanfare, of Sir Paul McCartney’s NPG exhibition Eyes of the Storm. A behind-the-scenes look at The Beatles’ dizzying rise to fame in 1963 and ’64, followed by fine dining, sounds right up mine and my dad’s street – a classic central London day out. The NPG has certainly had a glow-up since I last visited. A polished new entrance hall and welcome desk, gliding escalators, vividly painted galleries and rehung portraits. After marvelling at McCartney’s handwritten lyrics to I Wanna Hold Your Hand, and the youthful ease and joy of an off-duty John Lennon frolicking in Miami, we drop in on the Tudors before heading up to The Portrait. It’s a rather corporate-feeling but convivial scene, with linen-trousered and pastel-shirted guests talking art over elegant plates of fish and meat, gleaming glassware and white napkins. What jazzes up the simple pine tables and steel-framed open kitchen is the view: a long, slim panorama featuring the National Gallery’s ornate dome, the London Eye, Nelson’s Column, the Houses of Parliament and the tower of St-Martin-in-the-Fields. Along one sloping wall is a butter-yellow mural of the gallery’s exterior, which marketing materials tell me are bespoke linen panels by wallpaper-maker-to-the-stars de Gournay – but otherwise the Brady Williams Studio has kept the design light and minimal, letting the view, and the food, do the talking. Here’s what it has to say: instantly intriguing things about artichoke with crab mayonnaise and kombu (kelp seaweed powder), “snails bolognaise” over conchigliette, a duck heart vol au vent, pig’s trotter with borlotti beans and something described only as “cauliflower, yeast, seeds”. (We skip that one.) Much of it is what you’d expect from Corrigan – earthy flavours from the UK and Ireland, plenty of fish and veg present, but with a few curiosities thrown in. We kick off with Carlingford oysters zinged up with ginger, lime and coriander – “This is no stuffy seafood restaurant”, they clearly declare. My dad is presented with his artichoke starter, a glorious fan of outer petals cupping a nicely roasted centre, topped with a crab-rich seafood sauce and umami-packed powder. Both are light, flavour-packed and made for a champagne toast. Next we dig into that escargots bolognese, and pork with barigoule of fennel and apricot mustard. The bolognese is rich and nicely seasoned with a pleasantly meaty texture, but the pasta shells fall slightly flat with a fairly bland, creamy sauce; I long for a more moreish dish where the pasta enhances rather than simply supports the bolognese. The Huntsham’s Farm pork wins more points with its melting richness, set off by the vinegary tang of the fennel and peppery-fruity sauce. Our friendly and approachable waiter talks through some wine-by-the-glass options for us, picking out a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc and a Chianti to suit our respective dishes. Service is quick and efficient, but with no trace of being rushed through and out – there’s plenty of time to linger and talk over the view. Which we do for well over an hour and a half, given we can hear each other clearly (always a bonus for a dad and daughter meet-up). Unusually for both of us, we indulge in a pudding: I can’t resist the English cherries with goat’s milk ice cream, a fabulous clash of jammy sweetness and savoury tartness. Dad goes for the rum baba, soaked in a generous boozy sauce with enough fresh pineapple to cut through the sweetness. Like our choices of sides – olive oil mash and broccolini with almonds – everything is instantly appealing while having some sort of flourish we may not have had before. When I thought of a gallery lunch, I pictured perfectly fine fish fillets and chicken cutlets, rather than my first snail pasta dish, my first goat’s milk ice cream and my first Asian-spiced oyster all in one sitting. With dainty-portioned mains at £22-£32, there are no bargain bites, but the style of food and the option of set menus (£28 for two courses, £35 for three) feels nicely suited to an exhibition ticket as a present or treat. You could easily jazz up that £28 prix fixe with a £15 glass of champagne or The Portrait’s strawberry and balsamic bellini. A meal here can be as good value and restrained or lavish and decadent as you make it – surely true of any day out in the capital. And with most of the National Portrait Gallery free to view (not to mention freshened up, with the visitor experience streamlined) it’s a fabulous upgrade for a low-key afternoon of art. The Portrait Restaurant, The National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE | 020 3872 7610 | theportraitrestaurant.com Read More The Union Rye, review: Finally, a decent restaurant in this charming East Sussex town Forest Side: Heavenly Cumbrian produce elevated to Michelin-starred proportions Papi: Pandemic troublemakers’ restaurant is a fun, flirty hit The dish that defines me: Alex Outhwaite’s Vietnamese bun cha 3 TikTok-approved recipes for picnic season It’s easier to make baklava at home than you might think

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With so much still unsaid around this Spain team, three statements over the last 48 hours stood out all the more, that illustrate much of the story of their Women’s World Cup run. One was Tere Abelleira immediately after the semi-final victory over Sweden in Auckland. “Now we can talk about a ferocious team spirit,” she said. It was as the midfielder was saying this in the Eden Park mixed zone that Jenni Hermoso was striding behind and shouting: “Come on! We’re in the final of the f***ing World Cup!” That is now the most important fact of all. It was amid this mood of jubilation, however, that the abrasive Spanish federation boss Luis Rubiales came out with something that was much more open to dispute. “What we have endured is a lot,” said Rubiales. “That questions have been asked of Jorge Vilda, who is a hard-working man, a world-class coach, who has turned down other federations that have offered more money and stayed with Spain. We have stuck with those who have always wanted to be here, that have valued the great work that he has done to grow, and we have forgotten the people with resentments. He has continued working with his people and not paid attention to those who wanted to destroy him.” It was the first time at this World Cup that anyone in the camp has publicly raised the squad mutiny that has shaped Spain’s entire run, since most of it has been set aside in an uneasy truce. The description of “people with resentments” sounds like the most cavalier way to blow all this up, especially as the biggest game of all remains. While that “ferocious team spirit” should be more than enough to keep Spain together through the build-up, there is still the possibility for a huge fall-out if this team is defeated by England on Sunday. Rubiales’ words only add another edge to a situation that is already hugely complicated, both in terms of how it came to this and how everyone is dealing with it. It is not just about Vilda, although he is the most public face, visibly ignored by some players in victory but embraced by others. The 15 players who last year sent the email resigning from the national team – with the tacit support of Alexia Putellas, Jenni and Irene Paredes – had several complaints. Most focused on how oppressively disciplinarian Vilda’s managerial regime was but they were also unhappy about how outdated the entire international set-up seemed. Some of the arrangements, like travelling long distances on bus or not having staff in certain key roles, fell well below their club standards. They did not feel any of this gave them the best possible chance of fulfilling a generation of talent. Unsaid but undeniably perceived by so many around the situation is that some of the players do not think Vilda is a good enough manager. There is at least a fair argument to this, even as Rubiales protested he is “a world-class coach”. Many would certainly dispute that. That Vilda has such a strong relationship with Rubiales is just another complication. With the federation risking the chance of a generation, and some players realising the same, overtures were made. Hermoso and Paredes returned, opening a way back. The federation’s director of women’s soccer, Ana Alvarez, met with every single player individually over May and June. All complaints were heard. Only some players were accepted back, and that involved having to send an email declaring their willingness to be called up again. They were Ona Batlle, Mariona Caldentey and – above all – Aitana Bonmati, perhaps the best player in the world right now. Vilda decided to stick with the players involved in preparation for this World Cup, just as Rubiales decided to stick with him. It has resulted in a squad that is partly made up of rebels and replacements. Some have set aside grievances for the greater good. Others are grateful to Vilda for persisting with them. All have overlooked this for the time being, which was why Rubiales so abrasively addressing it before the final is such a risk. It has only complicated already conflicted feelings around this Spain team. A growing view at this World Cup and back home in Spain has been that most support the players but do not want the national team to win because that is a vindication for the federation and Vilda. It doesn’t help Rubiales that he is not a popular figure, commonly seen as one of the most divisive in Spanish sport. There is also some inevitable backlash against the players, since there is the constant threat of the issue getting subsumed into the usual culture wars, but this is where the general public parking of the mutiny has at least offered something like a positive. One figure with insight into the situation spoke of how there can be internal conflict for some players, too. They want to do the best for themselves, but know that every success makes the federation and the manager look good. For the moment, at least, it has been a more unusual example of the classic dynamic of adversity creating success. There has also been compromises and common ground. Vilda’s staff have softened some approaches. The federation has listened and acted on other concerns, such as the willingness to move camp when the players were bored out of their minds in Palmerstown North. Some of Vilda’s calls have worked, such as bringing teenage sensation Salma Paralluelo on as a substitute to break games. Others would say that’s just an obvious move. There is also a more obvious fact here. In a historic football shift that long preceded Rubiales, and greatly influenced the English Football Association, Spain were one of the first wealthy western European football cultures to implement the kind of coaching revolutions that has characterised the modern game. The country industrialised talent production, while going further than most similar federations in underpinning it with a defined football identity. While that has almost come back on itself in the men’s game, creating this self-repeating and now almost self-defeating cycle of the ball endlessly getting circulated, the more developmental stage of women’s football means it can be much more effective. Spain are one of the few teams at this World Cup with such an ingrained style, made in Barcelona, that goes much deeper than any coaching decision. The wider national coaching structure has meanwhile honed the natural talent of stars like Putellas and Bonmati, producing elite athletes that also have that resilience that has been so apparent at this World Cup. The likelihood is that this supersedes any of Vilda's decisions. The squad’s mentality has helped, which is why they didn’t buckle after the collapse against Japan during the group stage. In a strange way, that 4-0 defeat might even have served them, helping to solve further tactical issues. Bonmati even said at the time “this is going to unite us more than ever”. It could mean Spain become the only world champions in either men’s or women’s football to have also lost by more than three goals in the same competition, other than West Germany 1954. Japan 2011 are the only previous Women’s World Cup winners to have even lost a game, adding one other little twist. There is then one final layer. It was the frustration at a defeat to England in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals that brought all this to a head. It is now an even bigger game against England that might fully illustrate how they have adapted. A lot may remain unsaid after Sunday but, to use an old Spanish football saying, some of the truth will be on the pitch. 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