There is Oporto Wine Cafe on Richmond Avenue and then there is the new Oporto Fooding House & Wine in Midtown. Both are owned by husband/wife duo Rick and Shiva Di Virgilio (who also own The Queen Vic Pub & Kitchen) serving Portuguese and Italian cuisine, but both restaurants have their own menu, ambiance and role in the Houston restaurant scene.

Rick Di Virgilio opened Oporto Wine Cafe in 2006, and with the help of his wife, has turned the cozy Richmond Avenue restaurant into one of Houston’s hidden dining-out gems. The tables are tightly packed into the small space, and there are a few chairs for lounging. It’s an intimate spot serving flavorful small plates and a boutique wine list.

The recently opened Oporto Fooding House (photo above) in Midtown presents a different atmosphere, one that suits its lively Midtown location. Situated on the ground floor of the Post Midtown Square apartments right where Gray Street and Webster split, this eatery is sleek and stylish. Caramel-colored wood covers the tables, the two large pillars that anchor the restaurant and continues upwards to sheath the ceiling. Geometric tiles in white and yellow line the back corner of the restaurant, adding a level of flair and funk to the space. Soft textural elements like tufted fabric benches and woven chandelier fixtures offset the hard surfaces. It’s a good-looking restaurant.

Oporto Fooding House’s menu has similarities to the more modest Oporto Cafe, but it has been expanded and includes bar snacks, small pizzas, salads and soups, cheese and charcuterie, Portuguese small plates and larger entrees. The two restaurants’ menus may be different, but both concepts have a generous happy hour. And we stopped at Oporto Fooding House this past Tuesday evening to explore just that.

First up was the olive and broccolini panini served on house-made olive ciabatta bread with white bean hummus, mozzarella, spinach, wood-fired broccolini and tomato ($8, photo above) — an interesting combination of flavors that, at first, seemed a bit odd. But with each bite, we began to understand and enjoy the smokiness of the grilled broccolini in combination with the briny olive bread. Note: Don’t order this sandwich if you dislike olives. They are front and center.

We’d had enough straight-up vegetables for one meal, so we moved onto the pizza with piccante salami, goat cheese and roasted peppers ($8, photo above). The pizza’s tomato sauce was bright and tangy, balancing well with the salty salami. I’m not one to ever complain about too much cheese, but in this case, the excess moisture from the melted cheese and sauce caused the middle of the pizza to be a bit soggy. But don’t get me wrong, we still ate all four slices.

A clever take on Buffalo wings ($6, photo above) are coated in a tomato-based piri piri pepper sauce and served with a side of raw vegetables and cool raiti sauce for dipping. The skin was crispy, the chicken moist and the piri piri sauce packed just enough heat.

That was it for the happy-hour selections, but our server recommended a dish off of the main menu —  three scallops ($13, photo below) served atop farrotto (similar to risotto) with cauliflower, leaks, turmeric root, green peas and crispy ham. A forkful of the salty farrotto and sweet and silky scallops was textually balanced and full of inspired flavors. This was the dish of the night, the dish I will certainly order again.

Oporto Fooding House & Wine, 125 W. Gray, 713-528-0115, oportomidtown.us