An Italian in Southsea

Advantages: Good food and service
Disadvantages: Crowded at weekends

...It was perhaps surprising with my love of eating out that, after more than a year of moving back to Southsea, I still had not visited the Italian restaurant Rosita's on Elm Grove. Surprising as, apart from an uninspiring-looking Indian restaurant, Rosita's is actually my nearest, being less than five minutes' walk from my home. I quite often go out for a meal with a friend on a Monday evening, and on this particular occasion she did not feel like venturing very far as she had just returned from a walking weekend in Devon. Rosita's seemed like the most sensible plan. The restaurant has recently been refurbished, the old bay window with the red canopies having been replaced by a flat front made entirely of glass, which I feel has detracted somewhat from its individual character. The red canopies still exist above the first-floor windows...

denella 14.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Rositas Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar, Southsea

A Jewel among Restaurants

Advantages: Superb food
Disadvantages: Can be very noisy

...Who would have thought that just along from Tesco Express and Ken's Kebabs would lie one of Southsea's best restaurants? But close to Elm Grove traffic lights, five minutes from the shopping precinct and less than a mile from the seafront, Rosie's Vineyard nestles between Nico's Cafe and an office furniture shop. You would not suspect that the narrow, original shopfront with its stained-glass window panes was the entrance to a jewel of a restaurant that could outdo any on the more select location of Osborne Road or the waterfront at Portsmouth's Gunwharf Quays. My first visit was on a Monday evening, and I would say that any restaurant that's full at the beginning of the week must be worth its salt. Deciding on the spur of the moment to have dinner there one Saturday, I suggested going early as I knew how crowded it would be later on...

denella 25.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Rosie's Vineyard Winebar and Restaurant, Southsea

Excellent restaurant

Advantages: Good quality food and service
Disadvantages: None I can think of

.... It was also great to see a waitress that knew what she was doing, her manner was very good and professional. She presented, opened and offered the wine for tasting in the correct way, this is always a telling part of the service to come. Throughout the meal she was attentive, even when the restaurant got quite busy. We live in Cowes on the island and commented that we wished you were nearer to us. Please pass our compliments on to the team who were working today and look forward to visiting again next time we come over to Southsea....

imx38red 27.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Al Forno Restaurant, Southsea, Hampshire

Come to Sunny Southsea

Advantages: Plenty to do
Disadvantages: Shingle beach

...expensive but a great place for children in wet weather. You might be lucky enough to see the fish being fed in the open-top tank. There is a cafeteria as well as a gift shop. If you continue along the promenade past Southsea Common you will reach Clarence Pier, where there is a funfair in the summer. From here you could take a hovercraft over to Ryde on the Isle of Wight, but the car ferry leaves from Portsmouth. Crossing the common, the imposing Queen's Hotel stands before you on the corner of Osborne Road with its small shops and restaurants. Walking down here will lead you to Palmerston Road, Southsea's main shopping precinct. Apart from W H Smith, Boots, Woolworth, Dyas, Costa Coffee, Heidi's. Laura Ashley, Monsoon and Past Times, there are branches of Lloyd's, Halifax, Natwest and Barclay's (Barclay's is on Osborne Road). The two...

denella 17.11.2006 (31.08.2007) · Read review
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Review of Southsea (England)

Who are you calling an Oddball?

Advantages: Good food in a welcoming atmosphere
Disadvantages: Could do with a bit of artwork instead of blackboards

...Although situated just round the corner from Southsea's main shopping precinct, Oddballs restaurant and wine bar had somehow eluded us for almost ten years. I was meeting one of my sons for Sunday lunch and was determined to try somewhere new, and Oddballs seemed to be the obvious choice, especially since it offers a reasonably priced, varied menu. We arrived just after 12.30pm and were told that we could choose any table we liked, apart from one that was reserved. We picked a small table by a window, and menus and a wine list were brought straight away. Soft drinks were not listed, but the waiter reeled off a list and we both chose cranberry juice (£2). We decided to skip starters, but there was a good choice available from, for example, a vegetarian soup of the day (£3.95), warm salad of chorizo, bacon and mushrooms with parmesan...

denella 01.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Oddballs Restaurant, Southsea

Greek or Turkish? Make mine Egyptian

Advantages: Good value; friendly service
Disadvantages: Upstairs toilets - not for the disabled

...The Agora Restaurant in Southsea is officially one that offers Greek and Turkish cuisine, but much of this is similar to Egyptian cuisine as well. My sons and I don't have particularly pleasant memories of the years we spent living in Egypt, but one thing that we do miss quite a bit is Egyptian food, so one Saturday evening we decided that we would see if the Agora would satisfy our cravings. We arrived at about six in the evening and found the place to be almost empty, although we could see from the decorations that there was to be a birthday party later that night. At that time it was the owner/manager who was taking the orders, although a waitress arrived about an hour later as things were getting busier. Two of us order apricot juice to drink, and it was delicious; my younger son ordered a Turkish beer. Stuffed vine leaves were...

denella 17.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Agora Restaurant, Southsea

Sing for your supper at Soprano's

Advantages: Excellent food at very reasonable prices
Disadvantages: They may rush you because they're so busy

...I don't usually go to restaurants as part of a large group of people, but my visit to Soprano's in Palmerston Road, Southsea, was an exception to this rule. A colleague of ten years (mine of eight of those) was leaving to go and live with a Welsh farmer, so we had to give her a fitting send off. Soprano's was recommended to us by one of our younger colleagues, and knowing that it had won an award for best restaurant in the Portsmouth area in 2006, we were happy to go along with her choice; she made a booking several weeks in advance for thirteen of us (all women) for 7pm one Saturday evening. The superstitious among us were perhaps a little relieved that on the day only eleven attended. Soprano's is essentially an Italian restaurant offering an extensive menu of salads, risottos, pasta and pizza, as well as filled panini and focaccia...

denella 17.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of Sopranos Restaurant, Southsea

  Harvester Restaurants

Advantages: Always one close by, quick turn out, children are welcome and catered for.
Disadvantages: Toilets can be quite disturbing, not all dishes taste as good they are described.

...Harvester Restaurants Restaurant Reviewed: Stag and Hounds Winchester Road Basingstoke Hampshire (next to Comet and Home Base) The Harvester chain of Restaurants have over 2000 outlets across the United Kingdom and owned and operated by Mitchells and Butlers, who claim to be the UK's leading operator of managed pubs, bars and restaurants. Harvester claim to offer healthy eating, drinking and entertainment in one reasonably priced outlet. **** Parking and Getting a Table ***** As with most of the Harvester's I have visited, there is usually ample free parking at the rear of the establishment. However on Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch times these places are heaving with customers, so avoid the crowds, go early and if possible ring and reserve a table. The Stag and Hounds is no exception but fortunately...

mrsmopples 27.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Harvester Restaurants

A Butcher's turned Eaterie

Advantages: Good food at very reasonable prices.
Disadvantages: Crowded at lunchtime with tables close together.

...Vying as it does with three other small restaurants on Southsea's Marmion Road, Lou Lou's is one that I had previously wanted to visit because of its apparent French feel. I hadn't done so, however, as I always seem to be in the area at lunchtime and Lou Lou's is inevitably crowded, with very little space between one table and the next. An opportunity arose one Friday afternoon when I bumped into my son as I was leaving work. Both of us were at a loose end and decided to have a bite to eat before shopping at Waitrose. As it was around 3.30pm, I thought Lou Lou's might be relatively quiet so we sauntered along to see if I was right. A menu in the window was difficult to approach as both the outside tables were occupied. As we turned away, a waiter rushed out and handed us a menu to tempt us. The menu seemed varied with reasonable prices...

denella 04.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Lou Lou's Cafe-Restaurant, Southsea

Tosa Restaurant

Advantages: Read Opp
Disadvantages: Read Opp

...Introduction I was recommended this restaurant by a friend who was really impressed by the quality of the food and service of this restaurant from her visit. I was interested to see this for myself on a wintery evening at the weekend. The restaurant itself is located in West London which is a quite posh and upmarket area. To the left of the restaurant was an office building and to the right was a back store retail outlet. Directly opposite this restaurant was an Allied Irish bank outlet. I was pleased overall as the location made it easily accessible on the public transport network in London. The restaurant is located near Stanford Brook W6 area of London and is just a few minutes away by walking to the restaurant. Fast Facts Food: Japanese, Chargrilled, Fresh, Authentic and Tasty Location: West London Stanford Brook...

costas1234 21.12.2009 (23.12.2009) · Read review
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Review of Tosa Restaurant, London