Hampshire Restaurant Guide

“The best restaurant on Portsea Island – by far!” is probably a fair verdict on this “professional” and ambitious ‘global French’ establishment, just off the seafront, praised for its “delicious” cuisine allied with “knowledgeable, yet also friendly” staff.

“Lovely views from the terrace over to the Needles” (“try to grab an outside table on those rare sunny days”) elevate a trip to this “light, airy establishment”, and by all accounts Karl Wiggins – who took the helm from longtime chef Pierre Chevillard in 2018 – has more than risen to the challenge, with “delicious”, “straightforward” seafood remaining a particular highlight.

“An unusual concept: you tell the server if there’s anything you don’t like and how many courses you want and they will concoct a menu around that – mainly fish but with the occasional meat item”. That’s the deal at David Wykes’s “small-but-exciting” ten-year-old where “everything is presented beautifully, the taste is superb and service efficient and friendly”. “Go out of your way to visit!”

Former Club Gascon chef, Andrew Du Bourg and wife Marjolaine’s “friendly” five-year-old is “well-positioned near the quay” and bills itself as being ‘quintessentially British, with a sprinkling of French’. Ratings were very high this year, celebrating “remarkable food cooked with precision and flair”: in particular the “excellent taster menu which is modest cost, given the quality” – four-, five- or six-courses for £45, £55 or £65: “lots of different flavours, enticingly presented”.

With “boats bobbing outside”, this “lovely small restaurant with rooms on Emsworth harbour” (complete “with a gorgeous sheltered courtyard”) “feels like being welcomed into someone’s home”. A fixture for more than 20 years, it is now run by chef Gary Pearce (who joined the kitchen as a teenager before working at Le Champignon Sauvage) and his wife Martina – under whom ratings have risen for a second successive year.

After over a decade in action, this “atmospheric” gastropub just on the fringes of the town centre “continues to produce some of the most innovative food” in these parts: “interesting ingredients are used to create balanced and intriguing flavours in dishes clearly made with love and care”. Expansion may be afoot, as owner David Nicholson recently submitted plans for a new kitchen and two new dining areas.

The original and some say “the best” of the six country-house hotels in the ‘Pig’ litter put together by Robin Hutson, the founder of Hotel du Vin. The “laid-back atmosphere” and “shabby-chic look” have won over a legion of fans, who say it’s “good for a date-night and a stay-over” as well as “great for kids, who can run around outside between courses while you chat”. The dining room – a “glorious orangerie looking out over the gardens” – reflects the sustainable, home-grown ethos of the kitchen, although the cooking divides opinion: some reporters have enjoyed “fantastic food”; others describe an “interesting but very limited menu that won’t appeal to everyone’s tastes” and is “overpriced for the quality”.