Forton Restaurant Guide

The building has a history dating back to the 1780s, and its current occupant has developed into a real local staple since launching in its current guise in 2003: an airy bistro with a conservatory and terrace. Adam Maker has headed up the kitchen for the past few years and, while he no longer seems to be doing small plates mentioned in last year’s edition, has settled on fixtures like fish ‘n’ chips, pizzas and a popular Sunday roast: cooking that’s “always reliable”. Oenophiles NB: Camber Wines sits above the restaurant, so top tipples are guaranteed.

2023 Review: Chef-patron Kevin Bingham has presented his “excellent” ‘global French’ cuisine at this consistent performer near the Southsea seafront for more than a decade – and at restaurant Montparnasse (RIP) before that. The tasting menu goes down well, “with a well-chosen wine flight to complement it”.

2024 Review: “Situated on the seafront at Bembridge”, on the eastern side of the isle, this early nineteenth century gastropub-with-rooms provides “a nice range of delicious seafood dishes”, including the trademark crab and lobster.

This “local gem on the quay” at Emsworth is “such an amazing restaurant”, with a reputation that stretches back over three decades – chef Gary Pearce joined the kitchen at 17 then worked abroad at Noma, Old Sluis and other grand venues before returning with his wife Martyna, eventually taking over from Ramon Farthing six years ago. There’s plenty of fish and seafood on the menu, as expected from the location, but also an unusual selection of Australian wagyu and Japanese Kobe beef.

Little changed over its 25 years in operation, Lawrence & Julia Murphy’s small, sweet bistro is a short walk up the main street from the waterfront in Emsworth, and occupies a 17th-century fisherman’s cottage. The motto under the logo is ‘Friendly Food, Tasty People’ and its accommodating service has always been a key feature, alongside well-priced, traditional-ish cuisine. For whatever reason, it failed to inspire the typical volume of feedback this year, but we’ve maintained its ratings from 2025 on the basis of its very consistent performance over more than two decades.

2022 Review: Sailor-turned-entrepreneur Ed Collison set up his popular venue at Emsworth yacht basin at the age of 21 in 2016, serving everything from £4.50 bacon breakfast rolls to a splash-out seafood platter for two at £120 a pop. During lockdown he launched a fleet of silver catering vans, and in November 2021 announced a new branch of the Deck, replacing the Boat House Café, at Gosport marina.

“This old-fashioned hotel features two restaurants sharing a kitchen – the more upmarket Sea School and Marwick ’s Brasserie”. Set in three 17th-century cottages and a converted barn, the property has been owned by the Wild family for 50 years, with chef Neil Hiskey running the kitchen for half of that time. A classic afternoon tea is also offered in Markwick’s, so it’s very much “a place to take aged relatives”.

2022 Review: “Have a lovely walk to work up an appetite” before visiting this laidback brick-walled boozer on the River Meon, handy for the South Downs Way, and with a “very nice little garden down by the brook”. To make sure of enjoying its “great” pubby staples “you need to book – even midweek – as it’s very popular”.

2024 Review: “Sit in chandeliered grandeur in the dining room, or enjoy your food whilst looking out of the conservatory over the garden” when you dine at this grande old dame of a hotel. Too limited feedback for a rating in our annual diners’ poll on the à la carte fare, which is more posh brasserie (fresh fish, rump steak, risotto) than it is particularly ‘haute’.

2023 Review: Chef-owner Charlie Bartlett’s “little gem serving lovely food cooked with imagination” is “well worth a trip” – and by some accounts offers “close to the best cooking on the Island”, although not everyone is convinced by “a mishmash of clashing influences in the dishes”.

2023 Review: In July 2021, GC Giancovich – with the help of family and friends – opened this sibling to his Ventor original, with a similar pan-Asian, fish-heavy menu, plus sushi and cocktails. Fans say it’s “not perfect yet but well on the way to being a must-go place”.

2022 Review: “Worth crossing the Solent for!”, say fans of this local staple, which turns out “amazing fish ’n’ chips” featuring “crisp batter and pearlescent fish”. Cart it away to the nearby seafront or tuck in on-site (“the little dining room is attached to the back of the shop”).

Near the seafront in Southampton’s Ocean Village Marina, this modern venue inspired positive feedback across the board in this year’s annual diners’ poll. In September 2024, though, it ‘temporarily closed’, with its Facebook promising: “after 4 wonderful years… the restaurant will temporarily close, this marks the start of something even better! When the restaurant reopens, a refreshed Blue Jasmine will make your experience even more memorable”. So we will watch this space.

“Ideally placed next to a quiet marina” (Ocean Village), the two-time winner of the ‘Southampton’s Best Restaurant’ award (in 2023 and 2024) first snaffled the prize after just a year of trade. As you might expect, “the food is very good quality”, taking in classic Italian fare such as cicchetti, pizza, risotto and more, although “with pricing to match”. Success has also led to them opening an outdoor terrace with views over the water and additional seating for fifty people.

On a site previously occupied by Cargo, Daniel Rogan’s new June 2025 newcomer opened after our annual diners’ poll had finished. Run by the son of star Lakeland chef, Simon Rogan, this new venue is a parallel project to Rogan Jr’s fancier, tasting menu-based ‘AO by Daniel Rogan’ (which closed in August 2024 and which is awaiting a re-launch). But while this latest venue is in a simpler small plates format to ‘AO’, it is claimed to be ‘grounded in the same principles of creativity, quality, and craft’.

This “special Chinese” in an “attractive” and “spacious building on the main shopping street” (an old outpost of HSBC) was launched in 2017 by a former chef of acclaimed international brand Hakkasan, and features ‘wow factor’ interiors including chandeliers and cherry blossom accents. By all accounts, the “excellent” cooking (classic Peking duck is a signature but the menu is notably extensive) is a “real treat” – and if you are in the mood to party, they also offer high-tech karaoke.

2024 Review: Four miles from Chichester, and bordering the South Downs National Park, this 200-year-old pub-with-rooms is part proper boozer (upfront) and part tastefully arty restaurant offering ambitious gastrofare. Reporters this year praised the “warm ambience” and a “treat” of a menu that features some “standout courses” such as scallops and venison.

A “glorious setting” by the water near Chichester helps explain why this attractive and historic-looking waterside tavern is often “crowded and very noisy inside”, although its “excellent seafood” also has its appeal. There’s “good service for a pub” to compensate when it’s “crammed” as it often is, and a useful terrace if weather permits.

2022 Review: This “intimate restaurant” occupies a site on the high street that in days gone by housed Phileas Fogg and a Mexican pop-up. Its rotating menu (affordable, and fairly conventional in style) is strong on local sourcing and – as per the name – cherrypicks from global cuisine. A couple of London-based diners reported their best meal of the year here.