Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Portsmouth
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Portsmouth restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 9 restaurants in Portsmouth and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Portsmouth restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Portsmouth Restaurants
1. abarbistro
British, Modern restaurant in Portsmouth
58 White Hart Rd - PO1
This “pleasant” and “airy” bistro on the seafront has shaken up its offering thanks to new head chef Adam Maker, who has introduced small plates and ambitious locally sourced cuisine alongside ongoing fixtures such as the “excellent fish ’n’ chips” and pizzas. Oenophiles are also well served as “in partnership with Camber Wines, there’s plenty of choice for all tastes and budgets” when it comes to the tipples.
2. Restaurant 27
French restaurant in Southsea
27a Southsea Parade - PO5
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”.
3. 36 on the Quay
British, Modern restaurant in Emsworth
47 South St - PO10
In 2019, locally born chef Gary Pearce and his wife Martyna took over this well-established restaurant-with-rooms right on Emsworth harbour from Ramon & Karen Farthing, who had developed it into one of the South Coast’s better-known dining options over two decades. Gary’s “complex and innovative cooking” – honed in top kitchens including Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham and Belgium’s De Wulf – scored consistently well this year, if on somewhat limited feedback.
4. Fat Olives
British, Modern restaurant in Emsworth
30 South St - PO10
“Satisfyingly simple and unpretentious” – the verdict on Lawrence & Julia Murphy’s long-running (est. 2000) and “rustic” venture in a cute, seventeenth-century fisherman’s cottage, on the road down to the quay; the “varied menu” features “plenty of fresh fish, beautifully prepared and served” and coming “at a reasonable price” to boot.
5. The Deck
British, Modern restaurant in Emsworth
Emsworth Marina, Thorney Road - PO10
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.
6. The Crab and Lobster Inn
Fish & seafood restaurant in Bembridge
32 Forelands Field Rd - PO35
“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.
7. The Duck
restaurant in Ryde
Appley Rise - PO33
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”.
8. Smoking Lobster
Fish & seafood restaurant in Cowes
127 High Street - PO31
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”.
9. Corrie's Cabin
Fish & chips restaurant in Cowes
17 Shooters Hill - PO31
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”).
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