Chidham Restaurant Guide

This “charming, small and very English hotel” has “well-kept, comfortable sitting and dining rooms” and “makes a nice place to take aged relatives” if you’re keen on silver service. Visitors can choose between the modern British (with the odd Thai touch) Sea School restaurant or more casual brasserie offering “surprisingly good” prix-fixe menus. Chef Neil Hiskey, who oversees both venues, has been at the Millstream since way back in 2001, besides taking care of the food at the Millstream-owned Shoreside Café and Pop-in coffee shop, both also in Bosham.

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.

Lawrence & Julia Murphy’s stalwart (est. 2000) is “a great find tucked a short walk up from the quay in Emsworth”; while the fisherman’s cottage it inhabits is to some a “little unprepossessing from the outside”, inside it’s “a bit of a gem”, offering a “varied menu including great fish dishes” and “friendly service” to go with it.

“Interesting food with a great view of Emsworth Harbour” has underpinned the longevity of this well-known restaurant-with-rooms that sits right on the water. Gary & Martyna Pearce have run it for five years now and provide a variety of eating options, with a contemporary spin on the menus. As well as the obligatory tasting menus, there are set and à la carte options, of which the latter – alongside more ‘haute’ combinations – has a selection of top-quality steaks of which the headline is a 500g Australian Wagyu Tomahawk for £120.

2023 Review: The view (towards Goodwood) from the window is said to have inspired William Blake’s anthem, Jerusalem, in 1803, but the current future is uncertain at this eighteenth-century coaching inn, which shut its doors in early October 2022. We await news of the new incarnation of this vantagepoint over ‘England’s green and pleasant land’.

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.

Near Chichester and looking for a quintessential pub in a picturesque location? This waterside tavern just a short drive outside the city fits the bill. Book in advance, though, as cars are often parked down the lane to get in. The menu leans towards fish and seafood and is consistently well-rated.

“Fresh produce gets to shine” at Nick Sutherland’s boutique hotel restaurant in the heart of Chichester, which has retained the name of a well-known wine merchant that previously occupied the Georgian premises. It’s “busy but not manic – leisurely dining seems to be the aim”, and it’s also useful as a pre-theatre option.

“Superb, proper Indian food” that’s “remarkable value for money” has made the name of this red-brick subcontinental, “handy for the Witterings and Chichester”. The venue, a converted pub, was launched by couple Mayank and Nita Gupta (orthopaedic surgeon and dental surgeon respectively) as a riposte to inauthentic British curry houses, and offers a wide programme of events ranging from Elvis tribute nights with ‘curated’ curries, to regular demonstrations of home cooking; there were also several shout-outs this year for the “reliably excellent friendly service”.