Like a Teatray in the Sky - Art Cafe - Osbourne Road, Southsea

This quirky new Cafe has just recently opened and it's owners Sam and Nicky Foot also of The King Street Tavern have branched out (so to speak) and opened a vintage tearoom. 

Not only can you purchase a scrummy piece of cake (with several beautifully displayed to choose from) and a pot of tea, but there is also the opportunity to purchase items from local artists and designers.


They are currently looking for artists, designers, illustrators, photographers etc to get in touch with a view to selling their work in their shop and tea room. Please contact Sam for further details – sam@thekingstreettavern.co.uk

I'm backing this place all the way, as Sam and Nicky are two lovely people with a good eye for what the locals want, with the Tavern a roaring success as proof of this fact.

I wish my local landlord and landlady all the best with this new venture!

My appearance on Saturday Kitchen January 2010

Well - this one just has to get a mention as it's not every day your fortunate to be invited to appear on this show!!  Having written in several times to be guest, to my surprise I had a phone call inviting me on.  I had to write a bit about why I was interested in being a guest before I was chosen (as they had other guests they were considering too), so without hesitation I hot footed it home, wrote a brief biography, and the rest is history!

It was a fantastic experience, I was so pleased to have two Michelin Starred Chefs cooking too, and Kelly Adams from Hustle who was both beautiful and warm to talk to.  Check out the two minute clip of my best bits from the show!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1BTMaS4v-M

Jamie Oliver coming to Gunwharf Quays

I hear on the grapevine that Jamie is planning to open one of his restaurants in the late spring at our GWQ!  It will be situated in the current Donnay sports shop unit, which is quite a large unit.  I'm looking forward to it, the more good restaurants in town we have the better.  Some folk are worried about the business it will take away from areas such as Osbourne Road, but if your restaurant delivers good food and a good atmosphere, then surely this is just healthy competition?!

Oh well.....watch this space I say and bring it on!!!

Heston at Waitrose Marmion Road

I have been dying to try out this new range since I read about it back in the summer and it has arrived!  Granted our local store does not have the full range, but there is enough to get started on.  I purchased this week the Cabernet Sauvignon Mayonnaise (£2.25) and the spinach and 3 mushroom pie, and the ham, leek and chicken pie (£2.50 ish each).  There are also available in our store the salts.  There will be more to come from this range I'm told in time.  The mayo with chips and steak was really good.  The pies were ok, but how posh can a pie actually become?

Worth a try thought I would say, especially now as there is for a limited period 25% of the full price!

I was drinking in Hestons pub in Bray yesterday and they had crunchy roast potatoes in bowls on the bar as snacks (great idea!) - wish I had taken the Mayo with me now!!!

Strada this Friday only BOGOF!

Wow - those BOGOF meal deals rarely cover Friday or Saturday nights, but Strada are offering this deal this Friday only!  Visit their website for more details.  I have not been here for some time so this is as good a time than any to take advantage!

Steki - Osbourne Road

This is one of those places that has been on my mind to try for ages, but just never got around to it!

What a busy place!!  I called and booked ahead luckily as I don't think I would have got a table for my required time otherwise.  The interior and the music set the scene well, just as you would expect from a Greek Taverna.

I went mad on the starter and ordered the Steki seafood meze.  At £20 to share between two I was expecting something special - and it did not disappoint!  The dish comprised of octopus, anchovies, prawns, calamari, muscles in a tomato sauce with melted feta cheese, hummus, pita bread and a few olives.  Probably the best seafood dish I have ever had in Portsmouth.  So fresh and tasty I would order this over and over.  I had read on Trip Advisor a review from a Greek person who said that the pita breads were totally authentic, and although personally I have not been to Greece (yet), they were amazing!!!  The only thing I think they could change was that the calamari was slightly greasy to taste and the batter struggled to stay attached to the squid.  This could be so easily corrected.

Mains we opted for the classic Moussaka - refreshingly made with beef and not lamb, and a dish called soutzoukakia which is little (sausage-looking) meatballs made of a delicate mixture of minced beef, onions and herbs, cooked in tomato sauce, served with rice and Greek style potatoes.  The latter dish was also served with rice which we felt was too much with the potatoes, but was a very tasty dish!  The moussaka too was good, although I would have liked more beef and less bechamel in mine.  Both these dishes we would order again.

Service too was good, especially as they were busy with some customers just walking in off the street.  Our waitress was a lovely charming American lady, who was very helpful.


Total bill including a mineral water and beer was around £43.00. 
Booking at weekends probably advisable


Would I go again - Yes, but it would be hard not to partake in the seafood meze and pitta bread which stole the show!

Blue Mondays at Yo! Sushi

It has finally arrived, Blue Mondays at Yo!  As much as I love this place and have eaten a couple of times at the GWQ branch, I do find by the time you have had a decent amount of dishes you come out a little light in the pocket.

Blue Mondays afford the diner a choice of up to 50 dishes (subject to availability obviously, but availability I found was not bad), for a price of £2.20 per dish, whereas their two most expensive dishes come in at £3.80 and £5.00 each, so it is really worth making a trip there on  Mondays.  You can still order a few hot rice/noodle dishes and vegetable hand rolls with this offer too!

So if your still a 'sushi virgin' as their promotion goes, give blue Mondays a go, then if it's not for you, you wont have spent a fortune!