The Best Guide for the Portsmouth Area

Good food at Chimes

One of my favourite places to eat in Southsea is Chimes, the restaurant attached to Highbury College. I was there last Thursday for lunch and really enjoyed every dish.

There was a warm welcome when I arrived and someone took my jacket to the cloakroom, while another ushered me to my table. I must be one of the last diners to arrive as the room was already full.

The starter special was mussels and potted shrimps and I opted for the mussels. It  had a lovely creamy sauce which I just had to mop up with my bread when I run out of mussels. For the main I opted for another special of the day which was Haddock soused in orange. I just liked the idea, but unsure how it will taste. Well, I was very pleasantly treated to an amazing mellow citrusy flavour which complemented the tender flakes of the fish. Every mouthful was a treat for the tastebuds.

The vegetable accompaniment was broccoli and carrots, nicely sauteed with oil and hazelnut pieces. It was unusual but I rather liked it as the crunchiness of the nuts took away the usual problem with limp vegetables. And the very skinny and very crispy chips were well worth the trouble of trying to scoop them on to the fork. Most of all, it was fun to eat!

The glasses of white wine we ordered were slightly late, but one must overlook the slight imperfection in service as these were students training to someday serve at grander tables and I admired how they took everything in their stride, even the broken credit card machine. I suppose such things happen in real life and how they manage under fire would make their careers.

Thank goodness I shared the dessert with my fellow diner as it would have been too much and too rich for me alone. It was a trio of orange slices, thick chocolate pie and some gooey rich chocolate ice cream.

A thoroughly enjoyable lunch and at £10 for two courses and £13.95 for three, you can't go wrong. I'm checking out their dinner and wine menu with interest.

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