Christmas 2008 had been a bit of a miserable one for me, as I had woken up on Christmas Eve with a stomach bug of some kind and fasted the whole day. We had been invited to my brother's on Christmas Day, but as my temperature rose I obviously was in no fit state to go, so I stayed at home and ate toast and Marmite. It was my birthday two weeks later, and my elder son wanted to take me out to make up for Christmas. Neither of us could go on the day itself, but he asked me to meet him in Gunwharf Quays the following Saturday evening. I thought we would go to Cafe Rouge as I had a voucher to use there, but he took my arm and led me a little further on, admitting that he had reserved a table at Loch Fyne as a surprise. We went in and I was a little confused when he told the waiter that he had a reservation but that he could see the other people at the table. I followed him and was taken aback to see his partner sitting there, as I had been told he was working that night. A broad pillar obstructed my view of the other side of the table, but as I went past it I had another surprise: my brother and his wife were there too! It seems they had hatched the plot together on Christmas day. My younger son had been invited as well, but he lives in Bristol and had been unable to make it.
I sat at the head of the table - unusually for me, but had I sat at the other end I would have had my back to the double glass back doors. It was a very cold evening - the only Premiership match cancelled that day because of an icy pitch was the one at Fratton Park - and I didn't want to find myself in a draughty seat. If you have a table by a wall you will have hooks for your coats, but we put ours round our chairs. We had two small pine tables, a little the worse for wear, pushed together. There was already a basket of bread slices and a not overgenerous serving of butter on the table. The paper place mats show photos of and give information about Loch Fyne's fishermen - it's good to see they get some recognition.
I immediately liked the feel of the place itself. Situated in the imposing Vulcan Building on the Canalside, the restaurant has a high ceiling with wooden beams painted white from which spotlights together with small lamps in wall brackets create a soft lighting. The whole of the back wall is in red brick. The theme of fish and the sea runs through a series of paintings on the walls. There is a bar behind which the collection of wines is displayed, and there is also a counter where you can see elaborate seafood dishes
being assembled. As I had my back to this I probably missed out on a few sights. It is also possible to see into the kitchen from some tables, so they obviously give the impression that they have nothing to hide. I believe there was music playing, but the place was busy and there was a constant buzz of conversation that shut out anything else. It was actually at times difficult to hear what the waiting staff were saying unless they were standing right next to you.
My brother, his wife and my son's partner had already ordered drinks, and the wine list was brought for my son and myself. I chose a glass of Chateau les Arromans Bordeaux wine at £4 from the 'Soft and Smooth' section - my son's partner had already chosen the same and recommended it. My son decided he would prefer something from the 'Vibrant and Fruity' section and ordered a glass of Spanish Rioja Bodegas Larchago at £6. Later during the meal we ordered a bottle of this which was £19 - I didn't sample it myself.
We then began to have a look at the menu. Starters are priced from £5 to £6.50 and are mostly fish based, for example lobster bisque or a pair of kippers. You could, however, opt for game terrine with shallot marmalade; for vegetarians there is only a wild mushroom, spinach and goat's cheese tart.
We decided to go straight into the main course. The waiter had told us that the beef and venison casserole was no longer available, but we were more interested in fish so that didn't matter. There are just three meat dishes on the main menu, and one vegetarian option which is a casserole of lentils, chickpeas and sweet potato (£9). Duck breast was on the specials board along with seafood spaghetti. If you feel like splashing out, you can go for a whole lobster served cold with truffle mayonnaise and it will set you back £30. My brother and his wife both chose pan-fried fillets of bream with rocket pesto and roasted garlic mash at £13. My son came out strongly in favour of Loch Fyne ashet, consisting of Bradan Rost (kiln-roasted salmon), and Bradan Orach, classic smoked organic salmon at £12. (This is also available as a starter for £7). My son's partner and I both went for chargrilled Bradan Rost with a shellfish, mushroom and whisky sauce at £13. When we came to order, however, the waiter said that they had run out of bream and suggested grilled whole sea bass with new potatoes and rosemary and herb butter (£14) as the nearest alternative. My brother wasn't convinced and decided instead on poached smoked haddock with mash, spinach, pea and wholegrain mustard sauce at £11. My sister-in-law did want the sea bass but asked if it was possible to have it filleted. The waiter replied that the sea bass were usually scored on arrival ready for grilling, but that if there were any that hadn't been scored they would fillet one for her. Three of our main courses were listed without accompaniments, so we ordered a portion of mash and two of seasonal vegetables (leeks, cabbage and peas) at £2 per portion. Other side orders include chips, new potatoes or salad.
We probably waited about fifteen minutes for our main courses to arrive. The sea bass was not filleted, but I think that was the only disappointment. Our chargilled salmon was served with mussels: it was only the second time I had ever had them, and my son's partner had never had them before. No fingerbowls were forthcoming so my sister-in-law (who used to be in the catering business) asked for one on our behalf. It wasn't long before my son was declaring that his was the best salmon he had ever tasted, and I think I would have to agree. I couldn't honestly taste the whisky in the sauce but I didn't mind as it was of a beautiful creamy consistency but still quite light. The mushrooms were very thinly sliced. Although we had just one portion of mash between three of us, I certainly didn't feel that I could have eaten more. My brother seemed quite happy with his smoked haddock and began reminiscing about how, forty-odd years ago, our mum used to cook it for his tea on a Saturday afternoon and it would cheer him up when he came home from Fratton Park after watching Pompey lose. (I'm sure I had mine for breakfast in those days.) I was the last to finish eating, and as soon as I put my knife and fork down the waiters were there to collect the plates. They had come while we were eating to ask if everything was to our liking.
Not having had starters, we all felt that we had some room left. The home-made desserts were listed on a blackboard which the waiter brought over and held up for us. When we appeared to be indecisive, he propped it up at the end of the table where there was an empty seat, so that we could take our time. The apple crumble was by that time off but was replaced by apple tarte tatin with caramel sauce (£4.50). I thought the selection was fairly predictable, including as it did crème brulee with shortbread, chocolate pudding with pineapple
Pictures of Loch Fyne Restaurant, Portsmouth
Loch Fyne Restaurant, Portsmouth
compote, sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce, and ice cream or sorbet. My brother quickly decided on the crème brulee (£3.50) whilst my sister-in-law and I were definitely in favour of the tarte tatin. I thought my son and his partner would choose, as they usually do, the chocolate pudding, but they surprised me and went for the sticky toffee one, which was also £3.50. The waiter particularly asked them what accompaniment they would like and they both picked ice cream. When the waitress brought the desserts my sister-in-law was very quick to notice that two of them had been served with custard, so back they went and the mistake was soon rectified. I may have thought the selection of desserts a little unimaginative, but my tarte tatin was absolutely gorgeous. It was just sweet enough and beautifully warm. I didn't think the scoop of ice cream would be welcome on such a cold evening, but it was tempered by the warmth of the tart and complemented it perfectly. Everyone else enjoyed their puddings and desserts too.By the time we had finished eating I think the restaurant was completely full. We declined the offer of coffee, but there was no suggestion that we should vacate our table in any hurry. The bill came to £127.50 - had our group been larger, ten per cent service charge would have been added, but as we were fewer than six, we were able to add a tip as we thought fit. We did in fact add almost exactly ten per cent and this was definitely deserved as the service was excellent.
I should mention that the toilets are reached by a number of spiral steps, but there are disabled facilities on the ground floor.
I returned to Loch Fyne with a friend at 6.30pm on a Wednesday evening later in January as they were offering two courses (starter and main course) plus a glass of house wine for £12. The offer was available between noon and 7pm and sounded like excellent value. We were seated at a table by a window and were able to hang our coats up this time. Although white wine would have been a better choice with fish, we both prefer red wine and ordered a glass each. For starters my friend chose mussels steamed with white wine and garlic, whilst I had the Bradan Rost salmon fish cake with chilli sauce and rocket. The other options were soup of the day (leek and potato) or game terrine with apricot chutney. For the main course we both ordered pan-fried fillet of bream with braised fennel. One side order was included for each main course, so we ordered one of mash and one mixed vegetables so that we could share them. The other main courses on the special menu were goat's cheese, wild mushroom and spinach tart, fillet of salmon with onion marmalade, and rump steak which had a supplement of £2.
We did not have to wait long for either course to be served, and the food was once again a delight. I wouldn't say I enjoyed the bream quite as much as the salmon I had had on my first visit, but that had been something extra special. We both felt that the offer was extremely good value - the mussel starter was certainly a generous serving - but this perhaps encouraged us to indulge in a dessert as well. The waitress gave us such a tantalisingly descriptive account of the chocolate pudding that my friend couldn't resist it, whereas I decided to try the apple crumble with ice cream that had not been available on my first visit. The chocolate pudding looked amazing with a crisp, cracked surface covering a gooey centre and a scoop of chocolate chip ice cream served in a separate tiny bowl. I was, however, quite content with my apple crumble and vanilla ice cream which was delicious and helped me to resist the offer to taste the chocolate sponge.
The service was again very friendly and efficient on this occasion, although no-one came to ask us if everything was to our satisfaction during the main course. There was similarly no attempt to make us feel that we should rush to leave once we had finished. Our bill came to £32.50, as the chocolate pudding was £4.50 and the apple crumble a very reasonable £4.
This is obviously a restaurant for lovers of fish and seafood, although there are a few other options on the menu. The only other speciality fish restaurant I know of in Portsmouth is Lemon Sole, and although this is mentioned in the Michelin Guide, I would say that Loch Fyne stands head and shoulders above it. There were people of all ages there that Saturday evening, including a few children. The fact that several of the dishes were no longer available is a sign of the restaurant's popularity. Even on the Wednesday evening the restaurant quickly became busy after 7pm, although the special offer was not available after that time. My first visit there definitely made up for my miserable Christmas. I thoroughly recommend Loch Fyne to anyone who enjoys seafood.
exceptional by (39%):
very helpful by (61%):
