The Canteen — Restaurant in Portsmouth

The Canteen was a truly an incredible experience, not only do you get to relax in a respectfully refurbished, intimate, historical landmark, you get the pleasure of being served by polite and friendly staff. Our server was Euwin (apologise if that is spelt incorrectly) who was friendly and accommodating from the start. He immediately recognised our excitement as we stumbled into the unexpected treat while walking the Millennium Promenade. We were initially shown the main room, which already had us basking in the warm glow of preservation and comfort, but after a quick check, Euwin was able to offer us the more private room that has a sea view and blankets should you get cold. The food was devine, I ordered the Eggs Royale on sourdough and an apple juice. I'm not sure if it was because we were on a history high or if it was the view of the sea with ships passing by, but that was the creamiest most delicious Hollandaise sauce I have ever consumed. The Salmon was fresh, the eggs poached to perfection (not too runny and not over done) and the apple juice was 100% fresh. As you can tell, my experience was 10/10, I would highly recommend The Canteen any time you're passing through. We went back the next day for a latte that my partner swears is the best he's ever tasted (I'm not a fan of coffee myself but can confirm he is a coffee snob) and will definitely be visiting again in the summer to trial the ice cream...

Just visited as I am in the area for a staycation. I don’t know how they treat people of colour there but the manager is completely condescending stating that “people can’t read the signs” and said this really loudly. Asked us to move back outside and said she only has space for one set of customers at a time when I was watching those in front of us and there were more than one set of customers. But we, specifically, got asked to move outside. I understand you can be busy but a smile goes a long way :) asked if the poached eggs can be scrambled and was told no which I find strange. Limited vegetarian options. After our food came, we asked for hollandaise sauce and the lady said okay and walked off. When I caught her attention again, I asked do you know how long roughly and she said with attitude I need to find out myself. As a server, you can anticipate how many orders in front of us, how long service takes and a time frame. I’m from London so I know it can get busy but wow, I have never seen such bad service. The whole vibe was hostile, felt like an inconvenience and I didn’t appreciate the way we were spoken to. Wouldn’t recommend and...

Got fooled by good Google reviews and got utterly disappointed. The first alarm was when we got dirty glasses. I didn't say anything hoping the food would be good. The menu is very small which is usually a good sign. Not in my case unfortunately. I ordered Caesar salad. It arrived pretty quickly but was too salty and too garlicky. What was supposed to be grilled chicken breast looked like something that had been already chewed at least once; it did not look or taste like chicken breast. It was marinated(?) or drowned in sauce and had lost its taste and texture. My husband had a BLT and also said it was too garlicky. The only happy person was my 9y.o. daughter who had deep fried fish goujons... It was meant to be a nice lunch on Fathers' day but was a complete disappointment. The place had no queue to get in which is unusual for Old Portsmouth especially around lunch time on a sunny Fathers' Day. I should have been alarmed by...