No4 Bistro — Restaurant in Southampton

I was really looking forward to visiting this restaurant, as I've been telling my family for weeks how much I wanted to try it since I live just down the street. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing, and I left feeling embarrassed for hyping it up.

To start, the service left a lot to be desired. Our server had an attitude that, while it may not have been intentional, was off-putting enough to upset my family. This set a negative tone for the evening.

The food was a mixed bag. The prawns and calamari appetizer had potential, but the calamari was slightly soggy, which was disappointing. The lasagna, unfortunately, was a bigger letdown—it was far too sour and more like a soup than an actual lasagna. The pizza was edible but unremarkable, offering nothing special.

I was really hoping to try the tartar, but my family decided we should just finish what we ordered and leave, opting to go to a nearby Greek restaurant instead. Given how much I had looked forward to this visit, I can’t help but feel let down, especially considering the prices, which felt steep for the quality of food and service we received.

This could have been a great experience, but sadly, it fell short. I hope they take steps to improve because I still think the place has potential. However, for now, I’d hesitate to...

. Having been in yesterday to have a coffee we said we would be in at 9am. We arrived at 9.05am.Front of house person didn’t arrive until 9.27am so we and a table of 4 had to wait until she arrived . Chef was in but couldn’t operate the coffee machine nor apparently able to open and serve small bottles of orange huice, but to be fair he did bring us some water. Our food was served at 9.55am on cold plates ! Beans and bacon were warm. Rest of the food was good and it was nicely presented on the plate . Appreciate they only have opened recently but have a lot to learn Cold plates is unforgivable but we will given them another chance at breakfast . No apology from waitress when paying the bill. Previous visits during the day just to have a tea or coffee...

I really hate writing bad reviews but its a bit hard not to given my experience.

Walked in to a near full restaurant and got our orders taken but it took 20 minutes for drinks to arrive. Appetiser came after another 15 minutes and then it took another hour for our food to arrive: total wait time was an hour and a half. The portions are generous with a lot of cheese on top but the food frankly tastes bland and store bought - I swear I've had all those exact same pastas or sauces from sainsburys. Staff were nice to offer us some free drinks but frankly the food and the wait time was too disappointing to warrant a good...