High Street Pizza & Pour House — Restaurant in Portsmouth

LONG POST ALERT: Y’all I’ve never felt sooo humiliated, embarrassed, nor disrespected in my life…

Today, T&D Phlebotomy and Vital Labs had a meeting. Kay and I was hungry so we decided to WALK 2 blocks to a restaurant she had went to for Mother’s Day. The company was called HIGH STREET PIZZA AND POUR HOUSE. We’re at the table discussing business and a man came to the table looked at me and said “YOU WERE HERE A COUPLE DAYS AGO AND YOU LEFT A NASTY NOTE PLUS DIDNT TIP MY WAITRESS. IF THATS WHAT YOU ALL PLAN TO DO TODAY, Y’ALL CAN GET UP AND LEAVE” I’m talking about HE’S FIRED UP. I said “Excuse me? I’ve never been here and never even knew this existed.” Kay stated “I can here for Mother’s Day. My neighbor and her husband wanted to take me out and they paid for everything.” He looks at her and says “Well I was told y’all left a nasty note with no tip and we don’t play that here.” I stated “We are in a business meeting. You could have approached the table a little better and more appropriate.” He responded “IDC WHO YALL ARE NOR WHAT YALL ARE DOING. THIS IS MY RESTAURANT, I’M THE OWNER (white), AND I TALK HOW I WANT TO TALK.” They stated “Sir, so one of your employees called you and said that group is back here? I’ve never been here, she has never been here, and she stated she was treated out with no knowledge of a note. How is that right to approach the entire table?” I looked at the everyone in the meeting and told them I didn’t want to eat there. We told the owner “You can bring us the check for everything we’ve consumed.” The owner said “If y’all want to leave y’all can leave. The bill is already paid.” We said no bring the bill. They brung us the bill with the pizza up there stating the pizza will be boxed. NO MA’AM, WE DON’T WANT IT we want the ticket for what we have consumed. We paid, tipped, and left. Now they are about to face multiple complaints!

THE OWNER IS NOT FOR OUR KIND and when I say OUR KIND, I mean BLACKS. Remind you her neighbors are Asian and White so how did you get an African American woman and a Nigerian mixed up to be the group that...

A cross between pizzeria / brewery / white tablecloth ... I'm impressed. The store name gives you the impression that you are going to eat pizza, drink beer and have the typical sports bar pizzeria experience...far from it.

The service /wait staff were all very warm, welcoming, knowledgeable regarding menu and drink options. We had multiple servers come check on us and refill our drinks. It never felt like we were bothering them. In a Post COVID world this level of service is hard to find.

The restaurant is on the small side, very intimate setting, nice background music playing, tables close to each other (which I did not mind), random people walking by the large glass windows (typically high street in the evening). Do not plan for a large family gathering or big bday party. I did not see a kids menu so I cannot comment on if it is a family friendly atmosphere.

The menu was mind blowing. If you are a picky eater do not read the descriptions just trust the process. I got the 'Shrimp be Poppin" and when I read the description I thought YUCK and the waiter said just trust that it is amazing if you like shrimp, jalapeno poppers and don't mind a medium spice. I tried it and each bite you notice something better than the last. I have no idea how these ingredients come together but it works. Wow. I've never had a pizza like it anywhere else. We also had the pepperoni and the cheese bread appetizer.

Parking is on the street not too hard to find. We parked one street away in the neighborhood.

Price was high for this area. For two pizzas and an appetizer without drinks it cost $78 without tip. We didn't realize until after the food came that the menus says each pizza feeds 1- 2 people (more like 3) so we had enough food for about 6 people. With a drink and tip you are going to pay around $30-40 per person. The food, the location, the experience and ultimately the service makes it worth the price.

Overal I...

Not very accommodating to requests/removing items on the pizza, which is fair enough, the owner can run his place how he wants, but the reaction for asking could be less dramatic for a simple question. I wouldn’t necessarily dock points for that if the food was good, but it is far from it. I’m not even sure I’d really call it pizza; it’s more like an underbaked focaccia with some toppings tossed on. The ingredients are fresh and of good quality, but ideally they’d be utilized in a way that enhances the dish. An under-seasoned, bland sauce and raw vegetables is not usually what I look for a pizza. Garlic knots were also severely There was a disharmony to it that made it seem more like a salad of raw vegetables on a bread plate with some chunky tomato stew. None of this is implicitly bad, but when coupled with poor execution, dearth of seasoning, and a lack of attention to detail, it’s a pretty underwhelming dining experience.

It’s also a bit frustrating when items are left out (salad in our case) or also badly prepared. It should not be a luxury for soda to be carbonated or beer to be a bit colder than room temperature. It’s disappointing when it feels like whoever is running the operation really could care less about doing simple things right.

Add to that the price of this mess and it’s safe to say I won’t be back. $25 for six four inch by four inch slices would make a Bay Area casual fine dining place blush, especially for the quality of what is served. Add in appetizers and drinks and you’re looking at a $50 meal that can’t hold a candle to bowling alley fare. At least with that you’re not expecting much, and you’re not going to break the bank either.

Hard pass on High Street Pizza. Waitresses are friendly, but if you’re desperate for pizza save some money and find a real pizzeria, or...