The Greenhouse Kitchen Vegetarian Cafe

Walking home along Marmion Road, Southsea, one day in the spring I was dismayed to find that Coco's Cafe had closed down. It was one of my favourite places to go for coffee, a smoothie or lunch whilst shopping, and always made a pleasant change from Costa. I stopped, however, and read the notice in the window advertising the fact that the Greenhouse Kitchen Vegetarian Cafe would be opening on the premises on 24th May. It sounded promising.

We made our first visit to the Greenhouse Kitchen at the end of May, around eleven o'clock one Saturday morning. The first good sign was that an alternative front door was being used, which took you straight in by the counter. Coco's had always used the door on the corner, which meant you had to fight your way past the tables, whilst those seated near the door would suffer from a cold draught in winter every time customers entered or left.

The two hungry young men that were with me were disappointed to see that sandwiches came under the lunch section on the blackboard and were not served until noon. However, there was an array of them wrapped in paper bags on full display, and the waitress said that the time restriction for lunch had in fact been set because people were demanding soup for their elevenses. She didn't mind at all serving sandwiches during the morning. They both ordered egg mayonnaise sandwiches, one on white bread and one on brown, along with smoothies. I wanted to sample the coffee, as that is what I often judge such a place by, so I ordered a cappuccino along with a homemade golden syrup and oat muffin. I enjoyed both the coffee and the muffin, and the egg sandwiches were pronounced to be the best ever.

I decided not to write a review until I had sampled the lunches at the cafe. Several weeks passed before I did. This time it was at around noon, again on a Saturday, and the ground-floor room was almost full. We were told that there was plenty of room upstairs, but as a group of people were about to vacate their table we decided to take it over. The downstairs tables are easily big enough for two people and just big enough for three. There are one or two tables with relaxing armchairs for those who are just having a drink, but most have upright chairs similar to those at Cafe Rouge.

It was a bit of a squeeze as we stood at the counter deciding what to order, as several elderly ladies who couldn't hurry were leaving and the door is right in front of the counter. That didn't matter, however, as we weren't in a hurry, but space by the counter is a little restricted. The day's lunch specials were each priced at £4.75. I was torn between vegetable crumble and lentil loaf with salad, eventually choosing the crumble. My son and his partner both decided on sweet potato curry with nachos. This time I thought I would try the smoothies; a company called easyjuice supplies frozen packs of prepared fruit which you can see in the freezer alongside the ice cream, and the smoothies are then made on demand from these packs. The one I chose was named Energy Burst and was a combination of raspberries, blueberries and oranges. Smoothies are £2.50 each, whilst fruit juices are £2.20.

Having placed our order and paid, we took our seat by the window. The drinks were soon brought over and the waitress apologised for the fact that the previous customers' cups and glasses had not yet been cleared away. The staff at the cafe are extremely polite and friendly, it must be said. I took a sip of my smoothie and immediately said that it was probably the best I'd ever had. I've always found blueberries a little lacking in taste, but I sometimes buy Waitrose's raspberry and orange juice – the combination of these two fruits is almost as perfect as a taste can be for me. There were a lot of tiny seeds in the smoothie that might bother some people, but I didn't let their inclusion put me off.

The food followed very quickly. The curries were served in a soup bowl with nachos on an oval plate underneath. My vegetable crumble certainly looked good. It was mainly cauliflower and broccoli with a topping of chopped nuts and breadcrumbs. Everything had a definite home-made feel to it. We all enjoyed our lunch – for me, the texture of the crumble was just as important as the taste and was made almost perfect by the addition of the nuts. The curry was spicy with good flavours rather than being overly hot.

Although not a vegetarian, I would personally chose the Greenhouse Kitchen as one of the best places to have a simple lunch in Southsea, and definitely the best place for smoothies or home-made snacks. There were young children there when we visited, and high chairs are available. One disadvantage is that the toilets are up a steep flight of stairs, but there are public conveniences two or three minutes' walk away adjacent to Waitrose supermarket.

All of the ingredients used at the Greenhouse Kitchen have been approved by the Vegetarian Society. Wine, lager and ales are served, although I have not sampled any of these. All the food and drink served is available for take-away, except for the alcoholic drinks. I haven't yet tried the ice creams, but they look and sound delicious. On a hot day you could sit and have one at an outside table.

Free WiFi broadband is available on the premises, but my son had his Blackberry with him and found that it would only be suitable for visiting public sites as other customers would be able to view your internet activity on their laptops or other devices if they felt inclined to do so.

Two rooms upstairs are available for private functions.

The Greenhouse Kitchen is closed on Monday. Opening hours are from 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday, and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday.

The Greenhouse Kitchen Vegetarian Cafe

59 Marmion Road

Southsea

PO5 2AX

Tel. 023 9281 5511

Churchill's @ 25, Southsea

There are four small cafe-restaurants on Marmion Road, Southsea, just off Palmerston Road shopping precinct. I had only ever been to one of them, the Vegetarian Greenhouse Kitchen, and thought it was about time to try out one of the others. Late one Saturday morning we looked at the menus in the window of Churchills @ 25; my son had been before and said I should be the one to decide. It looked very busy inside, but a table for two all on its own by the entrance was just being vacated so I suggested we take it.

Main dishes on the menu included quiche, lasagne, chicken and ham pie, eggs benedict, mushroom fricasee and fish cake with a poached egg (which seemed a bit of a strange combination). Soup of the day could be ordered along with a sandwich chosen from a varied list of fillings. Jacket potatoes were mostly around the £3 mark. A board with the day's specials had been placed outside, and I had to go and take another look as I couldn't see them listed inside. There was cauliflower cheese with either chips or salad, vegetarian lasagne, and a tempting Thai chicken salad amongst a few other choices. However, we noticed that it was possible to order a full English breakfast for £5.25 including tea, coffee or fruit juice (orange, apple or cranberry). We both decided to order the vegetarian version which offered two sausages, an egg (poached, fried or scrambled) on half a muffin, cherry tomatoes, and slices of button mushrooms. Both of us chose scrambled egg, my son ordered tea and I asked for orange juice.

The drinks were brought after a couple of minutes. There was a pot of tea (enough for two cups) with a jug of milk, and the orange juice was served with ice. We had to wait about fifteen to twenty minutes before our food arrived, but we were not in a hurry so we didn't mind. Each of us had just the one sausage whereas the menu had promised two, but we didn't complain as neither of us thought we could have managed a second one. The scrambled egg was a little overdone, but other than that we enjoyed our breakfasts. Everything was freshly cooked and arranged on the plate with care, the tomatoes and mushrooms surrounding the scrambled egg on the muffin.

Just above our table was a board listing desserts at reasonable prices, mostly around £2.45. These included treacle tart, lemon cheesecake, rum and raisin cheesecake, and a three-flavoured jelly; bread and butter pudding was a little more expensive. We weren't interested in any of them on that occasion, but it's obvious that you could have a two or three course meal without breaking the bank.

A notice in the window states that if you order lunch, you can have a glass of wine for £1.75. That's worth remembering. Another notice advertises coffee and cake for £2.75 in the afternoon.

Churchill's @ 25 has not long been open and is very clean and tastefully decorated. Tables and upright chairs are of wood, without tablecloths. Most of the tables do seem to be rather close together, and I felt that we had been lucky to come at the right time to sit at the table for two that is on its own by the entrance. On the far wall are four prints of Winston Churchill, each one based on a different colour in the mode of Andy Warhol. Other abstract artworks were very uninspiring to me; as well as these there is a series of maxims printed on the walls, words of wisdom to digest along with your lasagne or cheesecake.

We were satisfied with the service from both the waiter and waitress on that Saturday, as they were polite and efficient, making a point of asking us on two occasions if everything was all right. My son, however, had not been so impressed with another waiter on a previous visit and probably wouldn't have chosen Churchill's if I hadn't been interested in trying it out.

There appears to be just one toilet with disabled access and baby changing facilities, but I cannot comment on its cleanliness as I did not use it.

I would recommend Churchill's @ 25 as a venue for a drink, breakfast or lunch to anyone shopping in Palmerston Road and wanting a break. It makes a change from Costa Coffee and offers much more in the way of food. I would personally prefer the Greenhouse Kitchen, but that is a vegetarian restaurant and obviously won't suit everyone. For anyone walking up from the sea front or Southsea common, there are so many restaurants to choose from before reaching Marmion Road that Churchill's is unlikely to be a candidate. I would, however, be happy to go back there if that Thai chicken salad is on offer again one day.

Churchill's @ 25

25 Marmion Road

Southsea

PO5 2AT

Tel 023 9273 8525

Lou Lou's, Southsea

Vying as it does with three other small restaurants on Southsea's Marmion Road, Lou Lou's is one that I had previously wanted to visit because of its apparent French feel. I hadn't done so, however, as I always seem to be in the area at lunchtime and Lou Lou's is inevitably crowded, with very little space between one table and the next. An opportunity arose one Friday afternoon when I bumped into my son as I was leaving work. Both of us were at a loose end and decided to have a bite to eat before shopping at Waitrose. As it was around 3.30pm, I thought Lou Lou's might be relatively quiet so we sauntered along to see if I was right.

A menu in the window was difficult to approach as both the outside tables were occupied. As we turned away, a waiter rushed out and handed us a menu to tempt us. The menu seemed varied with reasonable prices and there seemed to be a few free tables inside, so we ventured in. Two of the tables turned out to be reserved, but we settled for a table for two by the side wall.

All the tables in the main area are circular marble ones, some bigger than others. The chairs are old-fashioned, basic wooden ones with curved backs. I said that Lou Lou's has an apparent French feel to it, but this is in fact because it used to be a butcher's and the original décor has been kept. Ceramic tiles cover one wall, and the wooden floor has seen better days. A curved metal rail hanging from the ceiling would once have been used for displaying carcasses. Now it has rather charming ornaments and flowers dangling down. The place has character and is quite unlike other cafe-restaurants in the area.

A waitress immediately brought us another menu. A page of all day breakfasts (including a continental one) was followed by a list of Welsh rarebit, croque monsieur or madame, then one or two pasta dishes, a few salads and a rather surprising venison burger. The usual simple lunches such as soup of the day, various sandwiches and jacket potatoes are also on the menu. Tartiflette is a typical French addition that I can't remember seeing before in a Southsea restaurant. Steak is one of the pricier lunches, but even so is just £8.95. Having not long since recovered from a nasty bug, I hadn't had eggs or bacon for weeks, so I decided on scrambled egg with back bacon in a toasted and buttered muffin, accompanied by sliced button mushrooms for £3.45. My son went for what would have been my second choice: scrambled egg with smoked salmon, wholemeal or white toast and sliced button mushrooms at £4.95.

We wanted to order freshly squeezed orange juice, but the waitress explained that the machine had been switched off. We didn't quite understand why, but we both ordered apple juice instead. This was brought over very quickly. I don't like having fruit juice with a glass full of ice cubes, and thankfully no ice was served here, but I suppose some people might want and expect it.

It must have been about ten minutes before our food was served. My immediate impression was that the servings were very generous, especially where the mushrooms were concerned. I had two rashers of nicely cooked, lean bacon, lots of scrambled egg, and a whole muffin as opposed to the half I had had at Churchill's a few weeks earlier. My son's meal came garnished with a slice of lemon and a small sprig of parsley. His butter was served separately in a small tub for him to spread on the triangular slices of toast. I thought the square-shaped plates and black serviettes were tasteful, although the serviettes were a little on the small side. Pepper and salt are provided on the table, but the waitress also asked us if we required any other sauces. We declined. The food was beautifully hot, and I would only say that the scrambled egg was slightly overdone. This usually seems to be the case in restaurants, however.

As soon as we had finished eating, the waitress came to clear our plates. For those wanting a two-course meal, desserts are mostly priced at £3.25 or £3.50 and include pancakes, waffles, ice cream sundae and sticky toffee pudding. A tempting selection of home made cakes is displayed at the counter, and Lou Lou's menu also offers afternoon cream teas. We had only come for a light meal, so we asked for the bill. As it turned out, payment is made at the counter.

The ladies had just been cleaned when I entered so I can't comment on what it might be like towards the end of a busy lunchtime. Two steps have to be negotiated to get to the toilets, which would obviously prove difficult for the disabled. These steps also lead to a rear area which has a number of small tables but is without windows.

I would be glad to return to Lou Lou's one day, as their food is good, served in generous portions and reasonably priced. I have no criticisms of the service we received. It is a place that has character but might not appeal to those who prefer ultra-modern, stylish restaurants. If I do go back, however, I shall probably make a point of going either early in the morning for breakfast or once again in mid or late afternoon. Lou Lou's is definitely a popular place, but the lunchtime crowds would put me off. Closing time is 6pm, so this is a daytime rather than an evening restaurant.

Lou Lou's

37 Marmion Road

Southsea

Hampshire

PO5 2AT

Tel. 023 9282 5113