The Garage Lounge, Southsea

Not long ago, there actually was a garage at number 1, Albert Road, Southsea, but it closed during 2011. Albert Road is about ten minutes' walk from Southsea's main shopping centre, and it's a street filled with small restaurants, pubs and cafes, as well as a motley selection of shops, some of which are pretty quirky. It's a residential area where many of the sizeable old houses in the side streets have been turned into student housing. If you just wanted to go for a coffee, it would be hard to find anywhere in the evening, and during the day you would be more likely to head to the Palmerston Road area. The Garage Lounge, however, has made it possible to have breakfast, a light lunch, afternoon tea or a non-alcoholic evening drink away from the shopping precinct.

My first visit to the Garage Lounge was on a Sunday morning at around 11am. It was fairly busy, but my son and I managed to find a table in a corner at the back. The lounge is furnished in an unusually retro style unlike anywhere else locally. There are old-fashioned sofas and chairs, even a chaise longue. Lamps and flower vases are similarly from another era. Cream cakes and fruit salad are displayed in a large, dark wooden cabinet with panes of glass. Soft drinks are kept in old-style cooling boxes, and there's a row of glass jars containing a variety of fruit and herb teas. The coffee machine may be an ultra modern one, but the till on the counter is delightfully old-fashioned.

Customers have to order and pay at the counter, and food and drinks are then brought to the table by a waitress. We both decided to have an Americano along with a granola bar, and my son ordered an orange juice as well. The bill came to about £12. The coffee was served in mis-matched china and tasted wonderful, but we did have to request milk to go with it. The granola bars were served on what appeared to be place mats, but these were covered with a thin sheet of paper which seemed very hygienic and presumably saves on washing up. A small garnish of yoghurt and fruit salad came with the bars, which were so chunky that we had to eat them with our fingers rather than the large forks we were given. They were crammed with seeds and dried fruit and were very filling. We noticed that most of the breakfast items were removed from display soon after we arrived, and a little while later the cakes began to appear. A mental note was made to make a second visit at a later time. The waitresses are very quick to come and clear away empty cups and plates or mats, but we were nevertheless able to linger for a while and talk. My son noticed that there were covered sockets on the floor; the Garage Lounge offers free wifi. As it is open until 11pm, he thought it would be the ideal place to come in the evenings occasionally. Even though he lives near to central Southsea, he was quite envious that I live closer to the Garage Lounge than he does!

My second visit came the following Saturday at 1pm, when I was meeting a friend. I went in a few days beforehand to ask about booking a table. At first I was told that wouldn't be necessary, but my request was eventually written in the book and we were given a table by the front window that could actually seat four people. I decided to try the cake this time. There was a fair amount of choice, including butternut squash and coconut, chocolate and beetroot, apple and rhubarb crumble and one or two more creamy affairs. Not wishing to be too naughty, I chose parsnip, walnut and apricot cake (£3.50) along with a large Americano (£2.50). My friend looked at the quiches, where the choice was between goats' cheese and caramelised onion or ham and leek. Sandwiches included Toulouse sausage as well as roasted cherry tomato, aubergine and halloumi with rocket pesto. In the end she decided against those and went for a granola bar and an Americano, just as I had on my first visit.

My cake was served once again on thin paper on top of a mat, with the yoghurt and fruit salad garnish. It was a thick slice with tiny chunks of dried fruit on top. The consistency was just right, neither too soggy or too dry, so I was happy with my choice. The coffee was just as good as it had been the previous Sunday. My friend somehow managed to eat her granola bar with a fork, so she had more success than me. She had said she was very hungry, but the granola is so filling that she didn't quite finish it. We weren't in a hurry to leave, so she ordered an apple and lemon tea and I had a decaffeinated coffee. I was surprised that the coffee tasted almost as good as the Americano, but my friend was a bit disappointed with her tea, as she couldn't taste the apple at all. Our table was reserved for another group at 3pm, so we left about a quarter of an hour before this.

My friend wasn't quite as impressed with the Garage Lounge as I had been. She used to run a tearoom herself and was quick to notice that there was a crack in the sugar bowl on our table, and that the spout of her teapot was chipped. I do like the idea of the mismatched china, but it should be in good condition. We also found on the Saturday afternoon that the music was a little loud, although it hadn't been on the previous Sunday.

There is just one unisex toilet at the Garage Lounge but I can't comment on it. I was waiting outside for several minutes and was eventually invited to use the staff toilet instead. The suggestion was appreciated!

The Garage Lounge doesn't have a website, but I have had a look at their Facebook page. Most of the comments are very favourable, and it seems to be a very popular place. One commentator thought it was pretentious, which to me seems a little unfair. Its décor is very different from anywhere else in either Southsea or Portsmouth; the retro style won't please everyone, but I'm glad that it stands out and makes a statement. Another issue raised, however, is that some of the food on display is left uncovered, and this may have to be addressed. It's true that supermarkets have fresh bakery products on their shelves uncovered, but in a coffee house it should be easy to display cakes in containers with transparent lids.

On the Saturday evening I was in the area again and the Garage Lounge was still crowded just after 6pm. At around 8.15pm it was about half full. It stays open until 11pm, and I think it's a great idea to have somewhere other than a pub serving drinks in the evening. It may not be perfect, but it's stylish, serves wonderful coffee, and for me, it's local. I'm sure I shall be going there again.

The Garage Lounge

1 Albert Road Buildings

Southsea

PO5 2SP

Tel. 023 9282 8432

Portsmouth's corner of Paris

quite often go for lunch in Southsea on a Saturday, but on this occasion I needed to visit Blackwell's bookshop near Portsmouth University, so it was a good opportunity to have lunch at the nearby Cafe Parisien for a change. As the Cafe is popular with university students and staff, I thought perhaps Saturday would be a relatively quiet day there, but it was pouring with rain and blowing a gale so the outside tables could not be used, and even at 1.30pm the place was packed with people inside. We nevertheless managed to find a table for three and then went to queue up and place our order.

The menu is written on blackboards above the counter and looks a little confusing at first, but it is quite easy to find the appropriate section, depending on whether you want soup, a plat principal/cooked meal, a salad (choice of twelve), a croque monsieur or some other kind of sandwich. Main meals include salmon, cod, sirloin steak, and chicken, as well as one or two vegetarian options. I remembered that just over a year before I had had 'Number 12', consisting of open ciabatta, scrambled egg, smoked salmon and cream cheese for £6.95, and my son and I both decided we still liked the sound of it. I quite often choose salmon when I have a meal out, and I never buy eggs for myself so scrambled egg makes a change. I was tempted by cappuccino but then decided that fruit juice would be healthier and thought that carrot and apple juice with ginger sounded unusual. My son's partner ordered a three-egg omelette with chips, and we decided to share an extra plate of chips between us. Several varieties were available, including French, curly or thin, but we chose Belgian fries which are the chunky kind, served with red onion, ketchup and mayonnaise.

Having paid, we seated ourselves at our table with our drinks. It was big enough for three but would be a squeeze for four, unless for drinks only. There is just enough room to make your way between tables. The chairs are of a similar kind to those of Cafe Rouge, comfortable enough but with a rounded back which annoys women such as myself who have shoulder bags that slip off and end up on the floor.

Whilst waiting for the food, I tried my carrot and apple juice with ginger and was delighted by the combination of sweet and spicy flavours. The only problem was that the fruit and vegetable solids sink to the bottom of the glass and the juice at the top is rather watery, reminding me of a fruit juice I'd once had at Wagamama. These drinks are probably very healthy, but it's difficult to drink them through a straw – or directly from the glass, for that matter.

We had been given an empty wine bottle in which stood a numbered wooden spoon to identify our order, and it wasn't long before a waitress brought our food over. The main dishes were served on oval plates, with the Belgian fries on a round plate. There was just enough room on the table. I enjoyed having the Number 12 as much as I had on the previous occasion; the scrambled egg was just the right consistency and the smoked salmon provided a good contrast to the egg and cheese. It is for me, however, with the four pieces of ciabatta, a very rich and filling meal. It was all I could do to sample a few of the fries, and I thought that a side salad would perhaps have been a more sensible choice. I do always tend to say, though, that I have a smaller than average appetite.

I certainly would not have been able to manage a dessert that day, but I have had very good cookies there in the past, and I saw someone at a nearby table with a mouth-watering slice of chocolate cake. I might try that one day, but I shall have to have a salad as my main meal! The fruit tarts also look very tempting and would be slightly healthier than cake, of course. Coffees at Le Cafe Parisien are the Lavazza variety and are excellent. I haven't tried the smoothies myself but have it on good authority that they are delicious. If tea is your preference, there is a wide variety of Twinings on the menu.

A few weeks later I met my son at Le Cafe Parisien for a late breakfast, this time at about 11.30am on a Saturday. It was much less crowded; again the weather was utterly dismal, so the outside tables were not being used. I was wondering about trying an omelette this time, but eventually we both decided that the full vegetarian breakfast (£6.95) would be more varied. There was a choice of brown or white bread or toast, and we both chose brown toast. As it was a chilly day, I ordered a regular cappucino at £2.10 and my son went for an indulgent hot chocolate sprinkled with mini marshmallows and chocolate powder. (His excuse is that he has IBS and coffee upsets him!).

We sat ourselves at a small round table by the window – not that the view is anything to speak of. The drinks were up to our expectations, even though I'm hard to please where coffee is concerned. After a while our breakfasts arrived along with two slices each of toast and butter on separate plates, of course. We each had two fried eggs, a large half tomato, two veggie sausages, two hash browns and a generous serving of sliced button mushrooms. It was delicious, perhaps the mushrooms having the best flavour of all, although there was nothing I could fault. It was as much as I could do to have one slice of my toast, but my son had polished everything off by the time I was only halfway through my lunchtime breakfast. As neither of us was in a hurry, we lingered and had a glass of Appletiser each. By half past twelve there were still a few vacant tables.

One thing I particularly like about Le Cafe Parisien and that sets it apart from other restaurants is that it gives local artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work on its premises. My brother, who paints as a hobby, had an exhibition there in the summer of 2007. He was selling his canvases in aid of a local fisherman's charity and most of the work was bought on the evening of the private view. I hope that others who are trying to make a living as an artist have had as much success with their exhibitions at the Cafe.

If you are visiting the New Theatre Royal on Guildhall Walk or the Guildhall itself, Le Cafe Parisien would be the ideal place for a pre-show dinner as it is only a couple of minutes' walk away. It is also very close to the Ibis Hotel, Commercial Road shopping centre and Portsmouth and Southsea station. Worth mentioning is the special offer on Tuesday evenings of two steaks for £12.95. On weekdays during the day it is a popular place for university folk, although it does have to compete with the Via Lattea and the Students' Union.

Le Cafe Parisien has its own website that gives plenty of information on menus, exhibitions and other special events. I recommend a visit if you are in the area.

Le Cafe Parisien

1 Lord Montgomery Way

Portsmouth

PO1 2AH

Tel. 023 9283 1234

lecafeparisien.com

Relaxing in Zurich's Cafes

Situated on the west bank of the River Limmat in Zurich with tables outside, Cafe Wuhre is an ideal place to have lunch on a warm sunny day such as it was at the time of my visit. It was around 1.30pm and notices on the tables advertised lunch from 11am to 2pm only, so we thought we had better check that it was not too late. We asked a middle-aged waitress inside the cafe if she spoke English, but she indicated to us to wait and beckoned a younger waitress. When the younger one came over she told us that we were indeed in time for lunch. We went outside again and found that a table right beside the river had just been vacated, so we sat ourselves down right away. The tables are actually small round ones in rows of three, so one of these remained empty but anyone else arriving would have been free to sit there. We were glad that there were parasols as the temperature that day reached 31 degrees Celsius.

The waitress brought menus, and we all thought salad would be the best thing on a hot day. I chose a tuna salad while my son and his partner both decided on the chicken curry salad. When they asked for a light beer each, the waitress claimed that she would bring the very best Swiss beer. I ordered an orange juice which came in an attractively shaped glass. I do, however, lament the fact that fruit juice in Switzerland almost always comes in a 2 dl (200 ml) serving, which does not go very far in hot weather. A basket of four slices of granary bread was brought at the same time as the drinks.

It wasn't long before the waitress came out with our salads, which were served in round white bowls. My tuna was dressed with herbs and oil, and the accompanying salad consisted of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and onion rings. It was very good, but the memory of the wonderful tuna salad I had had at the Tenth Hole Tearoom was still very vivid, and there was really no comparison. My son and his partner enjoyed their chicken curry salads, which they said resembled coronation chicken and were served with rice and lettuce. I asked if their Cardinal beer was the best they had had in Switzerland, to which they replied that whilst good, they had had a slightly better one the previous day.

Desserts at Cafe Wuhre seemed to revolve mainly around ice cream and cream, and we decided not to let ourselves be tempted.

The location of Cafe Wuhre is perfect in fine weather if you are lucky enough to get a table from which you have a view of the river and the buildings on the eastern side of Zurich, notable the Grossmunster (cathedral) with its two towers. The interior of the cafe looked very comfortable with easy chairs, and original contemporary works of art added to the stylish feel.

There was just one ladies' toilet at the cafe and it was clean enough.

Our bill came to 85 Swiss Francs altogether – about £50. A service charge is added automatically, so there is no need to leave a tip. We were able to pay by debit card.

Cafe Wuhre is in an ideal location, has excellent service and a high standard of cleanliness. I would recommend it, and it is of course a place where you could just stop and relax over a drink if you did not want a full meal.

In the Niederdorf on the east bank of the River Limmat, there is again an enormous number of cafes and restaurants. I can recommend the coffee at Cafe Henrici, where we sat outside in the morning sun. Had anyone shown me the rickety old metal chair I was to sit on there before I travelled, I would have avoided the place like the plague, but when we did sit down it didn't seem to matter. Henrici certainly seemed to be a popular place, and the interior was very stylish in comparison. I went down to the ladies in the basement and noticed a door with several dates on it, the earliest of which was from the fourteenth century. Henrici is actually a hotel but I cannot comment on it as we stated at the Helmhaus, just south of the Grossmunster. It was pricey but I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

By four o'clock in the afternoon we were sweltering and delighted to find that Cafe Kantorei in Neumarkt offered bottles of apple juice that were considerably more generous than the 200 ml servings of fruit juice that most restaurants seemed to offer. Kantorei has quite extensive outdoor seating, and our waiter there was British. He chatted about how expensive Zurich was but assured us that salaries were relatively high too.

Zurich is a wonderful city to wander around, and when your weary feet need a rest and you need to quench your thirst, you will find plenty of pleasant places where you can sit indoors or out and enjoy coffee, beer or a soft drink.

Who needs golf?

Every few weeks I meet up with a couple of old schoolfriends for Saturday lunch. We usually go to the Vegetarian Greenhouse Cafe, not because we are vegetarians, but because they never mind how long you sit and chat at your table. Before leaving, we always fix another date a few weeks hence. As we decided (back in June) on a mid-August Saturday, we thought it would be the height of summer and that The Tenth Hole on Eastern Parade, near Southsea sea front, would be the ideal venue.

When the day came, the sky was heavy with grey clouds but at least it wasn't raining. We managed to find a free parking space very close to the tearoom. The Tenth Hole is thus named as it is right beside Southsea Golf Links, a nine-hole pitch and putt course. But we had no intention of playing golf, or of watching the cricket match that was going on just the other side of the tearoom. We were after lunch.

The Tenth Hole has more tables outside than in, but as we entered the premises we found that all were occupied and that there was a long queue of people waiting to be served at the counter. We wondered if we should go back to the car and head off to our usual vegetarian haunt. Then I mentioned that the previous Saturday I had queued for two and a half hours to see the Banksy exhibition at Bristol Museum, and that this queue was really nothing in comparison. We each picked up a laminated menu from the pile on a garden seat and started taking a look at the mouth-watering main courses and cakes that people were enjoying at the tables around us. Before we knew it, we were part of the queue.

Things moved fairly quickly, and one of my friends decided to grab a table inside the tearoom. It was one of two in the area adjacent to the counter and had plenty of space around it, whereas the tables in the main room are rather close together. It was only about ten minutes until our turn came to order. Two of us decided that a salad with one topping – we both chose tuna – seemed like a healthy option. These were £5.95 each, but for £6.95 you can have two toppings. My other friend ordered a bacon, lettuce and tomato baguette with potato crisps for £4.95. Two of us asked for cappucino, which was a very reasonable £1.30, while the third thought a pot of coffee was more desirable. She was unable to resist the spectacular array of home-made cakes, so to avoid queueing again she chose a slice of apricot and yoghurt cake for herself as well as a piece of peach and fig cake to take home for her husband. My only criticism of our experience was that the pot of coffee was just that: a pot of coffee. My friend had to go back to the counter once for a mug and again for a jug of milk. Paper serviettes and sachets of sugar are supplied on the tables, but customers help themselves to cutlery, sauces and butter or Flora from a stand by the counter.

When we had paid our hot drinks were served and we were given a wooden spoon with a number on to identify our order. It wasn't more than a few minutes after we had settled ourselves at our table that a waiter brought our food. We had thought salad was a light choice – how wrong we were. It was served on a large round plate with a bowl of mixed salad in the centre. On one side was a small bowl of tuna with mayonnaise and another of new potatoes. There were also three or four slices of baguette on the side of the plate. The bowl of salad was crammed with an amazing variety of ingredients: penne pasta, coleslaw, lettuce, grated carrot, cucumber, sweetcorn, cherry tomatoes, grapes, pineapple, small slices of orange and a physalis decorating the top. The only disadvantage I can see is that some people may not like so much fruit mixed in with a savoury salad, but for me it was perfect. The tuna was topped with a slice of lemon and was delicious, but it can be ordered without mayonnaise if you prefer. My friend decided to empty the three bowls onto her plate, and it looked like a huge serving. I kept mine in its individual containers and ended up leaving some of the bread and lettuce. The BLT baguette was given a definite thumbs up, and the bacon was apparently particularly lean.

After such a generous serving of salad, my friend felt that the best idea was to share her slice of cake with us. I couldn't manage more than a couple of small forkfuls, but it was certainly a wonderful cake. The sponge was very soft and was topped with a mixture of yoghurt and apricot slices, so we didn't feel too guilty.

Our plates were cleared away fairly promptly but we were not pressured into vacating our table. As three o'clock approached, however, the queue had not diminished at all. I had seen people go outside with trays of drinks and come back in as there was obviously nowhere to sit. We felt it was only fair to leave our table for someone else.

I did visit the ladies before leaving. There were two self-contained toilets with washbasins and large but clean towels inside. A couple of baby-changing mats are provided. One door only had a gents sign on it, and I presume this was self-contained as were the ladies.

I made a second visit in September with my son. We both decided to try the spinach and ricotta lasagne at £5.59. It was gorgeous; underneath the crisp cheese topping, the pasta and spinach in sauce were beautifully cooked. To follow we had strawberry and raspberry pavlova. I loved the fruit and meringue but felt guilty about the amount of cream and just could not eat it all.

The Tenth Hole is open until dusk every day except Christmas Day; in the summer it opens at 9am and in the winter at 10am. Breakfasts are served until noon, and if you don't like the sound of our salads or baguette there is a selection of hot food such as jacket potatoes, lasagne or cottage pie as well as soup. The cakes are just out of this world, ranging from cheesecake to autumn fruit tart to chocolate cake to berry pavlova. Whole cakes can be ordered for collection at a cost of £30 each. If you are not watching your weight and are feeling really naughty, you can have summer high tea at The Tenth Hole for £25 for two people. I bet it's worth it, but I daren't think about it too seriously.

The Tenth Hole prepares all its food freshly on the premises, and at the counter it displays a list of local establishments that are the source of its supplies.

This would be a delightful place for an al fresco meal on a sunny day, where hanging baskets and flowering plants adorn the surroundings. The beige and dark brown of the interior is somewhat dull in comparison, but there are plenty of paintings to brighten it up. You cannot bring prams and pushchairs in, but high chairs are available.

I highly recommend The Tenth Hole to anyone living in the area or visiting Southsea. Admittedly we had to queue and it was crowded, but this was a warm Saturday in August. During the week, outside of school holidays, the place might be a little quieter. Parking, as I have said, is free on Eastern Parade and the nearby side streets. If you are travelling by bus, the nearest stops are at the bottom of Festing Road for the number 6 or Highland Road cemetery for numbers 17 and 18. In each case you will have about five minutes' walk to the tearoom. It's well worth it.

The Tenth Hole Tearoom

Southsea Golf Links

Eastern Parade

Southsea

PO4 9RF

023 9283 0009

www.thetenthhole.co.uk