Abarbistro in Portsmouth

This place is lovely, service was good and the food was delicious. I ordered soup and extra truffle parmesan fries and my partner got fish and chips. The chips, home cut chips, were the best chips we've ever had. Nice and thick, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Fabulous atmosphere and brilliant food. Found this place years ago whilst passing time waiting for a ferry and it never disappoints. Staff friendly and helpful. Wine excellent. I had the bavette steak and it was fantastic

Very busy trendy bar, great to sit outside in the sunshine 🌞

One of the best places to eat in Portsmouth. Always high quality food with specials always surprising. The restaurant is attached to the pub, although it takes up more volume and they also have a wine cellar upstairs, if that is not too much of a contradiction. Next door to one of the South Coasts best fish markets, they often have seafood on the menu. Booking is essential as this is a very popular venue. Staff are always helpful.

Me and my husband went here recently for our anniversary meal. Very disappointed to be honest. The starters were really nice, but they only serve Sunday style food (like roasts etc) even in the evening, which is also understandable, but limited. They got my roast wrong (which I didn’t particularly want to order to be honest but there was limited choice), then proceeded to just bring the right one out covered in gravy as it was under cooked beef. You could tell they were just covering their backs because the kitchen was about to close. We were also unaware that the kitchen closes at 8pm on a Sunday, even though you can book on their online booking system up until closing time. Staff were uninterested, ignored us a lot and were frankly a bit rude. I am really put off going there again as there are many lovely other places to go local! Such a shame!!!

Great food and service would highly recommend.

Second visit. Both times delicious food and fabulous service. Would definitely recommend.

Friendly people and good beer. We just had a drink there and were able to park the motorhome there overnight. Very central location in the harbor.

Recent reviews seem to bear out the experience that my partner and I had last night. We had seen the place often (while shopping at the fishmonger opposite), and had always thought 'we must go there'. Last night we did - to celebrate my birthday and retirement. Unhappily it just doesn't live up to it's appearance. It's a nice place, although the mass of reflective surfaces mean that it is actually pretty noisy in there. I found the staff to be excellent and cannot fault the service. We ordered pizza garlic bread and hummus (bar snacks) as starters. They were both tasty but just slightly doughy - could have done with a couple of minutes more in the oven. What we did find odd was that the two pizza wheels provided to cut them had wheels that were so blunt and so loose that they had a mind of their own, a bit like a broken shopping trolley. The repeated attempts to cut the food were hampered by trying to them straight. Never encountered that before. I had the haddock and my partner the bravette steak. Hers seemed ok but the giant chips with the steak were a bit weird. However, while my chips were fine (very nice actually), the batter was overdone and dark brown, rather than the golden I would have expected. Moving on to the desserts. My partner had the Eton mess, which was (it appeared) a few slices of strawberry within the base of a dome of meringue. My dessert was the summer berry pudding. Very nice, but the brandy snap that accompanied it was (like the batter) overdone and tasted burnt. This place could (should, given the prices) be great. It isn't. Style over substance, unfortunately.

We had a great meal here. When we arrived we were offered a free complimentary drink as there was a wedding at the venue and the kitchen would be late opening. Totally fine with us and the meal was lovely. Staff were very friendly and welcoming. We will be back!

A small but atmospheric tavern/wine bar, they have a large selection of wines, lots of traffic, friendly service. The only downside is that at a wine bar, as they describe themselves, wine should be poured from a bottle in front of the customer. Nice service. Food ok

Fabulous atmosphere. Staff are so friendly. Great choice of excellent, tasty food. Highly recommend.

Great service,lovely food,had a brilliant time.

Great food and nice drinks, good service. Will eat there again for sure. The menu desperately needs to be better marked for vegetarian and vegan dishes however. The waiting staff shouldn't have to go and get the allergens/ingredients manual to tell me whether the sun dried tomato pate is vegetarian or whether the desserts contain gelatine. For some reason the panchetta pizza has a (V) next to it? The mushroom and gorgonzola pizza could be made with stilton or another blue cheese which is vegetarian so that it becomes an available option to more customers. Gorgonzola is not vegetarian. Some classic cocktails would be nice e.g. Margarita or Bloody Mary. These are not on the menu and when I asked for a Margarita I was told the bar was too busy. Not too busy to make a Rum Punch or a Daiquiri though. Odd.

Didn’t enjoy my visit over the weekend at all, cramped restaurant, loud everywhere. Food wasn’t all that great either.

Hi, we went there for dinner, the place is clean, the ambiance is good, the service was good and the food is excellent and having been here a few times over the years the standard is still high.

Really good local restaurant from Portsmouth. The fish was fantastic and very fresh. They have a great selection of wines from different countries and regions. We had lemon souffle for dessert which was really good as well. Highly recommended.

This was one of the best roast dinners I have had at a restaurant. We had a table of 7 and everyone agreed! The service was perfect too. We asked for sweetener for a cup of tea and the waiter literally ran off to get some! Great location too. I would highly recommend it and will certainly be back.

An absolutely stunning find. A phenomenal roast dinner perfect fish and chips with a great selection of drinks!

Disappointed with this one, had the trout Nicose which was on a bed of radicchio, no mention on the menu, it has a very strong flavour and I wouldn’t. have ordered it if I knew!

Ate here after managing to reserve a table. Quite last minute!! And I'm so happy!!! Service was lovely, all staff busy but make time to check on you throughout your time with them. The food was stunning! Would highly recommend

This trendy pub is quite popular so plan to make reservations if you’re going on the weekends. The was delicious and they have a nice selection of Gin at the bar.

Great recommendation from our hotel round the corner. Superb food, excellent service and reasonable prices. No wonder it was buzzing!

Josh was fabulous, great knowledge of the best wine matches, innovative menu the terrine was brilliant.

Have passed this place many times on our way home via the ferry terminal and we have been missing out. Really well organised, lovely chilled wine, fantastic looking menu (swift refreshments stop for us tonight) and so will definitely be coming back. No more rushing for the ferry from now on - a chilled pace to Portsmouth and dinner next time for sure. ⚓️

Nice, slightly upscale place. The fish and chips was good, though the chips were more like fried potatoes than properly greasy chips.

My 3rd visit to this bar and by far my best experience. We had a Spanish guest and wanted to experience a Sunday Roast. The staff, food and atmosphere was brilliant.

We were so impressed with our experience on Friday evening, we went back again on Saturday. Food and service was excellent. Unfortunately there were one or two individuals who had no respect for other customers and were very loud, hence only 4 stars for atmosphere.

We sat outside on a sunny day and had a tasty meal and beer. The service was excellent, but we found the food to be a bit pricey.

This restaurant was a real find - they couldn’t be more helpful with helping me to choose dishes that didn’t contain dairy and there was choice ! The food was beautifully presented and of a high quality and didn’t cost a fortune either. Service was quick and attentive

Exceptional service and great atmosphere!

5* evening at the A’Bar, excellent food and great service from Lydia. Thank you.

The food was excellent I'm very flavorful! Probably the best food We've had The UK! It was a nice quaint little restaurant that was very clean and The staff was hospitable!

We had a lovely dinner here, fish & chips was great. The fries were quite soggy, though. We felt that the atmosphere was nice but the food was quite overpriced.

Varied menu, very well seasoned dishes, punctual delivery. I can only recommend!

Good Sunday roast! Good range of veg not just an assortment of potatoes. There’s a good patissier creating unique desserts…. may have had two because they were that good!

Always loved the place but not cheap.

Have to say I was disappointed with my experience here last night. It was fairly busy but no where near full. We ordered a bottle of wine first and almost half hour later we had to chase it to be told it hadn't been put through. We then ordered 2 catch of the day and 2 mussels. 5 minutes later we were told there was no more catch of the day. How can they run out by 7.30pm? Overall the food was OK but not amazing. With so many amazing places to eat I won't be rushing back here sadly.

Had a wonderful evening with old friends last night at the ABar. Archie and Penelope were ace and looked after our every need!

Called in without reservation but we're made very welcome. Good food.

Disappointing fall from grace for a restaurant that had shown some improvement in the past couple of years. We ate there a couple weeks previously and it was mediocre and put it down to a bad day so decided to try again. The food was average at best, one of our pizza was still doughy, the burger not great and cold pea puree with watery fish and chips. They told us they were very busy but only half the tables were taken, hate to see them with full service. Can't recommend and will probably give it a couple more years till we return.

We are very lucky to have such a place in Portsmouth - it should be in Brighton

Disappointed. Menu sounded good but didn't live up. Even the Sunday roast was mediocre. Service was good as was ambiance and they were attentive but unfortunately we wanted good food. Wasn't cheap either.

Luv this bar particularly when the sun shines. It is well attended and just has an air about it that's inviting 😀 and friendly.

I booked and mentioned that it was a milestone romantic anniversary, so a quiet table for 2… they put us in the conservatory, right next to a works outing table-for-12… So I moved us in to the bistro area, much quieter, and ordered some wine and water… after 15 minutes of twiddling our thumbs I had to ask again for some drinks… that seemed to take them by surprise… but they finally bought wine (not what I ordered… that had “run out”), but it was OK… And the food was fine: We shared some small plates of… baked crab, asparagus, a scotch egg, some cured meats, and pan roasted pigeon breast. All very nice. But folks, a tip: When people sit down at a table to eat… give them just something to play with… a few nuts perhaps, or an olive or two, bread perhaps… and a drink within 15 minutes… It makes them feel as though they are being served, rather than ignored. It makes them feel they chose the right place, rather then the wrong one…

Fab location and brilliant staff

Conveniently located near the Isle of Wight Ferry Terminal in Portsmouth, ABarBistro is a fantastic place to swing by for lunch if you have time before your trip to the Isle of Wight. We ordered a few drinks and had ordered the Fish and Chips, tasted really delicious. Lovely crispy batter and delicious accompanying home made Tartar sauce. I loved this place as you can listen to the locals talking about all their experiences and the staff were very lovely and friendly. There is paid parking nearby too.

Fish and chips was nice, we had kids portion because we weren't starving but also didn't fancy the £18 each. Not super overpriced as I'm aware it's an affluent neighbourhood (for our pompey) but still a little steep. Very nice fish and lovely chips too which are soo good when done right but soo many places just don't. Great service, shame the outside surfaces just don't really suit tables and chairs (old cobbles and stone paths but still pleasant all round!

Superb bistro, could not fault the food, service or atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Arrived very early for ferry and for the first in a long time managed to get a table ( always very busy) very high staff ratio and all very attentive. We only had time for a home baked pizza it was superb. The manageress ( assume it was her) came up to us twice to check in - handled a chap swearing at the bar with exceptional diplomacy -all with effortless grace. Great house wines - could not recommend enough but book !!!

Lovely food, helpful staff, good atmosphere... Recommended

Lovely welcoming place on a cold winters evening. Lucky to get a table. Both the service and food excellent. Lovely wine. Top marks

Absolutely brilliant venue; secret garden, outside terrace, bar, restaurant, in-house pizza oven and wine tasting room. Delighted that the A Bar is our local!

Service was excellent. A nice atmosphere and environment. Will be back for another visit.

Food was very good but there was a mistake with my order, a slightly issue in rectifying it, and not even a suggestion of compensation for it. Staff were friendly but felt a little more would have been appropriate.

Walking around Portsmouth with my son and really fancied fish for lunch, a quick search for seafood restaurants nearby and this popped up. Rather disappointing, the fish choice was fish and chips or the fish of the day a lobster, mussels kind of stew, not a big fan of mussels and liking my lobster cold with a crisp fresh salad and new potatoes we both went for the fish and chips, it was ok, not particularly large, the pea purée was lovely, would have liked more of that but for the price underwhelming would be my description. Don’t plan on returning.

We went there for a nice dinner while in Pompey. It didn’t disappoint. Food was excellent and so was service. Look at the view. We will be back. 🙏

One of the best roast dinners available locally, I tend to go for the roast beef option and it is always cooked to perfection. Quality of food is high and service also great. Sticky toffee pudding is a must every time!

Nice food, good vibes and cater to allergens

Sehr gutes Lokal, super Pizzas, Muscheln, Burger, Bier, hervorragende Weine, super netter Service, 👍🏻 Preise sind ok Nette Atmosphäre Kommen gerne wieder

Great place with good food, Burgers, pizzas, mussels, beer, good wines, Lots of locals, nice atmosphere Super nice service👍🏻 Prices ok Would love to come back

Great place for a bite to eat. Large menu

A traditional Sunday Beef Roast followed by a superb rabarber dessert. Top!

Fantastic place for a nice drink with friends

Had a lovely evening of vegetarian menu and wine tasting. The food was delicious and we learned about and tasted some new wines!

A very tasty local establishment. Whenever I visit other cities, I always look for where the locals eat, but here it was just impossible to get in; it was fully booked on a weekday evening. And my tactic paid off - these are the tastiest scallops I've ever had! The churros were also surprisingly crispy. All the seafood is fresh, and the prices are absolutely reasonable. In short, it was a wonderful experience, and I really want to come back ;)

Very lovely place for lunch, great wine selection and a very chilled environment 🥰

Great restaurant with amazing wines. Perfect for all occasions.

Friendly staff good food and drink

Went for a drink but the food looked great. It was fully booked but found us a place to sit near the pizza oven.

I went here with my wife and my son tonight, and we wound an amazing atmosfere, and fantastic service, the food was delicious, specially Hannah, was very nice with us and specially with son, she spend lot of time to play with him, and she look after us all time 😊 thank you 😊 I honestly reccomend to come here

Hi, this place is great, the service is very good. The food was excellent, we had fish mussels and bavette. The place is clean. There is a lovely ambiance and it’s very pleasant. We have been here previously and we will return.

Had a fantastic meal here. Starters and roast dinners were all hugely enjoyed by everybody. Extensive choice of wines and good service from the staff. 👌🏼🍷

So lovely ! I think one of the nicest meals out i’ve had in a while, the vegetarian roast dinner was absolutely delicious! The people were lovely and such a nice atmosphere for all the family, would definitely recommend ☺️ thank you!

The food and service were excellent. The atmosphere was very rowdy with large parties in making LOTS of noise so it was hard to hear each other during dinner and with the layout/decor of the room there is little in the way of sound/noise dampening so it wasn't quite the nice couples evening out we had hoped.

Amazing fish and chips, the fish was fresh and the scallops amazing.

Fabulous place. Lovely staff, amazing food, great wine. What's not to like?

Ate here pre covid and was well impressed, great wine bar, food excellent. Sadly this time round on a return visit, not impressed at all! Staff polite and helpful, chatty. Wine choice good Went for the mussels starter most exciting thing on menu....... After that nothing on the menu jumped out and said "eat me" Fish?.....plain old fish and chips No...chicken, salmon, pork offered Steak yes v expensive, duck ( not a great choice) and 2 x burgers, yes burgers!! One a veggie option.... I'm sure a vegetarian would have been underwelmed with choice. A very disappointing re visit which first time round required our 2nd venture, there will not be a 3rd. Shame, so disappointed.

Wow! This a great roast and so consistently great, week in week out, love the ambiance and service excellent. Thank you guys 👏👏👏👏👏

Although it was a Saturday and they were very busy we were seated really fast even without a reservation. The wine list is very extensive and for small or large budgets. The food orders arrived fast and the food was cooked to perfection. Would definitely recommend for a great night out and would score more than 5 stars if possible. Thank you for a great experience.

Even though it was a Saturday and they were very busy we were seated really fast even without a reservation, although would recommend a reservation. The wine list is very extensive and for small or large budgets. The food orders arrived fast and the food was cooked to perfection. Would definitely recommend for a great night out and would score more than 5 stars if possible. Thank you for a great experience.

Food was good but the waiting time just for the bill is over half an hour.

This is my local bar/bistro as I live very near the establishment. Always a good experience can’t fault it. I just wish there was more vegetarian options.

Excellent food, great presentation, perfect portions and good gluten-free alternatives. A popular haunt for locals and great place for a birthday lunch.

Ace Fish & Chips!! The batter is light, and the Haddock was cooked to perfection, puréed peas with chunky chips, absolutely delicious.

Had Sunday lunch here with a few friends. Overall a fantastic experience, good food and Sunday roast is a must. Very enjoyable and thank you.

The roast was awful, deep fried roast potatoes. Meat was good, vegetables lacking. One carrot, two parsnips, a table spoon portion of greens and a table spoon of coliflower cheese. Had to ask for more gravy as barely any on plates. Which you definitely need as potatoes were dry with no flavour to them at all. £20+ well not worth it at all!

It was a perfect place for a date night with my spouse. The outside didn't do justice to the ambience of the inside. Would total recommend this place.

Went here for a meal with friends. The service was great - friendly and attentive without being overbearing. The food was excellent and arrived fairly quickly, and the wine was amazing. Will 100% go here again!

Lovely restaurant with fresh food that is so tempting.

Sunday evening roasts are at risk from having been cooked much earlier in the day ready for lunchtime. Four of us had that impression, particularly with our roast potatoes. They were cooked in the fryer which makes them crispy, but ours was all rock hard and really over-cooked. Shame really because the meal was good otherwise, but at £160 for four of us with two bottles, I would expect a little better

Enjoyed to buzzy atmosphere and a chat with those next to us. Beer and wine was good. We did not eat.

Great food for our Xmas meal, service was excellent for us. Would have liked more cider choices but all in all very nice restaurant/bar

As always, great food, great atmosphere and excellent staff.

I was looking for a new place for lunch for family on a visit to Portsmouth so here we went today to the unusually named ABARBISTRO. It started well days ago, when I emailed the restaurant to ask if there are gluten free options and a friendly email came back from Christina with the special menu. Great. On arrival...also a good sign...the restaurant was pretty busy. Great again. The service was friendly and the choice of main courses was good. So let's crack on with the issues that grate with me. 1. The turkey dinner. I am pretty certain this was from yesterday's sitting. The turkey was fine, but the potatoes were stone hard and the other veg was limp and soggy. The potatoes should be crispy and the glazed veg should firm and sparkling. If this was truly cooked today then the chef needs to focus on timing. 2. Puddings. Either ice cream or most things are with ice cream. In deepest Winter..really? Get some traditional takes And £9 for a portion of ice cream is excessive. I opted for the mince pie parfait (frozen of course) and I'm happy to say this was a nice deconstructed version of a mince pie. This is my experience and I say what I see. This is not a cheap lunch so needs to be tip top.

The roast dinners we had today were absolutely delicious. Staff were friendly and attentive. We will be back! X

Probably the best fish and chips I have ever had in a bistro, the haddock was so fresh. I will be going back to try the rest of the menu.

Delicious food and really helpful staff. We celebrated a friend's birthday and they decorated and made it really special.

Great atmosphere, delicious pizza and the mussels made in kimchi are amazing😋

Decent enough , reasonably priced but lacking in variety on the menu . No chicken dish available in the evening, had the Abar burger had much better at the same price or cheaper in Yorkshire, wasn't much better than a Burger King on a posher bun .Asked what size the burger was 1/4lb , 1/2lb etc and was answered with "it's about this big" the size indicated with a hand gesture.