Leons Bistro on the Waterfront in Gosport

Such a wonderful place on the beach. Dog friendly. Lovely interior and beautiful design. I just wanted to have a hot chocolate on my walk. I went in and I was seated, but long minutes passed by and I had to chase an employee to give me the list of the drinks. I mean, come on! I told when I arrived that I would like to have a drink, why the lady couldn't give me the menu withouth chasing her up, when the place wasn't busy at all and there was enough staff on duty. I wasn't impressed how bored and not customer focused the ladies were there. I wasn't that welcomed and I felt like I could just stand up and leave, noone would notice. I wrote this review to give a honest feedback and a chance to improve. The employees should be way much more proactive and welcoming. I liked sitting inside, loved the place, but not the service. There is a kids corner too with books.

I really recommend it for beach environments food I loved it

Fishy Friday, great fish and chips in fact I’ve had them at Rick Steins Padstow recently and OTW’s were much better.

Lovely coffee and Red Velvet cake, friendly service, lovely view over the Solent

Very expensive but beautiful location

Stopped for an ice cream next to the park. Rum and raisin, full of ice and half melted, mostly seemed to be air. Mr whippy would have been better than this.

Went for a special celebration. Food was good but the customer service was so poor. We wished we had gone and spent our money (just under £300) in any other restaurant.

Very nice place bit expensive and you have to pay to park but right on sea front so good view

Had a coffee outside the view was beautiful and peaceful

Just back from the most incredible meal on Lee seafront. Roast beef and amazing roast potatoes along with more veggies than you can shake a stick at followed by the most delicious white chocolate and pistachio cheesecake with pistachio ice cream I've ever tasted. If you’re from around the Lee on Solent area I really can’t recommend the Sunday lunches at On The Water highly enough.

Great place to be at peace with the ocean.

We took our Goddaughter for lunch and she chose the Fish and Chips at £22. On arriving at our table the batter looked over cooked. The actual dish was all batter and hardly any fish. On informing the staff the only comment was we will inform the kitchen of your comments.

Early evening was quiet but service and food excellent. The restaurant looks really cool, with good views of the solent. Very friendly and efficient staff. Clientelle were relaxed and happy.

Good restaurant near the water. Crowded inside, but a lot of outside tables.

Good service, food and lovely atmosphere.

Great location Friendly staff Food mediocre and pricy.

Great location but you pay for it. Had the smoked mackerel pate which had the single end of a crusty loaf. Ordered more bread for £3.75 which was a single slice of dry bread. Lovely place, good food but overpriced.

Beautiful setting and plenty of outdoor seating. We had the breakfast bap and egg and bacon bap. Both very tasty and fresh. Coffee quite small and a little weak but ok. I thought the breakfast menu was quite pricey. Service was friendly and didn’t wait too long for our food.

Good food reasonably priced Let down by poor service. Server had issue with uncleared bill at our outside table - nothing to do with us. Proceeded to ignore me while trying to sort this out. Still ignored me as I suggested we move to another table so I could order and pay for food. Then they could sort their problem out. This simple suggestion was ignored. Anyway food was good. And staff other than those at counter were fine

Plush and high end eating place. I struggled to find a sandwich that I wanted for lunch, but the menu was of a good variety. Service was good too

Very good place to stop for a meal or a coffee, overlooking the shingle beach and the Solent. Views to the Isle of Wight. Good place to wa5ch local sailors as well as the ships going in & out of Southampton port. Good stop-off after a walk on the prom. Fish & chips is a speciality.

We were in the area thanks to the Victorious Festival and wanted to enjoy a brunch/ lunch by the sea before going home. On the water had mixed reviews on TripAdvisor but I couldn’t find anywhere else by the sea so we thought to give it a try! I wish we hadn’t. The staff is what lets this place down more than anything, it’s as if you get punished for wanting to sit outside and enjoy the rare sunshine we get in the UK and for us we hadn’t seen the sea in some time! The prices are what you expect but the quality of coffee was poor, no choice of a Bloody Mary and absolutely everything you order you have to go inside to do. When the drinks finally arrive we ask for a tea spoon and sugar, and told everything is at a station you have to grab yourself. It wasn’t busy and we’re surrounded by dirty tables that haven’t been cleared in the 20 minutes we’ve been sat plus the waitress even walks past that table to deliver the drinks. We arrived 11:30 so had to wait till 12 before we could look at the lunch menu, understandably it was the period where the kitchen gets ready from breakfast to lunch ( I imagine). Were refused to even look at menus before 12 and were allowed them after said time. We order and I was undecided the menu reads great, with fish options and a few meat and veggie. I had seen the TripAdvisor reviews before arrival so I asked the lady at the ordering desk what’s good and she hesitantly tried to point out the classics. Anyway I went with the special in the end which had everything I wanted from a seafood restaurant by the beach and I hoped it would be of the non frozen kind mussels, prawns etc at a cost of £27. Our friends order a few bits and bobs and said it was all fine and mine was edible too although it definitely isn’t fresh fish and the taste boring. The colours looks to be there for flavour but that feeling goes the moment you start eating. Also who wants whitebait the size of fish fingers? No side plates, fresh lemon slices or finger bowls provided. You get your own cutlery and napkins and again we’re sat with empty plates until an hour after we left after a couple more drinks. The staff need training and also learn to give the customer a nice experience. This is not the case and you could see that on every persons face who were sat outside. The only ones truly enjoying themselves are the dogs!

Lovely find after a walk along the beach. Great choice of fish. Hummus highly recommended as a starer to share. Main courses, generous portions and something different on the menu. Dessert to die for. Friendly staff. Definitely worth a visit.

Very nice nice staff had cup tea and carrot cake two pots of tea and two pieces of cake 13 pounds very nice and not over priced

An all you can eat breakfast 😋 and doggy friendly too.

Great food, service and atmosphere, definitely recommend

So, let's start by saying this place is alright. The food is on the better side, but I struggle to give more than 3/3.5 due to the cost and the coffee! The location is good, food is good but just doesn't warrant the price. Likewise, the coffee is truly not good. Paying high prices for poor machine coffee isn't ideal. I wouldn't avoid, but also not first choice.

Having ended up here by chance it was a pleasant surprise both for the quality of the food and for the place and the service.

For the prices you'd expect cleaner tables 😅 even for a sunny afternoon, hygiene is a basic standard.

Lauren was a delightful host. The food was excellent. A great breakfast to set us up for the day.

Fish and chips over looking harbour, excellent value

Beautiful place and is exactly what it states on the water very clean and staff were very pleasant food beautiful this is more of a luxury restaurant but it is boasting stunning views dog friendly toilets also for the lady's if your caught out they had feminine products very nice touch many places ignore this issue having sisters I know how important this is

The staff were exceptional in their attentiveness to detail and all their help. We would especially like to thank Ellie for all her care and attention that went ‘above and beyond’ so that Mums 90th celebration was all it could have been and more! Thank you! We’ll be back …

Best chicken wings I've ever had with crispy skin and garnished with spicy sauce and chopped onions and chilli's. Main course was jerk monkfish for me and gnocchi for my wife, all beautifully presented and great taste.

Not what it used to be more of a seaside cafe now.

Used this for breakfast on Sunday 11 August. It’s expensive which is fine and with those prices you would expect the customer would be at the forefront of their thinking. I planned to spend £15 on a breakfast which is pricey but you assume it will be good. I have an egg allergy and therefore asked about the possibility of swapping this for another item. They refused point blank, no discussion, did not even bother to ask what I would want to swap for, just a straight no. I discussed the fact that it was an allergy and whether it would be reasonable under the circumstances to offer swapping the eggs on my breakfast for something else but no discussion just a refusal. So they expected me to pay for it even though I cannot eat them. When paying £15 for breakfast it’s not good enough and they had no interest in my view. Allergies are a real thing and refusal to even discuss it was in my view unacceptable. So I had some overpriced toast instead and they lost out on £11 of business. Sadly this tells me that the customer is of absolutely no interest and it’s all about money then rather than customer service which is a shame.

Used this for breakfast. It’s expensive which is fine but I have an egg allergy and they refused to recognise this by swapping the eggs on my breakfast for something else. So they expected me to pay for it even though I cannot eat them. When paying £15 for breakfast it’s not good enough and they had no interest in my view. All about money then rather than customer service which is a shame

Great cafe on the seafront,and the food was excellent.

Always a lovely place to visit 😊

This was a surprise dinner for my birthday. I love fish and I was spoilt for choice. I decided on the White bait starter which was so yummy and the Jerk Monkfish main coarse which was absolutely gorgeous. I also had a raspberry gin fizz cocktail. This is not a cheap destination but if you want quality with a super view, then this is perfect

Travelled from quite far to this cafe as we have enjoyed meals here before. However we were shocked by prices £12.95 for sandwich with crisps and £22 for fish and chips! Bailed out even though we had paid £2.80 for parking. V disappointing.

We stopped here for lunch, after a lovely walk along the sea front. The food we had was delicious and the food came quite quickly. The people serving us, were very friendly and polite. This place is wheelchair accessible. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

I went for lunch here with my mum on a lovely, sunny day. We'd never been before but I run past it at Parkrun and was curious. Our experience was absolutely delightful. My mum loved her coronation chicken sandwich and I enjoyed the hummus, but the tomato bruschetta was incredible! But the thing that really stood out was the staff. We were mostly served by one young woman, but we had three or four people come over at various points when she was busy elsewhere. We found they were all extremely polite, attentive but not overbearing but the little touches we noticed were what really impressed us. Very soon after people left, someone was over cleaning the table, sweeping crumbs from the floor and even fluffing up the pillows on the comfy chairs! When my mum spilled her drink, I'd barely started wiping the table with my napkin before someone came over with more napkins to help. It is a bit pricier than average but I found the food was a couple steps above standard pub grub, which locally tends to be pretty poor and not that much cheaper really. Plus the sizes are very generous. The tomato bruschetta was a starter but it was more than enough for lunch and I didn't really need the hummus as well. But I also feel the staff and the little touches mentioned above are what you're paying for too. They worked as a team and seemed like a well-oiled machine. Will definitely be coming back for the service, that bruschetta and to try some other things on the menu too.

Good food although a little pricey but you do get a good portion size. Excellent service. Worth a visit if you haven't been. Sat outside and watched the Spitfire flying by several times, awesome. Perfect location right on the waterfront.

Lovely place, well decorated, clean and directly on the sea front. Food is expensive but was very well cooked and presented and the staff were helpful and friendly.

More like £40 to £50 per person

Fantastic service and food …Cari real credit to your business service with a smile personified 5* will come again

Fantastic food and fantastic service, Cari real credit to your business service with a smile personified 5* will visit again

Always good food here. Lovely brunch.

Lovely restaurant bar, great location generous food servings with a good choice in the menu. Wonderful staff all attentive welcoming and friendly. I had a lovely evening enjoying the sun and views over the Solent whilst catching up with family

Staff were excellent great service and very attentive with a lovely smile

Really nice cafe and restaurant. Only tried cakes so far (5*) but having lunch next week.

Lovely spot with great ocean views. Burger was fantastic.

It's ok. Just ok. Quite pricey.

We had the most amazing afternoon here yesterday for a birthday celebration with family and friends We were reserved an area with comfy sofas which was perfect The staff were amazing and the service was faultless We mainly had drinks but did have chips, onion rings and the most amazing garlic bread We have had a meal here before which was excellent value for money I would highly recommend Lovely food, amazing staff and superb view. Thank you to Emma and the team x

What is normally a really good place has been let down by the approach to allowing dogs into the restaurant itself. A lovely evening with lovely staff who were really attentive to us on our table. For me the issue with the dogs is too disgusting to ignore. One table were feeding their dog with pieces of their own dinner during their meal, and on another table, the dog was allowed to be sat on the sofa chair. How much contamination of that sofa was taking place with the dog directly in contact? I mentioned it to the staff member who did actually go and say something to the owner of the dog. I accept, but don't agree with, dogs inside restaurants but please, please, have a seperate area, where dog owners can sit with their dogs, that is away from people who don't want to be sat amongst the dogs. Please have a clearly displayed dog code that is enforced.

We booked this restaurant for a meet-up with friends due to its location, offering great views across the Solent. We all enjoyed a good lunch with friendly service, making the occasion one to remember.

Nice place loads of space. Food expensive for what it was. Serving staff were friendly and food came out quickly.

Still sat here waiting for them to return to take our next order, asked the lady who was collecting glasses and next thing I know, our bill arrives ….wow probably list out on £40 pud and drinks , owners must have too much profit rolling in

Stunning cauliflower steak, the taste was unbelievable. The presentation was outstanding, although this meal was £19 it was worth every penny.

Dear all! May I please say, and I rarely send emails to restaurants as I have done yours, but what a fantastic lunch all 4 of us had yesterday! I love food, good food that is, and to find somewhere local around Gosport and Lee on Solent which is as outstanding as we experienced yesterday in your restaurant was absolutely joyous! The way we were greeted at the door, to finding us a table because we arrived early, to the ambiance, warm, friendly and chilled atmosphere, and then the exquisite food, is a rarity these days, but you excelled in all areas. Your food is absolutely beautiful, delicious and stunning from start to finish. I applaud your chefs for the way they present and cook each dish! You can tell it in the way it tastes and in the way they respect whatever ingredients are placed in front of you be it animal or plant based! Thank you to you all for such a wonderful experience you gave us all yesterday, and we will be back very soon! Don’t read and believe the negative comments about this place, I can assure you, they’re completely wrong! Keep up the fantastic work in all that you do! 4 extremely happy customers who will be back very very soon 👍😋

Unsophisticated menu lacking flavours

I treated my wife & grand-daughter to breakfast Brilliant location with stunning coastal views. Lovely cafe/restaurant, well appointed, clean and welcoming, as were the staff - at first. We ordered cold drinks to and my grand-daughter & I ordered a cod & chips (£22 each) and my wife had a fish finger sandwich (£14) Not cheap but the view is worth half the money. Unfortunately the fish was not! It was very small, dry with an unpleasant after taste. The batter was stodgy and not crisp. Inedible! I just could not eat it and looking at my grand-daughter, saw that she was having the same problem and surrendered her knife and fork, pronouncing the meal inedible. I agreed and waiting for someone to come - but no one did. We waited for a long time until a waitress came sheepishly and asked if we had finished. I said that we had not started and explained why. Eventually the manager came over and said that she would not charge us for the poor food and offered this as a favour to us. I announced that she was not doing us a favour as I wouldn't be paying for the fish anyway. Net Result Fish finger sandwich & 3 cold drinks £30 and us having to find somewhere else to eat.

Great location with lovely views of the Solent. Food was good, six of us had quite a variety and everyone enjoyed their meal. We spend 3 hours there in the end as we were having such a nice time

Good food excellent service. Coming again. Any discount for second visit🤔😮🤩🤗👍?...!!!! Seriously thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Amazing. Great service and the salmon with accompaniments was out of this world.

We love it here and struggle to understand why 4.2 is the average. I give it 5* as the food is superb, always beautifully cooked. I often opt for fish of the day. But anything I’ve ever ordered has been lovely. We are comfortable, the ambience is great, and the staff look after us really well.

Nice spot on the seafront. Live music. Been a couple times can get busy, but no complaints.

A very pleasant welcome followed by great, friendly and efficient service. Meals perhaps a little expensive, but aligned to quality and quantity. My only slight reservation .... I missed the daily special board, that was not prominent! Otherwise I'd definitely have opted for the tempting and unusual fish dish on there. Oh well. Maybe next time!

Beautiful views and tasty food , lovely helpful staff

At the end of a good long stroll along the promenade with friends and dogs. Great to relax in this excellant dog friendly establishment,great food,choice and value for money.

Had a wonderful roast dinner, couple of weeks back with the family. The vegetables are sensational - expecially the cauliflower cheese! Staff are also Brilliant with the children and their meals are generous too.

Lovely spot right on beachfront. Lots of outdoor tables behind glass screens to protect from offshore winds. Sandwiches are huge!

Thank you so much to all the friendly, patient staff! Took my daughter here for her 18th birthday lunch with her grandparents, and service was friendly and kind. My dad suffers with dementia and everyone was patient and absolutely lovely while he made his food choices! Thank you also to the lovely waitress who took a group photo of us! One for the memory bank! Food was delicious too! Highly recommend! Thank you again ❤️

Food was very expensive and bang average. Probably wouldn’t eat here again.

Really great place. Nice views. Perfect place to go after parkrun on Saturdays.

My friend and i had brunch here a couple of days ago. The food was ok but a tad expensive, the service was good, the venue brilliant, but the breakfast/brunch menu was 'sparse' to say the least. We will not be returning.

On a sunny day there's probably no better place to eat. The location is stunning. Being so close to the water just makes you feel good. The food is always very good quality and cooked very well too. It's not the cheapest but then it's not going to be with a location like it has. As the property agents always say "location, location, location!"

What a lovely establishment. A real family- friendly bistro/bar/restaurant/cafe. There's a very comfy inside decorated tastefully. Formal tables with more informal sofas give a choice of experience. There's also a takeaway section outside which is covered, plus a terrace for outdoor dining & drinks. We only had tea & cake, so opted for a sofa. You'll meet friendly and helpful staff and enjoy good food. We looked at the menu and saw the food on offer - it's very good! Right next door to the kids' playground and right on the beach, On The Water is very, very good. We remember the previous incarnation on the same site which was poor, but this is poles apart. We'll deffo be back.

Very small selection for lunch and basic drinks. Good wasn't bad but service was slow. Pretty expensive as for lunch.

Lovely place to eat, clean, tidy and dog friendly. Would definitely recommend, the staff were friendly and chatty, we will be back

Dogs fighting and another pining and overpriced food such a pity as magnificent view and location.

Didn't have anything to eat on this occasion , stopped for a cuppa whilst on a walk along the sea front But very pleasant and will be visiting again

Great Sunday lunch with beautiful view.

Turned away because they didn't do toast and eggs for my daughter

A seriously great Sunday roast dinner

It's a really lovely place inside and the view is amazing but I have to say the coffee isn't good my opinion I know but tastes horrible

Good food, great service and beautiful sunsets!

Visited on a Wednesday evening with family, food was clearly freshly prepared and well worth the price. I had the Hake and Clams which was fantastic, other meals had by our party included the cheese and bacon burger, Scottish Salmon and the Lamb, all highly recommended. The 2 4 1 mains deal made it more affordable, but you would be paying a fair price without it considering the quality of the food and ingredients. Great experience all in all, best I have found in the Gosport/Lee/Stubbington area by far!

Nice place, nice food. Nothing extraordinary on the menu, but little details on the classics that make it worth it. Generous portions but not stupid. Satisfying!

We visited OTW on Friday and had a marvellous meal. Within our party we have 3 people with food allergens which was really well dealt with. The depth of choice of the seasonal menu was refreshing. I had the vegan choice ( despite being a non vegan) as it sounded so appealing. I was not disappointed. The fish of the day was fresh and tasty. The front of house team are friendly, helpful and really welcoming. I look forward to my next visit.

Stopped for a wonderful hot chocolate & a coffee with hubby. Sat out in the sunshine 🌞

Good location, Staff will not accommodate changes to the menu to facilitate dietary requirements.

We love visiting this place whenever we go for a stroll along the beach. Great food, service, and value.

Lovely place for weekend breakfast, fantastic and friendly staff.. loved the food and the place 😋 😍

Really lovely Sunday dinner and great service.

Friendly staff, great location, but poor tasting, expensive tea. Surely you could get better tea bags at that price?

Nice location but will not be coming back. It was very busy on Saturday morning but not enough staff to provide a good service. I even got mistaken for a staff member - an old man and his disabled wife were left waiting despite booking a table. The real tragedy was my breakfast - a fried egg on a piece of bread; with no butter, for upwards of £7.

Was visiting the area and found this place online. It was very good, we would definitely revisit and recommend based on the food and service we received.

Unfortunately we couldn't have a roast dinner as it was Easter and we hadn't booked, we decided to stay and ordered cauliflower and thyme soup with sourdough bread, which was delicious, followed by rhubarb and custard which we weren't expecting to come out as it did, and was absolutely amazing. Wonderful atmosphere and very friendly and efficient staff.