The Briny in Portsmouth

I called this morning to reserve a table for two, as we weren’t looking for a full meal, just coffee and desserts. However, I was spoken to very rudely and condescendingly by a female staff member, who told me that you don’t serve coffee in a tone that almost felt like she was mocking me. Her exact words were: “ we are not a coffee shop “ I ended the call, but I was left quite surprised by the response. It’s puzzling that your establishment, which offers both coffee and desserts, wouldn’t be seen as suitable for a casual meetup at 1 PM on a Sunday for those items?

Great place, lovely food and staff.

Fish Friday.....very good value fish and chips and a dessert 🍨.

Great meal with visitors from USA and Cambridgeshire. Food was excellent, particularly the catch of the day. Shout out to Milti for his cocktails which were much enjoyed by all. Overseas and up-country visitors were very impressed

Overall very good food and service. Booking advised.

Food was the best food I have ever eaten!! All the staff were super friendly and helpful, and they were all happy and looking like they were enjoying their job which was nice to see! They were also superb regarding catering for gluten free. 95% of the menu was either already gluten free or could be adapted, same for dairy free. I felt very confident in the staffs knowledge and safe eating the food. The atmosphere was calm and the decor was beautiful. Will definitely be back!

Excellent as always. Crab starter and Salmon main were both incredibly tasty; it’s such delicious food here you can’t fail with anything on the menu. Good choice of drinks and friendly service. Complete winning formula. Thanks

Gorgeous food, polite staff & lovely atmosphere 💗

Great breakfast/ brunch. Friendly helpful waiting staff. Definitely recommend.

Excellent atmosphere and staff. Food is a bit restricted and expensive but absolutely delicious.

Loving their eggs Benedict for brekkie and they are a one minute walk from our apartment, dangerous...

Sunday lunch with 2 fish eaters Lovely Brill and delicious salmon Wellington

A little gem. Spotless toilets, helpful staff, great coastal atmosphere.

Excellent food and service. Staff were fantastic. Highly recommended.

I mainly want to put a review to mention the lovely staff. We had a walk along the seafront, and came to The Briny and looked in the door . We were really looking for somewhere to get a warm drink after a chilly post Christmas walk, and didnt realise the Briny was a restaurant, rather than a cafe. However, as we were about to turn away, a staff member asked if we were looking for a table, and when I explained she made us feel very welcome and invited us in, saying we were very welcome to just get drinks. She found us a suitable table for our family, including a wheelchair user. All the staff were attentive and friendly, and as well as drinks, we had a couple of bowls of skin on fries with I think seaweed seasoning which were absolutely delicious. Would love to return for a meal one day, as the food all sounded wonderful.

Vegan breakfast was spectacular! The staff are very professional and attentive. An open kitchen is brilliant to see how hard the kitchen team are working! The cleanliness of the restaurant is 10/10. Food was fresh, fast and full of flavour. Hats off to all the staff putting in effort it really makes a difference 👏

We love the Briny! Food quality is always excellent. Service team are attentive but not overpowering and the interior decor and ambiance with the jazz saxophonist are spot on. Would recommend for lunch or dinner. My personal favourite are the small plates - lots of variety and as much or as little as you want by the plateful. Great for sharing.

Excellent ambience, food and service. Could not fault it. Good value for money considering the whole experience

Great place for a party, although a little pricey and a bit fishy, it’s worth a visit

Good food, great staff, cool atmosphere. Recommended.

I was in Portsmouth with my brother to see the historic dockyard (American history nerds) and we needed a good meal after a night spent drinking the bottle of tequila I brought from the states at our Air Bob (don’t judge- we hadn’t seen each in almost three years!). We shared the Full English Breakfast and smoked trout Benedict, a fresh squeezed orange juice and each had our own Bloody Mary. The food was delicious. I’m still deciding whether or not I like black pudding but my brother loves it and he was very pleased with it. Both bacon and sausage were good quality and the egg was perfect, which for me means well cooked but with a runny yolk. The beans and toast were beans and toast, aka just plain tasty. The smoked trout was mouth watering and the hollandaise sauce was rich and creamy with just the right amount of lemon, noticeable but not dominant. The orange juice was a burst of of tropical refreshment that surprised me with pithy notes and traces of essential oils(a bit of zest maybe?) and the Bloody Mary was fantastic, spicy with a garnish of lemon and cucumber that gave it a wonderful nose. The staff was friendly and attentive, and from their interactions with each other it seems to be a great place to work, which I always appreciate. The decor is simple and clean and I enjoyed the hanging plants throughout the restaurant. We went in December which must be the off season for Portsmouth so there was some kind of maintenance being done outside but that couldn’t touch the bliss we attained. The perfect meal for a slightly hungover Sunday with a loved one.

Southsea Briny is hands down one of the best seafood restaurants in Southsea! I’ve been there a couple of times, and it never fails to impress. My first visit was for a special occasion—my birthday celebration. My boyfriend, a regular at the restaurant, treated me, and it was truly memorable. I had the catch of the day, a beautifully pan-fried sea bream, and it was absolutely delicious. The presentation of the dishes was stunning—every plate felt like a work of art. I also tried the spicy margarita as a welcome drink, and it was fantastic—just the right kick to start the evening. The pickled cockles were another highlight—perfect for anyone who loves the tangy kick of vinaigrette paired with fresh seafood. My starter, the octopus carpaccio, was simply out of this world—delicate, flavorful, and perfectly prepared. For dessert, I indulged in their panna cotta, which was out of this world. It was creamy, smooth, and a perfect palette cleanser to end the meal on a high note. Highly recommended for a seafood lover.

I don't eat seafood, others in my part did and enjoyed it. My steak was alright, just a bit tough. Atmosphere was fine. There was a bit of construction going on next door.

Always great service and food is really nice too

Came for cocktails at the bar and enjoyed them

Great place to eat, fantastic food and great service

What a lovely place. Really great food and lovely service. A real gem... we'll definitely be back

I've visited The Briny many times since it opened and have always been very impressed with the food and staff. Whenever Ive asked for a wine recommendation its always been spot on

Great food great, great place, we loved it!

Great location.. food was good and staff were very helpful

We’re in October (2024) now and the south coast of England is in its transition phase from glorious coastal walks in shorts to wrapped up in warmer clothes and boots to watch the ever changing sea. So what better place to grab a bite to eat than The Briny. The staff are always welcoming, the food is never less than superb and the overall experience will leave with smiles and memories in abundance. Our meal was an anniversary lunch and was a wonderful leisurely affair. Never rushed by the very attentive staff and we felt very well looked after. A walk back to the train station later in the afternoon via the sea front and the wonderful views kept us from feeling too full. Although I will admit to falling asleep on the sofa once I’d got home. I truly recommend you try this place at any time of year. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m all the way from Miami, Florida and love seafood. This might be one of my all-time favorite experiences. Exceptional flavors. Fantastic service and beautiful atmosphere. Casual and refined.

I recently dined at The Briny, and unfortunately, my experience was far from pleasant. The service was incredibly slow, with long waits between ordering and receiving our food. It felt like the staff was either understaffed or disorganized, leaving us waiting far too long for even basic requests. Additionally, I found the prices to be unreasonably high for what was offered. The quality of the food did not justify the steep prices, making the overall experience feel like poor value for money. I expected much more, and unfortunately, I left disappointed. I hope you can address these issues to improve the experience for future customers.

Great spot for a bit of lunch. Interesting menu, nice wine and great service

We both had breakfast this month. Avocado on sourdough. Unlike anywhere else, we paid extea for the poached egg on top. Soughdough was a bullet like a crouton. Avocado mostly not smashed but in lumps. . To protect our teeth we asked for it to be changed. During the wait offered a coffee which i accepted. Waiter (male, he, him) kept staring / smirking at my wife which is creepy. A theme emerging here !! We ete the replaced version and One of my Egg was hardboiled. I asked for bill and was surprised that we were charged for the extra coffee. Bill for this was £33. Oh and we paid £2 for parking! £35. Rather now go to morrisons and save £30. Dire experience

Absolutely amazing. Went last night with my other half & thoroughly enjoyed everything from the food, to the service, to the atmosphere. We had cockles, oysters & fish of the day which was plaice. Then we sat outside & had a drink. Definitely recommend & will definitely be back

Fantastic seafood with a really nice casual atmosphere. The staff were really welcoming and friendly throughout our meal. I would definitely recommend 🙂

Very nice food just by the sea side in Portsmouth, staff could do with a little bit more training though. 👍

Waitor kept staring at my wife to be made her feel uncomfortable

Excellent place to visit for dinner, live background music, great food and nice location

Service was poor. Slow. Had to ask for the menus. Then wait another 10 mins to order drinks and we had to order food (breakfast) with a different person which was another 15 mins. Then took over half a hour to get scrambled egg on toast. Food was ok. Under cooked. Then had to go in and find someone to pay at the end as no staff were to be seen. £24 for egg on toast, sausage bap and 2 coffees. So not cheap either. So much potential given its location.

Wonderful place to eat any time of the day. It was so nice we went back every day whilst we were staying locally.

Lovely staff, great ambience, stunning location, wish i had a bigger tummy so i could have eaten more! 😋

An absolutely top notch seafood restaurant, Food prices I thought were quite reasonable too. Thank you!

For great food out on Portsmouth seaside, really enjoyed the fish

Great place. Lovely food, friendly staff. Highly recommended.

After reading all the great reviews, we decided to eat there while visiting Portsmouth. It was not a good choice! Place is rather small, some tables in the middle with comfy chairs-all booked apparently (on a Monday afternoon 👀) so we were seated at the side part on hard chairs with a draft 🥶 Waiters are teenagers, not sure about the dishes when questions asked. Food was rather avarage, fish & chips easily forgetable. Other dish was trout, garnish was not my favourite but fish itself was OK. Warm potato salad was nice. Drinks!!! I ordered a glass of tomato juice 🍅🍷 For £ 3.5 ‼️⁉️ I received some tasteless red liquid with lumps in it!!!!! Tasted and felt like they dissolved some tomato puree in water. No salt, no flavour! Absolutely ridiculous!!! For 3.5 ⁉️ Never in my whole life had such a horrid drink. I simply couldn't drink it!!! After this unsatisfying dinner, we headed to an Italian restaurant nearby - for desert 🍧🍧 (as a compensation) but ended up ordering a pizza too 🍕🍕🍕 (shared one) as we still remain hungry!!!

really nice setting and the food was ridiculously good. I advice the banana cheesecake to try! (i gave 4stars just because the price was a tat too expensive)

Nice seafood and atmosphere, especially for family. Would definitely recommend it.

The Briny is a restaurant that deserves 5-stars and was my best meal in Portsmouth. You will find fresh ingredients, beautiful cooking technique, and an excellent understanding of flavors. I loved every dish you the point that we probably over-ordered. We got the Native Octopus Carpaccio Salad, Cured Romsey Trout, Kentucky Fried Trout, Fish & Chips, and Poached Cod. Everything was just so good. For dessert, we had the Yoghurt Panna Cotta and the Banana Cheesecake. I would highly recommend The Briny to anybody who loved seafood and great food.

Excellent service, great location, Food was awesome

My family and I went for dinner and i was surprised by the food and the service! We got fish and chips that didn’t have any taste what so ever the fries were very cold too. Usually when dining in a restaurant as such, there is supposed to be at least a check back when the food arrives, but we didn’t get anything. I don’t know if it was the fact that they knew the food was bad or that they didn’t want to serve us well.

A good selection of dishes for every taste. Delicious coffee. Poached cod was very strange and the price didn't match the quality. Ordered steak medium rare, was not the same thickness. So most of it was roasted until done.

Great food and very good, relaxed, service

Lovely food. Will visit again when next in the area. Really enjoyed the fish meals.

Really disappointing. The fish was well cooked and interesting but the other dishes were not as advertised and wholly uninspiring. The battered samphire was ambitious but not intelligent; it's so delicate you need a simple tempura but this was an over fried armour. The salt gel was an appalling mistake as the samphire's salty pop was lost. The truffle gnocchi was truffle oil deep-fried mash, so a greasy duchess potato. The roasted corn..... Boiled and slathered in mayo with roasted giant corn, cold, sprinkled over. Just no. How difficult is it to roast a corn cob? Factory prepped fries underwhelming. Nice location, marred by the hoardings masking the sea front, not their fault. Staff lovely. A place where middle aged people go for their safe date night.

Friendly staff and great service. It’s very close to the landmarks in Portsmouth. One of the finest experiences I had in town.

Perhaps the best fish restaurant in Portsmouth. A welcoming and friendly service, and happy to help make Birthdays special 🎉. Thank you 👏🏻. As usual, a creative and interesting seafood menu options with other options. The new menu is, somehow "awkward" and appears initially "uninspiring", but it is worth asking what each dish is and checking the Fish of the Day. Grellots (typo)? Seriously! Or shallots or actually grelots onions? Great to see trout on the menu, but "Kentucky Fried Trout"? This = KFC style (battered/ breaded) trout. Sounds great, but you need to ask! The Seafood Bar is a great option and oysters are a great British product (even if they actually come from Ireland rather than Kent). But Crevettes, served with bread. Really! 4 large prawns, bread and butter - am I supposed to make a sandwich 🥪? A little disappointing, when perhaps some patatas bravas could make it more interesting. There are some exciting ideas, albeit requiring some improvement to hit ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and match the price £££££. The Briny disappoints with a policy of "no vegetables" with the Main Course. The fish Cod and Plaice, were genuinely excellent, but the "sides" available don't really complement the excellent fish; no pommes dauphines, no asparagus, no spinach - just skinny fries or tomato salad. The native octopus carpaccio 🐙 was excellent, but if you expect 'carpaccio' to be thinly sliced, be prepared to be surprised. But delicious 😋. The Banana Cheesecake was not a cheesecake 🧀, but more 'ice-cream' with a banana brûlée, on a base of wafer thin chocolate. Excellent banana brûlée 🍌, and the basis of a great idea, but not what was expected! The hard decor and large open space makes for a noisy environment, especially when it's busy, and at times it can be very loud and very hard to hear and converse 👎🏻.

Truly delicious food and a lovely atmosphere provided by the staff, even on a Tuesday. We sat at the Chef’s Table which was fascinating and the chef and his team were lovely. Excellent quality dining experience without the snobbery (poached cod and burrata pictured)

Good food but I had to wait more than an hour just to get my fried mackerel 😅

Hadn't been here for a couple of years and with a gift voucher from friends had a chance to revisit, and so pleased I did. It was a *very* good evening with albeit not a big menu excellent seafood and cocktails for a celebratory night. It's graduation week and I think that might be why it was full on a Monday night and service was slightly slower than I'd have liked, but the food was first rate, staff very friendly and being full had a great atmosphere. Starters and small plates just fab. Going to cost me a lot of money as I'll have to go back on my own dime now!

My husband and I shared our 7th wedding anniversary on Saturday evening at the Briny. I had forgotten I'd booked the Chefs table.. what a delightful experience we had. The chefs were very friendly and informative. Young chef, Oran surprised us with a few delicious tasty seafood snacks and great friendly banter,. The waiting and bar staff we really attentive and friendly... great busy atmosphere..will be back again soon, hope the sea defence scaffolding will be down by then.. x Thanks Clementina and Brendan

I went for the first time with my parents' last night. The food was very good, if perhaps a little overpriced, but unfortunately the service was very slow. We had 'nibbles' in place of starters: taramasalata and the beer battered samphire, which were both delicious. But then we had a 40 minute wait for our main courses, which was three of the 'large plates' and a side of potato salad. I had the Poached Cod, which was really tasty, although one of the dressings was a bit too oily. Then they started taking our plates but it took 15 minutes until they had taken them all and brought us menus, and then we had another 30 minute wait for the desserts. I think the food was good enough for me to want to go again, I'd just hope that they were so slow because of a busy night and that this isn't their normal service level.

Great service and the sea inspired cocktails are fabulous! The food was good too. It will be great to see what it looks like when the renovations are finished

Great fish restaurant. Every year we visit Southsea/ portsmouth we make sure to visit. Even simple menu items are cooked creatively and deliciously. Well worth a visit.

The food was delicious, the staff were friendly and the atmosphere was fantastic. My son has an egg allergy, and they were great with catering for him. Would definitely recommend and can't wait to come back.

Thank you for looking out for people leaving your premises. I did make a complete and utter one of them myself.. made home okay but it was nice having the staff, that have that little extra.

We always love this restaurant!Very fresh and delicious food!very nice friendly staff!My birthday was perfect!thank you

Nice lunch of Fish & Chips. Well cooked. Nicely presented.

A really nice place not just good food lovey atmosphere Food was a really good plus £100 spent for a good evening Out don't think about it . 100% recommend

Bland food, boring limited menu and overpriced. Very forgettable experience. Menu was very limited, uninspiring and over priced. Food was very bland. Small portions - you must order sides if you have any hope of a) experiencing different flavours and b) want to be satiated. 1 x lager on draft. Really noisy with no atmosphere. I believe there was music playing but couldn’t hear it. Entire restaurant surrounded by barriers and fences so looks like a DMZ - this is however NOT the restaurants fault but does mean there isn’t ANY view currently - this should resolve over the coming months once the seawall work completes. Quick service. Staff were attentive and very friendly. Arrived early and were seated early. Had 1 x drink each, ate our mains and left promptly. Didn’t finish my drink as we just wanted to leave. I am definitely in the minority as it seems very popular, but I came away thinking this restaurant was a waste of a premium location.

Great place to visit in Portsmouth

We were visiting Portsmouth and decided to give Briny a visit. The reviews were so good that I think they gave me overly high expectations. The atmosphere was very pleasant, interior highly tasteful and staff very welcoming but something in the combination of prices, quality of the produce and the food preparation process itself didn't match up. I was left with the feeling that the restaurant pays more attention to the presentation of the dishes than their actual quality and flavour. At the arrival we were greeted by a lovely welcome from the staff and were sitted at a bit excluded area, which would have been fine if we had a good view. Instead, all we could see was the panels of the construction works going on at the seaside. Originally we wanted to order the seafood platter but once we couldn't find it in the menu the staff explained that it needs to be ordered 48 hours before (not completely sure if it was 24 or 48 hours). This was a disappointment. I probably should have researched it more, but I think that's a bit too much for a restaurant located at a seaside. We ended up having deep fried samphire and green olives with pickled herring for starters and the catch of the day, which was red mullet for mains along with fish cake, kentucky fried trout and ceasar salad, with some chips. The wait felt very long. After the starters, we probably had to wait at least 40-50 minutes for the mains to arrive. The portions were small for the prices, which would have been fine if it would match the quality and taste of the dishes. Deep fried semphire had very promising look but the coating made the flavour of semphire disappear, and although the zesty gel that came with it was a good idea it tasted of corn startch (or a similar thickening agent) and just needed better execution. The green olives with pickled herring literally only had two small bits of herring in it. The sour dough croutons were very nice, though. The fishcake was alright, nothing special, a bit too much potatoes in it maybe. The kentucky fried trout was dry, and the bed of salad under it was just boring. The red mullet was probably the best dish we had. Loved the salad on the side, I did find the fish dry, but I'm not sure if it could have been executed better, providing it is a flat fish with not much meat to it. The Caesar salad was lovely. The wet facilities were clean but very restricted in space. There were only two unisex toilet cubicles, and if you are using the washing basin, you have to squeeze to the side to let someone coming out of the cubices pass by. Overall, it's not a bad place, but for me personally, I wouldn't like to visit it again.

Really loved this beautiful seafood restaurant. Great service and food excellent 👌

Lovely staff With smiles so shiny! Delicious seafood - All, At The Briny!

Nice and friendly. The food was good but not amazing. Service was charming.

I had the most wonderful meal today cooked by Tom, Lee! Such a great experience from service too. Great recommendation on the catch of the day Pan Seared Sea Bream. Lush!!10/10 keep up the great work team xx

A lovely restaurant right by the seafront, with a pleasant atmosphere and generally tasty food. The service was good, but nothing particularly out of the ordinary. The price was similar to other restaurants in the area. If you go now, the view of the waterfront is completely blocked by construction fences, which was a real shame during our visit. The restaurant is also capable of meeting dietary requirements. Although we did enjoy the food, the portion sizes were very small and they messed up our order slightly. Plenty of fish options were available. Overall though, we enjoyed our time here and would recommend.

Superb place with friendly staff, great atmosphere and amazing food.

Called in on the D Day 80th for lunch, not busy and a lot of empty tables. 5 fish and chips ordered, what turned up was 5 cold children's portions. If your after fish and chip don't both.

First visit and we will definitely be back! Fabulous food, lovely staff, thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

Great food, great service and beautiful location right on the seafront. We have lobster with very generous portion of meat, and a fish & chips, thoroughly enjoyed them.

In my work I cover 30-50 Restaurants / hotels / pubs each week. The Briny is excellent for food. Cannott fault the way the Octopus legs were cooked as a special starter. Large pot of mussels. Some lovely vibrant orange colour. However some were pure white over cooked. The Special Trout supreme was very good. Also put all sides in separate bowls . Not to over power the Trout. Our waitress Sue was polite friendly and very helpful. Some places I go to need staff like sue. I found the ordering of food. Strange ? As four staff taking drink orders . Bringing out food & drinks. However only one member of staff taking food orders. As allergy trained. To ask & advise I guess. Yet this caused a delay & a list . Of who gets food. Caused a wait for some. Not good at all. The toilets are unisex. My fiancee went to use the facilities to come out next to a man washing his hands in a very small area. Concerning. Other places I visit have unisex toilets. However there is no main door . As other places have a open room for sinks etc. As it could be easy for someone to be kept in. If someone blocked thd only way in. Fiancee not comfortable at all coming outto a man washi g his hands. As only one hand dryer. Also only two toilets so confined space. Not good at all. Overall I would say OK. But expected better. The food fantastic & waitress Sue very nice.

Really nice spot on the seafront. The fish of the day was excellent. Very good service and kind staff. 100% recommended

Great food and a great atmosphere for Sunday lunch. Fish and chips were delicious.

Dropped in after longer seaside walk on Sunday morning. Staff was very accommodating despite no booking and place full. Very busy atmosphere, it looked like place is favourite choice of local families for Sunday brunch - lot of children of various age, well behaved though. Nice and warm atmosphere, likely very romantic view in the evenings. Smoked salmon from the menu was good choice and made up to my taste. Most important for me was - they had good macchiato. Coming back when in the Portsmouth and recommended place to friends already.

Modern restaurant with lovely food, great staff and no rush.

The food was great, the staff were awesome.

Brilliant sea facing fresh fish restaurant- view currently obscured by sea defence works - but the food drink and service makes up for it. Great place 👌

Consistently serves excellent breakfast. Coffee could be better but made up by the smoked haddock omelette

GREAT selection of food and drink lovely scampi and fries 🍟

We had a lovely lunch here. Beautiful looking restaurant. Friendly attentive staff. The food was just stunning, would highly recommend the tempura oyster and the battered samphire with vinegar gel. Small point deducted as we ordered Kentucky fried trout and we were given salmon, it was still delicious but if there was no trout available, then transparency would have been appreciated. That said, I would highly recommend and when the food/service is this good a small mistake is not as consequential 🤍

Lovely restaurant. Heavenly food

Wonderful! Loved the food, the atmosphere, the service. Jazz band was a bit loud but apart from that, all perfect!

It's our go to place if we fancy fresh and delicious fish - they never fail on quality or flavour - highly recommend

The Briny was absolutely brilliant. We had a table of 21 and loved their food. The staff were just amazing, super attentive and polite. Couldn't recommend this place enough.

Super seafood restaurant. Fresh produce, good prices, and friendly atmosphere

A little pricey but delicious fish. We tried trout and fish and chips and it was amazing.

It was a Monday night and a little quiet but the waitress was friendly, there was a good choice of food and I'd probably go back to try a few more things on the menu, including the KFC trout!

Delicious dishes with a focus on seafood.