36 on the Quay - Portsmouth

Superb lunch today. Top quality cuisine and service Atmosphere was relaxed and informal and welcoming

We were looking forward to our visit to this restaurant despite the mixed reviews on Tripadvisor it seemed like Marmite, you either liked it or hated it. Unfortunately, we hate Marmite! This restaurant is living on past glory, and in our opinion does not warrant 3 AA rosettes let alone a mention in the Michelin Guide. Our table had the tasting menu, which whilst reasonably priced for the number of courses, lacked flavour and was poorly executed. The menu reads well on paper but somehow fails to deliver. There was a lack of consistency in the cooking eg my cod was well cooked but my friend’s was undercooked. The meat courses just consisted of a small piece of meat no quibbles on the size since it is a tasting menu) with a smear of sauce which lacked flavour. There were no differing textures or flavour combinations. Meat that was generally described as barbecued, Tandori, etc but just lacked any oomph. It had been cooked sous vide but tasted just that something that had been cooked in a water bath with no added flavour. There’s a difference between something being delicately flavoured and no flavour! Also, the food was not particularly hot. The service was friendly but not very professional. We noticed that where a table was having the wine flight, the restaurant manager was carrying 4 glasses of wine at a time 2 in each hand) and putting them down without much explanation shouldn’t you bring the bottle to the table, show the guests the bottle and then pour the wine? The restaurant was absolutely packed it didn’t feel like fine dining, especially with the loud background pop music. The pacing of the meal was poor. They say in advance to allow 3 hours which is fair enough but in the end our taxi was waiting outside whilst we rushed to finish our meal we ran out of time to have coffee! The pacing seemed to start off ok and the first 3 courses including the canapés) came in reasonably quick succession but then the timing changed, with long gaps between courses. There were a few other tables having the tasting menu, some of whom arrived after we did. It’s like the chef tries to play catch up so that ultimately you all end up having the same course at the same time ie a table that arrives at 7.15pm finishes the same time as a table that arrives at say 8pm. Overall, it was an awful experience which we won’t repeat and our advice would be to “avoid”.

What a beautiful experience, we came for lunch on my birthday, with very little notice, and it absolutely made my day! Food was amazing, with lots of unexpected delicious surprises along the way. But the service was second to none, the staff went out of their way to ensure we had a truly memorable meal. Certainly better than a few michelin starred establishments we’ve visited! Thank you so much for a truly wonderful meal, and we wish you all the success that you deserve

Another excellent dinner at 36 on the Quay. We had the tasting menu which was superb it was very well balanced and beautifully executed with some delicious and unusual flavours. As usual, the service was very friendly and professional. I really don’t understand why this restaurant does not have a Michelin star far better than one we dined at recently out of area).

Absolutely some of the best food we have ever eaten lovely flavours and beautifully presented Staff were very professional but friendly excellent service from them all , Lovely atmosphere too will definitely be back