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UPDATE – The Kitsch ‘n d’or is now permanently closed.
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I’ve finally visited Kitsch ‘n d’or the French restaurant in Southsea, Portsmouth for the very first time. I’m not sure how long it’s been there but it’s been a while and I think I will return! We went as a family as it was my husband’s Aunt’s 80th birthday meal, she was treating us which was extremely kind of her. The restaurant doesn’t look much from outside but inside it’s quite quaint and rustic and has a charm about it, you would think you were actually in France. Empty wine bottles used as candle holders in the middle of the unvarnished table with (now) cold wax running down the side and thus sticking it to the table. On the walls are old French black & white photographs of shops displaying their wares and empty old cans of food. The place soon filled up with young and old and it got quite noisy in there and you had to almost shout – a little like another Southsea restaurant I love and haven’t been to for quite some time which is Becketts – it was a lovely atmosphere though.
The prices were a little steep but worked out cheaper if you had 3 courses, so of course, that’s what I had. For example my starter was around £8.50 and the main was £18 but 3 courses was £25.50. I went for three large scallops – with the roe – served with small cubed chorizo pieces and a sauce – which I can’t think of what it was! I’m afraid sometimes I just cannot sit there and write things down as it looks a little rude. You’ll have to take my word that whatever it was was very nice, although I think 3 scallops was a little too much.
The pork fillet really was nice, no fat or gristle, nicely cooked and the knife cut through it easily. On top was a crust of herbs and it was served with truffle dauphinoise potatoes – you could really taste the earthy taste of the truffle – and a wonderful jus made with Calvados which was truly divine. A little cabbage on the side and a thick cooked apple slice, I could have done with a little more vegetables myself. It was certainly very tasty though and I suppose it did make sure that you had room for a dessert.
There were about six desserts to choose from and quite frankly I found it hard to choose as I liked them all. Crème brûlée, raspberry clafoutis and an Eton mess being among them, but I plumped for the chocolate fondant. This was very nice and fresh, fairly small but with lots of chocolate spilling out onto the plate which was also drizzled with white and dark chocolate. What would have been a nice idea would be a plate of desserts like the one I had at La Petite Fontaine – see our review here.
The only downfall I found was that the only wine by the glass was the house wine. Not everyone was drinking wine on our table or else some wanted red and others white so I didn’t bother looking to see what other wine choices they had for a future visit. It would have been nice to have had two or three different wines of white/rosé/red to choose from by the glass. But of course, this minor thing didn’t spoil the evening at all, which was very enjoyable with great company. I no doubt will return and order a whole bottle – to share with someone of course.
Living life, loving cake,
A x
[…] complex back in the day. It was then converted into Scotts Bar, followed by a restaurant called Kitsch N D’or which we reviewed back in 2012 and you may well […]