Tastiest fish and chips I've ever had. Second visit there and it was perfect. A lot of places sell themselves as a Gastropub, but "The Flo" truly deliver. Fantastic chef looked after us after disaster dinner elsewhere in Southsea the first time. The chef and staff again delivered a great meal. Cannot recommend this place enough.
Lovely homely food, very warm welcome and great service by relaxed and friendly staff. Highly recommend this little hideaway pub, nice atmosphere and even nicer hand products in the ladies �
It's the first time Iv been in this outstanding pub and my god Iv been missing out . We came in for my fiancés bday meal with him n his family , we all had starters , mains and deserts and from start to finish the staff and the food made our night outstanding . To every lil detail the staff was so professional and seeing to our every need . The food was out of this world and this is by far my new favourite place to eat .
We were working away and our hotel recommended we pop round, I've eaten in some places but the food here was outstanding.
The lads on the bar Joe, Dan and Dom were very helpful making the odd cocktails I was requesting.
Would strongly recommend well worth a visit thanks lads.
100% recommend.good beer/food and staff on the ball.
Our 2nd visit and was a real pleasurable experience, I would happily recommend this GastroPub to any and all of my friends.....great food, great service, great attentive staff, a real high quality experience was had by all......many thanks
Fantastic!!! Took in laws, children and our dog. Pre booked a table. Not too long a wait for food, service exemplary, food delicious! Really looked after us well. Definitely recommend
Joanne Ward Nee Pickstock
+5
Excellent 'Dog Friendly' Gastro-pub! Can thoroughly recommend the Hake and found a very nice 'alcohol free' hoppy ale...! Will be back! Thank you xx
Fantastic evening staff were great food was excellent and music spot on will most definitely visit again ��
The best pub and pub grub on Southsea.
Challenging to be the best a la cattle restaurant.
It's not the first time we have been here, but this certainly will not be the last! We have always enjoyed the food here and found the service to be superb, having returned after a recent refurbishment and menu change, we can confirm everything somehow has improved on what was already excellent.
The new interior is warm and super inviting. We all had starters and mains. Here is a selection of some of them.
What I didn't get a picture of is the steak my wife and mum had. This was one of the finest pieces of steak I've ever tasted and cooked to perfection!
This all made sense as whilst we were eating a local butcher delivery arrived and the owner confirmed they are using locally sourced meat and produce.
Get yourself along and try this place out.
Dropped in on our way back to the front having been walking around the Southsea food festival, not knowing what to expect. Got very tasty food, good prices and good quantities of it. A nice surprise and very friendly and thoughtful staff. Family of four very well fed for £60, the standard was high, the kids were happy and the afternoon was saved. Will go back again.
Only the BEST gastropubs welcome dogs in the bar & the Florence Arms did not disappoint 🎉 plus they served an outstanding midweek lunch to 3 of us (plus Jack Russell Mikey 🐶) for my birthday last week. We had a lovely bottle of Prosecco; plus delicious starters & mains; with sadly no room for desserts but they sounded wonderful. Everything tasted superb; including….the amazing bang bang cauliflower was to die for; a wild mushroom starter in a creamy sauce 😋 ; a fresh generous portion of fish & chips; a fillet steak which was cooked to perfection; delightful crispy pork belly. We’d all happily repeat the experience. Charming barman-waiter who saw to our needs and made my birthday special. Also compliments to the chef/s as the cooking was all 5 🌟
Pleasant pub with a good drinks selection. Quite quiet location but seemingly no outside area which would have been nice! Prices not too bad, staff fairly friendly.
Amazing food, really attentive staff. Plenty of options for vegans and vegetarians. Decent portion sizes and good value for money.
We didn't eat here, but intend to on our next visit. A lovely pub, beautifully decorated, lovely setting & fab staff.
A great asset being just feet away from our accommodation. Loved it ❤
Popped in for a bite to eat whilst visiting Southsea beach. Staff very friendly and approachable. It's recently been done up, decor beautiful!! Very calming and seats were comfortable. At first glance thought it quite expensive for the meals but to be fair the food was absolutely delicious! Well worth the money charged and plenty on the plates. Highly recommend, hidden gem a minute walk from seafront!
Lovely pub, great food, good atmosphere. We went there for our anniversary on a whim... because we'd forgotten it was our anniversary ! We were not disappointed. Lovely grub in a nice... hmm... I guess the decor is a colonial style? Either way... loved it ! We will definitely go again.
Lovely little hidden gem. Started with a gin & tonic, then had an amazing steak.
The place has just been decorated, and still smelled of paint, but that didn't bother us... was very clean. Staff were super friendly too.
This is a dog-friendly pub, so whilst there were just the 2 of us on this occasion, we will definitely be back with our favourite child!
31/5/23 update: I'm very happy to report that The Florence is still serving excellent food and drink 😀. We had three small plates (calamari, fish goujons and cauliflower wings w/ sriracha) and the twelve hour pork belly. The small plates were decent portions and nicely done, too. The pork belly was lovely, with melt-in-the-mouth fat and sautéed new potatoes with rosemary. Mmmm.
1st review (2018);
As one of only a handful of dog-friendly pubs in Portsmouth/Southsea, we'd have been happy just to have a drink out of the rain the first time we went, but it turns out that this place does really good food as well. The staff are friendly and helpful. Dogs are only allowed in the bar area, not the restaurant, but there's plenty of space in there. [Update: I've been back a few times since this review, and it's always been good. Planning to go back soon.]
![5]( "Recensione")
Update - April 2023
The Florence has become my second home pretty much. The menu keeps getting better and better, it changes every couple of months adding new and different options whist keeping the classic options. More and more options are Gluten free which is amazing. You can't beat the burger, its one of the best I've tried.
Still a great range of drinks, not just alcoholic as there are many tea and coffee options including dairy free lattes too.
Staff are all awesome, service is second to non. My go to place for a drink, snack, meal, burger or. Sunday roast
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Original review
I really like The Florence, the food is really great here, even better with the new menu as there are a lot more Gluten free options and some great vegan options too!
Oh and the best thing is they have a separate chip fryer now! Gluten free chips!! I'm easily pleased lol
There is a good drinks selection too, with more being added each time I go in. Plenty of Spiced rum for me to choose from
I've used The Florence for a few work meetings too, it's a good place to go for the more casual meetings with clients.
Always clean and the staff are awesome and always nice. It's a really great place to come, I can't recommend it more
Great atmosphere in this tucked away pub. All staff were very friendly and helpful, they were happy to check ingredients with the kitchen staff for us. Plenty of choice for vegan/gluten free. Have already recommended to a friend and looking forward to returning.
Good choice for excellent service and good pub food. Dropped in for an impromptu lunch on day trip to the coast. Had lunch for 6 and everyone enjoyed it. Adjusted the menu to deal with some fussy little people - so all good. Would recommend.
Food was superb. Lovely little Gastro pub. Service was excellent, and really couldn't find fault. The mushroom starter was lovely, and my Wagyu burger was cooked perfectly. Full marks all round. Large party of us and no complaints from anyone, just happy smiley faces.
Great staff. Seem very friendly. Fresh well cooked food and lovely drinks. Would eat here again
Wow, what a fantastic pub. From our arrival to when we left the staff could not have been more friendly and professional. Our friend from North Carolina USA had asked us to find a pub with a traditional Sunday lunch and the Florence Arms surpassed her wildrest dreams. The food was well presented and absolutely delicious. 10 out of 10
Had possibly one of the best fillet steaks ever last night, gave it 11 out of 10, overall with 3 courses I would score 10 out of 10
Booked for Mothering Sunday for 4 of us and was so pleased to have been recommended the Florence Arms (hadn't been before).
We enjoyed a drink in the bar before going through to the restaurant and it was nice to be able to start the tab straight away.
We ordered a varied selections of mains: roast beef with all the trimmings, mushroom and chicken linguine and also a Mercer Sea Board. All of the meals were of a generous portion size and cooked perfectly.
Puddings were just the right size to fit in after a filling main.
The service was brilliant from start to finish by a team of great waiters/waitresses.
Would highly recommend and would also advise booking.
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