Recommended Eats - Abarbistro in Old Portsmouth
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00:00 Yes, so my name is Stephen Martin, I'm the director of A Bar Bistro Ltd.
00:06 You could say that I was second generation, my mother and father-in-law started the business
00:10 20 years ago, so we're still going strong 20 years later.
00:15 We're based in Old Portsmouth, right opposite the Isle of Wight car ferry and also the lovely
00:22 new and revitalised fish, which is Portsmouth's fantastic seafood retailer.
00:30 So A Bar Bistro has been within the family for 20 years.
00:34 During that time we have expanded with my brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Lucy Branson.
00:40 They own the canteen over in Old Portsmouth and also the tentpole tea rooms down on the
00:47 Eastern Parade and we've also introduced the Briny Seafood Restaurant back in 2019, that
00:54 was the latest introduction to the family businesses and my wife said no more for the
00:59 time being.
01:00 So we're here in A Bar Bistro in Old Portsmouth and it's what I would call a really casual
01:09 bistro or gastropub experience.
01:13 I feel like we do cater for lots of different budgets as well as lots of different types
01:20 of people.
01:21 We're really relaxed, you can come in just to have a drink and a bar snack from our bar
01:26 snacks menu or you can come in and have a full-blown three-course fantastic evening
01:31 dinner.
01:32 We've also introduced in 2021 a wood-fired pizza oven, which has gone down a storm over
01:39 the last couple of years, I think it was just introducing something fresh and new to the
01:44 bistro and I think it's been really well received and it's just added something extra.
01:53 We are a massive believer in all things wine, we have a fantastic relationship with wineries
02:00 across the globe.
02:02 Lots that we've visited first-hand and our supplier, Butano Wines, who we've been with
02:07 now for over 20 years, from my mother and father in those days back at Rosie's Vineyard,
02:15 which was a staple in South Sea in the 90s.
02:18 So yeah, we have a fantastic wine shop upstairs and we also do a little bit of local wholesale
02:25 to some local restaurants and also keeping the Navy happy when they're docking their
02:30 ships and need to stock up for deployment, which is great because you've had a chance
02:35 to do tastings on the carriers as well, which has been fantastic.
02:40 We have a real diverse menu and you can come in for small bites like bar snacks and just
02:45 sit at our bar and have a glass of wine or a beer and then you can also come in for like
02:51 three-course full-on evening meal.
02:54 I think one of the most popular dishes that did come off last year for a little time and
02:58 the locals said that they wanted it back was Adam Maker, our head chef, who joined us in
03:04 2020, was the creator of this dish, which is a take on a classic ham, egg and chips,
03:12 which is the slow-cooked ham hock and then he does a three and a half hour water bath
03:17 duck egg to go with it, some fat chips and some cured pineapple, which is just a classic
03:24 take on it.
03:25 So that's gone really well and is always a favourite.
03:28 We have our classics, fish and chips, our classic burger and things like that, but then
03:33 a lot of people come in for those top or end dishes, the duck, the steaks, scallop starters,
03:41 that sort of thing.
03:42 So yeah, there's a pretty broad variety, but one dish there that we can't sort of lose
03:48 off the menu.
03:49 Excellent.
03:50 And so finally, on the last question, what are customers expecting to see for the rest
03:56 of the year in regards to this year, 2024?
04:00 I think 2024 is a really interesting year.
04:03 Obviously, hospitality has faced a lot in the last few years, but I think it's all about
04:10 being positive and moving forward into a new year.
04:14 And I see the fact that people are looking for more of an experience now these days and
04:21 we're trying to do as many event-led evenings and lunches as possible.
04:28 That's having a wine element to it or having a speaker.
04:31 We did once do an evening with the butcher, so you might come in and talk and then also
04:38 butcher a whole lamb, for example.
04:41 So it's introducing experiences with your meal that you're going to have.
04:47 And in the summer months, we're going to be doing a lot more on sparkling wine and having
04:51 winemakers in.
04:53 So I think it's all about engaging with customers, not just coming in for your standard meals.
05:00 They want more.
05:01 And I think those are the type of things we're really going to strive towards in 2024.
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