Much-loved Southsea pub wins Good Food Award for its smoked food

The King Street Tavern in Southsea has received a Good Food Award for its smoked food. 

It is one of only four restaurants in the Portsmouth area to have won the accolade.

Described as the ‘blue ribbon for delicious dishes’, the awards highlight the best places to eat around the UK, from fish and chip shops to fine dining.

They are annual awards that have been running since 2002.

The pub was voted for by customers.

Head chef Dan Gates said he was very happy to have received the accolade.

He said: ‘It’s good to get the recognition for what we do. For a small back-street place we always have to fight for business, so to get something to show for it is good.’

All food produced at the pub is bought locally and prepared from scratch every day. 

Chef Olly Willers said: ‘We try and keep it as local as possible to try and support other businesses. It’s nice because we know where it’s coming from when we prepare it from scratch. A lot of passion goes into it.’ 

Their meat comes from Bransbury Park Butchers in Milton and all fruit and veg comes from Fruit Chief, based in Denmead. 

The pub serves American-style smoked food through the week and offers a traditional roast dinner on Sundays. 

It is the only real smokehouse in the city. 

Olly said: ‘It’s a very unusual place to work because a lot of it is preparation, but it’s worth it.’

The pub has a strong online following, with American chefs approving of the food.

Manager of the pub Sean Marshall said: ‘We always thought there was a gap in the market and I had a passion for smoke and barbecue food so we thought “why not? What’s the worst that can happen?”’

They hand prepare their barbecue sauce on site every day.