Southsea bars and restaurants expect a boom in business over weekend of food festival

Last year's Southsea Food Festival Picture: Duncan Shepherd

Southsea bars and restaurants are expecting an increase in food and drink sales over the weekend of the Southsea Food Festival 2019.

Croxton’s Southsea is one of over 60 stalls being held at the annual Southsea Food Festival at Palmerston Road.

It will be the second time the bar and restaurant will hold a stall at the festival and staff are expecting to see an increase in customers over the weekend.

They launched in 2018 and took part in the first food festival for the first time not long after the launch.

THE MERCHANT HOUSE NEED STREET FOOD JPNS MRW 7/1/2019

//NOTE: SEE COLLECTS FOR FOOD PICTURES //

'Need Street Food' owner Pete Hunt (left) with colleague Stuart Armstrong (right) outside 'The Merchant House' on Highland Road, Southsea, Hampshire. Picture: Malcolm Wells (190107-1705) — THE MERCHANT HOUSE NEED STREET FOOD JPNS MRW 7/1/2019 //NOTE: SEE COLLECTS FOR FOOD PICTURES // 'Need Street Food' owner Pete Hunt (left) with colleague Stuart Armstrong (right) outside 'The Merchant House' on Highland Road, Southsea, Hampshire. Picture: Malcolm Wells (190107-1705)

Although they don’t tend to serve a lot of food at the restaurant during the two-day festival, the stall alone keeps them going and attracts new and existing customers to try their hand-picked treats.

On offer this year will be a Vietnamese Bánh mì, which is a type of baguette that is filled with meat prepared at the stall on a rotisserie.

As well as this they will have their New England IPA and gin cocktails for the grown-ups who like a drink.

Other bars and restaurants also hold stalls at the festival and look forward to the annual event.

Need Street Food runs the kitchen at the Merchant House at Highland Road, and owner Pete Hunt said: ‘The Southsea Food Festival is an annual highlight.

‘We love being a part of it, it’s great seeing the community come together to experience foods that are local as well as those who come from further away. It’s great to communicate with our customers, too.’

The food festival will take place at Palmerston Road on Saturday, July 20 from 10am until 6pm and Sunday, July 21 from 10am until 5pm.