Food review: Sant Yago, Southsea

The staff at the Clarendon Road diner are extremely friendly and attentive, ready to help with any requests and communicating well with customers.

Inside the restaurant, the ambience is just right: music adds to the experience without drowning out conversation.

The decor inside the restaurant is well-chosen, balancing ornamentation details and a gold on navy colour palette with a cosy, laid back feel to create a warm, inviting atmosphere.

However, the main thing the Dish Detective has to report about Sant Yago is that the food is absolutely fantastic.

My companion and I visit Sant Yago on a Tuesday night. It is quiet when we enter, but slowly the tables begin to fill and the vibe becomes cheerful and upbeat.

We share a number of plates, keen to taste as many dishes as possible.

We eye the camembert (£12), baked and stuffed with red onion chutney, but instead choose to start with a coconut curry (£7.50) with green lentils, quinoa, carrot, and kale. It’s the stand-out star of the meal: delicately but deliciously creamy with exactly the right hint of coconut without being overpowering.

We also opt for the confit carrot tacos (£7), which come with pickled tomato, orange, spring onion and sriracha mayo.

Although difficult to eat with any grace, these soft tacos are equally tasty with a perfect combination of flavours.

The addition of orange adds a surprising twist but goes well with the sriracha mayo, creating a condiment that adds a real kick to the vegetables inside the soft shells.

Ever keen for more carbs, we share a side of fried potatoes (£4) with the aioli topping – although you can also opt for your Pierre Kauffman choice potatoes with rib meat (£4) or the delicious coconut curry (£3) should you wish for more of a protein punch.

As the menu reminds us to ‘always eat our greens’, we agree it is sensible to try one of the salads on offer, choosing from options including superfood, artichoke bruschetta, or octopus. Theatrically displayed like a blooming flower, the blue cheese salad (£6.50) is given an added zing with the addition of fresh fruit. As well as chicory and walnuts, it is topped with orange, apple, and pear, plus a citrus dressing.

Halloumi is almost always a winner for us, so we also share a portion of the halloumi veggie plate (£7.50). We are very pleased to see the sheer size of the Briddlesford halloumi, which is piled on top of a plate of roast pepper and onion drizzled with balsamic and fortified with a slab of charred bread.

Every dish we tried was a winner, each with exciting combinations of flavours while also being filling and satisfying to eat. We even indulge in a chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce for that little ‘something sweet’ after dinner.

Sant Yago is well known locally for its extensive list of fancy cocktails.

I was particularly taken with the Vale of Tears (£9), inspired by the drink that Alice has before shrinking down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.

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The cocktail – vodka and peach schnapps mixed with raspberry syrup, lemon and cranberry juice – comes served in a glass bottle with a ‘drink me’ tag and a chilled teacup and saucer for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party experience.

The cherry and almond drop (£8.50) is also a delight – a cherry Bakewell in a glass with cherry brandy, amaretto, apple, cranberry, lime and maraschino.

The Sant Yago house favourite the French-y Martini (£8) also goes down very nicely, adding a fruity twist to the drink with splashes of raspberry vodka, creme de cassis, and pineapple juice.

Whether you’re out for cocktails or a three -course meal, Sant Yago is an excellent place to visit.

Ratings (out of 5):

Food: 5

Value: 4

Ambience: 5

Child-friendly: N/A