Restaurant review - Greek Cuisine Tony on South Parade Pier in Southsea

You spend an hour or so trying your luck in the arcade and inevitably don’t turn a profit – you’re spent. You’ve worked up quite an apetite pushing a ream of coppers into coin-slots, so you look for food.

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There are several options available. If you venture further out to sea – all the way to the end of the pier – you could go for ‘The Best of British’ food kiosk. It does what it says on the tin, offering full Englishes and various burgers with chips.

Or, you could retreat back to the shore and opt for a meal deal from the Co-op over the road. Somewhere inbetween is Greek Cuisine Tony.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Greece before, but, embarrassingly, my abiding memories of the cuisine are pretty much limited to gyros (chicken and pork), tzatziki and olives.

I had certainly never heard of Soutzoukakia. So, that’s what I ordered – with the help of the cook who guided me through its pronunciation. While I waited for my Soutzoukakia with Philadelphia cheese (£14.60 for a large portion), I drank a bottle of Loux lemonade (£2) in the fading sunlight. There is a small indoor seating area, with more tables outdoors that are bolstered by their scenic surroundings. The Loux was refreshing and not too sweet, which is just how I like my lemonade, and I enjoyed it with the sun setting over the shingle beach and the Isle of Wight on the horizon for 10 minutes or so until the cook called from his hatch to say my meal was ready.

The arcade itself was closed by the time I sat down to dinner, but while I was dining alone, I could still appreciate the family feel of the place. In fact, the jovial Tony himself sat with his family in the same seating area.

The food came served in polysterene clamshell takeaway box, which is great for giving the option to take your meal onto the beach or further along the pier if desired – but not very sustainable. This one quibble out the way, I was very impressed by my meal. According to my research after, Soutzoukakia are traditional Greek meatballs, but what I was served resembled three large sausages. These were presented atop a large mound of chips, with a side-salad of onions, lettuce and tomata and pieces of pitta bread with tzatziki sauce.

I cut into one of the herb-coated ‘sausages’ and was met by the Philadelphia cheese oozing invitingly from within – a welcome surprise. This with the tzatziki made the slightly intimidating sea of carbohydrates go down smoothly, while the meat itself was tender and beautifully seasoned. All paired well with my remaining lemonade as I continued to take in the wonderful seafront vista.

I would highly recommend a visit to Tony’s, which makes a great spot for lunch too with it’s enticing selection of wraps. The setting is also ideal for families or larger groups, with benches along the edge of the pier offering extra seating as required – or the beach.

Greek Cuisine Tony, Southsea

Food – 4

Ambience – 5

Value – 5

Child-friendly – 5