The Dish Detective ate at Melted in Portsmouth - the perfect spot for lunch on the go

Whether it’s a hectic day at work, you’re running countless errands or your children are driving you to the brink of insanity, there are times when even grabbing lunch can seem like a chore.

Last week, the Dish Detective had ‘one of those days' and needed a quick pit-stop for lunch. While on my way out of the city, I parked up towards the top of London Road and grabbed some lunch from Melted in Hilsea.

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At first glance, it strikes you as one of those ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ type of places – although from our experience, these are often the places that produce surprisingly good food. Even though I got my food to go, it was a very pleasant venue, both inside and out.

I purchased a firecracker toastie (£4.95) with cheese and bacon loaded fries (£4) and a cookies and cream milkshake.

Almost immediately, I delved into the firecracker toastie, which comes with chicken, chorizo, sriracha sauce and cheese. The coating on the chicken combined with the toast gave it a brilliant crunch, before the chorizo and sriracha practically burst your cheeks with flavour.

It's a winner of a combination and wasn’t excessively spicy – it was doused in sriracha like you might douse a bacon sarnie in ketchup, but was balanced nicely with the cheese.

While I was on-the-go and in somewhat of a rush, but the toastie would not have lasted long either way. If you’re after something more traditional there are classic toasties on the menu, as well as breakfast options for the early birds.

After demolishing the toastie, I tucked into the loaded fries. Again, there are plenty of choices for toppings on the menu, but I opted for cheese and bacon as I was in a bit of a brunchy mood.

The chips themselves were well-seasoned, with a good crunch while also being light and fluffy on the inside. To add to my joy, the bacon was nice and crispy, perfectly complimenting the chips themselves. The cheese had a good flavour to it, but had sadly stuck to the bottom of the packaging – that said, if it was simply sprinkled on top at the end it would have been nowhere near as melted as it was (I suppose the clue is in the name).

Feeling suitably satisfied by the toastie and loaded chips, I turned my attention to the milkshake.

There was an abundance of cream on the top – a pleasant surprise given how many eateries tend to skimp in this department. The milkshake itself underneath was packed full of flavour, although it was a rather small cup, all things considered. The cookie flavour shone through however, which probably explains why I wanted more of it.

Overall, for a quick grab and go lunch, Melted in Hilsea was an excellent choice. Quick service with food packed full of flavour – this Dish Detective cannot wait to return some day soon.

Melted, London Road, Portsmouth – 07973 388418

Food 4

Value 3

Ambience 3

Kid-friendly 3