The Dish Detective dined at O Sole Mio - an Italian taste of home

The sophistication of the French, the rustic heartiness of the English, and of course the homely comfort of Italian food – the latter of which was on this Dish Detective’s mind all weekend.

While there are more complexities than meet the eye with Italian food, the basics of the cuisine revolve around food that makes you feel at ease; the sort of thing you would tuck into on a quiet Tuesday night, before curling up in front of the telly for the evening.

For this particular reviewer, there is an even more personal connection – my grandfather is Italian, and so the level of his food is a benchmark for me (admittedly, a rather high one). For reference, Nicolino's in Emsworth does have him pipped, but the likes of Frankie and Benny's or Prezzo sit much further down in my estimations.

In search of a heartwarming meal, my partner and I headed to O Sole Mio in Port Solent. For a restaurant with a tenure as long as this one, I was surprised to see that we’ve never actually reviewed this place before. That being said, The News has been there in the past to cover stories, including a fundraiser for Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.

We walked in and were pleasantly surprised by the decor – it feels like an authentic Italian restaurant, the sort of thing you’d find down a side street in Naples. There is plenty of seating, but each table feels like it has more than enough space, rather than having as many seats as possible crammed in. The disco ball on the ceiling was a bit of an odd choice, but I’m sure there’s method in the madness there.

Each table has balsamic and olive oil dressings, and a lovely little flower arrangement, creating a more intimate feeling for diners.

My partner wasn’t as hungry as I was, so I kicked things off with the arancini starter (£8.95), which came with parmesan shavings and a tomato sauce. The rice was cooked perfectly, and went well with the crisp exterior. Perhaps the sauce masked a lack of seasoning in the rice, but the balance was good and the flavours made for a nice introduction to the meal.

For the main course, I had a bolognese (£13.95) while my partner had the carbonara (£13.95). The spaghetti noodles were nicely cooked – like the rice, not overdone – and seemed to have been well-seasoned while being boiled. The bolognese was excellently prepared; all the ingredients had been finely diced to create a smooth texture. I personally prefer a saucier bolognese to one like this, but it was still very tasty. My partner also thoroughly enjoyed her carbonara, which was creamy without being too rich.

After that, the deserts came out – my partner had three scoops of ice cream, and I ordered the homemade cheesecake, which came with lemon sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This, for me, was the genuine highlight of the meal. Most cheesecakes are quite light, but this was rich and decadant, with a dense biscuit base. All of this was penetrated by the lemon flavour and lifted by the ice cream.

We both agreed that we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to O Sole Mio, and when my grandad is next in Portsmouth, this will be the place we take him to.

O Sole Mio, Port Solent, (023) 9238 8697

Food 4

Value 3

Ambience 4

Kid-friendly 3