Smoke and Mirrors Restaurant

Sublime! Michelin star food at very affordable prices!

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My husband and I stumbled upon this small, intimate restaurant whilst exploring old Portsmouth. What a find! It’s a quirky setting that has been decorated to give a feast for the eyes. A small but innovative menu is displayed on the door with dishes designed to showcase the ingredients. All dishes are priced very affordably. This is a cosy venue where the personal touch is everything. Caitlyn provides a warm welcome and is attentive but not intrusive throughout. We didn’t realise but we visited on their 6-month anniversary. It’s a labour of love and Caitlyn and Jordan’s passion for what they’re doing really shines through everything. The food was incredible! We shared a generous starter of terrine of guineafowl and cognac wrapped in streaky bacon, spiced figs, crispy sourdough, and guineafowl butter. It set the bar high right from the start! For our mains, my husband had the slow cooked belly of pork, grilled peach, cabbage, creamed potatoes, cloud crackling and jus. He’s a fan of pork belly and had it many times. I had the cherry wood smoked duck breast, parsnip tart, sweetheart cabbage, pistachio and sour cherry jus. The theatre of my dish just added to the sensational food on the plate! The parsnip tart was a revelation! We were both enjoying our food so much, we were speechless! We had to stay on for dessert but needed a break, which was not an issue. The Madagascan vanilla crème brûlée with rhubarb jammie dodger was worth making room for, while my husband enjoyed Caitlyn’s own recipe for an espresso martini…very smooth!