If you have read my previous posts you will know just how much I love coffee shops and especially Tamper in Sheffield. I love the vibe, love the interiors, love the owners and what they have tried to achieve and successfully I might add. So when I moved to Southsea I honestly didn’t think I would find a cafe that would make my heart have a warm fuzzy feeling and I have to say I have had a pining for that special place on Arundel Street. So imagine my delight when I cycled into town on a sunny day, parked my bike up and pottered around and realised at nearly 2 pm I hadn’t eaten much and should probably sit down. I had walked past Southsea Coffee that situates on Osborne Road a couple of times but never had the chance to go in.

The first impression from the outside has to be uplifting feelings and warmth. The beautiful Green of the industrial chairs sat outside mixed with wood gives a playful take on the industrial look. Venturing inside you get a relaxed but buzzing vibe, a feeling that you could sit for a whole afternoon and watch the world go by or work on your laptop and you wouldn’t feel pressured to leave. All along the back wall is a painting done in a very clever way, which draws your eyes to the whole length of the main cafe. The use of mixing monotone colours, mixing grey with black and white gives a moody tone and has a calming effect on the soul. Los Dave being the artist it seems is a highly regarded creative in Southsea so it will be nice to follow more of his work.

Wide distressed looking boards cover the floor and there are industrial tones by adding scaffolding poles for shelving and coffee sacks added to sides of counters to give a sense of this place knows how to serve its coffee very well. Scrubbed down wooden tables and metal chairs all fit in the main cafe area very well. The snug area has cushions and focused lighting to provide a cosy area which I imagine would be a blissful place to chill in the Winter. Leading out to a courtyard area there is a feature wall made out of pallets, and lovely plants while the seating is contemporary and bright with a hint of yellow and this makes you think of the sunshine, relaxing, maybe a cocktail or a wonderful ice tea and so it works very well in an understated way.

Looking at the menu I just couldn’t get over the extensive list of tea being offered. The list was as long as the list for coffee and this is when it completely won me over. Offering the customer blends, as well as tea latte’s and iced teas there was just so much choice! I opted for a Blue Rasberry Iced Tea and have to say it was so refreshing. My lunch was banana bread with vanilla mascarpone topped with berries, banana slices and maple syrup. Very beautiful in colour and the taste was good, the berries being huge blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, some blueberries thrown on the side made me happy I walked in here. The waitress explained that my Blue Iced Tea would change colour to pink if I squeezed the lemon slice put in there as a garnish. It actually turned it a nice purple and that was ok with me 🙂

Whenever I go to a good coffee shop it is always about the coffee and the tea is always something that is added in case they get a visitor who just fancies a tea, but here it is just as much about tea and the other refreshments on the menu as it is about coffee and thats why above the cool interiors, the friendly staff and the moody painting stretching an entire wall that I love this place. I haven’t had chance to take my hubby yet, or my son but I can’t wait to go back.

I chatted about how I loved tea to who I thought was another waitress who turned out to be one of the owners Tara. Having a very warm relaxed approach I can see regulars having a good rapport with her. It was nice to share with her my love of the tea menu. Tara explained that they used Bluebird Tea Co from Brighton who I have never heard of before but will have to go and explore there on Friday when I go visit for the day.

The food menu is very good and the whole combination of good coffee, great tea, super offering of different drinks and smashing food alongside a cool, inviting, relaxing interior makes this an award winning place to visit in my eyes and I can’t wait to go try their BLAT: rosemary “flat bread”, tomatoes, lettuce, coconut bacon, mayo and avocado. It just sounds unbelievably delish and I can’t think of anything else to say as I am writing this and it is making me super hungry x x

Featured Image – Southsea Coffee

All other images my own.