jennysue19's Qype profile

Chives in Mengeham Road is rightly one of the most popular coffee shops on Hayling Island and a favourite with residents and visitors.
You’ll find a varied menu with sandwiches, panini, baguettes, salads as well as full meals. One of the best bargains is the all day breakfast.
There are daily specials usually including a soup and a main dish. When I visited last week, they offered broccoli and stilton soup and crab cakes with chips and salad for the main dish. All food is nicely presented and many dishes are cooked to order – worth a short wait.
Coffee is excellent with properly made cappucino and latte, although for me it could be a bit stronger.
There is plenty of room and in the summer you can sit outside.
There appears to be a free wi-fi connection at the Hayling Chives, but I didn’t actually ask so it could be another local unsecured network. I only tried this with a mobile phone, so don’t rely on it.
I have seen wheelchairs in the cafe, and the toilet is more than big enough for wheelchair access.
You can park in Mengeham Road if you are lucky and get a space, for long enough to drink a coffee and eat a sandwich. It’s supposed to be 30 mins, so look out for traffic wardens if you overstay. There are two pay and display car parks very close by. Disabled spaces on street and in car parks.
Have not tried the Chichester branch in Sadler’s Walk, but sure it will be up to same standard.

Chilli and Lime used to be called the Agra and has been in Havant for as long as I can remember. The food was always good, but the surroundings had got rather dated and scruffy, so I was pleased to see that the owners had done a total refurbishment recently and changed the name.

I haven’t yet visited for a meal in, since the re-opening, but decided to try it for a takeaway first after the new menu dropped through my door during the week. It is well set out, all the dishes most people ask for and enjoy are there, plus a good range of house specialities.

I chose Onion Bhaji followed by Chicken Xacuti with side orders of rice and Brinjal Bhaji. The Xacuti is a Goan dish with a thick rich sauce where the heat of the chilli is balanced by coconut. The chicken had been cooked Tikka style first for extra flavour. The sweetness of the Brinjal Bhaji made it a good choice of side dish. I was pleased to see that the rice had not been given the food colouring treatment that I’ve seen elsewhere!

Portions were very generous, and would have stretched for two people for a total of £15.10.

I could also have chosen from the searingly hot Naga Chicken, Bengal Biriani, Chicken Peshwari and several more. The Tandoori menu includes a duck dish which is unusual in a Bangladeshi restaurant. The menu includes a ‘chilli rating guide’ which is useful and encourages customers to try dishes that they may not have encountered before.

Having said that, I think they have gone rather safe on the menu. I don’t know if the restaurant has a daily specials board, but it could introduce new and even more authentic flavours to a British auidience very set in its ways about what it expects from Indian and Bangladeshi food.

It was a very busy Saturday night with Last Night of the Proms on TV, so I wasn’t surprised to wait just under an hour for my meal, but the delivery was polite and the delivery driver was smartly dressed. There is a minimum of £15 order for free delivery.

I got two free poppadums (value £1.20) with my meal, very happy and looking forward to a visit for an eat-in meal very soon.

Prices generally are comparable to other similar restaurants in the area. There is a current lunchtime offer of two meals for the price of one, but unsure how long this will be available. Now that IS good value!

The eat in and take-away menus are available Sunday-Thursday lunch 12 noon-2pm, Dinner 5.30-11:30pm and Friday-Saturday evenings 5.30-12 midnight. No take-aways Friday lunchtimes, but the restaurant is open for eat in meals then.

Tel 02392 484273 or 481303
www.chilliandlimerestaurant.com
Parking – some very limited on-street nearby, or on the retail park across the road by KFC, but watch for time restrictions and cowboy clampers. During the day, there is also a convenient multi-storey closes at 6pm. Havant Bus station is directly at the back of the restaurant although local buses do not run very late. There is also a taxi rank on the bus station.

This pub has been recently refurbished and is under new management since the previous review and is now well worth a visit.

The landlord Greg Samphire has built up a good local clientele who know that they can enjoy well kept beers in comfortable and sociable surroundings.

Food is available at lunchtimes and in the evenings and the restaurant is now building a good reputation with a tasty regular menu. You can choose from snacks or full meals and an imaginative daily specials board all home cooked and using local produce. Traditional Sunday lunches are very popular and booking is usually required.

There is a regular quiz night on Mondays starting at 20:00. Plenty of parking and a pleasant garden and childrens’ play area.