Southampton Restaurants and Dining

(Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK)

The city's important status is reflected in its huge selection of international cuisines on offer all over Southampton.

Fine dining abounds in the city, with many glitzy restaurants and eateries suiting a range of budgets, including grand hotel dining to more basic lunchtime snacks at central cafes, with al fresco tables where you can watch the crowds of shoppers go by.

Opening Hours

Many restaurants offer all-day dining, serving the same food throughout the day, while other more exclusive venues open for lunch at roughly between 12:00 to 14:30, and for evening meals any time from 18:00 onwards. Public houses in the Southampton area are always popular and traditional pub grub provides a hearty meal, ranging from fish and chips, steaks and pies, to more continental and trendy gourmet dishes.

Bar snacks are equally popular and many funky bars are scattered around the city centre, opening throughout the day. Juice bars are becoming an important part of the dining scene in Southampton, serving a range of smoothies and freshly squeezed fruit juice, together with pasta dishes, salads, sandwiches and soups in the winter months.

Where to Eat / Eating Out

Those looking for a bite to eat on the run will find a number of sandwich shops and bakeries all over Southampton. Department stores and many high-street chains, such as Boots, and Marks and Spencer, seem to have currently cornered the lunchtime sandwich market and offer every combination of filling imaginable, together with fruit, crisps and other snack food.

Fast-food restaurants, pizza takeaways, fish and chip shops, and burger bars are also big business in Southampton. Those looking for dining with a view should head to Oxford Street, where a number of restaurants overlook the marina and serve both international and more traditional British cuisine alike.

Southampton's lively Leisure World complex is home to a number of restaurants and bars, together with a multi-screen cinema complex, nightclubs and tenpin bowling. A large selection of restaurants and eateries can be found in the elevated food court area of the West Quay mall, where you will enjoy excellent views of the surrounding cityscape. Restaurants and takeaways here include Harry Ramsdens fish and chips, Pizza Hut, Bradwells and Cafe Giardino, amongst others, although during the summer holidays and at Christmas time, the food court can become extremely busy, when empty tables can become hard to find.