Southampton, England’s Southcoast city, is the biggest cruise port in Europe. It’s maritime, Roman and medieval heritage is sprinkled all across the city. The Titanic set sail from here and you can follow along the Titanic trail to visit the monuments dedicated to its history.

Modern architecture and buildings have been built around its famous medieval walls. You can learn all about these famous walls on a tour with See Southampton. Southampton is a great mix of history, modern retail (loved Westquay!), college town and harbour restaurants and bars. Of course, you can’t miss stopping by the Ocean Village!

I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how many brilliant restaurants there are in the city. A cool example… The winner of the 2012 edition of the TV show Masterchef has a restaurant in Southampton’s Bedford Place – Lakaz Maman. More on our experience there below.

During my time in Southampton, I managed to tuck into some classic British dishes, an Indian takeaway (which is pretty much another British tradition haha), some trendy Italian fare, Mauritian, and Thai Tapas.

Places to Eat:

Dancing Man Brewery

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Lakaz Maman

Eating at Lakaz Maman was about more than just the food. Despite me having not yet visited Mauritius, I imagined that this is what it would be like. The walls were bright sea-blue/turqois, with some chairs the same colour. Other furniture was either a pale, natural shade of wood, or painted white. This made the place bright and airy with an island feel. The family portraits and photographs from Mauritius on the wall, cook books on the shelves and mauritian songs coming from the speakers, all made this feel like not just an authentic Mauritian experience, but also an intimate one. And I haven’t even gotten to the food yet!

As expected, the food was delightful. From octopus, chicken, and king prawn, each dish was high in quality, not overly seasoned, yet served with delicious, rich sauce. Some dishes had a good kick of spice.

Mango Thai

Mango offers a great mix of Asian dishes with varying styles. There are classics on the menu, such as Pad Thai noodles (which we enjoyed), however the real attraction to this restaurant was the Thai-Tapas menu. We went for the crispy squid chunks with a spicy Thai sauce, the coconut-batter covered chicken strips with a sweet plum sauce, and some pork & prawn dim sum.

Platform Tavern

The Platform Tavern is a divey-bar with hearty food. The place is brightly coloured, yet dimply lit, with old-style furnishings and fireplace. Pub classics and pizzas are on offer. The fish and chips doesn’t just come with any beer batter, but London Pride batter. The pork & chorizo burger was different, indulgent and tasty. Everything seemed very reasonably priced.

Bacaro (great dinner choice if you are in Ocean Village)

Coriander Lounge

La Regata

Piecaramba!

That Lovely Little Café

The Pig in the Wall

Rockstone

Oxford Brasserie

The Rockstone

White Star Tavern

Olive Tree

Boulangerie Victor Hugo

Tooti’s Gelato Bar

Fusion Noodle Bar

Coffee/Tea

The Art House Gallery Cafe

Afternoon Tea at Gatehouse 1833

Coffee Lab – London Road & Bargate

Mettricks – Guildhall & Woolston

Cafe Thrive – Hanover Buildings

Mozzo Store

Day Trips:

New Forest (Brockenhurst station)

Isle of Wight

Nearby:

National Motor Museum

Netley Abbey

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (entry £11)

Things to Do:

Museums/Historical Attractions

See Southampton Walking Tours

See Southampton offer walking tours for groups and individuals. I was lucky enough to be invited on the “Hidden History” walk on the hottest day in July!

Southampton is a very walkable city and these tours are a great addition to any trip to Southampton. I learned so many cool, historic facts that you won’t even find on Wikipedia 😉 My tour guide Geoff had so many stories and facts which made for an awesome experience. Many of the stops throughout the walk are entertwined into the modern part of the city and it was wonderful to learn about it all. The tours are offered at such a great price point, and are worth way more. This team is fantastic and I wish I could’ve taken part in some of the other tours. They offer themed tours such as “Vaults & Vino” and “Ghastly, Grim and Gory.”