The Coal Exchange 21, South Street Emsworth Hampshire Tel: 01243 375866

Visited January 2004

6 of us met up in Emsworth for a reunion with very special friends!  How lucky we were to have a beautifully sunny, but very cold, day for it.  It is such a pretty little place, great to wonder round, interesting antique shops, & a quaint little harbour.  We hadn't booked &, because of the sun, the place was buzzing.  Started to get worried as we hadn't thought it necessary to book a table, thank goodness we found The Coal Exchange.

It is on the way to the quay & is a very olde worlde typical pub.  Have to say when we walked in we were a bit dubious as to what the food would be like because the surroundings are rather faded & the table available for 6 was not very comfortable as only stools & a bench around it.  Don't be put off, the staff were very friendly, & the food was fantastic!  Chalk board menu & we all had roasts, either pork or beef.  BEST pub roast I have had for ages, lots of meat, crunchy roast potatoes, full of flavour thick gravy, and lots of freshly cooked veggies served separately.  Amazingly their roasts are only £5.95, excellent value.  We followed this with Pear & Caramel Crumble with Custard ( all they had left), yummy, & a massive portion for only £2.75!  No wonder the place was so busy &  full of regulars.  One of them told me that they have just had a new chef & they are all very impressed with him. My advice get there ASAP before the landlord realizes he could charge more!  Lunch was served 12-2, think the pub was open all day.  We had 2 bottles of Sauvignon plus a couple of soft drinks & coffees so.....

Cost: just under £ £ £

Yummy Factor: Would like to give 9/10 for the food but then you would all be expecting better surroundings as well so, 7/10

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