Sherlocks Bar in Clarendon Road is expanding its offering and introducing a dining option.
The bar, which opened in July 2020 just as the UK was coming out of the first option, has become a staple in Southsea.
Co-owners Richard Peckham and Debbie Moorhead have brought on board experienced chef Eddie Haley, who will make use of the industrial kitchen, offering delicacies from around the world.
Eddie has experience not only in local restaurants such as Restaurant 27, Rosie’s and Farmer, Butcher, Chef at Goodwood, but he has also cooked across the world, including in Australia, Paris and at London’s Abeno restaurant – the only Michelin-listed okonomiyaki restaurant in the UK.
Holmes’ Kitchen will offer home-cooked dishes using locally sourced produce and ingredients and will be a fusion of chef Eddie’s specialities from his 22-year-strong career as a chef and personal experiences with food.
Items on the menu will include gyoza dumplings with both meat and vegan options available, steak bavette with a choice of sauce and koshari, a vegan Egyptian street food-inspired dish.
There will be weekly specials available to help the venue reduce food waste and give diners more variety.
Eddie said: ‘When the opportunity to take over the kitchen at Sherlocks Bar came up, I absolutely jumped at the chance. It’s such a great venue and hopefully it can become even greater with this new offering.
‘After several years of looking for a suitable venue, Sherlock’s bar came up and as soon as I saw it, I rushed to Richard and Debbie excited to take it on because it was the excellent location. It was the perfect time to move into their wonderful venue and serve up some of the food that I’ve felt have really impacted my life. Something new and interesting and not just following fads. I would love Holmes’ Kitchen at Sherlock’s Bar to be a place where you can gather with friends for a catch up in friendly, casual surrounds.
‘Richard and Debbie have done such a great job in building up a regular customer base, so I’m looking forward to helping them fall in love with Sherlocks even more, while also building on their customer base and bringing in new people.’
Although Eddie will run the kitchen solo initially, he is hoping to recruit some young talent from the Portsmouth area to help him out during busy periods, both to serve more customers and to help young aspiring chefs to gain more hands-on experience.
He is also planning to host international nights at the bar, inviting international students and non-English speakers along to help them improve their English speaking – something he found was very common when working in Japan.
Food will be served alongside the current drinks offering from Wednesday until Friday from 5pm, and from 12pm until 5pm on Saturdays
