The Poseidon food adventure

Neil Littman enjoys a seafood extravaganza at a Southgate fish and pasta restaurant

Why are some restaurants not drawing in customers? The reason more often than not is location. Just being a bit off the beaten track can be an issue, although sometimes we also like the kudos of telling our friends about some ‘out of the way’ place we’ve discovered.

I remember reading a review a few years ago about a pop-up restaurant inside a shipping container in the middle of a trading estate in a dodgy part of North London. Unsurprisingly I never heard about it again.

I mention this because it was something that concerned me and a friend regarding Poseidon, a new seafood restaurant in Chase Side, Southgate, on a small shopping parade away from the main town centre.

On a first visit one evening midweek, we were the only diners there. But location aside, I think Poseidon is one of the best new places to eat in Enfield – if you like fish and pasta dishes with a Mediterranean twist.

It brought back memories of meals I have eaten on holiday in places like Madeira and Corfu, which I found encouraging. They stick to what they know and keep it simple, but do it well with nice touches, such as the Italian style salsa verde sauce that accompanies a generous piece of swordfish. Other plus points include not overcharging for drinks – £4.20 for a bottle of beer or £7 for a glass of wine.

The menu is interesting and concise; eight starters, several of which are vegetarian, plus ten fish dishes and eight pasta mains, half of which feature seafood.

For starters we ordered calamari (£7.90) coated with panko crumb which was crunchy, tender and succulent all at the same time, plus burrata cheese (£6.90) which arrived sitting on a pile of cherry tomatoes covered with a balsamic dressing.

For mains, I ordered bluefin tuna steak with creamy mashed potato and roasted vegetables and my friend had sea bream (three fillets) with the same sides. Both mains were £18.50. We were too full for dessert! The bill was £63.40 plus service.

On a second visit with another friend, we ordered a couple of beers followed by a shared starter of ‘smoky eggplant’ usually known as baba ghanoush. I couldn’t tell if the topping of walnuts, which added a rich crunchy texture, had been toasted as in some recipes, but otherwise it tasted good with a charred nutty flavour and was dressed in good olive oil.

To follow, I had lobster and prawn pasta with linguine in a herb cream sauce (there is a choice of three types of fresh pasta plus ravioli dishes) which I thought was exceptional and very good value at under £15. I have eaten similar dishes costing nearly twice that price elsewhere.

My friend had the sea bass with roasted potatoes and vegetables and cleaned his plate in record time, depriving me of the chance to take a photo. The bill came to a grand total of £50.20, plus service.

I hope readers will seek Poseidon out – let me know what you think using the email below. Also, a belated thank you to Karl Brown for recommending Tandir, which featured in the August issue!

For more information about Poseidon Fish and Pasta including opening times:
Call 07949 750 308
Visit poseidonfishandpasta.com

Do you have any suggestions for restaurants in Enfield to review or feedback on the places Neil has already reviewed? He would love to hear from Dispatch readers:
Email [email protected]

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