Hunter Gatherer is tucked at the end of Albert Road serving up all those Australian style cafe vibes. It’s one of the many amazing cafes that makes Portsmouth’s independent food scene really stand out.
The coffee is excellent, the food is vegetarian with vegan options too and the space so warm and welcoming you’ll want to hang out there all day.
I don’t know about you but with things like ‘Meat-free Mondays’ and the rise of vegetarian and vegan products my household has been eating a lot less meat lately. And, that’s without really trying.
It’s great to find that there are restaurants that already support this way of life, making meals out with vegan and vegetarian friends so much easier.
Hunter Gatherer is definitely one of those. It’s also a nice place to go if you want to eat a little healthier but you still also want to go out to eat. We all have those days right? I mean no one really likes washing up do they?
Inside Hunter Gatherer
Inside the interior is warm and welcoming, there’s plenty to take in and there’s a real home-made community vibe.
At the front it’s more of a coffee shop with the ability to take away, in the middle it’s the sort of place you’d take a friend for a long catch up with a bit of cake or to work.
And, the back by the kitchen is more communal seating for sharing meals with friends and family. There’s plenty of plants everywhere and in the places with less natural light, a ceiling full of fake hanging green leave. It lowers the ceiling and makes it feel very cosy.
There’s a huge blackboard wall down one side of the cafe for adults and children to doodle on. I also love the addition of books and local magazines to flick through.
Coffee & Smoothies
Hunter Gatherer was first recommended to me for my love of coffee, which is great by the way.
But first, I didn’t know before I got there that they also have a great range of smoothies, which are delicious and so beautifully presented.
I shared a matcha mango smoothie which was incredibly light, refreshing and tasty and a berry smoothie topped with chia seeds.
The coffee is Craft House Coffee, a roaster based in Sussex which I’m already very fond of and get at home. The house espresso blend it creates for Hunter Gatherer is a mix of Brazilian and Colombian that creates a smooth well rounded chocolate-hazelnut coffee.
Vegetarian and Vegan Menu
I went for brunch and shared some dishes with my boyfriend, I find sharing is the best way to try more of the menu when visiting somewhere new.
Although it took me a long time to come to that realisation. I’ve not been a sharer when it comes to food, until I met my boyfriend and now I think he’s annoyed I want to share everything.
There’s some fab things on the menu, and it was a rainy day so we went for some real comfort food.
The Mac N Cheese is a creamy, hearty dish topped with lovely crunchy fake bacon. I’d like to add the garlic mushrooms on top next time I visit.
The Brunch Stack I believe is very popular, this was recommended to me by a friend before my visit. It’s a poached egg balanced on layers of crispy carrot rosti and avocado and topped with chilli and peashoots. The egg was perfectly cooked and the yolk oozed out over the stack making a nice sauce.
It’s huge, so if you’re hungry this will not disappoint. While the stack was delicious I think I’d have preferred traditional potato rosti, mostly because cooked carrot isn’t my favourite. But, that’s my personal preference and not a reflection on the dish.
The meals were very filling and reasonably priced which makes it easier to return on a more regular basis. Plus, you have the added benefit here to feeling very virtuous afterwards because it’s all vegetables and other good things.
Next time
There’s so many things added to the menu since my last visit and I love the look of the range of burgers especially a Chilli Cheese Burger, Biff’s Jack Royale Burger (made with jack fruit) and the Green Goddess which is a charcoal bun with broccoli and pesto and other good things.
The menu at Hunter Gatherer is constantly changing which is great as there’s always something new to try. I also like how friendly everyone is and just how unpretentious it is.
Oh, and don’t forget to check out the cake selection too!
Have you visited Hunter Gatherer? Would you like to visit? Let me know in the comments below.
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