Café Fresco

portsmouth has a quieter specialty coffee scene than you might expect from a city this size, which makes the places that do it well worth knowing about. café fresco sits on eastern parade in southsea, a stretch of road that runs close to the seafront and draws a crowd that's local rather than passing through. the regulars here are consistent and vocal, which counts for something in a neighbourhood where people tend to repeat what actually works for them. you won't find much ceremony, just coffee taken seriously in a part of the city that suits that approach. southsea has its own unhurried rhythm, and eastern parade fits that. if you're in the area on a weekend morning, café fresco is a reasonable first stop before the seafront fills up.