Little Gourmet on Lord Street in Southport was a great little restaurant that we found while visiting the town and were looking for a decent meal at a reasonable price.

It was a bit of a surprise package, excellent sounding menu filled with many of the classics, and a warm inviting dining area that was posh enough for a nice meal out without any pretentiousness.

They have a good selection of specials on offer with some more basic simpler and familiar dishes such as Scampi and Chips, Chilli con Carne, Pizza and Pasta sitting alongside some old school favourites like Stroganoff, Coq au Vin, and a Risotto.

I could have easily succumbed to the obvious charms, familiarity and the exceptionally good value offer of ‘any 2 Pizzas or Pastas plus a bottle of wine for £29.95’ and on another day I most probably would have.

Today I had my eyes fixated on the Coq Au Vin and my dining companion upon the Beef Stroganoff. There was a chill in the air outside and we just wanted something warm and comforting and perhaps also a little bit of a trip to dining establishments of the past, lets call it retro😎🧐

COQ AU VIN

The Coq au Vin for £9.50 was a bit of a steal for the money. I was really only expecting a few bits of chicken on the bone in a sauce but in the end as you can see I had a whole half chicken, breast, leg and wing all together in the bowl.

The gravy sauce in which the chicken lay was dark, rich and deep in flavour, mostly the classic red wine and garlic as you would expect alongside a lot of herb action

The mushrooms and the carrots in the stock had soaked up the stock and were lovely little pops of flavour that burst into your mouth

Underneath the chicken was a pile of soft and silky mashed potato, full of butter and really a little bit decadent.

If I had just one slight note to comment upon it would be that the white meat of the chicken breast was not as moist as it could have been but I guess when you casserole the whole bird it is hard to keep an even cook

Whatever, it mattered not, I’m not that fussy a grump and I would eat this again in a heartbeat if I was back in town it really was very tasty

BEEF STROGANOFF

My Companion selected the Beef Stroganoff for just £9.95 which was packed full of beef chunks and just like the Coq au Vin it was a very good portion for the money.

This also came with a very good gravy that was rich and also creamy as well, pops of sweetness came from the baby tomatoes, onions and mushrooms gave that familiar base flavour to the dish.

It came served with a pile of rice and a good handful of rocket leaves both of while helped counter the richness of the dish.

Slight gripes were that the meat was a little chewy perhaps a better cut of meat or a gentler cook could have helped, either way it also was a very tasty dish

I really did like the old school vibe of the menu at the Little Gourmet in Southport. Ok so maybe it wasn’t perfect but perhaps we were just being a little picky in a couple of places as for the price it was really good and we really shouldn’t grumble 😎

Located at 529 Lord Street in Southport, PR9 0BB you can check them out on their Facebook Page and on their Instagram profile