Southbourne fish restaurant

 We are down in Southbourne on the coast visiting our friends P&M. The focus of the visit is dinner at Sobo Fish, a favourite of theirs. The restaurant is at the edge of the main shopping area of Southbourne, on the main road into Bournemouth and so easily accessible by bus.

It's a hot evening when we visit. Our table is in the centre of the main room - not by the blackboard menu, where we are warned we might be photographed! - so not particularly airy, but overall it's not too hot. There are little hutches outside at the back, but we aren't offered one of those. 

There is a wine menu - we choose a Sauvignon/Gros Mansegn at £28, described as "semi-dry" - but otherwise you have to refer to the blackboards. The mains are on our side of the room, so P takes a photo of the starters/"table nibbles" menu on the other side.  B opts out of starters as she thinks here preferred main course could be very large, and I have crab cake with aioli from the "nibbles" list. This is just the one crabcake, but it is full of flavour. M has the tempura prawns while P does go for the full "starters" option of mussels in a Thai curry sauce - amusing as before going he'd said he fancied curried mussels. M's prawns looked as you'd expect, but P's mussels were certainly a good tasty dish.

The mains menu is priced at £15 including a side, but with supplements ranging from £2 to £10. In fact, all but one option includes a supplement, so they might as well have priced the items separately.  There is a very extensive choice of options. 

For mains, I have a skate wing. This is a good sized - that is, not too huge - portion, served with prawns, small clams and capers.  Nicely cooked with a crisp exterior and soft inside. I have the skinny fries with that. B's choice is the hot shellfish bowl - prawns, clams, mussels, razor clams, langoustine, in a light broth (£10 supplement). It's certainly a full-on dish, but the lightness of the broth means it is a manageable amount. Her "side" was a Caesar salad. 

P has the "flat fish of the day" - plaice - in Moroccan spices, which looks excellent. M has the duo of sea bream fillets. Between them they share new potatoes and roasted fennel. 

We have room so between us order a lemon roulade and a creme brulee. The roulade is remarkably light, as indeed is the brulee, which has a thin layer on top. 

Service from an all female crew, supervised by "Jackie", was a little mixed, in that there seemed to be a couple in training who were yet to get up to speed. The more experienced staff were very friendly and welcoming. 

The total is £190, before service, which is very good value for a well executed, fresh fish menu. And it's only the following day I learn that "SoBo" is chic slang for Southbourne!