Gaff Rigger Satchell Lane, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton SO31 4HQ

"I had my baby shower afternoon tea at Gaff Rigger yesterday and it was excellent. We had plenty of pots of tea with lots of food, a selection of sandwiches, sausage rolls, scones & cakes and all were delicious and great value! The staff were very friendly, attentive and extremely accommodating to our requirements, even bringing out separate sandwich requests and letting us decorate our area. We had our afternoon tea in the restaurant which was a lovely space with great views of the marina, I would definitely recommend this venue for a special event!"

"My first course was Potted Ham Hock. Flavour good but spoiled by containing many pieces of bone and splinters. Second course was Poached Smoked Haddock. Fish was ok but accompanied by flavourless mashed potato only. ' could have supplied vegetables - say, asparagus tips. My third course was Lime Sorbet. A small ramekin dish arrived with a dollop of creme fraiche and some biscuit crumbs garnished with a very thin slice of crystallised lime - absolute rubbish. Gin and tonics were served in extremely large wine goblets brimful with far too much ice, a straw and no lime wedge. All I could taste was water (with the aid of the straw). I did not see the final shared bill for our table of several persons but our drinks tally seemed excessive. All very disappointing."

"Sometimes marina based restaurants are nothing but an overpriced disappointment. The Gaff Rigger is a notable exception. Mercury is our home berth and we regularly visit the restaurant both for snacks/drinks and full meals. The quality of food is excellent and pretty consistent. The menu can be a bit limited but there is always something tasty to be found. Oh and the service is first rate!"

"Gaff Rigger experience was very nice. They have several nice seating options - outdoors, on the deck overlooking the marina, conservatory (play area for kids with Lego blocks), bar, outdoors and another restaurant enclosure - so lots of choice. And the food and drinks were nice, they have the usual pub fare, but always offer a couple of special menu items. Among nibbles, highly recommend tempura prawns with wasabi."

"An enjoyable bar/restaurant in the Mercury marina. We've eaten there often and never been disappointed. Service has always been good and the food is pretty reliable. The regular menu is fairly standard "Pub Grub" and they often have at least one more exotic special."