Touareg

Touareg - Berber nomadic tribe, Volkswagen 4x4 and North African restaurant in Elm Grove, Southsea - and loving Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian food, culture, people etc I'd been looking forward to trying out this eclectic looking restaurant for ages.

Annoyingly, we didn't realise that they had a BYOB policy or I'd have brought along a bottle or two of Hochar from the Lebanon (not knowing any Moroccan wines, though I hear they can be excellent) As it was they had a selection of two underperforming Californian reds which had to suffice. The mezze was very good - merguez, a pastry with almonds and chicken (?) and others were nicely presented and I could have made a meal out of those. We had various tagines and cous cous dishes to follow, and my merguez cous cous was pretty good - very filling - but lacked some spice. In Parisienne couscousseries you often get a pot of hot harissa-inspired sauce to ladle over your basic sauce, and that would have been a good idea here, as the sauce was very mild-mannered. No puddings for us but wonderful Turkish coffee in a lovely old pot, which, expertly poured, left no grains in the cup.

I really liked the laid-back cafe-style atmosphere, exceptionally charming waitress, interested chefs who wanted to know if everything was alright because the couscous went back unfinished (just too full) and I'd like to go back for a long lunch, bringing an authentic wine and a focus on the mezze. I'll skip the hubble bubble.

Touareg is at 165 Elm Grove, Southsea, Tel. 023 9273 0033