Snookies & Co is set to open in Osborne Road with the team behind Kassia looking forward to welcoming customers through the door. There was great excitement amongst locals when news broke that Snookies would be returning, a café that was a fixture in the road for decades before closing in 2016.
George Purnell, one of the investment team behind Snookies & Co, is delighted that the new eatery can bring back some popular features of the cafe while also putting their own modern twist on it.
He said: “Our name is a nostalgic nod to the café that was here previously. We are going to be an all day venue so we are looking at doing our own version of what that cafe was, a more modern version. It will be our own twist on it rather than a bad impression of Snookies.”
George was a part of the team that ran the Kassia restaurant that opened in the building following Snookies closure. The Indian tapas restaurant closed in 2020 and George has always felt there was “unfinished business” with the new venue also taking inspiration from it.
He said: ”Kassia was here for five years and did very well but then shut just after Covid. We were very conscious of the excitement there would be with Snookies coming back, but Kassia was here as well.
“Our menu will be English during the day, roughly 9 to 5, then in the evening there will be more of an Indian concept with a nod to Kassia, so basically we have the history of the building wrapped up in one venue.
“We are very excited by the concept and I think people will be proud of what we are doing. We are really happy with where we are we and can’t wait to open.“
The eatery will be serving “modern English dishes” during the day with the likes of jacket potatoes and sandwiches on the lunch menu. Breakfast items such as eggs benedict and eggs royale will be available until 12pm with George heralding the “fantastic coffee” and maccha that will be on offer.
George said: “In the evening it will be a total shift. You can expect classics like onion bhajis and chicken tikka masala but that is probably where the classics end. We then have our own twists on Indian dishes. We have a fantastic grilled seafood platter, we also have seabass and fillet steak with curry sauce.
“We know people in Portsmouth love their Indian food but there isn't many Indian places in this Osborne Road and Palmerston Road section. We think we can offer something that is quite different.”
No set date has been announced for the opening of Snookies but they are hoping to be open at the end of the first week of December.
See the pictures below for a sneak peek inside:
1. Snookies & Co
George Purnell is excited to welcome customers at Snookies & Co. | Joe Williams
2. Snookies & Co
The all day venue has taken inspiration from the buildings former guises - Snookies and Kassia | Joe Williams
4. Snookies & Co
There has been a lot of excitement since it was announced Snookies & Co would be opening | Joe Williams