Josie’s is a group of independent coffee shops in Petersfield, Romsey, Bishop’s Waltham and Winchester. I’ve walked past the Winchester one many times and it’s always busy. So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to be faced with a 40-minute wait at peak weekend brunch time. And reader, do you know what? I glimpsed the food coming out of the open kitchen and I waited. I had a chair, a good friend and a lovely flat white, after all.

When we were finally seated, we were sandwiched between a couple eating sweet pancake stacks (Mars bar sauce, vanilla ice-cream and chunks of Mars bar) and students eating savoury pancake stacks (buttermilk fried chicken, fried egg and maple syrup). DROOLSVILLE.

After much deliberation (I was tempted by the brunch burrito and the Mediterranean style eggs), I ordered the Mexican Benedict - poached eggs on toasted muffin with homemade chorizo patty and green chilli hollandaise. This is something I’m definitely going to recreate at home. It was the chilli hollandaise that made it - just the right balance of clean chilli flavour and mild heat. I washed it down with a revitalising green juice (spinach, cucumber, mint and apple).

I was tempted by the cakes and pastries, which all looked excellent (I have a special skill of being able to judge a cake’s superiority just by looking at it - anyone else)? But they will have to wait for my next visit.

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This is not an advert. I paid for my own food and drinks. I want to write meaningful, unbiased content that my readers can trust. I only share genuinely amazing places that I’m proud to have discovered.