Sparsholt, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “A classical set-up with comfy armchairs and a roaring fire, tea served with sandwiches, scones, jam, cream and cakes – this picturesque country house hotel takes us plebs all back to a bygone age” and is very highly recommended for afternoon tea. Feedback on more ambitious fare in its plush dining room was a little more up-and-down last year and relatively limited, coinciding with the departure of highly rated exec chef Andrew Birch after only two years. His replacement, Phil Yeomans, returns after leaving as head chef in 2014.

“Your standard pub this is definitely not” – in fact it’s “quite likely one of the best places to eat in the Winchester area” – a “quintessential Victorian village pub” updated six years ago with a “large, modern dining area” offering a “monthly, small and very well considered menu” along with “excellent service”.

2021 Review: “The garden’s a joy in summer” at the original HdV, founded 25 years ago in a gorgeous Georgian house – but there’s a persistent feeling that it fails to live up to its attractive setting or extensive cellar, with diners too often “disappointed” by their bistro fare. The chain, which now numbers 19 boutique hotels, has been sold twice in the last 10 years.

The national brand’s handy High Street perch is “THE place to have breakfast or brunch” locally, attracting uniformly positive reports this year. “The food is on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for” and despite being “always busy”, it’s “still somehow always able to deliver”, with “excellent service” from the “polite and efficient” staff.

“Part of the Fuller’s group but a cut above the city’s other pubs”, this famous boozer with rooms (betwixt Cathedral and college) is a “wonderfully atmospheric” spot that’s “the spiritual heir to Orwell’s ‘Moon Under Water’, or ideal public house”. For non-literary types that means “a varied clientele, with some eccentrics”, “a series of cosy and pleasantly cluttered rooms… convivial rather than noisy; no music or TV; and staff who are amiable and helpful”. The food, helmed by 2022 Roux Scholarship semi-finalist Luke Emmess, was consistently well-rated this year.

This “quietly excellent” destination inhabits a 600-year-old building five minutes’ from the city centre, and has operated as a restaurant for over 75 years (the current owners took over in 2008). It is second only to Rick Stein locally in terms of the amount of feedback it generates thanks to offering a “very high standard in everything”: “the setting is classical yet relaxed; service is discreet and effective; and the cuisine elegant and well-prepared”. “I am delighted that such restaurants still exist – there are so few like this”. Top Menu Tip – “the lunch and early evening menu is exceptional value”.