Romsey Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “TerraVina’s resurrection” – “in its new guise as a boutique B&B and café” – “has become a real favourite in the beautiful New Forest”. Founder Gerard Basset, the famed wine expert behind the original Hotel du Vin, died in January 2019 after a two-year fight against cancer, and his widow Nina has kept the business going. There are “no evening meals now, but breakfasts and lunches are splendid” and “in summer it’s lovely to sit in the garden”.

“Consistently exceptional French bistro cuisine” – “in the middle of the New Forest!” – ensures that this unlikely but long-serving Gallic outpost in the most English of environments remains an “all-time favourite” for many. It’s “an absolute delight”, with a “fabulous wine list, attentive service and the best setting overlooking a village cricket pitch with wild ponies and donkeys wandering past”. “We’re always warmly welcomed with a glass of Champagne by the characterful maître d’/owner”, Claude Laage.

This “great hotel” makes a “lovely setting” for “consistently very good meals” from well-travelled chef Phil Yeomans, who trained at the Dorchester and worked in the US and Bermuda before returning to his native Hampshire to run the kitchen here six years ago.

2021 Review: “Rather nice brunches and lunches await at this deli-café, with half a dozen specials chalked on the board” plus a garden and fish ‘n’ chip Friday nights. Though it serves an “upmarket clientele in an upmarket village”, it’s still “good value, with charming young staff” to boot.

“What a find” – this well-established Gallic restaurant has been ably helmed by husband-and-wife team Garth (FOH) and Maranda Jacobs (chef) for over a decade, having been in existence for twice that long under former chef German Marquis. These days in a handier High Street location, it continues to turn out “delightful” and “delicious” cuisine by absolutely all accounts.

“An urbane London-style restaurant out in the country” – “this is a pretty village and the hotel has been refurbished in recent times”; and fans say it is an “especially delightful place to eat outside in the good weather”. “Prices are fairly commensurate with London” and not everyone feels that it stacks up value-wise – “what is reliable food with willing and helpful service” to some is – to others – “pretty average”.

Reopened by Lucy Townsend a decade back – a “lovely old pub” (with ten rooms) delivering “wonderful, delicious seasonal food” that makes the most of the Kent larder, and where the “superb staff and welcome make every meal special” (it’s hotly in demand for romantic getaways). Top Tip – the “particularly good-value set lunch” (three courses £26.95 per person).

“Hard to fault the food” according to the numerous fans of Angela Hartnett and Lime Wood’s Luke Holder’s retreat – a 33 bedroom property tastefully updated and with a “beautiful New Forest location”, where the menu puts an Italian spin on quite a conservative country-house menu (with main courses such as guinea fowl or Dover sole for £45-£55). At these prices, though, the odd reporter feels “it has good food, but the à la carte is overpriced: opt for the good-value set lunch”.

Victorian village pub, remodelled and extended in 2018 with new bedrooms and a dining room which provides a standard pub menu. The menu aims at the higher end for pub grub (for example with ‘Hampshire 36 Day Aged Côte de Boeuf’ or ‘King Scallop, Salt Pig Nduja & Saffron Risotto’) but more sceptical reporters see it as “good all-round but somewhat dialled in”.

“An interesting pub with loads of character” – this well-known sprawling inn (run by Fuller’s) sits right between the Cathedral and the town’s famous public school, and its decor includes bric-a-brac and ancient desks from the latter. “A varied clientele, with some eccentrics – human and canine – are thrown in for added pleasure in a series of cosy and pleasantly cluttered rooms so that except at the busiest times, it‘s convivial rather than noisy; no music or TV; and staff who are amiable and helpful”. Now under a former Roux Scholarship semi-finalist, Luke Emmess, the food “has regained some (not all) of its former glory” and “is certainly a lot better than a mere ‘cut off the joint’”. Straightforward items gain most praise (“dinner doesn‘t always deliver on its ambitions”): “one of the best pies ever…”; “breakfasts and lunchtime sandwiches are superb”.

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.

Another outpost of the all-conquering Ivy brand’s high street brasserie spin-off, whose “décor and furnishings stand out from the crowd” (down to the onyx bar, polished parquet floors and burnt-orange leather banquettes). It’s “lost a bit of gloss since it opened” and food was never really the main event (though there’s a “wide choice” on the menu, and it’s generally well-rated) “but it‘s the location and the buzz that you go for”.

“Lovely food, beautifully presented” makes it worth knowing about this local Thai favourite of two decades’ standing, whose large vegan selection makes it one of the better places in town for those wishing to eat meat-free.

This “long-established Indian with a large and loyal following” has served an “interesting range of refined dishes with good use of spices” for almost 40 years. “As long as Ronnie [Chowdhury] is there, this will always be the best Indian restaurant in Winchester – he maintains the high standards in food and service”.

“Our go-to local favourite” – “history is definitely on the menu here and one can feel it within the cosy sophistication of this 600-year-old dining room” – “a wonderful, intimate and historic” space that’s “great for grown-ups”. It’s been a restaurant since 1940 and owned by Mark Dodds since 2008, whose team provides “wonderful friendly and efficient service”. The “classic” cooking is not of the highest ambition but consistently well-realised and very reliable. Top Tips – “good value lunch and early evening menu which is wonderful for dinner before a play at the Chesil Theatre”; “lamb and game are favourite choices here”.

“Excellent food and service” again win high ratings for Miff Kayum’s relocated Japanese fixture, which recently moved after 11 years at 70 Parchment Street to this new 60-cover address (with 20-seat courtyard) within the town, on the former site of Bridge Street House. The headline feature on the menu remains the ‘Winchester Roll’ – the world’s first to be wrapped in wasabi leaf not seaweed – as does the freshly grated wasabi served with sushi: “chef grows his own and invited us to see the growing plants and take a leaf home!”

The “idyllic New Forest location” is the big draw at the original Pig, where Robin & Judy Hutson set the template for their shabby-chic country-house hotel group that had grown to 11 branches by the time they stepped back into retirement at the end of 2024. The “food is perhaps not quite as adventurous as it used to be”, but its basic premise of “fresh local produce, cooked perfectly” still passes muster for most reporters. Black marks, though, for some “poorly trained staff” and “seriously overpriced wines”.