Our Food Lovers Guide to the New Forest…

Our guests spend thousands of pounds a month eating out. We want you to be able to buy and eat the best. To us this means properly local food, supporting craftspeople, farmers and fisherfolk, with the least miles from farm or boat to your fork, cooked by those who know food and served by well trained and smiley local talent.


Here's our list of 10 favourites: (With the Top 4 vying for eco-amazing-ness)

1. The Pig, Brockenhurst.

For a cool ‘at home in the country’ atmosphere and a menu based on producers who are (for the very most part) 25 miles from the restaurant– The Courtyard at The Pig Hotel in Brockenhurst.

With its traditional entrance hall, greenhouse dining room, bar, drawing room and fab’ library room, The Pig wouldn’t be out of place in a game of Cluedo.

So, if it’s outdoor dining with simple and delicious British garden food you’re after, then choose the Piggy Bits, and then, possibly, a Tomahawk Pork chop, with tobacco onions and garden rocket. We love the Lemon basil posset and shortbread for pud. Book early. It’s amazing.

2. The Gun Inn, Keyhaven.

It’s in our top 2 for the greenest place to eat in the New Forest.

They are proud of their 25 mile menu principle here, the young, local team have been given a free-rein to bring the best local suppliers to the table. The walking and views from the area are superb too – just in case you over ate…

One of the mainstays of local, seasonal and excellently-eco, is newly re-loved Gun Inn, Keyhaven.

The pub is open from 11.30 daily and offers a considered, local menu of food that has been sourced with extreme care. And before you ask, those with dietary requirements are well catered for and the children’s menu is excellent too. The Gun menu is well out in front locally, but also quite probably leads the way, in the whole county. The ethos and principles here are similar to (the famous) Pig Hotels with their 25 mile menu. The team here have proven that it’s possible for the humble local to offer the same, if not better, as a posh restaurant.

  • – The Sandwich board has rippingly delicious fare for the starving and harried.
    – The Main Menu is full of variety from New Forest Wild Mushrooms to Tempura Plaice for starters to a classic Gun burger or fresh caper & butter Skate Wing. Plenty for vegan and gluten free folk too.
    – And for those who want to pre-order, savour the whole experience and share a plate, the best way to go is the Big Gun Menu. Here you’ll be able to fill your chops with, for example, a rack of local pork, a whole fore rib of beef – you get the picture. It’s not cheap, but it’s the best you can buy, done the best way.

3. The Montague Arms, Beaulieu.

The restaurant gets most of its veg’ from the Beaulieu Palace gardens across the river. They are proud of their environmental creds and have done a huge amount of work on this in the hotel.

So if your idea of pure joy is being able to gaze upon a microcosm of a Gertrude Jekyll-style garden – complete with sculpted water feature – and eat like an (eco) hero, then you’ve come to the right place. The Terrace restaurant at The Montagu Arms in Beaulieu is charming. It is as you’d expect with that pedigree, perfect and particular. Not really suited to kids. Some of the ingredients come from the very garden you are sitting in. Start with fennel velouté with crispy mussels, samphire and dill oil, with honey roast free range chicken and broccoli puree for mains, and white chocolate and passionfruit cheesecake with crème fraiche sorbet to finish.

 

4. Chewton Glen, New Milton

There’s only one New Forest establishment that has this many stars. It’s the restaurant where James Martin was famously the pastry chef and an al fresco lunch at the Chewton Glen near New Milton is something you’ll remember for the rest of the year. However… what you may not know is that you can eat this lunch overlooking Chewton Glen’s delectable surroundings for under £30. Yes, really. 

5. The Noisy Lobster Restaurant and Deli, Mudeford.

The young team at The Noisy Lobster have done wonders and the seafood is particularly well sourced. The menus are simple, creative and service is good.

Ingredients are mostly local, with the rest coming from UK waters, or Hampshire’s fields. They take great pride in supporting local farmers and fisherfolk.

We were mighty impressed with their takeaway packaging – made from sugar cane and totally biodegradable in your compost, or use it again. It’s tough stuff!  All charcuterie is grown in Hampshire and made locally with their new smoker and dryer. Stuart who is on the cheffing team was passionate and hugely well informed – he’d driven much of the changes. Even the flour for the bakery items had come from nearby Stokes Flour Mill in Dorset. There are about 50-60 local people employed through the business which rents beach huts too. Three are pasty chefs. Quite a team. Well done them!

6. Rhinefield House Hotel, Brockenhurst.

This grand house at Rhinefield House Hotel is quite a place. It’s surrounded by thick forest, some of the largest Redwood and fir trees in the south of England, excellent walking and cycling trails. Having been a hunting lodge, school and private house, it is now a sizeable hotel.  The gardens are Italianate, the interior of the main dining rooms haven’t changed much since they were built in the 17/18th century – and it feels like a luxury 18th century hunting lodge (plenty of wooden carving, an extraordinary Moorish dining room) with newer modern touches.

The Afternoon Tea is all made on site, using mostly local ingredients and delivered with some of the most professional customer service we’ve experienced in a long time. The menu felt like a lunch really, but delivered in the style of high tea, with an emphasis on the sweeter things. Champagne and drinks can be purchased by the glass or bottle. They allocate 2.5 hours to each sitting so there is no hurry.

The team are also delivering well against their sustainability goals with solid work on supporting local suppliers (25 miles), reducing waste, and responsible consumption.

Do walk in the gardens afterwards and take a walk in the nearby Ornamental Drive, which shouldn’t be missed. The trees are spectacular in their full maturity.

6. Hartnett & Holder at Lime Wood, Lyndhurst.

Famous chefs Angela Hartnett and Luke Holder create locally sourced Italian dishes and during the warm weather you can eat them outside in the true Italian manner. If you’re looking for a special place for a drink and a graze, then Lime Wood’s Courtyard bar has you covered. The walking from here is also superb.

7. The Master Builder’s, Buckler’s Hard, Beaulieu.

Try the Yachtsman’s bar and garden at The Master Builder’s, Buckler’s Hard. Being so close to the water, you’ll want to eat some sumptuous seafood; maybe their spiced, potted crab, or beer battered haddock and chips, all washed down with clotted cream panna cotta, or, possibly, banana sticky toffee pudding.

After your meal, you can take a boat ride down the Beaulieu river or take a gander around the Maritime museum to learn about the local naval history.

8. The Haven, Lymington

We love the restaurant The Haven, located in the heart of Lymington’s Yacht Haven marina. The food is good, the service smiley and the views are fantastic. If the weather is a bit average then eat inside the main restaurant. It has huge wrap around glass windows which overlook the marina and out to the Solent. The deck here is full of energy and boaty chat in the summer.

Walk from here along the coastal paths to Keyhaven for a post-lunch potter.

9. East End Arms, Lymington

The East End Arms, which is located near to many of our houses, is the perfect distance to walk to the beach or across the fields and forest. It is your quintessential pub with a beautiful outside seating area, half of which is covered by a Moroccan style gazebo. The indoor dining space is lovely too with lots of atmosphere.

10. The Mill at Gordleton, Lymington

This big gastro pub serves mainly British food and has a good reputation. The style is smart, chic, and the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. It’s a great spot for a big birthday celebration and we don’t hesitate to recommend that people come here.