If you’re a committed foodie who’s heading to the National Park in Hampshire, then you need to know all about the best New Forest restaurants to dine at!
Here in the New Forest you can dine on a terrace overlooking a classic English garden, complete with croquet lawn. You can take afternoon tea while looking out for the local ponies, or enjoy a gastro-feast fit for a King at a hotel restaurant bearing a celebrity chef’s name.
Perhaps it’s surprising that there are no Michelin star restaurants in the New Forest. But there are some very fine ones recommended by the Michelin Guide. And, as a local, by me.
To whet your appetite, here are 15 of the best restaurants in the New Forest. Who needs Michelin stars? It only makes the best places to eat in the New Forest feel more like undiscovered secrets – and of course increases your chances of securing a great table.
Read on to discover the 15 best restaurants in the New Forest.
15 of the Best New Forest Restaurants
The Pig, Brockenhurst
Best for a 25 mile menu
The Pig in the New Forest is the original Pig hotel, and is situated on the fringes of Brockenhurst, the well-connected village at the heart of the National Park.
The Pig restaurant in the New Forest focuses firmly on local fare. There’s a 25-mile menu, plus a kitchen garden on site producing much of what ends up being plated with panache.
It’s all about countrified shabby chic at The Pig Hotel in the New Forest. A relaxed place to dine, yet you really are in for a culinary treat. When it comes to eating in the New Forest, tables at The Pig in the Forest are the most sought-after of all.
Hartnett, Holder & Co, Lyndhurst
Best for fine Italian fare
On a recent trip to London, my friend and I got chatting to our lovely, lively cabbie. Our first question, of course, was which celebrities he’d previously driven around.
His answer was Paul Whitehouse, the comedy chum of Harry Enfield. And – coincidentally on the very same day – Angela Hartnett. Both lovely and down-to-earth, apparently, which I can well believe.
Hartnett’s Italian food and dining room is every bit as special – yet as laid-back – as she is. Panelled walls, button-back chairs, tall Georgian-style windows and parquet flooring create a clubby ambience. And then there are the panoramic views over the glorious grounds.
Hartnett, Holder & Co in the New Forest comes heartily recommended by the Michelin Guide. As well as being among the to restaurants in Lyndhurst, New Forest, the spa at the five star Lime Wood hotel is also one of the forest’s best.
The Terrace, Beaulieu
Best for afternoon tea
I adore the Montagu Arms. It’s a smart New Forest pub that’s connected to the National Motor Museum via a footpath. You can access this through the gate directly opposite.
The garden at the back is one of the loveliest things about the Montagu Arms, and The Terrace restaurant overlooks this. It also has, of course, an outdoor patio. The Montagu Arms is my favourite place for a New Forest afternoon tea – and is among the best restaurants with rooms in the New Forest.
Once I was lucky enough to tour the kitchen and meet the staff at the Montagu Arms. They are so passionate about what they do, and the owners aren’t shy of investing in both people and equipment. Monty’s pub can also be found here, if you can’t get a table at The Terrace or prefer the pub vibe.
The Elderflower, Lymington
Best for local character
The smart New Forest market and harbour town of Lymington is home to one of the best restaurants in Hampshire. The Elderflower is a beacon of modern British food, and is located in a listed building on Quay Street, a charming cobbled lane leading from the high street down to the water.
The Elderflower is Michelin-recommended, and the menu is based around locally produced ingredients. That said, one of the most pleasing things about dining here is the little Asian flourishes found hither and thither.
Monkey Brewhouse, Lymington
Best for a microbrewery
The Monkey Brewhouse can also be found in Lymington. As the name suggests, there’s a microbrewery on site. There’s also a wide-ranging menu covering culinary delights from all over the globe.
This is a great place to try local food, and this is among the best New Forest pubs for Sunday lunch. You can also book a room here is you fancy staying over.
Stay over at the Monkey Brewhouse
Vervaine Fishmarket Restaurant, Milford-on-Sea
Best for fish and seafood
Milford-on-Sea is a coastal village on the edge of the New Forest – and is seemingly untouched by time. It has a classic village green, an old-fashioned air, a stretch of beach and a clutch of interesting places to shop and eat.
Vervaine is one of the latter, a self-proclaimed ‘fishmarket restaurant’. It’s an award-winning establishment which has been rated highly by Tatler, The Times, the AA and the Good Food and Michelin Guides. So for places to eat in Milford-on-Sea, this is the best.
Pick a two, three or six course lunch menu, or opt for four, six or eight courses for dinner. Either way it’s a blind tasting menu, so do advise of any dislikes or allergies beforehand. There’s also a fishmongers’ on the premises, so you can pick up more local and British seafood to enjoy at home or while on holiday.
The Jetty, Christchurch
Best for sublime sea views
The Jetty at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel is in the very safe and capable hands of Alex Aitken. I’ve met him a couple of times, at a summer season launch party and when a friend and I were invited to the hotel as guests. Expect an open, relaxed kind of guy with a real passion for food – and invariably, in food-splattered chef’s whites.
There’s a range of menus to choose from at The Jetty. These include Sunday lunch, vegan, a la carte, vegetarian and tasting selections. Seafood and steak are ever-present, as is Aitken’s signature twice-baked cheese souffle.
This is New Forest Michelin star style dining at a more affordable price. And with a side order of sea views.
Stay over at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel
The Upper Deck, Christchurch
Best for the signature souffle
Another place to sample the famous twice-baked cheese souffle is at The Upper Deck, also at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel. I have to heartily recommend this eatery too, having dined there most enjoyably. (It’s only about a mile from where I live, which helps.)
Stunning harbour and Hengistbury Head views can also be yours from The Upper Deck. These include the iconic and extortionately expensive overnight beach huts there. The menu selection isnt massive, but I recommend the cheese souffle starter (but of course) and any dish made with local seafood.
There’s a lovely, colonial-style bar here too, so do make time for a pre or post dinner drink. The hotel also serves up a very decent afternoon tea. Again, as close to Michelin restaurants in Dorset as you can get.
Stay over at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel
The Cliff House, Barton-on-Sea
Best for clifftop walks
The Cliff House is another of my favourite local haunts. If you fancy a bracing walk along the clifftop at Barton-on-Sea before or after dinner, then beeline it here. You won’t be disappointed with the relaxed fine dining in Hampshire found here either.
All food is freshly made from scratch here, and there are main, kids’ and Sunday lunch menus. The fact that prices are very reasonable is a real plus too. Though I do adore the fish mixed grill – the most pricey item on the menu (but so worth it)!
The Kitchen, New Milton
Best for a cookery school
The Kitchen is located between Highcliffe (where I live), New Milton and Barton-on-Sea. It’s another one overseen by a famous chef – in this case, James Martin. As well as the laid-back eatery here, there’s also a cookery school.
Whether you’re looking for top quality restaurants in Hampshire or cooking classes, The Kitchen at the outstanding, five star Chewton Glen can supply it. In turn, much of the food here is provided by the kitchen garden on site.
Expect a menu featuring down-to-earth choices such as burgers, fish and chips and freshly-baked pizzas. More exotic picks like Singapore crab, a butter chicken curry or Beurre Meunière are also available.
Le Blaireau, Brockenhurst
Best for French fine dining
Le Blaireau is one of two great eateries at Careys Manor hotel. This French restaurant in the New Forest can be found right in front of the hotel, in its very own sweet little detached building.
In fact it’s like finding a little part of rural France – or sophisticated Paris – in the New Forest. In addition to favourites like onion soup with cheesy croutons, garlic snails, beef bourguignon, chicken chasseur and tarte tatin, there’s also a children’s menu to help you feed the family.
The Armada, Brockenhurst
Best for stunning surroundings
Rhinefield House is one of the most visually stunning hotels in the New Forest. And trust me, dining at The Armada restaurant here is an unforgettable experience. Make sure you glimpse the Alhambra dining room opposite while you’re here, for starters – it’s a reproduction of its Spanish namesake.
There are seasonal, vegan, Sunday lunch, children’s and ‘Chef’s Experience’ menus to choose from. Whatever you order, you won’t be able to stop staring at the truly splendid surroundings, I promise. Including high ceilings, panelled walls, chandeliers and a pink marble fireplace. Nice restaurants in Hampshire don’t come any more photogenic.
Save space for dessert – the selection and execution are outstanding. Imaginative sweet treats means there’s not a stickey toffee pudding in sight. At least not during summer…
The Old Mill, Lymington
Best for riverside dining
The Old Mill is a lovely, riverside spot just a few miles from Lymington. It’s a great place to stay in the area – and to dine at. Back in the 1900s, this was a working water mill, hence the name.
The eatery is a recipient of an AA rosette and offers a casual, elegant dining experience by the water. There are breakfast, Sunday, kids’ and dessert menus, so you can eat here as early in the day as you like. In fact brunch is served until 3pm except on Sundays (when it’s 11am).
Sandwiches are also available at lunch time, and otherwise it’s a choice between small and large plates. You can mix and match or share these, or order a small as a starter and a large as a main. Food from all over the world is featured throughout.
The Cartwheel Inn, Fordingbridge
Best for a gastropub
If it’s Fordingbridge restaurants you’re looking for, then head to The Cartwheel Inn. At the time of writing, this New Forest gastropub was rated as number one among all 28 of the restaurants in and around town. Which sounds pretty good, right?
Modern twists on British classics, plus a few dishes you might not expect to find on a pub menu, are the order of the day. Such as salmon cured with gin and beetroot, a delicious meatless tagine and King scallops with black pudding.
Beresfords Wine & Dining, Brockenhurst
Best for a warm welcome
If you fancy something more upmarket than the food served at good pubs in the New Forest, I can wholeheartedly recommend Beresfords. It’s at the Balmer Lawn, my favourite New Forest hotel of all, in Brockenhurst.
I had one of the best meals ever here. The wine flight was the ideal accompaniment, too. Local and British fare forms the backbone of the menu, including New Forest asparagus, Orkney scallops and Welsh rump of lamb.
The thing that sets the Balmer Lawn apart, for me, is the laid-back air and the attentive yet friendly welcome invariably extended. I love the afternoon tea here too.
Which restaurants in the New Forest will you dine at?
With 15 of the best New Forest restaurants detailed here, there’s enough to dine at a different one every night. Even if you stay in the area for a couple of weeks. Or like me, are lucky enough to live here.
With the coastal waters of the English channel to the south, fresh forest air and all that farmland, the New Forest is one of the UK’s finest natural larders. Is it any wonder here that the food available here is absolutely first-class?
You may also like my guides to New Forest gastropubs with rooms, the best restaurants in Bournemouth, the top pubs in Lyndhurst and the 10 best Lymington pubs.
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