British, Modern Restaurants in Bucklers Hard
1. Cambium
British, Modern restaurant in Brockenhurst
Lyndhurst Rd - SO42
2023 Review: ‘Dylan James’s dishes pay homage to the British countryside, and embrace the nature of the seasons’ – well that’s what the website says! – at this “lovely restaurant in a beautiful hotel”: a New Forest destination that started life as a royal hunting lodge and is nowadays a luxurious spa complex. Reports in our annual diners’ poll agree, all of them applauding its attractive, light interior and brasserie food from an all-day menu that’s “carefully cooked, and good value”.
2. The Terrace, Montagu Arms Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Beaulieu
In the heart of Beaulieu, this Arts & Crafts building set in lovely gardens is one of the New Forest’s best known luxury hotels. You can eat pub grub in ‘Monty’s Inn’, but the main event is The Terrace: a comfortably plush dining room, which achieves good all-round (if limited) feedback for its traditional – but not super-expensive – fare, backed up by an impressive 300-bin wine list.
3. Chewton Glen
British, Modern restaurant in New Milton
Chewton Glen Rd - BH23
“Five-star service and food on the South Coast”, say fans of this “special” venue – a famous Relais & Châteaux property, set in gorgeous grounds on the edge of the New Forest and 30 minutes’ drive from Bournemouth: the “perfect hotel to be spoilt in with its lovely summery restaurant and first-class staff”. Perennial gripes about high prices here were absent this year, and Luke Matthews’s cuisine won nothing but praise. Top Tip – “The lunch menu is very good value”; and “the quality and quantity of afternoon tea here is so very impressive – we didn’t need dinner!!”
4. The Jetty
British, Modern restaurant in Christchurch
95 Mudeford - BH23
This “top spot” – a modern, glass-walled venue with a terrace for outdoor dining at a “lovely location on Christchurch Harbour” (in the grounds of the Harbour Hotel and with superb views) – is an ideal showcase for chef Alex Aitken’s “consistently high-quality, locally sourced seafood”.
5. The Pig
British, Modern restaurant in Brockenhurst
Beaulieu Road - SO42
“The setting is off the charts” at the New Forest original of Robin Hutson’s shabby-chic country house hotel group (which was sold to private equity in late 2022) – “a beautiful manor house with incredible gardens and a fascinating, walled kitchen garden”. “Finally made it here for my wife’s birthday this year: we’ll definitely be returning!”. The food (better rated this year) is generally considered “fine” or better, albeit “with the continuous expansion of the chain, the meals become a little more hotel-like – though we certainly enjoyed our visit”.
6. Elderflower
British, Modern restaurant in Lymington
4-5 Quay St - SO41
“A set selection with superb balance of flavours and textures” (with options “you might not ordinarily choose”) makes for “very interestingly presented and great-tasting food” (“we even ate a tulip!”) according to fans of the “amazing tasting menus” at Andrew & Marjolaine du Bourg’s “professional” fine-dining venue in a pretty cobbled street, near the harbour. “Too many elements on a plate” can leave some diners feeling “confused”, though (“lovely people, who are trying very hard but we thought the food was unnecessarily complicated”).
7. Samphire at Stanwell House
British, Modern restaurant in Lymington
14-15 High Street - SO41
“The new kid on the block”, this ambitious new restaurant opened in November 2022 in a “boutique hotel on Lymington’s High Street” that had been closed for a year-long renovation. It has quickly established a solid reputation for its “simply prepared and beautifully presented fish, straight from the local boats”.
8. Verveine Fishmarket Restaurant
British, Modern restaurant in Milford-on-Sea
98 High St - SO41
“Constantly innovative, super-fresh fish dishes” from chef-patron David Wykes have established this “small, warm space” with an in-house fishmonger as a true “destination restaurant”, invariably hailed as a “great discovery” by first-time visitors. The “outstanding tasting menus” are presented in an unusual format, with guests nominating the number of courses but not their content. They arrive with “imaginative accompaniments” and “charming, attentive service”.
9. Spot in the Woods
British, Modern restaurant in Woodlands
174 Woodlands Rd, Netley Marsh, New Forest - SO40
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”.
10. Pebble Beach
French restaurant in Barton-on-Sea
Marine Drive - BH25
This “excellent beachside restaurant” from experienced chef Andy Waters – one of the few in Britain to have worked under the late, great Paul Bocuse in Lyons – has a fitting focus on “good fish”, alongside classic pasta dishes and steaks. The terrace has lovely views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.
11. The Kitchen at Chewton Glen
British, Modern restaurant in New Milton
Chewton Farm Road - BH23
“Showing that the food doesn’t have to be fancy to be good” – fans applaud the “great menu of varied choices” in the relaxed alternative eatery of this famous country-house hotel, whose menu line-up includes posh burger and pizza options. The addition was completed a few years ago and is an attractive modern space with pitched roof, whose features include views over the kitchen gardens, an outdoor terrace and a cookery school overseen by James Martin. An “ideal venue for a special occasion – expensive, but worth it”.
12. abarbistro
British, Modern restaurant in Portsmouth
58 White Hart Rd - PO1
This “pleasant” and “airy” bistro on the seafront has shaken up its offering thanks to new head chef Adam Maker, who has introduced small plates and ambitious locally sourced cuisine alongside ongoing fixtures such as the “excellent fish ’n’ chips” and pizzas. Oenophiles are also well served as “in partnership with Camber Wines, there’s plenty of choice for all tastes and budgets” when it comes to the tipples.
13. The Terrace
British, Modern restaurant in Yarmouth
Quay Street - PO41
2023 Review: This “fab” harbourside wine bar-bistro “with gorgeous views across the Solent” has three glass shelters on its eponymous terrace, so you can eat outside in all seasons. The menu highlight is steaks from retired dairy cows from the island’s Briddlesford Farm, hung for 40 days and cooked to medium for the ‘tangy, rich and yellow fat to melt nicely’.
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