Knapp Restaurant Guide

This “lovely old pub” with rooms – a thatched survivor from the 14th century – wins solid ratings for its “friendly service”, “great atmosphere and interesting food”, which ranges from standard pub burgers to Turkish eggs and Goan pork vindaloo. Owner Ben Maschler, son of restaurant critic Fay, ran Soho House’s food operations before heading to rural Dorset.

2022 Review: “A friendly and welcoming atmosphere” marks out this thatched fifteenth-century gastroboozer, where the “high-quality fresh local produce” (but also more adventurous sourcing, including from Paris’s famous Rungis market) leads to some “interesting variations on the traditional style”.

This “superb country pub with fabulous food” on the Fonthill Estate dates from 1740 and boasts a “country-house ambience and upper-crust service” that make it “popular with the local gentry” (and very well commented-on in our annual diners’ poll by the standards of venues in the area). An ivy-clad facade and “roaring log fires” are complemented by a smartly modernised interior, while “seasonal menus mix traditional country fayre and touches of the more exotic” – so there’s “truly something for everyone”.

“Brilliant, delicately spiced food – in decent portions and well priced” – has established Farsi Solman’s “really good Indian” as one of Salisbury’s prime dining destinations over more than 20 years. “No wonder you must book”.

2022 Review: “Consistently good and authentic street food” with “lots of extras” ensure a “very different Indian experience” at Muhammed Rasheed’s five-year-old, close to the cathedral. There’s a shaded patio out the back and craft beer available.

2023 Review: This “brilliant thatched country pub” has “lots of game dishes” on its menu – appropriately enough for a traditional establishment in the historical hunting landscape of Cranborne Chase. “Vegetarians and vegans are well provided for” too, while there’s also a “well-stocked bar with local ales and a reasonably priced wine list”.

“In a beautiful setting in the Wiltshire countryside”, Darren Brown’s “most wonderful” venture occupies an eighteenth-century walled garden and “makes full use of the produce grown” there in its “wholesome, creative fare”. “The fire pit conjures smoke, fire and primal appetites” which are ably slaked by the “superb” meats and “imaginatively done” vegetables – limited mostly to lunch, plus the odd Equinox-themed dinner. In summer they also run the ‘Slow Food Kitchen’ from Thursday to Sunday, while you can overnight year-round in their Shepherd’s Hut.

2022 Review: “Amazing food and friendly service” characterise this “impressive” restaurant on the edge of the New Forest, run for more than 20 years by chef Mike Womersley (ex-Lucknam Park) and his wife Jayne. “The ambience has been transformed by a refurbishment – a welcome surprise since our last visit”.

“Fab French food in the middle of nowhere” – on the edge of the New Forest – has won a devoted fan club for Claude Laage’s establishment, now 30 years old and an “all-time favourite restaurant” to many for its “wonderful Gallic experience” and “superb wine list”. You can also eat inexpensively here, from its ‘Le Frog bistro’ menu – same space and servers but much less fancy Gallic fare.