Sparsholt, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Opinions divide a little on this elegant chamber, where “fantastic views towards Winchester enhance the atmosphere”; and where MasterChef: The Professionals winner 2023, Tom Hamblet took over at the stoves in 2023 providing a nine-course tasting menu for £125 per person. The odd reporter feels that “it’s disappointing with uninspiring dishes and small portions at a big price… and without any table cloths!” The majority of reports, though, are more positive, and vouch that “it lives up to the hype in spades” .

“Calling this a gastropub is doing it a disservice” say fans of this Victorian village pub, which was refurbed extensively in 2018. “Never once disappointed – it’s a little out of the way, but well worth the trip”. The menu is a roll call of upmarket gastropub dishes: alongside burger and fish ’n’ chips there’s Chicken Supreme, Creedy Carver Duck Breast and Hampshire 36 Day Aged Chateaubriand for two.

Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan was – as of mid 2025 – rumoured to be on the verge of buying a £1 billion stake in Richard Caring’s restaurant empire, of which this famous brasserie chain is the crown jewel. Presumably, he’s more interested in ‘rolling out’ the brand in The Gulf and beyond rather than dropping by for a Salmon Fishcake and ‘Ivy Chocolate Bombe’, but if he’d asked the opinion of our annual diners’ poll, we’re not sure that he’d sign on the dotted line. “How can a restaurant with this heritage produce such uninspired, tick-box food?” is a question merited by its poor ratings, ditto what explains the “very slow and disinterested service”? The answer may be that “you don’t come here for the food, obviously” but for the “gorgeous” interior design and “picturesque” locations that continue to underpin their appeal. Let’s hope for the Sheikh’s sake that the middle classes of the Arab World are as undiscerning as those from the UK!

“A Winchester institution that’s good for food, drinks and atmosphere” – this large ancient inn is “tucked in near the Cathedral and Winchester College” (whose teachers, known as ‘dons’, use it as their local, and whose ancient school desks have been put to good use in the bar). Nowadays owned by Fuller’s, it’s “a fabulous pub” that’s “always busy” – and old-timers feel it “may be getting back to its heyday 30 years ago”. Top Menu Tip – “it’s worth travelling a long way for the Wyk pie, a classy version of a shepherd’s pie”.

A hugely “charming” setting is par for the course at Winchester’s oldest commercial building – a timbered delight with a six-hundred-year history that has been a restaurant for 75 of those years, and under the same team of friends since 2008. The classical cooking doesn’t attract quite as much attention, but is never rated less than “good”, and the “well-priced set lunch” is also replicated for early evening, making this a handy destination before a play at the local Chesil Theatre.

Relaunched in January 2024 by the owners of the nearby 16th-century country house estate Avington Park – who stepped in to save the day after receiving a letter from villagers aghast at the closure of their beloved local – this “recently refurbished, attractive pub” is once again back in business. Nowadays there’s a “lovely outdoor terrace”, plus a village shop and deli, and rooms should you wish to overnight; on the food front, “good” small plates and pub classics, and it’s also “perfect for a traditional Sunday lunch”.

A wood-fired oven provides the dishes in this converted former outbuilding of Lainston House complete with high pitched wood ceiling (which also houses a cookery school) where smoked and roasted steaks, fish and other fare make up the menu. Reports are not numerous, but all excellent.