The Hawkley Inn

Had Valentine's Day lunch at The Hawkley and came away very disappointed. This was my favourite pub in Hampshire but has changed under its new owners. I appreciate that change happens and things move on, but this used to be a real country pub, always busy when we visited and with a good atmosphere. That no longer seems to be the case. We ate from the special Valentines Day menu, there was enough choice and we selected the Venison Wellington. Appreciating that it would take a little time to cook was not a problem but it was nearly 45 minutes before it came. The Wellington was very well cooked, but two slices of it, half a shallot and a slice of carrot did not really meet expectation or appetite. I should add that there was no mention of vegetables on the menu, perhaps we should have asked...or known better, there was also no sides available to order from the menu, hence our expectation that it came with veg'. We had ordered our deserts at the same time as our mains, but once again these took over twenty minutes to arrive. I did comment to our waitress about the meagre amount of veg, I hope they will be a little more generous if they take on board feedback. The desert was very good, so there is a good cook in the kitchen. Sadly my favourite pub seems to be coming a fine dining establishment, I hope its a successes but I will not be coming back.

Stayed for a night to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The hotel is lovely. We stayed in the Cowdrey room. The room was spacious with lovely views and an amply stocked tea tray with added biscuits and a chocolate. Nice touch.! The food was so lovely that my husband remarked that this was the best food he’d had in ages. Obviously, I gave him ‘the look’ to which he clarified that he meant when eating out! To be fair, it WAS the best food we’d had in ages. If I could cook like that I wouldn’t be an accountant! We had dinner and breakfast and both were equally lovely. Friendly staff to top it off. A lovely weekend.

We popped in for a pint after a long walk in the local area. Friendly staff and nice buzz on a Sunday afternoon. They had stopped serving lunch but the menu looks great, we’re going to plan a trip back another time. Lucky locals! There’s also a beautiful church round the corner if you’re in to that kind of history 👍🏻