Living in a small country village in the heart of Hampshire, when a new pub opens its doors, naturally it becomes the talk of the town. This October saw the reopening of an old local haunt The Shoulder of Mutton, relaunching as a fine dining gastro pub The Mutton at Hazeley Heath.

This quaint countryside pub with its prime location overlooking Hazeley Farm, has undergone a major makeover with tasteful interiors to match the modern British menu featuring pub classics with a twist.

Diners can tuck into an exciting menu made with local produce like mutton crumpets with pickled red cabbage and torched mackerel pakoras; and main courses of venison with salt-baked celeriac and mushroom risotto with sweetcorn, blue cheese and crispy kale. 

We stopped by this Saturday night to sample one of their delicious sounding cocktails. We both went for a Pisco Sour which certainly packed a punch, but was the perfect aperitif to kick start our Saturday evening in style. The pub was buzzing with a fully booked restaurant and locals from town like us popping by for a drink to see the place following its transformation.

I can’t wait to go back to sample the menu curated by chefs Nigel Sutcliffe and James McLean, whose recent projects include The Oarsman in Marlow and The Crown at Bray. For mains I like the look of the barbecued celeriac, apple, chicory, walnut, beurre noisette, and needless to say I’ll be sampling another one of their cocktails of course!

Mutton Mary anyone? I’ll report back once we’ve been again for dinner and drinks very soon I’m sure. This may well become my new local favourite; the plush, country chic interiors and stunning cocktails already have me won over ❤