Tag: countrysidepub

Hampshire Eats; The Mutton

September 1, 2024

Living in the quaint countryside of Hampshire, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a pub which serves great food too. From more traditional pubs serving up hearty homemade, traditional dishes, to the fantastic array of gastro pubs offering high quality, premium restaurant standard dishes, there’s a variety of options for all occasions.

One of our local pubs The Mutton, has become a favourite of ours for date night when we’re looking for something more premium than your average pub restaurant. Having reopened following a full renovation a few years ago, it’s made its mark on the food scene in Hampshire and has become known as one of the best gastro pubs in the area.

With a 7pm reservation on the final day in August, we were hoping to dine outside on their stunning terrace with sunset views over the neighbouring fields. Unfortunately the overcast evening scuppered our hopes of an al fresco date night dinner.

Regardless, we had a wonderful dining experience in the cosy restaurant area of the pub along with my parents who joined us for the meal as well. We started with drinks in the bar area so I kicked the evening off with my go-to cocktail of choice, a Margarita.

I couldn’t resist a picture with my margs which matched the green details of my outfit just perfectly; we love a green moment ❤

At 7:30pm we were seated at our table which was a super cute and cosy corner with sofa bench seating and plenty of cushions for extra comfort.

We started with a few small plates to share including the bang bang cauliflower, the beef spring roll with pack choi and a basket of sourdough bread with smoked butter.

This bang bang cauliflower was exquisite, the perfect blend of Chinese spices without the heavy coating of batter you might expect from a dish like that.

My main course was the chargrilled sea bass served with crushed potatoes, locally grown market vegetables and a white wine sauce.

They do fish really well at The Mutton and this sea bass was made particularly special by the white wine sauce which we poured over the dish ourselves upon it being served.

My boyfriend had his usual order of the sirloin steak served with fries and this delicious salad of rocket, parmesan and pink pickled shallot.

For my parents it was the pesto gnocchi with burrata for my mum, then my dad had the sea bass too as well as a side order of the irresistible parmesan truffle fries.

We skipped dessert and just had some coffees to finish as we’d had starters. All of the food was as usual a 10/10 and service very friendly and attentive. We were enjoying ourselves so much we were the last ones out of the restaurant at 10:30pm!

Whilst I think the food is very well priced for the incredible standard, it’s the wine which tends to make the final bill on the pricier side compared to the average pub.

However we are never disappointed with our experience at The Mutton and it is amazing to have such a brilliant pub right on our doorstep for when we do fancy spoiling ourselves.

The Mutton combines creative seasonal dishes with more traditional pub favourites, all made using the very best of British ingredients. If you’re in the area you must visit The Mutton for lunch or dinner for an elevated, quintessential British pub experience – https://themuttonathazeleyheath.co.uk

Post Lockdown Pubbing

April 20, 2021

There’s nothing quite like a Friday evening trip down the pub to wind down after the working week and see in the weekend. With the easing of lockdown restrictions here in the UK last Monday, pub gardens were packed out across the country as thirsty punters were able to enjoy their usual tipple in the company of friends and family once again.

Whether it’s meeting girlfriends to share a bottle of vino or grabbing a drink with the boyfriend and soaking up the social atmosphere, I’ve most definitely missed a weekly pub outing. I was keen to get our Friday evening all booked to avoid disappointment, so we had 6pm sundown drinks at our local pub garden, followed by 8pm dinner at another gastro pub.

The sun may have been shining, but there’s no denying the April cold chill is still in the air. An open garden whilst the sun was setting was ideal, but later on I was glad to be going to The Hogget where they are fully equipped for that cold English weather. Fully enclosed marquee, faux fur covered benches, blankets and patio heaters, we were cosy!

When it came to choosing my outfit for the night, I wanted style but of course warmth too, so it was all about layers, layers, layers. I opted for a pair of black skinny jeans, classic maroon Chelsea boots and four layers up top – a vest, khaki chord shirt, knitted cream polo neck sleeve and tie waist Zara overcoat. Completing that country chic aesthetic with a black belted fedora hat, suited and booted ready for a glass of bubbly.

I’m not usually one for traditional pub food, but there was a novelty in eating that greasy pub grub once again. I had the veggie patty burger with salad and sweet potato fries, whilst my boyfriend had half a rack of ribs and chips. Impressively the food arrived steaming hot. Snuggled under a few blankets as we tucked into our feast, we thoroughly enjoyed the first slap up pub meal after so long.

Despite our Friday night fun pub garden hopping, I won’t be doing it again in a rush until the weather heats up. However with a heatwave set to treat England this week, a daytime pub outing will be on the cards for sure.

So as we continue to head in the right direction towards normality and socialising again, I think we’ll all find ourselves more grateful for the little moments of joy in life, even if that is simply heading down the pub for a pint!