Tag: village

New Opening; Auriol Wine Bar

July 16, 2023

A few months back I was thrilled to hear news of a wine bar opening in our village. Auriol Wines in Hartley Wintney has been an established wine shop for over 25 years and following a refurbishment, last month they reopened their doors as a wine bar too.

We couldn’t wait to try our new local, so we visited a few weeks back and tried their taster flight – three different wines of your choice to taste for £10.

Some pretzels and fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic was the perfect pairing to sample our wines.

They’ve done a great job of turning the shop into a classy little wine bar complete with quirky yet tasteful interiors, creating a cosy and friendly atmosphere.

This weekend we were back again to try yet more wine and sample one of their delicious looking cheese and charcuterie boards. We opted for the medium platter of four cheeses and meats served with crackers, pretzels, grapes, rocket and chutney.

All of their cheeses are locally sourced and were divine, my favourite was the Heckfield. Portion size was very generous and our bottle of Australian Grenache red wine was a wonderful pairing to the assortment of different cheeses.

We’ve been waiting years for our village to open a wine bar as it’s the ideal location and plenty of customers on the doorstep, business will thrive there no doubt.

The team at Auriol Wines have done a fantastic job of transforming the shop into a lovely wine bar locals will love. I know I’ll be visiting on the regular for date nights and my weekend wine fix with the girl gang ❤

New Local; The Mutton at Hazeley Heath

October 9, 2022

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 ❤