The South Restaurants

In summer, and especially on summer weekends, visitors can overrun the restaurants in small villages, so either book a table in advance or prepare to wait. The more popular or upscale the restaurant, the more critical a reservation is. For local specialties, try fresh-grilled river trout or sea bass poached in brine, or dine like a king on New Forest's renowned venison. Hampshire is noted for its pig and sheep farming, and you might zero in on pork and lamb dishes on local restaurant menus. The region places a strong emphasis on seasonal produce, so venison, for example, is best between September and February.

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  • 1. Allium

    $$

    This family-run, centrally located restaurant has been winning rave reviews for both the taste and presentation of its creative Modern British dishes. Produce is largely fresh and local while meats and poultry are free-range and sustainably farmed. Standouts include roast Guinea fowl supreme and confit leg with shitake, squash, and spring greens, pork belly confit with black garlic, glazed carrots, and pickled turnip, and a starter of cod cheeks with fried capers and grapes. Set lunches (two courses £19.50, three courses £24.50) offer good value.

    6–7 Ox Row, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 1EU, England
    01722-326057

    Known For

    • High-quality, creative dishes
    • Nice wine selection
    • Reasonable prices

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
  • 2. Anokaa

    $$

    For a refreshingly modern take on Indian cuisine, try this bustling restaurant a few minutes from the town center. Classic recipes are taken as starting points for the artistically presented dishes, which include tandoori breast of guinea fowl with fenugreek sauce, pistachio chicken korma with sweet basil and clove, and a Singapore-style chickpea and baby eggplant curry. A two-course seasonal set lunch (£10.50) and an early evening set menu (£17.90 for 2 courses plus wine) offer good value. The setting is contemporary and cosmopolitan, and service by staff in traditional dress is friendly and prompt. Live performances by a musician or dancer occasionally make an appearance at dinner.

    60 Fisherton St., Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP2 7RB, England
    01722-414142

    Known For

    • Creative, well-executed Indian dishes
    • Excellent service
    • Buffet lunch
  • 3. Seaview Hotel Restaurant and Bar

    $$$

    The outstanding food at this waterside hotel is defined by a menu with a strong maritime flavor that befits its location in the heart of a harbor village just outside Ryde. One of only two Michelin Bib Gourmand recipients on the island, much of the fresh produce is from the Seaview's own farm. You might start dinner with a local crab rarebit, then move on to the catch of the day with local tenderstem broccoli and saffron potatoes. The lunch menu features sandwiches and salads, plus vegan options. Food is served in a wood-paneled pub, the Pump Room and Grill, and in the Bistro, a cozy room modeled on a typical ship's Officers' Mess cabin. Luxurious fabrics characterize the chic guest rooms in the adjoining hotel.

    The High St., Seaview, Isle of Wight, PO34 5EX, England
    01983-612711

    Known For

    • Fresh seafood with local ingredients
    • Charming nautical theme
    • Good value prix-fixe menus

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
  • 4. Chesil Rectory

    $$$

    The timbered and gabled building may be venerable—it dates back to the mid-15th century—but the cuisine is Modern British, using locally sourced ingredients. The small but well-executed menu is particularly strong on game dishes, like roast wood pigeon with white onion purée, butternut squash, and puy lentils or guinea fowl with a cabbage and mushroom fricassée and truffle cappuccino. Service and the heritage charm of the surroundings enhance the quality of the food. There's also a good-value set lunch (£21.95 for two courses, £26.95 for three).

    1 Chesil St., Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 0HU, England
    01962-851555

    Known For

    • Historic, romantic ambience
    • Generous Sunday lunch roast dinners
    • Good-value set-price lunches

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
  • 5. Howard's House

    $$$$

    If you're after complete tranquility, head for this early-17th-century house surrounded by two acres of grounds in the Nadder Valley. The excellent restaurant has fixed-price menus specializing in contemporary English cooking using local and seasonal ingredients (some from the kitchen garden), such as a pan-seared fillet of wild brill or roast loin of Wiltshire venison. The style is traditional and smart, and a terrace provides alfresco dining overlooking the tidy lawns in summer. Nine comfortable guest rooms may tempt you into forgoing the 10-mile drive back to Salisbury.

    Teffont Evias, Teffont Evias, Wiltshire, SP3 5RJ, England
    01722-716392

    Known For

    • Excellent four-course tasting menu
    • Relaxed and romantic atmosphere
    • Terrace dining in the summer
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  • 6. Pascal's Brasserie

    $

    Tucked away from the busy harbor, this French-owned local favorite serves classic Gallic dishes such as onion soup, eggs Benedict, and croque monsieur, plus simple seafood dishes like king prawns in garlic butter. If you're looking for an afternoon pit stop, try the substantial, and very English, cream tea selection and other superlative baked goods. A set-menu pop-up supper club serves dishes like pork fillet braised in Chablis with prunes on the third Friday and Saturday of each month and books up fast.

    8 Cove St., Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8TS, England
    01305-777500

    Known For

    • Delicious housemade cakes and scones
    • French brasserie favorites
    • Excellent breakfasts

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 7. Restaurant 27

    $$$$

    Owned by chef Kevin Bingham (who lives upstairs) and his family, this 35-seat global French restaurant serving only set-price six-course tasting menus (£65) for the whole table is very much a personal vision, with Bingham's sophisticated, technically assured take on French classics (expect gels, foams, "soil," and smears) winning rave reviews (and now a Michelin listing). The set menus change daily according to what fresh ingredients are available, but dishes might include blackened beef sirloin with cavolo nero, a starter of whipped goat cheese with rhubarb and pistachio, or roast halibut with king prawn and wild garlic. The three-course Sunday lunch is a deal at £45. There's also an extensive, well-chosen wine list.

    27A South Parade, Southsea, Portsmouth, PO5 2JF, England
    023-9287–6272

    Known For

    • Excellent distinctive dishes
    • Extensive wine list
    • Set-price tasting menus

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No lunch Wed.–Sat. No dinner Sun.
  • 8. Rick Stein, Winchester

    $$$

    Renowned as one of Britain's finest seafood chefs, Rick Stein chose Winchester for his first venture away from the Cornish coast. The menu is largely focused on fish and crustaceans, but carnivores and vegetarians are catered for as well. The airy room embodies tasteful nautical chic, but the restaurant's popularity means it can be noisy when busy.

    7 High St., Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 9JX, England
    01962-587348

    Known For

    • Simply but confidently prepared classics like turbot hollandaise
    • Exotic choices like spicy Indonesian curry with prawn and squid
    • Good-value set menus for lunch and early evening dinner

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed., Reservations essential
  • 9. Verveine

    $$$$

    This small but acclaimed seafood restaurant attached to a fishmongers' specializes in innovative fish cuisine using the freshest ingredients. Options change daily but might include dishes like roast Devon hake with chorizo, parsnip, and wild garlic or sea-cured mackerel with puffed rice, kombu, and ponzu sauce. There are three set-price dinner menus, ranging from four-course (£55) to 8-course (£95), and three at lunch, starting at £23 for two courses. There are only 10 tables so reservations are recommended.

    98 High St., Lyndhurst, Hampshire, SO41 0QE, England
    01540-642176

    Known For

    • Creative seafood dishes using the freshest ingredients
    • Excellent wine list
    • Multicourse tasting menus

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
  • 10. Yalbury Cottage

    $$$$

    Oak-beamed ceilings, exposed stone walls, and inglenook fireplaces add to the charm of this restaurant in a 300-year-old former shepherd's cottage across the road from where Thomas Hardy went to school. It specializes in set menus featuring superior modern French cooking using locally sourced produce, with dishes like Portland crab salad, sticky braised beef brisket, and beetroot Wellington with eggplant caviar. Sunday lunch and afternoon tea are also available. Eight comfortable bedrooms are available in an extension overlooking gardens or fields. Lower Bockhampton is signposted off the A35, 1½ miles east of Dorchester.

    Bockhampton La., Lower Bockhampton, Dorset, DT2 8PZ, England
    01305-262382

    Known For

    • French cuisine with an English twist
    • Good-value fixed-price two- or three-course dinner menus
    • Booking up quickly so making reservations is a good idea

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun. No lunch Tues.–Sat.

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