The Chestnut Horse

Featured reviews

• G

  Google user

  ·1 month ago

  “A lovely pub. Great staff who were so helpful when my son hired out an area of the pub for a group to meet up prior to his wedding the next day. We will definitely be going back to eat and soak up the atmosphere”

• G

  Google user

  ·1 month ago

  “What a fantastic find! Massive room (room 4), comfy bed, clean bathroom. Staff were welcoming, friendly and generally laid back. Special thanks to Evie and Jack for looking after us. Food was delicious, both dinner and breakfast. Locally sourced produce and the smell of Hampshire Wick products throughout was lush. Great find for a 1 night stopover.”

• G

  Google user

  ·2 months ago

  “What a lovely country pub! The food was excellent,and the staff were really friendly. Well worth the trip. The portions are big and are good value for what you actually get. If anyone is staying in Winchester or on the outskirts precruise from Southampton it's a must visit. You won't be disappointed...We will definitely return on our next cruise! From the Lewis Family”

• G

  Google user

  ·3 months ago

  “Went to the Chestnut Horse for sunday lunch with partner and friend, the roast pork, yorkshire pudding, veg and gravy was on point. Staff were attentive and polite. Lovely older pub with nicely renovated dining area overlooking the kitchen. Nice outdoor dining area with umbrellas.”

• G

  Google user

  ·3 months ago

  “Was a lovely setting but parking would of been a nightmare as we had last place in small car park. Service was ok to begin but once we got our food never saw any one else till they took our plates. We went for the tuesday steak night unlimited chips but no one asked us if our meal was ok or if we wanted any more chips. Also there is a big service charge added to the bill. Not sure if we would return bit out of the way as well 🤔”

• G

  Google user

  ·3 months ago

  “Lovely Pub, service good, ok food. What a lovely setting and pub is very nicely done inside. The food however didn’t meet expectations. The pigeon starter is miserly. The pulled lamb scotch egg is good. Sorry to say but the haddock in the fish & chip was tasteless. The gammon was good. The warm brownie wasn’t warm and the sticky toffee pudding had pineapple in it - odd. All in all great pub, food ok, prices therefore feel expensive. Don’t like the 12.5% service added to the bill. Sorry but we won’t return.”

• G

  Google user

  ·5 months ago

  “We chose The Chestnut Horse as a location for a family gathering being accessible to lots of family - and had a private room that suited us well. The choice was excellent in every way - the food options were great, the service was fabulous, even the wine list suited us really well. Thanks to Paul, Evie and the team for helping make it SUCH a memorable day. We will be back at some point and can’t recommend it highly enough.”

• G

  Google user

  ·5 months ago

  “I want to say the service was pretty spot on throughout if the wait for the bill/table clearing at the end of our meal a little long. We went for my mum’s birthday and were greeted by a completely full car park due to some shoddy parking by a few people. We parked down the road by a lady’s house who very kindly let us park on her verge when we spoke with her in the road. We were greeted inside by a member of staff and taken to our table which initially seemed amazing. It’s lovely inside, modern and rustic at the same time, very warm and cozy. We sat down and the table was a bit wobbly/creaky - not an issue really. It hadn’t, however, been wiped. I work in hospitality and have for 5 years so I thought this was just a mistake, possibly, then again it was very quiet inside. We asked our waitress if they did Hugo Spritz, which she said they did. The drinks came quickly enough. Our Hugo Spritz were quite sweet and on further observation of the spirits on the bar, we noticed no evidence of St Germaine, a liqueur used in Hugo Spritz. Possibly they used just elderflower cordial. It cost us £10 a glass, which I thought was quite steep but didn’t look at how much their prosecco was per glass. We put our food orders in, the waitress was lovely and knowledgeable. I was confused about the menu phrasing - we had to ask whether some mains came with sides and not all of our dishes arrived as described. We were seated in front of the open kitchen which always makes me wary as a hospitality worker. I watched the starters being plated, sat under some very small heat lamps which looked more for visuals than actual use. They sat there for 5-10 minutes and when they arrived at the table, they were almost entirely cold. We didn’t order anything that demanded to be hot so did not say anything. The pork crackling was super hard and not very tasty - it had been left to cool and so was rock hard. The bread was chewy and tough, not warmed so that the butter (marmite flavour - delicious!) could melt. My family’s hash brown and smoked trout dishes were cold and came with a poached egg which was a nice surprise but not listed on the menu. I would also add we weren’t asked about any allergies. The scotch egg was underseasoned and dry - also cold. We ate them all, mostly, leaving some. There was no check back from staff on the starters. The mains came after the starters were finished very quickly. There was about a 10 minute break between and we weren’t asked if we needed a break which we definitely did. I was so full I was nauseous and when my chicken schnitzel with fries and chicken gravy came to the table, I felt horrendous. I realised very quickly I was not going to be able to eat any of it. Our table ate our food and it was overly salty, overseasoned, half-cold and overcooked. My mum’s pie was cooked dark on top of the pastry, too dark, and the filling inside was dry. It came with gravy which was a saving grace although also very salty but the greens were limp and wilted. The stroganoff some of us ordered was a streaky splat on the plate, on top of mash, with no greens or extras and was also very salty. It could do with some thought of how it is displayed, perhaps an extra dish on the plate for the filling? We obviously passed on dessert, I didn’t really touch my schnitzel but the chips were cold, the gravy extremely salty and not very chickeny-tasting and the schnitzel itself hard and dry from being sat out/ cooked too long. We passed on dessert, due to fullness and a lack of faith in the taste/quality of any of them. At the time, I spoke to the manager just to feedback as I didn’t want to bother our waitress with the back-and-forth of communicating complaints. He apologised and our bill arrived with no service on it. We left cash for the waitress. We will likely not be returning for food. Drinks possibly. Overall disappointing for the £££.”

• G

  Google user

  ·8 months ago

  “I am genuinely appalled, and it takes a lot for me to write a review like this. A private room for a large family gathering was explicitly arranged in advance. What we were given instead was a long line of tables shoved down what can only be described as a glorified corridor, with constant foot traffic brushing past us every few seconds. There was no privacy, no atmosphere, and absolutely no consideration for the occasion. It felt like being parked in a thoroughfare, not hosting a family celebration. All meals were pre-ordered weeks in advance and paid for at a premium — worth noting that Sunday prices are significantly inflated, with mains at £24 (the same battered haddock is £19 on other days). Expectations were therefore reasonable, if not generous. What arrived was frankly shocking. Several members of our party ordered the roast pork. It was swimming in unrendered fat, greasy, heavy, and completely inedible. For a venue that styles itself as a “gastro pub”, this is basic, inexcusable incompetence — this cut of pork requires time and care, neither of which were evident. To compound matters, there was no crackling at all. We were told they had “run out”, despite having taken advance orders and payment weeks earlier. That is not bad luck — it is poor planning. My daughter’s camembert was served cold and solid in the middle, accompanied by a sad, limp salad drenched in harsh vinegar. It was joyless, careless cooking, and emblematic of the wider experience. Every dish felt rushed, poorly executed, or both. The disappointment around the table was universal, and the substandard food and setup completely marred what should have been a special family occasion. Finally, a word on the beer. If you’re going to advertise a selection of ales, perhaps try offering some actual variety. A narrow band of low-strength 3–4% options feels less like curation and more like an attempt to squeeze a little extra out of designated drivers. It’s particularly galling given that Flower Pots — an excellent local brewery — produces a far broader and more interesting range than what was on offer here. This was an expensive, badly organised, and deeply disappointing experience from start to finish. We will not be returning.”

• G

  Google user

  ·9 months ago

  “Lovely pub! Really feels great but then you step inside and it goes rapidly down hill! Service ? What service - I’m 6ft 4 and felt invisible. Hard work getting a pint out of these boys I tell you that for free. Ploughmans however outstanding”