AO By Daniel Rogan — Restaurant in New Forest

The food was great! An Innovative, creative and fresh menu. Not quite Michelin star but worth the price. The Scallop dish and the Langoustine dish were quite exquisite, very well balanced, rich but not heavy. The initial three courses (what the waiter called “snacks” (quite downgrading for what this restaurant claims to be), were good but can easily be combined to form one “snack” dish rather than spending an hour waiting for their staggered release. The deserts were a fair attempt to save the evening, but let’s face it, nothing is that good.

Now onto the ambiance, trying very hard to not be negative here!

The restaurant seems like a hall waiting for a party that never happened, an unfinished project pretending to be conceptual.

The hostess took us to an obscure table (where four of the light bulbs were dead-alongside our hopes for a good evening) in the far corner of the restaurant. Once seated on two flimsy uncomfortable chairs, on one side of a table that tips to the weight of your elbow, we patiently waited for an acknowledgment, a process that took a good 10 minutes.

Now onto the service, the poor and pathetic service. The waiter approached us with a fake sense of humor (the kind that makes you queasy) and tries to humourly introduce and summarize what was about the follow.

He handed us the wine list and disappeared. 10 mins later another waitress asked for what we’d like to drink, shortly after that, the first waiter comes again asking for what we had decided, to eventually proceeded and bring the wrong bottle of wine (we had ordered two glasses). After explaining that this was not what we ordered he left and came back apologizing for not having the wine we initially wanted. We eventually asked for the wine available and shook the incident off, not a big deal we told ourselves.

After that, our meals were staggered over the next 3 and a half hours, throughout the evening we we went through four different waiters, each with a different approach, a different attempt to introduce and explain the different dishes.

3.5 hours, with no ambiance in a dark little corner, unable to lean on the table and balancing our weight on the wobbly chair. Around us many couples laying on their chairs also waiting for the sweet relief of the bill, some of them had the priceless release of leaning on their table and holing their heads as if suffering from a migraine.

I may have went on a rant, A|O is an unfinished project with potential but not fit to be...

We decided to travel down to Southampton to experience this up and coming chef. Daniel Rogan, whose father has three Michelin stars, clearly has some serious skills in the kitchen and a great pedigree.

We arrived at the farm location. It was interesting driving the not made for off road car in the dark across the mud/gravel entrance to the farm. I was expecting to hit a pot hole but everything was smooth sailing.

We parked up and found the entrance. A very unassuming wooden door. Upon entering we were greeted with a lovely smile from front of house. We were shown to our table which gave us an audience view of the open plan kitchen, like all the other tables.

Overall the food was exquisite. And at £110pp can't be beaten for value, especially when comparing to London prices. Although this was not Michelin starred, if Daniel keeps going like this it surely must be in his future.

The restaurant itself did feel like a village hall, but then you're on a farm. Not sure what other reviewers are expecting.

Normally I go through each of the dishes but you can see the menu and all you need to know is that each dish complemented the preceding dish well. The Old Winchester Cheddar was our favourite, and the dessert was well worth waiting for.

Service was good enough. Some servers way friendlier than others (shout out to the lovely blonde lady with glasses - sorry I can't remember your name!).

We overall had a great experience. It was worth the 90 minute drive from London. I'm going to keep an eye on the seasonal menu changes and come down again to see how...

First time visit, without any kind of expectation, but hoping to find a restaurant which might be a cut above the standard Southampton level. It was!

As someone else commented, it did feel a little like "a village hall waiting for a party to start" but after the sun had gone down and the wine flight had started to kick in, it really quite enjoyable!

The staff were very attentive and pleasant, the sommelier very patient and knowledgeable, and it was interesting to be so close to the open kitchen, with the kitchen staff involved in presenting most courses at the table.

Don't expect a quick dine and leave .. our 10 courses took almost 4 hours to enjoy ... but if you plan to spend the whole evening soaking up the experience, it doesnt disappoint.

The food ... was absolutely top notch. It seems the menu changes according to the season, the ingredients and to experimentation. With one minor exception (personal taste), the whole meal was exceptional ... this is definitely a chef on his journey to Michelin stars. The sommelier had chosen the perfect wines which both benefitted from, and contributed to the dishes - the wine flight is highly recommended!

Would I go back, knowing that I have a 4 hour evening ahead...