Original White Hart by Marston's Inns — Restaurant in New Forest

Stayed here 2 nights. The room with enough suite was a fairly competitive £58 a night. It was a little smaller than other places, but it was warm and clean and a good bed with a thick and firm mattress and fine bedding. Room had a hairdryer and kettle and was well stocked with tea and coffee. There was complementary water bottle for both of us and replenished when they cleaned the room after the first night. We even had biscuits. Room was outside main building but surprisingly good, the steps up to the room were outside, but did not become slippy in the rain. Car park is good and secure, make sure you register your plate with pub management as it is charged otherwise. There is a nice area for smokers that is at the back entrance to the pub and near the rooms. I highly recommend staying overnight here. However. The bar is another story. We ordered breakfast for each day when we booked through Marstons. The pub told us that breakfast was served till 08:30! We're on holiday, no intention of being up that early so we ask to cancel and refund that as that had not been clear online. They tell us that we have to go back to Marstons about that. We've rung them and sorted it now. What is weird though is that the pub also do an all day breakfast at the same price we paid; it feels like there might have been a simpler solution! The food menu and pricing were pretty good and I think we were all pretty happy with the meal we had there. This pub is pretty quiet most of the time, which is kind of nice for us, but perhaps a reflection on the place. The biggest problems I see them having is that I got a definite sense that their hearts weren't really invested in the place. And I think the place could do with a spruce up, it's clean enough and furnished okay, but it's just a bit tired and lacklustre. A bit of an update and some energy and enthusiasm could turn this slow but pleasant small pub into a lively focal point...

It's been a while since I've given 5 stars, but after I ate this burger and experienced the service here, I felt the need, too.

The atmosphere was great, nice staff, attentive and polite, the young girl working behind the bar was so customer focused and knew her job. I'm not sure of her name but fair play to her. I visited today, the 13th of January 2024, at 13:00. So if that helps, I just want to further thank her for making our visit a nice one.

The chef did an amazing job, the food was packed with flavour, and every bite just got better. It was a great burger. Chips clean and fresh, food hot, even after being on the table while we finished our game of pool. One thing that really impressed me was the chefs attention to detail, and washed the salad garnish before putting it into the burger because that too tasted fresh and did not have that chemical taste to it like most salads do, because most places don't wash there salad and as a retired chef this impressed me to the point I could not find one fault with the meal.

All in all, It was a great way to have a birthday meal, so thank you very much, and I will be coming back for another and another..

Well done, guys.

Amended review..! 13/01/2025

Okay, so I came back for my birthday again. And I was highly disserpointed. It seams that they have changed their chefs because the burger ( as you can see in the pictures ) was much different. It arrived with an overly toasted bun. The meat itself was overcooked, and the cheese was not fully melted. The burger itself was cold and did not have the flavour it had the last time I visited.

However the staff were still friendly and the pub is still a lovely place to visit. It's just a shame who ever made my burger diddnt do the same standard...

My partner and I went for late Sunday lunch on 26/11/2017 - worst meal experience I have ever had. After ordering two roasts and paying, we were told 10 mins later by the waitress that they had no roasts. We then substituted for a Pie dish and a Tortilla dish... again 10 mins later we were told that these too were not available. The waitress even mentioned that it has been so busy earlier that "all the chickens taken out the freezer that day" had sold!!!??? If we hadn't been strapped for time in making our cycle back to Moors Valley, we would have left but took the Third chance and ordered a chicken burger and a Halloumi burger both with sweet potato fries. What could go wrong? Well, the Chicken Burger was just about acceptable but came with regular fries. The Halloumi burger however was horrible. The "Grilled Halloumi" look rather like shredded pieces slapped on a bun and put in the microwave for a minute - it was cold and rubbery. There was no sauce/pickle and the lettuce/tomato stale. The coleslaw was going brown too. No care had been taken in the preparation or presentation of either dish. If my partner wasn't so hungry we would have left both meals however he ate his while I could not. No one came to check on us to ask if the meal was ok. I had to find a waitress at the end to ask for a refund (she was on her phone hiding behind a cupboard) and the manager was dealing with another couple complaining over something. I got a refund for one burger in the end. We will definitely NOT be returning and would advise that you find somewhere else to go. The only positive was the decor and that it was...