The Bat & Ball, Hambledon — Restaurant in Winchester

Cricket....if you love your cricket, particularly cricket history, then you'll love this pub. We stumbled on this pub during our journey in February and it was a great little find. According to the blue plaque on the side of the building it is situated in the "cradle of cricket and was the first headquarters of English Cricket," and over the road from the Hambledon cricket ground. The pub itself has a nice log fire, cosy atmosphere, clean toilets and nice lighting but the main feature of the interior is the various historical cricket themed wall hangings, from portraits to rules of the game and manuscripts dating back centuries. Opposite the bar is a display cabinet housing a cricket ball signed by the Indian spin bowler, Harbhajan Singh, cricket whites from the 1930's, trophies and a collection of books entitled, The Glory Days of Cricket, which at £15 are available to purchase from the bar. As usual, mine was a burger and pint both of which was difficult to fault, cooked and brewed to perfection respectively. It's still a great boozer even if you're not a cricket fan and Whilst I'm usually reluctant to give a 5 out of 5, I sat there at the table, unable to come up with any negative points. So well done Bat and Ball...it's...

We'd been here twice before, but haven't been for a while. I booked online for an evening Sunday roast as we were taking one of our sons and his girlfriend there for the first time and it had always been very good before. When we got there it was very busy and we were told that all of the roasts were off the menu as they'd been so busy, but the staff were all very polite and friendly despite being so busy. So there wasn't much else on the menu to choose from as it was predominantly the Sunday roast menu , but we were told that there was a special lamb and pepper pie on the menu, so my husband and I had that which was amazing and plentiful with the roasted vegetables. Our son had a burger and his girlfriend had fish and chips, both of which were delicious and plentiful and we didn't have to wait very long despite them being very busy. All in all it was a good visit to this lovely old pub, but I was just disappointed that there were no roasts available as that's why I booked this pub, as it did evening Sunday roasts and most other places don't, unless they're an all day carvery. But then everyone else must have done the same thing which is why they ran out! We'll definitely be back...

This is one of the friendliest pubs I have been to in a long time. A proper landlord and landlady who care about their business and super staff. I would go there just for the beer and the welcome even if the food was average. But the food isn't average it's tasty, home cooked and with regular menu changes. The fresh green vegetables served alongside the mains are so good (and I don't really like greens that much). Portion sizes are perfect and leave room for dessert which brings me to my only criticism, bread and butter pudding with whisky marmalade has never been back on the menu since Burns night, but I live in hope. It's dog friendly and our dog loves it as there is a ready supply of treats and blankets. The restaurant area is a dog free zone so it works for lovers and haters alike. Beautiful views across Broad Halfpenny Down on summer days. The perfect pub. Dogs have also asked me to add that since this review we have visited on a Sunday evening and there was an ample supply of roast beef off cuts so on that basis they have voted the Bat and Ball as the Best Pub in the World - woofs and licks from Derby and Ted who needed a...