Find out what’s waiting for you at The Huntsman of Brockenhurst in the New Forest.
Kat, @katgotyour_blog, invited me as her plus one to try the new spring menu at The Huntsman of Brockenhurst.
New Forest folk will know this previously as the Rose and Crown. Well, two years ago it had a mega refurbishment and now it’s a stunning hotel, restaurant and pub with the welcoming country manners to match it.
It is gorgeous, the entire interior is something you’d expect to find on Pinterest and Instagram. The interior is a blend of several trends to create a warm and comfortable style.
It was a wet wintery day when we visited but the garden looked equally as good and both Kat and I said how nice it would be to spend a lazy afternoon with a few drinks in the sun here. In autumn and winter it would be the perfect place to go after a long chilly walk.
We were treated to a three course dinner* from the new menu which includes everything from steaks and seafood to classics like sausage and mash. The menu is really diverse and I’m pretty sure there would be something for most tastes on it. Take a look at The Huntsman’s menu.
We chose to share some small light starters. We had the marinated buffalo mozzarella with asparagus, peas, broad beans covered in a mint, lemon and olive oil dressing. It was fresh and really tasty, the pea shoots really complemented the creamy mozzarella.
The second dish was a ham and mustard scotch egg with cauliflower cheese purée. The centre oozed out like a rich sauce coating the crispy shell. It was warm and took me back to childhood picnics, sat on a rug in the sun. What a wonderful memory it evoked!
Both were delicious but I’m glad they were small because my main course was huge!
I ordered the ale battered fish, triple cooked chips, sweet mushy garden peas which comes with rapeseed mayonnaise and tartare sauce.
My portion of fish didn’t fit on my plate – look how big it was! You certainly won’t be disappointed or go leaving hungry. The batter was light and crispy – it really was a cracking fish and chips.
This dish normally comes with thick cut triple cooked chips but, I swapped them for skinny fries because they are my favourite. And, I am so glad I did swap them, oh my goodness they were delicious!
Kat ordered the pan-fried hake, tomato red pepper salsa, buttered crushed new potatoes and it looked really good too. I think she really enjoyed it. We also got some sides to try too, the sweet potato fries and creamed spinach.
That creamy spinach, oh my god, I could have gobbled the whole bowl to myself. YUMMY!
After our starter and mains we were very full and I was so pleased we were offered the chance to stretch our legs and work off some of our dinner by playing skittles.
Much to our surprise, hidden in another part of the bar was a full size skittle alley. It would be a great place to hire for a birthday or celebration as everyone could be in the same room and have access to a bar with relative seclusion.
I’m not going to lie, it was really hard to knock those pins down! My balls kept going straight through the gaps. I’ll have to go back and practise.
This was so much fun and added an extra level to the evening making it a really great night out.
The other part of the pub also has another bar, a fireplace and lots more seating. Isn’t it gorgeous?
For pudding we tried the giant profiterole filled with salted caramel and topped with honeycomb pieces and chocolate sauce and the buttermilk pannacotta covered with freeze dried raspberries and raspberry sorbet.
The profiterole was light and the salted caramel worked really well as a filling. The only thing that let it down was the sauce wasn’t real chocolate. It was thin and like the sauce you’d get off an ice cream truck. It’s a shame as I reckon if proper chocolate was used this dessert would be a real knockout.
The pannacotta was smooth and creamy and the fresh and freeze dried raspberries and the raspberry sorbet gave it a real burst of flavour. The sorbet was just unbelievable, so fruity and mouth watering.
The service was impeccable at dinner. Polite and attentive, our server and the rest of the team were excellent.
It was a brilliant night and it was really lovely getting to know Kat Got Your Tongue blog better!
*PR gifted experience – but, all my views are my own, otherwise what’s the point?!
Fabulous post! You’ve made me hungry all over again – I can’t wait to go back in the Summer for a Pimms in the garden! Kat xx
Nor me! I think it will be a lovely summer hotspot! We must find a walk to do around it.