The Best Restaurants in Colden Common, Hampshire, United Kingdom (2025)

I took my friend for Sunday lunch, we both chose roast beef, Which was delicious with generous portions and good selection of vegetables and roast potatoes. The staff friendly and attentive. Will definitely visit again.

If you want to experience an authentic pub, eat home cooked food and be served with wonderful service then this is the place. Tucked away in Colden Common, the Brambridge Arms welcomes you with a warm and cozy feeling unlike most other pubs nowadays. The bar is long and has an extensive range of draft beer, ale and cider. I had a Brie and bacon with cranberry sauce baguette with a side of chips (Usually comes with tortilla chips but I didn't want them today). For my drink I had a pint of Orchard Thieves. The food was fresh, made from quality ingredients and you can tell it was made to order. Chips were salty and chunky with a generous portion. Can't complain about the pint, was solid! Whilst on the pricey side, costing me a total of just under £20. I felt that it was justified with the quality food and atmosphere.

We've been going to this pub, formerly the Dog and Crook for many years. Although we thought it went downhill at first the new people are running an excellent pub serving a good range of ales and ciders. The food is also very good. We went on a Sunday. The roast was generous and tasty with five different vegetable accompaniments. The scampi was good the chips were crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. Not had a bad meal in several visits. Beer is now Timothy Taylor or Tribute. No local brews sadly.

Fantastic English rural pub. I booked via Google which worked flawlessly. We had Sunday roast for three, I had beef which was tender and perfectly cooked. Tons of very well prepared veg and a Yorkshire with all meat options. Our server was absolutely fantastic as were the entire team.

We came to this restaurant on a whim as we wanted something different before seeing a movie nearby. The staff were wonderful, very friendly and attentive. The decor is lovely and the whole place has a nice ambience. We had calamari and garlic bread for starters which were both delicious and fresh. I don’t usually like calamari but my partner loves it and we both enjoyed it! I had a beef sizzler for main which was good. The beef burger my partner had was really the star of the show. I was very jealous! It was juicy, fresh and really flavourful. Burgers are often hit or miss and this was definitely a hit. I’m keen to go back soon to have a whole burger to myself. My only teeny tiny request would be a proper dessert menu! I love sweets and I feel as though the chefs could do something really good seeing as the savoury food was so delicious.

Lovely restaurant with super friendly and helpful staff, food was delicious and all items were cooked perfectly, amazing table service and hospitality, drinks were beautifully presented and tasted amazing, 10/10 recommend

Decent quality food, tables too close to others and too bright for a luxury dining experience.

Great food, lovely staff and a really nice atmosphere. We had the roast to share which came with half a chicken, beef and pork belly which was very tasty and plenty of food to share. The desserts were delicious too

Food was delicious and fairly priced. Pibs had a lovely warm and cosy atmosphere! Although we could have done with an extra light above our table 🙈👍🏻 Our waitress Holly was excellent!

I live local but had never heard of the old forge before. I came here for my Christmas work do and I loved it. Had such a festive vibe. The food was amazing along with the service. I have recommended to family and friends since then and today visited again. Again the food, service and atmosphere fabulous. They do not rush you between courses either like some places do. I recommend the scallops and the pork belly. I definitely will be coming again.

Had a lovely meal at The Old Forge last night with family. Food was great all really well prepared and great flavours. We all a great time. Service was excellent from Rosie who was very kind and had a laugh with us. Starters was a 3 for £15 of small plates and a bread board. Beef croquettes wear super flavourful and the sweet potato hummus was amazing. Chicken burger in my picture was very juicy and the chili Jam and coleslaw inside tasted great. Trio of deserts was shared between three portions were bigger than we expected and was presented really well. It's on the more expensive side for a pub but food is definitely worth it.

I stopped off here with little dog to break up the journey, extremely dog friendly, great selection of no alcohol beers including Guinness. Very quaint and old pub with lots of spaces and friendly staff. I was in between meals so only wanted a snack; the mini steak and ale pie was delicious and the mini cottage brochettes out of this world !!

Perfectly cooked food, perfect atmosphere.. We've been dining here for 30 years plus and it is our favourite venue to relax, unwind and enjoy..always great food.. We will continue our visits.. Thank you Steve and all the happy staff who personally showed compassion to me during my fight with cancer..much love and respect.. Greg and Carla xx

We had a breakfast today with my husband .Everything was lovely. Hannah was so friendly and welcomed us very warmly. Really impressed by the servise.

This place is absolutely stunning. It's such a warming vibe as soon as you walk in. Dwayne was such an amazing host to our visit; his knowledge was an unexpected bonus, to say the least. The food was just incredible, too. Cannot fault a single thing. Will be coming here everything I'm back from London

Having heard the pub had changed hands we have now visited twice for lunch. Both times the food and service has been excellent. First visit we had hoagies, and second time around a burger and loaded nachos. I couldn't fault any of it, pub food very well done. A lovely, tidy pub with friendly staff, great beer and good food. Would have expected it to be busier at a Saturday lunchtime, so wanted to pop a review on as this pub deserves to be busier! Thanks, will be back ☺️

I was interested to visit as the pub has new owners, it looks good and service was excellent. Food was very good. I felt the beer was a little overpriced at £5,40 for 2 halves.

Really welcoming nice atmosphere, background music not too loud you can't talk... friendly helpful staff. Good prices

Stumbled in here caked in mud on a freezing cold day from the South Downs path. We were made to feel so welcome. We had a lovely coffee and tea perched by the fire. We were so comfortable we didn’t want to leave! Definitely the highlight of the South Downs path so far!

I booked our table online approx a week in advance. Doing this was quick and easy. We had a late afternoon table booking and arrived approx 15mins early, so weren't expecting to be seated straight away, but we were. The weather was a little overcast and windy outside, so I was greatful to be sat inside in the conservatory with a lovely view out over the lake. Our food was excellent - perfect portion sizes, came out hot, and was served to us quickly after ordering. I hadn't been here in at least 9 years prior to my visit today, so it was lovely to visit again and have excellent service and food. We paid with cash - which I mention purely because since covid we've been to a few pubs expecting to be able to pay cash and not been able to. I tried looking on this pubs website but in the FAQs, there is no information about whether they are accepting cash or not. I then tried calling them twice but they must have been busy as no one answered the phone (and I didn't want to leave a voicemail) so we just risked it and took cash with us and it wasn't a problem, they accepted cash. I'm sure we will be back again in the future (this time sooner than 9 years!)...

Quite a regular stop off over the years and have never been disappointed by the food or the service. The view is an obvious draw, no matter the time or day of the week. Parking is plentiful and free. There has never been an issue over being seated, even when busy. Just love this place.

we had nick serve us, the man was a legend, such personality and talent, unlike anything i can recall. a true gentleman, funny and courteous. knew his wine, excellent recommendations. all the food was delicious and plentiful. the seating was spacious yet efficient, and the volume of others' conversation never got too loud. the view over the pond was delightful. the only regret is we couldn't find room for dessert, but we'll be back. i wish i could rate higher than 5 stars!

We stopped at this lovely pub as it was near the hotel we were staying at that night. We found it easy to access with good parking, we were welcomed by really lovely and friendly staff who served us our drinks and took us to a table overlooking the lake. The young lady serving us was really lovely (Ellie I think) , she had only started working there a short while ago but didn’t come across like she was new. She was knowledgeable, chatty, friendly and made us feel really welcome. The food was delicious, one of the best fillet steaks I’ve had in a very long time, the peppercorn sauce was delicious as was everything on my plate. My husband had the burger with pulled pork on it and onion rings and skinny fries, I had the triple cooked chips (amazing!). To finish off I had the mini crumble with a double espresso, the mini crumble was not quite so mini and was fabulous with custard - sooooooooo delicious and we would definitely go back again thank you we had the best evening at the pub thank you.

A lovely pub though if you’re tall, be warned it has a lot of low beams. The food was good, husband had pork roast & I had burger. roast was a good size & the Yorkshire puddings looked amazing (unfortunately he didn’t share with me 😞). The chicken burger was really tasty though didn’t really have much sauce on the bread until I put extra mayo on. However I would say it was on the smaller size. I’m not sure if we were given extra chips or someone on our table ordered it, but they definitely helped fill the hole. We shared baked cookie with icecream, which was good & sharing it was a plenty portion. Lovely garden for the kids in our group to play.

Had a lovely Roast this afternoon, the staff were lovely and quick to assist with our special requests. The cauliflower cheese was delicious and I asked for my beef rare which the staff had absolutely no issue with. Lovely meal and lovely service. We also had a baked cookie for dessert which was delicious.

We live about 15 minutes away in Bramdean and found this little gem 💎 Due to lockdown we haven't explored our surroundings properly and so this beautiful pub will be added to our top 5 pubs to go out and dine. The location was great. Plenty of parking. The menu was great for choice and very local produce, from their garden too. The staff was lovely and attentive and knowledgeable which ALWAYS helps. The decor was nice and quirky for its name is reflected in the interior design. The actual food was beautifully presented, the portion sizes perfect and the taste of each dish was very well executed! So much so we are booked in again over the Mother's Day weekend 🙌 🤗 ☺️ Thank you The Ship Inn see you again soon 😊

Cracking meal. I had pretty low expectations but couldn’t have been more wrong. The salmon and squid ink pasta was fantastic. The chicken was lovely. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. They’re obviously trying which is great to see.

Excellent good, I had burger and dirty chips ( bacon cheese covered fries) from the bar menu will be eating here again

Food was OK, service good and surroundings pleasant, overall good value.

We visited the hotel for the restaurant and it was an incredible meal. The atmosphere was relaxed, which is notable considering they had a wedding at the venue as well as other large parties in the restaurant. The food itself was fantastic. Think the best home made meal you’ve ever had, and then you’re on the right lines. We opted for a mushroom risotto and ham hock terrine for starters, both of which were amazing. We had the Chicken tarragon pie and bbq pulled pork for our mains and they were outstanding. We left incredibly happy, and very satisfied bellies!

Was early when we got there very quiet and sat straight away no waiting for service. Menu was good. I'm a non vegan but had the vegan tacos and my wife had the pie. Both were very tasty and filling. Was to full to try the pudding but they had a great selection.

Beautiful pub with a modern interior in a very picturesque Hampshire village. Had seen it mentioned on James Martin's TV show. Had lunch for 2 for the first time today. Fantastic service and great food. We were glad we had a starter as the mains were a little on the small side but not overpriced so we were very happy indeed. It's on the list to return for sure.