The Best Restaurants in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, United Kingdom (2025)

The best fish I've ever had I asked if it had skin on and they said they would remove it for me, the pea fritter was lovely and the chips although not a big portion was actually just the right amount. Service was excellent very attentive staff 👏

Our fave chippy, always friendly and the batter on their fish is delicious and done perfectly. Chips always have good texture, and we love the pineapple fritters with ice cream if we have room. We prefer to eat in but it's still pretty great taken away!

Wow what a great place fantastic food amazing service by a young lad calked zac. So helpful and could not do enough for you highly recommend. We traveled a hour to get there well worth it we’ll be going back.

Got the lunch deal which was a fantastic deal considering it was delicious! Great flavour and seasoning of the batter, and the fish was succulent. Chips were well seasoned and not greasy. A top fish and chips.

We’ve visited The Forage twice in our week stay in the new forest — once on a quiet day and again on a busy Saturday — and both experiences were excellent. We were greeted warmly as soon as we walked in and served quickly both times, regardless of how busy it was. The food was spot on — fresh, delicious, and arrived fast. It’s clear they maintain great service no matter the crowd. We’ll definitely be returning in the future! 5*

Easy place, perfect for families. Super fast and friendly service. Nothing to wrong about their food other they it needed more salt for us, but I suppose that s the healthy way forward. Clean spacious and close to the main car park.

The Forage is always an amazing choice for food. The staff are always attentive and the food is incredible! Would definitely recommend!

We came to Lyndhurst for the weekend and found the forage on our first morning. It is very welcoming with lovely decor. The atmosphere is excellent The service is superb The food is amazing, I had an English breakfast the first morning and eggs blackstone the second. The eggs blackstone was the best breakfast I’ve ever had and will be trying this at home. There is plenty of choice and will struggle tomorrow to make a decision that will equal today’s.. All in all a great venue for breakfast.

We ate here tonight totally unplanned and it turned out to be the best meal we’ve had since being in the New Forest! The food is fresh, tasty and seasoned to perfection and the service is friendly and attentive. A lovely atmosphere. Would recommend the Tagliatelle Gamberetti & the Spaghetti Carbonara, with a creamy lemon sorbet to finish! Thank you.

Lovely little family rum restaurant in Lynhurst. Reasonable prices for food and the quality was super. Loved that any pizza could be made as calzone. I had this and it was as good as I've had anywhere. I thought the alcoholic drinks were up at the more expensive side which was a wee bit disappointing. Overall we would thoroughly recommend this for a meal out.

Lovely Italian restaurant in the heart of Lyndhurst. The service is excellent and the staff are very attentive and friendly. The food was very nice and very tasty and would definitely go back the next time we visit the New forest. Highly recommend

We visited here on Friday for date night and were taken back by the incredible service in Dolce Vita. From start to finish all staff were extremely attentive and made us feel welcome from the get go. We really appreciated it! When inquiring about the wine menu, a gentleman explained and recommended each option to us. Food service was very quick and all 4 of our dishes arrived hot at the same time. The atmosphere here is perfect as even on a busier night the seating doesn’t feel packed. If you do come here please order the garlic bread! Pricing for the pizza and pasta is reasonable and all in all it felt like an authentic Italian restaurant that was a lovely surprise for our trip!

I want to say a big thank you for our wonderful vegan cream tea we enjoyed today at The Greenwood Tree. We are staying in the New Forest for the weekend and we found this absolute gem of a cafe by chance. They serve a huge array of beautiful dishes and all the cakes look delicious. My husband and I are vegan so we were excited to see the vegan cream tea available. It did not disappoint. It was the best cream tea we've ever had. We spoke to the friendly owner and she told us she makes the vegan clotted cream herself. You can even buy it to take away. We highly recommend it to all vegans and non-vegans. It was absolutely delicious. There were lots of options available of vegan and gluten free foods and drinks. Even if you are not vegan, the cafe has lots of options and the environment is very warm and welcoming. The staff were all very friendly too. Thank you for making my husband's birthday lunch treat even more special.

This cafe is very popular - during the August bank holiday, staff were having to turn customers away as they were full. Thankfully, I arrived early enough to get a table without a reservation. The decor has a woodland theme and is tastefully done. This cafe has an excellent menu - large sections for vegan and gluten free items. In addition to the extensive menu, there's a large board of daily specials for hot and cold food. There's also a display case with freshly baked items. I had a vegan croissant with scrambled 'eggs' (chickpea flour) and avocado. The croissant was flaky and delicious, exactly like an all butter version! The filling was generous and tasty too. This was followed by a rhubarb bakewell slice. I love bakewell tarts but it's difficult to find vegan versions. This 1 hit the spot. Lastly, I was smitten with the possibility of flotted cream - a vegan alternative to clotted cream. I ordered a vegan cream tea to take away which had a large scone (choice of fruit or plain) a little pot of flotted cream and a small jar of strawberry jam. It was outstanding. If it hadn't been such a warm day (and with no access to a fridge) I would have bought a large pot of cream which they sell saparately. I had a strawberry milkshake with vegan ice cream and oat milk. I could have had 10 of these, it tasted so good. It was a little difficult to get the attention of staff towards the end of the meal because they were so busy, so patience is needed during the busy lunch time.

Very friendly and helpful staff, lovely atmosphere and perfect location for a spot of lunch. The food is outrageously amazing (try the cheese/tomato/pesto panini and the chicken ciabatta!). Love the dogs being around, all were completely relaxed and welcomed. Set up our afternoon walk perfectly!

My friend and l having a day out, found this cafe by accident, thank goodness. It is wonderful, the food was lovely, l had pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, delicious. Staff were so helpful and friendly. We would recommend to anyone.

A fantastic find on our last day of the holiday. The pub had a really good feel of an old traditional homely pub. We had 4 mains, deserts & drinks. Excellent food, the trio of venison sausages were delicious. The different pies also fantastic and the apple & peach crumble very good. Great staff who were friendly and helpful.

Very cosy place, service was prompt, for starters we had cheesy garlic bread and halloumi sticks which were DELICIOUS - the best garlic bread I've ever eaten. For mains we had mac 'n' cheese with bacon on top and chicken burger, again very yummy, the bacon on top of my mac 'n' cheese was the nicest bacon I've had 🥓 For pudding we shared sticky toffee pudding which was lovely aswell 😋 Highly recommend! 👌🏼

I took my elderly mother here for lunch (she's 88yrs). Why? Because they do smaller portions for half price. Which for her was more than enough, and to be honest the smaller meal was plenty as well. We both had the steak and ale pie which was really tasty. Would I have it again? Definitely. Would I go back? Definitely. Do we recommend Waterloo Arms? Most definitely.

Lovely local pub. I can't recommend this pub enough. The atmosphere is great, the service impeccable and the quality of the produce excellent.

We have just returned from a fabulous weekend in the new forest! Managed to secure a room here 5 days prior to our arrival with breakfast included. We brought our dog along and let the hotel know. On arrival they had left biscuits and poo bags in the room which I thought was such a lovely gesture. Rooms were SO clean and warm which was lovely to come back to after our 9 mile walk! Special thank you to the lovely cleaner who left the biscuits and the lovely lady who was serving our breakfast this morning - the service was brilliant and food was delicious! We will be back in the summer ☀️

First ever visit to the New Forest Inn and we really enjoyed it. Nicely situated on the outskirts of Lyndhurst. It's a cosy hostelry with a lovely fire going which adds to the atmosphere. The food was excellent, well presented and delicious. The staff were most friendly and helpful. Thumbs up to Amelia for her great customer service.

Great location on the way to Bolderwood deer viewpoint. The food here is always 10/10. We had the homemade pie on this visit and in my husbands words ‘it was the best pie he has ever eaten’! All staff extremely friendly, a special mention to Kayleigh and the chefs very considerate of my food allergy. We are looking forward to our next visit and would highly recommend if you are looking for a friendly place to eat that serves great wholesome food.

Warmly greeted by Jolly Jay and her colleagues at the bar. Attended by Jess who took our order, she knew everything on the menu and was confident to recommend. Jess waited on us with a wonderful smile and good humour. Chloe served our desserts with delight, recommending the homemade brownies. Compliments to Ed the chef for serving delicious, quality home cooked food. Quality produce cooked well. It really was a pleasure to be served by staff that were genuine and happy, a team to be proud of. We shall return. Interesting to see that there is a monthly Pie, Pud and Quiz night - maybe we'll try that.

First time that we’ve stopped here on the way to Brockenhurst, food was absolutely amazing and lovely staff. Very reasonably priced as well considering the size of the portions. Will definitely stop here next time on the way thru.

Warm welcome from the lady and her staff. This pub was full with every table having lunch, from dog walkers to people visiting the New Forest. The food was home cooked and so delicious we want to return in the future. Nothing was too much trouble, a dog bowl was brought to our table. There is an under cover outdoor dining area also. A small car park. Highly recommend this establishment.

Along with my work Colleagues we went out for my Leaving dinner, it was a short notice to reserve but the staff managed to get us a space to occupy 20 Members. The ambience was so nice and the staff were really friendly. Food was amazing, you get half a price for a burger when u buy 2 on Wednesdays. Dessert was usual but so nice.

We have been coming here for the best part of 25 years now and is and has always been one of our go to restaurants. Last night 4 of us visited, the place was rammed as usual but our table was waiting for us. The menu is traditional with many items on it having been on there for the past 25 years but that is no bad thing. A decent sized menu with many main courses and separate pasta and pizza sections but it’s the specials that are always worth trying. Last night it was a starter of crostini with crab, chilli and lemon as a starter followed by sea bream with a bed tomatoes, olives and peppers and side veggies. Both were magnificent, stunning flavours and good fresh fish. I was pretty full but the desserts are a must here so the white chocolate praline with caramelised pecans and crème anglais was a no brainer and wow I loved it. Great place, friendly staff and always good service, despite me going home and complaining about how stuffed I was !!!

Haven't visited for a while until recently, nice to see it's still popular. Personally we thought the food wasn't quite as nice as previously, but by no means bad. The portion sizes are still good, we had 3 courses each and overall was good value for money. Staff are friendly, nice atmosphere. Good to support a local business

Absolutely amazing, the food was phenomenal absolutely phenomenal. Fast and very friendly service, clean and very atmospheric. Not a bad thing to say about this place... A rare all five star rating from me.

Absolutely LOVED this place. The other reviews certainly didn't lie. Outside of Italy it was the best Carbonara I have eaten. I would definitely recommend to any pasta and pizza fan!

A lively spot right in the middle of Lyndhurst high street; a very random find and I walked in simply because it was almost packed during lunch hours which is a good sign! And I wasn’t disappointed, great vibe inside mostly locals I guess, food options were simple but plenty and I tried my first Welsh/ Lyndhurst rarebit.. didn’t know what to expect so what I ate was good. Enjoyed a nice cuppa after alongside a lovely warm scone with clotted cream and strawberry preserve. Service was all right. Overall a very good experience.

The service here was absolutely brilliant. People who run the place were incredibly warm and welcoming. Delicious sandwiches and cakes. Clean as a whistle. The biggest gluten free menu I've ever seen. Excellent. Definitely recommend.

The food was tasty, pretty good service, and the atmosphere was nice but busy. Got in just before lunch rush (I can see why this place has so many reviews, just based on how busy it got)

Seriously, look no further. If you’re around here, this is the must-go places to eat! An unassuming little restaurant, with the most hospitable staff. I love how all age kids friendly they are (look at the presentation of the kids menu and hearty portion!). For adults, the menu is an absolute delight! Not your usual standard Thai options, but be adventurous. Take your pick. You won’t be disappointed!

Seriously yummy food, welcoming staff and brilliant atmosphere, we love visiting here. I could eat here every day!!

This restaurant came highly recommended by a friend who lives in the area. I booked a table for one as I was visiting the seaside on the day. Booking system is via texts/WhatsApp outside of opening hours (5pm it open on a weekday). The restaurant is right on the small high street so no parking available, however this spot is still a short walk from parking at the New Forest bit. First, I was asked leave as I walked in with my dog and was opting for the take away menu. As we were standing outside the owner popped out from the kitchen and greeted us and welcomed us in whilst choosing from the menu. Following this the waitress came back and offered us to stay in for a meal as that night (Wednesday) wasn't too busy. I sat with my dog by the window far from everyone else closed him in the corner with his treats and little rug. I was happy that I could stay with my dog in the end have a meal. I ended up having 2 starters and a soup as the duck dish I was after they didn't have. The crispy octopus was perfect, and the pork jerky wasn't too bad either. Tom kha was a bit too sweet to my liking, however the prawns were cooked well and had specialty mushrooms in it which was a great twist to the usual. All in all we had a great time after a long day at the beaches with the pup and just delighted that I didn't have to have a take away in plastic tubs in my car in the dark before driving back home.

Amazing menu. We had an fantastic meal trying the different starters, you won’t find jerky on many Thai menus, but we popped back the next day just to buy some to snack on with a bottle of red. The steamed dumplings were to die for and the drunken noodles were so tasty with loads of crispy veg. If only we lived closer Anissa’s would be a weekly treat. Thanks for a great evening.