Hare and Hounds in New Forest

The place got everything right for a family lunch out. roasts were good portion, delicious food, great friendly service and the toilets were clean!

Had Sunday lunch late afternoon last weekend. Excellent food! Freshly cooked vegetables and big portions. Starters were huge and also tasty. Stayed for the quiz night which was a bargain at £1 each and a fun night. Music questions were hard! Dog friendly.

From the warm welcome to the attentive and friendly service it was a great experience having lunch there today. Genuinely enjoyed the hospitality and atmosphere. Food and drink was delicious, with a wide selection on the menu, catering for all our tastes. Toilets were clean, well maintained too (don’t often mention them tbh ☺️) Will certainly return again!

Stopped on the off chance and the food was fantastic staff friendly and prices reasonable would definitely recommend just a warning it does get busy it’s dog friendly great pub

I went with my parents for Sunday lunch as staying locally on holiday, booked for 2.00pm. Immediately annoyed on arrival as no disabled parking and car park full, no spaces marked out with some badly parked cars taking up two spaces. Quickly seated, drinks order taken and received and food order taken promptly however problems then started as mains (decided no starters) took 50 minutes to arrive, appreciate it appeared busy in there but many tables ahead of us and had theirs. No engagement from staff, were seated in the central area near bar so could see all staff and orders passing through. Often staff see and heard standing together and chatting at bar doing not much. Once finished took 10+ minutes to have table cleared, despite staff passing our table more than a dozen times carrying nothing more than a glass, empty table next to us cleared quicker! When politely pointed out to waitress as she collected our plates, acknowledged with a cursory sorry, asked if we wanted puddings said yes please, she would get puddings board. Puddings board arrived slowly, when we said we were ready to order after a minute or so, told they would get tablet and went and did other jobs before coming back, when asked how long puddings would take before we ordered as mains took long time was dismissed as not a problem and of course wouldn’t take long, timed as 8+minutes. Vanilla and choc chip cheesecake very disappointed as although large tall slice very plain flavour, wouldn’t have known vanilla unless told and not sure if something wrong with mix but didn’t taste like a traditional creamy cheesecake, almost sent it back but couldn’t be bothered by then just wanted to finish. Main ok standard roast fare, nothing to write home about. Overall about 2 hours. Won’t be going back. Table who arrived after us got served quicker and more attention but then they were locals…

I decide write this bad comment today because is the 3nd time in last 6 months i feel the good service gone! I’m a regular client since 4years ago and last 3 times been so bad and always a try understand people have bad days for try understand the yah that lady treat us but today again she been so rude and miserable and I decide this time not eat and go away and I’m not looking to back anymore .. she really don’t care about the customer always with a rude attitude and even if we have booking or not her attitude looks like she don’t like see a full house … i understand is busy and stressful but end the end of the day is the customers paying her bills !!! I don’t know her name but is the one blonde and blue eyes.. anyway the restaurant is amazing the place is lovely that’s why we drive all way from Poole to have great time at this place and recommend all time to our friends and take our family there when come to visit us in England .. but look is like that is not will happen anymore unfortunately.. that lady ruins the business and is so sad because we love that restaurant!

We arrived here for a drink but decided to eat, having looked at the Sunday menu. We were accommodated to a table as they had many booked,even on a Sunday evening, but they found a space. Our order was taken and our dinner arrived nice and hot. I had roast turkey with roast potatoes and seasonal veg, all of which was well cooked and delicious. My husband had the steak and Ale pie which he found was much to his liking and devoured it quickly! There was a good choice of desserts, some were good old fashioned ones like, spotted dick, jam rollypolly, and others which were too large to fit in after the main course. They did look good when served to others. The service was good but not intrusive, and there was no wait for anything. It was a great find after touring around the New Forest

wonderful pub, great choices on the menu and resonably priced. lovely surroundings and easy to park. Staff great and service was good I had fishcake and my husband had sausage and mash. Both delicious. we had cheesecake and jam sponge for pudding, yummy.

We've been here a number of times when we come on holiday. It's a popular place with an extensive menu. The food was good, but quite a long wait. It gets very busy even midweek off peak, which shows how popular it is. Reasonably priced food.

Have now been here to eat a few times both for lunch and supper and have never been disappointed. Efficient service, good menu, excellent quality food and good portions. Really good value for money on both food and drink. Recommended.

Great home cooked food good value prompt services we have eaten here several times when staying in the new forest . Nice steam veg large portion dessert and coffee all good

we went to the H&H for a Sunday roast. The pub was full and during our meal they even turned away walk-ins as they were that busy. The service was exemplary and the food divine - home cooked quality sunday roast - absolutely perfect. I would highly recommend the roast but also that you book ahead of time - totally understand why so popular.

This was our first visit to the New Forest and we stayed in the lovely quiet village of Sway. We visited the Hare & Hound on a couple of occasions during our stay and we were greeted both times by friendly staff. It’s a lovely traditional pub with a great traditional pub food menu and I can highly recommend the selection ‘from the field’. If you are looking for a nice relaxing country pub atmosphere with an open fire, dog & family friendly then you will enjoy a visit here.

When we arrived we were taken to our table,there was no room to move , they had crammed the tables so close together that you couldn’t get out of your chair. We asked for a table with some room as we had a pushchair with us, but no. After an hour waiting a staff member came to take our order, not a lot of choice , some of us had the trio of roast, sounded lovely, when the dinner turned up it was disappointing, the stuffing didn’t taste or look very nice and as for the veg well, not the usual Sunday veg, it turned up in a small dish for 3 of us , there was red cabbage , courgette and carrots. The puddings not nice either, waffles hard you couldn’t cut , cheesecake which tasted like it had loads of gelatine in, and the treacle sponge pudding usually is a light brown colour,well it was almost black and tasted of black treacle, not nice. We didn’t have coffee, wasn’t asked. Staff not friendly , never asked if we wanted any more drinks, if our dinner was ok, we had to keep calling them over. Wouldn’t go back .

We stopped in as was staying near by. We managed to get a table even though there were lots reserved. The food was very good, even a fussy 10 year old and fussier 15 year old enjoyed theirs. The service was wonderful - staff very friendly

We visited on Easter Sunday. They squeezed 7 of us on a four seater table. Service was extremely slow. We had to get up several times to get drinks from bar as waitresses were only interested in looking to see who had finished meals rather than attending to customers on waiting tables. Roast trio was shocking! Stuffing was like mashed potato, veg consisted of courgette , carrots and red cabbage. Asked if they had broccoli, green beans or cauliflower but no. Sticky toffee pudding was a treacle, cheesecake was like marshmallow, waffle so hard you could kill someone with it. Waitress with blonde hair was very rude and had a disgusting attitude! Table behind us were asked to leave as they needed the table back. They were not offered dessert or coffee. The wait time for food order was 45 minutes, meals came around a hour after that. Will never be visiting again!

We had been assured by friends that the roasts here were very good but that was not the case last weekend. The big issue as previous reviewers have mentioned was the quality of the meat. I had the beef and my husband had the pork and both were tasteless. The slices appeared to have come from a catering pack, think school dinners. The gravy and stuffing were not great. Potatoes and veg were fine. The beef was £15.99 and the pork was £13.99 which is probably reasonable these days but maybe why they need to cut costs by sourcing the meat from a cheaper wholesaler. The pub was packed and is clearly very popular. Service was friendly but slow.

This restaurant was one of our favourite (I stress the was!). Today’s visit was for my wife’s birthday and I must say it was a bit of a disappointment. The food was not up to the standards we had experienced previously, and whilst the pub was heaving the service felt rushed and not very attentive. We both ordered a roast dinner and the meat was tasteless, overcooked and to be honest felt as if it was carved from a processed joint (think Bernard Matthews!) It would be great to see the food return to the lovely meals we have had in the past, but we will have to wait to see if we return in the future.

Blessed within a beautiful location the pub is currently undergoing an external renovation however it doesn’t stop the staff from being friendly and serving delicious food! Plus having Fullers in barrels is a magnet for any beer lover 👍

Went for game week special, partners guineas fowl very good. My game casserole very poor, not much flavour and few small scraps of meat

Lovely country pub, great food at reasonable prices, happy, attentive staff, what more could you ask for? We arrived Friday at 1.30pm and the pub was full, although early lunchers were just starting to leave. Liked the varied menu too. My husband liked the draught beer, Double Drop! Overall a very enjoyable experience.

The food here is excellent. We ate on the Friday night and enjoyed it so much we went back again on the Saturday. Would highly recommend this pub. We eat here regular now and every dish has been superb.

Hare & Hounds Sway I run a sports club in Sway and have done for 15 years. We will no longer be using the Hare and Hounds as our after training venue. The bar manager Jamie is incredibly rude and today made it very clear that, in his opinion, all we ever do is "take up space and drink lemonade and eat cheesy chips" - he refused our booking for next week and said that we'd have to "take our chance or sit outside, in January, as he could sell our seats and booking 10 times over." 15 years we've been using that pub and that's his attitude.

Absolutely fantastic service and food! Came here 12 years ago as a couple and so thought we would revisit again. Didn’t disappoint! Would highly recommend :)

We had lunch on Friday and had a chilli nacho share bowl and a bowl of chips , there was definitely a lack of taste and heat in the chilli , as we were in the area for the weekend we then booked for Saturday lunch , my wife had the lamb rosemary and cranberry pie , she said the pie was lamby but no hint of rosemary or cranberry I had the fisherman’s pie which was ok but could have been better. Will probably venture to Brockenhurst in future A shame because it is a nice location and is closer to where we stay

Christmas break in Sway. Family meal in this beautiful pub. The service was excellent, the food fabulous with very generous portions. The decorations created a cosy atmosphere. Will definitely visit again when we return to Sway.

Thank you Hare & Hounds for a delightful Christmas Lunch…… always amazing food and venue, see you soon

We booked for Sunday lunch the night before and when we arrived, we were quickly seated at our table. Our booking was at 1pm and the place was already quite busy with other diners. We both chose the roast pork dinner which was really tasty with lovely roast potatoes, flavoursome pork (lots of it) with nice crackling and lashings of gravy. The accompanying veg were nicely cooked. We’d seen other diners with massive Yorkshire puddings but we assumed that was only for the roast beef. We got lots of apple sauce too and were very full at the end of the meal. The beer was ok and I’d be happy to return another time.

Family Christmas - superb. Brilliant dinner and organisation by Julia and her team. Back again this year for birthday.

Lovely friendly pub , excellent service. Food good. Reasonably priced. What could be better than that .

Had a lovely welcome, we were a group of 10 with 5 bassets and 2 smaller dogs. Service was friendly and prompt and the food was served all together and was delicious. Would highly recommend

Once again, The Hare and Hounds have come up trumps. We stopped here for lunch during a circular walk around Sway. Great menu, great staff, great service. I have lost count of the number of times we have eaten here but it is lovely to...

Was recommended the pub by a friend. First of all this is a really lovely pub. My wifes meal was liver and bacon which she enjoyed and I had the steak and ale pie. The for the negative review is the chips weren't attractive side...

Fresh hot food lovely waitress lovely liver & bacon , pie of the day , lovely atmosphere, really busy on a rainy Wednesday lunchtime and it was packed , so shows how lovely it is

Ate here on Friday 15th September in the evening. 4 mains, hit and miss! Service felt begrudging and was definitely minimal. The family with us had visited several times a year ago and we were all there on their recommendation so decided to give it...

The food and the service here is excellent. The garden is great, lots of equipment for children to enjoy and plenty of parking. We were able to book a table close to the door because of one of our friends needing ease of mobility. There...

lovely food, surroundings and staff. Most menu items come in two sizes for the smaller (or larger) appitite. I had the small salmon fishcakes followed by the home made cheesecake and my husband had thesmall lasagne followed by the syrup sponge. They were all delicious...

Dropped in for an early evening meal “”very friendly reception by the staff “”great choice of food and drinks “””the burger I ordered was delicious and the fish pie outstanding “””The young lady who looked after us was a True professional “”outstanding service “””she was...

Visited for dinner while visiting this area for weekend Good vibe and friendly atmosphere Tasty food , bit slow to take order but good food and generous portions ( lasagna and scampi) We couldn’t manage puddings ! Would recommend

Recommended by our host during a week in New Forest. We were greeted and shown to our table immediately ( even though we arrived 15 minutes early. Waitresses all providing an exceptional service - took our orders promptly, extremely helpful and cheerful. We chose the...

Excellent food which we chose from the specials board and very reasonably priced. Staff friendly and sort any queries you have straightaway. So good we are there two nights running

We went here for dinner and the Sunday evening quiz. The roast beef was really tender and you could have housed a small family in the yorkshire puds, but the star for me was the gravy. Good old fashioned spotted dick and custard was a...

We took our friend's for their first visit to the Hare and Hounds (we've eaten their a few times before ) and I can honestly say the food was excellent, 3 had lasagne, 2 had ham, eggs and chips and I had admirals pie. All...

This was the worst roast I have possibly ever had. We tried to book a table but they were full ....knowing this I'd decided to try the 'famous roast', with nothing we were early and probably the first people to order the roasts.... Firstly they...

This pub is top drawer. Very busy which is always a good sign. Excellent staff and standard of service and customer satisfaction is well catered for; there was even a row of spare glasses in case you had forgotten yours. There was a pet bowl...

A fantastic pub in the New Forest. Friendly staff, fantastic food and very comfortable furnishing and atmosphere. Would highly recommend. My partner and I had a wonderful time.

Lovely food and desserts. The roast dinners are lovely especially the roast potatoes and gravy, epic!

Fitted us in last minute for a Sunday roast. Really nice food and staff. Kids loved the park as well. Will come again when we’re around.

Absolutely top class pub for both service and food. Staff are efficient and polite and attentive and the food is excellent. Be sure to book as it is very rightly very popular. Many thanks for a wonderful evening.

Jamie was extremely helpful and friendly. We popped in for food after lunch but before dinner time and this was no problem for them. The burgers were succulent and delicious. Would definitely visit again.

Unfortunately after visiting many times regularly enjoying as a family, on our visit today after a recommendation to friends we were truly let down. With 7 of us with children we moved a bench approx 6feet from its location in the garden so we could...

Excellent food. good pub food.quick service and friendly staff. Went 2 nights running as 1st night good. Will return if in the area again.

A warm welcome, a relaxed atmosphere, drinks order taken promptly and our meal ( Admirals pie) was the best we’d tasted. Just great!

Return visit to a pub we used to frequent many years ago before moving out of the area. It was superb then and even better now. Handled my wife's coriander allergy without batting an eyelid. Beer was a good price and well kept, wine less...

A warm welcome for us and our rather sandy dog, when we called in on the off chance that a table would be available, especially as the carpark was almost full. Comfortable and relaxed, with thoughtful details. Extra cushions for seating, beds and rugs available...

We visited the New Forest over the weekend and stopped in the Hare and Hounds on Monday for an evening meal. Service was friendly and efficient even on a bank holiday. Food was excellent so much so we booked to go again the following day!...

Had another great meal at the Hare and Hounds. We come here when we are in the area and we love it. Food and ambiance are great. Never had a bad meal. Special shout out to Tara who always goes out of her way to...

Had Sunday lunch here. The trio of roasts was excellent, the service really good and the setting is beautiful. Not much more I can add really; it’s awesome!!

After reading lots of mixed reviews. Some very bad. We did not know what to expect at the hare and hounds. As soon As we walked in the staff welcomed us. Very polite. The menu is a pub menu. The food took a bit of...

When in the New Forest we always try and visit this pub with our dogs. On our visit this time some tables were reserved so we sat at an empty available table. We were immediately stopped by a man behind the bar telling us not...

A member of the hotel staff were were staying at recommended this pub as a place to visit whilst we were in the New Forest area, first went at 17.15 hrs on a Tuesday when tables where quickly filled, a good indicator that it was...

Went for lunch the Saturday before mother's day,x6 people with 2 children cannot fault anything, staff so friendly, and food excellent as always. Our waitress was super friendly smiley, and really helpful. its always our go to pub, propper classic country pub grub and a...

Lovely atmosphere but plastic food and poorly cooked/ presented. We had a Sunday roast. Reminded me of the classic ‘school dinner’ ‘NHS hospital food’. Staff were friendly and the pub was very busy so we were hopeful as this was our first time visiting this...

5 of us enjoyed a tasty roast for Mother’s Day. The restaurant was bustling as you would imagine on Mother’s Day. The staff were happy and attentive. I had roast beef, it was cooked perfectly with an enormous Yorkshire pudding, plenty of veg and horseradish...

I had been told the food was good at this establishment , I disagree. The vegan roast was dry and crumbly and the potatoes, it's not difficult to cook a roast potato. I'm afraid these resembled day old potatoes fit for a bubble and squeak....

Nice atmosphere ……terrible food Having never been to this pub before, I had an open mind as what to expect….. Unfortunately there was nothing on the plastic menu that interested me much, so went for the pie of the day, chicken and mushroom ( not...

We dined with friends, and not having been here before, were a little dubious as to the quality of the food. We found the atmosphere warm and very friendly, the staff were kind and efficient, the food excellent. We shall defiantly return as I would...

Popped in on the off chance after a walk at Hurst castle, a very helpful person answered the phone and organised for a table and space for our dogs. Place was very busy, staff were very helpful despite being busy. Food was good. Recommended

We ate at the pub today. The food was delicious and plentiful. Service was excellent and attentive. I have been a fan of the pub for many years. But today the pub was cold. There was no getting around it, I was with my 83-year-old...

Greeted at the door as had reserved a table. Friendly staff. Dog friendly with biscuits, water bowl and dog beds if required. Warm and cosy atmosphere. Hot well cooked food. Have visited before and standards have not dropped.

Superb restaurant excellent food and staff very helpful and friendly. The restaurant is very well presented clean tidy with great car park. Will definitely visit again when in the area.

Couldn't park in a neighbouring village so drove on and came across The Hare and Hounds. I was looking forward to one of their beers but unfortunately the barrel had just finished. It was very busy so service was slow but the wait was worth...

This is a lovely pub, with good food and excellent staff. But I do query a couple of items on the menu. You can get a plate of whitebait that is massive, but it is only small fish. That end up being to crispy and...

3 generations of our family and 2 dogs away on holiday and wanting a lovely Sunday dinner. In comes the Hare and Hound. We’ve been a few times over the years and it doesn’t disappoint. Lovely food and good hospitality. We all left very content.

Everything much the same at the Hare and hounds, little or no change to the menu, although the food is usually good here, but not exciting, when eating out one is usually hoping for something that they would probably not have at home but it's...

We had a lovely meal here for a Sunday Birthday celebration. The ONLY thing to let the whole meal down was the yorkshre pudding, they were dry and turned to dust and crumbs on cutting into them. Otherwise the meal was delicious and the puddings...

They tolerate dogs but you can tell they do not want them in there. Staff are not polite . White Hart Pennington is miles better for quality and value, and they really are dog friendly.

Visited Saturday evening for dinner/drinks. Food was lovely & waiting on staff pleasant & helpful. However the landlord was rude & unhelpful - despite us spending over £200! Went again 2 more evening for drinks & landlord was particularly rude & unhelpful. Will not be...

My family of four stopped off for some drinks at this very pretty pub. It has an excellent play area that suits all ages. Decided to book a table for the next day for lunch. Glad we booked as it was very busy. The food...

Some of us did okay foodwise - others poor food. Staff keen to serve and try to impress - gppd atmosphere

Came here today 28th August for a Sunday lunch and was not disappointed the food was lovely the waiting and bar staff were welcoming and attentive

Was told from our friends how lovely this place was. Wow. They were right. The warmth of service from the staff...the gentlemen who said he was the manager was simply lovely. An infectious smile. Every bit of the food was amazing. The steak and ale...

We received a very poor standard of food on Saturday evening. The mushroom starter was made with very old mushrooms, the steak and stilton pie special had a strong taste of ammonia and the pepper sauce for the steak special was very acidic. We explained...

Questionable hygiene, surly staff and mediocre food. There are far, far better places than this in the forest! Looks pretty from the outside but keep driving!

We go to this pub on weekly basis and eat in their garden as we always have dogs and a small child with us and they have a lovely play area for children. We always have starters and a main meal but today we were...

We had a wonderful family birthday lunch yesterday and could not have enjoyed better hospitality throughout our 2 hour visit. The staff were super welcoming, served to a high standard and the selected 10 meals, exceptional. Very many thanks,

We had the turkey and beef roast and the falafel burger. The roasts looked like someone had thrown up on the plate. We left the turkey, the veg was tasteless, just sweet. Very poor. The childrens fried food and chips were lovely. The falafel burger...

Great Pies for Sunday lunch in a lovely garden. Friendly and efficient staff, great pies. A children's playground if you go as a family which looked amazing. Central to so many walks and amazing attractions around Sway. This enchanted New Forest worth visiting any time.

We live local and visited here this evening for an unplanned supper on the way home from Southampton. Had a drink to start with and decided that we couldn't be bothered to cook so ordered some food. We have eaten here a lot but not...

We visited last night but hadn’t booked, they were very helpful in finding us a table. Service by all was friendly and helpful. The food was delicious recommend the chilli and the mushroom pot, all served hot. They have a lovely garden to enjoy too....

Firstly I must say that the staff are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Our drinks order was taken and we perused the quite extensive menu. Be aware that although salmon is on the menu, they no longer serve it but don’t tell you until you place...

We visited today as was waiting for a horse ride for our kids. We had drinks and dessert. The orange cheesecake I shared with my husband was one of the best I’d had in a long time. Next time we are in the area we...

Cheerful and friendly greeting by the manager was followed by more of the same The table was lovely by the window. The food really good traditional casual dining. The liver and bacon was delicious, salad superb. Goats cheese ciabatta melted in the mouth. The serving...

Visited for lunch at this lovely dog friendly pub on the outskirts of Sway. Varied choice of food and my wife and I opted for freshly made baguettes and we was not disappointed. Also a vast choice of beer and cider all served very efficiently.

I have driven past this pub so many times over the years and this was the first time stopping in. Friendly welcome as we arrived just before midday ordered lunch and drinks, we were told that food only starts at 12 but it arrived quite...

We have been eating at The Hare and Hounds for years, in fact every time we stay in the New Forest. It is always a pleasure with welcoming staff and a lovely comfortable “feel” to the pub. Like so many pubs in the area THH...

Found this gem of a pub while looking somewhere handy for the Lymington Ferry and had a decent choice of gluten free meals. We visited with our 18month old and our friends & their three children. Great choice of meals for all including the children....

A varied menu with something for all tastes. Traditional pub with good beer and does everything very well. nice and friendly, efficient staff. Feel you can just come and drink rather than need to always have food. Would definitely go back.

We visited last night, we booked as we know it gets busy on Saturdays, a table for 3 in the restaurant area, the staff were very helpful and friendly. The starters were very good, can recommend the Garlic mushroom pot, really tasty. The main course...

I love this pub but tonight not up to scratch, The steak and ale pie was more pastry than meat - like really just pastry - advised the waitress who said I will mention to the chef. On questioning several people have mentioned this issue...