New Forest Bistro in New Forest

April 2025 Apparently under New Management. I look forward to reading some recent Reviews. --------------------------------------------- Over a year ago, So disappointed....... Ordered a Chicken Kabab with salad and garlic mayonnaise, and chips. It comes home and it transpires that instead of it being Chicken, with Salad it's Lamb. This isn't the first time this has happened either. A while back a Chicken Kabab was ordered, and all that came was just a Salad pitta Bread, and chips. Suggest you double check that you have the right food when ordering from here.

Worst establishment in the New Forest. Staff are very rude and blunt. I made the mistake of ordering for delivery once and the lady operating the phone took my address wrong. I called back after an hour wondering where my food was and she was very hostile blaming me for the wrong address given. The name she took wasn't remotely close to Mulberry Close. And if that wasn't bad enough she blunty ordered that if I was not outside waiting for the driver I wouldn't get the food. Food arrived cold of course, the driver at least apologised. Now the topic of the actual food. 0/10, everything they make here currently is inedible and of the poorest quality. The chips are not only bitter but have a stiff (not crunchy) texture. The fish cakes are basically fish fingers in size and are mostly charcoal. It's very quickly obvious that the food is not fresh and has probably been stored for months or even years. It's disgraceful service and I cannot recommend enough going to the Holbury Fish bar instead. April 2025 Update: They had a banner outside stating under new management. I decided to give it a try hoping that everything had changed. Same exact service as before, the only thing that has changed is the price increase for menu items. Chips are still awful.

Went in for lunch. After waiting 15 minutes for food, we went to ask if we could at least have the drinks and got given the wrong ones (they were changed without issues). After another 10 minutes the adult meals arrived, one was lukewarm and the other chilled cold. Thick grease sitting on kebab meat which was so finely sliced it had crisped like dried up Parma ham and had no flavour or usual kebab meat texture. Complained about the food being cold. Despite eating in, it had come in a foam box whereas the other two meals had come on plates. It was reheated and given back on a plate but no apology made. No salad offered, no homemade sauces. Paid almost £30 for one of the worst meals we've had. Staff not friendly on taking order or service generally. Won't be going back.

£5.50 for a extra large and got half a box.

I’ve been many times here for chips and they haven’t been too bad but today I had chips and battered sausage It was disgusting the chips tasted like they were cooked yesterday and just warmed up today they were cold there may of been a few new ones but not many the battered sausage also looked like it was cooked yesterday and was put back in the fryer I get that they get left overs and instead of giving them the next day sell them cheap on the day if I had looked at them when I left shop I would of taken them back I certainly won’t be going back there

I will not be going back, I ordered a large haddock and chips. I got it appears to be a medium fish and a small, very small portion of chips or should I say scraps, 30 scraps/chips. This place has gone down hill very quickly. Why are they doing this to the customers who support them. On Sunday evening the order was wrong, this is not a one off, it happens regular, they need to up their game it used to be good but now shrinkflation, bad news.

I have been a regular customer at New Forest Bistro for well over a year, and I cannot recommend this place highly enough. Not only are the portion sizes absolutely huge and reasonably priced, the quality of the food is absolutely fantastic. My personal favourites from the menu are their doner meat (as good as any I have had from any kebab house) and a simple dish of cod and chips. A large cod from the Bistro is an impressive sight but more importantly, it always tastes exactly as it should do. Even someone with a large appetite like mine can barely manage to finish a large portion of chips! The staff are all extremely friendly and professional, whether ordering via phone or going into the restaurant in person. The delivery drivers also never seem rushed and always take the time to exchange greetings & thank you for your custom. The only slight drawback for some people might be the closing time of 10pm, but bearing in mind the early opening time, this is more than understandable. Overall, all I can say is well done, keep up the brilliant work and thank you for the lovely food! UPDATED REVIEW - JANUARY 2025 Unfortunately a once excellent establishment is now nothing short of diabolical. There was a clear and obvious reduction in the quality of the food after the business was taken over by new owners in 2023, however I recently decided to give it another chance after many months of not ordering from there. I wish I hadn’t - my portion of chips was overcooked to the point of being inedible and the cod was swimming in grease. I can state with absolute certainty that I’ll never again order from New Forest Bistro whilst the current owners are in place. I would urge anyone reading this review who might still be considering trying it for themselves to read all the other recent abysmal reviews and spend your money elsewhere. My previous review would have given a score of 9 out of 10, now it’s 0 out of 10 and that’s being generous!!!

Please stay away kebab freezing cold fish burned burger still pink in middle STAY AWAY wost place in the waterside area

Absolutely the worst kebab and chips in waterside definitely won’t be eating there again the kebab was cold like rubber Absolutely disgusting stay clear

Absolutely rubbish fish was burned .. Connor kebab freezing cold Burger cold and still pink in the middle .... Please stay away from the worst chip shop in the waterside area. I would rate it no stars

2.5 hrs for a delivery which never arrived chased twice as was told 30 mins more very rude man needs customer training or learn how to say sorry won't buy from here again

Disappointing to have cold chips delivered which were undercooked. No value for money unfortunately.

Food is nice as normal but waited over 25mins for just a small chips and I was the only customer in store so confused on what took so long

Stopped at lunchtime for chips after long walk on lepe beach. We wish we hadn’t. The food was inedible. Sausage in batter was a reheated one. Batter was very dark and we knew it hadn’t been freshly cooked. The sausage was extremely dry and hard. The chips were a mixture of refried and freshly fried. The fresh were like bullets and the refried were devoid of potato. It all went in the bin. Such a waste of resources. I’m definitely sure it was the previous day’s food reheated. I have had chips from here before and they have been ok. Definitely felt that the cook who kept glowering at me enjoyed taking the proverbial.

Lovely meaty fish with gorgeous thin crisp batter.Lovely chips too if a little small in portions. But saying that perfectly satisfied once consumed. All beautifully served in a box and bag all for top price when only chippie tea will do.

Hate to do this but ordered a meat feast pizza very greasy and just tasted awful not sure if it was the oil they had used but literally binned it after the second slice

Kebab was cold. No rice but was still charged for it, kebab wasn’t exactly flavourful either and the savaloy was cold/tasteless. Worst kebab I’ve had in a few years. 18/09/24

Great place to stop for some food after a day at lepe beach. We were a big group with kids and adults, had fish and chips, wings, cajic, taramasalata and bread. It was all delicious! Service was great and bread was authentic Turkish bread and nice and warm. Will be coming again

When me and my family visit the forest we always grab a chippy tea from here to sit at the water front with ..food is mostly wonderful a little overpriced but understandable for the location I will say their milkshakes as fantastic as they are are very expensive and only come in large size but there is lots of selection and we have never been disappointed with the food

the food was very impressive and very tasty

Huge portions, great value, friendly staff, fast service and they take cash.

Ordered from here because the food we had when we ate in a long time ago was amazing, unfortunately cannot say the same for now, told it would be 40 minutes then got called to say it would be an hour but actually we waited 1 hour and 20, food arrived cold and missing some items from our order, and our pea fritter arrived smushed with barely any peas mainly batter, the chips had barely any salt and vinegar on too, very disappointing, i felt staff could have been a bit more friendlier and we didn’t receive a price nor a receipt so who knows how much we spent.

We ate here because we wanted to sit in. Adjacent fish and chips shops are take away only. The food was good but the atmosphere was non existent. Did the job though. Nothing special but left feeling satisfied enough.

Have ordered a few times before and been pleased, however this evening our order came and was missing chips and a sausage, phoned and he wanted me to put it through online again but would I not then pay again? Oh yeah, ok we will send now, 40 minutes later still not appeared with a very disappointed hungry and tired child now waiting for his dinner, was told it would be 5 minutes, over 20 mins still not there and they would chase it up then get a call to see if I still want it or added onto next order, yes my child still wants his dinner that he's waited an hour and a half for, then it comes but he can't have it as they have sent battered sausage instead of plain which he can't eat due to allergies and chips stone cold, safe to say won't be ordering again.

Last 2 meals dry chicken burger- bacon was a rock hard slice of wafer thin ham, bun was soggy, chips were smothered in layer of salt- inedible. Wrong drink and burger bun was toasted until black. No more orders from me

First time I have came here with my daughter on Tuesday night and we both ordered large Haddock and curry sauce, portion of chips and for the children sausage and chips twice. My daughter wanted pizza for the children but they didn’t have any which was disappointing. When we got home the Haddock was both small in fact part of both of them was burned to a crisp. The large Haddock is over £11 each and it was just enough for a child. I manage the campsite at Lepe Beach and I can truly say I will not be recommending them to our customers. A lot of money for nothing. Thankyou

This place is ridiculous dont order from here! Cant even cook chips and call themselves a chippy?? I asked them for steak and chips to which they replied we have no steak left but can get it from tescos for you. Dont waste your money go to zoutorias where you will get proper quality food also they keep giving themself fakes for reviews to put there rating up please dont fall for this if you want food poisoning there’s no place I would rather recommend

They are very gentle people and their food is good 👍

This is a great spot for every occasion and the food was wonderful especially the kebab, me and my friends absolutely loved the place and the environment was soo friendly.

Chips were ok but the sausage was stale. Disappointed

I recommend you to try this great place.

If I could give 0 stars I would. Where do I start.. well they brung out half filled milkshakes then tried calling us liars. Baring in mind we order milkshakes 2-3 times a week at £4.80 each. Even there driving staff have said not to be tight with us as good customers. Argued with each other over the phone for 6 minutes while we listen then came being all argumentative with my other half. Disgusting customer services considering been loyal customer for years. Can’t even cook chips for crying out loud.

New to the area so thought I'd give them a go, safe to say I will never be back! All the food was cold and they messed my order up. So I rang up and got left on the phone so I went back to get a refund as I was not happy with anything and was met with a rude, angry and argumentative man that wouldn't give me my refund and then lied and tried to be intimidating. In future I will be going to one of the other two across the road. All I wanted was a refund or apology as mistakes do happen but I was very shocked at the manner of the man in the shop and will not be returning.

As an OAP I didn’t want a full fish and chips so I ordered the Special Fish and Chips at £5.45. Great choice. More than enough. Very helpful and friendly staff. Fish was good, batter good (not oily), chips good chunky.

Absolutely disgusting food would never go again implore others to stay away also. Don't waste your hard earned money on this vile establishment I order 2 number 2 breakfasts everything but the sausages were cold and was also served plain cold pitas instead of toast. Bacon was out of a can sliced and fried. God knows what happened to the eggs I dread to think there was bits of green on them. Sauces spilled and congilled on the tables not wiped up or cleaned. Staff are rude. Payment was taken before food come out so you can't request refund. There was also a sofa in the toilet area hygiene rating 3 is being extremely generous!! No menus on tables and I see a repeat on here of them charging "£27" my order was also this price.....

Food made me sick within 30 minutes of eating. So much salt and grease on the Cod. Worse fish and chips I've had in the UK. Forgot our Curry Sauce also, but in hindsight maybe it was for the best.

Tonight ordered a large donna and most smallest portion came I was not happy with size . So phoned them and they kindly sent another one out and was much better side . One we got first is bottom with sauce on is how tiny it came and top one they sent for free .

Chips were freezing cold, not even warm.

AVOID! much nicer takeaways! We ordered a delivery tonight. Our first time trying here and we definitely will not be returning. We got the mixed kebab and there was a few bits of meat and chips, no donor meat. We called in which they delivered donor meat as mistakingly missed it out but I can say the food was highly disappointing, cold and greasy. I don’t usually do reviews but when I contact them in regards to food the man with Turkish accent answered and was really rude, he said he don’t care and put the phone down on me. Only positive was the delivery driver was nice. A waste of £40

This used to be our favourite place to order , the food was delicious and always big portions and good price , but the last few times we've ordered it's been very very disappointing , food is not what it used to be ! Apparently there is new management. The price has gone up and the portion are smaller and don't taste what it used to be ! The delivery man is friendly and polite and i never had any rudeness from staff but the food Definitely needs more attention! The chips are very under cooked and taste very strange, and the standard is not the same no seasoning what so ever ! Just feels like they cut the budget of food ! The last 4 times have been disappointing but I wanted to see if they will improve but they haven't so for now I don't think I will be ordering from them any time soon as I don't think the food is worth the price , I definitely think they need little adjustments and it will be back to how it was .

I've ordered fish and chip here before and they were alright hence the 2 stars. However i thought I'd mix it up a little and ordered the mixed meze and a pizza. They were hands down the worst takeaway i have ever had. Dry, all one shade of grey and bad tasting. And all that for £35 Never again

I had walked in to order food when the lady Bring the food over she had slammed my chips on the table and started shouting at me because my mate used the toilet even tho it says only customers can use the toilets and we had paid for the food so I find that very rude how they had shouted at us and slammed our stuff down with filthy looks given to us

Edit to add review now we have tried after it was taken over. Ordered the grilled cod. It comes with salad and chips. They put some cold wet pickled cabbage and lettuce in a box with my fish....so the fish was cold within minutes. As i unpacked it to eat in the car while at the beach I was covered in pickled cabbage water and grease from the fish. All over my clothes, as it leaked out of the box that had totally given up. The food was cold, tasteless and wet....not great for almost £11! Best menu I've seen in a take away! Great food at a good price. Would recommend the grilled seabass - it's yummy!

Worst chippy I’ve been to in 10 years of living in Southampton ( use to be good) ,, ask for Donner meat chips and garlic sauce, got 5 chips , 1 spoon of badly cooked meat and a sachet of garlic !

I always stop at this Fish and Chip shop when driving by. I love their food and last week hubby even asked for it to be brought back to him -50 mile trip- as he likes it so much. Seating is good too....it s just difficult to rate a chippy for Atmosphere...

0 STARS! All the good reviews are from the previous owners. The food is AWFUL now. Undercooked, greasy and expensive. Ordered- 1 medium cod 1 large cod 1large chips 1 curry sauce 1 gravy £27!! Received- 2 medium sloppy/greasy cod 1 small chips in a box (complained there and then and was given more chips) 100ml of curry water And 100ml of brown water Got home to find the chips weren’t cooked properly and the fish was inedible. Realised they had given us some dish water (gravy) So I decided to go back up there with the food and get my money back. No help. No apologies. Just vacant staring. Then a call to the “manager” who told them to not give me my money back. A few choice words and a threat to call the police and they suddenly had a change of heart and handed over £27 cash. Rude staff from the get go. This is clearly a laundrette situation if you know what I mean. Looks filthy inside too. Avoid at all costs.

Nice crisp batter, not greasy. Very tasty. Nice clean restaurant area too and friendly polite staff.

Great food which was well priced.

Bought 2 large portions chips which were like medium portions from any other chip shop which werent cooked very well and very greasy. I ordered a pukka pie that wasnt very cooked either. I ordered 4 jumbo sausages when I arrived home they had given me regular so I phoned they said they had charged me for regular so would have to pay for jumbo if I wanted them and it would be 45 mins at that point I said no. I won't be using again. Very disappointed

Absolutely disgusting food, never eating from here again. Expensive rubbish!!! Food was very overcooked and too hard to eat, so went straight in the bin. Very expensive and a total waste of money👎👎

The wait time was too long. 20-25 mins for a takeaway collection. The food wasn't particularly great either. Unfortunately I won't be going back.

Me and my partner went here to grab some late lunch, the girl serving the desk had no manners, didn't say hello or "what can I get you?" so we placed an order and sat down. After a minute or two we were looking at the vinegar and we saw what looked like cotton and small black dots, after looking at the small black bits closer we realised that they were flies... My partner spoke to the girl and she gave us attitude back "if there was a problem then I'd be first to let you know" then proceeded to be passive aggressive towards me and him. We decided to take the food to go in the end. Shame about the attitude of the girl but her behaviour towards us was unwarranted just because my partner pointed out there were flies in the vinegar.

Found loads of little flies in all of the vinegar bottles. Told the staff and they didn't seem to care. Also the girl that works there has an attitude problem so don't expect any kind of service. Absolutely mortified. Stay away! 🤮

Its trash now food tastes horrible the service is decent enough but i wouldn't recommend eating anything from there

Things at first wasn’t the best but they are trying and making aprovement on stuff the food is really good I do highly recommend

Zero if there was one, so sad previous owners have left, never received a poor service or meal with them and was a regular. Unfortunately the new owners provide poor service and terrible food, visited the new owners a few times to give them a chance but will never return again, each time cold re heated chips, chicken pie with no meat and consisted of grey jelly, mould on the burger bun and foul smelling ketchup that has gone off with black bits in it, mentioned to staff and they were not interested. Children's fish meal had 4 x 2inch bones, this should have been mentioned on the menu. Milkshakes are terrible as well, nothing like previous, they now are milk with crushed biscuits. Waste of £38

Had to make an effort to get served, then the fish and chips for a family of 4 included small portions, hard and bad tasting chips, and disappointing fish. Expensive and had to pay extra for sachets of sauce.

Really gone down hill since it changed hands, the chips always used to be perfect from here, now they're dry and cardboard-like

Bad quality of food for the price, £70 worth of food for 2 adults and 2 kids, the curry sauce was like water 🤮, we got 2 hullumi meze boards £7.95 each and it was 4 disgusting, hardly cooked pecies of hullumi on a bed of brown lettuce. The milkshakes where okay but not as good quality as a few years ago

Absolutely shocked that this was served at the cost of £7.95. Won't be using them again. £70 for a take away that contained this with watery curry sauce...and over cooked sides.

Took a good 5-10 mins before anyone took our order, then ages for food to cook. Then had to wait while they cooked more chips cos they'd run out. Not the best experience, didn't seem particularly well organised. Food was OK but fish and chips ended up soggy as they'd been sat in the box while they cooked more chips.

Thought I would see what the bistro was like now with very new owners …. I will not be going back that is for sure . With Turkish owners I thought I would try their chicken kebab …. I wish I had not . The chicken was very dry and crispy which made the kebab overall extremely dry , For £9.95 you would be expecting a well presented kebab with all the usual trimmings with it like a good salad , onions cabbage etc …. This had lettuce , tomato and onion , very underwhelming . The chilli sauce is from a bottle and all heat no flavour , again for £9.95 I’d be expecting a homemade chilli sauce which I make myself pretty easily at home . The chips were refried from lunchtime service as they had that 5 times fried taste ….. very crunchy and thick outer crust which is a trend for a chip that has been cooked a long while ago and then quickly refried and not very fluffy in the middle …. The service was very slow and no apologies after I asked how long my order would be despite seeing multiple people collecting their food who has ordered way after myself . Such a shame yet another local takeaway has been taken over and standards dropped . I will also mention how noticeably expensive this place is which I am sure will put a lot of regular customers like myself off . Not a great impression made by the new owners sadly

Amazing food, freshly cooked, large portion sizes for a very reasonable price and friendly staff. Highly recommend!!

Can't believe how bad the food is since the takeover last month... had the worst takeout ever......

Latest review is the minimum star rating of 1 - I was disappointed to discover that New Forest Bistro is now under new owners that also run a Turkish take away in Shirley. My experience yesterday was very disappointing. The two lads running it are trying their best with some items out of stock. The battered sausages werent very nice and the doner meat was dripping in lard. I could see it was lard as it was white and thick, disgusting. I threw it in the bin. Sorry lads but I wont return. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original review with previous owners was 5 stars - Lovely huge cod & chips with curry sauce and chicken kebab with salad. Freshly made and delivered delivered quickly. Accepts debit card payments too. Would order again in the future.

Since being taken over its gone down hill. Waited half an hour for a drink. Didn't have half the stuff we wanted. Definitely won't be going back

One of the best fish n chips I’ve eaten in a long time fabulous food and customer service.

Not the first time I’ve orderd and things has been wrong and when try and call no answer think u need staff who actually can take orders correctly

So after attending Beaulieu Motor Museum, we fancied fish and chips and looked this place up. It is a fish and chip shop plus a whole lot more, burgers, chicken, kebabs, eat-in, or take away or delivery and alcohol, omelets, curry, grilled fish, all sorts!! Very extensive menu, but all served fresh and tasted yummy. Good prices too! Lovely fish and chips x Really nice staff too. We found a gem and will travel through that way again 🙌 ✨️

Great place clean tidy lovely food freshly cooked will not go anywhere else now been there customer for a few yrs now highly recommended 😊

Massive menu. Mahooosive portions of fish, not greasy. Lovely jubbly!

Chips were nice but found battered sausage a bit soft. Good service and value for money

The food is disgusting not edible and they seem to change your order to what ever want shocking should be shut down

Very nice fish and chips good value in my opinion, all freshly cooked and worth waiting roughly 10 minutes

Wow what an extensive menu this place provides. It’s all there. Plus you can eat in as well. We opted to take our fish and chips with to eat by the beach at Lepe. Quick service in what seems a clean environment. Well done all involved

Excellent fish and chips, limited choice of drinks, sadly nothing on tap.

Really simple instructions, I live on the only house on the beech! had to run after delivery driver because he tried driving away without delivering. when i asked why he didn’t try the house one the beech as instructed he said it’s not up to him to walk through the garden. He was also aggressive and threatening and barely spoke english. Never ever ordering again i can’t believe the service i have just paid for!

Good service, good prices and much better than local competitors. I keep going back so they can't be bad!

Good quality food, friendly staff not expensive

Huge portions and freshly cooked. Recommend

Always come here when visiting my grandad, he loves it

Good sized portions, friendly service. Food good

Great fish and chips reasonably priced as well

It's a bistro, it's perfectly acceptable food, just don't expect gourmet food

Not sure about the atmosphere as I've only had take away from them but they are very polite on the phone and the food is truly bloody lovely. I shall keep using them myself as I couldn't be any happier with their service or food and the price is very reasonable too 😁.

I've used several times through lockdowns, getting fish&chips and kebabs to take down to the beach. Visited recently on way back from a beach afternoon and the eat in section is now reopened. Lovely food, freshly prepared for either takeaway or to eat in.

Good choice of food alway hot. Friendly staff.

Very nice fish & chips, nice portion sizes and they do a decent chip shop double cheese burger.

Great Chippy! Good service and good fish and chips!

Very tasty scampi and chips, service was good and staff friendly.

The best restaurant in the all area , other than having excellent food, the staff are the most amazing ever,

The best fish and chips in the South!

I liked there full English breakfast

Dine in take away and delivery this is our number 1 go to.

Food tasted great, portion sizes are good they was sadly out of the chilli cheese bites on my visit so ended up having mozzarella dippers, and the milk shake that came with my child's meal was freshly made and packed full of flavour would definitely go again

Brilliant place. Staff are lovely, food is very good n generous portions.

The best place in town in my opinion as tourist . They made everything from scratch they said 10min was 10min and the food came out hot , large portions and honestly nothing to comment on that . The only downside for me was you couldn't dine in even though Google / outside signs says either take away or dine in but could be something short period due to Covid-19 or long issue :-) unknown the mystery. P.S. one of the best fish and chips + lovely people .

Poor service I received from a lady last night with blond hair her attitude was awful, only managed to do half my order then accused me of not saying the full order even tho I did! She then went off in a huff to get the forgotten chips, which tasted awful and undercooked.

First time using last week. Placed order and was told it'll take 10 minutes. My burger was super greasy, and it ruined the taste. The girlfriends battered sausage was just about cooked the batter was soft and no crunch at all the same with her mums fish. Plus the outside benches outside were covered in rubbish from previous customers

Sausages aren't great but you get plenty of chips