The Bush Inn in Winchester

This a beautiful pub in a very picturesque town. We heard great reviews from the locals and were very excited to have dinner there on a Saturday night. However we had a very disappointing experience. There was one table of three apart from my partner and I and no one else came in all evening. Food was bland. Butternut squash Dahl was comically bad. Mash potatoes consistency and zero flavor. Fish on the fish and chips was huge but tasted so blad. Chips portion was average for 20 pound main course and only just cooked through due to their "chunkiness". Floor is the toilet floor were soaking wet and frankly a slip hazard. Staff were pleasant and the venue is beautiful. I like to think we caught them on a bad night but we won't be back to test that theory.

Loved this country pub, right by the river. Great pie. Good pint and nice team. Campervan option to park overnight also. Perfect setting for relaxing, walking and drinking.

I've been dropping into this pub on and off for many years. It is a historical place with lots of charm, in a beautiful setting in the Itchen valley. Needless to say it's a great place to end up after a walk. It's a cosy, welcoming place. The staff are lovely and helpful, and nothing seems too much trouble. The food is hearty and a good standard. The garden is lovely on a good day. It's well worth a visit, even if you just drop in for a drink. May it continue to be a joy for years to come!

I had the steak pie and mash, one of the best pub meals I've had in years. Service was impeccable and what a beautiful location. I'd arranged to stopover in my campervan and I had a restful evening

Lovely country pub with delicious food

A secluded, but popular old 17th century pub that stands on the old Pilgrims Way between Winchester and Canterbury. The pub would have witnessed the 1644 battle of nearby Cheriton. Down a small country lane that crosses the river Itchen, the pub has been maintained in keeping with it's age and history. A good selection of beers and a nice selection of food on the menu. Plenty of seating inside, and outside in the surrounding gardens. Large car park. Friendly staff and nice to chat with Carlos the owner.

Stopped for the night in the car park in our motorhome. Very welcoming and the food and beer was first class!

Food was great, although portions were quite small considering the prices. Waiting staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. The biggest downside was the wait for food. It took over an hour just for our starters to be brought out. In all our meal took 3 hours. Not sure if this is common place or if there were staffing issues, possibly the later as everything else about our visit was great.

Lovely pub by the river Itchen. Great food and service,

Quaint, great food, lovely staff. Peaceful location

Beautiful rural pub great food and staff with a magnificent chalk steam behind. The trout is delicious

Just love this olde world feel pub, delicious food, not cheap but worth it. Great walk along the river. Dog friendly.

Best garden pub for summer hangouts. Food is amazing - highly recommend the 16X ale stake pie. Said it brought people back, and I would agree!

Beautiful surroundings but very understaffed so slow service.

Nice place, good food, nice folks...

Stopped here in our campervan en route to the new forest for lunch. Lovely pub in the middle of nowhere next to a small river. Ate in the garden as the weather was good. Not the best selection of sandwiches on a lunchtime menu, well only one choice ( grilled halloumi)so had a burger which was nice. Found the pub on a campervan pub stopover Facebook page. Might try it next time for an overnight stop.

A much needed haven on a journey with 2 babies.

Great food, nice atmosphere, good staff

The food was above average but not great and the service was excellent. Unfortunately the interior looked a bit drab and dated. I get that it's probably a lister building but none the less it was still lacking any style. They do allow dogs in though, so that's a plus.

I love this place. The food is amazing, the service is professional and friendly and the pub and garden is lovely. Walking down the river behind the pub is idyllic.

My mum's favourite pub and she comes all the way down from Nottingham. Never disappoints - great and friendly staff, lovely food and stunning location. Cheers a D looking forward to a retune visit

A beautiful rare old fashioned charming pub, serving excellent food. We will be back often!

Fantastic food and great service on a busy Monday lunchtime. Handled multiple allergies in our group - thank you!

Service was terrible, and food bland.

5 stars all the way. Well worth a visit. Also got excellent beers.

Gorgeous old pub 🍻 great stop off when walking with the dog. I love the wallpaper in the Ladies.

Cracking Sunday Roast in a very welcoming, traditional pub

Had a very enjoyable pint sat by the river 😁

We had a lovely meal and drinks . The staff were lovely and helpful. Lovely atmosphere 👌

Absolutely delicious Sunday lunch!

Booked for Sunday lunch and it was simply one of the best I've ever had. The food was sensational (I had the mixed roast for main) and the service was second to none. Couple all this with a great location, good prices (we had 3 courses and drinks) and I can see us going back time and time again. Would highly recommend it to anyone near or far.

Lovely pub we include in a favourite circular walk. Twas very wet underfoot on this occasion so we had to spend longer at the pub, which was no hardship.

A nice member of staff let us in early before opening time and made the fire for us so we were comfortable, she was so kind and thoughtful 10/10 service. the decor was really good and it was pretty quiet for how amazing the restaurant was 7/10 atmosphere. The food was well seasoned and presented on the plate

Fantastic atmospheric pub with excellent food. Go out of your way for this one

A delicious meal and great service.

Alway good at the Bell with London restaurant quality food.

Been a customer here for over 50 years, just gets better!

Lovely place, great old country pub. Sorry to say the service was an upsetting let down. We had friends from the USA looking forward to a nice English pub lunch. We had booked a table for lunch, well received, sat at our table and forgot about. Had to ask if it was order at bar with table number 😕. But no there was a table service. Then asked what we would like to order for lunch before we were asked what would you Like to drink 🍷,,🤷. The food was great. Then we were forgotten about again for dessert. Never asked during the lunch how was the food , would we like anything more to drink. Better off doing self service. If that is going to be the service. What a shame 😞. I really hope it was a one off.( Bad Day)

Really great! Sophie went above and beyond expectations to accommodate my allergy requirements, and so did the chef!

Excellent food lovely staff very atmospheric

First visit. Very pleasant, good food and service

Very nice pub, service took bit long to order.

We are from Vancouver Island and recently visited a friend from the past living in Farnham. We spent a glorious September morning walking along the Itchen but then were told we must visit your pub for a post_ walk lunch and beer. We loved the situation and the ambience. Lunch was great as was the service. Thank you for being a memorable part of our visit to the U,K.

Great old fashioned pub out in the sticks

A lovely atmosphere, surrounded by rivers and streams

Lovely pub, great food, friendly staff, and an amazing chalk stream behind the pub you can walk along after you've eaten! .....absolute gem of a place!

Had a really lovely lunch in the pub garden today. The seabass was delicious and the staff were helpful and friendly.

Such a lovely old pub in idyllic surroundings. You can walk along the river to Itchenstoke

A nice pub in an idyllic location. Good outdoors area, next to a small river and with a nice landscaped garden. The food, unfortunately, was a mixed bag. Fish and chips was delicious, the baked camembert starter was also very good. Unfortunately the vegetarian and vegan options were pretty rubbish. The quinoa salad had almost no quinoa in it, just a bowl of leaves with no dressing on. For £17 it was probably one of the worst value pub meals I've ever seen, absolutely daylight robbery. Still, we enjoyed our time here but avoid if you want food and are vegetarian or vegan.

A lovely old Pub with a great Atmosphere...

Nice pub with beautiful garden and good beer. Didn't try the food.

A lovely lunchtime experience with friends

We stumbled across this wonderful pub a couple of years ago and have returned 3 or 4 times since and it's always such a treat. Beautiful pub with one of the most tranquil pub gardens we know, and the food & beer is always excellent, as is the service. For our last visit, after another lovely meal, we stopped overnight our camper in their secluded carpark as they are part of the Brit Stops scheme and had a really peaceful night. The surrounding area along the river Itchen is an absolute delight too. Look forward to returning again whenever we are in the area.

Beautifully kept pub garden. There was a bit of a wait for food the day we visited but the staff were apologetic, friendly and kept us informed when it was on its way. Food was decent too. Will definitely return 🙂

A beautiful location, delicious food and happy staff.

The food here is absolutely amazing! My partner had the smoked duck starter which was light and delicious, but my starter of beetroot cured local trout was the star of the show and something we fought over. Finished it off with a perfectly cooked sea bass on light fennel & orange salad to share. Come for the beautiful garden setting with river running by, but it’s the food that’s the stand out!! Hats off to the chef!

Lovely lunch with good friends, Great food and service. Will return

Difficult to find but worth it for food and beer

The most delicious Pimms made by an expert barman who was just excellent. Beautiful setting!

We received a fabulous welcome from Carlos who opened up The Bush Inn specially for 7 pilgrims walking St James Way Camino Ingles. Grateful thanks to Kayla too who facilitated the arrangements beforehand. We received our stamps in the passport and were appreciative of the toilets. I’ll definitely be going back for food given the hospitality we all received from Carlos and the beautiful location of the Inn. Heartfelt thanks and gratitude. Hope you like the photos.

We ordered 3 of the catch of the day and 2 lamb - while the fish was good we felt the lamb was very overpriced. It came quite fatty and was very flavourless - a pretty boring plate of food for £30 (probably needs some more work here). Staff were really lovely and service was great, which is a bit of a shame.

Beautiful location and lovely big garden. Well-behaved dogs welcome, friendly service and vegetarian options on the menu.

Starter plus a sandwich lunch with one drink took 1h 40m. Staff nice but food very very slow, nothing special, and quite expensive.

Great little pub! The food is nice and not over priced. It is not cheap but I would say a fairly priced pub. Dog friendly.

Delicious lunch by the river 😋😋😋😎😎😎🍷🍷🍷

Disappointing lunch after wanting to eat here for a long time. I chose because it has gluten free accreditation but the menu doesn't make it clear what is gluten free, you have to ask. I chose a main of greek salad with quinoa and roasted vegetables. I had to send it back as there was no quinoa and there was little roasted veg. It was tasty enough but more or a starter portion than a main, and at £16.95 a complete rip off when compared to the full plates of other dishes priced the same amount. Needless to say I went home hungry, and we didn't bother with dessert or coffee. I won't be going back. The table next to us had a worse experience, with their meal taking an hour to be served and even then meat not cooked properly. A real shame as great location.

Pleasant pub. The fish and chips were good. Service was enthusiastic and cheerful but awkward.

No atmosphere at all. Staff like robots, no character

Clearly understaffed even for a Wednesday lunch. Two sandwiches off their menu were mediocre, chips looked like they had been fried for hours. Sandwich fillings bare minimum to cover the description. Lovely venue for drinks but not good value for food.

Food is great but a little pricey so its probably due to the lovely remote peaceful setting. Definitely would go again!

Fantastic pub in the middle of nowhere 😄

Wow what a beautiful place! We arrived last Friday and it was so busy but all staff were polite and attentive, they took time to make it feel super welcome even though it was busy. The food was amazing my wife and myself had the Hampshire burger. Top food! I would definitely recommend! Large carpark out the back and lovely to sit outside in its huge beer garden by the river. Dogs also made welcome with lots of dog bowls around for them to grab a drink.

Really good food and a lovely setting.

Lovely pub with riverside location. Food was excellent - the steak and ale pie was delicious and none of this 'stew with a lid' nonsense! Beer well kept and a nice green garden.

A pretty pub in a lovely location next to the River Itchen. A good number of tables in the garden.

We've been here a few times over the last 4 years....They just can't seem to get the quality of staff, right, unfortunately. Serving us drinks was slow and some forgotten all together, and it wasn't busy at all. It's just a shame, it's a beautiful location but very hit and miss with service and food and drinks....more miss than hit it's unusual as well because most pubs like that are really good with knowledgeable and efficient staff, maybe it's bad luck and high turnover of staff but if you do have a positive experience there your lucky 😊

Excellent location. Very limited choice of vegetarian/vegan meals. Indifferent staff.

We just dropped in for coffee at noon when they opened. Staff seemed disinterested and lacked any sort of sense of humour or personality. It was like the job was such a chore and they'd rather not be there! For such an idyllic pub the staff really do the place no justice. Oh and the coffee was mediocre (no surprise there!)

Beautiful location with friendly staff and nice food. Only issue service a bit slow 🐌.

What an amazing hidden gem! The staff were friendly and the food was Fantastic with lots of choice. I had the beer battered fish and chips and I can honestly say I was the best battered fish I have eaten. The roast dinner looked amazing. With "real" roast potatoes and a good selection of vegetables Add that to eating outside in the beautiful garden setting next to the river. The perfect end to a sunny day !

We only had a drink so it's difficult to give a true review. What I can say is that they were friendly and flexible as we walked in after they had just closed, but they were still happy to serve us drinks, let us sit in the garden and use their toilets. Half pint of bitter was £2.60 and soda/lime £1.80.

Visit whist staying at a local Air b'n'b just up the road. Good food and beer, nice pub with a lovely outdoor area.

Super pub lots of outside space & tables, love it

Lovely food, great staff, brilliant setting in the countryside

4.4 is a silly low score, people don't know how good they have it! This pub is amazing. Beautiful old pub, nicely done up. Good food. Quick friendly service. On the flipping Itcken with a great bear garden. Come on mate this is living!

Lovely place, with a warm welcome

Excellent place, great food , dog friendly, great staff and camper friendly 😀

A very nice place for lunch, hugely enjoyable

This pub is quintessential English on the famous 'chalk stream' fed , River Itchen . A must visit if you're in the area. So much character.

Always a pleasure to visit the Bush. Varied menu and good quality food. My hake and mussels served in a curry sauce was excellent. Attentive service. Great walks along the river Itchen next to the pub and large car park.

Our first pub stopover and very successful! We went to The Bush Inn in Ovington and they have a large car park which is flat. No payment to park - just have some grub - and what wonderful grub it was, simply delicious! Friendly staff and very quiet overnight. Highly recommend this pub.

Booked a table for seven on Saturday, the 11th of February, all I can say is we had the most disgusting meal, and the service was appalling, not worthy of one star

Best steak and ale pie ever also all round service and friendliness second to none Very happy punter

Only stopped for drinks after a long walk but all the staff were very friendly and there's a lovely fire to warm you on these chilly days. My gin & tonic was served with juniper berries and the tonic wasn't poured in the glass so they know how to prepare drinks, it was a very welcoming & warming pit stop, thank you!

Excellent food. We all loved our meal

staff very friendly and helpful. food is 👍

Wonderful, extremely tasty & reasonably priced lunch by roaring log fire followed by great circular walk by the Itchen river - thoroughly recommended!

What an outstanding pie, kudos to the chef for nailing the filling and pastry, steak and ale of the very highest standard. Great location to take advantage of local walks along the River Itchen, beautiful setting and scenery, and the warmest of welcomes from all the staff, can thoroughly recommend.

Location okay, service not a bad standard. But the food was absolutely awful today (27th Dec) even taking in to account the post Xmas rush the food was just awful but the price was so high. Kids menu non existing and the two options were mediocre (goujans and pesto pasta) - the price for the food was extortionate compared to the quality. My father had a mushroom risotto for £17 and it looked like a bowl of rice with no mushrooms to be seen. My sister's "chicken supreme" looked like a starter.. fish and chips dry and too much batter... Really disappointing. We worked hard for that money and will never get it back. Needless to say as it was a family get together we put up with it ..... But never had any dessert.

Not enjoyable experience children running around with the mother also being as noisy as the children. Maybe staff should have done something. Its a eating area not a playground.