The Cat and Fiddle Harvester in New Forest

We had a roast dinner and everything was very good. The meat, we had pork belly, the veg, the Yorkshire were amazing. The service was excellent, especially a blonde long curly haired lady was so good with the children. Atmosphere was great. Even with a big party going on we were served promptly. The best we have had.

Mothers Day. Family of eight really enjoyable our meals most had the Sunday roast, mum only fancied a starter as main, which was no problem, you really made her day. Thanks Barbara and the team.

Great service, great food and the bartender was very welcoming and made the place feel like a great value for money restaurant.

Arrived with our party of 9, table had been pre booked weeks before. No one greeted us, had to hunt someone down ourselves. We were sat in the bar on a couch no where near big enough for Our party. We asked to be moved and were placed in dining room. No one came to the table, after 15 minutes we again had to hunt someone down, said they'd be there . A further 29 minutes passed and still no service, no drinks, we noticed all patrons were looking around for service and decided it was best to leave. Called the Amberwood whilst at the cat and fiddle, they had the table laid and were very grateful for our custom. This was a family reunion after 5 years of being overseas , unbelievably disappointed. If I could put a zero star rating I would

We popped in for a drink and to see the changes now it has been refurbished. The internal decor is really nice, it has a botanical theme and I really liked the seating arrangements. The staff were very well presented and service was good. We sat to the right of the bar in the snug area. The food arrived in good time and tasted nice, the halloumi fries were really good. We didn't stay long, but would definitely return for a meal one evening. It's really nice to see new life in a well established pub.

Dog frendly Really amazing food! And very clean

Lovely meal fantastic afternoon highly recommended

Lovely food and great service! Visited again for Mother’s Day. Food was delicious and service was fire class. Thank you everyone

Excellent food and service. Very busy Mother Day

We are regular customers and always have a wonderful time at cat and fiddle. Great food, service and stomp

First time in the Cat and Fiddle and we are really impressed with the newly refurbished version. The food was excellent, however my burger was quite cold. Did not complain but had I brought this to the attention of the very efficient waitress who possibly taken back the burger to the kitchen. Thus my wife and I would not have eaten together. Otherwise a super venue, at a reasonable price.

Despite it not being very busy we had to wait a long time for drinks. One latte was cold and when we asked for a hot one we received an americano instead. The breakfasts were very average and like warm. The menu said plum tomatoes - was a salad tomato cut in half. Artisan loaf was definitely a supermarket loaf. No butter was given with the toast until we asked. Service was slow due to 3 waiters following each other round talking. We won’t be returning!!

We all enjoyed our spontaneous lunch last time so we booked to come back again and it didn’t disappoint. Friendly staff, great service and the food was even yummier than last time! Also the cleanliness of the whole venue didn’t go unnoticed. Barbara and her team have made a wonderful establishment to enjoy time with friends and family! This is a must visit! And we will be back!

Having had a lovely meal in the past at the cat and fiddle we decided to go out for dinner again. Unfortunately this time our experience left us disappointed. The service was hit and miss. We were asked if we wanted to see the desert menu before our mains were served. Some Items on the menu were off due to running out. When our meals were eventually served having waited nearly an hour, the portions were tiny not like last time. The peppercorn sauce was watery no consistency. The garnish was dry and not washed, the fries were hard no mushrooms, it’s like it was all rushed onto the plates with no thought, Nobody checked on us during or after our meals, so I couldn’t mention anything to anyone. The language and loud music coming from the kitchen was disgusting. Lots of swearing and shouting. We finished what we could of our meals paid and left, at the bar.

Not bad for a weekday Ping Menu. Empty, so good service.

If it wasn't for the service given to us by Kyle, the overall rating for this Pub would have been lower. It wasn't that the food was bad; merely average. It was that the menu's description made you think you were getting a higher than average Pub standard meal, which it wasn't. The cost was not more than to be expected for a New Forest pub but it was still relatively expensive for what it was. The early spring weekday lunchtime atmosphere was certainly lacking, but was in part made up for by the sympathetic updating of a traditional country pub decor. Vintage Inns are to be congratulated on the updating & improving of this former "Harvester" Inn, but the heavy hand of the Group's corporate image is still very obvious in the menus, beer choice & pricing structure. Overall there are many independents & also other Brewery chains that offer a better country pub experience for the money.

Barbara’s friendly hospitality is second to none. Lovely food and very pleasant atmosphere.

A beautiful pub. Lovely decor. Friendly staff. Very wheelchair friendly. Food was delicious.

Menu was just a bit limited, but otherwise a lovely place.

Lovely pub,great service,great food decorated and furnished to a high standard lovely clean toilets

We have a funeral wake at the pub back in October 24. Have to say the whole experience was excellent. The staff looked after us so well, very attentive and tne variety of food for our guests was great. We didnt feel at all rushed, the room provided was for our use as long as we wanted. Everyone had a positive experience. Would like to visit again under different circumstances.

Varied menu with more than just the run of the mill choices. Food is good and well presented. Service was friendly and helpful. There is a restricted discounted menu if you're on a tight budget. Will definitely go there again

Last minute stopped in for dinner and had a great time! The food was delicious and the staff were so friendly and helpful. Always have a great time there and will definitely be back!

Nice chain pub. Food is reliable and staff friendly

On hols in Hinton Admiral and after having a drink here, thought we’d have a meal the next evening. We were really looking forward to it. What an utter disappointment - cold lamb skewers and rubbery king prawn skewers. Slaw more like salad and McCain chunky chips. Each meal around £20. The lamb skewer was reheated, not freshly cooked as came back out in minutes. We told the barman that the food was terrible and he refunded us the cost of the lamb meal- some redemption as tbh was feeling robbed!

food was lovely, service was great that's why we always come back.would recommend to anyone? when we go on holiday and fly from Bournemouth we come to you first and have are lovely meal

This was our second visit to the Cat & Fiddle and can say that the food and service was equally as good as the first time. Visited with family and all had an enjoyable Sunday lunch. Food excellent, well cooked and nicely presented. Service good and staff very attentive. We'll be back!

Been coming to this place since I was a kid and it was a harvester the resent development done here has made the environment much warmer and fancier would recommend to anyone in the area looking for lovely food and friendly service

Although the food was tasty, it was lacking. Was wondering where our chips were? as our main showed burger and chips.. looked back on the order to find out if we had to 'opt in' for our optional chips? no price difference. We had to OPT IN for a meal? I just paid £19 for A burger. As it was under 'optional'it didnt prompt us to select so we didnt know.The delivery time kept changing too, it was 30 minutes later than the original time quoted. For a first time customer.. no, I won't be returning.

Me and my partner came into this venue and came across three very rude memebers of staff, not only were they unprofessional and drunk on shift but they decided to try and degrade me and my partner when finding out we worked in the hospitality sector and had mentioned the standards weren’t right. Wouldn’t expect this abuse from anyone in this industry nor do I think they should be representing a company when they behave so poorly!

The slow cooked pork belly was truly to die for 😍😍😍

Me and my family were here from London, staying down the road. Popped in here for drinks and some dinner. Fantastic food! I had the pork belly, and it was absolutely beautiful and a really generous portion. My nephew went for the signature burger, which I can report was delicious. 4 at the table had the lamb skewers, which were delightful. The prices are very reasonable. Even more so when you sign up to the Vintage Inns rewards app. The staff were friendly and professional.

Really welcoming and friendly staff, lovely food and good price

First time at this venue, it looks stunning with it's thatched roof inside is spacious with a log fire. The food was excellent. Main course in the region of £18 to £30. At this lunchtime the venue was not too busy and it was quite

Lovely atmosphere and great food. Lamb skewer was nicely cooked and a great wine list to accompany. Very enjoyable.

Lovely food and surroundings. Comfortable and cosy with open fire. Really enjoyed our evening. Thank you to Kyle for the excellent service 👍

This is now our second visit and honestly it’s the best roast we have had in a very long time. We both had roast turkey which was incredible. Thank you Matti and Carl for making it so delicious 👌🏻 it was so good we forgot to even take a picture.

Lovely food - friendly welcoming staff - highly recommend

Not been to the cat and fiddle for awhile and we were not disappointed. It's a large spacious comfortable pub on the edge of the new forest. We had some good food and there was a nice range of drinks at the bar. The service was excellent from a very friendly and polite member of staff. Throw in the log fire and it was set for a nice couple of hours. Get down there and find out for yourselves:)

Hi everyone. We called in this morning to have a coffee with our dog (fenchie) the atmosphere was lovely the wood fire was on the manager was serving us like being at a friend form friend's home. We ended up staying had lunch and a sweet. More coffee, sadly we had to leave. But how lovely was that, in this ever crowded market, with sometimes faceless staff and atmosphere like the inside of diggie bag. We will do it again tomorrow if possible. Thank you cat & fiddle.

Just went for a coffee with a friend and my dog. Very dog friendly place and nice atmosphere

Great food, brilliant,. helpful and efficient staff. There is such a lovely atmosphere in the pub. We went new years eve, in early January, and we are going again tonight ( 28th Jan ). Barbara and her team do a wonderful job.

Excellent food but quite expensive

Recently have eaten twice at this pub /restaurant Excellent food Steak with prawns fab Service lovely, manager & waitress both very good I would say sign up for emails you get very good vouchers sometimes The decor is a vast improvement Thankyou.

Popped in later in the evening on the off chance to see if we could get a meal as we had driven from Ceredigion to the new forest, we were in luck they were still cooking food. I can only say that the meal's we ordered was excellent and very tasty. Thank you to the bar staff and chefs for being friendly and curtious. We will be back for a meal in the near future.

6 or 7 staff congregating at end of bar having a laugh talking about ring sting (felt like a youth club ) had bowl if Belgium fries young guy comes out holding the bowl buy the top (no plate ) and mayonnaise already over the chips !!! And 1 of the workers walking around with his hoody up delivering food , love this pub most of the time , felt abit unprofessional this night, more interested in banter with workmates than customers, cant leave it to kids to run a pub , im going to put this down to a 1 off

Good food and service and lovely open log fire. Nearly empty when I visited mid afternoon so atmosphere could have been better.

I'm glad I didn't pay full price (we used a 50% food voucher). The main issue with our evening dining experience was the food. The menu is varied with many enticing options. Perhaps it's a too large a selection. The triple cooked chips and pork belly were great. Most of the starters were good (not great). The other mains were not so good. The skewers, both lamb and prawn, were not cooked well. The prawns were overcooked on the outside and undercooked/cold on the inside. The lamb was also overcooked. The Rib-eye bourguignon was stringy and stuck to the bone. The service was ok and the ambience nice enough, but the food let the experience down. I have experienced similar at the Curlew (another Vintage Inn). It's not terrible, but based on this experience I wouldn't go again and would not want to pay full price for the quality of food served.

The old part is still as lovely and the newer restaurant side is also very nice. Worth a visit, with a varied menu. Plenty of outside seating, which I imagine would be lovely in the summer.

Huge improvement since the renovation. The food is lovely and the service is fine. Good to bring dogs and kids.

Visited last night and had the fillet steak which was, and is always, amazing! Consistently well cooked, lovely and hot and really tasty! Followed by a delicious mango pavlova! Friendly and efficient service and overall a great experience. Would definitely recommend.

Boxing day meal for two. Good price fantastic staff good atmosphere LUKE WARM food spoiled whole experience. Was the same about year ago but thought give them another chance as should have improved in a year but there is something fundamentally very wrong with food service.

Food was cold, unseasoned and the garlic bread came without cheese. Some of the chunky chips looked half eaten. I have ate here before and it was lovely. This was so disappointing. No sauces! No season.

We went for the NewYears dinner with live band, what a great way to see in the NY. The pub is really nice, looks like it’s just been done up but keeps the old world charm. Food was excellent, service was good, Barbara is fantastic and the live band (Bigger Than Mary) were superb

Very disappointed. Thought we would spend new years day at this beautiful pub but sadly no atmosphere on arrival. Wine glass was dirty which we asked to be changed. Burger was overcooked so could not finish it. Crab cakes were overcooked & new potatoes were almost burnt. We decided not to have desserts. Overall extremely disappointed & doubt we'll be back.

Really delicious food some mistakes ma

Visited for the first time today. Prices are on the upper side but the atmosphere and the quality of service and food it's well worth it. They have some beautiful options ilfrom drinks to dinner. The band bigger than Mary was playing live absolutely top tier entertainment!

Gone has the old feel, very modern now. Lots of space inside and out, friendly staff. Couldn't cater for our food requirements when we went.

Lovely boxing day meal with family. Open fire, food great, staff friendly and attentive

This pub near Christchurch was once renowned for its traditional welcome and quality of food. A few years ago I had the pleasure of eating in this place with extreme satisfaction. Remembering the previous experience I have had lunch a few weeks ago in this place with some friends. To my surprise I received a terrible welcome: rude staff, terrible food, slow and clumsy service, dirty and unpresentable toilets. All for a price that frankly I found exaggerated. Based on my personal experience, shared with other people, I do not recommend stopping to eat at this place. The owner's pathetic response to my rating, described as "unacceptable", reiterates, where necessary, the arrogant and unprofessional tone already highlighted in my rating. It seems clear that a good restaurateur must know how to take advantage of the criticisms and/or observations of his customers and direct the management of his business in a calm and constructive way. This seems not to be the case with the owner of "The Cat and Fiddle Harvester" who, with an evident irreverent and cloyingly opinionated spirit, vehemently harangues those who dare not like something that no one would consider acceptable. Maybe we just happened to be on the wrong day, who knows... The review is deliberately written in Italian and not English because, with all due respect to His Majesty's subjects, I obviously care about the palates and pockets of my parents out of a nationalistic spirit. compatriots to whom I again suggest to carefully evaluate a possible meal in this place.

A beautiful pub with fantastic food and excellent staff. Under the new management of Barbara and her team! Very spacious for any event, we had an awesome time at their Christmas festive breakfast event which was perfect for families to enjoy a live magician and even got to meet Santa Claus himself and the lovely elf where kids got a present and photos next to the open fire place. The perfect place with ample parking, looking forward to seeing this very traditional pub blossom in it’s beautiful setting!

The best Sunday roast , full of flavour, great portion size and beautiful plating. We also had sticky toffy pudding & a portion of children’s ice cream which was super delicious too. Barbara and her team offered great service and were of great assistance. We even got Christmas crackers and a colour sheet; My son was so happy, thank you!

We attended brunch with father Christmas today and it was absolutely brilliant, best christmas activity we have done in years, the children absolutely loved it. A magician, an elf and even father Christmas himself! He was absolutely amazing, interacting with the children and festive singing! Food was great. The landlady and all the staff were fantastic, I hope they do it again next year! Thank you so much for such a magical start to Christmas!

What a beautiful and relaxing place to go. The warmth from the fireplaces is lovely on a cold day to sit next to. Recently, I had a roast dinner, and the portions sizes were incredible, and the food was of a high standard and well made a wide variety of tasty starters and puddings too ! Only marking down a star due to bad time management. We booked a table, arrived on time but were asked to wait, which was fine. However, 1 hour after booking was unreasonable to still be waiting for the table we reserved. From turning up, being seated, and receiving food, it was just over 2 hours, this just made the whole experience slightly irritating. That being said I would happily return to this pub and have further meals and drinks with loved ones.

Friendly pub for dog , found drinks expensive. And the young girl behind bar with habit of dropping bottles into bin form a height to make a quiet drink impossible 😔

Haven't been to this pub in a very long time. Been renovated recently (this year?) and looks a lot better. Really pleasant dining experience. Really friendly staff. Nice atmosphere. Nice decor. Nice food. Partner had haddock and chips whilst she wasn't super impressed with the chips the fish was very tasty and "meaty". I had the best pie I've had in a very long time, beef and venison. This is a proper pie. Proper shortcrust. Proper pie all the way around and not just a porcelain pot with a puff pastry lid on top. Very few places do this now but honestly best pie I've tasted in a very long time in a pub. Meaty, juicy, flavoursome, and even carrots and mash too. I was slightly disappointed with the sticky toffee pudding. Didn't have much flavour. Salted caramel sauce did not accompany it well, and the custard was tepid in a cold jug. Bit disappointing but I enjoyed the pie so much it didn't reduce the overall experience. Will definitely be visiting again I'll just avoid the sticky toffee pudding.

Our food was really tasty and well presented.The staff were extremely friendly. The manager was very welcoming .

Lovely pub with great food, service and atmosphere, we visited on Saturday evening for food and drinks, then came back for Sunday lunch as it was so good, and the roast was delicious!

What an amazing pub. I've used this pub for over 40 years and have to say what a transformation! It has a great atmosphere, lovely food and Barbara is the best landlady ever! She is attentative and always happy to please. I can thoroughly recommend this pub with no hesitation. Myself and my family will definitely be back. Keep up the good work Barbara, and all the very best to you, you're a star. Dave and Zul. X

Great food and always given a lovely welcome from Barbara and her team. We've had dinner here twice. I had the kebabs, which were fantastic. The meat was succulent and juicy. The burger was great, too. Went back for breakfast and again the staff were friendly and the food was great. I notice they do takeaway, I'll be trying that next.

Great food and beer! Very friendly staff

We love to go to this cosy pub for their mini pudding and hot drink special. They also have good children's food.

Wow best roast ever! Plenty of meat and veg all cooked to perfection, a truly amazing roast with great service and lovely surroundings with lovely log fire. Compliments to the chef - we will certainly be back

We came here for a Sunday Lunch and it didn’t disappoint, incredible food. This will be our new Sunday lunch spot!

Can’t recommend the Cat and Fiddle enough! The most incredible roast I’ve ever had and so much food. Such good value for money and the staff are so friendly and welcoming. The decor is so lovely and we were sat right next to an open fire. The head chef Fabio came and spoke to us to ask us how our food was and he was so lovely and you can tell he really cares about what he does. Will definitely come back for roasts here over anywhere else!

Lovely atmosphere, generous portions, high quality food, little waiting time, our table for 2 dinner was complete within 1 hour. Would come again, with my lovely husband!!

For food I would have given 5. How ever our main meal, came with chips. The menu mentioned nothing about, pepper being on the chips. I suffer with severe acid reflux. My wife has this as well. So both portions had to be remade. Service was a bit slow. And it didn't look overly busy. Atmosphere was pretty good, but perhaps some back ground being played, would have been pleasant. Would I eat here again. ? Yes

We had a really lovely meal here on a Saturday night. Nice atmosphere, nice and clean. Food was great no issues at all.

Best Sunday Lunch we had. Lovely atmosphere, warm fireplace, friendly staff, great quality food. Definitely recommend it.

Popped in late afternoon, food was amazing. Definitely recommend the pork belly! Service was a tiny bit slow but there was only one girl on, she was friendly and very helpful regardless. Really impressed and will be back !

Very good, superior food pub. Nice servers too.

Halloween event was great fun, Barbara the landlady did a brilliant job organising and the band were very entertaining. Thanks, Barbara!

Excellent food and service, made to feel really welcome and enjoyed the ambiance of the real fire. Lovely to note that dogs are welcome too.

Absolutely bloody delicious food and lovely people

My partner and I visited Monday 28th October and we were greeted and served by the lovely Barbara. The food and service was amazing. I had the lamb skewer and my partner had the Fish and Chips. Everything was lovely, my meal when brought out only had 5 chips. However this was quickly rectified when mentioned to one of the young waitresses. The pub looks lovely with the recent refurbishment. Barbara gave us a postcard with info about the pub- a lovely touch. Thank you for a lovely evening and we will be back. 😊

Lovely place. Staff are amazing, we were difficult customers and should of got an eye roll but they were great 👌 Great food as well.... And the beer was good to 👍

We visited for Sunday roast, hadn't been for years and heard it had been refurbished so thought we'd give it a go. All food was luke warm, had to ask for condiments and extra gravy. Service was slow and not the friendliest, was hard to get the attention of anyone. The manager seemed to be working the hardest and was very attentative, shame her service team let the place down, as did the food. Our plates were left on the table for around 45 mins after we'd finished. The kids wanted dessert but the service was so slow we didn't have time so didn't order and asked for the bill. The bill was the quickest thing to arrive and was thrown on the table without a smile or a thank you. The manager took one of our roasts off the final bill to make up for the piece of jellied fatty pork without crackling that two of us had been served as part of the roast trio. The 3 stars are for the manager who clearly cares about her pub and tries hard to keep customers happy. The food was over priced and lacked taste and warmth and the service was at times non-existent. Maybe its better during the week when they're not so busy.

Such a great family friendly pub. Lovely open fire, board games on tap, super atmosphere and tasty family food. The kids menu is really varied for the children too.

Seated 8 of us without a booking (which never happens for us) staff are kind and efficient. And the food was delicious. Everyone throughly enjoyed their lunch. Such a lovely menu with a variety of well cooked dishes.

The manager and all the Staff was out standing and the food was fantastic Thank you

Incredible food and great service!

Sad to say, our food wasn't hot, apart from the anaemic microwaved Cauliflower, the roast spuds were hard, and the gravy was tasteless. Took 40 minutes to turn up, after we asked twice. The restaurant itself was ok, but loads of tables with plates and glasses were left for ages without being cleaned. I fear management doesn't care or don't train the staff properly 😥

Had the roast lamb rump Sunday lunch there, don't know if we were just unlucky but the roast potatoes were very over cooked, the broccoli was not cooked and the center of the lamb was not cooked.

Sorry no food pictures as camera last thing on my mind when it arrived. Two signature burgers. Excellent. Chicken buttermilk burger. Excellent. Prawns on skewers and houmous selection. Excellent. Drinks. Aspinall draught served in product glass. Excellent. Malbec. Served just right. Unchilled. By open fire. Service prompt and courteous. Great interior and good easy parking

Lovely renovation, very clean and cosy. Roast dinner was delicious, especially the turkey, cauliflower cheese and stuffing. Staff very welcoming and attentive, will definitely be returning.

Truly magnificent lovely meal lovely stuff very friendly served by Kyle great service !

Thank you, Ruby, for looking after us today. We really enjoyed our meal in a beautiful environment. Would definitely recommend. Thank you Barbara. Simon & Sarah

Just been there with my family and parents - its a rarity we do that in these tough times so we excited at the prospect. Our waiter Tristan was an absolute gentleman. Kind, courteous and caring. Without a doubt, our experience was enhanced because of him. Thank you for making our treat more memorable all for the right reasons. Thank you!

Have you visited the Cat & Fiddle and Hinton Admiral since Barabara and her team have been running it? We just went for a casual Friday early evening dinner, but more importantly, to book our place for New Year's Eve. Come and join in! The menu is mouthwatering, and the band 'bigger than mary' will be entertaining us 😄

The pub is part of the Vintage Inns group, so the standards are pretty good. The food was very good and the surroundings were delightful. We had a very long, relaxing lunch with some friends, we were there for over 3 hours. The staff were attentive but not pushy. After our meal, they left us alone to chat. It was a very pleasant experience.