The Drift Inn in New Forest - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Where to begin with this. We went for a lunchtime meal on Saturday and when we arrived they had got our booking wrong and we were actually sat in the hotel bar instead of the restaurant. The restaurant was very empty and they could have catered for us there. We ordered food and drinks around 10mins after arrival. Drinks took nearly 30mins after ordering which wasn’t helped by a wedding party which I understand, but we had to ask multiple times for our drinks and we could see the wedding party get their drinks before us even though we ordered before them! We also asked to move tables because the wedding party consumed our table and was very loud. We couldn’t hear each other from sat across the table! They finally moved us. The worst part by far though was the food and the time it took. We were waiting nearly 2 hours for food after ordering and with children waiting. We asked multiple times for an update and we were told they were short staffed and would be with us ASAP. Other tables were also asking the staff the same question but there was no accountability or apologies forthcoming and we had to constantly ask. Food ordered at 12:45 and arrived at 2:45! When the food finally arrived it was beyond it and wasn’t the best quality. We complained, as did other tables and got money off but the issue was communication. If they’d have told us from the start there would be a long wait we could have decided then and there. I also felt sorry for the junior staff who had no support/direction from management and almost felt like they were hiding! DO NOT BOOK HERE!!

Didn't get served for over half an hour so we left and that was just for someone to notice we were waiting for a table . Not impressed

Visited on a Saturday for lunch, pre-booked. We were only 1 of two tables occupied when we ordered drinks and food. Drinks took over half an hour to arrive , 2 were just bottles, no glasses or ice had to ask for those. Food took almost 1 and a half hours to arrive which by that time we had to rush as we had somewhere else to be. Food was nothing special so lord knows why it took so long to arrive , definitely would not recommend, shame as the building and location are great, should be so much better with a good management in there.

Nice place for a pub meal. Nothing too fancy but perfectly good place to go.

The Drift is a splendid place, ideal for the New Forest and surrounding area. In the day we visited staff had not turned up and the new manageress was under a lot of pressure. She explained the situation and apologised for the off-key service. I’m sure once these issues are resolved this’ll be a pub we will visit more frequently.

Having visited here many times, and previously always enjoyed the visits, we were sad and disappointed yesterday with its decline. Service was slow from the beginning in all respects, food overcooked, little atmosphere, general lack of enthusiasm from waiting staff, little care and interest shown. A shame as fabulous position with enormous potential. Perhaps just unfortunate as a group of us were there at a quiet time of day. Hopefully a one-off and so, in time, will revisit and try again. Great dog friendly pub restaurant!

I have to say I had a lovely time here at the drift inn for some Sunday lunch!!! Pleasant staff greeting me with smiles on their faces I felt so welcome. Especially our waiters Andrea and james, they were both lovely and very friendly. Couldn’t have had a better day out!

Burger over cooked so couldn't eat it. Over charged as they said the kids meal was included with starters and pudding. Didn't ask once how the food was, it would've gone back Took absolutely ages for a kids chocolate brownie to come out, won't be going back.

AVOID - ANIMAL ABUSE SYMPATHISERS This pub yearly supports the abuse of gypsy trotters by allowing them to use their facilities during the Cooper Drive. Horses left in heavy harnesses with no food or water after being whipped and beaten all day. You should be ashamed for not turning these people away all in the name of a good days earnings!!

Nice menu.... but shocking service and the food wasn't much better. No wines available, no cash payments yet not mentioned anywhere. Asked to start a tab for garden, got laughed at by the obnoxious 12 year old with long greasy hair behind the bar in a waist coat. 2 burgers (both burnt) whitebait (referred to by staff as sardines) and a stuffed pepper took over an hour to come out but no communication from staff to let us know of delay when ordering food (had to go and ask) no check back, no one clearing plates- used to be a busy, quick paced, lively pub in forest- 4 tables in on a Friday night and I can now see why. Plenty of other good spots around so we wont bother returning.

Where to start! Upon entering we ordered drinks and service was fine friendly and polite. We sat in the garden and ordered food, asked for all food to be brought out together as we have small children to which 2 parts came out as a starter to wait nearly 50minutes for our main and one other starter (asked to come out same time) no table checks and returned our own plates. all seemed ok and despite the long wait and a fretful toddler now very unsettled and hungry , they did then get busy with a drive which is fine but waited nearly 20minutes for a coke and the kids not able to play in the garden. Found hair (possibly animal) in kids food but chose to just pick it off as after all though it’s not nice but was just abit of hair and they were very busy but to top it off the salad looked wilted and found caterpillars on the salad (not washed) had to walk around to find the manager as bar staff were very unhelpful to him not having much of a response so demanded a refund to recieve just £10 . Sadly I have always liked the drift and had great service, maybe management need to up there game and clearly kitchen hygiene. Everyone has off days but for me this was more than an off day and at nearly £100 still out of pocket will not be returning.

Avoid at all costs, food is incredibly expensive and not worth it. Ordered a salad that only had 2 out of the 5 ingredients listed. Literally what is the point in being a restaurant if you can’t follow your own menu. Staff are pleasant but honestly, go to any another pub.

Great new forest pub for families with good and safe children’s play area and nice food served in the garden .

The Drift is in a great location but it's oddly rather soulless inside and out, let down by pretty poor food and limited drinks (no Guinness or Cider available when we visited at lunchtime with some soft drinks also unavailable). Staff were friendly and tried their best. As mentioned by other reviewers, the Drift feels like an opportunity missed - it could be wonderful with a bit of love and attention but sadly it's not.

Beautiful Pub in fantastic location, serving staff were very pleasant. The food was appalling, my salad for £16 consisted of a roll, 3 very small (about 2cm by 4cm) pieces of ham, 2 small piece of tasteless rubber cheese, 2 soft slimy pickled onions, a small piece of apple and about half a stick of celery cut into 3 pieces, and this took an hour to arrive to the table. All the soft drink in our order turned up flat, visibly no fizz. Certainly will not be going back, and highly recommend a place to avoid.

We came here on a Wednesday early evening when it was about 29 degrees and were surprised to see the beer garden fairly empty. Then looking at the reviews I was a bit concerned but the staff were friendly and the garden well kept. Menu isn't vast. We ordered a selection of starters and nibbles including potted shrimp, chicken skewers, white bait, pork belly and onion rings. The food arrived promptly and was well presented. All of it seemed fresh and was full of flavours. Particularly liked the Asian slaw with the skewers. The homemade tartar sauce was also very good. We saw some burgers come out and they looked huge! Maybe they struggle to cope when busy but we certainly didn't have the same experience as some of the recent reviews. The location is obviously also lovely.

Beautiful Pub in fantastic location, serving staff were very pleasant. The food was appalling, my salad for £16 consisted of a roll, 3 very small (about 2cm by 4cm) pieces of ham, 2 small piece of tasteless rubber cheese, 2 soft slimy pickled onions, a small piece of apple and about half a stick of celery cut into 3 pieces, and this took an hour to arrive to the table. All the soft drink in our order turned up flat, visibly no fizz. Certainly will not be going back, and highly recommend a place to avoid.

Good but not amazing. Small and cramped car park with limited spaces available. Visited here for their breakfast where you get unlimited continental and then a set cooked. Nice setting inside though - rustic farmhouse vibe.

Just awful. We’re local and have visited a few times, mainly because of the setting in the forest and in the hope that one day it will be good! This morning is a classic example. We arrived just after 8am for breakfast to be told you can only eat here if you stay at the hotel, this is the pub and restaurant that opens at 8am on the website! Previous experiences are similar: staff don’t know how to make a coffee or how to charge you, quite often you have to find someone to serve you and when we have eaten the food all comes at different times. Finally given up.

We visited The Drift pub with family who live nearby. The staff made us very welcome. They were friendly and very helpful. A massive thank you to Andrea , who went above and beyond. She personally made me custard for my sticky toffee pudding....... it was delicious. We'll definitely return in the near future

Unfortunately it wasn’t a good experience, the main meals did take there time to arrive, and whilst they were tasty, my steak was overcooked. They weren’t very busy, so we didn’t expect to have to ask for things like drinks, or be offered pudding, by the time we received our pudding we had waited 1 hour for this! There were only 2 staff members around at this time, multiple people complained of the time meals were taking to get to the tables. And by this point we wanted to leave. We finally asked for the bill and they kindly removed the service charge and did apologise, but considering we were the only people in the restaurant for the last hour of our meal I found this incredibly difficult to understand. They also removed our puddings from the bill as we didn’t eat them, as they tasted like a mouthful of salt! Overall not a good experience which is really sad as this used to be a good place.

Best roast I've ever eaten service was brilliant

Excellent food coupled with a great ambience. Front of house staff very welcoming. And a view overlooking the marina.

Ate here last Saturday lunchtime before starting a hike. Had read the reviews so was prepared for REALLY slow service and ordered the least complicated thing; a burger. It took 40 mins to arrive although only 3 other tables were occupied. After 35 mins I had to flag down a member of staff and ask if it was coming soon. Burger was nice though and I couldn’t finish all the chips. Not once while I was eating did anyone come over and ask how the meal was, whether I wanted anything else etc. I asked for the bill as soon as my meal arrived as I wanted to start walking before dark lol. I’m guessing like so many travel and hospitality businesses this place is still suffering the consequences of lockdowns and can only afford minimal staff and I would sympathise with that. I’d eat there again if I have plenty of time.

Enjoyable pub with friendly staff nicely located in the New Forest. Not the greatest beer selection, but enough to have a nice pitstop.

The last few times have been less than acceptable, the odd bad day happens of course which I understand and I vary rarely leave a bad review due to this. Today we just had to walk out as we were totally ignored, people who arrived after us were seen before. Staff were milling around but only one person serving. The last couple of visits have been very slow and one time they didn’t have enough menus (it was not busy) so we had to wait for another table to finish with them. It’s a shame as it’s a great location and could be lovely.

Service was okay, staff were nice enough, however communication between kitchen and front of house needs to be improved prior/during service, as everything we initially ordered was then unavailable once sent through to the kitchen. Having looked at the menu ahead of arriving, we were disappointed the food items we wanted were unavailable and no one was aware until after we’d ordered it. Had to choose an alternative, which ended up either being over done, or underdone in my partners case, and very dry and tasteless. Won’t be coming back.

Tasty Tuesday lunch - generous servings. Waiting staff welcoming & friendly. Would go back.

Decided last minute to go out for evening meal. Visited the Drift a longtime ago, but was pleased to see it had remained the same. Well looked after by staff especially George, thank you. The fish supper was excellent best fish for a long time. It was not overly busy which detracted from the atmosphere. However we will definitely visit again.

We had a family group of 10 for Sunday lunch and to celebrate a 60th birthday. Members of the group had dietary requirements and one of the group was a 2 year old. The staff were great , nothing was too much trouble. Everyone had a lovely meal which accommodated all preferences and dietary needs. I would say service was a little slow considering it wasn't that busy. I will most definately return .

We ate evening and breakfast. Both times very slow ( over an hour for our food) and bad service evening meal was uneadable. Hotel next door is badly let down by the pub

Used this restaurant for a two night stay at the Beaulieu next door. It lets the hotel down massively. I ordered a gluten free meal which came to me with bread on it. It appears that only the manager understands Coeliac Disease. The chef and waiting staff need some training. Although the food tasted good, by the time mine arrived, my family had finished theirs. Breakfast the next morning didn’t happen. After an hour of waiting, our breakfasts didn’t arrive. Half hearted, sarcastic apologies from waiting staff weren’t appreciated. Tables left uncleared, no fruit juice available and delays made for a bad experience. I won’t be returning.

Cloudy beer, toilets dirty and devoid of toilet paper, soap and paper towels. Tables in the garden full of empty glasses. Grubby. I've had a few duff food and drink experiences at this pub now. What a tragedy. It is in a superb mid forest location.

Whilst The Drift has a beautiful pub garden for a summers day, the food and service has gone seriously downhill over the last couple of years. Not sure I'll return for a while.

This is the second time I've been let down here. Unfortunately I won't return. It's a really nice pub with good location but needs a big change. A few months back our meal was truly disgusting (soggy pork belly) I complained and got 2 of the 8 meals refunded. This time we only wanted 2 bowls of cheesy chips. They took 40 odd minutes, loads of others had their roast dinners delivered before us despite arriving after us. Then for the price it was a really small bowl with a small amount of semi melted cheese. In the past it was a big bowl and lathered in smoked cheddar, not sure what's happened but I can see why the pub is quiet on days it should be packed.

Great location, nice garden, nice staff... let down by the terrible food.

Had a beautiful afternoon tea here, the food (sandwiches, scones etc) was delicious and plentiful! Service was friendly and polite, a lovely peaceful setting.

Problem with the kitchen this weekend meant food choice was limited. Food they did have was mediocre at best. Beef & Horeradish sandwich was tough and fatty. When the waiter was told he didn't seem to care. No apology was offered. Food is extremely overpriced for the quality. Sadly won't be back

Not too bad- as we arrived early I guess. Seated quickly for a Sunday lunch as we had booked. Food was middle road- okay beef roast but not being a carvery leaves guests to trust the nature of the carving. Roast potatoes actually pretty good although not as good as the best (crispiness lacking). Greens nice- al dente but cooked. Carrots and parsnips soggy and floppy and not a selling point. Trying to get service for desserts or bill later difficult. Can't believe with the number of tables labelled 'reserved' they weren't able to staff adequately in advance from their teenage army. Wouldn't steer clear but would check out other places first. Just editing- I note the responses to 5 star reviews but not to criticism. Bad show. Further edit: please can the bar server clean her nails. Doesn't inspire hygienic confidence.

As a vegetarian, I always like to check online menus before booking a restaurant. Which I did with the Drift, and was pleased to see they had a few choices, however when we arrived we were told that 2 of those were off! Which didn't leave a choice. So regrettably we left to find somewhere that did offer choices. I'm sure this was a one off, however it was a disappointment for me.

Just rubbish. In the time we waited for any service to appear, we could drive to another pub and have food on our table. In fact that’s just what we did.

We have been waiting for our dinner over 1 hour whoever the restaurant was empty. The waiter want for a cigarette and open the door allowing all the smoke and cold air coming in to the restaurant. I do not recommend this place Avoid 👎👎👎

Fantastic pub in the New Forest ideal for walkers. We had a great lunch here and enjoyed a nice walk along the forest track opposite. We had an amazing time here and would recommend it to anyone. The staff were friendly and really looked after us.

Average atmosphere, but overpriced food and drinks. Just be careful with your bills.

Lovely food and staff, busy which is a good sign

Not great! Staff seemed to be trying their best but a bit clueless it seems. Food was average, and expensive for what it was. A lot of errors in our order. Twice given the wrong wine (ordered a cab sav, given a sav blanc), mains were meant to all come together but came individually, ordered one salad but were given 2 (on mentioning agreed to only charge for 1), kitchen had run out of 3 of 4 dessert options, waited a long time for everything despite it being pretty empty and a lot of staff working. No one came to check how our food was. We had breakfast the next day, which was baked beans, two small veggie sausages, one tiny mushroom, half a small tomato, 1 small poached egg - this was meant to be £12! Shame as the staff seem friendly and accommodating, just all a bit of a shambles!

Friendly staff and decent size portions. Tastes from the dishes won't blow you away as the ingredients feel rather budget. But we enjoyed the food and the atmosphere of the place.

Over priced drinks. A pint, a large wine and a coke £20.45. Felt robbed. Mediocre food and meagre portions. I complained about the roasted butternut squash pasta, I said thats a very expensive handful of pasta and there's hardly any butternut squash in it. He replied thats how it is and walked away not to be seen again. The mash was dry and stodgy. We won't be returning, and I guess the fact that it was virtually empty on a bank holiday tea time says it all.

Honestly don't bother, place was a dive and the toilets were disgusting. We ordered two similar meals, one without an ingredient due to an allergy, when the meals came to the table the waiter told us to work out which one was which.... Such a shame as it could be lovely

Literally the worst meal experience I’ve ever had, we ended up having to walk out. We arrived just before 12pm with two small children, it took the best part of half an hour to order drinks – we ordered food at the same time as the service was painfully slow. Unless there was a large table/gathering hidden away the main bar and restaurant were quiet and did not explain the slowness in service. The food took another 30 minutes to come out, some small bar snacks and vegetable sticks for our by then very grumpy 4 year old – the veg sticks were dry and old and the bar snacks overcooked. I asked for our daughter’s main to come out before ours as she was clearly hungry, which it did immediately being a very lack lustre macaroni cheese. Then the fun began, by 1pm my husband asked if we could get our mains out as we needed to be home by 2pm – we’re were told they were just coming. 20 minutes later having been offered no further drinks I went again to ask what was going on – we’d been there for an hour and a half, rather awkwardly I was just left standing for another 5 minutes to be told they didn’t actually have the right ingredients for my meal … no one had at any point spoken to us and how the kitchen didn’t flag this is totally bizarre. We decided to leave at this point, to be fair we had the drinks comped but the service from both the front of house and the kitchen was simply appalling. We’ve been to other pubs within the group which are lovely, the total lack of sincere apology and communication from the waiting staff was totally awful. We watched other tables have to go and ask for drinks, complain about meals so it wasn’t just us – if anyone had at any point come to the table to offer drinks and talk to us about the kitchen issues it would have been solvable. Just awful.

Nice location. But no atmosphere: No log fire or music on.

Slow service, mediocre food, gammon very poor, bones in a child's fish meal. Altogether disappointing.

Very slow service and although most dishes were very good the gammon was poor. Fish bones in the children's meal was a surprise and somewhat of a concern, I appreciate fish contains bones but it should have been deboned before being cooked. Sandwich was tasty although bread slightly dry.

Bit pricey but lovely food. Great service and nice restaurant.

Our daughter purchased Buy a Gift ,afternoon sparkling tea for us .This is a perfect location in New Forest ,but certainly doesn’t live up to the website photos .On arrival we were told we would be eating in Beaulieu Inn as The Drift was having renovations.We went into the Inn & there was a pleasant member of staff ,just 1 member of staff was all there was & then shown to our table .There was not any other member of public at all in the time we were there.When the afternoon tea arrived it looked like it was an afterthought & the bread or scones not fresh .The fillings in sandwiches definitely didn’t live up to the description on web .Sadly even the tea /coffee was Luke warm .At no time did any staff check with us if all was okay,the young girl was seeing to something else & we basically saw no one ,so we left .Very disappointing,as this place has so much potential, lacks atmosphere ,& the food & presentation was just not what we’ve had when out for afternoon teas before ,so the price they charge is definitely not worth it .Sadly I cannot recommend going here for that reason

Our visit to the Drift pub and restaurant was memorable.Food was scumdidilyumptios and the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. Our waiter Maciej was awesome.

Really surprised to see the negative reviews on here. Lovely setting and great staff, had a roast and it was good, not the best I've had but good none the less. Just a mention to Zara our waitress, absolutely lovely person - and fantastic with my children. Really made the difference.

Amazing service and a delicious roast dinner on a Sunday...Will be back!

We booked a table for my husband’s birthday meal and the online system wouldn’t allow me to book but a call sorted it. The entrance to the restaurant was warm with a welcoming roaring fire but we were seated round the corner in a soulless tiled area near a fire door that was left open during the meal. The waitress was sweet but didn’t know the menu terribly well for recommendations - we honestly thought this was a more upmarket restaurant but it’s more a pub chain feel so the menu wasn’t massively inspiring anyway - quite limited for vegetarian options too. The starters was fine but the mains were… odd! The ‘Thai red curry with coconut jasmine rice’ was actually a basic ragu with a few bits of chilli added and the rice seemed to be simple white rice (not a hint of coconut). There was an Indian naan too with it! Asian fusion??!! We added a side of seasonal veg which was fine but the cheesy chips were soggy. My husband’s birthday meal was a lamb burger was nice but the coleslaw was warm and not great tasting. He enjoyed the burger and a note to those who order this - the onion bhaji is inside the burger… The wine was good though! Honestly this place is a massive wasted opportunity. Stunning location but the ambiance was empty and the food was three star at best. The waiting staff were nice but a bit clueless and suggested that an ingredient hasn’t come in which is why the Thai red curry has become a basic ragu and gave us a free glass of wine but only when I asked for a reduction on the bill. They didn’t offer us dessert either so we called it a night.

Very disappointing visit for my daughter in laws 21st birthday, restaurant manager acted like he couldn’t be bothered to be there. Food came out looking dry and old. Steak sent back twice for wrong temperature and warm salad. Left without eating anything

Walked in - ignored 😕 by 5 members of staff. It wasn't full. I walked out. The guy at the bar was lovely - he needs to train the other non-attentive, inefficient staff in the restaurant.

The food and service here is so bad. It was actually laughable how bad it was. The staff haven't got a clue what they are doing, not their fault but clearly bad training. The food is dry, tasteless and then a premium price. I really would advise you eat anywhere else other than here. Shame because the location and environment is beautiful.

Avoid at all costs, worst meal we have had in yrs, the roasted butternut squash with mushrooms was like baby food, no seasoning, the "mushrooms" all 5 of them and so small you had to hunt for them, were un edible. the ultimate cheesy chips were the same and probably came of another plate, service took 45 mins, came to pay no cash accepted, and wanted a service charge for sitting in the bar, it was also so cold I kept my jacket on, I did pay, and did not ask for a refund, this food should never have left the kitchen. sack the chef and the manager,

Such a shame. Lovely location and for once a food play area. But that’s where it ends! Service awful. There were only 3 tables taken and both had eaten, but it still Took almost 2 hrs for 4 simple meals. Very bland and tasteless and probably the saddest Sunday roast I’ve ever had for almost £20. Table was dirty and had dirty glasses not cleared from previous guests. No one came to ask for more drinks, desert or general everything ok the entire time. Plenty plenty more great pubs in surrounding area

We had breakfast there as staying next door, I had to ask for clean mug as mine had tea stains inside! Ordered vegetarian breakfast, sausages were Luke warm! Had to ask for milk for cereal & plates for toast! The food station was very untidy, messy & no one keeping an eye on refilling etc .. it was at 9am , & breakfast still being served till 10am! Not professional at all, Premier Inn offer better & the cooked breakfast is hot! Blame the management for not training team to high standards 😊

Very disappointed for what appeared to be such a lovely pub. Stopped for a light Sunday lunch whilst walking. Ordered some food n drinks and was automatically excepted to pay by card (nothing to advertise No Cash). They would eventually take cash but offered No Change. Fortunately we managed to scrape together exact money. As for the food, Whilst the (butternut squash) soup was very tasty sadly it was only Luke warm as had been served in COLD bowls. We also observed a few other complaints and maybe this would explain why the pub was very quiet (for a Sunday lunch). Not sure if I’ll go back.

Very slow service had to ask multiple times for things and no care really about our experience. Food ok. Wouldn’t recommend.

Had a Sunday lunch as part of a walk in the forest. Was happy to see dogs are welcome (very much seems to be target audience as almost every table had a dog/dogs). Nice lunch, not the cheapest but good quality and reasonable portions

Service was very slow and distracted, food was tasty but slow to be served and cold after reaching the table. Pub needs to sort out the log burner, it made the pub very smoky. Disappointing this nice pub can’t get the basics right.

If you like terrible service and burnt food this is the place for you... if not. Then avoid at all costs. Had a 3 course meal here for my birthday meal with the husband. Absolutely horrendous service, super slow even though it wasn't busy when we arrived. Literally 2 or 3 tables. Drinks took forever to arrive. As did the food which was abysmal. Burgers burnt so bad the cheese had actually evaporated! We had to wait another half an hour for them to remake it all. Service wasn't great. We had to go over and ask for our bill as nobody was coming over to tables to check on customers etc Not what we expected for the money And it's such a shame as its a beautiful location. Sadly we won't be returning

4 of us came here for lunch. Warm welcome with friendly staff. Nice pub atmosphere. 2 of us had the Burger, the beef burger was completely dry and lacked any seasoning, tasting bland. Both came missing the bacon. The Brioche bun was stale and fell apart. This was an £18.50 burger, you can’t charge this much and serve a burger this bad. Pointed out to the waitress the missing bacon, she offered to cook some, but didn’t want to wait any longer as we’d already waited for one dish which was 5 minutes behind the others. Left half the meal, wasn’t asked if everything was ok with the meal when we paid. Won’t be back.

Definitely one of the worst meals we’ve ever had. Service was okay, but the food genuinely seemed like it was from last month. Stale burger bun, cold bacon and inedible beef burger inside. The chicken wings also not edible. Will not be coming back!

Lovely breakfast, great atmosphere, lovely location

Awful sandwiches for lunch. £10.50 for a roast beef sandwich that had more fat and gristle than meat, shop bought coleslaw, stale dry bread and meagre chips. Shan’t go back.

A large group of us ate here on New Year’s Day. It was ok, food was average but the service was slow and considering they were not very busy this was disappointing. The drinks arrived about 20 minutes after ordering them and some of these were wrong. We got our food some time later and the veg and mash was warm whilst the pie was extremely hot and there was a small amount of gravy. We asked for more gravy and that did come quite quickly. When we got the bill we noticed that the incorrect drinks were still on it. They then told us that they would leave it like that because it was cheaper. It wasn’t!! They also left off the deposit that was paid on booking. There was no apology for this. We eventually got the correct bill and everyone sorted out what they owed. Some of our party were going to pay with cash but they didn’t take cash. At no point did they tell us that and we didn’t see any signs that stated that. All in all a disappointing time

Went yesterday to have a drink after watching the NYE tractor run. Took so long to get served. The middle aged/older woman at the bar couldn’t have been more useless/rude! She needs taking off the bar. Ordered alcoholic drinks, beer not even topped up to make a pint and a sparkling water and hot chocolate for the kids. We had to chase the sparkling water and hot chocolate at least 3 times in 20 minutes, just kept saying she would chase it … how hard is it to pour sparkling water?? Eventually my partner grabbed someone walking through, her name was Skye and she couldn’t have been more helpful! Within 5 minutes she made us the hot chocolate and got us the sparkling water (Over 20 mins after ordering). Maybe the bar staff could learn a thing or two from her! Side note: it was not busy at all in there!

Despite being really busy, they found us a table on New Year's Eve. We were with our two young kids and made to feel really welcome. Rachel was super friendly, as were all the staff. The food was great, on time and just a really nice overall experience. 👌 well done guys!!!!

Just had Christmas lunch. We were greeted very warmly and shown to our table. The food was delicious, and the elf made it a little more special. Thankyou for making it such a memorable occasion.

If you have allergies, do not eat here. Food was lovely until desert. After serving gluten free dishes previously, they came out with desert and after a bit of a muddle we questioned if I had recieved the gluten free dish and the server ensured it was gluten free so I ate it. I started feeling unwell and at after confirming with the chef, I was served the regular dish which contained gluten. The drinks bill was waved but after spending £90 per person on Christmas dinner, which 6 of us attended, and having specified a gluten allergy, this was not sufficient compensation. If you have allergies, DO NOT come here.

Very friendly staff, lovely setting and child friendly without being tacky, however, the food was mediocre at best, bland, burnt and the meat not cooked to order despite asking how we would like it cooked. Although very smiley and seemingly helpful the staff were getting the tables mixed up, forgetting to bring things to the table and I'm unsure of the reason but the food was very delayed. First appearances were great, but the overall experience was disappointing.

Disappointing lunch at the Drift. We booked for the set course festive menu but when we arrived were told we could not have this as we had not pre booked our choices. We were not told this when we booked the table! Food quite average. Tough chicken in my curry. Staff friendly good to see

A disappointing lunch. We booked a table for the set course festive lunch. All confirmed. When we arrived we were told we could not have the set menu as we had not pre booked our choices. We were not told this when booking the table. We ate off normal menu. My curry had some tough chicken. Staff were friendly but overall disappointed

20 of us came for our works Christmas lunch yesterday and it was superb. The communication with the reservations team was amazing and we were able to pre order our meals with minimal effort. It's such a nice pub in a beautiful setting and the staff are fantastic. All of our food came out quickly and there wasn't a single thing wrong....considering there were 20 of us I expected there to be atleast one thing missing but there wasn't atall! There's a great selection of beers and wines and the fireplaces make it such a cosy place to be. Would 100% come again. Very impressed.

What a lovely spot. The food was very good and the service from Rupert was faultless. He coped beautifully with me and two daughters being a bit specific in our requests and a little loud, which allowed us to just focus on enjoying our time together. Thank you

Prefect atmosphere with real fire, friendly and attentive staff

If i could give this 0 stars i would. Service was absolutely horrible, food came after an hour, they also took food off of my table and gave it to another. Thats a violation of heath and safety and is absolutely disgraceful. Do NOT go here.

Great Fish & Chips and authentic pub atmosphere. Great service too!

Good service, friendly staff. Dont bother with food

Really disappointing Sunday lunch, DO NOT GO HERE WITH DIETARY REQUIRMENTS OR ALLERGIES!! Despite telling servers several times I was Vegan and had dietary restrictions and even going with their 'vegan recommendation' they proceeded to serve me a yorkshire pudding that was made with egg?! I don't understand how it can go so wrong? luckily I questioned this and luckily I am not allergic! I was told 'sorry' but that was it. I gave them an opportunity to put it right but there was nothing taken off bill and no good will gesture. Shoddy customer service and won't be returning.

Excellent food and very good service. I think this place must have changed hands because the last time we went some years back it was very different! We will certainly go there again, and highly recommend it.

Went for Saturday lunch, as this pub has always been a favourite. Not anymore. Menu is poor. Cost is high and service is truly rubbish. They burnt my child and when told about it, no asked if she was ok or gave any first aid. I’ll keep it short as a can- Place was freezing when normally set with log fires. Starters came out with mains. Server gave a very hot plate to my child burnt both her hands, when I told the server she looked at me blankly. Same server came back to ask if we were missing a meal, which we were, walked off and never came back. 20mins later, still missing a meal asked for it and eventually came. No came back. Chased them down to order dessert. Took forever. Ordered the bill. Never came. Went to the bar to complain. Response was minimal. Beautiful setting but unfortunately something is not working right here and the serving staff in general were really poor.

Went for Saturday lunch, as this pub has always been a favourite. Not anymore. Menu is poor. Cost is high and service is truly rubbish. They burnt my child and when told about it, no asked if she was ok or gave any first aid. I’ll keep it short as a can- Place was freezing when normally set with log fires. Starters came out with mains. Server gave a very hot plate to my child burnt both her hands, when I told the server she looked at me blankly. Same server came back to ask if we were missing a meal, which we were, walked off and never came back. 20mins later, still missing a meal asked for it and eventually came. No came back. Chased them down to order dessert. Took forever. Ordered the bill. Never came. Went to the bar to complain. Response was minimal. Beautiful setting but unfortunately something is not working right here and the serving staff in general were really poor.

We used to stop off here regularly on our walks around the New Forest. I was very dog-friendly and had excellent food. Our last visit was probably the worst dining experience in the New Forest of our 15 years of trekking around there. After going to get a table the man whom i assume was the manager/duty manager simply said to the girl on the check in "No, no dogs in the restaurant they will have to be out in the bar area" That is new, dogs have previusly been in the resterant area. However that in itself did not bother me, it was the way it was done, no direct communication with me, just ushered to the bar, and asked if we wanted to sit out from or in the area around the corner. I said around to coner ws fine when we got there it was full so I turned around, and the guy "escorting us" just handed the menus to us and walked off. Then there is the menu, limited choice, on its own that's not bad but all the food is cheap fast food. Nothing of note really. The food when it came out was inferior in quality the Gammon steak was wafer thin, i could have picked a better quality piece up from the 3 for £8 fridge in the local well-known supermarket. It was dripping in grease so much i could pour it from my plate Finally, we have the staff, ive seen more professionalism in a football stand. The manager was too interested in being pals with the staff than doing his job. The 16-year-old waitress messed an order up, and could not read what she had written down, the manager simply told her to look at the menu see what best fits and add it to the order, "that's what he does". There was joking around and making fun of customers from the previous night. I'm not sure if they thought they were out of earshot but so unprofessional. I will never return to this venue until it changes ownership again. I can only assume it survives from the business it receives from the adjoining hotel. I feel sorry for their guests. If you're after good food and a place to relax this is not it, plenty of better places to eat and rest this is not it. If you looking for cheep nasty food fill your boots here.

This was our first visit here and we were rather disappointed. Firstly they had no sparkling water, which was fair enough. My husband was offered an alternative soda water. He told the waitress he didn't like soda water by itself and asked for lime and soda instead. My wine arrived (after 10 minutes) with a slice of lime on the side! The young lady had no customer service skills, no smile, just "rose wine" and plonked it down. We waited another 10 minutes for my husband's drink before I went and asked what had happened to it. They apologised and eventually brought over a plain soda water with a slice of lime! The food was OK, not piping hot, but tasty enough. No one came and checked to see if everything was OK. We were waiting to see if anyone would take our plates and offer a dessert menu, but sadly this didn't happen. So we paid the bill and left. I'm afraid we won't be going back. The restaurant wasn't busy either, so this can't be used as an excuse.

Sunday roast beef was fine (huge Yorkshires), my 89 yr old Mum doesn't eat a lot so was able to have the child's half price version. Great burger. Nice pint of Camden IPA.

After a walk around this part of the New Forest we called in for a pint and light lunch. Couple of nice beers and pleasant staff. Menu slightly pricey so we opted for rare roast beef sandwiches and horseradish with salad and vegetable crisps at...

We went as a group of 21 to the Drift Restaurant in September 2023. The location was excellent within beautiful surroundings. Staff were very welcoming and the three course ‘set menu’ was first-rate and the two young waiters could not have been more accommodating, the...

This is our local pub / restaurant. Although some negative reviews. This is really great local pub . Very friendly,, good service, good food. Give it try when you are visiting the new forest.

Fantastic service. Turned up after other plans were aborted without a reservation and they fitted us in. Made sure our dinner was perfect and nothing was too much trouble. Food was superb and very tasty

Visited friends yesterday who took us to The Drift Inn… needless to say, it was fantastic. Very welcoming and a great atmosphere, a cosy pub in the New Forest. Would like to especially mention the young lady, Sian who served us - what a delight....