The Empress of Blandings in New Forest

Excellent menu. Welcoming, friendly staff. Great atmosphere.

Great tasting food, a place thats in the back lanes but streets ahead of the rest. Well worth a visit. Mushrooms starter and Cajun fries with Cajun dip. Tasty as tasty can be.

This is a little treasure in my local area. The inside is lovely and open. There is an area for dogs and a fireplace. Tables are well spaced out. I would suggest booking as it does get busy.

Great choices of food, all excellent! Service friendly and efficient. Good atmosphere without being noisy. Will be back!

If only their menu didn't try so hard..

Great, varied menu - loved the haggis

Can’t fault anything Food amazing well worth it

Really nice place been going there for a long time certainly a lot better nowadays

Really lovely food, service is top tate and the gluten free range is brilliant, not something I see often having coeliac, prices are a tad high, it was a good night but an expensive night.

Big pub on the little-used stretch of the A31 that runs parallel with the M27 west of Soton. Decorated in the typical Hall & Woodhouse style with plenty of timber, tiling, stripped pine tables etc. Very extensive menu which goes way beyond the normal pub fare of burgers, beer-battered fish'n'chips etc. But the food was good and the service friendly and efficient. Plenty of car parking space close to the pub.

Fantastic meal 😋 staff absolutely brilliant 👏.

We had dinner here 2 nights in a row as we enjoyed the 1st night so much, lovely pub food full of flavour, definitely recommend

Verytime we go they are quick on service and amazing food

We visited The Empress for lunch on Saturday and enjoyed the most fabulous meal. The starters were amazing - we had the garlicky mushrooms and the Haggis Tattie tower . For the main we both opted for a burger , my wife had the Hawaiian burger which she described as stunning, whilst I had the Blue burger. What can I say it was The most delicious burger I have ever tasted. Stunning seems to stop short here. Tender juicy beef patty, wonderfully caramelised onion, perfectly crisped bacon and lovely melting cheese on a high quality bun served with perfectly cooked Cajun fries . The best burger ever by a country mile! I was only disappointed by the fact that I couldn’t enjoy a dessert as I didn’t have room and will definitely be back to try one. I asked the friendly waiter to pass on my compliments to the chef and I hope he did. He is clearly a culinary wizard!! You could feel the love and attention being poured into every plate being delivered into the dining room. I can’t wait to come again! Thank you to all the team for a wonderful lunch .

Our lunch group has been to the Empress many times in the past but today's visit was the first for a while and wow we were impressed. The new menu is brilliant and varied enough to suit absolutely everyone. The orders when they arrived looked absolutely delicious and everyone had something different so a variety of meals were ordered. The food was cooked to perfection and very generous portions (the chicken with haggis was a triumph) the service was great from friendly, helpful and professional staff. Compliments to the talented chef especially and all the other staff. Just one more observation, the new menu has so many delicious and varied meals it is difficult to choose !! so we will have to return more to take full advantage of it. Thank you we had a lovely lunch.

Main course was so small I thought it was a starter three slices of carrot and a spoonful of cabbage 🤔 staff good I felt they were embarrassed serving it

We arrived on spec late on a Sunday afternoon. But we're relieved to find we would still be able to eat in the bar area. It was very busy. We had Sunday roast . . Pork. The meat was very tender. Thrbcrackling serious crispy. . Just the way it should be! The vegetables were disappointing as they tasted as if they had been frozen, kept warm for a long time before serving. The roasties were on theb"ok" level. The Yorkshire pudding was tired but then we were late in the day. Everything smothered in gravy so be aware and ask for it on the side if you like to control that yourself. It was tasty. It was a good stop on a cold day and we were grateful to have a nice warming Sunday lunch. Not a gourmet delight but absolutely fine as it goes. It was a little pricey I thought for the standard of the dish. But nevertheless I'd pop in again!

Fantastic Sunday lunch, with great service from Hannah and her team - highly recommended. Lovely atmospheric country pub.

Food was great and service excellent, would definitely go again. Great atmosphere even for mid week. Staff friendly and helpful.

Great venue, great food, good value

I haven’t been to this pub for about 15 years but I am so glad I did and will return a lot more frequently. It’s lovely inside and the staff are friendly but the food, the food is absolutely amazing. It’s far from boring pub grub, you can tell that they must have a brilliant chef who has an amazing attention to detail. The flavours were fantastic. I had the dirty filthy fries, which were more than I could eat, but I desperately tried too. They were so tasty. My husband had the chicken and waffles, which he loved. The flavours complimented eachother so well. Absolutely my favourite pub in the forest by a country mile. Thank you

We came here for a family meal and having a very picky family it's always hard to find somewhere that suits all.... So why have we never heard about The Empress of Blanding before ?? The quality and measures of food, the friendly atmosphere, and the welcoming staff, plus the prices, were just outstanding 👌 We all said we will be going back very soon

Good Sunday lunch and good beer

What a lovely place to come dine. The family and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit, the service is exceptional and the food was excellent. Very big portions, rated by my daughter a 9.5 out of 10. First place in England I’ve been to that gave us sweets (after ates) with the bill. The service has been amazing and thank you for the meal.

Great food - friendly staff - nice surroundings even if you only pop in for a pint.

Very nice pub with interesting menu and lots of gluten free options

A great pub, perfect for the whole family. All the staff were friendly and helpful. Food was amazing.

Yet again. Good food, service, friendly staff and comfortable atmosphere. Long may it continue

Popped in for lunch on the off chance today. Food was great and very good value. Very clean and comfortable pub.

Jess was an amazing bar staff and waitress. Incredibly helpful.

Hannah the waitress went above and beyond looking after my uncle with special needs and told us about the new ownership and they were in the kitchen preparing with care! Food and atmosphere was bussing for a Wednesday lunchtime a couple on front of us were booking for Christmas!! Will definitely go again soon

First time having food here and was very nice, service very good too

Great location food and service

Excellent food and service. Very reasonably priced. Would definitely return.

Table of 13, 6 adults and 7 children. Food was excellent and refreshing to see the same deserts on children's menu as main. Between us we had various meals such as burgers, roast, cod and scampi, excellent deserts, would recommend the chocolate cake. Clean plates all round, nice gap between courses and nice area to sit and chat with a drink. Reasonably priced.

Went for a Sunday lunch to celebrate a birthday and it was excellent! Prompt and polite service from every team member we spoke to, however they didn't have name badges which is a shame as our waitress was lovely. Older lady, dark hair in a ponytail. The food was really lovely and delicious with amazing portion sizes. Staff were perfectly attentive and we didn't have to wait long for plates to be cleared and next courses to arrive. I would highly recommend for a great meal out. the only thing I would suggest is getting an extra hand dryer in the ladies loo, there was quite a queue for it!

Popped in The Empress of Blandings for lunch on our way back from Brighton and boy am I glad we did ! The food and service were both exceptional and we will definitely be back. I can honestly say this is probably the best pub lunch I've ever had and would strongly recommend that if you are ever near to this place to try it - you will not be disappointed. The owner even has his own sense of humour on the menu - freshly caught Haggis springs to mind.. enjoy, my wife and I did Keith & Becky

Really great food and impeccable service. Staff were so friendly. The loaded fries with beef chilli were out of this world

We visited here following a visit to Paultons Park as a friend who lived in the area recommended it. Lovely pub, friendly welcome & the food was superb. Hannah went the extra mile, she was great entertaining my little girl and made us feel very welcome. Would recommend & ideal location to Paultons Park.

Lovely food and service I would definitely recommend.

Great food and fast service after a long day at Paultons Park.

Didn't eat, but menu did look good. Dropped in for a quick pint and discovered the peaceful and shaded back garden.

Saturday 17th August, 3pm. Ordered drinks for my wife and myself, collected menus and headed for the garden. Was ready to order food but of course a pub that does food doesn't do table service: You have to get up and go order at the bar. I had to wait, not long, 2 minutes at most: The young blonde bar-tender was in conversation with her colleague. I was very specific with my order, reading from the menu to ensure there was no confusion. "Collect your cutlery from the end of the bar" I was told. It didn't take long for the food to arrive, but there was a problem: Cajun fries not the Dirty Cajun Fries I had ordered. Next thing I know the bar-tender with whom I had made my order is table-side to inform me that I had ordered Cajun fries not Dirty Cajun Fries and that I would need to accompany her to the bar to pay the extra charge, which I did, and the correct order arrived not too long after. The food was delicious as usual. However.... What's wrong with the waiting staff that they are unable to bring cutlery when they bring the food? Too heavy? I don't understand. It's washed in the kitchen, the food comes from the kitchen, surely they can manage? Secondly, why, as the customer, do I have to wait while the staff finish their conversation? That urgent was it that the customer comes second? Thirdly, Why no apology for not paying attention when I was ordering but rather a visit to tell me I ordered incorrectly (which I 100% did not)? What happened to customer service? Good food alone will not retain my custom: I can get that at many places in this area. In my mind when the customer service sucks, the establishment condones it and also sucks. Shame, I quite liked this place.

My husband,daughter and son in law celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary 10th August 2024 with you, we thoroughly enjoyed our meals, fantastic menu, waitresses were attentive and courteous ,. We will be visiting again.

Exceptional food, value and lovely helpful staff. Best in the area a hidden gem at the top of the hill as you come into Copythorne. Went for family getogether and loved it especially as tables not on top of each other. The menu caters for all tastes and apertites with such a good selection spoilt for choice. Thank you all.

The restaurant's spacious rooms have a pleasant atmosphere. The welcome was friendly, the menu extensive, and the service perfect. Our dishes, a hamburger and the wild mushroom stroganoff were very good. We had an excellent evening. In summary, I warmly recommend this restaurant.

Me and my 4 year old went for dinner at 5:30pm on a Friday after a day at Paultons park. This was a great idea. It was quiet, clean and the main lady that served us was very friendly and helpful. She kindly found some crayons and paper for my daughter. Couldn't rate her highly enough. The menu was extensive, food was delicious and really generous portions. Will be returning! :-)

My Partner and I decided to go out for Sunday lunch on a whim and wanted to take our dog who unfortunately is quite reactive and just needs some space (she's in training to manage it) We decided on the Empress of blandings as we've been a few times in the past but not since it had changed hands. I cannot fault the team, not only was the roast delicious and sizeable but they were very accommodating towards us, they tried to find us a quiet space as requested so that stimuli was low, but when doggy decided that wasn't good enough and wanted to let rip on the barking, happily altered our order so that we could be outside and even though we were the only guests outside made sure to check in and gave her the space she needed. The service was quick the food was excellent and the team were very understanding of a nervous doggy and it was a pleasure to be able to go out and eat without being judged for my anxious doggy's behaviour- thoroughly recommend. 🐶

Lovely food, nice atmosphere. Staff were helpful and friendly.Would definitely come back here again

A lovely pub but the level of service let it down. We were seated and asked for our drinks order and we asked for a couple of minutes to look at the drinks menu. It took about 10-15 for them to return to take our order. Once our food arrived, we didn’t have a chance to order more drinks as they didn’t give us a chance to ask, so we had to go up to the bar (no biggie in a pub but it was table service!). The food was good and there were lots of options. We then moved to the bar area for more drinks and the girl behind the bar was lovely and service was much improved from this point. The pub is in a lovely setting and had a great atmosphere, it’s just a shame the service was so slow for most of our visit.

Third time visiting. First was happenstance after passing it due to motorway congestion, but the repeat visits have been very much intentional, despite how far away it is. Food is fantastic, portion sizes are extremely generous, prices are good and the restaurant itself is lovely. Highly recommend a visit.

Delicious food, friendly staff, nice and clean pub. A+++

Service was slow. Food was nice. Drinks were very pricey.... £5.25 for a small St. Clements soft drink ! Extensive menu. Good car parking facilities.

Enjoyed a great Family Lunch - four of us - Everyone opted for a burger but we all chose different and they were all excellent. Brilliant service from Hannah, Harry and Alex. Thank you and look forward to another visit soon.

Popped in for a pint and ended staying for a light lunch. Greeted by friendly staff and when we saw and mentioned the books on the far wall, were seated there. A good selection of ale available including a German-styleHelles which we opted for. I had the ham and cheese ciabatta which came with chips and salad. The ciabatta wasn't stodgy or heavy and the chips were light and crispy. My partner had the haggis stack (starter) which he said was very tasty. Indulgent, we decided on desert. I had the sticky toffee pudding with cream. Served warm, very light and tasty and my partner had the American Cheesecake that was very good. We were amazed at the book selection and came across The Wooden Horse that was made into a B&W WWII movie. Asked if I could take it home to which they sad yes. Gave them my details and a £10 refundable deposit. Definately well worth visiting.

Popped in for a pint and ended staying for a light lunch. Greeted by friendly staff and when we saw and mentioned the books on the far wall, were seated there. A good selection of ale available including a German-styleHelles which we opted for. This is made espicially for.this pub and smacks of.the real thing. Trust me...I've travelled to Germany a lot. I had the ham and cheese ciabatta which came with chips and salad. The ciabatta wasn't stodgy or heavy and the chips were light and crispy. My partner had the haggis stack (starter) which he said was very tasty. Indulgent, we decided on desert. I had the sticky toffee pudding with cream. Served warm, very light and tasty and my partner had the American Cheesecake that was very good. We were amazed at the book selection and came across The Wooden Horse that was made into a B&W WWII movie. Asked if I could take it home to which they sad yes. Gave them a £10 refundable deposit. This has now become our go to pub for a decent drink including a great gin selection and great food.

A lovely chilled country pub, amazing food and service. A great selection of real ales. Would recommend.

Nice atmosphere, tasty food but service was a bit slow and we waited too long to get and settle our bill.

Early Saturday evening meal with the family, lovely pub and excellent meals. Service was really good and the staff were friendly making it a nice stop off after an afternoon out and about.

Nice meal, enjoyed by both of us.

The only word to describe the pulled pork baguette is sensational. Wow what a meal. Loved it. Less than £12 as well with the chips and slaw. Delicious. The menu has a great variety too, lots of different items you wouldn’t always find at a pub. Highly recommend.

Lovely meal for 9 of us. Excellent service and great staff. All our meals came out together and perfectly cooked. Thankyou

Had a lovely meal, dogs allowed also 😋

I came here with a large party. The staff were very attentive and friendly. Food was delicious, I had the chicken with haggis.

Been here so many times over the years with various people owning.... service is still an utter shambles. Food is really good quality but you have to wait forever to get anything and the staff are unattentive. Such a shame as I actually really like this place. Not expecting fast food but nobody has 2hrs spare for a single course and a single round of drinks. For the money so many other nice places nearby.

First visit for a long time The food was very good and great atmosphere

Have been twice now and both times the food and drink were great !

Visiting as a family, the adults all got the same dish which was fine but our sons were served very poor food. Our youngest had the nachos with chilli and left all the chilli because it didn’t taste good at all, our eldest had it much worse; he ordered the “fillet steak” fajitas, put in quotation marks because it was definitely not fillet steak and was as chewy as the spare tire in our car, which probably would’ve tasted better too. The cheese was particularly shocking, everyone at the table tried it, most scrunched our faces and all agreed it was disgusting. It was definitely not cheddar, to be fair it was only listed as “cheese” on the menu but even that was pushing it, our youngest commented that it tasted like “the smell of play dough”. Would not recommend.

Had a lovely meal here for my mums birthday. Great menu with lots of choice. 9 of us are and all of our meals were good and really good portion sizes. Our waitress was really good and efficient food. Would throughly recommend

Reunion lunch of retired police. All about the place very good and worth a visit.

Delicious, flavourful food, with plentiful portions. Menu offers a wide variety of meals. Presentation of dishes was excellent.

So, I need to write a review that is over 200 characters long, so I may waffle a bit. We came here for Sunday lunch having booked a couple of days prior. The weather was mild, which was a relief, but not as warm as you might expect for that time of year. The menu selection was very good and there was even enough choice for the kids, which seems rare these days. It's not a cheap pub but you will know that having done your research before booking so the bill isn't much of a suprise, but I would say that it is commensurate with the quality of the food, friendly service and nice atmosphere.

First visit for a very long time, nice welcome and good service for our party of 4. My friend and I had the mac and cheese which was well presented and cooked well..except there was very little cheese flavour. We brought this to the attention of the waitress, it was noted and our coffees were given free of charge. Fine..but two cappuccinos were overflowing into the saucer, and quite flat. Maybe a little more attention to detail required.

Met up with a group of ladies for lunch, not very welcoming, the front door bolt had moved and was preventing the door from being opened We hadn't seen each other for quite a while, so were keen to catch up, but servers got pretty annoyed because we weren't ready to order, but at about the 3rd time of coming to the table they remembered to ask if we wanted drinks, so we did get around to ordering, but girl taking order wasn't really that interested by then, and the restaurant manager didn't seem happy, one of ladies asked a question and she was very snappy, she also answered athe phone to someone enquiring about booking a table and was fairly rude, the food was okay, but two of the dishes were very over salted, but still reasonable, the amount of food on plate was good, we then asked for coffees and they were made by the restaurant manager very begrudgingly, hopefully this was just a one off occasion!

Didn't eat but the cocktail I got was rancid....swapped it for a glass of warm wine which was also very horrid Won't be back

Blandest Fajitas and mac and cheese I've ever had, budget taste and over priced at that. Although decor was nice. Shame the curtains and wood floors prob have more flavour than the food. If you like eating water, this is your place.

Have been here 3 times in the last 2 months (I think that speaks for itself) have been on Slimming World, and they do Jacket potato's so that's a winner. As for the Coffe Stout they have on tap, it's one of the best new drinks I have had in a very long time. Overall, I would highly recommend this place for food and drink.

Lovely roast lamb Sunday lunch, but it was a little chewy and thought £4.95 for cauliflower cheese was a bit high. Had cheese cake which was ok. I didn't want cream or ice-cream with it. Would have been nice to have had some berries or coulis with it

A really great food-focused pub. We meet up there as a family every so often. It’s named after a prize pig! They have a good selection of beers and the food is way above the standard of local places - we have tried them all! The service is quick and friendly - so what’s not to like. Try the roast lamb - you’ll love it!

Found it on a run out . A lovely pub great food and beer good value for money . Will definitely go again when down in Romsey

If you like Bavarian-style landbier, the Empress' house lager, Forum Lager is an excellent Hellesbier from a UK brewer. It's served in a pint Maßkrug (AKA glass Stein).

We booked a large family gathering for Easter Sunday / Birthday party. Hannah was our main contact. You need to book in advance with a large party. They will need your food order at least a week in advance. Hannah was amazing. She made us feel like nothing was too much trouble. Especially as we had quiet a few changes to our order and number of people coming. £5 ahead deposit was reasonable and of course taken off our bill. We were able to bring our own Birthday cake and some decorations. Nothing was an issue. The food was excellent and came very soon after we arrived. We mainly ordered roasts. The portions were very generous adult and kids size. Desserts came promptly and again were delicious and very generous portions. There was a very slight delay with coffees (otherwise it would have been 5 stars). But this was the only issue and once they arrived the staff were very apologetic and ensure we were happy. The coffee was very good including the decaff which was great. The service was excellent. The team were very friendly and welcoming. Hannah did an excellent job of making sure we had everything we needed. Thank you so much Hannah and team for making our Easter / Birthday celebration an excellent one. We hope to make an Easter gathering at The Empress a new family tradition so it must have been good. ; )

We had a party of 3 adults and 5 kids 13 and under, the staff were very attentive and made all of us, especially the kids, feel welcome and looked after. Can’t stress how good the food is, definitely worth trying with the family. Chilli was out of this world!

A lovely pub which we found after a long day at Paulton’s Park. The menu had something for all of us, and food was delicious. The service was also really good. Would throughly recommend a visit.

We had a group of 16, and it was perfect.

We booked an afternoon Sunday roast here to finish off a long hike. As we arrived early, we grabbed a drink and sat outside for a well earned chill. There are two areas - one at the front and one to the rear - this being quieter. The pub is very close to the motorway but the noise isn't at all intrusive. Food was plentiful and well cooked. Service was (slightly) slow, but very affable and attentive once they engaged. I drink ale, there were a number of options and quality was good. The pub has a slightly generic 'beams and wood fires' feel to it, but was just what we needed! If you know of PJ Wodehouse, you'll probably appreciate some of the links to the "Blandings".

Lovely pub, good food and convenient location between Southampton and the forest.

I had late lunch (2.30) with a couple of family members, and it was lovely. Good service, very friendly staff, and the food was beautiful. I would definitely recommend the pulled pork with bacon and barbecue sauce in a baguette. Scrumptious!

This is the fourth time I’ve eaten here after a day out at Paultons Park, as always it was a lovely meal. I had a jacket potato with pulled pork and coleslaw, my child had chicken nuggets and fries. The staff were helpful, warm and very friendly. My daughter was particularly enamoured with Joe (don’t know if he is bar/restaurant manager or owner) who went out of his way to talk to her. Claudia our waitress was also lovely and very kind to her. Can’t wait for our next visit.

Excellent food, attentive staff and a lovely atmosphere. Great menu and we were made for feel very welcome. Would recommend.

Table for 12, and everyone enjoyed the food. Service was excellent.

Roast dinner had plenty of meat. Staff super friendly

Really lovely roast dinner but service was really slow. Empty salt cellar on table at start if lunch service, no other condiments unless requested. A childs bottle of fruit shoot at £2.95 is ridiculously overpriced ! No ramps on entry, step down to loo with no rails, couldn’t see an accessible loo. Food was beautiful but staff need to be more attentive especially during busy lunchtimes. Overall good but room for improvement..

Prawn and avocado salad, well avocado was not ripe Prawns were obviously defrosted under cold water (I have worked in the food industry) so much salad you could of fed at least 3 rabbits for 3 days. I have no problem catering for the public and know about overhead costs etc but please up your game with the food, just because you are on a holiday route and the season is about to start please serve food to be proud of

Traditional and huge pub for all occasions

Had a lovely time at the Empress, the big momma burger and pulled pork brioche was delicious. First time I tried a coffee stout and it was delicious too. The service was a little slow but the staff were very polite and helpful.

Great family run pub just off the M27 and yet inside the New Forest. Easy to find. Nice welcome from friendly staff: lovely warm, cosy environment. Very clean in all areas. Good food at fair prices. Excellent service. Loved all the piggy pictures, references, ceramics and quotes.Thoroughly recommend.

Lovely roast great beer on tap too reasonable prices will return

This pub is half way between where the families live, so made sense to go to based on the reviews and location. It was easy to find, one staff member in particular Hannah, was welcoming efficient and helpful. The food was excellent and fairly priced I thought. I'm sure we'll go back!

We booked a table for 15 of all ages on a Saturday afternoon for a couple of birthdays and it was excellent from start to finish. We had to pre order (as expected for a large group) but all of the food arrived promptly and without fault. The portions were generous and all well cooked and presented. The staff were all lovely. We love the casual atmosphere and it's helpful that dogs are allowed in all areas too. Thank You