The Terrace Restaurant in New Forest

Delicious food and attentive/friendly staff. My stater was sublime. The food and service totally outclassed my recent experience at The Pig in Brockenhurst. The Terrace is way better.

Things are looking up at the Montague Arms. This charming New Forest boutique Hotel in the beautiful village of Beaulieu had a tough time during Covid and has taken a long time to recover, despite being taken over by Carey’s Manor Hotel in nearby Brockenhurst. Recently, the Sous Chef from Carey’s manor has been elevated to become the Head Chef at the Montague Arms and he is bringing a new approach to the cuisine in the Terrace restaurant. His delicious British cuisine using fresh local ingredients is working well and is more appropriate for a new forest hostelry than the experimental and unusual dishes offered by his predecessor. There is still a way to go before the Terrace Restaurant rivals the bigger New Forest market leaders but, in my view, it would be wrong to try to emulate them and spoil the charm of this smaller country house hotel. Despite the many improvements made to dining at the Montague Arms, unfortunately, it’s no longer possible to choose and order during apéritifs by the log fire in the lounge and there are no canapes offered. However, Paul, the barman of 25 years is still as attentive as ever and the new seating arrangement allows more drinkers to enjoy the fireside cheer. The food in the terrace restaurant was improved and made good use of fresh local ingredients. Paulo, the Maitre De, who had previously been the sommelier was very personable and was able to offer some exceptional wines by the glass. My wife and I both chose the fresh mackerel with grapefruit and avocado to start. It was an interesting blend of tastes without swamping the delicate flavour of the fish. I followed with local partridge and she with fillet steak with marrowbone. The steak was tender and tasty and the vegetable choice blended well. My partridge breast was moist and tender served with a pie of partridge legs in sauce. This provided interesting flavours to something that could have otherwise been bland. I finished with treacle tart, for which I requested custard instead of the offered ice cream and that was not a problem. We then relaxed by the fire for coffee and a vintage Armagnac, that Paul remembered was my favourite tipple. It was a good evening, with promise of better to come as chef settles in and Paulo develops his influence in the restaurant. After, several years of absence, we look forward to returning again.

Nice hotel restaurant, on the whole good service from the table staff and great meal. Good wine list but limited bar/cocktail menu, if it’s not on the list they can’t do it. Let down by very a grumpy host /manger, made us feel like we were imposing and very unwelcome on arrival. Mains didn’t arrive together, so by the time we had chased the missing meal everyone else’s food was cold. Also carpet in the toilets (actually in the cubicles)!?!

Great ambience, staff engaging, attentive and welcoming. Outstanding fine dining experience and cuisine - faultless!

Always reliably good for a Sunday lunch. Very enjoyable

Gone rapidly downhill. A place we have visited several times over the years, and probably now for the last time. What was once a Michelin restaurant, but still a 4 star AA restaurant, you expect a certain level of service. From the really frosty reception from (we think) the manager, to having to find staff to pay the bill or ask for more drinks / dessert, and a really average vegetarian dish of courgettes cooked in a variety of ways, led to a feeling we could and should have spent our money more wisely. The most awful thing about this visit was that we had a voucher for a 3 course meal. We had 3 courses , but were then told that we had to pay for dessert as they had put the price up for the 3 course meal. One of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard, as the voucher wasn't a monetary voucher, but a voucher for a 3 course meal! It would be like paying for a night in the hotel and when you got there them saying you had to pay more as they had put the price up. A restaurant that we once loved and used for special occasions has really let us down. Thanks for the good times, The terrace, but paying £150 for 2 people for lunch , you need to be wowed, not to leave feeling irritated and annoyed.

This hotel is amazing, the staff are fab nothing was to much trouble. It was our wedding anniversary and the meal in the terrace restaurant was second to none so a big thank you to the chef and the team, we will return.

What should have been a nice afternoon eating lunch & drinking in the lovely garden was ruined by a complete Lack of service from the staff. We were told on arrival we could sit in the rather lovely garden and a waiter would come out and take our order. Unfortunately after sitting for just over 20 minutes without a sign of anyone , I proceeded into the bar area to look for someone . Eventually a few faces appeared from behind the scenes, I explained that we are waiting for service to Which I was told someone would appear . Abracadabra 💫 A little while later some menus appeared and we were told that they would be right back to take our order , another 20 minutes past at which point we decided to leave .. It’s a mystery what happend to the staff at this place , as we left the place was like the Mary Celeste no one to be found ! We ended up having a lovely lunch in Lymington I guess the £165 we spent was clearly not needed at the Montague Arms .

I had bought lunch gift vouchers for our friends and ourselves to try the terrace restaurant. I went by the reviews and we knew friends that had stayed in the hotel last year. All I can say is, what a disappointment! It started with myself telling the waiter that I had intolerances. He said we should have phoned in advance, however it states clearly at the bottom of the menu please tell your waiter of allergies or intolerances. Having seen the sample menu I asked for fish and chips to play safe. Although both my husband and myself ended up with fish and chips, the waiter made us feel uncomfortable with his response. When the meal arrived it looked okay, but it was awful. No taste and full of bones. Chips were French fries nothing special and the peas were cold. Both my husband and myself barely touched our meal. I felt sorry for our friends because this was their celebration. We did order a dessert it was lovely but £14 for a few mouthfuls, however I will say that was expected because you are an AA R restaurant. In all both couples ended up paying £100 each for a two course meal, a cup of tea and two beers for the husbands. I am sorry MA but we were so disappointed having wanted to come to your terrace restaurant for so long. May I add, we have been to Monty’s pub a few times, much better service and the food exceptional

We stayed for 7 nights in the Montagu Arms. We ate in the fine dining restaurant twice. We had intended to eat 3 times in the fine dining section but cancelled our 3rd evening. Food was tasty but not inspiring. Portions were small and in our opinion were overpriced for what we got. The dining room was cold on both evenings. We had to ask twice to get the window closed. My husband wore a sweater over his shirt. I wore a dressy top. I had to get a blanket from the basket in the hall!!!

We really looked forward to having Afternoon Tea here. However, the service was far from great. It took over 30 minutes for a member of staff to take our drinks order, another twenty plus minutes for our afternoon tea to arrive. We didn't see any other staff come to our table. It was not busy at all, there where a total of 10 people in The Terrace Restaurant, So after a total time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, we got up and went to reception without a bill, I explained that we had been left without any service or acknowledgement. The member of staff on reception was very apologetic and offered not to charge us at all. I insisted that we paid for what we had had but would not be returning.

I used to work here 10 years ago, and it was disheartening to witness the significant decline in food quality and service. The news of their lost Michelin star piqued my curiosity, prompting me to investigate the reasons behind this downfall. Unfortunately, the person in charge of the service exhibited open rudeness towards us, setting an unpleasant tone for the evening. Our disappointment continued as we were served burnt and inedible bread, which immediately dampened our expectations. Furthermore, the fish dish we ordered lacked freshness and was disappointingly tasteless. The remainder of the food was neither exceptional nor subpar; it was simply adequate. It appears that The Terrace Restaurant has failed to keep up with the changing times, merely going through the motions of serving food rather than passionately believing in their craft. It seems that poor management and a lack of accountability are responsible for the restaurant's current state, relying solely on past glories to stay afloat. One cannot help but wonder how long this can be sustained. The only positive in this experience was the presence of two exceptional individuals who served our food, distinct from the aforementioned host. They were truly charming and friendly, providing a glimmer of warmth amidst an otherwise lackluster evening. On our trip to the New Forest we dined at the The Pig and The Elderflower, and they truly stood out in comparison. These establishments exude a genuine passion for good food and possess a clear perspective on how it should be presented and enjoyed. I highly recommend considering these alternatives over The Terrace Restaurant.

Starting with he good points, at our intro the staff seemed very attentive and switched on, the place has a very nice feel to it and the food was very tasty. It all went downhill from the moment we were seated in a corner table behind a pillar - the staff seemed to forget we were there. The service was virtually non existent, 40 mins for our main course to arrive, 3 mins to eat it as there was so little food and then 30 ins for them to clear the plates. It really is atrocious to charge £42 for a tiny dish of lamb with four 50p size pieces on a small bed of peas. If you like your food in a decent quantity and more value then avoid this place. Needless to say I did something which I very seldom do which is to ask for the 12.5% service charge to be removed and to their credit they also removed two glasses of wine from the bill. But, you go to place like this for a nice experience not to have to seek such things. very disappointed.

Had a xmas gift of lunch for two, in the terrace dining. Good start got given the wrong menu. A bit of a wait for the new one. Service was very slow but very friendly. Portions could of been a bit bigger.

Visited the Terrace Restaurant at the Montagu Arms for Sunday lunch as a party of eight. Very helpful staff who welcomed us and shown us to our table. Enjoyed 2 courses, accompanied by a couple of bottles of wine. Location and décor excellent; food quality and presentation exceptional; service outstanding. A good choice of menu offering a good selection of starters; mains, including roast meats; fish and a vegetarian dish; and a deserts to die for!! A good number of dishes sourced locally and the price was fair and reasonable for such good quality. OK, there are a few spelling mistakes on the menu - Colestan Bassett stilton should be Colston Bassett [produced in the beautiful Vale of Belvoir] Highly recommend and thank you to the whole team for an enjoyable lunch.

We had dinner in The Terrace restaurant to celebrate my wife’s birthday. The evening didn’t start well when we were abandoned for some time in the lounge and were astonished when we counted at least 3 spelling mistakes on the menus; we felt this didn’t augur well. Upon finally being seated at our table, we were waited upon by a surly, non-communicative waiter. In fact, none of the staff members made any attempt to be friendly. They did the bare minimum necessary and in our opinion were in need of training. Our glasses were not refilled, crumbs were not swept from the table, nor did they remove unused glassware until we requested it. Despite the fact that the restaurant was not full, we had to wait an inordinately long time between courses. The food was of a high standard but the overall experience was spoilt by the poor service; not what you expect when paying this kind of money.

The Terrace Restaurant should the icing on the cake in this attractive hotel. Unfortunately it is not. Fine dining it is not and the menu is the same day in, day out. Staff are friendly but far too inexperienced. Many are just out of school, "students" as they call themselves. For a £55 3 course dinner or a 4 course tasting menu at £75 you expect better. We asked for some smoked salmon and brown bread & butter, and they did not know what to do. First they brought some toast, then 2 slices of bread unbuttered. Probably should blame the chef rather than the student. We have been to the Montagu Arms many times but unfortunately it is not as good as it was. Breakfast was also somewhat disappointing. You practically had to fight for a croissant or other pastries. On a positive note the Terrace Restaurant still looks very nice as does the hotel generally. They need professional staff and a different chef.

We have dine several Afternoon Teas at varying places and this was poor. I see previous reviews stating the same with Management inviting people to contact them to address the issues. Having been there today, the issues do not appear to have been addressed in a year. Beautiful building and surroundings but not enough staff. It wasn’t overly busy but after being seated we waited 20 minutes to be handed a menu. Water glasses on table but no water offered. No explanation of menu… a further 15 minutes for tea to arrive followed by the tea stand containing the food. A brief explanation followed, I asked for more cream as the pot for two was too small-delivered with a smile. The bread wasn’t fresh, hard on the outside and sandwich’s cold. The sweets were warm and the berry on top of one laced with alcohol that wasn’t mentioned. The service whilst polite was the slowest Ive ever had during a Tea-no one asked if everything was ok, no one offered more sandwich’s. Waited 20 minutes for someone to come and order more hot tea, waited more for it to be delivered! You really need to be more attentive. Scones as served at same time as everything else were cold and didn’t seem fresh. Sorry but wouldn’t return which is a shame. £35 plus 12% “service” charge - there are better places.

We had Sunday lunch. Sadly, it was well below what we expected from the days when it had a Michelin star. Perhaps the chef had an off day but food was unsophisticated both presented and served with an amateurish hand. Service was slack. It was obvious a significant number of people having lunch were kept waiting a long time as were we. Our starters were good but tiny in quantity. Main course - a Sunday Lunch roast - was in reality just piled on our plates without much care for detail and served without any professionalism. We chose not to have desert because of this. They brought us a bill that was wrong and had to be corrected and the only really good part of the meal was the wine. A sad reflection on how it used to be.

Excellent all around! Staff and food were really good.

We live locally and always fancied a meal at the beautiful Montagu Arms. We arrived an a cold and wet evening to a roaring fire by reception with a warm friendly welcome for the receptionist who directed us to the lounge. The lounge was cosy...

The Terrace Restaurant Hotel has long been a family favourite and has a lovely ambience. We have taken over the restaurant to celebrate our last two wedding anniversaries there. On the evening of Saturday 18th February in memory of my late wife's birthday I went...

Despite the good reputation I heard about this restaurant, my visit was mostly underwhelming due to the food. Nothing wrong with the good service and atmosphere but the food really doesn't live up to its price. From the tasting menu, quite a few of the courses were just rather salty if anything (next table also gave feedback about their dishes being too salty). The vegetarian menu had a course which was 'braised leek', nothing special about it at all, just a few cuts of cooked regular leek, quite disappointing frankly. The kitchen really needs a good look in the mirror and listen to the feedback from customers before slapping a big price tag on the menu.

Food was good but the service lacked finesse. The fish course was excellent but the crab and tomato course didn’t gel. Tomatoes overpowered the crab. More staff training on the menu and attention to detail. We were asked which wine we were drinking and almost...

Delicious dinner, excellent service, very enjoyable.

Beautiful setting, wonderful and attentive service- and of course stunning food. Lunch menu at £35 pp 2 courses was very reasonable for the whole experience. Slightly on the small size even for lunch, but quality was fantastic. Would definitely return.

The Terrace has been our go-to restaurant for special occasions - this recent dinner a birthday treat. Based on previous experience, we found a woeful fall in standards of both service and food. No-one acknowledged our arrival, we gave up waiting for some attention and...

So pleased that the Terrace has reopened for dinner on Sundays. As ever it offered a superior dining experience. Difficult to choose from each course so we went for opposites and tried each other's! All the dishes were delicious but I'd have to single out...

Absolutely delightful experience. This was a touch of luxury. The food was delicious, the staff were exceptionally friendly and professional, made us feel very special. The beautiful garden opens on to the dining room and what a wonderful building!

Only went for an evening meal but appreciated the wonderful building and gardens. Service was also impeccable from the word go. However, the food choice was VERY limited, very uninspiring and seriously overpriced - especially my wife's 4 course vegetarian meal at £75 +12.5%. The...

What a disappointment. It was clear from the service levels and some of the food that cooking great food was not the issue. But the choice was so limited - a taster menu or a 4 course meal (2 choices each course) consisting entirely of...

The new tasting menu from new chef Nathan Eades was exquisite. And it’s served in a lovely wooden panelled room overlooking the beautiful gardens too. Staff were friendly and attentive and we also loved the complimentary canapés and tasty sourdough bread. As we were staying...

My husband and I were lucky enough to be given a voucher for the tasting menu at this restaurant having dined here in August 2021. After a little difficulty sorting out how and when we could use it following on from the C19 restrictions we...

I phoned for a lunch booking on the hop as my friend and I were in the Forest , we were pleased to get a reservation however when we arrived nobody had any idea about the reservation and we stood around awkwardly waiting , the...

My wife and I traveling a and dining every month somewhere else as we love gastronomy. We use this experience to learn more about food and wine what we can present to our guests at home on family/friends gathering. We visited the Montys in also...

Nice place for a drink in the garden on a sunny day. Quiet and peaceful, and friendly staff.

What a nice surprise! We only decided to stay at the hotel the day of our arrival and only chose to eat at the restaurant as it was the easy option. I hadn’t looked at the menu or reviews beforehand and was very pleasantly surprised...

Nice popular place for lunch. Friendly staff, good food and reasonable prices. Lunch orders strictly after midday only, but that is no bother if you arrive a little early to secure a table; the breakfast menu bacon/sausage baguettes are very nice!

We attended the Montagu arms hotel as part of my husband’s birthday celebrations, I organised and booked it six weeks before the actual event. I had planned to go there because they offered a Vegetarian roast. Eating a roast on a Sunday is one of our favourite things to do together and I thought it would be a lovely way to round off a nice weekend. Unfortunately when we arrived we were told it wasn’t available as they had changed their menu and we were informed there were staff shortages, weirdly this didn’t affect the meat Sunday roast options. The staff were very accommodating and I have to say caring in their approach and our drinks were made complimentary which was of course appreciated. But when you want a roast dinner, a risotto which is the same dish my husband had eaten the day before just won’t do. As a vegetarian you like to eat vegetables not carbs but unfortunately the menu only had one veggie option both heavy carbs. Welsh rabbit for starter and rice for main. Where are the vegetables? We were also told if we came back they would need one days notice for the veggie roast 🤷‍♀️ When the risotto came to say it was small was an understatement having watched the table next to us get a roast and all the trimmings it was disappointing. Again the staff did their best and knocked off some money of the main course and brought us some chocolates. My plan was to talk to the manager at the end of the meal rather than post a review but unfortunately he never returned to our table when we finished. Our plan that day was to eat a small breakfast and one large meal with the veggie roast being the highlight of the weekend. We are staying in a holiday cottage so had not planned any food for the evening we just thought we would have cheese for tea, but because we only had a small risotto for lunch we had to go to the shop which unfortunately was closed by the time we got there as it was Sunday. So all in all a well planned day ended disappointingly. I am grateful to the staff for their love and care but feel vegetarians should be catered for with more than one food heavy carb food option and not left out of Sunday roasts.

Couldn’t ever get through to anyone to book a function space, and no one called back despite leaving multiple messages, only called back to say now they’re fully booked on all the requested dates. Didn’t appreciate the service

Food was really good. Service not what you would expect from a fine dining restaurant. Quite a shame as it was our anniversary and we travelled quite far.

Tried to get drinks at the bar before dinner and the bartender was quite abrupt as he was obviously overwhelmed due to staff shortages. We did the four course tasting menu. I had the vegetarian dishes. The food tasted lovely but the portion sizes were...

Great service and choice of menu, Very attentive staff and great quality food highly recommended and enjoyed by all of us

The price was about what you’d expect to pay for a three course meal at any upscale pub but the food and atmosphere was fine dining. The wait staff were very professional and prompt. We didn’t have to wait long for anything. To start I...

Had a meal here for my birthday in September - the food was outstanding, and the service was even better! Our waiter was awesome - so friendly and welcoming - very knowledgable on the food and the wine. Would definitely go back!

My friend and I were staying at their sister hotel Carey’s and came over for dinner. I was really impressed with the food and thought that the four course menu was good value. A particular call out for the great staff. We had a great...

Spent a very pleasant afternoon enjoying the afternoon tea. Quality product and service in a setting deserving of the occasion.

This was a delight from start to finish! Exellent food, beautifully presented, superb service, nice atmosphere, everything was perfect. Can definitely recommend.

Do not even bother to go here. I had a table booked since May this year for a meal in September, as soon as we walked through the front we waited a while for someone to even greet us to then be told before we...

Do not even bother to go here. I had a table booked since May this year for a meal in September, as soon as we walked through the front we waited a while for someone to even greet us to then be told before we even entered the restaurant that they are short staffed and service will be slow as there is only one chef in the kitchen, the waiter then just pointed to our table and said it’s in the middle over there, obviously this is not what you expect for this type of restaurant. We then sat down and another waiter came over to us and said the same thing about being short staffed and that we will have to wait a while for food, when you’re expecting to pay £400+ for a meal this is not the service you would expect, we decided it wouldn’t be worth wasting our money in this ‘Michelin star’ restaurant to avoid disappointment.

Proper occasion dining! So pleased to see tables dressed and set with quality glassware, cutlery etc as it used to be pre-covid. It set the scene for a celebratory meal celebrating our anniversary. Confess I am a bit of a cynic about the trend towards...

Booked for dinner and location and ambience is superb. I knew this restaurant once had a Michelin star and is striving get it back.so hopefully, they can take this as constructive.it is not there yet I am afraid. 4 course menu for £65 we chose....

A perfect setting, excellent service, gorgeous food and overall highly recommended. We had a wonderful and very special family meal here, and would love to return.

Amazing food and fantastic staff. A really great evening. The Michelin star is surely coming soon!! Tasting menu with accompanying fine wine flight was a treat.

We ate in the Terrace restaurant on three evenings, (it is closed Mon/Tue). On the first occasion we decided to try the tasting menu – which if you knew me, would come as a surprise. Tasting menus usually leave me feeling impressed by the skill...

Sensational food in lovely, peaceful setting, and excellent old-school service. Not cheap, but worth the splurge.

We visited The Terrace restaurant for our anniversary recently. We had the 4 course menu & as our daughter had pre paid for us some wine as a surprise did not opt for the wine pairing. After a slight misunderstanding at the beginning we went...

Had an amazing meal at the Terrace. We had the tasting menu with wine pairing. The whole experience was exceptional. The food exquisite and the wines they paired with each course were spot on. We even remarked that we are both savoury people and weren’t...

There was something not quite right. The food was presented very well but lacked a wow factor. My beef from the taster menu was unfortunately full of tendon. Despite the number of staff hovering, the service was below par for this kind of restaurant. A...

The menu here is always fabulous, in terms of delivering on taste, quality and innovation, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal last night and thank all the very hard working staff who made it so enjoyable. We especially liked the portion sizes which gave sufficient quantity...

Fantastic anniversary dinner, with the food and staff (particularly the wonderfully entertaining maitre d) making it one of my favourite restaurant experiences in years. Nothing comes cheap, but the standard of cooking is exceptional and worth every penny. I'm rarely effusive in praise for places...

Went for an anniversary dinner and it was perfect, particularly with regards to the food and the staff. Won't be the cheapest evening you've had but it was worth every penny.

The food (quality, presentation, taste) certainly exceeded our expectations. In fact, it was on-par with some fine dining experiences in London and beyond. The Isle of Wight tomatoes course or the deserts were truly out of this world! The service level was, regretfully, not as...

Visited on the last day before 2nd lock down as a treat. We weren't disappointed. Elegant establishment in the heart of Beaulieu village. Car park tucked around the back with a little walk to the hotel. It was sunny so no issue. Advantage was that...

My husband and I dined at The Terrace restaurant for our wedding anniversary. All courses chosen were fantastic and I believe Matt Whitfield is well on his way to regaining their Michelin star. Staff members were all very friendly too which created a warm atmosphere....

We were staying in the hotel and had booked their restaurant. We were met by the manager and had pre meal drinks overlooking the garden. All the staff were chatty and very efficient. The meal was delicious we had the corn fed chicken terrine, sea...

Originally booked for my birthday, but cancelled owing to Covid and then rebooked for a much later date. The food was excellent and the service impeccable. By chance I had eaten in another fine dining restaurant a few weeks before, which I felt was better,...

We had a fabulous lunch today.. It was so relaxed which isnt exactly easy with Covid restrictions right now.. The staff were friendly, (Covid compliant) and couldn't do enough for us. It really was that good! The food was sublime - absolutely delicious.. we had...

Went to garden for lunch. Was told table service so waited. 40 minutes. We were ignored. Waiters asking if other people were ok and settling bills with card machines. Waiter even stood chatting for over 10 minutes 2 tables away and didn’t even look at...

Booked for a cream tea visit and I think these were the loveliest scones I have ever tasted!! The experience was perfect, especially given I'd used a different name upon arrival to my original booking, which the staff dealt with effiently and politly. We enjoyed...

Really lovely meal. Staff were excellent. Location overlooking the garden was a super spot for a relaxed lunch. Recommend highly.

Anniversary meal and the restaurant took the trouble to make us a happy anniversary Plate for desert which was a very nice touch. Wine list was extensive but very expensive Food was good but not outstanding.....the triple cooked chips were disappointing. Also the deserts were...

The service, location and atmosphere were great. The starters (ham hock and trout) were delicious. From there it went downhill. The menu was very limited and we were only able to chose chicken breast and lamb with new potatoes with seaweed. The mains were the same size as the starters - the chicken breast was the size of a fish finger and £22! The potatoes came with no seaweed. The lamb was okay but not the pork belly I’d hoped which showed on the online menu. Sadly, it was the disappointment in an otherwise great day out for our wedding anniversary.

Very poor service. Our drinks took too long to arrive. Mora than 30 mins seems way more than normal. Very bad service.

My fiancée took me here for my birthday and I was blown away. The food was absolutely gorgeous; we enjoyed a three course meal each and it was so light and refreshing but full of stunning flavours. The staff were super professional and incredibly attentive....

Amazing experience at The Terrace Restaurant. Easy parking at the restaurant. Waiters had good PPE kit on which is a huge plus. Great wine selection plus good value champagne :-) Food was just amazing. Quality and execution were spot on cooking delicious meal for my family. We loved the Hake and Lamb Rump. Hake was perfectly cooked and the highlight for the evening. Desserts were superb and it disappeared so quickly. My kids loved the strawberry dessert. We will be back again for sure.

Fantastic experience. The sommelier Sergio was a delight. So helpful and knowledgeable. And he likes Amarone too! The food was gorgeous. Especially the ham hock and hake. We loved every bit of it. The combinations of flavours were mouthwatering. The service provided by Monty and...

Overall an excellent evening with fantastic food and wine, set in the picturesque village of Beaulieu. The menu was roughly five dishes per course with a selection of meat, fish and vegetarian options. All of the food was delightful and represented a good price/quality balance. Post dinner, I would recommend sitting on the Terrace to enjoy a digestif/coffee. The service throughout was a little slow and we were seated in the restaurant almost an hour after our reservation time. This was their first night having re-opened and was explained as teething problems. COVID precautions - A partial one way system, all staff correctly wore face masks and clearly made a conscious effort to stay a social distance away. Hand sanitiser was available at several key locations. Tables were a good distance apart. VAT reduction - doesn't appear to be passed onto customers.

Never disappointed! Another great lunch. Not cheapest around but always worth every penny. We have always found eating here a real dining experience. The staff are always very attentive and everyone plays their parts excellently. Have been coming here for many years and can see no reason at all for that to change as they obviously always look to move forward but not lose sight of what has made them successful in the first place.

Twice in the last week, lunch and afternoon tea at The Terrace. We're spoilt for good restaurants in the New Forest but this continues to please. Not cheap exactly, but always good value, great food, friendly and knowledgable staff, lovely setting. Well done and thanks.

It was a dark night and quite a long walk from the car park. It was therefore not the best experience to be sat down for pre-dinner drinks next to an unwelcoming, unlit fire and still holding our coats. We were later escorted into the restaurant while continuing to hold our coats, which we had to bundle on the backs of our chairs. This is an expensive restaurant and I had made an effort in dressing for the occasion. Yet, there I was burdened with having to carry a coat. The food was excellent but slightly spoilt by the coat issue and the unlit fire.

We have been here many times to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. The food and service has always been excellent. Leisurely lunches have been a highlight.

This was one of the most disappointing dining experiences we’ve had. We weren’t disappointed with the overall experience, because the service was fantastic, and the food was lovely, but the price we paid was just astronomical for the tiny amount of food we were served. We’ve had better fine dining experiences elsewhere at much more reasonable prices and portion sizes.

Fabulous Restaurant, with great views of the terrace,fabulous ambience, servers knowledgeable great all rounder

As first timers, we went to celebrate an anniversary. We first sat in the conservatory/lounge area for a pre-dinner drink and received a complimentary trio of amuse-bouche - My word! We new we were in for a treat. As such, we opted for the 7 course tasting menu. We selected our own wine from the extensive wine list and had the sommelier on hand as required. The staff were friendly and attentive throughout. When a course was delayed - as the fish wasn't cooked to their exacting standard - they bought it another delightful chicken based amuse-bouche. The rosemary sour dough bread brought out at the start was to die for - they even did a complimentary take away of it for us as we were such huge fans. The cheese course was a highlight and the sweet was awesome - I couldn't fault a thing.

Booked a table for a party of 5 for the Christmas Day lunch at the Terrace - having enjoyed ourselves the previous year, we decided to visit again. We ordered a variety of starters which were quite pleasant. As it was Christmas, we all had the turkey for main course. Unfortunately, this came out lukewarm and the presentation was below par - it looked like something from a toby carvery restaurant! Coupled with this was the fact the service was terrible. The majority of the waiters obviously had not been trained and the sommelier served the wine in the wrong glasses and/or did not produce fresh glasses as and when the time came. For the extortionate amount of money paid (it came to £1400 for 5) we could have gone to Montys next door for a fraction of the price; no doubt the service would have been better as well. I would not be surprised if the food served in the Terrace was also served in Montys. All in all, we will not be returning. For a supposed Michelin star restaurant, there was a distinct lack of quality.

My husband took us here today for my birthday lunch. I had eaten here on many occasions historically when attending a women in business networking lunch, it was always excellent. Today was the polar opposite. It was surprising to find cheap and nasty Christmas crackers on the tables containing plastic toys, hardly a good example in this day and age when we are all doing our bit to save the planet.Being Boxing Day the tasting menu was not available, however there appeared to be some nice options on the set menu. Both starters were excellent. The main course of roast pork was dire, presented extremely poorly, it was bland and unappetising. The vegetables looked as if they had been reheated from Christmas Day, it was cold and blood oozing out of the pork was the last straw. My husband took the risk and ate his, I have an auto immune health issue and dared not. They offered to replace it with some meat which had been thoroughly cooked but I declined since there is nothing worse than eating alone when in company.The woman whom we assumed was in charge of the restaurant was extremely condescending and did not handle the situation at all well. She clearly needs some additional training. All in all a hugely disappointing birthday treat.

Another fantastic lunch here today. Food excellent, staff excellent, and all in a lovely olde world atmosphere. Our favourite restaurant.

Honestly, I was dubious before going there for my girlfriend's 40th meal with family. I thought it may be pretentious and overly expensive. However, I am very pleased we went there. We had a great evening. Yes, it was expensive, but there were many nice unexpected touches that made the difference from other nice restaurants and justified the cost. It wasn't pretentious, it was just extra special.

After a warm welcome and a glass of English sparkling wine with Canapés in cosy and comfortable surroundings, we enjoyed a delicious Montagu Arms Hotel Tasting Menu dinner with wine pairing in the beautiful Terrace restaurant. The service that we received from the waiting staff was excellent and each course was explained in detail. Sergio the sommelier is extremely knowledgeable and his passion for wine shone through, all of which added to the whole experience. The ambience in the restaurant was quiet and relaxed, it was such a treat to be able to relax between each of the different courses. We both felt that the whole evening was a truly wonderful dining experience.

A wine-tasting dinner is always a good test of a chef’s ability to match his culinary vision with classic wines, in this case Burgundy supplied by a well-known London merchant, and a very good start was made with perfectly balanced jambon persillé and a Rully 1er cru followed by lemon sole grilled to a T with its sea shore vegetables, crayfish and a Dijon mustard sauce, which was washed down with Chassagne-Montrachet for a classy finish. For us the outstanding dish of the evening was rose veal rump accompanied by some amazing glazed snails and lovely celeriac with a tarragon emulsion served with two wines, a beautiful Chambolle-Musigny, round and full of fruit, and a fairly stern Pommard, which gave the distinct impression of needing more time to come round and promising to be a great wine. A powerful époisses was well matched with an equally powerful Marc de Bourgogne, and the yummy dessert was loaded with textures and tastes, the caramelised gingerbread, poached pear, dehydrated sponge and vanilla ice cream making the palate sing along with the delightful Macon-Viré. Matthew Whitfield clearly demonstrated his skill and showed a great deal of confidence, born of his time at some top restaurants.

While the food was really good, we found the setting to be a bit stiff and not particularly cozy. The hotel is really beautiful though and the location is lovely!

A Saturday night meal and we opted for the chef’s tasting menu of 5 undefined courses. We were told this would be creative and different, but was largely the same as the 7 course tasting menu.

What a difference ! Earlier in the week we had visited another local restaurant with our son and daughter in law which left a lot to be desired. This time however just my wife and myself ate at The Terrace restaurant and it was in a class of its own. The service was attentive but not obtrusive, the decor and ambience was of the highest standard and the food superb. A request for a dish not on the menu was met with a positive "certainly". Jeremy, the manager in charge was most helpful and friendly.

Loved the food and service here for Sunday lunch. Could happily have eaten the squash veloute with blue cheese and pickled mushrooms twice! My husband also reported that the trout starter was exquisite. Roast pork was a generously sized man course with nice touches such as cauliflower & broccoli gratin in a separate dish. Fig bakewell with a honey yogurt sorbet was also scrumptious as was husband's pear dessert. Wine list takes a bit of reading but Patagonian Pinot Noir was well worth it. Must come back to sample the rest of the wine list!

Another lovely relaxing Sunday lunch. Beautiful surroundings. Warm friendly service and excellent food. This is quite an expensive place to eat but their Sunday lunch is excellent value. Will return.

This was a last minute booking for a family of 4 and what a delight front of house was excellent and all staff were faultless the food was brilliant a very talented chef cannot wait to return warealtreatreat wha

Having traveled 45mins my worst fear came to light. The car park is not suitable for woman's formal shoes and the lighting leading from carpark to the hotel is poor through the garden. That's the first point which needs addressing. Now onto the service which we found impeccable, I would expect nothing less than what we received for the price we were due to pay for the menu. As for pricing I found this slightly higher than I expected for portion size including the drinks... The canapes, out of the 3 only two really stood out, we both didn't like the rice based one... Home baked fresh bread, my partner could of just eaten that all night she loved it that much. Amuse-bouche was nothing special. Red partridge leg was great but I felt it was slightly hard to cut as seemed under done but this could be the way it should be! Lamb Pennington my partner absolutely loved the different flavours and for her the portion size was good. I had the version as I love it so but sadly wasn't as great as I've had at another place near Banbury. My portion size should be a bit bigger. Partner decide to have another strawberry daiquiri instead of desert, I chose the fondant which I must say tasted amazing. All in all a good experience for my partner but could be better. Would we return, yes most definitely but only if I could afford such an expensive night. Perhaps we will attend during summer to see how lovely it is outside.

On the face of it, the hotel was not going to be somewhere I liked, the style of the dining room was a bit dated for me and the background music awful, service was friendly and enthusiastic but didn't seem 'senior' and on a quiet day felt like we had nice but inexperienced staff And then came the food - brilliant, well cooked, nicely presented, exceptional value on a set lunch. The chef is very, very good and in my opinion, the surrounds and service need an uplift to match the quality. It was as good as any one star I have eaten this year at a fraction of the price - no tricks or gimmicks, just great cooking of top ingredients. Give it a try, it is very, very good and with a style makeover would be heading for a star

Our first dinner in the Terrace restaurant since new exec chef took over. It was a special birthday meal. We were a bit sceptical at first, dishes decorated with petals, small (but beautifully presented), all sides extra etc. But it was a wonderful meal, and 3 courses felt just right. Innovative dishes, some unusual combinations but they worked. First mouthful and... "wow" summed it up! Really nice that they do a good selection of quality wines by the glass, including English sparkling, and our half bottle of Fleurie was exceptional. Nobody pressures you or makes you feel a pleb for not buying a full bottle. It's a lovely quiet sophisticated space, you have to go for the experience!