The Trusty Servant in New Forest

Just excellent. Superb Sunday roast.

Absolutely love this place! The staff were so accommodating when we wanted to have lunch when they were obviously very busy. They have beautiful rooms too if you want a quality stay in the New Forest.

This is now my favourite new forest inn. Staff are good and the menu is extensive.

First time in this pub with a large group of ten. Pre-ordered food and it came out together and piping hot. I had the feather blade of beef which was so tasty and fell apart. I was very jealous of the magnificent slice of well packed beef and kidney pie my dad had. Everyone was very happy, portions were good size and the prices reasonable. Lovely and roomy inside and has an outside seating area. Will definitely be visiting again.

Really great little pub! Have the beef!

Great food and great service. A beautiful village pub that is perfect

Been twice now and enjoyed the vegetarian sizzling wrap with extra jalapeños. It was tasty and very filling. Nice ambience and good service. Dog friendly, which is a great thumbs up. I enjoyed the pudding but they didn't have any icecream as a separate pudding 😕. Need to go back and try some of the other food as it sounds nice.

Really nice food,Sunday roasts.Good beers,wonderful staff. Great atmosphere

Had a lovely lunch in here. Croque Monsieur was excellent, as was the coffee. Really couldn't fault it

Lovely food great atmosphere I would recommend a visit

This is our second visit to the Trusty Servant as a family - we were here in April 2022 when we held a family function in the Barn followed by dinner in the restaurant and an overnight stay. This visit was just for a family lunch for 10 of us. Booking direct with the venue was straight-foward - Jack was very helpful and we got everything sorted easily. For parties of 10 or more, a deposit and advance notification of menu choices is required - I have recently gained a lot of experience booking venues for large groups and I can say that, while this is frustrating for customers, it's normal practice in most venues. Anyway, it was all sorted without any fuss. For a day out in the New Forest, this is a really good stopping place for lunch. Monstead is a lovely village. Just up the road from the Trusty Servant is a really interesting church where Arthur Conan Doyle (and my mother, aunt and grandparents) is buried and there are some delightful walks around. Parking is restricted but there is parking nearby in the village so you wouldn't have far to walk. There are steps at the front but I'm fairly sure there was a rear entrance which is level ground. My luncheon choice was Steak and Ale Pie followed by Sticky Toffee pudding. At first sight, you'd be excused for thinking 'That doesn't look much' but if I'd ordered a starter, I wouldn't have finished the meal! The pie was absolutely wonderful - beautiful in every respect but what looked like a small portion was incredibly filling - but was it delicious! The filling was very flavoursome and full of meat and the crust was sublime. The Sticky Toffee Pudding matched the main course for flavour, presentation and portion size. My wife's comment was similar - her vegetarian lasagne was easily aas much as she could eat and the ice-cream dessert was ample for her. One issue occurred: my sister had beef stew with dumplings and the dumplings were hard and unpalatable - they'd obviously been sitting on the passe for too long. The waitress whipped them away and some freshly cooked dumplings were quickly delivered. I always say that things do sometime go wrong and it's how they're dealt with that matters, and we had no cause for complaint there. Several in my party mentioned the prices were on the high side, but looking at what you got for your money, it was not bad. If you pay pennies, you expect to get small portions and less than optimum quality. My Steak and ale Pie was £17.99 and it was easily worth that. My only complaint was the service charge added for groups of 10 or more. If a venue has numbers for a booking with a deposit and has had menu choices in advance, it should be a win-win situation - they have a guaranteed booking and they know exactly what to prepare so waste is reduced. I regret that, although we did have excellent service, I didn't leave a tip as - in my view - they'd already taken it in the service charge. I'm not going to mark them down on this because, again, sadly it's common practice. So this is quite easy marking: Food - excellent flavour, presentation, portions so one tick People - lovely, helpful people - an easy tick Environment - comfortable, clean, attractive village pub, accessible, dog and child friendly - so a third tick Value for Money - already addressed so fourth tick Would I Recommend/Go Again - well, I've already done both so fifth tick - actually, I'd go again just for the steak and ale pie!

Welcoming, good food, nice staff. Fairly priced

Fab roast dinner with a choice of meat and a really decent plateful of veg potatoes etc. We have been a couple of times previously and the Trusty doesn’t disappoint. The staff are very friendly & attentive we wish it was near enough to be our local 😀

Shockingly bad food. And I mean truly terrible. I will never trust Google reviews in the same way again. All these 5 star reviews saying the food is great is totally unfathomable and as frustrating as it is misleading. Either they're a bunch of fake accounts or new owners have come in and destroyed what was once a good pub for food. If you look a little more closely, you'll find a bunch of 1 star reviews and I promise you they are the ones to read. What's most disappointing is how good the place could be. Beautiful setting and lovely looking pub...but my god, the food. I was there with my wife, two friends, and my three kids. Every one of us had the same thoughts. My wife and I had pork Sunday roast (for £19 each) and we both left most of our pork on the plate. It was slimy, rubbery and under cooked. I honestly thought it could have been microwaved (my wife was literally eating sweet scones afterwards to get the taste out of her mouth). The veg was boiled and totally plain. The stuffing was this weird, chewy slab...clearly a frozen item. We all came to the conclusion that the crackling came out of a crisp packet. The potatoes were just about passable but the gravy was a watery bisto. Without doubt one of the worst roasts I've eaten but, based on the degree of promise and expectation, it goes down as the all time worst. I just hope they improve because we all love and need good country pubs that know what they're doing :(

Not overly impressed 😒 I booked a table and when we sat down it took 30 mins for someone to come and take the order. We were seated right next to the front door with lots of coming and going which made it uncomfortable and then when our order was finally taken it was a further 30.mins before food came so an hour after we booked. Roast came with one veg and then it was 4 each side fir additional veg such as roast parsnips. Pub was busy and maybe they should not take more bookings than they arrived capable of coping with if it means poor service

Our Sunday Roast Beef was delicious, nice and crispy potato , lovely pink beef. Nice pint of Ale work nicely with that Great time for our family Thank you !

1st time visiting & left really disappointed unfortunately. We're getting married nearby & thought we'd pop in and see what the food is like with the idea of maybe booking for the reception. Reviews looked good so we had high hopes. The pub was warm and cosy which was lovely, but unfortunately no one greeted us (rainy weds afternoon wasn't particularly busy) we sat down and waited to see if anyone would come to us ( we were sat right near the manned bar) no one did. So we got up and asked for a menu. Someone came over to take our drinks order then again, we were left over 20 mins with no one taking our food order so we had to get up and find someone. When the food came we were so shocked especially after what we paid for it it wasn't cheap by any means. However had it been worth it we wouldn't of minded. We had a pie which was cold in the middles the vegetables were microwaved to within an inch of their lives and the broccoli was yellow. We ordered the piggy bites on the side, again the sauce was hot but the meat wasn't. We also had the liver and onions again microwave bacon not crispy as described and the bubble and squeask cake was mushy potatoes no veg in it. Was actually worried about the food not being reheated properly so barley ate any of it. No one came to see if our food was OK, nor did they ask when we paid despite seeing our pretty full plates. Won't be going back I'm afraid and now hoping we don't get ill from poorly reheated food.

Have eaten here a few times, the first time the Carbonara was insanley good- cooked dry with chunky cubes of bacon and generous, best Ive ever had! I went back as had to have it again a few weeks later and it was totally different- skinny strips of regular bacon and covered in white sauce (like the microwave carbonara) not the same at all Enjoyed another meal here- freshly cooked cottage pie was lovely, they're chips and onion rings are great, and its a cosy little pub with a huge back garden and loads of tables However, I was disappointed with their Sunday roast dinner, after hearing it is meant to be good here, I received a regular size Yorkshire pudding (not giant as advertised) and the only taste it has was the oil it was cooked in, potatoes the only good thing was the seasoning otherwise I got 3 small basic roast potatoes that tasted like been cooked the day before, the pork belly- well, it had rubbery crackling they hadnt even attempted to crackle, pale pork and fatty bits, - pork belly can go really nice a crispy but this looked and tasted like it had been boiled or microwaved for 5 mins and dumped on the plate. Gravy was watery with no taste, chipotle sausage was good, but I didn't touch the stuffing as it looked dry and old. Real shame as people vouched for this roast and the pub was packed full with more people showing up all the time, for a very basic tasteless roast dinner for £17-£19

Great new menu, very dog friendly

Really good wholesome food, we had the turkey pie, it was like a roast in pastry. Vegetables were done just right, good service too.

Enjoyed a nice family meal (6 adult 1 child and one toddler in high chair) Although busy service was acceptable and the food was good. The only issue with the Trusty Servant is availability of parking. It very advisable to pick non peak periods for ease of parking

Waiting ages for meal asked barman he said you will get it when you get it his arrogance was unreal vegetable were under cooked.i thought I had been given a child's cottage pie bearing in mind £18.99 shame was my wife's birthday treat from my son but a lesson learnt never again had a better meal from a carvery

Great pub and food. dog friendly too. Try and book in advance to avoid disappointment

Came on the 27th for dinner with friends. The food was fantastic, but the highlight was the service. We were served by a lovely young man who couldn’t do enough for us, really enjoyed his recommendation of suet pie. Will definitely be coming again!

Very disappointed from the start we got there the larger was flat 4 glasses later still wasn’t right had to have another drink our table was 20 minuets late being ready for us. Then we had starters being prawn cocktails the butter was rock hard making impossible to spread on the bread. Then on to the mains missing the onion rings off 3 of the mains and other meal the veg was rock hard good job he had a full mouth of teeth otherwise would of had no chance of eating it the young lad then decided to take all the plates away to add onion rings instead of just bringing a bowel of them out service was very poor service and over priced the burger was about the size of a happy meal in McDonald’s !!

Back again for the first new forest trip this year. As always the Trusty is lovely and welcoming food delicious and just what a pub should be. Hopefully I'll be back before the summer kicks in!

Fab Sunday lunch. Great service.

Went in and ordered a large white wine and a pint of bitter. After paying over £16 and yes I appreciate it was a large glass of wine., I know I won't go back. My local not far away charges under £10 for the equivalent. You really understand how pubs put people off when their prices are just not realistic.

Friendly helpful staff, great food selection, generous opening hours. Recommend as a stopover of people driving on to Devon and Cornwall

Outstanding food, Good service. Lovely barn outside area.

Visited for an evening meal. Pub was very quiet, but food was exceptional.

Lovely surroundings, prices on the high side. Watch the Glengoyne - glorious whisky but surprisingly expensive in here. I think you can get it in M&S for the price of a double in here. Menu looks OK. Haven’t tried the food but if it is excellent, prices are OK.

Excellent Sunday roast. Great service. Dog friendly. Good beer. Fantastic atmosphere. But cold plates. Sad to let such a simply fixed problem almost spoil the meal. But apart from that one detail - we will hope to return another day.

The pub was very cold which was off-putting. The service was efficient and the food was surprisingly good.

Good food, helpful and friendly staff, pleasant and clean. Dog friendly 😊

A pub with a heart, in the winter, it's full of locals, enjoying the atmosphere. Not fancy, but comfy. As a pub should be

Not a accessible pub for anyone in a wheelchair, they were informed but no one had the decentency to reply. There are steps upto entrance and down to the toilets. No accessable one is available. Waited over 45 minutes for food. Vegtables raw, and the cottage pie ,lovely but not a very big portion. Never have I left a place still feeling hungry. Had to ask for a bill that was correct twice, we did get a 20% discount, but what I eventually paid was way too much. Would not recommend and would not return.

Lovely, cosy country pub. Excellent food with many vegan options.

Great location, great food, great atmosphere and great staff. First time visiting and will definitely return

Gorgeous Christmas Eve family lunch. Always so good here. Warm, friendly and inviting. Nowhere better to be with family for food.

Excellent food as usual. Delicious plentiful and served with a smile. The menu is extensive with multiple options for vegetarians. Reasonably priced. Definitely worth a visit.

This is a lovely historic pub, just 1.5 miles into the New Forest from the A31 so very easy to get to. This was our second trip to the Trusty Servant post -covid and our second poor experience. Pre-covid we used to go here a lot. Prices have gone up as they have everywhere but for £17.99 for a lunch main you do expect a certain standard. This was the Monday before Christmas and only a few tables taken. When we arrived the staff were not very welcoming and there were a lot on so they stood around or socialised amongst themselves. My steak and ale pie would have been nice but it was way over salted and served with packaged chips and gravy and a few veg. I had to send the plate back when it first came out as the actual plate was freezing and I know the meal would cool very quickly. When I asked for tomato sauce a few packs of cheap stuff were dropped on the table as if we were in a cheap cafe, not even presented in a bowl. At least get Heinz in. There are limited and expensive desserts and the server had no idea what crumble of the day was. Said crumble was ok. We won't be back as while we are happy to pay those prices we expect better. It does have a lovely back garden though for summer drinks in the Forest.

Lovely lunch in a very nice dog friendly pub. Would definitely go back.

A proper country Pub, Lovely atmosphere, great food, good service amazing menu we will be back as we all said we need to try something different from the menu.

This was the best pub meal I have had in many years. We met old friends for a lunch today and selected the Trusty Servant from Google maps. The menu and specials board gave us problems from the start, as there were too many super options to choose from. Two of us selected a Turkey, Bacon, Stuffing and Cranberry Pie. It was absolutely superb, and I'm afraid I didn't have time to take a picture as I was too busy eating it. The staff were attentive, swift, and full of character and the team serving us were able to share a joke or two with us. It was a great meal in a great venue, and worth paying just a tad over the average price for... Thank you

Great food in traditional New Forest pub.

Very cosy vibes! A mention for the lovely specials board, great selection and the doodles gave a great christmassy touch. I highly recommend the Turkey + Bacon + Stuffing + Cranberry Pie, so delicious and great portion size! Everyone enjoyed there meal, what a great...

A traditional pub with a good atmosphere. Busy, but well staffed (unlike most pubs now). Table service, so no need to go to the bar to order. Good food, a little bit on the pricey side, but good value. Booking recommended.

Highly rated, one of the best pub lunches I've had in years. The beer was good and the staff excellent.

Lovely food. would have been nice to stop overin the camper, so we could have had a few drinks

Stumbled on this place and glad we did Great atmosphere, good food, good size portions ,and very friendly staff

Great little pub. Carvery was lovely and well priced. Just a shame the portion sizes weren’t the same. Kids had a huge plate and mine was a lot smaller.

My partner & I booked lunch for the first time at this idyllic country pub in Minstesd last Friday. The welcome was warm, the food was delicious and we enjoyed our lunch. We hope to return. Highly recommended.

We have stayed a few times now and love the place. Food and beer are excelent. Rooms very clean and staff friendly. Breakfast is amazing.

Great find! Lovely location with beautiful countryside and walks right on its door step. The pub and staff were very welcoming to our muddy walking boots and wet border collie! A cosy pub! Great atmosphere.

Location was rural just how I like it . The staff could not be more helpful . My room was great clean & plenty of room . The food was very good . The whole visit was smooth . One tip book direct for the...

Beautiful place had a really enjoyable meal...only little issue was the hot food came on cold plates

Had a wonderful lunch here today. The staff were really friendly and helpful. Our food was served very quickly, which was very much appreciated as we had a very hungry 3 year old with us. The portions are generous and food very tasty. We'd recommend...

Very welcoming and food was lovely great service and a great end to the day.

This place is genuinely lovely and beautifully presented, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a place to stay/eat/drink but we did identify one oversight, which impacted the quality of our sleep... Not enough to reduce it to 4 stars, but a close call... The staff were super friendly and helpful, the building decor is - in the main - well thought out throughout and sympathetic to the location, the food looked good and the beer was kept well. The breakfast was well cooked and delicious. The bed was comfy. We encountered cows outside in the road, chewing on the hedges and apparently we just missed a family of pigs. Across the rest of the New Forest when we left, we saw dozens of horses and cows and even a deer. It's a beautiful part of the country and the stocks on the village green outside gave a sense of history to the location. The bathroom was nice, with a lovely rain-type shower with very realistic marble-effect walls. No bath, but nice enough. The toilet flush was very weak, but a couple of flushes seemed to work. The main thing that let the place down was the lack of thought that had gone into the very utilitarian communal guest entrance. Hard vinyl flooring, no wall decor, and consequently, loud and echoey. From what we saw, the entire guest accommodation and shared access all had hard floors. Ok, luxury vinyl tiling in the bedrooms made it feel luxurious, and I'm sure makes it easy to keep clean, but when the landing and stairs are also hard floored, it makes noise travel easily. We were woken in the early morning by people shouting, hawking and crying, and also again in the slightly less early but-still-unsociable-for-a-Sunday morning (when we wanted a lie in) by early risers heading down to breakfast. This echoeyness was in fairness our only gripe, and if you don't need or want a lie in (as we did), then the place is lovely. There is however a reason why hotels have carpets...

After looking at reviews we decided to go here for breakfast. Lovely quaint pub in a pretty village. Breakfast took quite a while, only one other couple waiting. The breakfast was good but the orange juice provided was awful! Like orange squash. Tea was lukewarm...

Good Service and the Menu offer was reasonable standard. Enjoyed the two Log Fires.....

Lovely od pub with open fires. Nice food and good service.

Beautiful pub, fantastic food excellent service by the friendly efficient staff. They also help raise funds for charities, holding regular quizzes in the barn.

Visited for a Sunday evening lunch. The food was good, but could be improved with softer yorkshire puddings and warmer vegetables. The atmosphere was good with just a little ambient music in the background.

Excellent forest pud with good local beers and food.

Always a Sunday roast favourite

Love this place always busy so pre book. Food amazing service fab. Well done guys for a great meal once again.

Food ok but would expect better for the high prices charged. Quick and helpful service.

Charming old-school pub with a big garden but rather small car park. Dog friendly, nice staff. Imagine it's a great local.

Busy pub with friendly staff. Food was nice. We had fish and chips and beef stew with dumplings. We had cheesecake as well. Dog friendly.

Excellent food and delightful staff. Made a nice change to visit somewhere so welcoming. Staff knowledgeable about the products being served. Would definitely visit again

Lovely pub in a great location. Dogs are welcome. We had a Croque Monsieur, Mackerel, vegetable lasagne, fajitas and pork. All the food was good quality and freshly prepared. Portions are on the large side. The service is welcoming and the staff where attentive. Nice...

Very pleasant pub tea in nice surroundings . They had an extensive selection of wines by the glass (although they didn’t have them all available ) and a menu that offered something for everyone. The prices may be considered a tad high but certainly weren’t...

Our first visit and we were greeted by very friendly staff. The Sunday roasts were delicious and we shall definitely be returning.

Nice pub very charming, food was good but could have been better, staff were friendly

Food was excellent. Atmosphere was very good . Staff were extremely attentive.overall a great evening out.

Lovely staff, beautiful surroundings. Dog friendly.good sized portions . Only negative more pickle than cheese in my lunchtime baguette.

Great atmosphere and food. Good trad country pub.

This pub offers really good food. We found it on line and were very pleased with the quality of the food. Really fresh ingredients are certainly used, which shows in the end result.

Friendly staff, but seems to be an issue in the kitchen as some of our food came out undercooked. The meal was replaced and a free desert was offered. We overheard other customers also mentioning cold or undercooked food. Unfortunately the staff still charged us for the desert which had to be pointed out and the bill amended. Saying that, the pub is lovely and if we were ever in the area again we would give it another chance.

Lovely place great atmosphere and the staff were great. Only down side was for the price of my roast dinner I would have expected home made stuffing not pkt also proper gravy made from stock would be nice and there wax no crackling on the...

Four of us had Sunday lunch at the Trusty last weekend. We each ordered a roast...2 Beef, 2 Turkey and the overall menu was varied. Have to say each of our meals was exceptionally good...everything was cooked to perfection and portions were completely satisfying and well priced. We've been going to this pub for years. It has a good outside garden area and inside is functional rather than being outstanding. Externally the place definitely needs a lick of paint but don't let this put you off. It's definitely worth a visit.

Nice place lovely setting in heart of New forest outside tables could do with replacing

Went in z big party and food was very mixed in quality and presentation.Staff were inexperienced but tried hard.Never felt they were on top of things and lacked a supervisory person to coordinate things.

Nice British pub, with amazing desert. One thing is there is no steak on the menu, there is steak pie and some slow cooked beef, but no steak 🥩 that is a shame. Very friendly service.

While driving through we came across this pub thought we'd give it a try as it was lunch time and so glad we did. The food was great and the service was excellent well worth the stop highly recommend

We popped in for a meal at lunch time today. We both chose the steak and ale pie! The very best pie ever. Fully filled with lovely tender steak. Not all gristle and gravy like some pies in other places. This was absolutely delicious and...

Great food and drink, great service and a lovely place to visit.

Went for Sunday roast...........Great food, welcoming staff and relaxed atmosphere. Will definitely be visiting the Trusty Servant again.

Good selection of drinks and food. Huge beer garden.

Great forest pub, lovely food menu, big selection on the special board too. Whole family were impressed with food and service - we had a young lad called Ferg who was great, got all the special requirements spot on and had a good sense of...

Visited the Trusty Servant with my girlfriend and had a wonderful evening. I’m from North Yorkshire and so don’t know the area well. However, the catering staff, specifically a young waiter called Ferg, created a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, with exceptionally attentive service throughout the...

Was recommended the Trusty by a friend, so decided to book for a Sunday lunch. Really delicious home-style food, cosy atmosphere and very reasonable prices. We were served by the lovely Ferg who was so accommodating and honestly couldn’t do enough for us - he...

This was definitely the best food we’ve eaten this week (eating out every night whilst on hols). Just great food really well cooked. The atmosphere of the pub friendly and welcoming, and so are the staff. Highly recommended.

Great venue, we stayed overnight and had a wonderful dinner. Great location and relaxing venue - we really enjoyed our stay

Last year I had Sunday lunch here with my family and it was epic. Just delicious. So I booked on Saturday evening in September and the food was absolutely dire. I ordered a Cajun chicken burger with Saracha. The (dry) chicken had no Cajun seasoning...

Food was great as was the customer service. Great effort tonight guys and it was very much appreciated. Ty 👏

Disappointing birthday meal! Table not ready at booked time, asked to wait at the bar, which had dirty glasses & cups stacked up. Our table for seven people was next to the kitchen, the kitchen door facing the restaurant is SO grubby, just give it...

Stayed nearby over the long weekend. The pub came highly recommended by our hosts so we decided to check it out. Glad to say that the recommendation was spot on! Dinner was delicious, portions were very generous and the quality was excellent. The atmosphere in...