The Wheatsheaf in Test Valley

Great food, atmosphere and service.

We recently spent an evening in the pub for a surprise dinner to celebrate an engagement. The pub provided a free bottle of bubbles on the house as part of the celebration - a lovely and unexpected surprise! The staff were extremely friendly and helpful throughout, and the food was lovely. Highly recommend this pub!

First time in this area (on holiday) and first meal out. Mine and my girlfriend’s meal came out and mine was wrong - ordered chicken and bacon pasta and a salad came out. Told them and they said they would swap it - without an apology. My girlfriend had nearly finished her meal before mine came out and I had to double check how long it would be as was worried she would be completely done. Mistakes happen yes, but it’s disappointing especially as it was our first holiday meal out. I asked if they order should be written down and read back to clarify the order and the person I asked said “usually yes” No money offered off ot the bill not even 10%. Another drink was offered after my new meal came out but appeared that this was just because I questioned how ordering was worlds/should work so that this wouldn’t happen. A free drink would have been nice while waiting for m proper order meal which took over 20 minutes. Deflating experience and although mistakes happen - more of an apology: gesture of good will should be considered

Together with my wife, daughter, and her teenage triplets arrived without booking yesterday and immediately a table was prepared. We have regularly used the Wheatsheaf but knew that it had recently changed hands. We need not have worried the food was as excellent as it has always been, particularly the steak and ale pies ! and there was plenty of variety on the menu including for the two vegetarians One of my favourite draught beers was available and again there was a good selection of drinks. The staff were all very friendly and attentive to our requirements. It all made for a very enjoyable occasion.

Place is now dead and random early closing times , rude 'staff' , customer service zero, I hope a decent buyer takes it on soon and bins the rabble ruining it , or bring back Glen.

Great food and generous portions.

Visited for a pint and plate of chips. Very nice beer garden and dog friendly, so will likely visit again soon

Often visit this pub, can not believe any of the bad reviews as never experienced this. Great staff, always met with a smile. Food always good, customer service great. I was there at 850 on the night someone said closed at 8, exaggeration and untrue!! One local wrote a bad review yet still visits so...... All I can say is well done guys, you're doing great, keep up THE GOOD WORK!!!!

Food is lovely, the staff were amazing with my disabled friend in a wheelchair making plenty of space! Quick service and brilliant prices, highly recommend

Brilliant place, lovely staff who were very friendly. Been coming here for years and by far the best it’s been. Would highly recommend for drinks and food was lovely.

5 star, great reception, good attention to detail and an overall brilliant experience. Excellent villlage pub, and lindon the bar manager is a delight to be accommodated by. Highly recommend the Wheatsheaf to anyone!

As a party of 7 we visited the Wheatsheaf today for a birthday meal 🥳 There are not enough words to express what a fabulous experience we had, from start to finish & everything in between we were blown away….. The staff were so friendly & accommodating , the food was just WOW 🤩 from a generous selection of food for all to the portion sizes, presentation & taste we thoroughly enjoyed it all 😋 😋 ending with a play in the garden for the little one we all had a great afternoon A huge thumbs up from us & we will definitely be back star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I came here with my mother and had a lovely meal. The staff were extremely friendly and delivered a high level of customer service throughout the meal. Idyllic garden with a nice welcoming atmosphere. The food was tasty and good portion sizes.

Utterly awful from start to finish, asked questions regarding the ploughman's and was given the incorrect information. So out came Stilton and Ham with a tiny white roll all for £15. Popped in to ask a simple request for another roll and was told they would sort out, the waitress returned to tell me I was going to be charged an extra £1.50 for the roll because the chef said so. I have never in my life known an establishment to be so unfriendly towards their customers. I then went back inside and requested a refund and gave them back their shop bought scotch egg and the rest of the poor excuse for a ploughman's! Awful and I would never recommend anyone to visit here under the current management. The staff are unhelpful and unfriendly, this is not the establishment it used to be. Bring back the previous management who actually knew how to look after customers. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

On a Sunday evening in the summer, 2 of Braishfield’s sports teams (who play cricket and frisbee respectively) can usually be found celebrating (or commiserating) in the garden, their games having concluded mere moments before. This has been a staple of the Sheaf for a few years now. On the 23rd June - it was closed when the teams arrived at 19:30, with no clear understanding as to why. On the 21st July, with the teams having just ordered a pint, last orders were called at 19:50, over an hour before the stated closing time. With around 40 patrons in the garden on a wonderful summer’s evening weather-wise, everyone was quite taken aback. Furthermore, one of the players was denied drinks around 20:30, and was audibly disappointed about it. It would not surprise me if both teams are looking elsewhere, which is a shame for the new owners as they are losing customers who would otherwise definitely be there after all “home” games. Atmosphere in the garden is always excellent, apart from when customers are let down

We had a really lovely evening . Lyndon and his team are doing an amazing job , food is excellent and very reasonably priced . Nice to find a somewhere so dog friendly a proper country pub .

Havent been back for ages but heard it had new owners and was doing food. Wow was it good! Staff lovely and friendly and a real asset to the pub. The real star was the food and the Wheatsheaf burger didnt disappoint BUT the Chicken and Bacon Alfredo with garlic bread just amazing! Been lucky enough to eat it many places but this one goes to number one! It was a wet Monday evening and very quiet in the pub but we will be back soon - you know what I will choose. Well done Wheatsheaf and your lovely staff!!

Lovely food, great cheerful staff, good price, well worth a visit x

Used to frequent this pub many times in the past due to its idyllic location and garden. It’s now nice to see it’s under new management and has had a ‘lick of paint’. The staff are friendly and there are a good choice of quality beers. We ordered the veggie burger and Hunters chicken which we ate in the well kept garden, all in all very nice and deserving of the 5 stars, we will bring the family back next time.

Wheatsheaf has reopened under new management and it feels like a different place. Beer is significantly cheaper and food menu looks like good value for money. Remains a lovely spot to have a drink.

We had the fishsharing plate. Mussels, goujons, whitebait, etc. It was excellent. We on Monday so no problem parking or with service 😉

The conservatory where we were seated was very noisy and echo was bad. I had to take out my hearing aids which spoled it a bit for me. Had to order at the bar only to discover they had run out of steak pies (very Poor for a Friday). At which time, while I was ordering the manager(ess) interupted to have a slight spat with mt server. Not professional at all. I ended up with a dissapointing cottage pie and a jug of what tasted like bisto. Consensus was that we would not return. Such a shame.

Delicious lunch meal and dessert. Staff friendly. Only thing which let the experience down was the long wait for our main meal. I appreciate it’s cooked to order but this was too long a wait.

Absolutely fabulous food since it’s been taken over. We have been twice in the last week as it was that good. It catered for my daughter’s gluten free diet and I have the Vegetarian Fish & Chips ( halloumi in batter). It was lovely. I couldn’t recommend it enough as the food, service and location was great.

Great food - great atmosphere and vibe. Four of us had a meal / brunch and some soft drinks. I had the Steak Ale pie - the others had light bites. The pie was full of good steak in delicious pastry- veg was fresh and tasty. So good we took the left over lite bite sandwiches home for later. Well done to all staff. Will definitely go back.

One of the best public houses IV been to lovely food great staff. Lovely garden. definitely worth a visit Yet again lovely food at the right price.5 Star

This historically has been an excellent.pub with welcoming staff, great atmosphere and good food Appreciate new ownership but they have been in situ now for a couple of months. Staff were ok but if they were as enthusiastic at providing an efficient service as they were about bitching about other customers then our experience may have been more positive. Tip to the bar staff super unprofessional to moan about your customers in front of other customers. It wasn’t particularly busy, the food order took nearly 20 minutes to place and over a further 30 mins to arrive. My sea food platter was quite greasy and oily not particularly flavoursome . My husband ordered ham egg and chips and fish and chips came out! Really simple order, by the time his meal came out I had nearly finished mine. Clearly lots of areas to continue focusing on, sadly not sure if the appetite is there to improve as their have been many negative posts and no evidence of stepping things up!

Really nice place to eat and relax, the staff are really friendly and they go out of there way to make sure you’re happy 🙂

Unfortunately and with regret, we found today that we agreed to say a goodbye to longstanding friend. For many years, we have enjoyed excellent meals, with excellent service, whilst visiting either Howard Hillier Gardens or Montifont Abbey. Since we live a considerable distance from both venues. We had not visited for some time due an illness my wife suffered. So today, we visited prior to visiting the gardens and we were taken aback by how standards had fallen with new management. In previous years, we always went midweek. So, it was a sorry state to discover that on a Saturday over the Easter weekend that the pub had about 25% of the anticipated customers I would have expected. I was doubting that we would turned away. However, on drawing into the car park. I knew this would not be the case. The food was not bad. But, nowhere near the standards we had come to expect. My double cooked belly of pork had not been properly cooked the first time! We took a grandson and discovered they were not able to provide tomatoes sauce?? The service was poor, to the point, I asked myself if they wanted return business! A sorry end to a long relationship.

Didn’t get chance to have any food as my phone call to reserve a table was treated very rudely and then the phone was put down on me! Strange behaviour. I had made sure I phoned at a quieter time and I didn’t think this was an unreasonable request. I booked somewhere else.

Hearty country pub with delicious home cooked meals. Large portions, reasonably priced and excellent service. Highly recommend

We have used this pub so many times and the food is always second to none today we had a visit really fancied a roast dinner have to say the beef was delicious but the potatoes Yorkshire pudding and veg were so bland no flavour all all watery gravy! My husband had the sausage and mash sausages were bland definitely not worth the price my son ordered chips they were dry and over cooked such a shame won’t be returning to a pub that we have always liked and recommend to people

Mediocre roast meals- vegetables were boring- no apple sauce to have with pork- desserts were lovely.

Pleasant country pub - good food and beer - dog friendly and a recommended BritStop.

Spur of the moment meal out with my wife....absolutely fantastic food and service. Reasonably well priced and varied Menu. Would both recommend it to anyone.

Excellent service. Excellent food.

Very atmospheric pub with a good fo9d menu. Lovely garden and area for children to play in. Also able to overnight in a campervan.

Lovely meal, highly recommended 👌

We chose this pub as have visited previously and enjoyed the whole experience. Today, a Thursday lunchtime, we were celebrating a birthday and had booked. It wasn’t busy but we were shown to a table so close to other diners it was uncomfortable and we asked to move. This was agreed but might have set the tone for the service that followed. Drinks order was taken with minimal politeness and no smile. The order arrived but while serving a pint, beer was spilled (it happens) on the ‘birthday girl’ and table - no apology, the waiter just walked away. We mopped up with serviettes and then waiter returned with a cloth - no apology, no smile and no conversation. Food order arrived with the same perfunctory service - it was good food. We then had drinks, desserts and coffees - they got the order wrong but it didn’t seem worth correcting them. We spent over £120 - the food was good but their customer service is appalling.

Very good pies and friendly service.

I did previously enjoy the quiz nights and other meals ive had. Always had a warm welcome from the gentleman and serving staff. Tonight we were warmly greeted by the staff, who took our food and drink orders. Our food came as the quiz started, we'd been looking forward to it all day. 3 of us ordered off the specials menu, 2 off the normal menu. All the food arrived together but as I cut into my lamb shank the meat was cold. It was taken awa, with apologies and a freshly heated meal arrived after the rest of my table had finished eating. I also had to go to the bar to ask for more cutlery and mint sauce. Not to worry I thought, I'm sure they'll make it up to me. We had a round of mochas to finish whilst doing the quiz. It was not the normal quiz master, not a problem, we came for a nice meal, a bit of banter and a catch up. However, during the quiz the land lady ( who had stood in for quiz master) came to our area of the pub, saying loudly " one table is being very loud, shut up!" She looked at our table but when I later suggested this was not the way to treat customers she replied she'd looked at all the tables. Anyhow at the age of 57 I will not be treated like this. The atmosphere in the pub could be cut with a knife for the rest of the quiz evening. When we went to pay our bill I asked about consideration for my messed up meal. The polite barman said he'd have to check with the landlady. She came over, asked if the replacement hot meal was OK, which it was but I'd received it after my friends had eaten. She said you get 20% off but as we were at quiz we all got that anyway. She asked if I was satisfied I said not really but there you are. I also said I didn't like her tone of telling customers to "shut up" twice during quiz, there are more polite ways to speak. All the murmering afterwards agreed with me. The staff were clearly embarrassed too. What a shame. I paid my bill but cannot recommend returning, I will go to places that value my custom. I work in hospitality myself and would not dream of telling a customer to "shut up!"

Food home cooked and hot. Service efficient and friendly.

My partner used to work here and has told me how badly he was treated. My experience however, as a customer, was dreadful, other than the one time I got a few drinks late in the evening on a weekday which was okay, the one time I tried to order food, was awful. Half my party when to order some lunch whilst my partner and I waiting for his mum to see what we would eat, not even t minutes after the two members of my party who ordered food had sat down with their food and my partner and I went to order food, we were told the kitchen was closed. The kitchen closes at 2pm (for lunch I believe) however the time we went up was at least 5 minutes before 2 which may not seem like much time but for half a party of customers to have been served and the other half not is very poor service. In the end, we had to make do with a few bags of crisps and some peanuts

My wife and I have a date every Friday and like the to venture out to different places.On recommendation we drove to this pub and have to say what a lovely surprise.The welcome was excellent the staff were so friendly.Once seated we were immediately served and enjoyed the drinks and excellent food.The food choices were amazing and quality superb.An establishment we will definitely be visiting again.

Got recommended this pub whilst staying at the Dog and Crook just down the road as their kitchen was closed. 10/10 for food quality quantity and service. Couldn't fault the place. Well done guys 👍

Fantastic service, delicious food, generous portions, wonderful atmosphere, would highly recommend

Nice feeling about the place food excellent service good a very pleasant experience

Excellent food and good ale just what we wanted. Comfortable pub.

Friendly staff offering a varied menu with many tempting meals. Dog friendly, adequate parking. Recommended

A pub that hasn’t thankfully been dragged into the 21st century. Well cooked food with enormous portions. Staff very attentive without being to much “in your face”. No hesitation in awarding 5 stars all round.

Shared 3 meals as we couldn’t decide. We had scampi which was crispy outside and succulent inside with home made cut chips. Ham ploughman with Stilton added as an extra which had a massive piece of Stilton and masses of crunchy fresh baguette with good ham, coleslaw, piccalilli, picked onions, apple and salad. Then also the mixed grill which was a meat lovers dream. We did also share the Camembert with garlic and Rosemary and fresh bread starter. It said for 2 but worked perfectly with three. All washed down with a good espresso and hot chocolates. Totally and happily full now!

Food served quickly and hot! Good choice on menu. Pleasant and helpful staff

Stopped for a few drink , nice place

Great place good well kept beer, good food and a fabulous garden..friendly service throughout...

I am writing this on behalf of my elderly parents, They visited The Wheatsheaf for lunch (not booked) on bank holiday Monday. They were pleased to get a table, if not a little surprised that it was not overly busy. They have been there several times before and always had a lovely meal and were greeted with cheerful friendly staff. There was some kind of reflection off of the passing traffic shinning directly into my mum's face, she asked the young lady waiting on the table if she could pull the curtain over, which she very kindly did, the "lady" behind the bar very loudly said to my mum "can't you just move" my mum has limited mobility and walks with a walking frame as you can imagine my mother a proud lady in her 80's found this very distressing. She would have left then but the food had already been paid for. With the "customer service" they had just been subjected to thought there would be very little chance of a refund. The meal was disappointing the pie non descript & not overly hot, as was the beef. What a shame this was a lovely place to visit. They will not be returning.

Beautiful pub and garden. A real pleasure to bask in the sun in such a lovely environment. Good service and good quality drinks.

The Landlady in this pub has the worst customer service skills I have ever come across. We arrived for a pre-booked lunch and as it was a lovely day we asked the established Manager if we could eat in the garden, he said yes so we found a nice table in the garden near the play area where our 2 year old grandson could run around. After I ordered and paid for the food a waiter came out and said he could not serve our food in the garden on the grass as it was too far for the staff to travel!!!! We agreed to come back inside and eat, the waiter showed us to a table and we sat down with drinks and settled out young grandson at the table. The Landlady then came over and said we would have to move again as the table was reserved, we explained we had already moved from the garden but she insisted we would have to move again and told us the staff were new (well even if your staff are new you should have trained them). At this point we said we wanted to leave the pub and asked for a refund. The Landlady then started arguing with me and literally could not stop herself. I can honestly say this lady is very difficult and rude, I believe she must be seriously harming this business.

The Landlady in this pub has the worst customer service skills I have ever come across. We arrived for a pre-booked lunch and as it was a lovely day we asked the established Manager if we could eat in the garden, he said yes so we found a nice table in the garden near the play area where our 2 year old grandson could run around. After I ordered and paid for the food a waiter came out and said he could not serve our food in the garden on the grass as it was too far for the staff to travel!!!! We agreed to come back inside and eat, the waiter showed us to a table and we sat down with drinks and settled out young grandson at the table. The Landlady then came over and said we would have to move again as the table was reserved, we explained we had already moved from the garden but she insisted we would have to move again and told us the staff were new (well even if your staff are new you should have trained them). At this point we said we wanted to leave the pub and asked for a refund. The Landlady then started arguing with me and literally could not stop herself. I can honestly say this lady is very difficult and rude, I believe she must be seriously harming this business.

Love this pub Food value excellent and great quality Staff friendly and helpful

Four of us went for lunch yesterday and all agreed the menu choices were excellent (including the vegetarian options). The staff were very helpful, attentive and polite and the atmosphere was relaxed. Just what we wanted for a Sunday on bank holiday weekend! Great food reasonably priced, will definitely be back. Highly recommend the Wheatsheaf in Braishfield.

Really good food and friendly service. Very good menu choices, particularly for vegetarians. Looking forward to going back again to try another option from the menu

We stayed overnight in our van. No food on Sunday evening but plenty of bar snacks. Lunch, the next day, was very good. The staff are very friendly. Great pub!

Pleasant surroundings and staff

We went for Sunday lunch, the food was very good, my wife had a small portion which a lot of pubs won't do. I has lasagne which was delicious. Good choice of beers, only downsize was the coffees, rather weak, too much milk and not enough coffee. Staff very helpful and friendly.

Lovely pub, very good menu. Had pie of the week, excellent. All food came out hot. Be prepared for good size desert.

Lovely country pub with huge garden. Bar has lots of wood, beams and a cosy atmosphere. Friendly staff, and a good choice of beer and lager. The food was amazing, sizeable portions of very tasty food, especially the pork belly, salmon and chicken. Will return to enjoy the garden in warmer weather.

Really disappointed with our anniversary meal - we both chose the mixed grill as hadn't had one for years, when it came out it looked good, but all the meat was really overcooked and tough, were not sure which was the lamb or steak - I guess should have realised when I asked for a medium steak and was told that everything comes out "well done"! Real shame :(

Excellent food, and service. We'll be back!!

Dog friendly pub, good Friendly service and lovely food

Friendly welcoming staff who were very attentive despite being short-staffed. Food was served quickly and still hot. There were a few gluten options but it meant my meal came with mash, not fries, and without any sauce or gravy. Despite this, we both enjoyed our meals and the relaxed atmosphere

My braising steak was a chunk of gristle and wife’s salmon was overcooked. I didn’t send it back straightaway. I should have. To top it off when I complained as it was taken away all the waitress said was “oh”. Not even an apology.

Not as good as previous visits but still nice. Visited for lunch meal with friends. Food was okay but was not as good as I recall from our previous visits. No complaints but then no great views to offer. I notice the pub owners are looking for a new publican so wonder if there have been recent changes. £16.50 for fish and chips. Well cooked chips although batter and fish was very uniformed in shape as if frozen fillets. Ham egg and chips £14.50. I would return again as this may have been a one off but as I say not as good as previous visits. Good choice of 3 real ales available including Tribute and Double Drop.

Good service, excellent food, recommend to all.

A friend had recommended we meet and have a drink at The Wheatsheaf. It was warm and welcoming. We had what seemed like home-cooked food and we all agreed it was delicious. We were were the last in the pub. Had a really nice evening and the owner and staff were very friendly. Am going to revisit and would recommend a visit.

Andy and Zack are outstanding individuals who add significant value to the ambiance of the pub and the exceptional quality of the food - not to be missed

Very warm and welcoming pub. Especially on Christmas day.

Booked for lunch x 4… warm, pleasant surrounds, good proper pub ambience, attentive staff and home cooked food… with very ample servings. What more can you ask for? Much enjoyed my lamb chops followed by apple pie and custard. Pie of the day was excellent. Recommended 👍

Excellent meal. Good friendly service. Real Ale HSB - lively pint! Will go again Update. Nice ploughman's last Saturday (3rd) but spoilt by the fact that my car had its catylitic convertor stolen between 12.55 and 1400hrs. Unfortunately no cameras outside the building to witness it

Wonderful food, excellent hosts. Beautiful building and lovely atmosphere. Highly recommend a visit .

Good food friendly staff lots of choice

Lovely garden and bar, lots of dining tables so I would think food is popular, Sadly we didn't stay to try it as originally planned, on entering I have to say this pub has the strangest atmosphere? No hello! No smile! No music, in fact it was so quiet I felt uncomfortable to hold a conversation, (a bit like a doctor's waiting room) so we finnished our drink and left. Definitely not hospitality at its best. Very disappointed.

Our friends treated us to a meal on Wednesday evening. The bill was paid but unfortunately the bill was not checked prior to paying. My wife checked the bill in the car outside the pub and saw that we had been charged for six beers but as the two men were driving only had 2 each. My wife went back into the pub to query the overcharge and was left standing at the bar for a very long time whilst the bar person disappeared into the kitchen, she was made to feel like she was lying and decided to leave. So, consequently we will not be visiting this public house again, and would advise anyone to double check their bill before paying!

Best roast you can buy! And a lovely area with beautiful garden!

Great garden, lovely bar, bit pricy tho

Always a Lovely atmosphere here. The food is excellent and a bit different to your usual pub food, love this place and the landlady and staff are always friendly and helpful.

Rubbish service. Young staff unable to meet expectations. Asked for well cooked beef but told it comes as is. Therefore chose chicken which looked awful when it arrived, the beef was acceptable. Our friends swapped meals and the chicken was requested to be changed to beef. The meal never appeared. We paid the bill, no apology, or compensation. Never again

Drinks excellent! We ordered 3 beef roasts. Two as they came, one well done only to be told that the beef was served as was. This resulted in having to change a very limited Sunday roast to chicken. The meals arrived. The beef dinners were...

Visit was ok but no food for vegans.. salad and bread it is again! Didn’t help that order was also forgotten and they came running after us as we were leaving for the £4 side salad after delivering it ten minutes after everyone else had received theirs. Need a little more education of peoples dietary needs. The receipt only showed a total sum and not the individual food amounts so no way of knowing if we paid twice either?! Hasn’t put me off going there for drinks as a lovely location.

We were on holiday in area so decided to try out this venue. Roast Beef Dinner was amazing with beef so tender. Key lime pie was so delicious. We were so impressed, we returned the following day and tried their homemade pie which didn’t disappoint....

Great pub, lovely food. Lovely setting too.

Enjoyed lunch here today. Very helpful staff and good food

Lovely setting, promp service, really good meal. Will return

Waited a good 20mins for someone to take our food order, ordered a roast beef dinner for £16 the beef was tough and you only get a little bit of veg. Not impressed at all

Good food, fine ales, relaxing space. Add it to your good pub list.

Good 1st visit ! Excellent Fish n Chips. Thanks.

Amazing food and lovely staff. There pie is amazing...

Beautiful meal Excellent service Friendly staff Recommended

Very doggie friendly, we sat in the garden on a lovely sunny afternoon, staff were very accommodating, bring fresh water to the table for our dog. We ordered coffees after our drinks which were great, they went over and above to make my husband a very tasty mocha which wasn't on the menu. We will definitely be visiting more often.

cosy friendly and good ale yet to try the food

Beautiful building full of character and totally relaxed experience. The menu and the food didn't disappoint either. Chunky chips bigger than I have seen anywhere and all the food was absolutely delicious. The staff were very polite and only too happy to help. Definitely worth a visit.