The best restaurants serving French food in New Forest South East

Great food both quality and selection. Cheese board to die for (sooo reasonably priced at less than the supplement other restaurants add for cheese on a set menu). Amazing wine list - reasonably priced, and with some gems not even listed. So many dishes to try when we get the chance. My only criticism would be the lack of soft furnishings - it was really full when we were there, and quite difficult to hear with nothing to deaden the sound. Great value for money.

Lovely but slightly pricey. Sadly, closing due to owner/chefs health.

Not the prettiest from the outside, but come inside and you’ll discover a great choice of food and huge portions. Friendly staff, and it’s also dog friendly.

Lovely place with great staff, food was good and very reasonably priced, decor was great fun!!

We ate here twice this week whilst we were on holiday in the local area over half term. Very much enjoyed. Service was a little slow on the first occasion (I had to go and find someone to take the order) but on the second occasion that we visited - excellent - a very attentive male waiter who even ran out of the building to return our daughter’s coat which she had forgotten - thank you so much. Food was excellent - good portion sizes (although adult French toast could have been a touch larger for £9.50) but overall, delicious, well priced food and a very good breakfast selection. We will certainly return.

As I live locally, I really wanted Stanwells to work. The decor and setting are beautiful and the garden is lovely in summer. Unfortunately every single one of the 15+ visits I have made since it was refurbished have been less than satisfactory. I have experienced poor service, with drinks orders taking over 30 minutes to be taken and then incorrect or missing drinks served. An exorbitant £40 service charge on a bill where the food cost £40, the rest was a percentage of the drinks bill - this is not appropriate when only table service is available. Waiting staff rarely know the specials or details of the dishes on offer. There has often been a long wait for food. The bar manager is over friendly bordering on inappropriate as he sidles his way into private conversations. Final straw was this morning when I arranged to meet a friend for breakfast. The Orangery was empty so we asked for a table. The waitress went to check with a manager then returned to say they could not fit us in as they were fully booked for breakfast. This is appalling management, fully booked but the entire Orangery and Bar were empty. Sadly I feel I have given more than enough opportunities for Stanwells to impress (or even just not irritate!) and I will not be returning.