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Award-Winning Food

Eateries with recent accolades

The Chestnut Horse at Easton - Good Pub Guide Newcomer of the Year for 2003 and food award-winner in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 guides. Set in the beautiful village of Easton, three and a half miles from Winchester, this Elizabethan timber-framed listed building offers superb fresh food cooked to a very high standard.

The Fox at Bramdean - A relative newcomer to the pages of the Good Pub Guide, The Fox is well located for walks, and its excellent menu - cooked by the landlord - includes several tasty fish dishes.

The Plough at Sparsholt - Recently awarded the prestigious title of Hampshire Dining Pub of the Year by the Good Pub Guide for the third year running, this charming village pub just outside of Winchester dishes up great pub fare from its daily-changing blackboard specials.

The Running Horse at Littleton - This sleek and chic gastropub has earned itself a place in the Michelin pub guide for the quality of its carefully prepared dishes cooked from the finest local ingredients.

Other Winchester venues for fabulous fare

The Chesil Rectory - Underneath St Giles' Hill, the excellent Chesil Rectory is Winchester's oldest secular building, dating from 1450, and one of its finest eateries.

The Wykeham Arms - Plucked from obscurity during the 1980s and built up into one of the most successful and acclaimed pubs in the country by the late Winchester businessman Graeme Jameson. Advance booking is advised if you want to sample its multi-award-winning menu, but succulent sausages made from local beef and Horndean Special Bitter are always available at the bar.

Cathedral Café - Situated in the walled garden opposite the west window of Winchester Cathedral, the café's meals are made from local ingredients. Good for simple but tasty lunches, including its Hampshire Trencher open sandwiches.

Hotel du Vin & Bistro (the original) - Relaxed, charming and unpretentious are the words that could describe the Winchester branch of this boutique chain, housed in the fine architecture of one of the city's most important Georgian buildings, dating back to 1715. Visit for the wine and the award-winning and immensely popular bistro offering superb fresh food cooked in a simple style.

Loch Fyne Restaurant and Oyster Bar - Combining a taste of Scotland with local seafood. In 1998, Loch Fyne Restaurants Ltd was founded to develop a group of seafood restaurants throughout the UK, with food sourced from the ideal seafood breeding ground and pure fertile waters of Scotland's longest loch. The restaurants offer the same core menu of shellfish and smoked fish from Loch Fyne along with a wide variety of fresh fish from around the coast. Winchester's Loch Fyne is to be found in the city's former gaol house.

Lainston House Hotel - The country house hotel's restaurant has two AA rosettes for its cuisine and is currently working towards its third. The chef, Andrew MacKenzie, is passionate about sourcing the very best local produce, offering a fresh, lively style of cuisine with a modern English personality. Both residents and non-residents can eat at Lainston House Hotel's restaurant.