Summary of the recent lunches.
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Tuesday 19th of February 2019 16 hungry Diners sat down to Lunch at the snakecatcher Pub/Restaurant in Brokenhurst. The ambience was very nice with lots of Bric-a-Brac on the walls etc, The food was well cocked and Delicious, I think everyone enjoyed them self's as far as I can make out.
The place was fairly busy and we all contributed to the noise as we sat down to eat and drink and have some fun and chat among our self's. It was a nice environment and would have no hesitation in recommending this place to eat at if you are in Brokenhurst, lunch times or evenings.
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Thursday 24th of January 2019, should go down in the history book of the Lyndhurst & district, U3A.
The joint venture with the days out group was very successful 37 diners turned up at La Pergola, the Italian Restaurant in Lyndhurst, for Lunch. what can I say that I have not said already about the food,service,ETC, You can read my report a little further down the page. I think that everyone enjoyed the meal? it was nice to see some old faces as well as some new ones and all the regular members of the Lunch Club. It was hard to distinguish who were members of which group as so many belonged to both, but who cares, we were only there for the food & possibly the drink and the atmosphere, and it was all very good indeed. Thanks & gratitude must go to Rosemary Timms for doing all the organising ETC.
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18 of us turned up at the Rockingham arms, including two new faces Viv, and Joyce, on Tuesday the 20/11/2018.
The food was excellent well cooked and delicious, the service was 2nd to none, and they made us very welcome with our own named (U3A) lunch time menus.
The shop was a welcome change after lunch was over. I do believe that some of the diners took advantage of what was on offer at the shop.
All in all a very good place to spend an afternoon, eating,drinking,shopping, and of course chatting.
I would highly recommend the Rockingham arms for any special occasion,just remember to book it well in advance and confirm it at a later date, as they get very busy.
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15 of us turned up at the Surfing Moo Moo restaurant in Lyndhurst, on the 16/10/2018 the food was good well cocked and very tasty and fresh, the staff were friendly and helpful, lets hope they make a success of the place.
It was a surf and turf Restaurant, although the name was a little different than the usual, it was a very pleasant place to eat at.
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15 persons turned up at the La Chateau, Hotel and Bistro, on Tuesday 18/09/2018. The waiting time was horrendous and they had a cheek to call it service the waitress had know idea of what was expected of her (WHAT SERVICE I May ask) Some of the party left before the dessert course because of the time factor and refused to pay the service charge. The food when it arrived was good and well cooked. the decor was very smart and the seating was comfortable, we were the only people in the restaurant, God knows what it would have been like if it was full.I would not personally recommend this place.
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14 of us met at the newly refurbished Gamekeeper at Woodside on the 14/08/2018
The food was excellent well prepared and cooked and very tasty.
As you can imagine with the new setup as a gastorpub the decor was very modern and spares.
But what a difference from the old place, that was very dark and ,old fashioned and uninviting.
All in all a good choice for lunch, many thanks to Mairi for suggesting the Gamekeeper.
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There were ten of us meet at the Sir Walter Tyrrell, on the 17/07/2018,
The service was a bit slow, the staff could do with a little more training in the art of waiting on tables etc.
The food was excellent, well cooked and very tasty, although the Menu was small with only three specials on the blackboard.
The decor was very delightful with lots of things hanging from the ceiling, old farming tools, cart harness, saddles, pots and jugs etc. the table linen was great and made the place look very elegant.
Things can only get better once the new management get their feet under the table, and get things sorted out,
All in all not a bad venue.
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Nine of us sat down to another excellent meal at the Burley Inn, on Tuesday 19/06/2018,
The Menu was had enough choices to make it difficult to choose and the desserts were also very good, the service was also very good, and friendly, nothing was to much trouble or them.
You had to be careful going in and out of the car park has next door's chickens roamed free and have no road sense.
It was a very good choice for our luncheon, and for that special occasion that you might have coming up.
(Remember to book).
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Seven of us met up at the White Hart, on Tuesday 15/5/2018. We started off by having a drink outside in the sunshine, before we went in side to eat lunch, the food was very good and tasty the service was very Attentive and we were left alone so we could chat among our self's with no pressure to leave.
All in all it was a very good choice and well worth the visit.
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Twelve of us hungry diners sat down at the La Pergola in Lyndhurst, the food and service was out of this world it was so good.
Although the restaurant was noisy with conversations "which us lot contributed too" it was a great atmosphere and busy with the staff running around making sure all the customers were well looked after and indeed they were. The dessert were fabulous (the Italians like their cream in very large portions) but they were very tasty indeed. The cost was very reasonable at £16.99 for three courses and a large choice from the lunch time menu including (Fish and Pasta dishes) it proved to be very popular place to eat. I think that it will go on the list as a revisit at some time in the future.
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Twelve of us sat down to eat at the Waterloo Arms, and all of us enjoyed our meal, It was very well cooked and tasty. Some of us had a desert as per usual, It reminded me of school dinners, with the choice off the menu blackboard, spotted dick, jam sponge pudding, etc served with custard, cream, or ice cream, the choice was yours. Plus the usual sorbets, ice creams and cheese cakes. and so forth. It was a very nice place indeed. And can highly recommend it for any special occasion that you may have coming up. the decor was not over the top it was an oldie world type of place but very well maintained by the owners, and the setting out of the dining area is very well planned. All in all a great success as far as a venue goes.
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Twelve of us regular diners, Meet up at the Coach and Horse including one of the new members to our U3A Lyndhurst, Betty Tennant.
Although we waited what seemed a long time for our food (not so long rely) this was done by the staff deliberately so we all got our food together, the staff were friendly and very polite, the food was very good and well cooked, Margaret, and myself, had a dessert that was to die for, (Eton mess). The place has had new owners since last April and are trying to get the restaurant back on track, with the quality of the food it should not take them long before they succeed, On the downside the decor was a bit lacking but it was adequate, They can only do so much at any one time, Lets hope they succeed in there venture, with word of mouth it should not prove to difficult. All in all a very good venue.
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Eighteen of us turned up to eat at the French restaurant LeBlaireau in Brokenhurst. (Careys Manor hotel)
The food was excellent, well cooked and very tasty, All of us were highly delighted with the quality of the food that was all freshly cooked, and the desserts were out of this world, for those who had one,
The service was very friendly, the decor was different but very pleasing. all in all a very good choice of venue. Many thanks go to Juliet for nominating the LeBlaireau restaurant for our Lunch Club Venue.
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NINE OF US TURNED UP AT THE NEW ITALIAN RESTAURANT, ENZEE'S, IN LYNDHURST.
ALL WERE DELIGHTED WITH THE SERVICE THAT WAS FRIENDLY, HELPFUL, AND ATTENTIVE.
THE FOOD WAS GOOD AND THE PRICES WERE REASONABLE AND THE DESERTS WERE EXCELLENT,(FOR THOSE THAT HAD THEM).
COULD GET A LITTLE NOISY AT BUSY TIMES, OWING TO THE LACK OF SOFT FURNISHINGS,
ALL IN ALL A VERY GOOD VENUE.
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Five lunch club diners turned up at the Plough Inn,all agreed that the food was great and the service was excellent and very efficient, nothing was to much trouble for them, The dining room was cosy but you can eat in the bar if you like,
The age of the pub dates back to around 1630, when at that time it was a farm, It is decorated with lots of old farming tools hanging on the walls and other photos. It's an ideal place for a family get together as children are welcome in the dining room, and well controlled dogs are allowed in the bar and garden.
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Nine Lunch Club members turned up to try the new Tex-Mex restaurant in Lyndhurst (the Del-Rio), the service was friendly enough But it was very slow, being as we were the only diners in the restaurant at the time. One of our group asked the waiter for a no spice dish but when it arrived it contained a lot of hot spices, when this was pointed out to the waiter it was changed with the usual apologises etc. All-in-all, the food was enjoyable and the desserts were very tasty for those of us who had room for them or just to make pigs of our self's. The Restaurant was nicely decorated, and it was a new venture for the proprietor, it was worth a try as the food was well cooked and the presentation was excellent. Another enjoyable meal with jolly good company as per usual.
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Four Of us sat down to Lunch at the New Forest Inn, after having a drink at the bar first and admiring the decor, the place it self is steeped in history, The land was apparently claimed from the King by squatters in the 1700s and was the site of a caravan trader, the caravan now forms part of the lounge bar. The only downside was that the cous cous that one of us ordered came up cold, It was sent back but still came back cold, the restaurant manager did allow a 50 percent reduction on the price of the meal for the unlucky person that ordered that particular dish, the rest of us were more than happy with what we ordered.
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It was nice to see all of 17 diners, turn up at the Trusty Servant, Pub/restaurant.
The Pub was bright, Airy, and well maintained, with lots of interesting decoration on the walls, the company was good and so was the food and the service was very attentive.
The manager was recognised from the Del-Rio restaurant In Lyndhurst, that we eat at some time ago, apparently it's owned by the same company that run The New Forest Inn,at Emery Down, and The Royal Oak, at Beaulieu hill top, as well as the Mortimer Arms, at Ower, (promotion is a good thing).
On the downside, as I had to ask for more spaces for us all, the tables were extended and ended up near to the kitchen door that is used by the serving staff, (no problems was caused by being so close to the door).
All in all you could not want for a better place to eat. My thanks go to Mary for suggesting the Trusty Servant, for our luncheon this time.
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Nine diners made it to the Drift Inn, for lunch one person by the name of Geoff cycled to the Drift Inn from Winsor, Hampshire, (not Berkshire). The place was nicely decorated and the food was good, One complaint, was that the peas were like bullets and the price for fish & chips was a bit steep.
The service could not be faulted, and as far as I know the rest of the food was most enjoyable (well mine was). I have been in the drift Inn, on a number of occasions for Coffee with the walking section of the Lyndhurst U3A, and this gave me the idea to make it a Lunch venue.
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Six regular diners met at the Green Dragon In Brook.
The food was excellent, well cooked and very tasty I think that all who had desserts were more than satisfied with there choices I believe the sticky toffee puddings went down a treat, the service was second to none.
The place had been refurbished since I last eat in there a few years ago, but it still retained its caricature.
we were put into what is called the snug, owing to the fact that I had book for the possibility of ten of us would turn up,but three people phoned to say they could not make it owing to ill health or a doctors appointment, Never mind we will hope to see them at a later venue,(all fighting fit).
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Nine diners met at the Royal Oak in Baeulieu.
The service was very slow, but they were accommodating and friendly, the ambience was very nice, with old pictures of the forest and the surrounding area, with an eclectic mix of furniture. Some of our diners, were a little disappointed with their choice of food (main course) but the desserts made up for it, all in all not a bad place but it could do with more staff.
As it's owned by the same company that owns the Trusty Servant,in Minstead, (we eat there some time ago) the Royal Oak could do with a bit more supervision.
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17 persons including two guest ate Christmas lunch at the Cloud Hotel, on 12/12/17,
The food was excellent well cooked and very tasty, all three courses were delicious and coffee was served afterwards.
The service was second to none very attentive and the staff could not have been more helpful and friendlier if they tried.
The table setting was very impressive and was typically Christmassy with crackers etc, the name places was a brilliant idea (this was not just my opinion but everybody that ate there was impressed)
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