The Hare and Hounds, Sway

The Hare and Hounds is one of those rare English pubs: the ones that serve food all day rather than between restrictive hours, strictly enforced. This is a good thing, as I rarely eat lunch at "lunchtime" on weekends.

I have visited the Hare and Hounds on a number of occassions, now. Its food is great, the service is pleasant and jovial, and there are plenty of tables. If you amble in on a busy day, without booking, you will nevertheless find a table in the spacious beer garden, where dogs and children bound about.


The menu is mostly standard (but good!) pub fare, with decent vegetarian choices and a varied specials list, where they usually have very good fish. I have a wee obsession with chips in England, and tend to order whatever meal will best get me a serve of chips. This means I often end up with the fish and chips, or the burger and chips. I also have a weakness for pies, and they often have a special 'home made pie of the day'. My most recent visit, I curiously ordered Moroccan lamb with rice, bypassing pie, and chips as a side. My co-diners ordered the panache of fish (with chips!) and the cheesy fish pie.

My meal was quite nice - rice well done, lamb tender, but as I was eating it, I was wondering why I did not order something that gave me chips, particularly as I was craving a pub meal. I dipped into my co-diner's fish pie, which was great, but left my other co-diner's chips alone, as she was equally, if not more, enamoured of them than me.

We will, undoubtedly, visit again and take our visitors there too.

*****
Hare & Hounds
Durnstown
Sway
Hampshire
SO41 6AL

Get Directions

This address seems rather imprecise to me, so here is a google.maps link.

Tel: 01590 682404

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Montagu Arms Hotel

We have taken up cycling, and the New Forest is a wonderful place to cycle in: mostly flat, with some hills to keep the cycle interesting, small roads and lots of cycling paths with no cars at all. Cycling has enabled us to not only travel further, but also enables eating to my greedy belly's delight.

Last weekend, we cycled from Brockenhurst train station to Beaulieu, a cute little town with abbey and motor museum, which clearly derives from the French for 'Beautiful Place' but is pronounced Bewley, with no French accenting, and is definitely not pronounced Bo-lee-ew (one gets corrected vociferously if one tries). Bypassing all the tourist attractions, we headed straight for the Montagu Arms (or more affectionately, The Monty, if you're a local) as it was lunch time and we have a knack of arriving at pubs minutes after they stop serving.

At the door, we found a sign directing us either to the Bistro or the Bar. We were dressed in cycling gear and hiking boots, had a wee bit of mud on the bottom of our trousers, and were perhaps a bit bedraggled from the ride. Nevertheless, I walked into the bistro and asked to see a menu, saying I wasn't sure whether we belonged in the bar or bistro. The staff were very helpful, giving me both menus and making us feel welcome, irrespective of our attire.

The bistro menu looked fantastic, so we found a seat (not very difficult, as the entire place was empty!) beside a window. Sadly, the window looks out onto the carpark. The inside of the bistro, however, was lovely: still with its Christmas decorations, and with dark wooden floors. Service was friendly, and not at all stuffy, even though the decor made us concerned it would be.

We decided to eat extravagantly, so my fellow diner and cyclist ordered crayfish and parsley risotto, for starters, and sea bass for mains. I had wanted the same things, but knew that I could try his, so ordered the soup of the day (cream of butternut squash) and Weiner schnitzel for main.

My partner's meals were excellent. The crayfish and parsley risotto was lovely, sweet and tangy, with the rice creamily perfect. His sea bass was also great: nicely cooked with the meat soft, but firm. My soup was also lovely. But the schnitzel was a bit of a disappointment: it was perfectly edible, but just a bit bland. Our accompanying vegetables were perfectly done; my brussel sprouts, in particular, were the best I had eaten out in a long time: not overcooked, al dente and wonderfully peppery.

I highly recommend the Montagu Arms - whether your cycling, walking or visiting the motor museum (we didn't!).


*****

The Montagu Arms Hotel

Beaulieu

New Forest

Hampshire

SO42 7ZL



Tel: 01590 612324

http://www.montaguarmshotel.co.uk/home.asp

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Banana Wharf

I ate here speedily prior to a movie: it is conveninently close to the excellent Harbour Lights Picture House.

I find it a real pity that what little waterfront Southampton has, that is not already covered by dockyards, is effectively just a mooring bay for a whole lot of boats. So the billed 'waterfront' is just the lots of mast poles sticking up in the air.

In any event, Banana Wharf is a perfectly competent bar / pub / restaurant. The menu is varied and interesting. I had the Thai green chicken curry with basmati rice and my companion had the eastern spiced lamb with cous cous. Service was friendly and speedy - a bonus if you have a movie deadline to make.

*****
Banana Wharf

Ocean Village
Southampton
SO14 3JF

023 8033 8866

http://www.bananawharf.co.uk/

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Coco Rio

We went to Coco Rio on a gamble. Having walked past it once - it is in a back block behind the main stretch of shops on Bedford place, and in what seems to be a carpark - and noted its "African/Latino" tag, we thought it was a restaurant worth trying. And it certainly is.

Going on nothing but the location, I did lots of googling to try to find out the name of the restaurant (I did not note it down when we walked past). I thought I had a great plan by using google maps. Alas, very few restaurants cropped up on google maps, even though I was well aware the area had a glut of them. Eventually, I found it - I think by just going to a directory website and using "CTRL-FIND" and the street name.

My fellow diners were my partner and some friends visiting the UK. My partner and I emailed each other, coming to the conclusion that the prices were somewhat steep and that we would therefore bully our guests into letting us pay. My partner would do the paying, and I would do the bullying.

When I rang to book, I got a confused garble. I was a little worried when all I had given to book was my name and phone number. The person who answered the phone hung up before I could give further details. Not in a rude way, just in a distracted way. Half an hour later, another woman called me to apologise and ask for time and number of people in the group. She explained that they had just returned from holiday, hence the fluster.

When we arrived, the restaurant was very quiet - but the decor and lighting were lovely, and our hostess most welcoming and attentive. She seemed to be the owner of the restaurant, and probably the second woman that I spoke to, rather than the first.

The menu is an eclectic mix of influences: Mediterranean, African, east Asian. I'm not sure where the Latino came in, but then I am not overly familiar with what constitutes 'Latino'.

For starters, we all shared some grilled haloumi on a spicy pineapple salsa, which reminded me greatly of a favourite Vietnamese dish, char-grilled calamari, baked mushrooms and cayenne dusted calamari. I would have liked the grilled haloumi to myself - but we had decided to share. Both calamari dishes were done magnificently.

My partner had the gumbo, and I had the jerk baked red snapper. One of our co-diners also had the jerk baked red snapper, and the other had lamb chermoulla. I had some of my partner's gumbo and the conclusion was that my snapper was the better choice.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their mains, although the resounding verdict was that we should have ordered more starters and not bothered with mains. Not that the mains were not good - they were very good - but that by eating starters, I can eat so much more delicious food!

At some point - perhaps during our starter - live guitar music started up. The owners are also a little band, playing flamenco and latino guitar tunes.

Coco Rio was a wonderful find: I am pleased that there are little places like, owned by dynamic and creative people. I hope it thrives - I'll do my best to assist by eating there again and widely recommending it!

*****
Coco Rio Restaurant
18a Upper Banister Street
Southampton
SO15 2EF
Tel: 023 80227700

http://www.cocorio.co.uk/

Mister So's

This is a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. We had a house guest from the US of A, who was very clearly a more organised traveller than me. He had researched the areas he could possibly visit and even tended to remember details. Amazing.

In any event, late on a Friday evening and after a few drinks in a very nice pub (but which did not have an exciting dinner menu), we found ourselves in Winchester looking for a place to eat. Our house guest suggested Mister So's. It had a table spare and its kitchen was still open at 2130, so we sat down.

Mister So's is quite small. And very pink. The staff were pleasantly aggressive, but extremely competent. We ordered seafood lettuce wraps for our entree and a smattering of dishes for our mains: steamed sea bass with ginger and spring onions, lo-han mixed vegetables and deep-fried spicy tofu.

The seafood lettuce wrap was delicious. Our house guest had to leave the table to make a business call back home and we were left with his portion of seafood wrap goodness. We only just managed not to scoff ALL of it down before he got back to have some. The mains were excellent, although a little on the small side; we were nevertheless quite replete at the end of our meal.

I accompanied my meal with jasmine tea, which was very tasty and topped up whenever I asked for it to be. My co-diners had Tiger beers with great glee.

All in all, the meal was great and well-priced. Definitely worth a visit.

*****
Mister So's Chinese Restaurant

3 Jewry St
Winchester
SO23 8RZ

Ph. 01962 861234

Chan Cham

This is an excellent sandwich shop. I am prepared to announce that it is The Best Sandwich Shop in South-East England. Even though I have not eaten at that many, I doubt that any can top it. I will, of course, eat my words if I am wrong.

I invariably have the hommous and grilled vegetables on ciabatta. One day I will branch out, but I eat here so rarely that I just order my favourite. The staff are lovely and funky, and they make your sandwich on the spot - so it can be a little slow if they're busy, but you don't begrudge this once you take that first bite. They also have a great selection of drinks: I was wildly excited to see Snapple, for example, but they also stock local beverages (which are much tastier than Snapple but I don't have any fond childhood memories of beverages local to SE England).

The cafe / eat-in part also seems quite pleasant; unfortunately I only get to have take-out sandwiches because I have to go back to work. One day I will go to Chan Cham on a Saturday and take a leisurely lunch there.

*****

http://www.chancham.com/index.htm

chancham
The Old Forge
8 Merchants Place
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 1DT

Phone: 0118 958 5887

Namaste Kerala, Southampton

This restaurant is also South Indian - it is run by the brother of the chef at Kairala. We came with high hopes, and were not disappointed.

The restaurant itself could be easy to miss, if you weren't actively looking. It is wedged between a KFC and an STA travel, both of which have extensive marketing 'presence'. Namaste has a white and blue sign, above a doorway, and that is all.

Up the stairs and into the restaurant itself, is a different matter. My eyes were first drawn to the sofa and coffee table just in front of a rather well-stocked bar, serving Cobra and Kingfisher beer on tap.

We had the mixed vegetarian Kerala platter for entree: the potato and chickpea ball was delicious; the samosa only okay (I did not like the deep-fried pastry - although it was cooked very well); the pakora quite tasty but a little burnt. There was also a delicious spinach bonbon thing - spinach wrapped in pastry and deep-fried (of course): the spinach was great, but I'm not a fan of deep-fried pastry.

For mains, we had bengan baigan - eggplant curry - and meenporichathu - whole spiced fish, baked and accompanied by a red curry sauce. The bengan baigan was wonderful, but - oh! - the baked fist was magnificent. Its flesh crumbled away and was nicely flavoured with the baked on spices, and the accompanying red curry sauce complemented the spice flavours of the fish finely. There wasn't quite enough of the red curry sauve for me - but I did lather it on somewhat!

The rest of the menu was extensive: I was particularly impressed by the number of vegetable / vegetarian dishes.

Another place we can revisit in Southampton!

*****
Namaste Kerala

http://www.namaste-kerala.co.uk/

4a Civic Centre Road
Southampton
Hampshire
SO14 7FJ

Phone: 023 80 22 4422