Spent a lovely few hours here the other lunchtime sat out in the beautiful garden.My sister & i chose from the senior menu, 2 courses for £9.95. Both had whitebait which came with nice salad garnish & some nice fresh bread & butter. Nicely cooked & presented. Sue chose the Shepherds pie & i the ham, egg chips & peas. Nice big chunky chips & not those awful skinny fries!!. Very nice meal which we thoroughly enjoyed. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff who were lovely. Nice little touch was the little pot of sweets that came with the hot drinks. Been here before & will certainly be back & would recommend to anyone.
Looking for a dog friendly pub we found this online and thought we'd give it a try - and we weren't disappointed. This was quite possibly the best pub meal we've had - excellent food and warm and welcoming staff and atmosphere.
Excellent food, warm friendly welcome, nice country pub atmosphere, good menu selection, plenty of daily specials to choose from, reasonably priced, highly recommend.
Go there quite a bit
Lovely pub
Nice atmosphere
Friendly staff
Good food
Good value food
Wide choice of regular menu and specials
First time ever for Sunday lunch and that too good
All round �
The staff and owner are very friendly and welcoming , the lager was ice cold and the food was absolutely lovely , would highly recommend anyone eating and drinking at this establishment !
Visiting from Inverness and recommended by friends that eat here on a regular basis, food wonderful and fabulous atmosphere, accommodated my 2 friends and I even though we had no booking and they were very busy, staff and owner exceptionally friendly ... when back in the area I will be back 😀😀
This was our second visit to the bat and Ball, and the second time is knocked my socks off, unbelievable value for money, fantastic food and wonderful service! A great pub that leaves you with a full belly,money in your wallet and no bitter taste in your mouth
I go everywhere in a wheelchair, I found it easy to enter the Bat and Ball. The staff are all 5 star. One moved two stools from under a table near the door to make room for my wheelchair, this type of service continued the whole of our visit. They were very busy but our meals were served very quickly. The food was excellent and very good value. A very enjoyable visit and next time we are in Downton we will be sure to call again. Our sincere thanks to all the staff.
Called in after going to Braemore House. Very friendly atmosphere, staff were very helpful. The food was piping hot and really nicely presented. Would definitely travel from Southbourne on a Sunday to have more food there. One of the best pub dinners I have had for a long time. Highly recommended.
Carole Louise Brindley
+5
After being recommended by a friend we decided to pop in for an early dinner , lovely friendly staff, beautiful garden where we sat and ate our dinner, we bother decided on garlic king prawns for a starter then lamb shank with mash and veg for main meal, both were absolutely lovely popping hot and very tasty will definitely return to taste more of their fab food
The best place to eat and have a pint and the staff make you feel very welcome
Burger was nice but nothing overly special. Probably wouldn't order it again. The beef was quite dense and dry and the pretzel bun was also quite dry.
The french fries and onion rings were lovely though. We had passion fruit pavlova for dessert and it was gorgeous. Nice and fresh and full of flavour. Would definitely order again.
Service was absolutely fantastic, all members of staff were really great. Would like to come again and try other bits from the menu.
Riverscapes Riverscapes
+5
A great family day out to the New Forest, having the most delicious meal at the "Bat and Ball" where they grow their own veggies via hydroponics. Incredible set up by a fellow Zimbo. Very helpful and welcoming staff including a super chef. Got a few gem squash seedlings too. Thanks very much... we will 100% recommend - and are sure to be back 👌👌👌
I like this place. I have only been twice in the last couple of years. The food has been good and it is an nice old pub. Pleasant staff. I would like to go back more, especially in the summer, it looks like a great outside space. I had veg Thai curry which was really well balanced, full of veg and bice and warming. My daughter had the lamb, mint and pea pie, the meat was soon soft, but overall it was too salty. Will be back for more experiences!!
Came here twice during a short break whilst staying at a nearby Airbnb. Lovely food, very cosy pub with the nights drawing in, and friendly owners. Steaks, mac'n'cheese especially recommended.
A friendly atmosphere great surroundings with very polite and helpful staff great food. I had the burger and chips my wife had the fish cake and chips. Burger has to be the best I have tasted my wife said the fish cakes were amazing. Would definitely eat here again.
Lovely countryside setting. Stunning looking building. The food was absolutely delicious. The pub is run by a South African and the menu includes a few SA dishes. We've just returned to the UK after spending 40 years in Cape Town so it was nice to chat about SA. Highly recommended.
A wonderful dinner experience at bat & ball. Lovely pub near fordingbridge. Apparently they got to the finalist for GREAT PUB 2022 competition.
We came from London to visit new forest for this weekend. The food served was so good portion and very tasty. You can tell from their potato chips that everything is made from fresh. The waiters were very friendly and happy to give recommendations for tourist activities. The decor is cosy, pretty and respectful of the history.
Will definitely come back when we visit this area again.
The food here is lovely! Best nachos we've had in a while. Proper homemade food! Would highly recommend and will definitely be returning in the near future.
Good atmosphere and a large, impressive pub garden setup. Service more than up to standard but let down slightly by a flat (and vaguely vinegary) pint of local ale. Expected to be busier on a Friday night on the main drag to Salisbury, so a blessing and a curse.
Fries arrived quickly and were tasty.
We will be back!
Food here is absolutely delicious, beautifully plated and all I can say is wow! The dessert platter was amazing. Best food we've had for a long time. Pub itself is beautiful and nice seating areas. 100% recommend
This was our second visit & we were not disappointed. Staff are so welcoming, friendly & helpful. Food was delicious & great portion size. We will be back.
Nice garden. Very friendly and lovely staff, couldn't be more pleasant. Food arrived very quickly.
Very average food quality though. We had beef burgers, bum and chips were great but the meat quality was really average
Nice food and friendly stuff, our first visit but will come back.
We visited twice during our holiday,, food was amazing, and very filling and freshly prepared,, i.e, not microwaved.. The atmosphere was amazing, staff were lovely, would have eaten here everyday if it was a bit closer to where we stayed.
It was our second visit to this lovely pub on the way back from seaside.
Service & food top class 👌 The best thing is their garden facilities which makes an experience eating with kids hassle free. Great garden & complimentary games kept our little ones occupied for 3h ! Bliss !
We will definitely be back again & recommending to our Friends & Family. Thank you Bat & Ball Team x
We had Sunday lunch, roast beef with all the trimmings. It was very nice, although there was a lot of fat vains on the meat that needed to be removed. Staff are very friendly and helpful. Prices are standard for the area.
Delicious 3 course meal - we haven’t enjoyed a meal-out like that in a very long time! 5/5
Atmosphere was calm and relaxing at 8pm perfect time for us to dine out!
staff were really friendly - Ash was particularly welcoming, friendly and he couldn’t do enough! We will definitely go back very soon!!
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