I’ve grown up with this restaurant and watched it grow into an award winning gastro pub, thanks to the wonderfully talented owners Simon (front of house) and Jason (head chef).
The Wellington Arms is a lot more special than your typical gastro pub. Lots of great little things go into making it a superb pub that I love to go to. I have visited many times before and I can see myself continuing to visit for a long while yet.
The pub is tucked away in the village of Baughurst, but this doesn’t stop people coming from far and wide for a meal there, which I suggest you must do if you haven’t been before! One thing that makes this pub so special is that there are only a handful of tables. Originally, there were only 8 tables, so you can imagine how you had to book in advance! Since then the pub has been slightly extended to allow for a few more tables and a little more space, but this has done nothing to diminish the homely country pub feeling you get when stepping inside.
The select and delicious evening menu which is chalked up on a blackboard changes daily in line with the produce Simon and Jason grow themselves. As I have my own vegetable and fruit produce and chickens at home, it makes it extra appealing to me that The Wellington Arms grows all its own fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as sourcing all meat, fish and other things as locally as possible.
Needless to say, the food is fabulous! Some of my favourites include:
- Twice baked Marksbury Cheddar soufflé on braised leeks with a little cream & parmesan
- Baked potato gnocchi panfried in butter with garlic, broad beans, peas, broccoli, thyme & parmesan
As mentioned before, their menu can change daily, so I have also enjoyed the gnocchi with butternut squash, walnuts, and many other glorious additions!
There isn’t one dish that I’ve tried that I can possibly fault, but in particular I love their lamb and cod dishes, as well as their (when I’m feeling very hungry) whole roast partridge with parsnip crisps, the picture for which (below) I have taken from the website:
Puddings, as you can imagine, are also all freshly home made, including sticky toffee pudding, chocolate pudding, marmalade sponge and a selection of delicious sorbets and ice creams, served with a little home made shortbread – naughty but oh so nice! I recently went here for dinner for my birthday, and was thoughtfully presented with a candle in my sponge, so I made my parents sing happy birthday!:
As well as eating a beautiful dinner here, Simon’s mum makes knitted tea cosies for tea pots and eggs, and you can buy jam, eggs and other wonderful produce or home made items. However I think I need to invest in a smaller teacup to go with my teapot:
Lastly, if travelling from afar or just fancy a night away at a lovely hideaway like this, complete with glorious food, then there are three unique and stunning rooms available to stay in, you can have a look at these rooms here: http://www.thewellingtonarms.com/accommodation/
I hope you find the time to visit The Wellington Arms, as it really is a country pub gem you can’t miss out on! I’ll end with a couple more pictures from their website which demonstrate the points I have made throughout this review, hope to maybe see you there one day soon! 🙂
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