Good evening all,
When I shared my round up of our weekend in The New Forest, I mentioned that I felt like this place deserved its own post, so here it is….
Firstly, if you haven’t heard of The Pig Hotels, put them on your radar immediately! There are 8 in total peppered across the UK, and whether you want a city break or to soak up some coastal charm, these stunning hotels are perfectly situated in some of the most idyllic parts of the UK. Although the hotels themselves are beautiful, perhaps their ‘true’ selling point for me is the food (good job this post is all about it then!). Their commitment to home-grown and local, seasonal produce is apparent from their on site allotments, and anything they can’t grow or rear themselves is sourced from the local area – making the foundation of their 25 mile menu.
ANYWAY, on the final night of our trip, we managed to get a last minute reservation at The Pig Hotel, Brockenhurst in the heart of the New Forest. They couldn’t seat us until 9pm (told you they’re popular!), but that was fine by me as the grounds of the venue are so charming to explore.
We pulled up and decided to head straight to the ‘Kitchen Garden’. It actually reminded me a bit of the movie The Secret Garden, as it’s a quaint walled area with a cute little door to enter through, greenhouse and even a little potting shed where you can enjoy spa treatments! From edible flowers to delicious looking vegetables, my stomach was already rumbling at the thought of eating some of the fresh produce later…
We then headed inside to the bar for a drink while we waited for our table in the conservatory garden. The bar has a hearty, traditional feel and was a lovely place to wait out the final half hour before it was time for dinner. I had a refreshing mocktail while I flicked through the menu!
We were then called through to our table in the conservatory garden. It is such a light and airy place to sit in, and really adds to the experience as you are surrounded by fresh herbs and plants. There was even some Bramley Hand Sanitiser on the table which smelt lovely – Covid safe and all!
Above image credit: The Pig Hotel
The sourdough was delicious with just fresh butter, oil and a bit sprinkle of salt. Why is bread, oil and salt SO GOOD DAMN IT?!
The menu changes semi regularly based on what is being grown in the kitchen garden, but for starters Matt had a green bean and feta salad and I had poached beetroot which was sooo delicious.
For the mains, I had gnocci and Matt had a truffle mushroom risotto. Finally The Pig surprised us by bringing out some tasty mini desserts including homemade chocolates, in the shape of pigs ofcourse!
All in all, delicious food in a beautiful setting…the meal was on the pricier side but not crazy expensive, and I do think you are paying for a whole experience. The service was good and the staff were down to earth and friendly (which is refreshing as a lot of popular places I think can give off the vibe that you are lucky to be dining there… you know?).
I’d absolutely love to return here in the near future, and possibly stay in the hotel too as there’s lots more of The New Forest I would like to explore.
Have you been to any of The Pig Hotels?
