Star Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐
My parents and I wanted a quaint pub for a quiet bite to eat. We went Fox & Hounds, Lyndhurst on a Sunday and I liked how this pub did Sunday lunch, but also a range of other dishes, so we had lots of other choices. We choose this pub because of the wide menu, but also because it had good reviews via Trip Advisor.
When we came up to Fox & Hounds, Lyndhurst’s front entrance, we immediately stopped. The front entrance had a step into the pub. What a start. After speaking to a member of staff who was just stood inside, he guided us around to the side gate, which gave us flat access into the restaurant.
Once inside, I found it had a very rustic, but homely feel to the restaurant. The tables and chairs were evenly spaced out from each other, enough so people wouldn’t feel isolated and part of the atmosphere, but still felt that they weren’t bumping into anyone and could enjoy time for who they are with. I struggled to move between the tables, but thanks to my good manoeuvring skills and helpful members of staff, we were able to get to our table and positioned easily.
When we sat down, I looked around and saw a disabled toilet. I didn’t get a look inside as we didn’t need to use it. But I saw it was radar key operated. This made smile and relieved that the Fox and Hounds, Lyndhurst disability awareness were there, if only marginally.
The members of staff were very kind in moving a chair aside so I could get into the table. Levelling up to it, I was able to tilt my wheelchair down and get under the table, without banging my knees on the inside of the table. I was very grateful for this and it meant when we did have food and drink, I would be able to get close and underneath the table to eat independently. We didn’t have to use the bar to place our orders as staff members came to our table. But from what I could see, the bar was standard height. I wouldn’t have been able to place my order independently.
Glancing at the menu, I reminded myself that I didn’t have to have a Sunday lunch if I didn’t want one. To drink, I had a homemade lemonade to drink and fish and chips for a bite to eat.
The service was very prompt and attentive to us, asking us whether we needed anything else. I found the atmosphere peaceful and calm. The restaurant wasn’t to busy at the time we were there.
I could hear the light buzz of conversations from the tables around us, but light enough that I didn’t feel like I wasn’t overhearing or intruding on their private conversation. We could also chat amongst ourselves in the calm, cool atmosphere.
When the food and drink did arrive, I found the lemonade had all the flavour of an original lemonade but had another tang of flavour which identified the homemade part to it. When our food got put in front of us, I saw that my portion of fish and chips was very big and it looked very fresh.
I saw the light steam coming out of it. It looked very appetising. Cutting into the batter and taking a bite of the fish, it tasted light and fluffy. The fish was not heavy, which was good, I didn’t want to get full too quickly, I really wanted to enjoy it. All of it was full of flavour and had the right level of seasoning. It was delicious. The batter that surrounded the fish was thin and crispy, it wasn’t soggy at all and neither was the chips that accompanied the fish. There was a generous helping of tartare sauce, which made the dish for me.
While I was tucking to my lovely fish and chips, mom chose a Sunday lunch, with beef as the meat. Unfortunately, due to the lateness of the hour, the restaurant was slowly running low on Sunday lunch and the accompaniments to the meat were decreasing, including Yorkshire puddings. She was disappointed by this, but the restaurant supplemented the things that were missing with extras of the things that they did still have. Mom was satisfied. Her verdict of the dish was positive and to mirror her delights was an empty plate. Dad decided to order a goats cheese and sweet potato pie. Not my obvious choice. But he really enjoyed, giving it with a positive verdict.
After our dinner, the waitress handed us a dessert menu. We weren’t sure if we could fit one in. But as the waitress says we all have one stomach for our starters and main courses and another stomach. Laughing, we accepted the dessert menus off. Looking through it, mom chose to have a sticky toffee pudding and I had two scoops of ice-cream. From what she said, the sticky toffee pudding was light and tasty. It wasn’t too sickly compared to others she’s had. It was the the rigt complaint of flavours, without overdoing it. I chose to have two scoops of ice cream one scoop of vanilla ice cream and one scoop of chocolate ice cream. These scoops were not like others I’ve tasted they tasted more rich in flavour and it was it was a generous helping of both scoops, so I could enjoy the taste of it. I swear I can taste a little bit of brownie with the chocolate ice cream. Yum.
I would definitely recommend Fox & Hounds, Lyndhurst to anyone passing through Lyndhurst.
The Life of Sophie 