It’ s a surprisingly short drive from London, but a long way from being a standard pub with grub. And it now has smart new rooms for those who want to make a night of it.
Whizzing down the country lanes of North Hampshire is a joy, we Londoners rarely get to use fourth gear, and we reached The Hoddington Arms in Upton Grey easily. Set back slightly from a narrow lane, it looks the part as soon as you see it. A lovely old Grade II listed pub that’s been there for ages.
It has just reopened after a refurb but nothing has been done to change the character, only enhance it. Original wooden beams, shifting height ceilings, a barn that’s now a beautiful private dining room, lots of nooks and crannies and a welcoming feel.
It is more restaurant than pub now, but there is a standard pub bar and people are always welcome to just drink. Outside there’s a pretty garden with tables and chairs.
We ate in one of the warren of rooms inside, very cosy, although I did find the presence of a window giving me a great view of the kitchen ceiling with its bright fluorescent tubes and assorted plugs and fittings, a bit jarring,
I stared at the menu instead. Starters were interesting, very pubby whilst offering something different too. We nibbled on some excellent Street Bakeshop bread with a generous helping of butter, plus extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic dip. Perello Gordal olives were pre-stoned, which was handy, and had been bathed in quite a fiery chili oil. I liked the breads so much I committed the cardinal sin – I filled up.
My starter was ‘hearty’, a slow cooked crispy pork fritter with an apple and pickled shallot salad, apple puree and crackling. The meat was tender, a little bit underseasoned and was cut nicely by the sweet apple elements and vinegared shallots. The delicious crackling shaped into a disc was just the right crispness to shatter tastily without endangering my increasingly fragile teeth. Don’t skimp on the brushing kids.
Local lad Tunworth Cheese got a starring role in these starters, a Twice Baked Tunworth Cheese Souffle partnered with a pickled shallot and parmesan salad and a cheese sauce, because one cheese is obviously never enough. You could call Tunworth a Camembert, if the name wasn’t protected, and whilst it bakes like one I think it’s better than its French cousin with a deeper more earthy flavour. The shallot stopped it being over the top creamy.
I suppose all pub and hotel restaurants have to offer cod & chips, steaks and burgers and The Hoddington Arms is no exception. It’s a failsafe option but as long as it’s done very well, why not? Here the steaks come from Stokes Marsh Farm, as do the Short Ribs for the burger. I see some of the burgers go past and they look great.
For mains I want Slow Cooked English Shoulder of Lamb, because you don’t see lamb often enough. Here a big hunk of lamb has been cooked so it shreds to the touch and comes with buttered fondant potato (a bit dry), carrots pureed and sliced, roasted broccoli and a lamb and rosemary jus. I really liked the roasted broccoli, which I always find the best way to get flavour out of it. Boiled or steamed it’s usually rather bland. Very good lamb, but in its shredded texture very similar in style to my starter, which was my fault for not thinking things through.
As an aside, I also like that most of the wines here come by bottle, glass or carafe. The last is ideal for a couple and at £21 for Carignan IGP Côtes de Thau, Baron de Badassière, it’s well priced, too.
P can’t resist the lure of cod, but wants it unbattered, so Crab and Parmesan Crusted Cornish Cod Loin Lemon, shallot, caper and parsley brown butter, crushed new potatoes and tender stem broccoli is perfect. A beautiful piece of fish done rather classically with its tangy caper-forward brown butter, and quality potatoes. Coating it with parmesan and crab mixes up sweet and umami to very good effect.
I did hint earlier that we overdid the bread and this, plus generous portions, meant neither of us managed to clear our plates. I know in some cultures leaving a little bit is considered good manners, but I always feel bad for chefs seeing plates come back uncleared. So if he/she reads this, sorry. The food was great, but I was too full.
Which means sharing a posset, Lemon Posset, with raspberry sorbet and jelly and shortbread crumble to be precise. One jar, two spoons. After the lamb I needed something to refresh the palate, even the best lamb leaves you feeling a little bit greasy, and this did the job perfectly.
Easy to see why The Hoddington Arms scored 9/10 for food in The Times’ ’24 best new hotels in the UK’. It must be one of the best places to eat in the area when visiting, and for locals a reliable treat with its elevated food, cheerful staff and pints of beer. And the rooms round everything off nicely..
www.hoddingtonarms.co.uk
Bidden Rd
Upton Grey
Basingstoke
RG25 2RL
Dinner, bed and breakfast stays are available from £190 per room including £30 pp dinner credit