The Fighting Cocks Pub

The Three Lions

➤ 0.5m SE Of Fordingbridge, Off A338, SP6 2HF, New Forest, United Kingdom

Piatti • Full • Lunch • Drinks • British

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"Our visit was completely ruined by the hotel manager and I ended up crying in the car park when we left! The worst experience I’ve had at a hotel or restaurant ever. When we checked in the receptionist told us the breakfast time and there was no mention of the cost. We thought breakfast was included, my brother made the booking so I didn’t have the record. At breakfast we were told it wasn’t included (fair enough if we hadn’t paid for it but I said I thought it was included and offered to go and get my phone to check. the lady said she’d call the manager to check. We sat down and the lady told us breakfast was £10 but that she was waiting to hear back from the manager about whether it was included and she gave us some menus. We were going to pay anyway even if it wasn’t included but just wanted to check. The menu was a set menu with a main brek item, tea/coffee, fruit juice and 1 side. We all ordered the items included. When it came to paying I said to the lady that I’d pop back down and pay as I didn’t want to cause my Dad any stress. When I came back to pay, the lady said we hadn’t paid for the rooms! I showed her the payment on my phone and that issue was sorted but it was strange and a bit strange. She then said the breakfast was £52!!! Then the manager came in. I explained she said it was £10 each which would have been a total of £30. The manager then started getting angry saying our rooms were really good value and why did I ever think breakfast was included which was strange as I already understood we needed to pay for breakfast by this point. We then got into a back and forth argument about whether the lady had given us the menu with prices. The manager then showed us the menu with prices which we hadn’t seen started saying we must have seen the menu with prices as my Dad had ordered a grapefruit juice (it’s just his favourite juice! I then turned and asked the lady if she had told us the breakfast was £10, she said no. I asked her if she had given us the menu with prices and she said yes. I asked her twice and she lied repeatedly. It was a very strange situation. I actually started to feel a bit sorry for her as I think she must have been scared of loosing her job if she told the truth as the manager was very aggressive. He then said things like ‘You’re really enjoying this aren’t you!’ I was not enjoying it at all!! He then started going on about the cost of the Frobisher juice and how could the breakfast have been £10 talking again about how good value our rooms where and starting to rant, he was getting quite angry. But this wasn’t a question of value, it was a question of whether we knew the cost of the breakfast we didn’t. In the end I paid the £52 as my Dad was waiting and I went into the car park and burst into tears! My Dad popped back to tell them that we didn’t have the menu with prices and that we had been told it was £10. So overall, a horrible experience!! of course it wasn’t about the cost in the end, it was about not knowing the cost then being asked to pay a different price to what we’d been told I was a liar."

La Lambretta

➤ 1 Shaftesbury Street, SP6 1JF, New Forest, United Kingdom

Piatti • Pizza • Pasta • Italian • European

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"We booked a table here because of the very high Trip Advisor rating. Very well deserved! I ordered a lamb chop from the specials menu and the server told me it would come medium rare (which is what I like . When I tried it, I found it was rather more rare than I would like, which I mentioned to the server when he asked how the food was. He then asked if I would like him to cook it some more, which I said would be appreciated. He took my plate away and I assumed he would just pan fry the chop for a few extra minutes. To my great surprise, he returned about 10mins later with a completely new plate of food meat, potatoes and tomato all freshly cooked. Given that meat isn't cheap(! , I was really touched by this level of service. Our waitress, Martha, was very friendly and helpfully gave us some instructions for a safer walk home to our hotel up the road. The restaurant itself, though small in terms of the number of tables, is exceptionally clean and well presented and felt very spacious. I was also really pleased that they offer some wines in a 500ml carafe, which is perfect for two people. I cannot rate this restaurant highly enough. The team should be very proud of the food quality and level of service. :"

The George

➤ 14 Bridge Street, New Forest, United Kingdom

Piatti • Pub • Steak • British • Gastropub

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"Lovely view of the river and we had a very warm welcome on arrival, however we won 't be returning as found our lunch bill of £53 not matching the food. I ordered the Superfood salad but was so disappointed. Now I 'm a lover of carrots but the amount in this dish was ridiculous (I regret not taking a photo), had a few sprouts of broccoli, some beetroot and cous cous and that was it, for £17!! My husband had the ceasor salad, that was only £17 but at least that included chicken and bacon. I order fries as I was still hungry, £3.50 for a very small pot of chips seemed a lot. We also had 1 drink which then brought the bill to £53 which in my opinion is far too expense. The Superfood salad is not worth more than £10/£12. When the lady came to clear our table and asked was everything ok I pointed to my plate of carrots and said not enough food other than carrots , her response ..... we like to make sure you get plenty of veg . The place was very busy and we had a lovely table but your prices are not for us."

The Ship Inn

➤ 68 High Street, New Forest, United Kingdom, SP6 1AX

Piatti • Pub • Steak • British • Vegetarian

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"We stayed in room 1 whilst walking the Avon Valley Way and had a warm, friendly welcome from every single member of staff. Our evening meal was excellent I had the crab cakes starter with a dish of cooked veg, and my friend chose the baked haddock dish. Lots to choose from on the menu. We shared a piece of trillionaire’s shortbread with tiramisu ice cream. In the morning, a lovely lady served us a delicious breakfast. We were really well looked after, but our room was depressing and very tired. The sink had a really bad crack/smash in it, the water pressure on the shower was poor and the decor awful. So sadly I can’t give The Ship the 5 stars it could easily earn if the rooms were freshened up and better maintained."

The Raj Of India

➤ 75 Shaftesbury Street, SP6 1JG, New Forest, United Kingdom

Piatti • Balti • Vegan • Indian • Vegetarian

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"Decided we’d grab a takeaway whilst staying nearby for a family holiday. My family (kids 2, 9 12 are pretty standard with Indian food and tend to order similar most places. I called to order so hubby could collect; friendly staff who were really helpful over the phone (some choices come rice bread and I didn’t want to order too much and have waste! ; We ordered x 3 starters and x3 curries (one came with rice, one with naan an extra rice and chapatis which is pretty standard for us and it came in around the £50 mark; a little more than our Yorkshire equivalent but still not bad. We were really pleased with our food; samosas aren’t the large homemade style we get at our local but we’re tasty (x2 small per portion ; chicken park or as we’re lovely and delicious! Chick Tikka Marsala was good not bright pink! and had delicate creamy sauce which is can be hard to find. Chick tikka balti was great; a kick without too hot and lots of usually onions a spellers as well as lots of large pieces of chicken and the korma was creamy, tasty and went down well with our korma king! Pilau rice was lovely and delicate flavours (again no bright coloured dyes and breads were lovely and tasty. Would dispute those saying it’s bland; i thought it was really tasty and the menu really comprehensive. Would definitely use again as takeaway or possibly eat in if returning got the area in future."