Located right on the edge of the magnificent New Forest, the charming coastal town of Barton-on-Sea is a real treasure. It attracts visitors all year round to enjoy its stunning coastline, with views of the surrounding Hampshire countryside and out towards the Isle of Wight, and the famous 60-mile Solent Way that starts right here. Fossil-hunters flock to this area, steeped in so much history, and families love the safe seaside swimming in its shallower waters.
Unsurprising then that this rich and beautiful part of the world is also home to some of the very best restaurants in the UK, so if you’re looking for a wine-and-dine experience that lives up to all that Barton-on-Sea and the New Forest have to offer, you are most certainly in for a treat.
Freshly caught seafood has to be the order of the day for anyone visiting Barton-on-Sea. Each of our restaurants are proud to serve locally sourced, seasonal and sustainable produce.
Dog-friendly restaurants
The Drift
This is certainly true at The Drift, the relaxed and stylish country pub near Cadnam. If you’ve been blown about on Barton beach, or been exploring the forest woodland in your wellies, you’ll feel right at home here in this child-friendly restaurant that welcomes every member of the family, including those of the canine kind.
Its wide-ranging menu offers something to please everyone – think pub classics, but taken up a notch or three. The beer-battered fresh fish and chips with crushed peas, caramelised lemon and tartar sauce, The Drift Burger with all the trimmings, and the generous sharing boards are real favourites, as are the vegetarian and vegan options, and the inspiring plates from their Salad Patch menu.
Leave room for dessert though, because as well as a mouth-watering array of exquisite confections, the menu also features local Purbeck ice cream and the finest fromage the New Forest has to offer on the cheese board.
Then there’s the majestic and elegant Bartley Lodge, the historic country house where you’re invited to sit back, relax and enjoy their best-of-British cuisine. The menu at Bartley Lodge offers traditional classic dishes with contemporary, inspired touches, like the pan-fried sea bass with crab risotto and lemon aioli, plus a wealth of thoughtful vegetarian and vegan options available too. Whether you go for a sumptuous candlelit supper in the dining room, dinner in the drawing room by the fire, or make the most of the terrace on a warm afternoon (where happy dogs love to laze in the sun), you’ll be pleased you made the short trip to Bartley, surely one of the very best restaurants near Barton-on-Sea.
Vegan diners are also superbly well-catered for at nearby Burley Manor, where the vegan afternoon tea is exceptional, and serves to highlight the many ways in which the talented kitchen brigade in each of the New Forest Collection restaurants is dedicated to providing the ultimate experience for every diner who chooses to visit. It’s no wonder that so many people return to Burley again and again, thrilled with the impeccable service, the outstanding surroundings, and every delicious plate of food.
Talking of which, here, as always, provenance is placed front and centre. You can be assured that the pork – for example in the slow-cooked pork belly with lovage and black garlic – comes from Burley village pannage pigs, that any venison on the menu is local, and that the hand-dived scallops are always sustainably and specifically sourced from the Scottish Isles.
Wine enthusiasts will also appreciate the extensive collection at Burley, carefully curated to delight even the most discerning connoisseur!
Each New Forest Collection restaurant cellar is well-stocked with the very best from local brewers and distillers, with a wide range of non-alcoholic options too, and so also high up there as one of the best places to eat and drink near Barton-on-Sea is Forest Lodge in Lyndhurst.
This elegant townhouse hotel proudly hosts 1820, the award-winning grill and brasserie where you can savour the local steak (hand-cut and aged to perfection) from their Grill Classics menu, the freshly caught fish, or a light bite from their creative selection of small plates. Still got room? You might follow up with apple tarte tatin with toffee ice cream, or any other of their scrumptious desserts.
Feel at home within the laid-back, stylish interior spaces, or dine outside on the gorgeous terrace when it’s warm; either way, you’ll be so glad you came.
1820 inside Forest Lodge is well-worth the 25-minute drive from Barton-on-Sea along the A35. Burley Manor is only 15 minutes away on the same road, Bartley Lodge just a few minutes more, and finally, Barton-on-Sea to The Drift is a pleasant 30-minute trip.
Barton-on-Sea is easily accessible from Bournemouth, Southampton and London, with New Milton train station also only a mile away. After a day spent making the most of everything that this lovely seaside location has to offer, it only sharpens that appetite to know that an exceptional meal is never very far away.
