The Shoe Inn - Test Valley

I stayed at this establishment on my way to the Southampton Cruise Terminal. I received a very warm welcome from a highly organized woman who took the time to explain the amenities of the pub and the room to me. The service provided by the same woman was excellent. I couldn't have asked for a more friendly, welcoming, comfortable, and clean place to stay. The food was exceptional, with well above average quality and presentation.

This pub is absolutely delightful. The food was exceptional, the landlady was extremely kind and friendly. We made a reservation for a table in the bar to watch the England rugby game. We had dinner, which was fantastic and at a very reasonable price. They are dog-friendly, which is important to us. We will definitely be coming back soon and would highly recommend it to others.

Booked for one night so that we could drive down from Bedfordshire in the afternoon for a visit to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu the following day. We arrived slightly later than planned (half an hour or so but no bother. Our rooms were ready, clean and tidy, fresh and modern. We then went for a meal in the pub. A mainly Italian themed menu but some other dishes too. I opted for the Fish and Chips which was excellent. Lovely flaky fresh fish in a crispy beer-batter, chips were (I expect triple-fried as they were particularly crunchy, just how I like them. Served with a pea and mint puree which was nice enough but (for me there was a bit too much of that, but that is a very minor quibble. My son had a pork dish (Harissa pork? which he enjoyed. Prices good on the rooms and food, and included breakfast which was the usual English breakfast fare of a full cooked breakfast and/or cereals, juices etc and coffee/tea. Service was always excellent and attentive. Yes, it is on a main road, but we knew that when we booked, and in fact it was like a selling point as we were amused with the way the front door rattled against the frame each time a big vehicle went past. Also we enjoyed spotting the various classic cars which went past occasionally, and a number of motorbikes. I expect this is due to it's proximity to the Motor Museum and the fact that there had been an event on there during the day. (For constructive criticism (if pushed to find anything to criticise we found that just particularly in the main front bar area itself, it would benefit from a refurbish/redecoration, and the tables are a bit past their best, being a bit rickety/wobbly with slightly sticky surfaces, which I assume is a by-product of whichever cleaning product is used, as everything was clean and tidy. However, that being said, it really is the most minor of things which would be easily sorted. Thank you for having us!

We’ve just returned from a 2 night stay at the Shoe Inn and we had a lovely time. Ideal location for a couple of nights in the new forest and good value too as the stay included breakfast. The landlady was very friendly and helpful as was the barman in the evening. We had our evening meals at the pub, they were very tasty from local produce and reasonably priced too. We had a back room and was not disturbed by the road at all.

I made a reservation for Sunday lunch at this restaurant and was not let down. The food was outstanding in terms of both taste and portion size, using high-quality ingredients. We will certainly be returning for another meal in the future.