Hare and Hounds Newbury

My son and his fiance travelled over from France for one day. As they hadn't been in the UK for many years, I wanted to meet them at a traditional 'pub' which served excellent Sunday lunches. We travelled down from South Wales. A school friend living in Newbury recommended this 'pub'. We were received so warmly as had my son who arrived 3/4 hr before we did. The lunch was all and more that I expected from the recommendation The food was fabulous, the service outstanding and nothing was too much trouble. The journey , from the initial phone call through to the booking stage and right through to us leaving the building, was just excellent. The staff are clearly an asset, so friendly and helpful. We had three beef lunches and one fish and chips. This will not be our last visit.................

Gosh, what a treat, after a very long and busy week I was so glad I made the decision to stop here. From the very first moment the staff were just fantastic, attentive, professional and obviously enjoying being there. The rooms are excellent with many lovely features, spacious, clean and relaxing! Food was I thought exceptionally good as was the service. A really credit to hospitality if everyone could replicate this place and the team. Thank you for a really pleasant stay, my long journey back to the South West was made easier.

Myself and my family were booked into a local hotel for a family funeral. Having travelled for over four hours we were looking forward to a nice dinner and to rest ready for the next day. However even though arrangements had already been arranged. We were told that they were fully booked. Instead after a short bit of research we discovered the “Hare and Hounds”. A reservation was made, and we headed over. My first impression of the location was great, superb exterior and even better interior. We were seated quickly and the staff gave us a good amount of time to decide drinks but also came round before we had to ask. A couple minutes later another member of staff came to ask us if we were ready to order. Our drinks came swiftly and food arrived shortly after. We’d been warned that they were a Chef down, but In my opinion this didn’t impact the service time. The food was stunning, one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. And knocking spots off a meal at a Michelin starred restaurant I had eaten at recently. Our (very much empty) plates were collected promptly. We ordered desserts (and a cheese board for me) Dessert arrived quickly and was once again delicious. My mother remarked that it was the best dessert she had eaten in a very long time. My cheeseboard was perfect, a great finish to a wonderful meal. Compliments to the chef! But… The best thing by far. The staff. As someone with a background in tourism/hospitality, I know that good staff are priceless. And the two we met this evening are no exception. Max was an absolute delight, knowledgeable and friendly, interacting with customers with ease and showing a true love for his work. Tequila showed great talent and was great to meet, also interacting with customers well and creating a great a**osphere. Thank you both for making tonight special, this trip is a sad time for us, but you two have helped give us a positive memory.

We had a dinner reservation for four people at Hare & hounds on the 11th March 2024. The waiter sat us next to a large group, who were loud and very drunk. We asked to move to another table as we could not even hear each other speak. Following the move, we had to ask for drinks on 3 occasions, a total of 45 minutes later the warm rose wine arrived. This was sent back, and a replacement was served 15 minutes later, equally as warm so we ordered some ice. We were now 1 hour at the restaurant, before our starters arrived! We ordered the bang bang cauliflower, which was a cold mush, that had no flavour at all. The onion soup was lukewarm and gloopy and the crispy duck, which was far from crispy and very little on the plate. We had orders monkfish thermidor, which they had ran out of. The waiter came around, took the full plates away and didn’t even ask if there was an issue with the food. We placed an order for our main courses, however each time a replacement dish was ordered, the waiter kept coming back to say that they had run out of the dishes. We had ordered 2 x monkfish thermidor; we were then advised this was sold out. We placed an order for the pie and the chicken breast, then again, the waiter arrived and informed us the dishes were not available. At this point the waiter then came over and advised that two beef dishes that were ordered were not available. We asked what was available as it was getting ridiculous. From the 9 dishes we ended up ordering, all of them were unavailable. After having a conversation with the supervisor as the manager was not on that night, it transpired that both of the large table bookings had not preordered their food, so the kitchen was running out of food! The whole experience was dire, and the food was poor to say the least. The service was appalling. We decided to leave without having dinner, which on a Monday night (21:30) there was no other options for places to eat. We asked for the manager to call us the following day and needless to say they didn’t bother. I called on no less than 4 other occasions and left messages for a manager to call me to discuss this, however they chose not to respond, hence this review. The service is appalling, the food (what we managed to sample) was poor quality and no better than a local high street chain, and the management desperately need training.

Had a fabulous weekend here with the family. The rooms are cosy, modern, attractive and well furnished with very comfortable beds. The complementary sloe gin liquor was much appreciated. The food was high end with some great choices - same for the wines and beers. And the staff were both lovely and efficient. can'y recommend highly enough.

We did dinner and overnight stay for my partner’s birthday and we had a wonderful time! The team here cannot do enough for you or make you feel more welcome. Our room was fantastic and so comfortable and stylish! The coffee machine, fresh milk and welcome Sloe Gin were a nice touch. The in room toiletries and pillow spray were of the highest quality and again a very welcome touch. Our dinner was fantastic as was the wine. Great ambience and I cannot wait to make the most of the outdoor space in the summer. We had a fabulous breakfast the next day and left knowing we will definitely be back!

Today, we returned to this venue a few weeks after not having the greatest experience, though to be honest the general manager faced up to my critiques last time!!! This time, my partner and two dear friends met for a lunch and I have to say the difference between a few weeks ago and today were great!! The visit started well when the manager heard me speaking to our group and said that he recognised me, which always goes down well 😊 We ordered, starters, mains and sweets and everything was wonderful, even though they were extremely busy on a bank holiday Monday, the staff were attentive and the manager visited our table several times to ensure that everything was ok!! From the cauliflower stater, to the pork roasts and the homemade desserts, everything was delicious, I have viewed adverse comments on this app previously, though today I can confirm with pleasure that our experience was great!! I will be returning in a couple of weeks for another celebration and I am sure that everything will be as good as today I will keep you posted!!!!

We have stayed at the H & H several times and it just gets better and better. Food & drink is excellent, rooms beautifully appointed and always a lovely warm and inviting a**osphere. Rajesh & his team are simply the best!

We arrived late to meet friends for lunch due to extremely difficult traffic conditions. The manageress was extremely accomodating and couldn't have tried any harder to make us feel welcome. The food was very good, wholesome and tasty. All in all, we had excellent friendly service, good food and decent drinks. Thank you.