I've been here at least three times; my first visit was in 2004 during a
holiday in the New Forest with Chrissie. We were both charmed by the
place which seems to appear magically out of nowhere, surrounded by
trees and moorland. Inside it was lively and buzzing with a friendly and
welcoming atmosphere. I had two of the pub's home brewed beers, Tom's
Tipple and Forest Gold. I recall that the pub had recently been bought
by Wadworth, and there was some speculation that the Red Shoot beers
were being brewed at the Wadworth plant in Wiltshire. I checked, and the
pub's brewery was still in place, and still brewing. I described the
beers as "sweaty", "damp", and "oaky", yet found them quite delightful.
In
2015 my sister's family were planning a birthday party, and I suggested
this pub, because our memories of it were so positive. My suggestion
was turned down because of recent reviews in Trip Advisor. Chrissie and
I, and one of my daughters, came back to check it out. Most of the charm
had gone from the place. It looked worn out, uncared for, and
disorganised. It appeared to have been refurbished in a rather
ubiquitous "family pub" style, and gave the feel of a cheap holiday camp
pub. The pub were aware of the issues, and said they were addressing
them.
Yesterday after a delightful walk deer spotting in
Bolderwood, we thought we'd check it out again to see if the management
had sorted out their problems. Well, it's not as scruffy and
disorganised as it was in 2015, but it still lacks charm and character.
The walls have been painted magnolia, which simply gives an empty,
characterless feel to the place. The food is in the style of a Greene
King Hungry Horse, lots of stodge, with no finesse. We weren't looking
for much, just a warm me up veggie snack after the walk. We selected the
pizza, onion rings, and cheesy chips. None of it was tasty as such,
merely edible. It was served on wooden platters with no plates. On
asking for plates we given three cold side plates. Not a big issue, but
reflective of the lack of care, attention, and knowledge of the staff. I
don't serve hot food onto cold plates at home, so I don't expect it
when paying professionals to serve me food. On this visit and in 2015 I
found the beers to be "musty", "crude", and "unattractive". I suspect
the beers have been pretty much the same on each visit, but my enjoyment
of them was a reflection of my enjoyment of the pub experience in
general, so in 2004 I was feeling quite merry, and saw the beer flaws in
a positive light!
The building was originally a farm, and at
various times has been a village shop, a post office, a private club,
and a petrol station, before becoming a pub around 1964. Brewing in the
pub started in 1998 by the then owner Paul Adams. Wadworth had acquired
the pub by 2004, and brewing was being done by the neighbouring campsite
owner John Sherwood by 2009.
It's an interesting pub with great
potential, but with so many great pubs in the New Forest I'm not in a
rush to try this one again until reviews start to become consistently
more positive.
Date: Jan 2017 Score: 5
