Wykeham Arms  

This year, the Saint George, a 16th-c annexe directly across the street (and overlooking Winchester College Chapel) has been added to this tremendously popular and very well run civilised place. There are 6 bedrooms, a sitting room with open fire, a post office/general stores, and a Burgundian wine store; you can enjoy the good breakfasts either in your room or here at the Wykeham Arms. There's always a warm welcome and a feeling that they are glad you came, and a series of busy and stylish rooms radiating from the central bar that are furnished with 19th-century oak desks retired from nearby Winchester College (the inkwells imaginatively filled with fresh flowers), a redundant pew from the same source, kitchen chairs and candlelit deal tables and big windows with swagged paisley curtains; all sorts of interesting collections are dotted around. A snug room at the back, known as the Watchmakers, is decorated with a set of Ronald Searle 'Winespeak' prints, a second one is panelled, and all of them have a log fire; several areas are no-smoking. Particularly good food includes good lunchtime sandwiches such as blue cheese, grape and walnut or rare roast beef with horseradish cream, toasties, delicious soups like chunky parsnip and bacon, coarse country pork pate with cumberland sauce, continental mixed cheese platter with home-made pickle, ciabatta and multigrain bread, daily specials like caramelised onion, red pepper and aubergine tart tain, smoked haddock and chorizo dauphinoise or warm barbecue chicken salad, steak and kidney pie, beef in red wine casserole, and puddings such as white chocolate and kumquat bavarois or banana, rum and raisin bread and butter pudding, with evening dishes like steaks, noisettes of monkfish wrapped in bacon and filo pastry, served on a dijon mustard sauce, and roast rack of Hampshire Down lamb with an aubergine, onion and sesame tart tatin with rosemary glaze; courteous service. There's an excellent seasonally-changing list of wines including around 20 by the glass and quite a few half-bottles, and helpful tasting notes. Also well kept Bass and Eldridge Pope Bitter, Gales, Hardy and Royal Oak on handpump, and a number of cognacs and liqueurs. There are tables on a covered back terrace, with more on a small but sheltered lawn. The lovely bedrooms (from £72-£82) are thoughtfully equipped, and residents have the use of a sauna. No children.

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Also try:

The Black Boy in Winchester where you can sample ales from local micro-breweries such as Triple-FFF, Hampshire, Itchen Valley and Cheriton.
The Black Boy is the best pub in Winchester. It is independently owned,sells a good range of beers, has idiosyncratic decorations, plenty of room including a garden area with large, social tables and warmed with patio heaters. Another good local pub [and not far from the Fulflood] is the St James Tavern in Romsey Road. This is a Wadsworth pub which also sells Butcombe bitter. Good basic pub food is usually available. 

 

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