December 2023 by woodrk
Things are looking up at the Montague Arms. This charming New Forest boutique Hotel in the beautiful village of Beaulieu had a tough time during Covid and has taken a long time to recover, despite being taken over by Carey?s Manor Hotel in nearby Brockenhurst. Recently, the Sous Chef from Carey?s manor has been elevated to become the Head Chef at the Montague Arms and he is bringing a new approach to the cuisine in the Terrace restaurant. His delicious British cuisine using fresh local ingredients is working well and is more appropriate for a new forest hostelry than the experimental and unusual dishes offered by his predecessor. There is still a way to go before the Terrace Restaurant rivals the bigger New Forest market leaders but, in my view, it would be wrong to try to emulate them and spoil the charm of this smaller country house hotel. Despite the many improvements made to dining at the Montague Arms, unfortunately, it?s no longer possible to choose and order during apéritifs by the log fire in the lounge and there are no canapes offered. However, Paul, the barman of 25 years is still as attentive as ever and the new seating arrangement allows more drinkers to enjoy the fireside cheer. The food in the terrace restaurant was improved and made good use of fresh local ingredients. Paulo, the Maitre De, who had previously been the sommelier was very personable and was able to offer some exceptional wines by the glass. My wife and I both chose the fresh mackerel with grapefruit and avocado to start. It was an interesting blend of tastes without swamping the delicate flavour of the fish. I followed with local partridge and she with fillet steak with marrowbone. The steak was tender and tasty and the vegetable choice blended well. My partridge breast was moist and tender served with a pie of partridge legs in sauce. This provided interesting flavours to something that could have otherwise been bland. I finished with treacle tart, for which I requested custard instead of the offered ice cream and that was not a problem. We then relaxed by the fire for coffee and a vintage Armagnac, that Paul remembered was my favourite tipple. It was a good evening, with promise of better to come as chef settles in and Paulo develops his influence in the restaurant. After, several years of absence, we look forward to returning again.
November 2023 by sarahstevensonjones
Nice hotel restaurant, on the whole good service from the table staff and great meal. Good wine list but limited bar/cocktail menu, if it?s not on the list they can?t do it. Let down by very a grumpy host /manger, made us feel like we were imposing and very unwelcome on arrival. Mains didn?t arrive together, so by the time we had chased the missing meal everyone else?s food was cold. Also carpet in the toilets (actually in the cubicles)!?!
October 2023 by Jill Wood
Always reliably good for a Sunday lunch. Very enjoyable
October 2023 by Amritpal K
Great ambience, staff engaging, attentive and welcoming. Outstanding fine dining experience and cuisine - faultless!
September 2023 by Offmenut
Gone rapidly downhill. A place we have visited several times over the years, and probably now for the last time. What was once a Michelin restaurant, but still a 4 star AA restaurant, you expect a certain level of service. From the really frosty reception from (we think) the manager, to having to find staff to pay the bill or ask for more drinks / dessert, and a really average vegetarian dish of courgettes cooked in a variety of ways, led to a feeling we could and should have spent our money more wisely. The most awful thing about this visit was that we had a voucher for a 3 course meal. We had 3 courses , but were then told that we had to pay for dessert as they had put the price up for the 3 course meal. One of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard, as the voucher wasn't a monetary voucher, but a voucher for a 3 course meal! It would be like paying for a night in the hotel and when you got there them saying you had to pay more as they had put the price up. A restaurant that we once loved and used for special occasions has really let us down. Thanks for the good times, The terrace, but paying £150 for 2 people for lunch , you need to be wowed, not to leave feeling irritated and annoyed.
August 2023 by Sue D
This hotel is amazing, the staff are fab nothing was to much trouble. It was our wedding anniversary and the meal in the terrace restaurant was second to none so a big thank you to the chef and the team, we will return.
August 2023 by NAUGHTY40
What should have been a nice afternoon eating lunch & drinking in the lovely garden was ruined by a complete Lack of service from the staff. We were told on arrival we could sit in the rather lovely garden and a waiter would come out and take our order. Unfortunately after sitting for just over 20 minutes without a sign of anyone , I proceeded into the bar area to look for someone . Eventually a few faces appeared from behind the scenes, I explained that we are waiting for service to Which I was told someone would appear . Abracadabra ? A little while later some menus appeared and we were told that they would be right back to take our order , another 20 minutes past at which point we decided to leave .. It?s a mystery what happend to the staff at this place , as we left the place was like the Mary Celeste no one to be found ! We ended up having a lovely lunch in Lymington I guess the £165 we spent was clearly not needed at the Montague Arms .
August 2023 by suzannecD190BN
I had bought lunch gift vouchers for our friends and ourselves to try the terrace restaurant. I went by the reviews and we knew friends that had stayed in the hotel last year. All I can say is, what a disappointment! It started with myself telling the waiter that I had intolerances. He said we should have phoned in advance, however it states clearly at the bottom of the menu please tell your waiter of allergies or intolerances. Having seen the sample menu I asked for fish and chips to play safe. Although both my husband and myself ended up with fish and chips, the waiter made us feel uncomfortable with his response. When the meal arrived it looked okay, but it was awful. No taste and full of bones. Chips were French fries nothing special and the peas were cold. Both my husband and myself barely touched our meal. I felt sorry for our friends because this was their celebration. We did order a dessert it was lovely but £14 for a few mouthfuls, however I will say that was expected because you are an AA R restaurant. In all both couples ended up paying £100 each for a two course meal, a cup of tea and two beers for the husbands. I am sorry MA but we were so disappointed having wanted to come to your terrace restaurant for so long. May I add, we have been to Monty?s pub a few times, much better service and the food exceptional
July 2023 by Decner
We stayed for 7 nights in the Montagu Arms. We ate in the fine dining restaurant twice. We had intended to eat 3 times in the fine dining section but cancelled our 3rd evening. Food was tasty but not inspiring. Portions were small and in our opinion were overpriced for what we got. The dining room was cold on both evenings. We had to ask twice to get the window closed. My husband wore a sweater over his shirt. I wore a dressy top. I had to get a blanket from the basket in the hall!!!
July 2023 by Jamie Brown
I used to work here 10 years ago, and it was disheartening to witness the significant decline in food quality and service. The news of their lost Michelin star piqued my curiosity, prompting me to investigate the reasons behind this downfall.Unfortunately, the person in charge of the service exhibited open rudeness towards us, setting an unpleasant tone for the evening. Our disappointment continued as we were served burnt and inedible bread, which immediately dampened our expectations. Furthermore, the fish dish we ordered lacked freshness and was disappointingly tasteless. The remainder of the food was neither exceptional nor subpar; it was simply adequate.It appears that The Terrace Restaurant has failed to keep up with the changing times, merely going through the motions of serving food rather than passionately believing in their craft. It seems that poor management and a lack of accountability are responsible for the restaurant's current state, relying solely on past glories to stay afloat. One cannot help but wonder how long this can be sustained.The only positive in this experience was the presence of two exceptional individuals who served our food, distinct from the aforementioned host. They were truly charming and friendly, providing a glimmer of warmth amidst an otherwise lackluster evening.On our trip to the New Forest we dined at the The Pig and The Elderflower, and they truly stood out in comparison. These establishments exude a genuine passion for good food and possess a clear perspective on how it should be presented and enjoyed. I highly recommend considering these alternatives over The Terrace Restaurant.
July 2023 by SatbirUK
We really looked forward to having Afternoon Tea here. However, the service was far from great. It took over 30 minutes for a member of staff to take our drinks order, another twenty plus minutes for our afternoon tea to arrive. We didn't see any other staff come to our table. It was not busy at all, there where a total of 10 people in The Terrace Restaurant, So after a total time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, we got up and went to reception without a bill, I explained that we had been left without any service or acknowledgement. The member of staff on reception was very apologetic and offered not to charge us at all. I insisted that we paid for what we had had but would not be returning.
June 2023 by Conor20
Starting with he good points, at our intro the staff seemed very attentive and switched on, the place has a very nice feel to it and the food was very tasty. It all went downhill from the moment we were seated in a corner table behind a pillar - the staff seemed to forget we were there. The service was virtually non existent, 40 mins for our main course to arrive, 3 mins to eat it as there was so little food and then 30 ins for them to clear the plates. It really is atrocious to charge £42 for a tiny dish of lamb with four 50p size pieces on a small bed of peas. If you like your food in a decent quantity and more value then avoid this place. Needless to say I did something which I very seldom do which is to ask for the 12.5% service charge to be removed and to their credit they also removed two glasses of wine from the bill. But, you go to place like this for a nice experience not to have to seek such things. very disappointed.
June 2023 by Win2019
Had a xmas gift of lunch for two, in the terrace dining. Good start got given the wrong menu. A bit of a wait for the new one. Service was very slow but very friendly. Portions could of been a bit bigger.
June 2023 by Richard_ATB
Visited the Terrace Restaurant at the Montagu Arms for Sunday lunch as a party of eight. Very helpful staff who welcomed us and shown us to our table. Enjoyed 2 courses, accompanied by a couple of bottles of wine. Location and décor excellent; food quality and presentation exceptional; service outstanding. A good choice of menu offering a good selection of starters; mains, including roast meats; fish and a vegetarian dish; and a deserts to die for!! A good number of dishes sourced locally and the price was fair and reasonable for such good quality. OK, there are a few spelling mistakes on the menu - Colestan Bassett stilton should be Colston Bassett [produced in the beautiful Vale of Belvoir] Highly recommend and thank you to the whole team for an enjoyable lunch.
June 2023 by ianhF7619OQ
We had dinner in The Terrace restaurant to celebrate my wife?s birthday. The evening didn?t start well when we were abandoned for some time in the lounge and were astonished when we counted at least 3 spelling mistakes on the menus; we felt this didn?t augur well. Upon finally being seated at our table, we were waited upon by a surly, non-communicative waiter. In fact, none of the staff members made any attempt to be friendly. They did the bare minimum necessary and in our opinion were in need of training. Our glasses were not refilled, crumbs were not swept from the table, nor did they remove unused glassware until we requested it. Despite the fact that the restaurant was not full, we had to wait an inordinately long time between courses. The food was of a high standard but the overall experience was spoilt by the poor service; not what you expect when paying this kind of money.
