Selborne Arms - East Hampshire

We had all pre ordered our food and it was all awful. Not one out of 10 of us enjoyed our meals. Will not be visiting here again. Very poor quality at very expensive prices.

We took a visitor from Geneva a place full of culinary delights) and she pronounced the traditional Sunday roast the best food she 'd eaten out in a long time. We were also all pleased to be able to have small portions with an appropriate smaller price, which is what most of us in our 70s want! That left room for some excellent desserts. Tomorrow we shall return with a visitor from Australia. The pub itself is traditional, authentic English not the make up imitation favoured by chains. Perhaps some people find this dull, but we find it charming and uplifting to go into something that represents one of the better aspects of our culture. Proximity to the very interesting Gilbert White Museum with great shop, also very good cafe and fascinating Antarctic Exhibition) is another bonus.

Avoid avoid avoid Popped here late afternoon for a drink after a dog walk , we asked the barmaid if our dog was ok to come in with us , she said yes of course Ordered drinks , sat down on on a sofa that stank of grime Barmaid was very polite and chatty Out of nowhere a guy (apparently the chef and landlady husband appeared from nowhere telling us to lead our dog (a puppy cavapoo) he was rude, arrogant and stared at me like I was a nobody , definitely wouldn’t want to eat anything he attempted to cook We later learnt from the barmaid he’d been bitten by a dog once … not surprised , dogs are very intelligent and a good judge of character It was also very dated , tired looking and smelly

The restaurant offers a great variety of well-maintained beers. Our party of four arrived for lunch on a Tuesday afternoon around 1pm. We inquired with the bar staff if we could still order lunch, and were told it may take up to 30 minutes. However, the food arrived in just 15 minutes and it was all delicious. The pie in particular stood out, with one person describing it as "a proper pie." The staff were friendly and accommodating, and the restaurant is located in a lovely village setting.

We walked over from Petersfield and were ready for a pint by the time we arrived. This pub has an excellent selection of local draught beers, but the food we had was a very pleasant surprise. We both ordered baguettes expecting them to be those not very nice part cooked ones that pubs heat up. Wrong, the bread was fresh and the crust crisp. My beef was not some wafer thin bit of topside, but a thick slice of pink sirloin. Unctuous and quite the best beef sandwich I have had in a very long time. My colleagues ham and cheese also earned high praise. Sadly so many pubs have lost sight of doing simple things well, based on this the Selbourne Arms is a fine exception to this trend.