July 2025 by Steven D
Brilliant.
You can feel the management have got it right, and the front of house staff were well trained & attentive.
Poppy took care of us for dinner, and she was lovely.
Jan took care of us for breakfast, and she was also lovely.
The food on both occasions was exquisite, so many thanks to the chef(s) and kitchen team.
The grounds are impeccable, and I had a quick chat with the head gardener Graham (or Graeme?) & he too was brilliant.
We decided to stay on another night, and will probably come back.
Cheers!
April 2025 by James Mellor
I had a lovely experience at this restaurant, the food was amazing but the standout show was the service. Ollie was incredibly attentive and his service was impeccable. A real gent with great hosting skills. 10/10.
January 2025 by David Hogg
Set in a stunning hotel, this restaurant was unfortunately let down by too few staff and average food, especially for the price ? at least on the occasion of our visit.
We came on New Year?s Day for lunch, and whilst we were greeted by a receptionist on arrival, he was standing at the back of the reception area talking to some colleagues, and he didn't come forward to greet us with a 'Welcome to the Elvetham Hotel, how are you today? Happy New Year!' ... but rather a short 'the restaurant is down there second on the left' response when we said we were here for lunch ... a bit disappointing.
Then on arriving at the restaurant we couldn't find any staff! No-one was manning the stand where they had details of reservations, and after walking around the restaurant (which had 3 guests in it), and knocking on a few doors, a waitress came out. She was very attentive for the rest of our time at the restaurant, but it would have been nice not to need to hang around at the entrance for 5+ minutes with no sign of any staff.
The food itself tasted nice, but wasn't really the quality we were expecting for the price ? 2 courses for £32 meant the main was worth around £23, assuming the starter / dessert we shared was £9 ... and for £23 I got a very large pile of barley risotto, all the same taste and brown colour, with 7 or 8 small pieces of beetroot sitting on it for interest, no garnish or any other vegetables ... maybe worth £15 tops, certainly not £23!
The burrata salad we shared for starters, and the creme brûlée we shared for dessert were alright, but certainly not £9 quality.
The warm bread rolls and butter that we had on the house, plus the fact they were happy to serve tap water were nice touches though.
My wife said her salmon main dish was very good although it was drowning in too much rich sauce ...
If we'd paid around £20 for 2 courses we would have been satisfied ... but £32 plus a 10% tip that had already been added to the bill ... we're not sure we'll come again for the quality / those prices.
It's a real shame, the atmosphere in the hotel and restaurant were really lovely, and would be the perfect setting for exceptional quality dining ... it just didn't make the mark for us on this occasion.
October 2024 by Emily Dodsworth
My husband and I ate at the Sylvanus Restaurant for our first wedding anniversary, following our wedding at The Elvetham the year before. The restaurant had a lovely atmosphere and the team was welcoming and attentive. Hannah was very friendly and provided recommendation and was able to answer all of our questions.
We enjoyed starters, mains and desserts and all of the food was delicious and beautifully presented. My husband even noted that the steak was the best he had ever tasted.
We will certainly be back to dine at the restaurant again!
September 2024 by Rob Brunt
Revisit for our wedding anniversary after 16yrs of being here, such a beautiful location. Constructive feedback back too many youngsters serving who seem to struggle need a bit more experienced leadership but all in all excellent all round. Food was amazing.
Dietary restrictions: Good choice for gluten free as required by my son.
July 2024 by MLJeevez
Great hotel and atmosphere of the restaurant, however the wait times completely ruined the experience for us. We waited about 1.5 hours to get our main course, without any status updates at all. There were many waiters standing around, but probably just one chef cooking for the whole restaurant. Food was mediocre, yet costly. Plenty of cheaper and higher quality alternatives in Fleet.
October 2023 by Paul Evans
The hotel and grounds themselves are beautiful and breakfast was lovely. However, our bad evening experience in the restaurant marred our stay. We ordered two glasses of Rosé champagne from the drinks menu and a bottle of wine, it took them 35 minutes to discover they didn?t have the champagne. We were given a normal glass of champagne but at the same price as the more expensive glass we had ordered! We had to wait an hour for our starters to arrive whilst watching other tables being given bread rolls and receiving their starters before us. I ordered mushrooms on bruschetta, the bread was soggy and the portion small. For main, I ordered the rib eye steak which was cooked very well but I felt that the accompaniments were quite stingy. For dessert I ordered the apple tarte tartin, I am not sure if there was pastry since there was something soggy on the bottom! I would probably go to the hotel again but eat somewhere else.
September 2022 by Jim Moore
Wow, this was the worst service I?ve had in ages. Confused servers in over their depth. A kitchen that sent starters 5 minutes AFTER mains arrived. Missing dishes. The wrong wine. Just a comedy of errors.
July 2022 by Karen Salem
Had a wonderful meal, couldn?t fault it at all! The rib eye steak was to die for! Staff were all amazing, and enjoyed the bar before and after dinner. Stunning place with stunning views. Would highly recommend
