The Black Rat in Winchester

Sublime. Unpretentious with complete focus on creating stunning dishes. Every dish was a masterpiece of gastronomy. Staff were attentive but not overbearing. Absolutely loved it. Just under £200 for 3 courses for two including drinks. Perfect for a special occasion.

Really excellent lunch, as always! Great outdoor heated covid-safe dining options too.

Lunch menu a delight &, for the exceptional quality, very reasonable. The food is delicious. A mix of the chef's art & magic? Relaxed, eclectic cottage atmosphere & attentive, properly trained staff. I hate doing this post, as it'll probably make it harder to get a booking in future! 😭 Must try dinner next

Nice, cosy atmosphere. Very knowledgeable and friendly staff. Both our servers were attentive and helpful. The food was delicious and well executed. Expansive drinks selection - we went with the local gin and one from Scotland. Great place for a date

Wonderful dinner, excellent menu, our dishes were amazing, to perfection and finishing with one unique dessert.

Small menu but great choices. Our food was absolutely delicious and the Guinea Fowl was exceptional. Lovely, friendly, knowledgeable staff and a warm welcoming atmosphere. We loved it and highly recommend making a reservation here.

Dining in the evening we received a first class service, very attentive staff.The food we had was excellent and of high quality.We had a very good and enjoyable evening.Thoroughly recommend the dining experience to anybody, and have no hesitation to return

Delicious meal at Michelin stared restaurant The Black Rat. Couldn’t get in initially but after being on the waiting list we got a table. Food was beautifully presented even though portions were a little small. Great choice of gins too. The service was excellent.

Great pub/Michelin restaurant. Charming interior. Attentive but unobtrusive service. Small menu which scared me a little but all well explained and utterly divine!Presentation and taste flawless!

Had an absolutely fabulous meal here last night. It’s far from full so far, following all the COVID lockdowns, but the food was just perfect. First thing they bring was bread…two pieces each: a ciabatta and a black bread (coloured with squid ink). Hard to get a good photo of the black bread as it is soooo black but both delicious and unusual and this set the tone for the rest of the meal. Starters were “Barbecued quail breast, confit guinea fowl leg gyoza, soy pickled shiitake mushroom, grilled enoki, glazed bok choi, teriyaki” for me and “Citrus cured chalk stream trout, chilled beetroot & wasabi gazpacho, nasturtium leaf & herb oil, cucumber relish” for Sue. Both were perfectly executed and a very complex set of flavours that worked together superbly…the chef deserves a medal just for dreaming them up. Then I had the “Dry aged Wooley Park free range duck, honey glaze, liver & confit leg, duck fat carrot, date & Lapsang Souchong, New Forest spring greens, hazelnut dukkah” and Sue had “Dorset lamb neck, compressed green pepper & cucumber, sea beet, confit garlic & nori pommes puree, lamb bone sauce”….both of which were perfectly prepared and presented. I cannot praise the chef enough for the flavour and texture combination…just fantastic. Dessert was Meadowsweet madeleines, miso butterscotch sauce…and the madeleines were perfect. We had cheese too…a nice selection of local cheeses but the Barkham Blue was the highlight there…not something I had heard of but wonderful blue cheese. The service was not quite at the level I’d expect, given the quality of the food, but certainly not bad, and the wine list had depth. Little bit surprised that they didn’t have a tasting menu…but we’re just emerging from the COVID pandemic, so perhaps this is something that they’ll do in future…the idea makes my mouth water all over again.