Good food, served with a smile, in a pleasant atmosphere.
G7722SSsusand
The dining is not at all up to the standard you would expect given the grand setting and - more annoyingly - the grand prices. Very mediocre food. ‘Cauliflower Wings’ at £12 as a starter were two boiled florets sitting beside a spoonful,of giant couscous in a sort of heinz baked beans sauce. The malaysian vegan curry (£17j was shallow-flavoured and demonstrated no awareness of what a curry should be. The sauce seemed to have come from a supermarket shelf. The same was true of the king prawn pasta dish (£20) Homepride sauce or something like that springs to mind. I cannot believe they have a professional chef in the kitchen. These prices will buy you an excellent meal at, for example, one of Gordon Ramsay’s better restaurants. We have been staying at Elmers Macdonald in Lymington for many years and the food has suddenly taken a dip for the worse. So disappointing. On a positive note, the waiting staff were extremely charming and professional.
ruthfarre
Lovely restaurant with friendly staff and amazing food, it was my birthday celebrations and the staff were so kind and thoughtful
Matt Reid
Very poor.When researching online, the menu and hotel seemed to promise a gourmet experience. Instead, the food was bland and uninteresting. Have had better school dinners.Attended a wedding evening reception at the hotel after the meal and was surprised to find my monkfish scampi starter was exactly same as the fish bites being served as a buffet snack there!The main waiters were pleasant and attentive, however the rest of the staff were not as up to scratch. Left 15 minutes waiting to pay the bill and had to ask when the waitress was finished serving another table.I feel the quality of the restaurant may have been affected by the aforementioned wedding but when charging £45 a head for 2 courses and a drink simply not excusable
Michele G
A super hotel with 2 restaurants. A lovely open fire. It wasn't busy. The fine dining menu was slightly more pricy and the portions were smaller. The room was stately and service excellent. Parking in the front of the hotel. Toilets were lovely too. I would have liked to stay in the hotel.
princessgyorkie
Excellent food in lovely surroundings with very good service. Discreet and cosy with an interesting choice of dishes
mrtnjay
The food, although tasty and well cooked, was over elaborately presented, almost nouvelle cuisine which is nolonger popular if it ever was! Restaurants now tend to champion local ingredients, eg locally caught seafood and beef from a local farm along with seasonal vegetables, again sourced locally. All the wines on offer seemed expensive having a more reasonable priced white and red house wine available would be a great option.
Dawn T
Ribeye steak, £25 was a good size, well cooked and beautifully presented. So nice to get them hot and rare, exactly as ordered. Minted lamb £22, though was a joke….if you only have one portion left, don’t try to halve it, add a few veggies and pass it off as two. Two thin slivers of meat? This was insulting. Wine was very good but then you can rarely go wrong with a bottle of Malbec and at £42 it should be excellent. Sides were extra and broccoli was not as described in the menu…..sprouting it was not. Silver service was professional and efficient but a welcoming smile or two would be lovely and could not deemed over familiar. We love this resort and will return but sadly, not for the dining.
MC648FA
Ribeye steak, £25 was a good size, well cooked and beautifully presented. So nice to get them hot and rare, exactly as ordered. Minted lamb £22, though was a joke….if you only have one portion left, don’t try to halve it, add a few veggies and pass it off as two. Two thin slivers of meat? This was insulting. Wine was very good but then you can rarely go wrong with a bottle of Malbec and at £42 it should be excellent. Sides were extra and broccoli was not as described in the menu…..sprouting it was not. Silver service was professional and efficient but a welcoming smile or two would be lovely and could not deemed over familiar. We love this resort and will return but sadly, not for the dining.
Chris R
With wonderful weather, I asked if we could dine outside. Nothing was too much trouble and had a superb meal outside the restaurant, served so well by Oliver, with amazing views down the Avenue to the Solent.
The same menu each night and the same specials each night too. Very overpriced for very average food.
Terry Beeson
Fantastic place to get away for a few nights peace. Staff were very helpful, food in restaurant was very good. Would highly recommend.
jere300
My fiancée and I booked a meal here whilst away for a couple of nights. For a hotel that describes itself as four star luxury, I have never received such awful service in my life. Having booked a table for 7:45 we didn’t even get to sit down till 8:30. If someone acknowledged us and let us known there was a delay it may have been better but as it was we were not seated at our table till half past 8. It then took a further 45 minutes for the food to even come. During this wait I complained to the supervisor on shift however he brushed off complaints and said food was coming. What I found absolutely disgusting was the supervisors attitude towards us, he ignored us completely after the complaint and it escalated further when it came to paying the bill. I bought up the issues we had during the evening and commented on the fact a manager should not behave the way he had, to which he just said well I’m not the manager. He questioned several times if I was going to pay the bill, in which I had no issue paying, but I did request a gesture of good will from him. He then proceeded to use threatening behaviour saying if I didn’t pay he had my name, address and telephone number and was just completely rude to us in front of the whole restaurant. The member of staff at the bar and the receptionist who eventually dealt with this situation were great, but the restaurant ‘supervisor’ should not even be allowed to work in hospitality.
Zee Cale (UK)
Great ambienceGreat serviceGood food
paulsand186299
Not what l expect from Macdonald Hotels. Service very slow, food served cold. No response from complaint. Eaten in numerous othe Macdonald Hotels, but this was a real let down. Not on my must list.
Good food, served with a smile, in a pleasant atmosphere.
The dining is not at all up to the standard you would expect given the grand setting and - more annoyingly - the grand prices. Very mediocre food. ‘Cauliflower Wings’ at £12 as a starter were two boiled florets sitting beside a spoonful,of giant couscous in a sort of heinz baked beans sauce. The malaysian vegan curry (£17j was shallow-flavoured and demonstrated no awareness of what a curry should be. The sauce seemed to have come from a supermarket shelf. The same was true of the king prawn pasta dish (£20) Homepride sauce or something like that springs to mind. I cannot believe they have a professional chef in the kitchen. These prices will buy you an excellent meal at, for example, one of Gordon Ramsay’s better restaurants. We have been staying at Elmers Macdonald in Lymington for many years and the food has suddenly taken a dip for the worse. So disappointing. On a positive note, the waiting staff were extremely charming and professional.
Lovely restaurant with friendly staff and amazing food, it was my birthday celebrations and the staff were so kind and thoughtful
Very poor.When researching online, the menu and hotel seemed to promise a gourmet experience. Instead, the food was bland and uninteresting. Have had better school dinners.Attended a wedding evening reception at the hotel after the meal and was surprised to find my monkfish scampi starter was exactly same as the fish bites being served as a buffet snack there!The main waiters were pleasant and attentive, however the rest of the staff were not as up to scratch. Left 15 minutes waiting to pay the bill and had to ask when the waitress was finished serving another table.I feel the quality of the restaurant may have been affected by the aforementioned wedding but when charging £45 a head for 2 courses and a drink simply not excusable
A super hotel with 2 restaurants. A lovely open fire. It wasn't busy. The fine dining menu was slightly more pricy and the portions were smaller. The room was stately and service excellent. Parking in the front of the hotel. Toilets were lovely too. I would have liked to stay in the hotel.
Excellent food in lovely surroundings with very good service. Discreet and cosy with an interesting choice of dishes
The food, although tasty and well cooked, was over elaborately presented, almost nouvelle cuisine which is nolonger popular if it ever was! Restaurants now tend to champion local ingredients, eg locally caught seafood and beef from a local farm along with seasonal vegetables, again sourced locally. All the wines on offer seemed expensive having a more reasonable priced white and red house wine available would be a great option.
Ribeye steak, £25 was a good size, well cooked and beautifully presented. So nice to get them hot and rare, exactly as ordered. Minted lamb £22, though was a joke….if you only have one portion left, don’t try to halve it, add a few veggies and pass it off as two. Two thin slivers of meat? This was insulting. Wine was very good but then you can rarely go wrong with a bottle of Malbec and at £42 it should be excellent. Sides were extra and broccoli was not as described in the menu…..sprouting it was not. Silver service was professional and efficient but a welcoming smile or two would be lovely and could not deemed over familiar. We love this resort and will return but sadly, not for the dining.
Ribeye steak, £25 was a good size, well cooked and beautifully presented. So nice to get them hot and rare, exactly as ordered. Minted lamb £22, though was a joke….if you only have one portion left, don’t try to halve it, add a few veggies and pass it off as two. Two thin slivers of meat? This was insulting. Wine was very good but then you can rarely go wrong with a bottle of Malbec and at £42 it should be excellent. Sides were extra and broccoli was not as described in the menu…..sprouting it was not. Silver service was professional and efficient but a welcoming smile or two would be lovely and could not deemed over familiar. We love this resort and will return but sadly, not for the dining.
With wonderful weather, I asked if we could dine outside. Nothing was too much trouble and had a superb meal outside the restaurant, served so well by Oliver, with amazing views down the Avenue to the Solent.
Restaurantji Recommends
The same menu each night and the same specials each night too. Very overpriced for very average food.
Fantastic place to get away for a few nights peace. Staff were very helpful, food in restaurant was very good. Would highly recommend.
My fiancée and I booked a meal here whilst away for a couple of nights. For a hotel that describes itself as four star luxury, I have never received such awful service in my life. Having booked a table for 7:45 we didn’t even get to sit down till 8:30. If someone acknowledged us and let us known there was a delay it may have been better but as it was we were not seated at our table till half past 8. It then took a further 45 minutes for the food to even come. During this wait I complained to the supervisor on shift however he brushed off complaints and said food was coming. What I found absolutely disgusting was the supervisors attitude towards us, he ignored us completely after the complaint and it escalated further when it came to paying the bill. I bought up the issues we had during the evening and commented on the fact a manager should not behave the way he had, to which he just said well I’m not the manager. He questioned several times if I was going to pay the bill, in which I had no issue paying, but I did request a gesture of good will from him. He then proceeded to use threatening behaviour saying if I didn’t pay he had my name, address and telephone number and was just completely rude to us in front of the whole restaurant. The member of staff at the bar and the receptionist who eventually dealt with this situation were great, but the restaurant ‘supervisor’ should not even be allowed to work in hospitality.
Great ambienceGreat serviceGood food
Not what l expect from Macdonald Hotels. Service very slow, food served cold. No response from complaint. Eaten in numerous othe Macdonald Hotels, but this was a real let down. Not on my must list.