Red Rover - New Forest

Unfortunately, it is regrettable that I cannot recommend the Sunday Lunch at this lovely pub, despite the fact that the food used to be good. We were informed of a wait, which we were okay with. However, the turkey roast was subpar, the cauliflower was undercooked, the meat was strangely soft, and even the Yorkshire pudding was inedible. They had to turn away several customers, but little did they know that they were actually fortunate to not have experienced the disappointment we did.

I visited the restaurant last night with a reservation for two, only to be informed upon seating that the food would take 45-60 minutes as they only had one chef who was very busy despite the low number of customers. We decided to leave as we were not willing to wait that long. This was our second chance after a disappointing experience on New Year's Eve, when we were the only ones in the restaurant and had booked a meal with live music, only to find out it had been canceled two days prior. It was frustrating that they did not inform us earlier. Additionally, on New Year's Eve, we were told upon arrival that they did not have Guinness or other beers we wanted, and many dishes we had chosen were unavailable. We were informed that the kitchen would close as soon as we finished our meal and the pub would close at 11 due to understaffing. We were in and out in an hour. The quality of this pub has declined significantly over the past year due to frequent staff turnover. We only returned last night because it is convenient to us, but we will not be going back and would advise others to avoid it as well.

My Book Club often frequents Red Rover, but after our visit last night, we will need some reassurance before returning. We were not informed in advance that there was no heating and no hot water available for tea. It was a cold evening, so we had to sit in our coats. Additionally, there was no salad available and beans were offered as a substitute. The tea tasted like it was made with water from the tap, as no hot water for drinks was available.

Popped in on the way home to the Isle of Wight. Appreciated that with a few days to go before Xmas the staff were able to seat us quickly. We were warmly welcomed and the waitress was infectiously happy. Nothing was too much trouble. Lovely full menu and had a hard time choosing. Food was well cooked and well presented. I would recommend stopping by and giving it a try. We will definitely return

After visiting the red rover on Tuesday night with a couple of friends, to be told you have to order from the festive menu a week before !!!, so ordered off the everyday menu a chicken and ham pie, when it arrived the pastry was so hard that you could not cut it, the inside was dried out , palest coloured chips and 2 tender stem broccoli,and brown water for gravy, told the waitress and she removed it from the bill, though I would have a dessert caramelised biscuit cheesecake,it was warm inside where it had been microwaved , my friends meals were just as bad , thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt and went on Wednesday night again with different friends but no better if not worse this time , all our meals , but just to top it off the manager was sat drinking with the staff, then laying on one of the bench seats, when there was dirty tables around us, on leaving he never looked up said night or thank you , I have been eating here for at least the last 10 years won’t be rushing back in the near future. New manager needed.