Romsey Road
Copythorne
Hampshire
SO40 2PE

Tel: 023 80812321

Vegetarian: Yes

Parking: Adjacent

Wheelchairs: Easy

Loos: Average

Visited June 2005  Decided to try this pub, it was a lovely day & we wanted to make the most of it & sit outside.  Have heard from site regulars that  St Jacques  has been completely refurbished & now called The Empress of Blandings (apparently a breed of pig!).  It is attractive inside, a cross between a wine bar & a pub, great decor, lots of amusing sayings on the walls.  The garden has a lot of seating, in the shade at the front of the pub & in the sun at the back.

Usual routine, get your table number & then order your food & drinks at the bar.  The food is then served to your table.  Friendly bar staff. We decided to have a bottle of house white, approx £8.50 a bottle, plus soda to make spritzers, they were happy to give us a jug of soda.  Tables comfortable for garden furniture but we managed to get one of the newer ones!

Good idea, all dishes can be ordered as small or large portions, guess which we chose?  Yes, the large sizes! Warm chicken & bacon & new potato salad,  Steak & Tanglefoot (ale) pie, & a double starter of Crab & Prawn salad for my vegetarian friend who was not that impressed as all the vegetarian dishes were a bit stogy.  Chef's please note, veggies are quite often also watching their weight so do not want everything either wrapped in pastry or with a cheese topping!  Finished with one lemon cheese cake & 3 spoons. All the food was very pleasant.

Ladies Who Lunch Scoring:

Quality of food
Variety of menu
Staff and service
Ambience, setting and decor
Value for Money

Total Yummy Factor

5/5 = Cannot be improved upon, 4/5 = Very good, 3/5 = Good,
2/5 = Satisfactory, 1/5 = Poor, 0/5 = Terrible

The higher the "Yummy" factor, the better the food & service. The higher the number of £ signs the more expensive. (Roughly one £ sign = £5 per head)