High Street
Hamble
Hampshire
SO31 4HA

Tel: 023 8045 7801

Website: www.riverrathamble.co.uk

Vegetarian: Yes

Parking: Public car parks

Wheelchairs: OK

Loos: Average & upstairs

You may well know that River Rat Cellar & Kitchen used to be a tea rooms but local women Frances Carroll and Karin Wood have transformed it into a stylish bar and restuarant.  The kitchen team is led by Hampshire local Adam Coppins, a young chef who has trained under the Roux brothers and Raymond Blanc.  He has created a "modern European" menu using, wherever possible, locally sourced food.

They are open Tues - Sat evenings and Thurs- Sun lunchtime, we suggest booking.  They have a lovely and surprisingly large terrace area, gorgeous for al fresco eating in the warmer months but at the moment the interior is cosy!  There is a lot of extra seating up the fairly steep stairs, if stairs could be a problem request a downstairs table.

They have a great value lunch menu, 2 courses for £12.95 which includes a 125ml glass of house wine!  Only 3 choices at each course but a sure sign that everything is fresh.  As there were 3 of us we were able to sample all the starters and mains!

Starters: Goat’s Cheese en Croute with Tomato Chutney, White Onion Soup and Ham Hock Terrine with Sauce Gribiche on a bed of Winter Leaves.  They were all delicious.  Mains: Beef Lyonnaise with Horseradish Mash, Sea Bass on Ratatouille with a Rich Tomato Sauce and Risotto of Wild Mushrooms.  We enjoyed them all but did feel that the beef needed a green vegetable of some sort and the fish some potato.

We finished by sharing one Apple, Blackberry & Almond Crumble @ £5.75, very yummy and then coffees.

The River Rat is a great find and if you arrive in Hamble by boat it's well worth the walk up the hill.  If you arrive by car there is a very handy public car park just before you start to go into the one way system and down the hill!

Cost ££££

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)