The Black Rat

Amazing 3 course lunch & service! We sat in one of the garden huts.

My wife and I had a lovely lunch on Saturday 8th August.
I was good that the Black Rat is open again as
we were celebrating a birthday which had occurred during lockdown.
It was a very good choice of restaurant and the set menu for the weekend was good value.
Thank you!

Fantastic setting in a Georgian house just outside Winchester town centre. Fantastic bread to start with and then a wonderful starter of lemon sole with black potatoes. Followed by the lamb shoulder which was braised to perfection. For dessert, madeleines with a miso butterscotch dipping sauce, simply superb and all for £34.

Excellent evening. Fantastic food. Great all round.

Our first time sat in the outside area (we’ve always been inside previously) and we really enjoyed it.
Food and service were amazing as always.
A gem of a restaurant.

Food and staff are just amazing! Space outside is a bit on the small side but the huts are nice and allow for comfortably sitting 4 people. It would be nice to have some music outside.

Enjoyed the Black Rat on a Sunday lunchtime. Good menu with enough of a choice to please all four of us. Obviously this restaurant comes alive when it bustles but in these Covid times it’s not going to be quite the same with tables so spaced out, that said the team that served us did a great job, we felt safe, enjoyed the food and I would recommend. The ice cream for the birthday guest was a nice touch.

Utterly stunning dining experience for a birthday celebration dinner outside in a garden hut - we loved it!

Perfect meal as always and felt very ‘normal’ despite all the steps restaurants are having to take at the moment. A lovely evening and the food is exceptional as usual.

An excellent dining experience, very reasonably priced for the quality of food. Fabulous food, knowledgeable wine help, friendly service. All in all, a fantastic meal.

Lovely food as always

Our first visit and food was exceptional , even on the limited Sunday lunch menu. The steps initiated in relation to Covid were sensible and we felt very secure in our first meal at a restaurant since lockdown. Great food, good atmosphere and service- couldn’t fault it and can’t wait till we can return

Looking forward to going back again but next time the à la carte menu and when we come back again the tasting menu 👏🏻

We loved our late birthday celebration at the Black Rat. The food and wine were outstanding! We will definitely be making further bookings.

It was such an incredible experience. The service was impeccable and the food was outstanding.

Excellent choice of food with interesting ingredients, beautifully presented.

Outstanding food and service. Covid measures were excellent. We were well spaced and good ventilation. Staff took good precautions. Also hand sanitizer on the table as well as the entrance. We felt very safe.

Very pleasant given the COVID-19 precautions. Very good food. Friendly attentive staff

Great food, great welcome, so glad it's back open.
Get in there if you can you won't be disappointed

An interesting menu full of new things to try. Food was delicious and staff attentive. Fab place to eat - particularly like sitting outside in a hut!

Outstanding in every way - a total delight. Best meal I've had for a year

We're very much enjoyed our meal at The Black Rat. The staff were lovely and very helpful and the food was splendid.

Would have scored it higher if it were not for Covid restrictions, which they managed well.

Under these exceptionally difficult circumstances everyone at the Black Rat have risen to the next level in teams of still providing an exceptional level of food and service while respecting the standards required in keeping both staff and customers as safe as possible.

The set lunch menu was cooked to perfection and the front of house staff were as always attentive. The cod served as the main course with a wild boar lardon was sensational.

A wonderful experience!

The food was amazing and service was extremly good.
I would recomend a table outside in one of the huts!

Excellent post lock down meal. All the social distancing and COVID safeness you could want. Still the same excellent experience. Great food, amazing service!

Fabulous meal as always. Service was a little slower than normal but only to be expected in current circumstances . We’ll be back again in a few weeks time.

Incredible food, highly recommend! I have a few food allergies and they catered for me perfectly.

As excellent as ever - so pleased to have this amazing restaurant open and welcoming diners again.

Throughly recommend this restaurant! Great atmosphere, friendly staff, delicious food.

The upstairs bathroom is not nice at all. Why do you have a bath in there? Should be gutted and fitted out with something more fitting for a fine dining restaurant. I didn't see downstairs bathroom so can't comment on that one.

Can't fault the food, superb! Thank you.

A really great experience, and our visit restaurant visit in many months. Really interesting menu selection, and enjoyed having horse as an option as not something we eat often but was very well presented and cooked. The deserts were the winners for us, a lot of delicate flavours and well presented.

We chose to sit outside, unique experience and overall enjoyed it - last minute electrical guide probably couldn't have been helped, and wasn't expecting views of the nearby homes but these were only minor distractions.

Social distancing did make the overall experience strange, and all government guidelines were followed, but staff were still attentive.

Definitely recommended and looking forward to going back - it isn't cheap so it will be in a few months time.

The food was fantastic. Well worth the Michelin Star. Would go back. Fantastic experience. Wine wonderful too!

Fantastic food, lovely service, enormous choice of wines

Incredible food served at the black rat, amazing attentive hosts with a great selection of gins. I would highly recommend to anyone considering to treat themselves, to visit The Black Rat!

The food was absolutely amazing and the staff are very kind and thoughtful.

Fantastic lunch and great to be back after the lockdown period. Food and service was excellent as always - can't wait to visit again.

What a wonderful lunch we had (never disappoints)
Once again from the moment we walked through the door we were welcomed and spoilt. Thank you.
Gareth your team did you proud. Everyone one of your team excelled from service to kitchen. 😀😀

Excellent service
Delicious food and wine
Many thanks

The food was good but not outstandiing and I hadn't realised there would only be a limited set menu available (Sunday Lunch). The service was reasonable until it came to us wanting to get the bill, which took about ten minutes to attract waiting staff who had all disappeared. However this is where the experience started to turn sour - the waitress muttered something about their card machine playing up but tried and failed to get it to work. Next the manager(ess) came and asked to type in the card details;nhowever did not give me a chance to enter my pin as I beleve shd be an option. My bank refused the payent quite reasonably for a £200 plus payment without verification, my bank tested me, I confirnmed in reply that I wanted to make payment but two more attempts by the manageress still failed. I am now getting frustrated as it was b40 minutes since we got the bill and the manageress was being very unhelpful and did not seem to have a clue as to how banks work. The manageress very rudely told me three times to not shout at her - I may have raised my voice but was not shouting by the way. Eventuall sorted when the owner turned up and eventually gave a reasonable way forward but the experience with the manageress soured what was meant to be a birthday cvelebration meal. I have been to this restaurant several times over the years but I am not likely to return.