THE Mutton near Hartley Wintney opened its doors in October and is already proving very popular with drinkers and diners alike.

The 19th-century house and former post office set on the fringe of the Hazeley Heath Nature Reserve has been lovingly restored, with a makeover that blends a traditional aesthetic with contemporary comfort.

The Mutton is a project of passion, bought and restored to its former glory by the Taylor family and close friend Ashley Hatton with support from hospitality specialists and founders of Truffle Hunting Consulting, Nigel Sutcliffe and James McLean.

The Gazette was invited to the restaurant to try some of the dishes on offer and see the makeover in person.

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Upon arriving at the pub, we were pleasantly surprised at how full both the bar area and dining section were, with families, friends and couples enjoying the cosiness of the surroundings – which created a brilliant buzz.  

Once we were sat at our table and given our menus we couldn’t believe the variety of choice on the food menu – and even more choice on the wine list.

Being someone who likes warming and comforting food it was really difficult to decide what to have. For starters, we eventually settled on the pulled pork croquette with roast apple sauce, and slow-cooked mutton, homemade crumpet and red cabbage.

Having seen this on Instagram from others who had already visited the pub, we knew that these looked amazing.

Not only did they look amazing, but they also tasted amazing. The croquette pulled apart so easily (as the name suggested) and the flavours were so rich but the apple sauce and small apple salad was a fresh accompaniment, which balanced it out brilliantly. The sauce was definitely the star of the show.

The mutton crumpet was very rich and warming. The crumpet was a unique part of the starter, something that neither of us had before. We could definitely see why it is a staple on The Mutton’s menu.

Then came the mains, I chose the rump steak, bearnaise butter, fries, pickled shallot, parmesan and rocket salad. I have to say that while the steak was cooked lovely and the fries were crunchy, the parmesan and rocket salad was actually my favourite part of the dish. You can go to many restaurants where the salad is an afterthought, but this certainly wasn’t. It felt like a genius thing to do!

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We also chose the venison. Having not had it before we weren’t sure what to expect, but one thing we can say about it is, wow! We absolutely loved it.

Our favourite part of any meal is normally the dessert, but there wasn’t anything on the menu that immediately jumped out to us. In the end, we chose the salted caramel tart and the madeleines paired with sweet and salty butterscotch.  

Unfortunately, the salted caramel tart had a burnt taste which was a little off-putting, but the madeleines definitely made up for it.

Although they are a 15-minute wait it is worth it, as they are a comforting end to what is a great meal.

This will certainly not be our last trip to The Mutton, as a new menu has now been released which has got us salivating!