The Black Rat Restaurant in Karema

Excellent as always. Were so sad the Black Rat is closing, a stock, really. Our favourite restaurant in Winchester area. Our thought are with the excellent staff, we hope they find suitable jobs, and carry on the quality of service rthey provided at the Black Rat.

Wonderful as always, inspired dishes unparalleled in the area and a unique, quiet environment. The Black Rat will be sorely missed when it closes.

Some of the best food I have tested, it was superb. Such complex flavours, all our dishes were so tasty.Service was on par with the quality of the food and the staff were fantastic.Wonderful birthday treat.Such a shame it is a victim of the current climate and closing. One of the few places where the staff were properly looked after and it showed in their dedication.

Amazing food and staff,I would highly recommend.

Well staffed, all of whom were very professional and attentive.Lovely inviting decor and ambiance.Food was fabulous, easily in the best three meals Ive eaten post lockdown.

I’ve been meaning to try this place for years and it didn’t disappoint. One of my favourite meals EVER, and the lunch menu was such a reasonable price for the quality. I’ll be dreaming of the food for years.

Such a delicious meal, the menu made me wish I could try every single one of the dishes and the customer service was beyond amazing. Two of us at the meal were dairy intolerant and they offered changes to each and every dish, this was the best meal I have had in a long time, thankyou so much

We booked a private room for 14 guests. The whole event was handled very professionally with the pre-order menu being sent to guests the week before so the kitchen had sufficient time to source the local food we selected.On the night, the meal was wonderful. The dining room was quirky and perfectly laid out. The service was courteous, friendly and attentive.And the food was excellent. Each course offered a choice of the familiar or something unusual but everything was beautifully prepared and presented. Each dish had lots of different flavours and textures and it was great fun discussing and comparing.Everyone enjoyed the evening and I wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant.

Absolutely exquisite. Wonderful, considered menu that’s kept it’s soul and a wine list to match. Staff all completely charming, even during Covid times which must have been extremely challenging. Expensive, but absolutely worth it.

I had an unbelievably delicious meal here. Everything about my visit was really enjoyable. The food was incredible. Excellent selection of wines (although a cocktail menu wouldnt go amiss). Super friendly, attentive and helpful staff who really made an effort to make the meal a great experience. Really beautiful restaurant. Did I mention the food was incredible?

Amazing Saturday lunch. Lovely staff. Highly recommend.

Simply exquisite. We tried and enjoyed new flavours that pushed us out of our comfort zone and we loved each bite. A wonderful anniversary dinner 💖

Wow very very good. We had the lamb and the cod superb and the cheeseboard was the best we have ever had. Great service lovely place thank you

Attentive service. Fabulous food individually cooked.

Food was fairly good but over priced! Beautiful restaurant, good wine list, staff friendly and attentive but scruffy!! Booked as a surprise for my wife for our wedding anniversary but no mention of our anniversary from any of the staff so was a bit disappointed! Experience was ok but wouldn’t return.

Went to The Black Rat for our anniversary recently and was not disappointed.The staff were very attentive and professional.The food was absolutely stunning. This was our first time eating food of this level and it was such a great experience.My personal favourite was the cucumber sorbet with compressed melon balls, which was out of this world!

Quirky dishes with limited menu options but on the whole we enjoyed our meal. Service attentive but slightly long wait for our main course. Wife commented that the floor in the ladies loo was a bit sticky. Cost for 3 courses with coffee and 3  glasses of wine was £175 (includes 12.5% service charge which was automatically added to the bill).

Sublime. Unpretentious with complete focus on creating stunning dishes. Every dish was a masterpiece of gastronomy. Staff were attentive but not overbearing. Absolutely loved it. Just under £200 for 3 courses for two including drinks. Perfect for a special occasion.

Very good food. Tasty, unusual and clever combinations (mushrooms and chocolate?!). Quirky building and decor- then again go to the Black Boy pub and see what I mean! A really fab experience. Unique and, if you choose carefully, knockout food.

Lunch menu a delight &, for the exceptional quality, very reasonable. The food is delicious. A mix of the chefs art & magic? Relaxed, eclectic cottage atmosphere & attentive, properly trained staff. I hate doing this post, as itll probably make it harder to get a booking in future! 😭 Must try dinner next 🥰

Really excellent lunch, as always! Great outdoor heated covid-safe dining options too.

Wonderful dinner, excellent menu, our dishes were amazing, to perfection and finishing with one unique dessert.

Nice, cosy atmosphere. Very knowledgeable and friendly staff. Both our servers were attentive and helpful. The food was delicious and well executed. Expansive drinks selection - we went with the local gin and one from Scotland. Great place for a date

Been there twice now and its become out fave. Food is amazing and so different from what you get anywhere else. Staff always give 110%. Highly recommended

Lovely restaurant. Hard to believe Ive lived in the area so long and not visited before. We had the set lunch menu. Delicious food, great service and really good value for money!

Small menu but great choices. Our food was absolutely delicious and the Guinea Fowl was exceptional. Lovely, friendly, knowledgeable staff and a warm welcoming atmosphere. We loved it and highly recommend making a reservation here.

This restaurant is very sweet, it is set in an old rickety building with various cubby holes and empty wine bottles decorating the walls. The lunch was very tasty, but the service was very slow - maybe we were unlucky but we had to chase a couple of times even though it is a set menu. We could not fault the food though, especially the madeleines which were a real treat at the end!

This review is being compared to other michelin starred places that I have eaten.This is a good place to eat. I would give 4.5 stars but it isnt an option. Extensive wine and drink list that has recommendations for the menu.Staff were very attentive, possibly a little bit too much with refilling of glasses. But if this is the experience that is wanted, then this place serves the role. Comfortable seating arrangement.The food could have been more imaginative and challenging. It tasted amazing, with a lot of effort into each plate, had great flavours and combinations but could have been more daring. The food that I had was just missing that one thing that really made it zing.A selection of 5 options for each course which covers nearly all requirements.

Good food! Perhaps each dish was trying too hard and could have focused on being less pretentious (foams etcand being more tasty! Atmosphere was good, staff were prehaps a little too attentive for my liking but if you want to feel very well tended (the kept filling up my glass every 5 minutes!), youll probably love it. Saying that, I left full and pretty satisfied, just not raving about the experience.

Dining in the evening we received a first class service, very attentive staff.The food we had was excellent and of high quality.We had a very good and enjoyable evening.Thoroughly recommend the dining experience to anybody, and have no hesitation to return

Interesting menu with colourful use of flavours with spices, herbs and less popular seasonal vegetables. Attentive knowledgeable staff always on hand to advise and explain variety of food on ever-changing menu. Enjoyable experience, although I wasnt adventurous enough to try the wood ants!

Could not recommend this place more!!! Food was out of this world. Service was excellent. The actual building was even interesting, 3 course meal with coffees, 1/2 bottle of wine, 1 beer, 1 gin £180! Would absolutely pay it again!

Amazing food, good service and a really intriguing building. Loads of history, really classic dressing to the rooms. If this place was closer to home I would go back time and time again to sample the whole menu. Love it cant recommend highly enough!

Delicious meal at Michelin stared restaurant The Black Rat. Couldn’t get in initially but after being on the waiting list we got a table. Food was beautifully presented even though portions were a little small. Great choice of gins too. The service was excellent.

Great pub/Michelin restaurant. Charming interior. Attentive but unobtrusive service. Small menu which scared me a little but all well explained and utterly divine!Presentation and taste flawless!

First and not the last time well be visiting this restaurant. The food, service and decor were amazing.

Had an absolutely fabulous meal here last night. It’s far from full so far, following all the COVID lockdowns, but the food was just perfect. First thing they bring was bread…two pieces each: a ciabatta and a black bread (coloured with squid ink). Hard to get a good photo of the black bread as it is soooo black but both delicious and unusual and this set the tone for the rest of the meal. Starters were “Barbecued quail breast, confit guinea fowl leg gyoza, soy pickled shiitake mushroom, grilled enoki, glazed bok choi, teriyaki” for me and “Citrus cured chalk stream trout, chilled beetroot & wasabi gazpacho, nasturtium leaf & herb oil, cucumber relish” for Sue. Both were perfectly executed and a very complex set of flavours that worked together superbly…the chef deserves a medal just for dreaming them up. Then I had the “Dry aged Wooley Park free range duck, honey glaze, liver & confit leg, duck fat carrot, date & Lapsang Souchong, New Forest spring greens, hazelnut dukkah” and Sue had “Dorset lamb neck, compressed green pepper & cucumber, sea beet, confit garlic & nori pommes puree, lamb bone sauce”….both of which were perfectly prepared and presented. I cannot praise the chef enough for the flavour and texture combination…just fantastic. Dessert was Meadowsweet madeleines, miso butterscotch sauce…and the madeleines were perfect. We had cheese too…a nice selection of local cheeses but the Barkham Blue was the highlight there…not something I had heard of but wonderful blue cheese. The service was not quite at the level I’d expect, given the quality of the food, but certainly not bad, and the wine list had depth. Little bit surprised that they didn’t have a tasting menu…but we’re just emerging from the COVID pandemic, so perhaps this is something that they’ll do in future…the idea makes my mouth water all over again.

Absolutely amazing food!!!! Cannot wait to go back here post lockdown.

Celebrated our anniversary with dinner at The Black Rat last night and were amazed at the quality of the food as well as the service.Hand sanitizer was available on entry and all staff wore masks as well as making clear the subtle differences in service that are to be expected given the pandemic however none of the changes removed any enjoyment from the experience.Will definitely be visiting again, the food was fantastic and the place has a relaxed feeling that is perfect for a date night.

First restaurant visit in a long time, and this was bsolutely amazing experience. We had our own outside seating that was covered and heated. Menu was very interesting, desert was the highlight. Dont forget to have pre drinks at the nearby Black Boy - also truly unique

We had a wonderful time here for my fiancés birthday, they couldnt be more attentive and he absolutely loved his meal! Will definitely be coming back, thank you for a great evening, food and drinks!

We were bought a gift voucher as a wedding present and went last night. The choice of food was very varied and made the choice a little dilemma.our choices are as in the pictures and were excellent. Wine list is extensive. Attentive staff. If you like gin they have separate menu for that. Lots of different gins. Its not a cheap experience as you expect but would definitely come back, I understand they have heated outside seating so maybe try that.If I had any criticism which I didnt really but it would be the lighting which was quite dark and it made it difficult to see what we were eating.

Been here 3 or 4 times now, most recently in May 2019 on a sat eve. Food has always been standout and certainly 1 star worthy. It’s not theatrical or molecular - what it is, is delicious, well presented, well portioned, interesting food in a cozy atmosphere with excellent, friendly and informed staff. Comparing to other 1 or even 2 starred restaurants it easily holds its own. If you’re in the local area / staying within a reasonable drive, then this is a must eat for anyone who enjoys their food. Scotch egg, rabbit, and lamb all fantastic and the madeleines are a must have (a bit of a speciality of the black rat). Extensive gin menu too here. Certainly recommend.

The staff make you feel welcome as soon as you arrive. One of the few michelin restaurants that serves great food in a casual environment.

Wow!! Fantastic food, great value 3 course set lunch menu. Highly recommended.

Pretty good dinner here, in rustic antique decor. Some delicious moments like the cod in sweet potato chowder. Wasnt that impressed with the apple terrine dessert. Appreciate the hard work and effort in each dish, I guess it comes down to personal tastes.

Simply the best vegetarian meal Ive ever had, prepared specially as there wasnt a veggie option when we visited. Just stunning food and charming service. Beautifully understated decor in a lovely 17rh century building. cant recommend highly enough.

Amazing service is great food is just out of this world .. drama on a plate i didnt know to eat it or watch it 12 out of 10

Wonderful restaurant. The standard of the food was very high as you would expect. The selections of gin available was great and I really enjoyed trying some new varieties. The service was very good and the staff attentive. The set lunch menu is reasonable especially given the quality of the food and how tasty it was. The setting is a little quirky as it is an old building and the restaurant appears to have been a old pub or tearoom at some point.

Absolutely wonderful. Staff amazing. Service spot on. Food truly excellent. Great wines. Havent tried the Gin selection yet, but I bet its good. Lovely decor and sweet outdoor area with little huts