The story
The Wellington Arms, at Baughurst Road, Baughurst, RG26 5LP, serves modern British food in a country inn on the Hampshire and Berkshire border. The Good Food Guide rated it Very Good in 2026, and the kitchen works from its own garden and local suppliers.
The menu changes every day, and the kitchen marks where ingredients come from. HG stands for home-grown, HR for home-reared and FR for free-range. Reviewers describe the cooking as honest and technically precise, with a soup usually offered to start.
Potpies are a regular fixture, including a steak and kidney version with a beef-suet crust and gravy. Other plates have included chargrilled Dexter ribeye, baked lemon sole with brown butter, capers and wild garlic, and a twice-baked Keen's Cheddar soufflé with courgettes and Parmesan. Puddings lean old-school, with Bakewell tart, jam sponge and spotted dick served with the pub's own vanilla ice cream.
Four bedrooms are split between two rooms in an old barn, one in a green oak barn and an apartment above the pub. A private room seats 14, or the whole pub can be taken for a group. The house ale comes from Longdog Brewery in Basingstoke, and the wine list has standout bottles at the top end.
Recognition
Details
History
A picture-perfect pub that gets all the details right, the 'Welli' sets out its stall with a well-manicured garden, growing patches and a veritable barricade of giant shrubbery pots. Inside, there’s a charming clutter about the place, its red-tiled floors and black beams contrasting with details such as ornate butter knives, neat menus boards and stacks of homemade provisions. The kitchen takes ingredients and provenance seriously, and the menu is peppered with tags such as ‘HG’ (home-grown). ‘HR’ (home-reared) and ‘FR’ (free-range). The result is honest cooking, elevated by spot-on technique and an eye for detail. There’s always a soup to start (perhaps celery garnished with fried celery leaves), and the pub’s twice-baked Keen’s Cheddar soufflé is a triumph – wonderfully light and golden-brown, with the addition of creamy courgettes and a cloud of grated Parmesan. ‘Potpies’ are a fixture of the menu (Baughurst House roe deer, HR Jacob lamb), and the steak and kidney version is everything you could wish for with its beef-suet crust, tender braised meat and full-flavoured gravy. Otherwise, expect produce-led dishes ranging from chargrilled Dexter ribeye steaks or chicken Kyiv to baked lemon sole with brown butter, capers and wild garlic. Puddings are exactly that – calorific old-school comforters such as Bakewell tart, jam sponge or spotted dick (an excellent version with loads of golden syrup and the pub’s own vanilla ice cream). Service is relaxed, clued-up and full of smiles, with no faff or hyperbole. The house ale comes courtesy of the Longdog Brewery in Basingstoke, and the well-balanced wine list has some real treats at the top end.
2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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