Great Places For Lunch In And Around Basingstoke
Here are five great places to take your elderly friend or relative for lunch in and around Basingstoke
There are so many fabulous places in and around Basingstoke where you can go for lunch.
Over the past few years, isolation and sickness have taken their toll on us all, but none more so than the older and more vulnerable members of our society.
We hope you will not only enjoy the food but make new memories with your loved ones and elderly friends at some of these choice eateries.
We have selected these lunch spots for their individuality, location, accessibility, quality of food, welcoming staff, great atmosphere and good service. Hopefully you will agree.
The Four Horseshoes, Sherfield On Loddon
The Four Horseshoes is a family run village pub in a 16th century Grade II listed building, with traditional low beams and wood-burning stoves. Located just a short stroll from Sherfield On Loddon’s large village green and duck ponds, it offers informal dining at lunchtimes and evenings, seven days per week.
They offer a good range of British and Thai food to eat inside, outside in the courtyard or to take away.
The effervescent manageress Lily told us that, if you order a small portion, you can have lunch with an ice cream dessert for just £7 – that’s really great if you’re watching the pennies and/or the waistline!
If you like some spicy heat, try the Choo Chee salmon – it’s just amazing.
The Four Horseshoes is on Reading Road, Sherfield on Loddon, Hook RG27 0EX, telephone 01256 882 296
The Honesty Café, Thatcham
This is something a bit different…. The Honesty Group was founded in 2014 with the objective of serving food which is locally and sustainably produced, and as free as possible from artificial preservatives and additives. At heart, Honesty are bakers, but as well as supplying restaurants and hotels, the group also runs a number of coffee shops, pubs and farm shops in Hampshire and Berkshire.
The Base is a visual arts & crafts centre, set within a business park. It houses artists’ studios, workshop space, a gallery and the Honesty Café, and regularly hosts events and exhibitions. If you fancy having a look around the gallery or taking part in a workshop before or after lunch, call The Base on 01635 522 733 before you set out to find out what’s on and any costs.
The Café is open 8am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 9.30am to 5pm on Sundays. It offers a delicious range of food and drink, as you would expect from this group of acclaimed master bakers. Teia-Lett showed us their range of toasties, salads, cakes and sweet treats, and hot & cold drinks.
You can find the Honesty Cafe at The Base, Greenham Business Park, Communications Road, Thatcham RG19 6HN, telephone 07388 488114
The River Bank Tea Room, Conkers Garden Centre
You don’t have to be a gardener to want to go to Conkers Garden Centre – you just need to fancy an informal, calm and serene space to sit and unwind with some refreshments.
The River Bank Tea Room offers cakes, sandwiches and hot meals from 9.15am to 4.30pm Mondays to Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. It’s hard to choose from the wide range of drinks, tasty cakes, sandwiches, ciabatta, baguettes, paninis, wraps, salads and jacket potatoes….. plus there’s usually a “Daily Special” thrown into the mix! Choose your table, inside or outside, and enjoy breakfast, a relaxing light lunch, or something smaller. Gluten Free options are also available.
You could have a leisurely browse around the extensive garden centre showrooms while you’re there, and maybe even pick up a plant or two.
The River Bank Tea Room is at Conkers Garden Centre, London Road, Old Basing, Basingstoke RG24 7LJ, telephone 01256 840 515.
The Street Bakeshop, Old Basing
A very popular artisan bakery, specialising in sourdough bread, hot smoked meat sandwiches, sausage rolls, toasties, pastries and cakes, all handcrafted by them from scratch. Owner Tim, was awarded the British Baking Industry “Baker of the Year” in 2021, and the business was awarded “Craft Bakery Business of the Year” in 2022.
Tim set up the business in summer 2020, and this little gem in the heart of Old Basing has not looked back since. Although he now has a team of 22 people, Tim says he still has his hands in dough every day.
One of the team, Susanne, talked us through their menu. Of particular interest to us for lunch were the hot smoked meat sandwiches, and they offer house-smoked beef brisket on a house Blaa (a white bread roll) with coleslaw, bbq sauce and chimichurri on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, and house-smoked pork belly on a house Blaa with celeriac and apple slaw, bbq sauce and chimichurri on Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays. If that’s not quite to your taste, they offer a wide selection of toasties and paninis, and you can round it all off with a cake or pastry, and coffee that has been roasted in Winchester.
Sit inside and enjoy the fresh bakery aromas, or outside from where you can actually watch the talented bakers at work!
Fancy a really nice cake for a party? You can order online and The Bakeshop will make one for you.
This venue is quite close to Basingstoke Common (aka Basing Common) where you might enjoy working up your appetite before lunch or walking your meal off afterwards.
The Street Bakeshop can be found at The Street, Old Basing, Basingstoke RG24 7BW, telephone 01256 818 896
Tylney Hall Hotel, Rotherwick
Put on your glad rags to go here. Tylney Hall is a magnificent, Grade II listed, country house hotel, nestled in 66 acres of manicured gardens and parkland. It describes itself as a luxury hotel that “has never lost its old world sense of charm”, offering a chance to return to “an age of elegance and gracious living”.
The original Tylney Hall was built by the Tylney family in the 1700s, but the current building dates from redevelopment of the site by Sir Lionel Philips at the start of the 20th century, when he returned to Britain having made his fortune in the South African goldfields. The property then changed hands several times, and was used as a hospital during the First World War and as a school from 1946 to 1984. In 1985 Tylney Hall re-opened in its present incarnation as a prestigious restaurant and hotel, and is currently part of the Elite Hotels Group.
Tylney Hall offers top class lunches or afternoon teas, served formally in a grand dining room, more casually in one of the lounges, or al fresco out on the terrace from where there is an outstanding view.
While you’re here, grab the opportunity to explore some of Tylney Hall’s fabulous grounds. If you’re up for a walk, see if you can find our favourite place, which has to be down at the bottom of the garden, along a boundary line, where the haha conceals a Second World War air raid shelter.
Tylney Hall Hotel can be found on Ridge Lane, Rotherwick, Hook RG27 9AZ, telephone 01256 764881
Many of our senior citizens spend a lot of time alone, so companionship means so much – we hope you will visit and enjoy at least one of these venues with your treasured friend or family member. You might be the only person they see from one week to the next, so take them out and make special memories to treasure.
For more information about how our Basingstoke team could help you select the best home care support for yourself or a loved one please give us a ring on 01256 840 660 or email us on [email protected]