The signature restaurant at five-star country house Lainston Hotel, The Avenue is an elegant fine dining restaurant, named after the mile-long avenue of lime trees that guests can see from the dining room.
The Avenue is a sophisticated space, but doesn’t feel overly pompous. Wood-panelled walls and heavy drapes speak to tradition, but touches such as the soft patterned carpet and cosy fireplace help to make things a little homey too.
At the end of 2024, The Avenue announced that MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 champion Tom Hamblet would be joining as head chef, taking the helm of the restaurant after the restaurant’s refurbishment is completed on 27 November. Tom’s victory on the show put him on the map as one of the most talented young chefs in the country, and he leads a fresh, innovative menu at Lainston House that is driven by seasonality and local produce.
His debut menu features exquisite snacks such as a laminated brioche with garden herb butter, and dishes such as scallop with anchovy, seaweed pickle and ajo blanco, and venison loin with beetroot, onion caramel and duck liver sauce.
To round off your meal, there are desserts such as whipped cheesecake tart with pear, fig leaf, blackberry and pastis sorbet, as well as ‘squeeze them in’ petit fours like a Lainston apple juice and ginger pate de fruit. Tom also squeezes in a variety of snacks and extra course between your main choices, showcasing the best of Hampshire produce.