Hampshire is home to some of the finest food around and diners can delight in an array of amazing restaurants in Southampton and further afield.

Here's our guide to five of the best, who all have something to shout about and are worth a visit in 2025.

The Avenue at Lainston House

(Image: Angela Ward Brown for Exclusive Collection) He's the Masterchef: The Professionals winner now at the helm of a luxury Hampshire hotel restaurant as it relaunches in the hope of a Michelin star.

MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 champion Tom Hamblet has been named head chef of the flagship restaurant at Lainston House hotel near Winchester.

He has joined the Exclusive Collection property’s Avenue restaurant.

Enjoy an eight-course tasting menu priced at £125, including the likes of laminated brioche with garden herb butter; scallop, anchovy, seaweed pickle and ajo blanco; and whipped cheesecake tart, pear, fig leaf, blackberry and pastis sorbet.

Chennai Lounge, Southampton

(Image: The Chennai Lounge) A family run authentic eatery in Southampton was crowned the best new Indian restaurant in the UK just five months after opening its doors close to the city's waterfront in April 2024. 

The Chennai Lounge in Terminus Terrace has already established a reputation for offering authentic Indian dishes unique in the area. 

Food lovers have been leaving rave reviews for dishes such as Sambar Vadu, Pepper Chicken and the Apple Jalebi dessert served up by a chef team with previous top roles in London and Dubai.

Stanwell House, Lymington

(Image: Stanwell House) He's the acclaimed chef who has won Michelin stars at two previous restaurants and he's back in Hampshire. 

Matthew Tomkinson took over at Stanwell House's Samphire Restaurant in Lymington in February. 

Boasting two decades experience in esteemed kitchens, he has gained Michelin stars at two venues, as well as the Roux Scholarship.

Having held a first Michelin star at The Goose in Oxfordshire, Matthew relaunched The Hambrough's restaurant on the Isle of Wight and was Chef Patron at Betony at The Kings Head, Whiteparish.

He is best known for his ten-year tenure as Executive Chef at the Montagu Arms Hotel in Beaulieu, during which the restaurant won a coveted Michelin star, alongside three AA rosettes. 

Diners can anticipate fresh seafood from the coast, succulent cuts from New Forest farms, and an array of seasonal produce sourced directly from Hampshire's bountiful larder.

The Boat House, Swanwick

(Image: NQ) It's the new-look riverfront restaurant which reopened in 2024 following a seven-figure refurbishment.

The Boathouse, Swanwick returned with a bang in August as scores of customers headed to the marina.

The all-day diner that can now cater for around 250 to 300 people was packed out after months of closure that saw the original building completely rebuilt.

Raised two metres higher, the eatery, part of the Ideal Collection restaurant chain, now gives some one of the best views of the River Hamble.

The lunch and dinner menu offers a number of seafood options including scallops, calamari, trout, prawns and traditional fish and chips.

It also boasts a “cooked over coal” section with steaks and burgers as well as a range of salads and sourdough pizza and pasta.

Ottoman Kitchen, Southampton 

(Image: Ottoman Kitchen) Southampton is officially home to the best Middle Eastern restaurant in the UK.

Popular Turkish eatery Ottoman Kitchen, on the High Street, scooped the coveted award for a second time at the glamorous Asian Curry Awards in London towards the end of 2023. 

The restaurant, also a double Asian Restaurant Awards winner, is situated next to the ruins of the historic Holyrood Church, now a memorial to merchant sailors and Titanic victims, and opened in 2019.

The Ottoman Kitchen menu, based on traditional Turkish family recipes handed down through the generations, features hot and cold meze, meat cooked over a charcoal grill and freshly baked Baklava.