The Greyhound on the Test: Country pub with rooms to open in Stockbridge next month
Over £200,000 has been spent on the refurbishment of the 500-year-old building in Stockbridge, with the seven bedrooms individually designed, a new bar area re-installed downstairs and head chef Alan Haughie brought in to revamp the restaurant’s food offering.
Lucy Townsend bought the Greyhound Inn in November 2012 with two business partners. She told BigHospitality that it was always her intention to refurbish and rename the venue, before re-opening it in March.
“We wanted to freshen it up and give it our own style,” said Townsend – who also owns the Kings Arms in Southampton. “The Greyhound on the Test’s restaurant is going to be quite contemporary and the whole site will have more of a ‘country inn’ feel.
“I’ve done lots of pubs before and you don’t usually get the opportunity to go back and look at the back-of-house things like the plumbing and the heating - you don’t have a chance to actually think and analyse everything.”
Fly fishing
The Greyhound on the Test sits on the Test Valley, the home of fly fishing. Guests can fish from the pub’s gardens with the restaurant offering to gut, clean and cook any fish caught by guests for their supper.
“We’re pretty much full for the whole of the fishing season already, from May until September,” added Townsend.
The 60-cover restaurant - which previously held a Michelin star - will be open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner with chef Haughie offering ‘clean, classic’ food made from locally sourced ingredients. The new bar area will offer local beers and wines with space for an additional 20 customers.
Brunch will include dishes such as smoked haddock, wilted spinach and poached egg and confit duck hash; mains include lemon-scented fish crumble with seasonal greens and braised pork belly, celeriac puree and white beans. The dessert menu will feature home-made ices and sorbets and classic chocolate fondant.
The Greyhound on the Test will open on Stockbridge High Street on 11 March.
