The Elvetham Hotel

3.3

71 Reviews

£25 and under

English

Good for special occasions
Great for brunch
Charming

Please be aware that booking over 10 people may require a deposit.

Inspired by History:
In 1591 the estate played host to the Elvetham Entertainment. Arranged for Queen Elizabeth I, the four-day spectacle was one of the most exciting and lavish events of her reign.

Our Sylvanus Restaurant is named after one of the mythological creatures from the entertainments grand water pageant, Silvanus, the Roman god of woods, wildlands and pastures. Introducing himself as a devoted servant of Queen Elizabeth, his performance was designed to praise the queens wise leadership over her land based commanders and naval captains during the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Today our Sylvanus Restaurant is a nod towards that memorable performance almost 500 years ago in a hope to keep the tale of that event alive in the history of the English monarchy.

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Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
£25 and under
Cuisines
English, Afternoon Tea, Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service
Hours of operation
Lunch Mon–Sat 12:00 pm–2:00 pm Sun 1:00 pm–3:30 pm Afternoon Tea Daily 2:00 pm–5:00 pm Dinner Daily 5:30 pm–9:30 pm
Phone number
01252 844871
Website
https://elvethamhotel.co.uk/food-and-drink/sylvanus-restaurant
Payment options
AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Business Casual

Location
Fleet Road, Hartley Witney, Hook, Hampshire RG27 8AR
Neighborhood
Hartley Wintney
Parking details
Hotel Parking
Additional
Beer, Cocktails, Gluten-free Options, Vegan, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 71 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

3.3

3.3 based on recent ratings

3.5Food
2.7Service
3.5Ambience
3.1Value

Noise • Moderate

71 Reviews

JT
JoTT
London
3 reviews
2.0
3 reviews
Dined on May 4, 2024
1. Overall 2
2. Food 2
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 2
Disappointed with very thin sandwich fillings, cakes were very dry, tasted as if they had been frozen and defrosted. Service average - no staff asking how things were or offering more tea. Felt as though staff were stretched as there was a wedding on.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Hampshire
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on April 26, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Booked afternoon tea for my mum as something she has always wanted to do. The hotel and grounds are gorgeous, beautiful. The staff were very professional and friendly and attentive, the manager was great as he took the time to explain the history of the hotel to us. The food was really good lots of it and very tasty. We were given containers to take the leftovers home which was great. The restaurant was lovely and spacious so you didn't feel like other diners were on top of you, would highly recommend very happy
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JS
JuliaS
Berkshire
1 review
2.0
1 review
Dined on February 22, 2024
1. Overall 2
2. Food 2
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 3
My friend and I always treat ourselves to a Champagne afternoon tea after Christmas in lieu of presents. We usually go to the same luxury hotel but decided this year to change our venue to The Elvetham. We were very disappointed! Firstly, they didn't have a record of our booking, but luckily I was able to show my email confirmation. We were seated in the Sylvanus restaurant which was lovely looking out over the lawns. The plates, cups, saucers and teapot were very basic plain white almost like something you'd get in a roadside cafe. No dainty, patterned bone china that you would expect from this standard of hotel. The sandwiches were ok, nothing special. We weren't offered any extra sandwiches. When we started our scones there was no Strawberry jam so we asked for some. We were brought a little stand of mini jars of Marmalade, apricot and raspberry jams - No strawberry! So we again had to ask for strawberry and were told they didn't have any but she would ask the chef. She then returned with a couple of little jars of strawberry which did the job. Another table of ladies also had no jam so followed our lead and asked! It is beyond belief how, whoever was in charge of doing the afternoon teas, could allow the tea to be sent out to a table with NO jam and not even an explanation! Surely someone could have popped out and bought a few jars of jam just to keep them going until some was delivered? We asked for a box to take some of the cakes home and were given plastic takeaway tubs which again not what we expect from a luxury hotel and definitely not eco-friendly! Overall the actual hotel building is beautiful and the restaurant setting was lovely, the staff were courteous, but I'm afraid the tea was not up to expectations, distinctly average and definitely not worth the £47.25 each that we paid. We will not be returning.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Surrey
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on February 18, 2024
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 3
Celebrating a 60th birthday and called hotel prior to ask for it to be a bit special with the dessert. Maybe some chocolate writing etc. and was happy to pay. Nothing was done, so disappointed. When we arrived, we were not asked if we wanted a drink, we sat for a good 15 minutes trying to get a drinks menu to order some bubbly. They seemed disorganised. Food was average but one member of the party was missing part of her vegetables. When we pointed it out, it was resolved promptly. I doubt that we will return in a hurry.
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VP
VivienneP
London
3 reviews
3.0
3 reviews
Dined on February 18, 2024
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 2
I booked for 4 people for Sunday lunch. Overall the food was fine but I would suggest avoiding the vegetable broth which was tasteless. The salmon was lovely but accompanying vegetables were cold. We were not offered any drinks and had to ask which seemed to cause confusion for the waitress. She was unable to provide a menu of drinks and her knowledge of what the bar offered was poor. She didn't know the difference between beer and lager, and hadn't a clue about what whiskey was available. I don't blame her, but felt that she lacked support and training in basics. It was clear that other diners were also having issues over incorrect food orders, and drink orders. So the ambience was nonexistent. I'd expect to pay more to eat at the hotel than at a local pub, but for the cost I would want better basic service. The waiting staff looked liked rabbits caught in head lights. They need better basic training and guidance. Guests need to feel wanted and made to feel welcome and fussed over. All of that was lacking.
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EB
EmmaB
Brighton
1 review
2.0
1 review
Dined on January 28, 2024
1. Overall 2
2. Food 1
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 3
Went for the set three course roast, meat was dry, starter options were all fish bar 1 broth which was flavourless. Gammon in the roast was completely dry, not sure how gammon can be over done? Or been cooked and left out for ages. Pudding was tiny but was nice. Only 2 other tables so not sure how the quality of food was so bad? Massive shame as we wanted to start coming regularly. Lovely building and staff.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
2.0
1 review
Dined on January 20, 2024
1. Overall 2
2. Food 3
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 1
Poor experience. Servers couldn’t cope as restaurant was full with a couple of very large, noisy tables. Shoved us into a strange corner which wasn’t designed for 4 as some other diners had taken our reserved table and refused to move. Desserts that we hadn’t ordered arrived before mains. Mains took forever although the food itself was ok. Told us they would cover some drinks to compensate, no charge on exiting restaurant but then stung for cost in the morning when checking out from hotel and of course none of the evening staff were around. Best avoided, appears to promote itself as a wedding venue…good luck with that.
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EP
ElynP
London
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on December 21, 2023
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 5
Lovely venue for our Christmas dinner and we will definitely go back
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g
georget
Hampshire
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on December 20, 2023
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 4
Wonderful venue with afternoon tea but the lack of experienced tea room staff let the experience down. I’ve had experienced afternoon tea all around Hampshire and london. The Elvetham just needed trained silver service staff to explain the sandwiches, serve the tea and provide silver prongs so you don’t have to use your hands over all the food on the plates. They could also offer extra top of sandwiches like fortnum and mansions do. The selection of tea was also limited and the English tea was simply in a tea bag and very weak. Hope they can improve? Perhaps over Xmas there is a lack of trained staff.
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SO
SelenaO
Surrey
1 review
2.0
1 review
Dined on December 20, 2023
1. Overall 2
2. Food 3
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 1
Champagne afternoon tea for 3 . We ended up with two glasses of champagne and one of Rose!! The waitress said they had run out of champagne!! Most places you are asked if you want more sandwiches, not here. Also we got a strange mix of sandwiches. Beautiful setting but won’t be back
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FAQs

The Elvetham Hotel is rated 3.3 stars by 71 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

Is this your restaurant?

Claim this listing

Fleet Road, Hartley Witney, Hook, Hampshire RG27 8AR

Additional information

Neighborhood
Hartley Wintney
Hours of operation
Lunch Mon–Sat 12:00 pm–2:00 pm Sun 1:00 pm–3:30 pm Afternoon Tea Daily 2:00 pm–5:00 pm Dinner Daily 5:30 pm–9:30 pm
Price
£25 and under
Cuisines
English, Afternoon Tea, Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service
Dining style
Casual Dining
Dress code
Business Casual
Parking details
Hotel Parking
Payment options
AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
Additional
Beer, Cocktails, Gluten-free Options, Vegan, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
https://elvethamhotel.co.uk/food-and-drink/sylvanus-restaurant
Phone number
01252 844871

The Elvetham Hotel

Not available on OpenTable

There’s more to explore

Additional information

Menu

What 71 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

FAQs

How is The Elvetham Hotel restaurant rated?

Is The Elvetham Hotel currently accepting reservations?

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information