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The Pig in the Wall, Southampton

Lee Mannion feasts at The Pig in the Wall, Southampton

The Credentials:

The original Pig, situated in Brockenhurst in the New Forest, won rave reviews when it opened last year. Marketed as a ‘restaurant with rooms’ by Hotel Du Vin founder Robin Hutson, the on-site kitchen garden was trumpeted, as was a policy of sourcing everything within a 25-mile radius, thus supporting the local economy. Of the six UK hotels listed in their 2013 travel guide, Tatler made The Pig one of them. The Pig in the Wall, with only 12 rooms in Southampton, is the next installment in the story.

Dine:

The food is the reason people come and no wonder. Head chef is James Golding, who has Le Caprice, J Sheekey and Soho House New York on his CV. TPITW is short on kitchen space, so they ferry you over to the original Pig in their land rovers, a half-hour trip. As you sweep up the drive to the country house, surrounded by all the best kind of English countryside, it does feel very special. You don’t so much ‘eat’ as ‘feast’ here. As we waited for our table under a boars head trophy, admiring all the coloured glasses by the window throwing rainbow strands into the room, a succession of ‘Piggy Bites’ warmed us up. ‘Brock eggs’ were their take on scotch eggs – the meat being the tenderest of pulled pork. There was also mini hits of pork belly.

The restaurant is a rustic, light-filled conservatory that looks out onto the woods: particularly wonderful at this time of year as the light fades late. My ‘Bath Chap’ was their take on pig cheeks but is not for the faint hearted as most of a jaw (complete with a few teeth) arrives. It was like the best pork belly you’ve ever had – crackling as big as your hand and soft, white meat falling off the bone. Nose to tail eating indeed. We had ‘tobacco onions’ on the side too, which are smokey and crispy and addiction forming. A clear jelly of gin paired with cucumber sorbet was the perfect refresher before we hit the sofas to digest.

The breakfast next morning is worth a mention too. Lovely and lazy, with lots of have-it-how-you-like-it options, including a boiling machine you can lower eggs into on coloured supports which have matching egg timers. It proved a surprisingly sociable way to meet our fellow guests.

Sleep:

They describe them as shabby chic but the old dark wood railway sleeper floors were about as shabby as they got. Rooms come in three sizes and our ‘spacious’ was certainly that. A free-standing bath stood on a jumbled collection of tiles off to the side of the main room and I liked the separate loo, which had an old fashioned Victorian high flush toilet. Perhaps the most remarkable thing was the sound proofing – nothing could be heard of the busy dock roads 100 metres away. Instead of a mini bar, you get a ‘larder’ with alternative takes on the usual – we found salami in ours. A luxurious four poster ensured sound sleep.

Who Goes There?

Couples who are mostly in their 30s and early 40s if the late rising breakfast procession was anything to go by. A couple of hipsters (rolled-up trouser legs, statement specs, tattoos) and one older couple dressed by M&S – they were the the only ones up early.

Out & About:

The New Forest is on your doorstep and it’s worth having a stroll around Lymington, which had an old-school Saturday market and gently bobbing yachts in the harbour. Ferries to the Isle of Wight are about 10 minutes from the hotel if you fancy venturing off the mainland.

The Worst Thing:

Southampton. Or rather, their town planners. The Luftwaffe did the original damage in WWII but the amount of ugly buildings that went up to fill the holes, shrouding the remaining beautiful historical stuff, is a crying shame. Fortunately the hotel is set in the most picturesque part – the medieval walls.

The Best Thing:

Our room was fine but the bar downstairs was a great place for a couple of early evening snifters or lingering over an extended breakfast with the papers. There was a complete absence of the grandstanding or pretentiousness you sometimes find at five-star hotels and the staff are enthusiastic and attentive without being fawning. They exude the hope that you really enjoy being there without seeming desperate that you do and that’s a neat trick to pull off.

The Details:

Rooms start from £125 per night.

The Pig Hotel, 8 Western Esplanade, Southampton SO14; www.thepighotel.com; 023 8063 6900