


The Chesil Rectory is a unique and historic restaurant located in Winchester which occupies a 600 year old grade II listed Medieval house of exceptional character and charm. Independently owned since 2008 by a small group of friends who share a passion for food and wine, the Chesil Rectory offers a modern British menu featuring simple, classic, seasonal dishes and an abundance of fresh local produce.
Exposed beam and stripped floor dining room with fireplaces, for gourmet Modern British cuisine.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 1 Chesil St, Winchester SO23 0HU, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1962 851555
Website: http://www.chesilrectory.co.uk/
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Reservations: resdiary.com
Photo Gallery
Related Web Results
Chesil Rectory – Great British Dining in Winchester
Chesil Rectory – Winchester – a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant
The Chesil Rectory | Winchester – Facebook
Reviews
Drinks were great and even the easy bites were full of flavour. I had the lamb dish – the meat was beautifully tender with no strong lamb smell, and the potato-mash with tomatoes pieces and garlic chips gave it a lovely sweet, sour and savoury balance. The cheese plate was more standard, but the Port Wine was excellent. A wonderful surprise was the birthday message on the plate, which came with complimentary sweets – such a thoughtful touch!
The restaurant is set in a beautifully decorated old house, which gives a real sense of dining in a historic place. Everything is well organised and the tables are spaced comfortably.
We truly enjoyed the dinner and would highly recommend this restaurant for a special occasion.
To start with the positive: the staff were genuinely lovely. Friendly, attentive, and very social. The service was excellent and the building itself is beautiful and impressive.
However, the food simply didn’t live up to the setting or the price. Almost everything we ordered was left unfinished.
The crab toastie tasted like a supermarket sandwich you might pick up at M&S. The soup was actually good, but that was one of the few highlights. The eggplant and halloumi salad was particularly disappointing—the halloumi was chewy, the eggplant undercooked, and the spices had nothing that resembled Mediterranean flavours.
The mackerel was just OK. The cheese platter was probably the best part of the meal, but even that felt very ordinary—like cheeses I could buy at my local cheese shop (and honestly, I would probably pick better ones there myself).
Overall, everything felt quite overpriced and the value for money was close to zero.
It’s a stunning building with very kind staff, but unfortunately the food did not match the reputation or the price point. If you’re visiting the area, I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here.
The meals are of the highest quality & the wine list is perfect!
But the very best thing about the Chesil Rectory is the quality of the service! Simply outstanding!
We went for South African wine dinner that was, as usual, absolutely perfect!!
Update – went back – chose from the a la carte menu – it was even better!! Wouldn’t have thought that was possible!!
Very good service, just the right amount of interaction and care. Very nice food . Good wines and a lovely historical building.
The building is from the 1450s or so, low ceilings, small doors, creaky and undulating boards taken from old ships (often used at the time: making planks with ye olde tools would have been a pain, even if you had plenty of wood). Charm, charm, charm. Tall men stooped until seated. You step down into the building from outside, so when seated in the front ground floor rooms you look through the window with your head at about the knee-level of passing pedestrians: novel! I saw a bit of upstairs, equally gorgeous.
This would be a great option for a special occasion out, or just a wonderful indulgence.
I was treated well, and given *excellent* advice about wine pairings. I had trout for entree, which was tasty and delicate; then the lamb, a stronger flavour, both lamb and alliums, but well-balanced, cooked well (neither raw nor overdone) and delicious. Then the brandy snaps with the recommended dessert wine, which together – and individually – were amazing. It was not cheap, but really worth it. It was too classy a place to take photos, but I could’ve driven my foodie friends nuts with envy, I think.
Other guests were primarily couples. I wasn’t made uncomfortable.
Food was absolutely stunning, excellent espresso martini and great staff.