The Woodman, Ringwood

A Marston’s Two-For-One roadside pub, formerly The Hungry Poacher. There is a large car park and a reasonable garden complemented by a good-sized outdoor terrace, but it comes up on you quite quickly so is easy to miss if you're travelling too fast in the wrong lane of the dual carriageway. The building is modern, purpose-built, and provides a single spacious figure-of-eight shaped bar/restaurant with a central servery, one side slightly raised and reached up steps or a wheel-chair hoist, depending on your preference; Daleks, I was told, have the choice. The flooring is a mix of wood laminate and corporate carpet, while the ceilings show wooden joists and occasionally floorboards between the painted concrete beams. The décor is mainly sober and includes a repro Victorian fireplace at the lower end. There is a children's play area and a collection of gaming machines for all age groups. There is also a cash machine in the bar. Free WiFi is available. Food is formulaic and cheap. The staff are hard-working and friendly, though some of the regulars were a bit tiresome. Fine for a pitstop when travelling East out of Dorset, but I wouldn't seek it out otherwise.

The Woodman is located alongside the busy A31 and I got some inkling that this is a food led pub by the large car park to the right of the pub. At the rear of the car park is a large beer garden with lots of picnic tables and a children’s play area. The interior of the pub is made up by a small bar area to the right of the entrance and a much larger seating area up some steps to the left. The bar is stocked with standard draught and the three hand pumps were drawing Ringwood Best (x2) and Pedigree during my visit last Saturday afternoon. The pub co food is priced around the £10 mark, but most dishes are available two for one which brings them down to a fair price. My scampi and chips came straight from an Iceland bag and whilst the misses liked the taste of her bolognaise it was the size of a starter and there was no offer of cheese. The service was friendly and polite, but woefully amateurish and I was informed by our waitress that they had only been doing table service for a couple of weeks so I cut them some slack. I gather that this pub was previously a carvery and became the Woodman circa 2006 when its name was changed from the Hungry Poacher. Maybe an experienced restaurant manager could be drafted in to lend their experience to the young staff. I didn’t spot any televisions and there certainly isn’t any Sky Sports here, although some generic bland music was playing in the background. When I left I wasn’t hungry anymore and two meals for a tenner can’t be scoffed at. If I was passing by again I would consider popping back in for another bite to eat, but if I was a local looking for an evening out this place would be near the bottom of the list for a revisit.