Our Restaurant

Verveine is an award winning contemporary dining venue in the heart of Milford on Sea village. Our menu features fresh local produce cooked in imaginative ways. We aim to bring you fine dining with quality local ingredients at affordable prices. Our menu consists of personal touches like freshly smoked salmon from our own in-house smokery, homemade daily baked fresh bread, plus our own pasta, ice cream and sorbets. As we believe the New Forest has the best to offer all year round we try our utmost to source all our ingredients on our own doorstep whether its wild bass from The Solent, crab and lobster from Lymington, local cheeses from Sway or pheasants from a local shoot in the New Forest.

Modern British cuisine is our speciality. Our menu features many fish and seafood dishes, complimented with exciting meat & pasta dishes. Our kitchen prides itself on making every effort to make dining at Verveine a special experience whether you are joining us for a light lunch or enjoying our evening dining menu.

The Verveine team always look forward to giving you a warm welcome whenever you dine with us.

Chef proprietor David Wykes trained in Michelin starred kitchens in France & the UK. In 2011 he was recognised as 'Hampshire Chef of the Year'. His initial apprenticeship was served at the 5 Star Grand Hotel in both Jersey and Brighton. David then moved to Oxford, where he worked at the Michelin Star and 3 AA Rosette kitchen in the Bath Place Hotel under the direction of Jeremy Blake O'Conner (Formerly executive chef at The Gavroche.) From Oxford, David moved to France where he worked his way up through the ranks of many multi Michelin Star French kitchens including; restaurant L'Univers, Les Viviers, Auberge D'Azur, Restaurant Jules Albert, and the world famous Restaurant Chantecler at the Hotel Negresco in Nice. As a head chef David has won multiple AA Rosettes in his own right in Oxford and Royal Tonbridge Wells.

David & his business partner, Stacey, opened Verveine Fishmarket Restaurant in February 2010. Today, David and his small kitchen team delight in producing much in house, from the butter and artisan bread, preserves & pickles, fish from their own fishmongers, to the produce from their own 'in-house smokery'. To ensure the freshest ingredients, David and his team can often be seen foraging for samphire and purslane in Keyhaven, elderflowers and dandelions in the village, or picking brambles, gooseberries and potatoes at the local farm. In 2011 Verveine won 'Hampshire Best Restaurant 2011' in the Hampshire Food & Drink Awards, and David himself was awarded 'Chef of the Year'. Also in 2011, Verveine were recognised as 'Hampshire's Best Fish Restaurant' by Trip Advisor.

Ultimately, David takes the freshest ingredients, adds modern concepts, and incorporates them with classic combinations of flavours to create a clean and innovative taste to British cooking. His passion is in creating quality food using only the finest produce. Nothing makes David's day more than seeing people delighted by the food he creates.