The Hare, Milton under Wychwood

My niece, Rachel, and I have always had an innate urge to revive failing pubs and we’ve been doing it now for many years. We literally can’t drive past a For Sale sign on a closed pub without immediately pulling over and drawing up the blueprint for its relaunch. We LOVE pubs. And hotels. And catering. And everything to do with hospitality!

Our most recent transformation is The Hare in Milton under Wychwood. It had been closed for 5 years when we bought it and was completely stripped out – no bar, no cellar, no kitchen, nothing – just a pub-shaped empty building. That was perfect for us, though as we love the interior design as much as anything and to fit a commercial kitchen to the exact specifications of our Head Chef was his absolute dream come true.

We immediately set up a Facebook page to keep the locals up to speed on our plans for their village pub. As it turned out, Milton is a hotbed of entrepreneurial talent and each time we posted a request for help, the village responded. We found great staff, a window cleaner, a fantastic signwriter, a decorator, a wood carver, a DIY man… We even asked if we had any artists in the village and if so, would they like to paint a picture of a hare that we could hang in the pub. We received 12 fabulous drawings and paintings that now hang on a gallery wall in the dining room!

There were several things we had in mind when we were deciding on the look and layout of the new pub. We wanted to create a little haven of luxury so even if you just popped in for a pint you would feel you’d had more than your money’s worth. So we used deep chalky colours for the walls, plush velvets for the built in seating and lots of gilt mirrors and pictures. We had to try and create a lived in feel to offset the fact that literally everything in the pub was brand new so we bought an old bar from a hotel in Shipston that was refurbishing throughout. The bar is marble and oak and pleasantly aged so, as the main feature, it instantly gives a more relaxed feel to the décor. We scoured junk shops for chipped and worn picture frames and mirrors. And we chose a mish mash of furniture to give it less of a formal feel.

We wanted to create a welcoming bar area – isn’t it awful when you pop to your local and all the tables are reserved for diners? So we have a good selection of unlaid first come/first served tables in the bar, a log burner, a great bar snacks menu and plenty of space for sitting or standing.

We also wanted to offer a private dining option but didn’t have a spare room to devote to it so we had some sliding glass doors made and we can close off half of the dining area to create a private room whenever we need it.

Food is hugely important to us too – we have been lucky enough to attract a fantastic local chef, Matt Dare, who is experienced as he is enthusiastic. Matt heads up a team of 4 in a busy and compact kitchen. They are crazy about fish and seafood and look forward to a daily delivery of marine cuisine that is brought straight up from Cornwall or Dartmouth and is written up on the blackboard immediately it arrives.

We didn’t just want to offer substantial meals though and risk alienating walkers or people popping in for a quick bite at lunchtime so we offer a light menu of salads and delicious sandwiches too.

Adding to the touch of luxury we are aiming for, we have launched Champagne Happy Hour on Friday afternoons and it’s gone with a pop so far! House Champagne at £20 a bottle has attracted a great crowd of locals and created a feel good atmosphere.

We hope we have created a welcoming and stylish little bolt hole – great service is really important to us and we truly believe the customer is king.