The Best Independent Restaurants in Winchester (How to Eat out for Less)

Winchester is a small city, but it eats like a much bigger one. Tucked between the Cathedral and the side streets off the High Street is a genuinely strong line-up of independent restaurants, from proper Italian kitchens to Greek cooking, wood-fired pizza and more.

This is a guide to some of the best independent restaurants in Winchester, all of them places where you can also save money. Every restaurant below is part of the Discover Winchester Pass, which gives you 10% off your bill. So if you are deciding where to eat in Winchester, you can pick somewhere great and pay a little less while you are at it.

Why eat at Winchester's independents

The chains are easy to find. The independents are where the city's character lives. Choosing them keeps your money in Winchester, with the small kitchens and family-run places that make eating out here worth doing in the first place.

If you eat out even a couple of times a month, the savings add up fast. A 10% discount on dinner for two, again and again, is the kind of thing that pays for the pass several times over. If you have not read it yet, our guide to discounts in Winchester covers how the whole thing works.

Italian restaurants in Winchester

Winchester does Italian particularly well, and there are three independents worth knowing.

• La Gastronomia is one of the highest-rated restaurants on the whole pass, known for authentic, home-style Italian cooking.

• Olivetta on Stockbridge Road is a relaxed Mediterranean and Italian spot, handy for the station end of the city.

• Bottega del Mastro on Parchment Street is an Italian deli-kitchen, good for a proper sit-down meal or something more casual.

Greek food in Winchester

For something a bit different, Winchester has a well-loved Greek kitchen.

• Yiayias on St George's Street serves Greek cooking that has built a loyal following in the city.

Pizza in Winchester

If pizza is the plan, you are spoilt for choice. Three independent pizza spots take the pass.

• Five Boroughs Pizza on Jewry Street does New York style pizza by the slice and the pie.

• Pizza Tavern on Bridge Street is a long-standing favourite for a sit-down pizza.

• Pi Pizza is another strong independent option in the city.

Something a little different

Not every night out is a sit-down dinner, and the pass covers the more relaxed end too.

• Overdraft on Jewry Street is a beer and tacos spot, equally good for a full meal or just a drink and a snack.

How to save 10% at Winchester restaurants

Saving at any of the restaurants above is simple. You get the Discover Winchester Pass, open it on your phone, and show it when you pay. The restaurant takes 10% off your bill. There is no card to carry, no app to download and no code to remember.

The pass costs £2.99 a month, or £0.99 for a 24-hour day pass if you just want it for one night out. One dinner for two usually covers the monthly cost on its own.

Is it worth it for eating out?

If you eat out in Winchester regularly, yes, easily. The restaurants on the pass cover most of the cuisines you would actually want on a given night, from Italian to Greek to pizza, so the discount is not limited to one or two places you rarely visit. It applies across a real spread of the city's best independents, every time you go.

Plan your night out

If you are working out where to eat in Winchester this week, start with the independents. The food is better, the money stays local, and with the pass you spend a little less wherever you land. You can browse all 19 partners on the live map to see everywhere it works.

[Get the Pass]

The Discover Winchester Pass gives 10% off at participating independent restaurants, cafés, shops and salons across Winchester, Hampshire. See the full list on the live partner map.