Chickpea Group to open its tenth pub with rooms

South West-based Chickpea Group is to open its tenth pub with rooms next month.

Opening on 30 May, the Great Decoy is situated in the village of Hurstbourne Tarrant, surrounded by the Test Valley, and marks the group’s first venture into Hampshire.

Following an extensive renovation, the space - which was previously known as the George & Dragon - has been transformed into a 150-cover pub, with space for 90 indoors and 60 in the courtyard garden.

The kitchen will serve up a mix of Chickpea favourites, including its signature pies from its sister pub, the Pembroke Arms in Wilton, in addition to ‘Pub Bangers’ Quarr Cross venison steak frites with peppercorn sauce, beer battered fish and chips with smashed peas and curry sauce and Nole pizza.

À la carte dishes will also include day boat fish, hollandaise, monksbeard; English lamb, bacon, peas and mint; and Chocolate Nemesis.

Upstairs, there are eight individually designed bedrooms featuring statement pieces by Wiltshire artist Wilson McTeare as well as king size beds, shaggy rugs and bathrooms stocked with Land & Water amenities.

Ethan Davids, co-founder of Chickpea Group, said: “We are buzzing to be opening our first pub in Hampshire in the picturesque village of Hurstbourne Tarrant. At Chickpea our mission is to reimagine rural hospitality and we’re going to do that at the Great Decoy by breathing fresh life into this iconic roadside Inn. 

“The Decoy will be everything one expects from a country boozer with bedrooms - warm and genuine hospitality; exceptional food and drink; and supremely comfortable bedrooms for the best night’s sleep.

“More broadly, the Great Decoy marks our ongoing commitment to constant but considered growth. The pub is the beating heart of rural living, which is why we get such a buzz from bringing them back to life.”

Overnight stays will start from £90 per night B&B.

Chickpea Group is owned and run by brother and sister, Ethan and Jordan Davids, alongside their friend, Tommy Tullis.

Its portfolio includes the Fleur de Lys in Cranborne, the King’s Arms in Shaftesbury, and the Manor House Inn in Ditcheat.

The trio took on their first pub in village of Zeals, Wiltshire in 2019.