The Workman’s Bar ‘reinterprets’ the pub format, drawing on Britain’s industrial heritage through the use of ‘honest’ materials and understated design while ‘seeking to evoke the warmth and conviviality of a neighbourhood local’.
Open to hotel guests and non-residents alike, the bar has a collection of paintings by Malcolm Teasdale and serves food alongside a drinks menu focused on local craft beers, fine wines and reinterpretations of classic British drinks from the 1950s.
Options in the latter category include the Heckfield Shandy, made with Surrey brewery Hogs Back’s Hogstar Lager and zero-waste lemon cordial; a whisky and ginger ale infused with lapsang tea for a ‘subtle smoky depth’; and a Babycham-inspired combination of apple, pear and Champagne.
Heckfield Place opened in 2018 following a nine-year restoration of the house and estate, with the late Skye Gyngell directing its food and beverage offer.
Much of the team she assembled remains in place, overseeing an operation rooted in produce grown on the hotel’s 400-acre estate between Reading and Basingstoke.
Its restaurants include Michelin Green Star-awarded Marle and the more informal Hearth, where dishes are cooked over an open fire.