Sometimes a restaurant’s vibe is so clearly a true expression of its owners. So it is with Lucky Lychee, our Best Local Restaurant of 2025, where the utterly charming James Harris’s vigour sings, from welcome to farewell, while the exquisite Malaysian food prepared by his partner Nicole Yeoh is rated among the best in the country. From the sheer quality of the ingredients (especially the meat from a local butcher) to the very real skill in the kitchen, we’ve certainly tasted nothing like it.
On Saturday 6th September, The Good Food Guide is hosting a special lunch at the Lucky Lychee in Winchester to celebrate James and Nicole’s success - a fitting tribute to the independence, affordability, creativity and big-hearted hospitality that diners want and a chance to try some truly stand-out cooking and to chat to them afterwards.
A quick glance at the menu reveals how extraordinary the lunch is going to be. Indeed, you would be hard pressed to find such an innovative list drawing on Malaysian and Chinese staples and fused with such impeccable seasonal British ingredients anywhere else in Britain. So please do come and celebrate with us in Winchester.
THE MENU
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Starter
Beef rendang puff with green chutney
Old Winchester & pickled green chilli pork dumpling with house chilli oil
Chalk stream trout umai with passion fruit
Mains, served family style
Milk bao with char siu pork & Hampshire watercress
Honey Marmite fried chicken
Hot & sour poached monkfish with Isle of Wight tomatoes
Grilled Isle of Wight sweetcorn & cucumber salad
Blue butterfly pea flower hom mali rice
Dessert
Brown butter roti with kaya & coconut ice cream
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Lucky Lychee is the kind of place you dream of having in your neighbourhood. From humble beginnings as a market stall to a buzzy restaurant run from a pub, husband-and-wife team James Harris and Nicole Yeoh have put their all into creating an accessible, charming and uncompromisingly delicious slice of Malaysia for the grateful locals of Winchester and well beyond.
