[Update July 2025: The pub is under new ownership and their Facebook shows work progressing towards reopening.]

The following description dates from before the refurbishment, in particular, the entrance has since been moved:

The Shoe Inn is the last pub in Hampshire, right next to the busy Southampton to Salisbury road, just a few yards from the county boundary. The main car park is on the opposite side of the road to the pub, please take extreme care crossing. The current pub is a long black and cream half timbered 17th-century building. At the rear is an even older thatched building: the original pub, now the licensee's accommodation.

The central entrance, behind the railings, leads directly into the long main bar. On the right is a small lounge area; and on the left, beyond the fire, is a large dining room. Food is available during every session; it is locally sourced and home cooked. The set lunch on Wednesday through Saturday is very good value. As befits a free house only local beers are sold.

Just to the west of the pub (towards Salisbury) there is a footpath to Plaitford Common, on the extreme northern edge of the New Forest. It's a very remote part of the forest, and seldom visited.