The Best Cafes in Chaldon Herring, Dorset, United Kingdom (2025)

Absolutely wonderful overnight stay, with excellent breakfast and dinner, extremely comfortable accommodation, highly professional and friendly staff... need I go on? I would unhesitatingly recommend this charming hotel.

This is an absolutely amazing place. The staff were extremely attentive, the food was phenominal and definitely worthy of a Michelin star and excellent value too. They really care about service and quality here . The best food that I have eaten in a long time. Thank you so much.

Lovely place to stay. Food was beautifully presented and cooked to perfection. The one thing that I would of appreciated (as an older lady) would of been a bath mat in a very slippy bath. Fabulous, would certainly visit again.

Stopped for lunch at 'The Posh Partridge' when visiting Dorset on a combined business / leisure trip. It was a relaxed and pleasant place for lunch and both the service and the food was quality and nicely presented. The hot Pastrami sandwich I had was very tasty, as was the toasted Brie and Cranberry Panini. The cost for two toasted sandwiches and two diet cokes was £20.80

Had the best Greek salad outside of Greece and my husband had the best Dorset Ploughman's lunch. Really delicious and well-presented food in a small, friendly café. Generous portion sizes too. You can't see the huge chunk of cheddar in the pic as it was behind the huge hunk of wholemeal bread! Highly recommended.

A lovely lunch, luckily we found this one for lunch, only looked for it as I noticed the Sign a bit further down the road. Really good food. It was lovely and quiet for us, but I guess on a busy day would be just as nice as the food is good so this is what matters. Thank you so much. We were passing through Dorchester a few days ago and will certainly visit again.

A fantastic cafe, serving delicious, well priced food. We stopped for lunch and enjoyed sandwiches, soup of the day, and the crab bisque, followed by treacle and ginger tart and Bakewell tart. All of this was homemade and the portions were excellent. This cafe is not to be missed!

Absolutely lovely. Relaxed atmosphere and wide variety of freshly cooked dishes

Lovely cafe & staff - nice selection of food. The fresh quiche (with salad & slaw) was very nice as was the dorset apple cake.

What a lovely place to enjoy a coffee or lunch. The cafe is very tastefully furnished and totally in keeping with the building that hosts it. Rustic charm with solid wooden tables and chairs which are well spaced and not cramped. The menu is varied with the option of the day’s special. Prices are very reasonable and portion sizes are very good. There is a huge range of teas to tempt you as well as very good coffee. The food is well cooked and presented, and not to mention tasty. The staff are very friendly and helpful too, nothing is too much trouble for them. With a lift from the shop the cafe is also disabled friendly. I definitely recommend that you visit this light and airy cafe to sample its atmosphere as well as the excellent food, including homemade cakes, and the range of drinks and even ice creams.

I take all our visitors here from my youngest grandson aged 8 to my not so young friends. Everyone enjoys it even the teenagers and a bonus is phone service sketchy so they interact . Recommend using headphones for a good visit to dungeons and court.We eat at the cafe each time ,food always good but at busy times can be slow .

What a lovely place! I visited today with four others after a walk round the Sculptures at the Lake nearby. It's a real old fashioned English pub. Delicious local beer, fabulous bacon and brie open sandwich, and the man on duty who was rushed off his feet (due to circumstances he explained) and working on his own, still served us efficiently and with good grace. Definitely recommend.

It was a Bank Holiday Sunday and it was not busy and the Front of House staff did not have a clue what day of the week it was. We where a party of 4 and that could not decide were to seat us, so they decided to put us on a table set 3 and never brought other set of cutlery until the meal came out after asking several times, we found a dirty fork on the floor under the table. It was not clear if it was table service or we order the food at the bar, we ordered at the bar after no one coming over after 15 min. They never brought out any condiments even though we asked twice. I must admit the service was shocking which is a shame as the food/meal was outstanding.

We had some lovely food in here.service was fab and attentive and food was prompt. I had the gf tempura prawns and they have to be the best gluten free ones I've had. Great eatery if you are staying near lulworth cove.

Went in for a (very) late lunch this afternoon. Was very quiet (only us and one other guest) but lovely to get out of the rain and had a good chat with the other guest and staff. Ordered the Venison Burger and the Maple Bacon & Brie sandwich, and can't fault either - super tasty and good portion sizes to boot! Had a beer recommendation from the staff which was lovely, and would highly recommend a visit if you're in Lulworth looking for a lunch or dinner location 🙂👍

Had the pleasure of visiting here last Sunday we arrived just after 10 and there were already quite a few people here. Offered seating inside or out, we ordered coffees which were very good and then I chose the homemade granola bowl which was absolutely delicious (it was also huge!) my husband chose the Mexican open flatbread which looked amazing, which he said was really good. Lovely friendly staff. Highly recommended.

First visit to the restaurant. I was very impressed with our server, who suggested we could move to the adjacent barn where it would be leas noisy. He was right. It was😎. Food quality was excellent. Also, I was very impressed with the general cleanliness. Toilets were immaculate. I would definitely recommend this place. 👍

We had a baby shower for my sister at The Cow Shed in their Barn area on Saturday, and it was perfect - everything we had hoped for! The staff were so helpful, both in the lead-up to the event and on the actual day. The barn itself is really picturesque, which was perfect for photos. We opted for a cream tea with both sweet and savory scones, and it was lovely. We paid per head for drinks, which guests could get from the private bar as and when they wished. There was plenty of room for games ect too. We couldn't recommend it more. We had the most special afternoon celebrating our new arrival with family and friends. A big thank you to The Cow Shed Team 🤍

Great little cafe. Stopped here for tea and a light snack on our way to Cornwall. Was pleasantly surprised at the number of gluten free options. Millionaire shortbread was delicious!!

Busy lunchtime. Had a delicious soup and amazing pink grapefruit tea. Very good value. Will be back for the plant based croissants! Thanks so much, it’s so important to have options like this.

Amazing customer service, very reasonably priced. It's a cafe you come away thinking "that was amazing" rather than "that was ok" Thank you very much! Will come back ❤️❤️

Stopped at this lovely cafe on the way to Cornwall and it was so good we stopped there again on the way back. Emily and John are friendly and the food tasty with generous portions. We thoroughly recommend. Keith and Serena.

Friendly and kind staff, they are really a pleasure to be around and the cafe is honestly a great place to have a snack or a drink in. Tasty hot chocolate!

Lovely lil cafe. Had an Americano and a flapjack to go from here. Emily and John were on shift I must say both were very welcoming, friendly & extremely helpful. Was a pleasure to meet you both will visit again soon. I really dislike coming into poundbury (was there because of work) but these lovely humans made my day. Thank you so much.

We booked a table for 9 for a special birthday. It was very busy so definitely book ahead but even with a full restaurant we had wonderful service, all of the team were smiling and clearly happy to work there. The wait for food was not too long and it was hot and served quickly, great menu with something for everyone. Nothing was too much trouble. We had a wonderful evening…food, drinks, service and atmosphere were all 5 star. Well done to all of the team at the Countryman, we will be back again soon. Great to have such a wonderful country pub close by.

Booked a party for over 20 elderly lunch club members. They had a special menu and there were no complaints. Staff are always very cheerful and positive and were able to take extra orders over and above our pre order. Thank you

Warm and welcoming. Great hidden rustic country pub. Excellent food, atmospheric and good beer selection. Accommodation has good sized rooms, comfortable bed and clean. Rooms are scheduled to be upgraded shortly according to the manager (Nov 24). Next time I visit the area, this is were I'm heading....

Went there as part of a new trail race and a great location. The pool is still blue all year so never disappointed, but obviously better when weather is clear. Great walks around. Good cafe. Well family priced.

Lovely place for a day out. Walks were clear and easy to stroll. The rope bridge was great fun. The views across the pool are stunning in a number of viewpoints. I guess when the azaleas are flowering it is absolutely beautiful. There's a nice cafe and lovely gift shop. I only wish we had visited before but will be back again before long

Beautiful place to go for a stroll with much of the area covered by a forest canopy. Lovely little café which was reasonably priced with an amazing outlook onto the lake. Took a pram with my newborn with a fairly accessible route around the Blue Poole. Many of the other trails have steps to access so will use a baby carrier next time.

Just back from a fabulous 2 nights here. What a lovely place, would highly recommend to anyone thinking of going. We were made very welcome and the staff were so friendly. The food was lovely and my husband said especially the breakfast. I'm sorry I didn't get one of the managers names who spoke to us this morning, just after breakfast, but she was so nice and a credit to The Smugglers. We will be back.

If you're looking for a cozy pub that delivers on all fronts, this is the place! The atmosphere is warm and inviting, perfect for a relaxed Sunday afternoon. The Sunday roast here is absolutely top-notch. The portions are generous, and the quality is superb. What really sets this pub apart, though, is the service. The staff are incredibly friendly and go out of their way to make you feel welcome. From the moment you walk in, you feel right at home. They’re attentive without being intrusive and always make sure you have everything you need to enjoy your meal. Karli served us today and Hebe greeted us. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a hearty Sunday roast in a charming, welcoming setting!

I was on a one night walking break and feeling a little out of sorts. A lovely lady Hebe really looked after me and made me feel so welcome. I called in for a snack and coffee but booked a room. The amazing hospitality continued the next morning with delicious breakfast and Ellis really looked after me. I’ve only been away once on my own before and they really gave me confidence to do it again.