The Best Cafes in Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom (2025)

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.

Had a really lovely lunch today, found a quiet spot upstairs and food was delicious. I’ve been with a friend for cream tea before too, which was lovely. Friendly and attentive service - table service. WiFi available on request.

Lovely little place. Actually more space in there than you might think. Very nice & friendly staff. Didn't have to wait too long for service & food. Very tasty meals, & excellent sized portions at a very reasonable price. Will certainly visit them again next time I'm in Dorchester.

Amazing. The food never disappoints and the staff are so kind. The cafe is kids friendly with a good kids menu. The soup is amazing too. I would definitely recommend this!

adorable little place next to the green, we sat outside on a little table with our dog and enjoyed some savouries, cakes and coffee. the sausage roll and ham and cheese croissants were delicious! the staff were lovely too, thankyou 😊

Lovely owners. Mum makes the savoury food and her daughter makes the cakes. A choice of vegetarian and gluten free options alongside full English breakfast etc. Not a huge cafe but charming with seating upstairs as well as down. Chairs and tables are also set out on the green. Supper evenings available and the downstairs setting is super romantic.

Hello 👋 Tiny village atmosphere. Outside on The Green, time stands still. Inside, cosy, creative chic. The array of cakes looked delicious 😋 Simply the best coffee and lovely helpful service.

Waiting for the car to get new tyres fitted at National Tyre (a Halfords Company.....) I stumbled upon this lovely little cafe and all of its quirky contents - staff included. A lovely Americano and a rich, crumbly and packed sausage roll proving to be just the restorative I didn't know I needed - even if it was proffered by the waitress to everyone before finding its way to its rightful consumer... hilarious, as I watched it unfold, and no grudge at all, it should probably write its own travel memoir).

Really excellent. As someone who also owns a small independent cafe, Potters is one of the best I have visited. Lovely food( club sandwich) almost too much to finish, and I’m a big eater. Very attentive staff, and extremely good value for money. All round an excellent little cafe.

Been a couple of times and already planning my next trip! Staff are lovely and attentive, menu is simple but wholesome with a great selection of café classics and specials. Really lovely setting and a courtyard - and a big bonus they're dog friendly!

A lovely little cafe, tucked away in a Dorchester side street. A well-kept secret that the locals cherish. You can get to Potters back door and their lovely patio garden by turning left before entering Waitrose. The front door is in the street next to Tony & Guys hair salon. The cafe offers lots of homemade goodies and great tea and coffee. They are a little pricey for some of their items but it's worth paying that little bit more for quality. The staff are well above the average.

I do come often for my appointments in south walk house.never knew dorset kitchen did fresh food as well..it was a fantastic and gorgeous experience I had on this gloomy humid Monday morning..the sweet ladies were so hearty and welcoming,dnt know what to say about the bacon roll with chicken I had..it was so tasty and heavenly..tx u guys..will surely come again in my next visit to the NHS outpatient clinic xx

Lovely staff and lovely coffee. Superb quality and affordable prices!

Great food, great value, friendly staff would recommend.

Very nice cafe in an interesting museum. Food very good, staff excellent

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

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 .

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

Welcoming atmosphere. Dog friendly which is great. The breakfast was one of the best I have had anywhere. Decent amount of food and perfectly cooked. And only £7.50 which included tea or coffee. Absolute bargain. Definitely recommended. Will be stopping in next time we’re passing.

What a wonderful find, friendly staff, fantastic breakfast and great prices! Will definitely be going back, highly recommend!

Absolutely divine Sunday roast at the Octagon cafe. Choice of 3 meats, lots of veg, cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes, yorkshire…too much to eat! Excuse the lack of gravy in photo, that was my choice as I have never liked gravy!! Thank you, I will be back!

We had the best sunday roast today for a very long time! I had beef and my husband had pork. The meat was plentiful tender and tasty. The cauliflower cheese was delightful and the roast potatoes were crisp and yummy, the red cabbage was super flavoursome. There was also plenty of gravey. What a find, we will definitely be heading back very soon. Thanks guys!

I googled "All Day Breakfast in Dorchester" and this was one of the ones that came up. We arrived and were greeted by a lovely lady who asked our dogs names and sat us down. She constantly came over and fussed our dogs calling them by their names which was a lovely touch. Excellent service and the food was fab. I would highly recommend!

A great cafe, lovely traditional British food, amazing cake and awesome service all for a fair price Their was a nice local feel with a really welcoming feel. I highly recommend The Horse With The Red Umbrella. I will be back.

Very nice cafe, with a lot of history (and maybe hidden secrets, perhaps). Had a pot of Lady Grey today, which was quite reasonably priced. All in all, would come back again!

Wonderful atmosphere and delicious food! The Evershot Bread is incredible, made the sausage sandwich so so tasty! Eggs were well cooked on the breakfast, tasty mushrooms! Flat White coffee nice and strong. Would visit again if we visit Dorchester again.

Martin and his team from Taste did an incredible job catering for our wedding in Dorchester at the end of August! The BBQ food (done for 120 guests!) was absolutely amazing quality and cooked to perfection - with various dietary requirements and a tricky seating plan, Martin took everything in his stride and him and his staff made our day even more special! A MASSIVE thank you!! We would highly recommend to anyone wanting some brilliant and tasty food for their wedding or special event! THANK YOU!!

Near the high street and inside the museum we find this coffee shop where to stop and eat something. Beautiful decoration and nice treat to clients. Lots of people in the place where we were lucky to get a table. You pay at the end at the bar. The exit is through the museum shop. There are toilets availables for clients.

Fabulous place to stop for breakfast. Light and airy surroundings, building with a bit of history. Very efficient and polite service. The cooked breakfast was lovely, always good to have a perfect egg. Good range of hot and cold drinks. Comfortable seats and quiet enough to have a good chat or a nice read. The smoked salmon fritata is also very good.

Finca. Coffee only. I chose this café based on their Google reviews as I’m only passing through so my expectations were raised. Well, I wasn’t disappointed as my cappuccino was totally delicious. Strong, smooth, rich and hot. With chocolate sprinkles added without having to ask. Perfect! You can smell the coffee as soon as get to the front door! 😁 It’s only a small shop but I really loved the decor with the lady serving being very personable. A great location for the Dorchester West train station. Parking nearby Card only

Best latte I tasted in a while, you ‘ll see a cafe nero next to it; ignore that and their overburned coffees and come&visit this cafe 🥰 tasty cakes too

Popped in for a proper coffee on our way through Dorchester and this place exceeded expectations. The owner couldn’t have been more happy to go the extra mile for us (filled up our water bottles, showed us the equipment he uses etc.). He is super passionate about coffee and truly knows his craft, which shows.. the coffee is INCREDIBLE. A lot of care goes into each and every cup. Highly recommend checking out this little gem, lovely vibe to the place too, the sweet treats also looked great. Thank you for the great coffee and inspiring chat. We will definitely be checking out other locations and returning to this one!

Lovely coffee. We always have oat milk lattes and they are delicious. A little on the small side for me, I like a big coffee. But, very nice. Nice selection of cakes and treats too. It overlooks a road, which is hard not to in a town center for the most part, however the other side of the road is green with trees and not just other shop windows which is nice.

Absolutely adorable little cafe with the sweetest service, great prices and really yummy food! Forgot to take a picture of my BLT but my partner had mushrooms, eggs and avocado on toast and we both loved every bite! Will definitely be back :)

Great place for breakfast, reasonable prices and really good quality ingredients. The service was really friendly too so had a great time.

Had some delicious food here for brunch , made by chef Maria. Was extremely tasty!