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

Lovely little coffee shop with amazing views, very friendly staff. Would highly recommend.

Great coffee, excellent gluten-free treats and the most cheerful service you could ever hope to receive. Top marks all round!

We came here for breakfast for my mum's birthday and it did not disappoint! The ingredients are of the highest quality, everything was cooked perfectly and the coffee was great. We were a table of 7 adults and a highchair, and the service was incredibly friendly and professional. The outdoor tables with a view were a perfect way to finish our morning with a coffee and a cannoli. Thank you so much for your hospitality, we look forward to returning soon!

Fabulous! One of the best coffee stops for cyclists in this corner of Dorset. We're always made very welcome. Great service, great coffee and a lovely selection of food. Great coffee and pastries. A lovely friendly atmosphere, I keep meaning to visit when I'm not on a bike.

Had a delicious lunch sitting outside with friends... super attentive and charming team, good choice, easy going atmosphere and good coffee (smooth not citrus). Checked out the others nearby, except the usual high street brands and this is a great spot, location and so chose it. Recommended.

Only had drinks here this visit. They were really good and we enjoyed our visit. Drinks were really worth the money

Nice little cafe serving excellent food and very friendly staff. The tables are very close to each other, so be mindful of that. Food was served quickly, and it appears to be a local favourite.

Good food, tea and scones. The staff are very nice and friendly.

What an excellent find! This cafe is clean, modern and comfortable and serves great quality delicious snacks and drinks. I had a mouthwatering panini and was served in a very friendly manner. The coffee was great too. Highly recommend a visit. I will definitely be back.

Popped in for coffee with friends. It is run by a Master Baker and the photos of his cakes were amazing. If we get to move here, this would become a regular haunt.

Great coffee, pastries & sandwiches. Friendly staff.

Excellent cafe. I had a large plate of broccoli and stilton soup, OH had bacon and egg sandwich. Tasty cakes, good coffee, nice staff, clean loo. We were cycling from Oborne and found this place on the Internet. The Facebook page made it clear it was open and offering food. Busy with locals. It's clear this cafe is professionally managed. Turned up to too many places to find they are closed, very annoying.

We had noticed posts appear on Facebook from the Old School Gallery, but had never been to Yetminster before and were curious to find out more. From the moment we opened the door, we were warmly greeted by Alex and the team, as well as other diners and were made to feel very much at home. The lunch menu was superb, with an extensive list of tempting hearty and unusual soups, quiches etc. I opted for the falafel curry with rice which was delicious. Throughout the meal, Alex, her Mum and Team were very attentive and the atmosphere of the Old School Gallery was incredible. I was tempted to a piece of flapjack - no ordinary flapjack and highly recommended. What an incredible find! We need to return very soon and wish all at the Old School Gallery the very best as they really deserve it.

Lovely cafe. We sat outside in the sunshine. There was a lovely selection of cakes to choose from. A vegan option wasn't available on our visit so my partner just had a cuppa but hopefully there will be one for next time.

We were staying just along the road on holiday so made a visit here on our last day. The bacon sarnies were delicious and the homemade cakes were amazing! Lots of cakes to choose from, we shared lemon drizzle and courgette and lime cake which was so good! A really lovely tea room, gallery and shop definitely recommend and very reasonably priced. The staff were all really friendly and helpful too we sat outside in the sunshine and they brought us out cushions for our chairs which was so nice of them. Definitely worth a visit if you are passing!

Lovely clean café, friendly staff, and quick service. The all-day big breakfast was just what I wanted 😋

Excellent service from friendly staff. The food was perfectly cooked, tasty and plentiful portions! Lush and highly recommended.

As always, friendly, efficient and very welcoming. Comfortable sofas and easy chairs as well as tables and chairs for eating at. Some had been reserved in advance. Great decaf coffee (& lovely mince pies - thank you!) And the sun streaming through the conservatory roof - though cannot promise that every time!

Good location on the edge of Sherborne to let the kids run and play while you sit comfortably in the old farm yard with a cake and coffee or maybe a light lunch.

An amazing maize, maze one of the best around. What a pity it's the final maze this year. A wonderful attraction for all the family with all the usual facilities including a superb little cafe. Play area for younger children and very reasonably priced. Staff extremely friendly and helpful adding to the experience. The maze is open all summer until early September so get in there quickly for a brilliant day out!

I love this little place that has a larger personality especially around the holidays, nice food, nice helpful staff, and full of friendlyness. It gets bigger and louder during the holidays and summer months when it opens the play area and the maize maze. Lovely for families and children. I have to say it pleases my heart to see this place set up for children's outside play, they certainly keep you on your toes, even when you are not part of that group or party, it has a little downside life everywhere when is busy hearing can be an issue even when sat face to face, so if you're expecting a wee cuppa or coffee or lunch in peace or relative quite here, you honestly won't know until you get there. It's just lovely hearing the children and youths being a play outside and not attached to their phones or computers.

Good inexpensive traditional cafe. Lovely staff. Very dog friendly. Good food. Well worth a visit

I am giving this five as it is a museum piece. Opened in 1976 it has never changed. Been decorated regularly, but kept the original features. So if you want a 70's cafe with frothy coffee & fried food this is the place. They do have the modern coffee & up to date delights of the 21st century, but keep the old favourites. The breakfast are fun as are the lunches. Some good photos of old Shaftesbury on display. The manager has been there for 43 years, so the owners must be great too.

Lovely traditional cafe Banging breakfast Would fully recommend

A huge thank you to Jude for all her care and attention to detail in putting together our order of 15 Christmas Hampers as gifts for our staff. Top quality products, beautifully displayed. Very grateful. Hope to be back next year.

I could have spent endless hours pouring over everything in the shop. It’s a beauty to behold in the eyes of an American. There are assortments of wonderful pastries, cakes, cookies and breads. All types of condiments and sauces. An extensive meat counter with varieties of meat and fish (I regret to say my sausage and bacon from there were immediately seized upon my return to the US). Of course there are cheeses, spreads, pate and a great frozen section of many items including ready meals. The staff was friendly and the items I was able to enjoy (like the smoked trout terrine and a steak & kidney pie) were absolutely amazing

A huge, varied menu with very tasty, generous portions of food in a nice setting. A bit too easy to spend quite a lot of money! Great location with children when the weather is ok as there's a big field with football goals and some play equipment.

Great experience as a place, but also in the restaurant and in the store I would like to find things of very good quality, not just the basic one. The bread for breakfast can be one from a local bakery not a frozen baguette or the store could also sell organic milk in cartons not in plastic bottle or a yogurt in a jar not just plastic buckets...etc. Overall it was good with skilled and kind staff.

An absolutely impeccable business: immaculately clean, decorated with love caf run by a smiley team who obviously really care. And that’s before we get into what is probably the best breakfast bap I think I’ve ever had: non gristly bacon, perfectly cooked egg, fluffy roll… Why I something so simple often done on wrong? Not here. But really, it’s the little things here. Isn’t it always? The little cute sign on the loo door, the way the white toast is cut thick and the butter spread oh-so-evenly, the coffee with the sugar labelled just so. This is the standard all British cafs should strive for.

I've been here a couple of times already! Let me tell you, today's omelette was one of the best I ever had. Served with a fresh, crispy salad and a coleslaw. I'll be back! Highly recommend ! 👌

Great little cafe nestled in Gillingham not far from the railway station and main high street,great friendly service and nice grub. Nicely kitted out and atmosphere. Plenty to choose from. Downside is not much parking but this cannot be helped.

what a amazing small business! friendly and knowledgeable staff, and a wide range of food and cake selections. Very generous portion sizes, fresh ingredients and thick sliced fresh bread! Fantastic from breakfast to afternoon tea, a quick pit stop or special occasion. Definitely one to visit!