The Best Cafes in Winterborne Monkton, Dorset, United Kingdom (2025)

Yalbury Cottage is a place where excellence, friendliness, and quality come together seamlessly. As someone who loves travelling and exploring new cities and places, I have stayed in numerous accommodations, but none compare to Yalbury Cottage. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and look forward to returning to the area. The staff at Yalbury Cottage consistently went out of their way to be friendly and did everything possible to ensure our stay was exceptional. The room exceeded my expectations significantly, with its stunning and unique view. We truly felt as if we were at home, but in a setting with beautiful new scenery. Situated in Dorchester, Yalbury Cottage offers a perfect base to explore the area and nearby cities such as Weymouth. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, have recommended this place to others, and will continue to do so. The bed was incredibly comfortable, and everything was spotlessly and well-organised. Additionally, the thoughtful touch of leaving brownies in our room upon arrival exemplifies their dedication to Yalbury Cottage and their commitment to providing each guest with an exceptional experience. I personally can't wait to return to this charming cottage for another uniquely wonderful stay.

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.

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.

The food here is always delicious, theres a lot of innovation and choice in what is on offer. Very friendly staff, and theres a range of their own condiments for sale inside too. Such a great place 👍

A wonderful find hidden away at Stalbridge Dorset we have a warm welcome and could sit outside or in the restaurant area, the menu had a good range of meals and the homemade cake where to die for. I am fussy about coffee this was good roosted by readscoffee.co.uk.

Margot has been running her cafe from this site about 8 years,so I have been many times in i think the last 7+ years... I live around 150 miles away,and hadn't been here since Christmas... So I got down about 06.30 this morning and had table booked for 09.30..... I can not fault this cafe,I tend to have the Spire Hill Grill and I have yet to have a bad bit of any meal. With the ever increase in cost of living,I was expecting it to be more expensive than Christmas 2022...but nope,same price,and I think it is amazing quality for a very reasonable price. I was with family that live in Dorset and visit this fantastic cafe often....in fact my sister was in the day before also. The staff are lovely...Margot (owner) is a true professional and has built her business up over the years,take look at the website,and the produce that have,home made jams etc etc,I understand they now have some of the produce selling in a local shop. The customers in the cafe are also friendly,and seem to know each other.... I did a review on TaT before,and I'm doing this update as and edit,my original is below. We had pot of tea and three coffees...the little milk bottles,the glass teapot are just examples of some of the things they do differently...and it all goes to show the love Margot has for food and service to her customers (friends) The head chef Eve (pink shorts ;) ) is also a little star,and has been with TaT from being tutored from as an apprentice to becoming head chef... And is a credit to Margot and to catering... We came away with a couple of pieces of home made cakes....and will enjoy later. I know before I arrive that the experience will be all I could reasonably expect,and could only ever leave a rate of 5 star.... Anything less...I'm my view is unjust. My original review below Brilliant cafe,I always try to visit when in area,it's a lovely place,great food,and staff are greatest

Fantastic gem of a cafe with a great selection of cakes and hot food. Margo the owner is forward thinking and the waiting staff Ollie and Gabby know how to make you feel seen and welcome. Will be back

Pumpkin picking, a maize maze, animals, coffee, cake, bacon baps, burgers and hot dogs. Our daughter loved it and so did mummy and daddy, all at a reasonable price. Would recommend.

Place is amazing if you got children and want them be children and run around! grown ups got time time to chill out when kidies are bussy with animals and exploring. We has the best time! thanks to the boss Lady for making our stay amazing! It's a gem 💎

Just visited for the farm and the maize maze. The animals were so cute and very friendly especially the sheep ( often sheep run away whereas these run towards you and loved being petted). Very cute and affordable afternoon we had. Will definitely come again.

Had coffees and lovely Victoria Sandwich Cake sitting outside but undercover. Bought some free range eggs, saw their farm raised lamb burgers and sausages for sale in the farm shop. Lots of animals around too to interest kiddies and adults too. Lovely peaceful place, didn't know the cafe and farm shop existed until recently, will definitely call in again and recommend to friends.

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

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

What a lovely little cafe on the High Street. The staff were so friendly and falling over themselves to be welcoming and accommodating, cleaning and sanitising the table best distanced from other guests. The food was freshly prepared and delicious especially the home made gluten free carrot cake. We will certainly make it a regular stop.

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 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!

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 🤍

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. 👍

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.

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 ❤️❤️

A “rare find” as AirBnB often says! An old school cafe, with personal service at reasonable/fair prices. It’s not often that you can buy an Americano for £2.20 these days! And their menu has a wide range of sandwiches and/or toasties. Nothing fancy, but great value and a friendly welcome.

Friendly accommodating staff were good about my girlfriend's allergies and swapping ingredients round. The food was also good and tasty. Only gripe was the full breakfast coming with only one slice of toast which wasn't anywhere near enough to soak up all the breakfast goodies - surely 2 slices a minimum! Offering breakfast with a hot drink like some places do would have definitely got 5 stars. Would go again.

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

Friendly staff. Very accommodating with dietary needs. Service was relatively quick considering it was a busy lunchtime. Would recommend.

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.

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.