The Best Restaurants in Charmouth, Dorset, United Kingdom (2025)

Beautiful wine and food. The service was fantastic. Thank you for a lovely meal for my mother’s birthday, we will be back.

God ! Where do I start? From the moment you walk in, you’re greeted with the most amazing smile of Gemma and Georgina. You’re sat in a lovely listed building with a lot of history. The food ? Unholy ! Tempura oysters/normal oysters are the freshest I’ve ever had. Scallops are hand dived and served on a bed of sweet onion purée and puffed black rice for a crunch. The lobster served with fries and salad was divine, I have no idea what they do to their butter but it’s abysmally delightful and this is just lunch! I can imagine the dinner experience is incredible with the place full of positive energy and vibes. The chefs in the kitchen are very well trained by the chef-owner as well as the front of house team ran by Gemma. If you’re lucky you might even meet Mark and Teddy the Parrot ! The wine perfectly pairs with whatever dish you’re having, always ask for a recommendation as the guys know their wines. All in all I will always come here when I’m back in Lyme Regis. Unfortunately in Bournemouth we do not have such a hidden gem anywhere. Such a shame I can only give 5 stars as I would like to give them the whole Milky Way !

My boyfriend and I were holidaying in Lyme over the weekend, both from Birmingham, we have plenty of restaurants in the city… yet Millside is the best meal we have had so far in 2024! Such a beautiful setting and a intimate dining experience. Although a small menu for mains, the starters are varied. I tried the escargot which our waiter recommended - who knew snails tasted so good! My boyfriend had the half lobster and I tried rump steak, also for the first time. Both dishes were presented beautifully and provided explosions of flavour with each bite, I’ll be dreaming of this meal for weeks! Thank you for such a wonderful meal and such attentive service.

Amazing seafood in a very cozy location. It's close to the beach and you can reach it via a slightly hidden path that brings you pass the old mill. Very welcoming family business, I'd come back to any time.

Undertook a Paella Cooking Course - what a fantastic day! The instructional process is relaxed, informative and fun, one of the best cookery courses I have experienced. Ed and Giselle are both passionate and enthusiastic about Spanish cooking, which comes across in abundance during the course. Highly recommended. will definitely book another Spanish cooking experience as well as booking a table for dinner.

Had a fabulous evening here on a recommendation and it did not disappoint. The warmth and welcome of the place was fantastic and despite not having booked, we were made very welcome (a party of 19 was about to turn up at any minute as well) The staff were engaging, knowledgeable and polite. Owners Ed and Giselle were charming and our waitress, Emma from Manchester was great fun.) The food – small Tapas plates, was amazing. The Pig Cheeks with Prunes and Sherry, Chicken Skewers with Micro Herbs and Yoghurt, Cod Cheeks in Tomato Sauce and the Canaries Style potatoes with Mojo-Rojo Sauce – were delicious. The Burnt Cheesecake with Cinnamon Apples to finish was divine – you must try to pay them a visit.

I would have missed this place completely, as it’s in between the two main shopping streets in town, and boy would I have been missing a treat. With its delicious (very authentic) tapas and fabulous cocktails, this cosy little restaurant is well worth a visit. Charming staff too. The Prawns pil-pil were the highlight for me…I felt like I was back in Spain…but my wife enjoyed the croquetas more…but everything was good. This will be top of my list for next time we’re in Lyme Regis…and I will probably try to sync up my visit with one of their cooking classes - I’ve always felt scared to try making paella but I would bet that fear will evaporate after a class here.

Not going to lie, the food was kinda ruined by a sodding seagull. We bought three chorizo pasties and some cake to takeaway, and whilst I was attempting to give a bit to my daughter some VERY confident seagull swooped in took the WHOLE THING 🤯 Quickly learned a very important lesson about Lyme Regis, and that’s eat your food with caution 😂 Oh, we also bought some lemon olive oil and some smoked sea salt. Sure, it’s more expensive than you’d pay in a supermarket, but so it should be. We like coming away and support random places that we find, and the whole “Mill Lane” area is quite nice and picturesque. The type of place I could imagine spending a nice afternoon with my wife. Alas, we had three young kids so we didn’t really fancy sitting in a small restaurant 😅 honestly, they’re too chaotic for that. But yeah, if you’re in the area and fancy giving somewhere nice a visit, then give Strawberry Tree a crack 👌🏻 just be AWARE OF SEAGULLS.

Came here for my birthday meal, booked in advance as it can be busy. Food was amazing, nice selection of drinks and the staff were friendly!! Made for a very special night, thank you for making my weekend so special.

Lovely lunch . My husband had fish and chips which he said was the best fish and chips he’d ever had! My ploughman’s was very nice. Staff very helpful dealing with my specific food allergy:

Went there for lunch the other day and found a very cosy pub with nice service and tasty food. I liked it a lot!

Visited as a group of four on Christmas Eve. It was surprisingly quite which was to our advantage. Good attentive service throughout Food was enjoyable although the humus lacked any flavour. Venison was exceptional. Mains were delicious and desserts completed a lovely visit.

Very friendly place to eat and dogs are welcome too. I had the fish and chips and I think it was the best I've ever had. Crispy thin batter, nice thick piece of fish (fresh I think) and delicious minted crushed peas plus chunky chips. The only issue was the front and rear doors were open the whole time and I was a bit cold sitting inside. I would recommend.

Came tonight for my step dad’s birthday meal. Lovely relaxed atmosphere, food was so good, unpretentious, great quality, more than your usual pub food. I had the chorizo and pie from the specials menu, absolutely lovely. All six of us cleared our plates. The serving staff and Dan the manager were so nice and friendly. Would definitely recommend, thoroughly enjoyable.

Enjoyed a lovely meal here before visiting the Marine Theatre. The staff were very pleasant and helpful, food was excellent, I had whole plaice which was cooked to perfection and my husband had the steak and ale pie with roasted veg which he said were very tasty. The restaurant had a cosy atmosphere and we're looking forward to visiting again soon.

I was a regular visitor while taking my daughter to a lesson in Charmouth every Saturday morning for 6 months. I couldn't recommend this place highly enough.... Bacon roll on point and a nice pot of tea. Always the warmest of welcomes and a highlight of my week!

Super friendly and accommodating, especially of our large family group trying to escape the unpredictable weather, even with a young baby! Everyone had delicious food, the chips were stand-out! Gluten-free and dairy-free needs were well-catered for. Tasty coffee. Nice and quiet and comfy inside, none of the usual noisy cafe sounds! Couldn’t recommend this wonderful cafe more.

The cafe is just a short walk from Charmouth beach. The staff were really friendly and welcoming and even though it was full we didn't get left hanging around.You can really tell that a great customer service is important here.Our food was all great and reasonably priced. Would definitely ear here again if we find ourselves this way again.

Little Gem 💎 Great food and staff. Really welcoming. A throwback to the type of family run establishment you'd find years ago but with a mix of modern and traditional on the menu. All food and cakes were excellent but I semi expected that. The slight shock was the coffee which would put some of the best artisan coffee houses charging triple the price to shame!

Parking is rather pricey if you want more than a couple of hours...but that can easily be used up after hunting for fossils. Great little finds and friendly people all getting stuck into hunting for fossils or stones!

Fantastic beach for fossil hunting, but beware of the landslides! Beautiful bay, with facilities, cafe and shop. Parking is paid for at the machine (or by parking app) and might be more expensive than the large carpark, but is contiguous with the sand and water. There's a tap with free water for dogs and/or wetsuits etc to wash off the salt. If you are unsteady on your feet be aware of pebbles in the carpark which may affect your stability. Not a particularly touristy place, more locals really in my humble opinion, but friendly and people seem to be helpful. You can hire various instructors, lessons, boat charters etc to enhance your experience. Esther (with her paddle boarding, fitness and yoga) is worthy of a mention! Whilst here you might feel adventurous and walk/climb up Golden Cap, the highest point in southern England, whose views are spectacular. You won't be disappointed!

Not too busy. There is plenty of parking at £6 for the day. Great for walking or fossil hunting. Lovely little cafe and public toilets available.

Spent the afternoon wandering up and down the beach enjoying the fresh air looking for fossils. Although we didn't find much it was still very entertaining. Go when the tide is receding as it is exposing new stuff all the time and be aware that the cliffs can be unstable. Good visitor centre, car parks and toilets available.

Went for the fossil hunting morning group tour and it was incredible, our guides were knowledgeable, super friendly and helped is make the most of the window of time we had while the tide was low. We got lucky with the weather and came out with some great memories from that morning.

An inspiring and highly welcoming place! We took in some fossils we had found that day and ended up spending 45 minutes talking to the wonderful and incredibly knowledgeable Anna. A very well curated collection, with the bonus of a fairly priced gift shop. Will definitely be back!

Charmouth is a stunning village with a lovely beach. Dog friendly over the bridge and a lovely walk up the south coast path. The visitors centre is brilliant with a little cafe, a couple of shops and the toilets all in one area.

Absolutely beautiful place to visit! The beach isn't very good if you have mobility problems as its made up of large stones, especially at the top of the beach. Got a couple of cracking little shops there and a nice little cafe. Well recommend 👌

We found this a really great hotel outside Lyme Regis. We stayed 2 nights, the room was very comfortable and the food was excellent. We had a dinner and breakfast in both days. They were delicious, well served and the quantities were very good. The bar was also very good and the outdoor pool was a bonus. This is a very differently managed hotel compared to many hotels these days, the customer service is second to none - a breath of fresh air and the price was reasonable. We had a lovely stay.

Our third stay here, this time for 5 days with the family. Excellent food, with plenty of choice. Jo, Rob and all the staff are amazing and so helpful. Rooms are very comfortable and well thought out. Perfect location between Charmouth and Lyme Regis.

Stayed for 3 nights. The hotel was lovely and peaceful. The rooms were clean, spacious and very comfortable. The food was amazing. The pool was lovely and clean and refreshing after a day of fossil hunting. Everyone was so helpful and friendly. I would highly recommend staying at Fernhill.

We stayed for 5 nights at the beginning of June 2024. Excellent experience from Jo & Rob the proprietors who were very much hands-on, nothing was too much trouble for them. Great location if you want somewhere quiet 2 miles from Lyme Regis. We booked an en suite Spa King room which was very comfortable and spotlessly clean as was all the hotel. Plentiful hot and cold breakfast and dinner were served at our allocated table in the dining room. We don't usually write reviews because normally you get what you pay for, but this is different.

We went there twice in early September. Food was spectacular. The half lobster was an absolute delight and the local sea food was all so fresh . The local cider was delicious. Best part was the cheery chat and repartee, patience and knowledge of the staff. Great sitting outside looking across the bay where we had had a great fishing trip that afternoon.

Dropped into Tom's as we were after a decent seafood restaurant whilst we were in Devon. Well worth a try. Tom is a Royal Academy of Culinary Arts trained chef and he is front and centre of the restaurant plating up in front of the guests. We had the John Dory and Sea bream that were both delicious. His team were brilliant with our kids and gave them colouring in to do and made a fuss of them which was great. Wishing them all the best!

We had an outstanding dinner here. Loved all of the dishes really. Excellent flavors and all well prepared and cooked. The scallops (a new variation on Tom’s dish from what we understood) may have stolen the show but the lobster and Dartmoor Beef were absolute contenders. A fresh plate of oysters. Great service and we felt well attended to. Beautiful views of the coast. We left our experience ready to recommend to others and will do so in this post as well. Food from a kitchen that cares. Kudos to the whole team.

Wonderful spot down a country lane, nestled right on the beach. Great fresh local produce and friendly staff. I would love to stay one evening in their rooms and wake to the fabulous sea view

The location is absolutely stunning, with Golden Cap behind and a view down to the Isle of Portland. This place really is a treat, service is excellent but, it can get very, very busy and you may have to wait for seating. It is on the pricey side too, so as I said, it's a treat. Ask for extra salt on the Padron peppers and you won't be disappointed. Beers were in good condition. A great place to while away a warm summer's evening.

We came for a roast dinner on a rainy Sunday. The service was incredible. The food was delicious. The only problem was the portion size - barely enough meat on the plate to make a sandwich let alone a Sunday roast. Otherwise all good.

A good restaurant in a great location ! Market fish was the best choice on the menu! Extremely fresh and perfectly cooked, accompanied by fennel and good buttered bread. I must say I was a little disappointed with the bouillabaisse... A bit coarse for my French-educated palate... And the apple cake was as beautiful as amber but not very subtle and not rich enough in apples for my taste. The staff were extremely friendly, polite, smiling and efficient. Impeccable hygiene and one of the nicest toilets (perhaps not what you'd expect from a restaurant review, but how important it is! Particularly when you're on the road a lot, it's important that the place where you stop offers comfort in this respect too, and even better with a touch of aesthetics. I highly recomand 🩵