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

We had been here once before many years ago and enjoyed it, and more recently we have been to the sister establishment almost next door, The Cork and Lobster - which is always good. For no real reason we thought why not try Roots again. It is small but we managed to get a table and decided on the smaller of the set menus, which really was enough for us. Delightful and well thought out tastes, with presentation that is not too over-the-top. They carefully changed items to cater for the fact I don't eat pork or drink alcohol. There is a wine flight available alongside the meal but they were just as happy to give recommendations as needed. All the waiters were delightful, informative, and experienced which made the meal that much better and they are a credit to the place. The place remains a highpoint of local food-focused places, and next time, I won't leave it as long!

Absolutely incredible food, the waiter was outstanding and made the evening, great wine choices with the dishes we had a great night and will come again

The new private dining room at Roots was truly special. The space features a beautiful, large dining table that comfortably seats 12 people, creating the perfect atmosphere for an intimate gathering. Our dedicated server, Jasmin, was an exceptional hostess, attentively catering to our every need with warmth and professionalism. Owners Jan and Stacey went above and beyond to make our night unforgettable, accommodating us at short notice and ensuring every detail was perfect. The food was absolutely spectacular—each dish was perfectly prepared and utterly delicious. Having our own private facilities added to the exclusivity and convenience of the experience. We were so impressed that we’ll undoubtedly be booking this space again and again. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a flawless private dining experience!

I would give this restaurant 6 stars if I could. The most wonderful experience all round - faultless service, food, drinks and atmosphere. I would highly recommend Roots to anyone looking for a wonderful meal out. This place is special enough to feel like a once in a while treat/occasion, but welcoming enough to feel like you’re going to your local neighbourhood restaurant. Perfection all round. Thanks so much, we can’t wait to come back!!!

The restaurant was busy and had a nice ambiance when we arrived. The manager was very welcoming and gave us a window table because I was on crutches. We ordered prawn crackers twice but never got them. When the starters arrived, they weren’t what we ordered. We weren’t in a rush so this wasn’t a big problem and was rectified. When the food arrived, it was excellent and probably one of the best Thai food we’ve had for a while but the pad Thai was a bit too sweet for our liking. We cannot fault the food, it was gorgeous but the service was patchy and not in line with the food quality. We gave constructive feedback to the manager who apologised and offered a gesture of goodwill. Overall it was quite a nice experience. We hope they polish the service as it will make it perfect. We were in Christchurch only for the weekend and won’t hesitate to eat at Nusara again if we return to area.

I LOVE IT. Before coming to the restaurant I was grumpy after a long day, but then I got warmily welcomed by the staff, had the food there, and felt as if I was in paradise. The food was absolutely delicious, even the prawn crackers were on another level. The staff was really friendly too. The interior is lovely as well, really chill place with a nice interior design. I definitely recommend this place.

We went for their £10 Express lunch today, served Wednesday to Friday. It was excellent. A small dish, plus a main dish are both served together, but were much more generous than I was expecting for the £10 price tag. Best of all they were delicious, nicely presented and great value for money. This is a great way to eat out in a nice restaurant without spending too much money. Service from Ollie was excellent and helpful, and we will definitely be back! Thank you so much. I had Chicken skewers with Satay sauce, plus Thai green curry, and Chris had pork skewers plus Red Thai curry. All super!

Beautiful, welcoming place with a great staff team to look after you. Easy access straight off of the road to the traditional though modern looking restaurant. Good ample choice of food and drink that came swiftly but also at our preferred speed. Duck green curry, superb. Veg and vegan options. A tad expensive for day to day dining but worth every penny. Clean tables and facilities and worth mentioning the staff team again, really nice time.

Visited The Jetty with my husband for my 60th birthday!! Weather was fab and sat in garden as we arrived early. Very attentive and friendly staff. Food excellent. I had the three course set menu which had plenty of choice and tried things I would never have tried before. My husband had steak which melted in his mouth with truffle chips and mushrooms. Table wiped down between courses and staff very nice.

Beautiful food and always the best service. Perfect portions. And you get to enjoy the view whilst dining. Their truffle mac and cheese is to die for, i get it every single time!

One of the best restaurants I’ve ever visited! The view of Christchurch harbour is fantastic and the steak which I had was the best I’ve had. The staff were also very attentive and helpful. There is a wide variety of meals available on the menu and choosing what to go for was difficult as there was so much good stuff to pick from! If you’re in the area definitely go here.

Incredible location looking over Christchurch harbour with views of Mudeford quay and the Isle of Wight through the trees. The staff were welcoming and attentive without being intrusive. Delicious seafood, the cockle popcorn was so good. We all had something different and each dish was perfect. I will definitely be back.

What a lovely meal! We popped down for my birthday treat and had a really nice time all the staff wished me happy birthday which was lovely and even brought me out a little cupcake with a candle at the end of our meal which was very thoughtful! Highly recommend we'll be back 100%

Second NYE in a row that we’ve spent here at The Noisy Lobster. The six of us had a warm festive front of house welcome, super lovely table with crackers, very busy all tables were taken & we sat down to a very good well served & (ordered in advance) NYE Dinner. Every dish we ordered we enjoyed including the pre dinner nibbles of trout crostini & beef croquettes. This was followed by various dishes including duck, steak, lobster thermidor, crab, seabass & creative desserts. Timely service, all spot on then afterwards it’s ’the disco’!! Oh my word who knew you could have so much fun here with complete strangers dancing, jumping, smiling, singing together. Super well done NL, cracking night, pictures below. Recommend.

Great place to eat, food was amazing. Busy little place, would advise to book, we were able to walk in without booking though. They had no problem letting me know would I could have as I have allergies, Avon beach car Park next to it. Great views of the beach, also has an ice cream parlour, deli and shop associated to it. Would highly recommend 👌

It was so good I’m back home now wondering if a 3hr drive for lobster rolls is reasonable. I’ve always wanted to eat here when we’ve visited the area, the menu is a bit pricey for a day at the beach and it’s absolutely packed during the day. So we get Lobster Shack fish and chips, which are really good too. I went back as a walk-in on a Sunday evening with my 3yo at 8pm. The staff were so nice and welcoming. The restaurant and car park were quiet and the view of the sea, Isle of Wight and the three needles was a stunning as the sun set. It was indeed pricey £90 for three starters, 2 desserts, 2 soft drinks and a coffee inc service charge, though well worth it, generous portions. I enjoyed it a lot. We had lobster rolls, tempura prawns and bread and dips. Wasn’t a fan of the chocolate mousse dessert, the granola wafers weren’t light, like florentine biscuits.

Sunday evening Raymond Blanc dining experience. Super food but a quiet evening so hard to judge the atmosphere. Extremely friendly and helpful waiter with great descriotion and advice on the menu offerings. Fully recommend visiting for the superb quality tasty food.

Our first visit - and thoroughly enjoyable. Great food & service. And thank you for the anniversary 'gift' which was very generous 👍

A very welcoming Restaurant Bar with a rang of flexible dining locations suitable for couples, families or lager groups outside under cover. Or even in pods. We don't tend to post food as there are enough out there already. We can recommend the Beef and Tribune ale pie and mash with green beans. Simple meal but served v hot and v tasty. It even comes with a 1/3rd pt taster of Tribune Ale as a bonus. We also had the Half Chicken which once again was excellent with a proper home cooked roast flavour. We turned up without a booking on a Sunday, but we would recommend booking as it was still quite busy after the Sunday Roast Rush! Toilets well kept, upstairs with Accessable toilet on ground floor. Can't wait to pass that way again.

What a beautiful gastro pub, I cannot thank the staff enough so attentive, the food is cooked to perfection and the atmosphere is a 10 out of 10. It was our first meal out as husband and wife and you guys smashed it out of the park! Visited 04.09.24 Cheese souffle is a must!

Absolutely FIRST CLASS wow just the best night out with family, food was outstanding, atmosphere was wonderful, and Benji our waiter was so friendly happy and couldn’t do enough for us ! Will be visiting again very soon TY 5* experience

Came for a family birthday meal on Monday as a table of 17! We were served by kieran who was super attentive and super lovely the whole time. The food was soo good also, I had the bbq chicken pizza. We’ve come here a few times now for family meals and have always left happy. Thankyou kieran for being so genuine and smiley, we had a great time. Be back soon :))

Quite difficult to evaluate this venue. A couple of really friendly, helpful staff, a couple less so. Some fantastic food some very average. The drinks were good, the atmosphere was fine. The chicken wings and pizza were perfectly fine. The nachos were awful. That's a dish that needs re working from scratch, and at 15 pounds just no! We would happily return for the excellent beers mostly great service and fun atmosphere

Good pub, a former coaching inn, about 15 minutes walk from Christchurch Railway Station. Three cask beers on handpump when I visited. Lots of outdoor seating at the rear some of it covered. The pub is Grade-II listed.

Excellent friendly atmosphere and hard working courteous staff..Very good range of food and drink to cater for most customers, including vegetarian and vegan..can recommend the Naturist pizza. Three food and drink areas, two inside and one in the courtyard. Very dog friendly. We pre booked and reserved a table in the Barn room for the Ebgland v Serbia Euros 24 game... Several large screen TVs set up in every bar area for good view in every area. Great friendly mixed crowd of all ages from 18 to 80. I must commend all the staff who were welcoming kind and really worked hard on a very busy night...thank you

This is the best Toby Carvery I have been to. It is frequented regularly by us and we love it. Staff are hard working, never turn you away. Food is always good quality and hot. Never had a bad one here. I would highly recommend it if you are in Hinton or Christchurch.

Went with my wife and two young kids for a Sunday lunch. The food was tasty with really generous portions. Service was efficient and all the staff were friendly. Special shout out to Claire, the waitress who was lovely and very interactive with the kids. Reasonably priced, too! We'll be back soon

Good food in Christchurch. The baguette was really good. The place is fairly big and we could be seated without a reservation on a Saturday. Prices are ok.

The food is excellent, especially the pizza. Our family sits in a round table and sofa, which is just perfect for us. We also enjoy the live-singing there. Thank you for all the service.

Absolutely incredible food!! To quote my mum; 'best pizza I've ever had'. It was a really great atmosphere, great tunes played throughout the entire night, cocktails/mocktails available. We pre ordered food as there were 20 of us, and it all came out at the same time. Would definitely recommend, especially for birthday celebrations.

We were there for lunch in the week (10 of us). The starters were delicious, pasta were nice (the children were chuffed with them) but 3 of us had pizza and we were disappointed. The base didn't look or taste fresh, it was soggy just under the toppings (as if it'd be frozen and then cooked). It looked like it was cooked in a pan so didn't look authentic. For an Italian restaurant, we were left disappointed. The service was good and restaurant nice, hence a 4 star.