The Best Restaurants in Melbury Abbas, Dorset, United Kingdom (2025)

We had a night of celebrating our 50th birthday here at Breezy Ridge,the location is absolutely stunning, the food was delicious our guests all commented on how good it was and the cocktails where just perfect staff are so friendly and polite.. could not recommend this place enough.. makes for a perfect location to celebrate any occasion... You won't be disappointed 🥂❤️

I can't thank the team at Breezy Ridge enough for all their efforts to make a Maid of Honour proposal go smoothly! Becky's communications were fab prior to the evening and everyone was on board to make sure the dinner went ahead without a hitch. The food is fantastic and the place is a real asset to the local area, there aren't many places like this around without having to travel quite far out. The team are super friendly and the atmosphere in the restaurant is gorgeous, beautifully decorated and wonderfully intimate. I can't wait to come back!

We were in the area and stopped by this lovely vineyard restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious, the sparkling wine was lovely and the service was friendly. The food was tapas style. My favourites were the croquettes (we tried ham and crab) as well as the tomato and mozzarella salad. Highly recommend.

We really enjoyed a private 'Sip & See' party at Breezy Ridge for a few hours in the afternoon. Lovely spacious venue which catered for our needs - tea/coffee/Prosecco/cake. Lots of parking and friendly and helpful staff. Thank you!

Warm, friendly inviting pub. Open fires, welcoming and informative staff. Good clean real ale and good friendly company, staff and locals alike. Sports, juke box, pool and a 'free house' range of Alcohol, satisfied......See you again. 👍👍🍺🍺

Friendly local free house pub. Nice staff, large beer garden. A bit awkward for wheelchair users because of steps, but staff will help if asked. Often crowded on Sundays, so booking is advised. Car park is on opposite side of road, so you need to be careful when crossing.

I was met with a warm and friendly welcome as soon as I stepped into the pub not only by the staff but also the friendly locals, for a Saturday evening it was the in place to be with an array of different drinks on offer to suit everyone's taste, great atmosphere and fantastic staff, I'm now planning my second visit.

A group of us went here for a meal to celebrate a birthday. I messaged beforehand to check they were able to provide a vegan alternative. They replied quickly with a list of different items they could adapt to be vegan. I opted for the Calzone as I haven't had the chance to have one since going vegan. It was absolutely delicious! The man (who I presume owns the place) was incredibly helpful and attentive. I fully recommend eating here! I'm looking forward to returning.

Wow had a fabulous meal and dessert last night 05/03/24 here. Look at the pics and decide yourself. Wonderful service too. Love and thank you.

Lovely old chapel and the decor was fantastic, ordered onion rings to start and despite the price of £5.90 they were frozen, albeit well cooked and crispy. The Hawaiian pizza was basic and uniform, I was expecting a more hand tossed rustic base but the ingredients were good quality. The chips again were basic frozen fries and quite costly at £5.90. I wasn’t introduced to the specials board which disappointed me too. I’m glad I went to try the place but wouldn’t return.

We stumbled across this place on a short visit to Shaftesbury. Such an amazing building and interior, but by far the best bits are the staff and the food. Absolutely delicious food and incredibly friendly and helpful staff. It was quite quiet during our visit which can have an impact on the atmosphere - depending on what you're after - but I'd definitely recommend a visit!

I was enroute to Portesham for a mini break with Max my dog. It's about midway so ideal for a wee/poo break. It was a really blustery day, just right for blowing out the cobwebs. He was flat out afterwards.

We just love this place, if you like a really good hike then this is the place for you, many many footpaths, extraordinarily beautiful views, sheep and cows, fabulous birds of prey, we watched 6 red kites below us as we sat up high, just so beautiful. And for an added treat, Compton Abbas airport is next door so the low flying very interesting small planes fly over as they take off.

The most amazing views of our beautiful countryside, on this great little walk

An enjoyable walk from the NT car park on the main road to Melbury Hill down to Fontmell Magna and back through the Fontmell Down Nature reserve. Great views on the Blackmore Vale.

Very nice food. Staff are friendly and service is brilliant. Would highly recommend

Visited without a booking they were able to squeeze us in. Very busy for a Monday night, which was a good sign! Outstanding food, really tasty and well presented, and attentive waiting staff. Would recommend booking as they were turning people away!

A good solid restaurant for a team meal out.... Initially a letdown because I'm calling there was no menu available in PDF. Food was all good. Tandoori mixed grill a little dry, only let down by high prices of the beer..... Service was brisk and the peshawari nan, excellent.

We had a wonderful meal here last night! The pie night was a hit, gluten free Brie and cranberry was one of the best pieces of food I’ve tasted! Really cosy atmosphere and all round great pub! The steak and Guinness was also great! Lovely and friendly staff. Clearly marked gluten free food so felt safe to eat here.

Had lunch here whilst visiting the famous Gold Hill. Had a lovely lunch with large portions. The condiments were in huge portions too although we didn't partake. The ploughman's was especially large and extremely good value. Apparently the beer selection was good too. I stuck to cider which was standard keg stuff.

Met friends here for lunch, was a bit apprehensive as we had read some mixed reviews, turned out they were wrong. The food was lovely, the lady running the bar and food service was very pleasant and it was an altogether enjoyable experience. We will be coming back again. Thank you

This is one of the better best western hotels I have stayed in. The staff are friendly and helpful. The food is good, the homemade shepherd's pie or beef stew with dumplings is fantastic, as good as I have had. Just a bit let down with what I assume are frozen veg and chips. Some rooms are ok but some are well in need of modernising. Shower didn't work above bath. Car park is safe. Location is good about 12 min walk to center or supermarket. Good pub across the road.

Lovely carvery. Fresh vegetables and gorgeous cauliflower cheese. Lovely friendly staff. Would certainly recommend.

Lovely little place for plane spotting. We went while it was quite overcast, but the clouds cleared and off went the spitfire! Food was absolutely delicious and the staff were lovely. They allowed us to shelter inside on our table for 45 minutes before our booking was due to start. Will be visiting again when the weather is a little warmer to enjoy a crispy pint while watching the planes!

We didn't eat today so can't rate the food. Richie Beer excellent. The coffee from the outside cabin, pretty awful, we poured ours away. McDonalds coffee better... hopefully the coffee in the main restaurant was properly prepared and significantly better. Great day for Spitfire action.

I went with a large group who arrived at varying times so service was difficult to judge. However, the young lady who took our orders was charming, good humoured and helpful. Food was excellent, only choice for veggie or vegan was jackfruit. The meat, pork or beef was excellent, as was the Ritchie beer,but as that remains a personal choice you'll have to try it to see. Yes I will go again.

My first visit since Guy Ritchie took the Airfield over. The restaurant area has been enlarged and has full glazing from end to end giving panoramic views towards Shaftsbury. The interior is not cramped in any way although it was busy. One has good viewing of aircraft taking off and landing. Outside are plenty of picnic tables so if the weather is good you can sit outside if you want. I had lunch and it was really good. Pulled smoked beef in a brioche bun. Apparently there are only 3 of these 'smokers' in Europe, and they're worth every penny. Not a good menu if you're vegan or veggy. I tried one of Guy's own beers and it was really good. We were in a large party who arrived at different times so I can't say too much about service times, but I had no complaints. The girl who looked after our tables was good humoured, patient and helpful. I shall definitely go back.

We liked the food. Service was okay. Vibes were good. Just one hiccup - we reserved a table for dinner way in advance and were cramped in a small corner while the next table had a bigger group (around 7 persons seated at a 4-person table) just having drinks. Not surprisingly, they were pretty loud in conversing. We were not comfortable with this setting and after a short while, requested to switch to another table. The staff was courteous and helped us look into that. Fortunately there was one spare and more spacious table available in another section of the pub and we were able to better enjoy our dinner eventually. I wish they could be more thoughtful when they were assigning table for guests.