The Best Restaurants in Purse Caundle, Dorset, United Kingdom (2025)

What a lovely surprise 30th meal for my partners birthday. Gabriela is such an amazing host, couldn’t thank her enough for all her help with organising. The food was outstanding! I had the goats cheese mousse to start and it’s the best starter I’ve ever had! Have been before and will definitely return. Great value for money and lovely/friendly staff. 10/10

Decent lunch. I would have preferred a bit less of the “brulee” and a bit more crab meat, maybe with a bit of a citrus twist. We saved our bread and butter that came out at the start as it does need that. The meat (chicken and duck) were good quality but maybe lacked a bit of seasoning. Fries were tasty.

Fantastic meal - everything delicious but the highlights were a goats cheddar mousse, lamb with Jerusalem artichokes and a beetroot sticky toffee pudding. Lovely vibe - busy but you can hear each other speak, great art on the walls and friendly service. Wish I lived nearer for this to be my local!

Amazing little restaurant with great atmosphere and the most amazing food!

Lovely pub. Comfortable room with nice bathroom and powerful shower. Wonderful breakfast, freshly cooked to order. We didn't eat other meals here but will if we stay again. Will definitely book again if we visit this area in the future

Amazing atmosphere. Really friendly staff. Lovely area and great garden. Fireworks were amazing too.

Good old traditional English pub. Good hearty food. Cosy & welcoming. Just what I want when I visit the country side. One of those pubs you can just rock up to without having to be suited & booted. Wellies welcome. Glad the new owners didn't turn it into an expensive posh nosh Queens Arms.

What a charming pub! I was there last night with a group of friends for our regular get together. Crop Circle beer delicious, food superb and the staff were absolutely lovely. What a tremendous bunch and all in an idyllic spot/village. Highly recommend to one and all!

Fantastic Saturday lunch in Dorset. Excellent food ( Goats cheese soufflé and beef with horseradish mash ) good red wine and a divine panacotta with hand made turkish delight... bookings a must, very recommended.

This is the place to go for something different. The place is light and airy with plenty of space between the tables. The service is excellent. The menu gives you the opportunity to try something different. I really recommend this as a place to go and try.

We had a pleasant meal here, on a lovely day outside. The soufflé was delicious, although we would've preferred homemade chips. Minor thing really. Would recommend stopping.

Our party of 9 thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at the Elms. Atmosphere was good, food was excellent and the waitress service was excellent too. A very nice restaurant to wine and dine your party in.

Small plates, order at least 3 each and share, great selection and good quality. Dog friendly every where in the restaurant. I found it a bit complicated, it's a bit like Spanish Tapas and our total bill was around £70 it soon mounts up.

An incredible meal at the plume! We were turned away from another restaurant despite having a reservation, but when we came to the Plume they were happy to help and sat us promptly. The meal was absolutely delicious and filled us up nicely. We had 6 dishes between 4 adults and were stuffed! The service was great and the atmosphere was so lovely.

What a surprise treat! I visited this restaurant with family when staying in the area for a weekend away, and what a gorgeous find this was! Situated right in the heart of Sherborne (which is a charming town to visit regardless) this restaurant was just fabulous. The menu was fab, tapas dishes inspired by Italy but using West Country produce - what's not to love! Staff were friendly and accommodating, the drinks selection was vast and impressive and the food quality was truly 10/10. Would definitely be back if I lived closer! This place gets very busy over weekend so definitely book in advance, and also would recommend arriving for an earlier sitting rather than later before it gets too busy.

Lovely late lunch. Quality food and friendly, accommodating staff. The outside looks fairly drab and some of the Italian signage is slightly incongruous (are Wadsworths synonymous with Italian dining? No), but don't be put off, the inside is far, far better with modern styling in a traditional setting. Not cheap but where is these days.

We booked the private dining room for a Reunion. So impressed. Great food, lovely public rooms, impeccable friendly service. And very reasonable price.

This hotel is absolutely stunning! The pictures do not do it justice. The hotel is charming, beautiful, unique, vintage and quirky. There is lots to see around the hotel and it was beautifully decorated for Christmas. We booked for the festive getaway deal which was an amazing price for all it included, we upgraded our room prior to arriving and on arrival got told we were upgraded again for free which was a wonderful surprise. Our room was absolutely beautiful! The hotel was very peaceful and the food and drinks were delicious. Our room and the hotel was very clean. We absolutely love the friendly, cute hotel cat Neptune!! Breakfast didn't come with all items included on the menu (we didn't get any potatoes, mushrooms or tomatoes like stated) they also hadn't had their delivery of bacon so breakfast seemed a little chaotic, but other than that everything was perfect, staff were friendly and attentive and we absolutely cannot wait to come back and stay here again! I highly recommend this hotel, really beautiful and peaceful and great value for money.

We had a lovely one night stay at this independent hotel. The hotel is very quirky and really well thought out with lovely touches all around. I took my 2 children and they loved playing in the big garden and our room was very spacious with a huge bed and double sofa bed. The bar is really cosy and the food at dinner and breakfast was really lovely. All the staff were very welcoming and the resident cat was a huge hit with my daughters. The location was perfect for us, just a 5 minute drive to Sherborne but in a quiet village location. Would definitely recommend this hotel and would love to stay again.

We had a family Christmas gathering and we used the skittle alley. The landlady was so lovely. The pub is absolutely gorgeous and felt cosy and inviting. The hosts catered for us, providing a buffet and everyone had a wonderful evening. Thank you so much, we will be definitely visiting again throughout the year.

Fabulous! The new owners have only been there two weeks, so we're only taking a limited number of bookings for Sunday lunch, so we were very lucky to get in and the meal was delicious. Turkey and beef on the menu. We had a bit of both with all the trimmings

Lovely meal for two and they let us stay overnight in our camper an, definitely coming back!

We really enjoyed our visit here while we were in the area. We loved the roast dinner it was delicious and I loved the landlords very eccentric style. Good ale too!

Dined here solo on a weekday evening. Atmosphere was lovely with the restaurant feeling very open to take advantage of the lovely weather. It took a little longer than expected to take my order, but once this was done, food came out promptly and tasted delicious. I return to the area multiple times a year for work and will definitely visit this restaurant again.

The best Italian food I’ve had in the UK - it’s tasty and authentic. So many options to choose from on the menu. Most of the staff are nice and happy to share their knowledge about the food. The kitchen closes at 9pm, not 11pm.

Absolutely superb food- starter, main and dessert.

Amazing food and great service. Was truly a flavoursome experience. Went with some close friends and we all were blown away by the cuisine that was offered here.

Visited today. As someone who prefers an unpretentious "Traditional Ale House" with excellent real ales and good straightforward food, on the basis of today's lunch this is the best pub I've ever been in. Our pints were spot on, and our meals were outstanding. A real gem of a discovery, only shortcoming is it's a tad over 200 miles from home!

The best pub in Sherborne and beyond! Excellent food, real ale and great value for money. Friendly staff and always a great atmosphere. One of the few 'proper pubs' left.

We popped in for a pint and some lunch, but the kitchen had closed. However, they kindly made us sandwiches to go with the delicious ale and stout. A friendly, proper, old-fashioned pub.

Love this pub. An authentic, old-style pub with a lot of charm and a great local vibe. Good selection of beers and ales.

I often stop off here on a Friday after work, The staff are lovely, the beer is fab. I've yet to try the food but plan on coming back with family. Well worth giving it a go. Just a few mins off the A 37.

Stopped off for a cold refreshing cider was lovley and very tastefully decorated to a high standard food looks amazing too would definitely recommend 👌

We had Sunday lunch here last month. This is a lovely pub, great lunch and most of all great service. Made our Sunday and fully recommended.

The food was delicious. Great customer service. Very nice pub and beautiful garden

Lovely place with amazing food options, especially for meat eaters, veggies and vegans! would recommend to all :)

The food here is really delicious. I had a “porky burger” which was one of the best burgers I’ve had. The inside is very small with not a lot of seating but they do take away. Unique place in Sherborne but slightly on the pricier side - I think the quality of the food was worth it

Came here with local friends who recommended the food and hospital and wow they were right! Beautiful food bang bang cauliflower was amazing, halloumi fries were gorgeous, salads and burgers just wow! Thank you Hummingbird x ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️