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

What a Great Place, to Have Sunday Lunch. With Such a Fabulous View, over the Down’s. While you Eat!!. This place is Certainly, worth a Visit!!.

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

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 Sunday lunch with two girlfriends. Superb Sunday roast with tasteful food, cooked and presented to a high standard. Excellent portions. Wonderful, freshly baked dessert. Highly recommended. Friendly and welcoming staff.

We stayed at the Grove Arms for two nights in June of 2024 and have nothing but good things to say about the place. Management was friendly, and bent over backwards to make our stay amazing. Including letting us stash our luggage there well after checkout. Our room was clean, comfortable, and decorated with a canine theme. The food was great, and the breakfast was better than we could have hoped. The dinner menu consists of classic English pub fare, including fish and chips and steak and ale pie. The pub is bright and inviting, and the locals that hang out there made our stay fantastic. If you want information about local walking paths, Phil is your man. His directions got us all the way to Shaftesbury and Gold Hill and back on foot without incident. Thanks to Daren, Andy, Simon and the rest of the local crew for making our time in Ludwell so memorable. We cannot recommend the Grove Arms strongly enough.

Fantastic place to stay x really welcoming and clean x all staff were super friendly and looked after us so well X the new lass behind the bar x Lisa I think she's called X made us laugh so much and Nigel the chef fed us really well X almost too well 😄😄😄😄 but thankyou to you all for making our stay really lovely ❤️❤️❤️

Third time we've stayed on route from Suffolk to Cornwall. Lovely location. Dog friendly. Excellent service. Super rooms... very comfortable. Wonderful service and great breakfast.

We had a family Sunday roast here the weekend before last. The staff were perfect! Attentive but not too much, the food was lovely by far the best roast we have had put in a long time and we eat out most Sundays.

We had a wonderful day for our wedding and reception in September 2023. The venue, marquee, staff, food and service were amazing, they couldn't do enough for us. So many of our guests have commented on the lovely location and marvellous food. Thank you all for such a special day with a loud shout out for Michael who was brilliant!! We would not hesitate to recommend heart ♥️

We had a Sunday carvery and there was plenty to choose from. Choice of meats and you can mix and match. Loads of choice of vegetables. Polite and friendly staff, bar and seating. Large dining room with lots of room for large gatherings. Booking is advised.

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

First takeaway from Aroma, and, boy, what have I been missing! Quite simply, the best takeaway ever. Fantastic food, quite light, but incredibly tasty. My new favourite restaurant!

Ordered a takeaway from here as our local restaurant was closed. Told me 20mins from order to collection. Bang on, reception was friendly and the food was to die for. Discount for collected orders aswell which makes it very good value 👍. Will be visiting for an evening out soon.

The food and the service was brilliant. Very quick to serve and the meals were brought out very efficiently. So many dishes that they could barely fit on our table of four. I had a Mango Lassi, Mugri Achari with Keema Rice, which was delicious. For those concerned with finding the restaurant, Or anyone who has accessibility issues the infrastructure in the area near the restaurant makes very accessible with a big car park. I enjoyed my meal greatly.

Went in for food at the bar, and we really enjoyed it!!! The food was simple but delicious and we will 100% be going back. The waitress was also very knowledgeable with information regarding what could be eaten by a celiac in our group. It also had an amazing country pub feel that felt so welcoming and cozy x ❤️

Our first time visit to Shaftesbury and the Grosvenor Arms hotel. Very impressed with both – for the same reasons …... relaxed, welcoming and informal. In the hotel specifically it seemed that the staff were always wanting to “go the extra mile” to make sure we felt at home. The furnishings – and the bedrooms – are all comfortable, well chosen and empathetic to the age of the building. The only meals we had were breakfasts – and these were excellent. Our one concern before arrival – its location right in the centre of a potentially-noisy town – was completely unnecessary. We had a room overlooking the street and it was sufficiently quiet for us to have the window open at night. So, thank you Grosvenor Arms – and Shaftesbury! A great visit.

Lovely pub rustic inside lovely setting staff very friendly and the food was lovely Easy to get to.and plenty of parking

Booked a table for Mothering Sunday 19/03/2023. Arrived 10 minutes before reservation, friendly waitress showed us our table. Drinks arrived within a few minutes following by starters and then freshly cooked mains. Meals are very tasty, staff very attentive and helpful. Happy to return here and recommend it! Thank you 🙂

Led a motorcycle group ride from Solent area to Somerset / Dorset, with a Sunday lunch stop at the Half Moon, Shaftesbury. 11 of us for lunch and we'd booked ahead so we had tables put together ready for us. Arriving about 1pm, the place was busy. We were fortunate to be served by a lovely young lady, Alyssa. Excellent customer service. She was charming - with an Essex-meets-Somerset type of accent - and confident; and nothing seemed to phase her, not even the items that weren't available on the menu or the pace of the kitchen. Clearly best to go for the carvery, but not everyone who has an evening meal planned wants that at lunchtime.