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

We found out the hard way that in Swanage you have to book places for dinner. After trying many places to no avail, we walked into La Trattoria and were kindly squeezed in. The wine, starters and food were amazing. Was slightly disappointed with the Bruschetta being on their house garlic bread. Would have liked it on a different bread or told when we ordered that we’d essentially be having two lots of garlic bread but the overall experience and meal wasn’t dampened by this. Their pasta is delicious so highly recommend that. Definitely coming back when we return to the area and next time we’re booking!

It can be hard finding a restaurant in Swanage if you haven't booked in advance but we were lucky enough to score a table at La Trattoria. It's clearly very popular, especially with families, and that makes perfect sense as the staff are friendly and the food tasty. What you're looking at is an old-school, family-owned Italian restaurant that offers a short but classic menu with all of the greatest hits. The food itself is nicely prepared and enjoyable but not fancy. It is, however, somewhat on the expensive side at £20-25 per head without alcohol. Still it's nice to visit somewhere that isn't all about fried food or other seaside delights and we certainly never felt rushed despite the restaurant being packed out. So if you prefer to dine well over a harbour view then La Trattoria will see you right.

Was an amazing experience - came here with my partner after searching online and seeing it had some good vegan options on the menu (we're both vegan!). They had a veggie enchiladas on the menu, which I asked if it could be veganised (aka vegan cheese). The waiter was so kind he popped out to buy me some vegan cheese and the chef made the most amazing meal! My partners' vegan sausage and mash (as per their menu) was also exceptional. Really appreciated how they went above and beyond, as well as everyones' friendliness.

Cane here for an evening meal having booked a table. Lovely and warm as was the welcome. Very basic food and the sausage and mash had no accompaniments at all ...just gravy and there was no option for extra veg. Salmon was ok'ish but not very warm at all. Overall the food flattered to deceive.

Top pub! We arrived just after food service had finished and commented how good the chips looked. Thanks Julian for knocking us up an extra bowl - delicious and highly recommended! The rest of the food look great.

Spur of the moment booking. Extremely friendly staff. Lovely food, we had lamb shank, scampi & fish pie which we all enjoyed. Staff had time for a lovely chat with us. It was so nice we are planning to go back today if we can get a table. 🤔

We had 2 really good meals here. The first was an evening meal without the kids. There was a group from the RNLI singing shanties which added to the atmosphere. We liked it so much we took the kids for lunch the next day. The food was good, the drinks were good. There was no table service but the staff were really helpful. There are no toilets but they are only a short walk away. It was a little chilly in the evening so it's probably a good idea to take a jumper.

Stunning views, amazing food. Perfect 😊

An amazing restaurant with helpful staff who care about allergies. The food was stunning and kept me going later in the day. All in all I really would recommend this restaurant 😃.

Our favourite place in Swanage. I love the Mussels Marinara and they do the best pizza for a good price. The atmosphere is great and you get nice view of the sea.

It is a great little place to stop, offering nice food at reasonable prices.

I had breakfast there yesterday. the people are very lovely, fast service and the food was DELICIOUS!!! absolutely love it.

Lovely little lunch place. Thank you for catering for my aged parents. Their favourite place. We made the head waitresses giggle with the customer inadvertently wearing the witches hat.... little things! Ideal Christmas present vouchers too!

Dropped in for lunch and a friendly smile greeted us, offered a choice of tables to sit at and gave us the menu. We both went for the chicken curry and it was served in good time. Curry was delicious, plenty of chicken and great tasting. Price was very good and the premises spotless. Highly recommend.

What a great sample menu. Everything was fantastic. The lamb was cooked perfectly. Will definitely be back again to try more of the menu. Great to see some new evening food in Swanage and a view of the sea and Swanage lights too.

Had a hearty lunch on a weekday late afternoon. Interesting menu options, large portions and tasty hot food. Loved the warm country decor and ambience too

Lovely food. Came in with family. Initially was quiet but got busier and staff seemed very busy. Good was great and everyone really friendly. Japanese chicken was really, really nice. Italian burger was good, but very saucy with ruined crispiness of chicken. Good value for money. Would come again .

Amazing food! Came with a group of 15 so had ordered ahead. It came in good time and was absolutely delicious. Good large portions and nice friendly service. Green Thai curry highly recommended! Everyone was delighted with the food. And a good range of beers too.

The Red Lion used to be a bit of a locals pub but was a bit of a dive. Almost a year ago, it changed hands, and the new owners seem to have spent a lot of time and money in upgrading my prefered drinking venue in Swanage. The pub is now clean and has a good choice of beers both ales and larger etc. I don't know anything about wines as I don't drink them, but the food is great. The food has a Turkish theme to it, which always tastes great and fresh. I think they've got some sort of flame grill stove thing, but all I know is I like the food and the beers, and the pub is dog friendly..

Great pub. We had not booked but the lady was so helpful letting us have a table as long as we could vacate it by a certain time. Wonderfully food and very helpful staff. Would highly recommend but in busy times be sure to make a booking.

We ate a Sunday roast here and it was one of the best we've had. The food was delicious. The staff were very accommodating (6 of us plus a dog) and friendly.

Food was good. My partner really enjoyed it. We got 3 meats - house wings, sausage and their special that day which was the bbq brisket on bone marrow. It comes with 3 sides and 2 sauces, for which we got seasoned fries and coselaw and their boozey bbq sauce. We got sat by the bar as there were no more seats and we did call last minute, not the comfiest of all but glad we got accommodated. The staff were ever friendly and service was quick. Would recommend, good chill dinner spot with nice food.

Food was nice, service was great! Happy to find a new restaurant in Swanage! Recommend sharing a 3 meat/3 side between two! Also, if you’re into nice hazy IPA, the Dainty IPA is a must try.

My husband and I went to the restaurant on Friday last week, and we were booked in at 1800. popped in to see if we could have our meal early, and we did, We ordered pit 3, wings, and loaded Fries . shared all between us . It was amazing. The food was tasty. The atmosphere was good. We will most definitely be coming back

Booked table for 9 12.30pm Staff friendly polite and food was lovely 6 had roasts and 1 nut roast. Kids had jumbo fish finger and cheeseburger Was very tasty and we come every year here for food. Place clean tidy and outside area play area for kids and lots of pub bench/tables.

We stopped here for lunch today. Great food, well presented and quite simply perfect. Large portions, and well priced. We will be going back! Thanks to the lady who served us, and made us feel welcome.

Food was absolutely spot on. 2 roast dinners, 1 beef, 1 chicken. Really decent portion and hot as well. Service was good, a bit business like on first entering but all round very good. Atmosphere was good but the pub was a bit chilly if I'm honest. All round would I go back for another roast, yes, 100%. Roasts are £14.95 a head.

Mum and I went for a Sunday roast and I can honestly say it was the closest to my grandmothers legendary Sunday dinner I have ever tasted. The portions won’t leave you feeling hungry. Mum struggles with her walking now and the lovely Barman took her arm and walked her very slowly back to the car … customer service second to none. I would definitely recommend a Sunday lunch at the Crows Nest Inn in Swanage.