The Best Restaurants in Up Cerne, Dorset, United Kingdom (2025)

Went many years ago for lunch so decided to revisit for afternoon tea whilst on holiday in the area. What can I say. Unquestionably the best afternoon tea I have ever had. Service is impeccable without being overbearing. Lovely peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. Had a nice chat with the manager (sorry forgot his name). Strongly recommend.

We had a fabulous 2 night stay here. It's in a lovely little village, very quintessentially English. Staff were really lovely and couldn't do enough for us. Our room was really lovely, with a welcome drink and snack. We also tried a treatment in the spa and really enjoyed that too. There was even water and a cookie for our journey home.

Excellent place for an idyllic stay. Staff would go above and beyond to ensure every need was catered for. Breakfast in the garden terrace was superb, excellent dishes prepared with local ingredients. The spa area was tidy and the pool temperature was just right.

Stayed as a group of 6 for a walking weekend in October 2024. Very helpful and clear on booking as 2 large dogs were coming as well. Parking good and close to rooms. Very warm and helpful welcome. Rooms very clean, fluffy white towels and plenty of hot water. Nice tea/coffee/ biscuits in room and readily topped up. Food EXCELLENT with choice for all taste's, specials menus, good friendly helpful table service and great wine list. Fab stay and we will all come again. Thank you

A quintessential English pub in a beautiful location. Fantastic service from friendly, helpful staff. The long term chef is passionate about the menu and is more than happy to openly discuss the recipes with you. Whether you are calling in for a pint of ale, straight from the barrel, for dinner or staying in one of the beautiful rooms, you can be assured of having an experience that you remember and will look forward to returning.

Lovely, homely, welcoming feel. Food and service was fantastic, everyone went out of their way to make it a pleasant stay. Area is wonderfully rural, but close to all the attractions. Very friendly for dogs.

We had a fabulous one night stay here, what a beautiful part of the world. The room was excellent, rainforest shower and huge bathtub, comfy beds, spotlessly clean. We had dinner in the evening and food was just perfect, every dish was mouth-wateringly tasty. The breakfast was very very good, fresh sourdough, good coffee and a non greasy fry up! Highly recommend.

Lovely local pub in the heart of the Dorset Countryside. Lots of nice walks around and rural spots to explore!

Charming olde world pub. Great food and friendly staff. Our room was lovely.

We booked to go for Sunday lunch. The food was delicious and hot. Vegetables cooked to perfection. Cosy setting and quiet atmosphere even though fairly busy which we like. Staff friendly and attentive. Recommend.

Came in on the off chance, staff were very warm and welcoming, food was delicious and good value for money, My husband loved the homemade tartar sauce. Did use the facilities the toilet clean and fresh. Will definitely pop in again whenever we are in Cerne abbas. The place was bright and light and spacious

Absolutely delicious Sunday lunch. The vegetarian options were just as good as the meat roast options. Treacle tart pudding was wonderful. So glad we stumbled upon this little gem!

We visited on a weekday. We chose this pub over others in the village because of the reviews and because the food looked good value. There was one bartender on quite a busy lunchtime. She was good humored and efficient, taking drink and food orders, and delivering the food to the tables. We ordered our food and took drinks out to the garden at the back. Our food soon arrived despite being warned it might be a time. Simple fare, but generous portions. I ordered ham, egg and chips. The ham was delicious, three thick slices cut from a ham leg. Not the normal plastic ham in a prepacked plastic container. My partner had Nachos with a vegetarian chili. She enjoyed it. After lunch we walked around the village and came back for another pint before leaving on the bus. Good collection of beers including a local beer brewed in the village The pub has music events as well.

Beautiful food had 3 courses and all were beautiful, service was well paced and not fast so you get to enjoy the dishes . Steak was more than an 8oz fillet and my wife’s seafood linguine was in her words divine. Waiters were lovely and honoured to meet one of the chefs . Thank you

Visited by chance on a wet Wednesday and so glad we chose Al Molo. Restaurant was busy but staff were excellent, very friendly and attentive and despite being rush off their feet always available when needed. Food was fabulous and when we visit Dorchester again will definitely be back.

Have a lovely lunch here with my godmother. We had pork belly and it was very tender but abit too salty. It’s ok when eat with the mashed potato, it’s balanced out. Very friendly and attentive service 👍🏻

This place is remarkable. I honestly feel like I have to leave a review because I had a private room booking for party of 7 (engagement celebration). The team took care of us extremely well and I want to give special honour to our hostess Verity, so sweet, so patient, clear in her communication- 5 stars for her. The food was gorgeous and pretty affordable in my opinion . Some portions were small but I understand that it is more on fine dining side. The only critique I would give is about some cleaning aspects in which the rooms had like old cobwebs, spider webs on the windows, just could use a deep clean.

Came here today, after walking from our campsite at Graston Copse through Burton Bradstock village. A warm welcome by a member of staff & shown to our outside table for 4 with 3 dogs. Our waitress took our drinks order & returned after a few minutes to take our food order. She was very friendly and attentive, giving time for a chat despite being extremely busy. Wait for our food was minimal and when it arrived it was hot, tasty & well presented. Back ground music was pleasant, giving the Mediterranean feeling due to the sunshine. Wouldn't hesitate in returning if we are in the area again .... thank you.

We arrived at 11.20, just in time to order breakfast. We were lucky to get the table on the edge of the 'tent' overlooking the beach. Despite being quite busy we received very efficient service. The food arrived within 15- 20 min, then our hot drinks. We had 3 x full English and egg Benedict on muffin with bacon. Everyone enjoyed it. The only nuisance were a few wasps but not a lot to spoil our experience.

Camping at Freshwater holiday park, a 20 minute walk to visit this gem of a place. Busy and bustling restaurant, great menu, food was outstanding and the service was great too. Dog friendly aswell, all in all, will definitely be returning soon.

This is a well loved beach cafe which has beautiful scenic views, it is very popular and rightly so. The menu is mainly fish and seafood dishes. However, they do a smashing full English breakfast up to 11.30 am. I will post pics. This dog friendly beach cafe has a carpark close by, but if you choose to walk along the cliff top path or the lower paths, you will walk within the most beautiful scenery. This is a totally table service venue, so once you are seated, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the view. Prices are reasonable.

This mysterious, well endowed hill figure is a famous local landmark. It's worth a look as if you're in the area, but without getting up in air, the best view of it isn't brilliant, at least compared to other hill figures like Westbury White Horse or The Long Man of Wilmington. That said, I can highly recommend a look around the delightful village of Cerne Abbas, where you'll find an impressive church, abbey remains and a curious well. The chalk downland that the giant is carved into makes for a good walk with lovely views.

Very VERY steep and when you get up there you can't see him. So follow the advice from National Trusts OWN sign there that says go look from the layby opposite.

Can be difficult to see the full giant due to the fading white, but worth a little stop on the way to other places, some nice hikes and trails around the area.

Just had a two night stay here at this beautifully presented pub/b&b. Staff were friendly and helpful, always polite. Room was clean and had everything we needed. It’s on the train line which doesn’t feel intrusive. The food was really nice in the evenings (didn’t eat lunch there), we were a big group one evening and there were two small issues but they were sorted. The first morning, arrived to breakfast and it wasn’t ready and staff didn’t know why, they quickly sorted it out tho. The only downside for us was breakfast, as there is no hot option.

On arrival, after making a online booking, we were nearly turned away as staff said there was no reservations in our name, we had to prove it was booked from our online correspondence. Staff then found us a table, but advised us we had to go because that table was booked out at a certain time. We had our main meal, but didn't have a desert as we would have outstayed our welcome, only to find that upon leaving most of the restaurant was practicly empty, very disappointing. Apart from the above, the food and service was very good.

Lovely place, nice spacious rooms with air conditioning, decent telly and comfortable bed. Very clean and tidy, with a nice powerful shower. I really had to dig deep to find any fault with the place, and the only thing I did find wrong was that the toilet roll holder was was a bit loose. The continental breakfast had a good range of food, and was a nice way to start the day.

What a lovely place! We stayed here for 1 night. The room was so cozy and clean, the shower was fantastic. Sunday roast dinner and bread pudding after were absolutely delicious. Continental breakfast in the morning, which was free, had a great variety and assortment of yummy things. The stuff was very courteous and pleasant. Highly recommend!

We stopped here for lunch on our way to Swanage. We enjoyed a ploughman's lunch (my daughter's) and a Greek salad for me. Both were well presented and delicious. Service was good too. However, the icing on the cake for me was bumping into someone that I had been at school with a very long time ago. It's a shame that our lovely school is now closed. The reminiscence of schooldays so long ago was a great experience.

Milton Abbas is well off the beaten track. It is very Dorset in its feel and nature. Surrounded by farmland and forest. No street lights to speak of and really quiet. At the moment the village is hosting some amazing wooden horse sculptures. Thatched roofs and a wide main street make this a picture postcard village in the heart of rural Dorset. It actually gets properly dark here. Not that you would know any of that from inside this pub. Beautifully appointed inside, really well taken care of with a staff team who are friendly and professional. Great selection of drinks and food alongside regular entertainment and events. You can elect to stay here as well as there are rooms on the first floor. I did not stay this time but I am planning to. If you can find it you will not regret your efforts.