The Best Restaurants in West Stafford, Dorset, United Kingdom (2025)

This can be recommended for its food, service and ambience. We went with two friends and we all enjoyed our starters, main courses and dessert. The wine was reasonably priced and pleasant. The serving staff were helpful and pleasant. The decor was good and there was a relaxed atmosphere. This is a real Poundbury asset- I hope, for many years to come!

This is now my favourite restaurant and will be telling everyone I know to visit. Had a lovely Friday lunch here, the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming. The staff are friendly and the food and drinks are wonderful. We had 3 courses and they were all well balanced and tasty with my favourite being the chocolate ale cake with caramel miso sauce and muscavodo ice cream. I would keep going back just for that dessert! My husband loved the cocktails including the Japanese sour cocktail which was just one example of the great and interesting selection of cocktails available. Definitely visit again as soon as we can.

We ate with friends and the food was exceptional. The service was “fine” but the inexperience of the young team came across as scripted and insincere. We’ve booked to go again at Christmas, it’s a great, intimate bistro with great food options.

Today my friend and I found this little gem of a Bistro by accident, and oh my the food was perfection! The food is all local produce and it was just beautiful tasting. We had come from Bournemouth and we will defo be coming back! Totally recommend this place!

Yalbury Cottage is a place where excellence, friendliness, and quality come together seamlessly. As someone who loves travelling and exploring new cities and places, I have stayed in numerous accommodations, but none compare to Yalbury Cottage. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and look forward to returning to the area. The staff at Yalbury Cottage consistently went out of their way to be friendly and did everything possible to ensure our stay was exceptional. The room exceeded my expectations significantly, with its stunning and unique view. We truly felt as if we were at home, but in a setting with beautiful new scenery. Situated in Dorchester, Yalbury Cottage offers a perfect base to explore the area and nearby cities such as Weymouth. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, have recommended this place to others, and will continue to do so. The bed was incredibly comfortable, and everything was spotlessly and well-organised. Additionally, the thoughtful touch of leaving brownies in our room upon arrival exemplifies their dedication to Yalbury Cottage and their commitment to providing each guest with an exceptional experience. I personally can't wait to return to this charming cottage for another uniquely wonderful stay.

Absolutely wonderful overnight stay, with excellent breakfast and dinner, extremely comfortable accommodation, highly professional and friendly staff... need I go on? I would unhesitatingly recommend this charming hotel.

Lovely place to stay. Food was beautifully presented and cooked to perfection. The one thing that I would of appreciated (as an older lady) would of been a bath mat in a very slippy bath. Fabulous, would certainly visit again.

Outstanding food, exceptional service and a really welcoming atmosphere . The chef cooks exceptional food . We had a fabulous time and will definitely return.

Just had a wonderful two course lunch here - fabulous freshly cooked Italian food, super friendly service and a great wine list. Oh and great value too! This is going to be our new favourite place for lunch in Dorch.

Great food. Great service. Really good to see something of this quality in Dorchester. I don’t know if management will ever see this, but my ONLY negative would be to dim the lights in the evening. It would really improve the atmosphere if they were turned down to create a more intimate space.

Genuine Italian warmth and hospitality in Dorchester! I went with my Mum and boyfriend and we all had a fantastic meal and loved the atmosphere. The waitresses and chef were very welcoming and the chef even came out to offer my Mum some choices for the vegan option that evening. It's a small menu with everything cooked to perfection. We will definitely be back soon!

I'm a tad bias to this establishment as I love the food and atmosphere here. Although it's a chain restaurant , i still feel like an individual as a customer. The staff treat you really well and give you a personal experience. The menu pricing is at the higher end of the market but as a treat, I think it's worth it. For those on a tighter budget, they offer a set meal menu before 7pm. The morning breakfast menu is also quite good. The reason I pay a little more to eat here is because I feel satisfied with my entire dining experience. I'm not a fan of the 10% gratuity that's automatically added to your bill. I feel the customer should decide what the service is worth, not the company.

We were felt to be made very welcome and special by all the staff. The menu we chose was the set vegetarian which was explained to us in great detail. We were amazed at the choice and quality of the food.

A very lovely dinner, mussels were good & plenty of them. Had the cafe gourmand for dessert & that was nice. Service was good though a little slow on taking our order & when we wanted to settle up. They also gave us the wrong coffee & wrong dessert but quickly rectified the error. It’s not wow but lovely traditional French cuisine.

Went for dinner and the food was fantastic! The staff were so lovely & attentive. They catered to my allergies (shellfish) really well, making notes for everything and making sure it was labelled with a little flag. It wasn't too busy when we went in, but as a very anxious person i quite liked that. Would recommend to anyone and looking to go back for my birthday next month!

If you are looking for a change from the usual humdrum Prem Inn Travelodge that seem to be taking over most town centres then this exquisette steeped in history creaky floored no room the same Hotel is for you. Refurbished to an excellent standard whilst retaining the period features. Staff were very friendly and helpful from the 2 receptionists we met to the lady running the restaurant to the bar person to the excellent chef we really couldn't fault it. Our evening meal in the restaurant was delicious and breakfast the next morning cooked to order much nicer than buffet style hot foods from above mentioned hotels. Thank you to all the staff we met who couldn't do enough for us and really topped off an excellent stay.

Best place to have a few Christmas pints with friends. Very cosy seating areas with sofas next to the fire place. Reasonably priced beer (£4.80 ish) for a pint of Butcombe, very good quality / price!

I dont leave many reviews for things; but have been meaning to write this one for a while. Came for a Sunday roast a few weeks ago and can honestly say it was one of the nicest roasts I've ever had. We chose the Kings Arms after previously visiting a sister hotel in Shaftesbury and very much enjoying our meal there. The service was excellent, with attentive but not overbearing staff, the food is delicious and the portion sizes were great. The prices arent cheap, but i felt that i got an experience that justified the price charged. Would thoroughly recommend.

(We didn't stay - merely went for a celebration meal.) The food was really excellent, the service friendly and efficient, and the hotel's restoration after its long period of disuse could not be more sensitive. The bar and restaurant areas are simply beautiful!

Such friendly staff. Found us a table for 4 adults a baby and 2 dogs at very short notice. The food was amazing and great value for money. Would definitely recommend booking as it was very busy, but the service was spot on.

Staying at a local holiday park and after a quick google search for dinner recommendations, we decided to book a table at the black dog! Food was lovely, I had the green curry which was delicious and my husband had the gammon which he also enjoyed. Kids loved their dishes and after coming from Surrey the prices were very reasonable. Would definitely return.

Dropped into the Black Dog for dinner for the first time in nearly 20 years. A fondly remembered pub delivered to the moment, well kept and served beers, but it was the food that blew me away. Went for the venison, black pudding and melted stilton burger off the specials board, wow! Seasonal menu and table decorations, nice touches all around, highly recomended. Whilst the venison burger becomes a must for me, great food selection, right across the board.

Such a beautiful property and the gardens were stunning, even in October. Highly recommend a visit here. There are lots of rooms to explore in the house and make sure you watch the videos to learn about the restoration too. I didn't visit the cafe but I did buy some local foods from the shop; there's a nice little selection.

Full of history, an interesting place to visit. Worth a stop between London and Devon. Great facilities and cafe and bar. The house and garden are well setup and maintained with enough to see for several hours. Will be returning.

Recently visited this tudor house and gardens. The weather had not been in our favour but had stopped raining for our visit so we walked the gardens first before entering the house. A little overcast but the gardens were still beautiful for our walk round. The house is very picturess and in very good order. You can wander around at your own leisure with loads of interesting things to read and see. It was quite nice as their wernt loads of visitors at one time so you didn't feel rushed. All staff were extremely friendly and polite. The lady on reception was very polite and also we were given a warm welcome in the restaurant where we had some delightful sandwiches and perfectly made lattes. A very intresting place to stop with the added great customer service. Thankyou all.

A delightful and well presented house and gardens. The visual and audio displays make the visit entertaining and interesting and you get drawn into the history of the house without realising. The tea room was great with good food and fast friendly service. The team throughout were professional friendly and very helpful. A great day out

We didn't stay at the New Inn, but we did have a large family Christmas lunch. The food was delicious; the service was fun, attentive, and professional. The atmosphere was lovely. Everyone has commented on how special the afternoon was and will return. I've already recommended The New Inn to folks and will continue to do so. If you get the chance to visit, GO!

Pub dinner- Just returned from the new inn pub. First visit, but not our last for sure. 3 x diners all left very pleased with the venue, great staff, and excellent menu. We had Angus burger and lamb burger, and we all enjoyed them. Very tasty and filling. Thank you.

Only ate, didn’t stay. A fantastic location in a lovely village. There were 15 of us; the food was outstanding, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We will definitely be eating at The New Inn again.

We went for lunch as a party of 6. We had pre booked because it was the Christmas season. We were greeted by a very friendly member of the team. Shown to our table,allowed to settle, then had our drinks order taken and then shortly after that we had our meal order's taken by another charming team member. We didn't have to wait very long until all of our food was brought to the table. We had a gluten free option, a vegetarian option and 4 meals and starters off the Special menu. Every meal was beautifully cooked and presented. We had a really lovely time and will definitely be returning in the near future.

Have had two visits over the Christmas holidays and both times and found the food, service and atmosphere really good. Have not had the carvery yet but the beef burger, chicken burger, pie of the day and cold cuts have been good value and filling. Many thanks to all at the Sun Inn

Thank you for accommodating us as walk-ins for the Sunday Roast. The food was delicious, the staff were welcoming, the atmosphere was warm, relaxed and peaceful (some places can be very noisy during afternoon roast dinners). We have also tried the outdoor seating previously for some nibbles and the review remains exactly the same. We really enjoyed on both occasions and we will definitely return.

Visited The Sun Inn whilst staying in a holiday cottage 5 mins walk away. We booked in for a second time that week because we enjoyed it so much! Highly recommend the carvery, it was delicious. Can’t fault the staff, they were all lovely and so attentive. Great atmosphere, and great pub in general. Would suggest booking in advance because it’s very popular.

We found The Sun Inn on google maps last minute, are plans had changed. What a find, lovely welcome and a very nice carvery , roast beef or turkey loads of veg all hot and fresh. I recommend booking in advance as it was very busy, they squeezed us in on a barrel table, not suitable for everyone, we didn’t mind they asked us first.

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

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 👍🏻

Incredible food. Went for my birthday and the food was absolutely amazing!! Best steak we’ve had and the portions were generous! Staff were extremely polite and friendly, we cant wait to go back !!

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.