The best restaurants in Dorset
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Yes, the Thomas Hardy corners of Dorset remain gloriously untouched by foodie fads – places of flag-stoned pubs, cream teas and genteel Victoriana summer terraces – but a slew of forward-thinking chefs and restaurateurs are leveraging the county’s distinct identity, along with its farming and fishing heritage, to create a thrilling offering of imaginative menus and independent restaurants in Dorset. From time-warp village pubs with skittle alleys and an enviable roll-call of local suppliers to slick seaside joints serving lobster and Brownsea Island oysters on ice, here are the best restaurants in Dorset to book now.
Catch At The Old Fish Market
Best for: spanking fresh seafood deftly whipped into unfussy, fine dining shape
Dish to order: the catch of the day, naturally (though people have been known to return for the seared scallops).
Described wistfully by two people I met as ‘our Old Brighton,’ Weymouth has a certain unvarnished charm to it, sitting at the very end of a train line pulled by a donkey, with pastel teahouses, crabbing and ice cream parlours rewarding the brave. Those who have visited may be surprised to learn that right on the quay, gazing impatiently at its fishing boat, is Catch – the port town’s latest haute arrival, one that doesn’t stray far from its fishmonger roots. In fact, it lies directly above it via a side door with a platform nine and three-quarters quality, leading guests into a calm, white-washed dimension carved into the rafters of this old fish market structure. Nordic-style tables are choreographed around a glass ceiling that peers over a giant fish tank and an open, metro-tiled kitchen operated by ex-Pollen Street Social Mike Naidoo. A few weeks ago, Mike was presented with an enormous monkfish that fed 50 covers – this afternoon, he’s working with sea bass; yesterday, it was brill. This restaurant makes a mockery of some of the Big Smoke’s farm-to-fork claims, with its kitchen a mere lunge away from a fresh haul, its vegetables plucked from fields within spitting distance, and its wine showcasing Dorset’s viticultural prowess… Langham’s famously confounded even the French palettes to achieve the sparkling wine producer of the year at the IWCE (the Oscars of the wine world).
Menus here are still hot off the press. My lunch curation features Portland crab in broth, seared scallops adorned with Trill farm turnips, cooked-to-perfection brill (not too rubbery and deftly flavoured, ending on a seasonal sweet note: a small-but-mighty New Forest strawberry layered in crème fraiche. If first impressions truly count, the soft, gooey inside, brittle-coated sourdough slathered in smoked butter preceding the restrained fishy feast, along with a sharply dressed, suited and booted maitre d’ suggests this is no ordinary quay-front establishment. Tucked in the far corner of the room, under the rafters, a mixologist knocks up Kir Royals using Bride Valley Cremant and Espresso Martinis with Dorset’s own Conker cold brew in Catch’s sliver of a bar. Where paeans to provenance feel two-a-penny across the UK’s elevated restaurant scene, Catch is truly authentic, as real and as no-nonsense as the weathered fisherman crewing the boats in the harbour. Atherton-trained Naidoo getting his hands on agriculturally-inclined Dorset’s superlative coastal plunder and produce is an exciting, long overdue result for this county, inexplicably lacking in the gastronomy department. Potentially also a boon for Weymouth – a coastal town in need of a gentle spruce or just a prophetic few to seize its potential.
Address: Catch At The Old Fish Market, 1 Custom House Quay, Weymouth DT4 8BE
Website: catchattheoldfishmarket.com
ALEX MAGUIREBrassica
Best for: spruced up Dorset bounty, minus the white tablecloth, seven-course nonsense.
Dish to order: tricky as Brassica’s menu changes not once but three times a day, by virtue of the fisherman’s haul or the farmers’ offering – just without the familiar local-seasonal preach.
Its stone may be greyer, its boutiques more affordable, and its residents less Notting Hill-orientated, but Beaminster is about as close as Dorset comes to a picturesque Oxfordshire village. There’s the same Agatha Christie quaintness, bunting and Labrador profusion. There’s also a superb restaurant, more understated than the Oxfordshire sort (a radical local-seasonal approach is tradition, not trend in rural Dorset), which sits on the square, pulling in all its sunlight through two marvellous bay windows and emitting a ruddy, welcoming glow at night. Brassica, run by Cass Titcombe, Louise Chidgey and a clan of incredibly affable waitresses, feels more farmhouse sitting room than restaurant, with its crackling fire, flagstones and wicker chairs. Much like the gentleman sat on the table opposite us, there’s an unexpected quirk amid the traditionalism – a pair of bright green angular specs and Doc Marten style boots furnishing an ironed shirt and plummy accent with intrigue, much like the contemporary art and retro lighting against Brassica’s soft farmhouse canvas. The menus also seem to tow this line. A pork shoulder, but make it ragu style with perfectly crisp polenta or a steak cut with the elegance typically reserved for fish – even the bowl of chips has a cosmopolitan lick to it. From the divinely soft aioli-lathered focaccia all the way to the comforting gingerbread pudding and affogato, here’s a menu that can win the hearts and stomachs of both the pub grub brigade and the hard-to-please city palates. Indeed, it sits in that sweet spot, a comforting distance away from the silver service (and often crusty) fine dining malarky, edging closer towards elevated simplicity, but ‘simple,’ (despite the term’s new-age allure) doesn’t do this fabulously unfussy joint justice. The spanking fresh razor clams drizzled in chilli, garlic and parsley butter and the extensive wine list of mainly European varieties would attest. As I leave, the green-specced gentleman introduces me to his posse of publishing veterans and plugged-in locals, convened around a Merlot-studded table. They’ve left the big smoke behind and are determined I leave behind all notions of scribbling gushy prose about their secret epicurean tavern. Such is the spirit of Dorset, and Brassica captures it entirely.
Address: Brassica, 4 The Square, Beaminster, DT8 3AS
Website: brassicarestaurant.co.uk
The Acorn Inn, Evershot
Best for: creative classics in Hardy country
Dish to order: the homemade Acorn beef-patty burger and Dorset charcuterie sharing platter
Deep in the rural thickets of west Dorset lies Evershot, a sleepy village of stone houses, thatched cottages and old-school post boxes. At its heart is The Acorn Inn, which featured in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles and still draws on this heritage with its wooden beams, roaring fire and pretty English garden bordered by a stream. Here, you’ll find real ales served in a toasty oak-panelled bar (one of two), which funnels into an original skittle alley, a comprehensive list of Dorset gins and ports to sweeten the pickle-garnished board of local cheeses. Come evening, glasses of red accompany generous plates of lamb, sizzling steak and oozing baked camembert (those who want to stay the night can book into one of the cosy, gently renovated rooms upstairs). On balmy afternoons, the terrace and garden are sunny spots to tuck into sharing platters: charred tender-stem broccoli with focaccia and lemon foam, crab soufflé with pickled samphire and Dorset charcuterie and antipasti. Where these elaborate-sounding plates can push gastropubs into destination restaurant territory, general managers Richard and Natalie Legg set a refreshingly down-to-earth tone.
Address: The Acorn Inn, Dorchester DT2 0JW
Website: acorn-inn.co.uk
Rick Stein, Sandbanks
Best for: elaborate seafood
Dish to order: lobster
With its stellar spot along the UK’s most expensive stretch of sand – one where footballers rub shoulders with espadrilled yachties and four-wheel-drives duck into dubiously designed mansions – Rick Stein’s suave seafood joint pulls in a lively Dorset and Hampshire crowd. The interiors are pared back and Scandi in style – a design palate cleanser before the fruits de mer theatre. And it’s really quite a show, opening with Brownsea Island oysters, salt-cod brandade or a simple and seriously delicious slice of warm Coombeshead sourdough – ‘a fine line between caramelised and burnt’. For starters, expect the Stein signatures that stoke his foodie empire, many of which are inspired by his travels – from the black cuttlefish risotto (‘a recipe I found in Croatia’) to deep-fried coconut prawns (‘a dish from the Yucatan peninsula’). Each one artfully merges that rustic, fresh-from-the-net zing with the kitchen’s first-rate creativity, particularly where presentation and flavour are concerned. Stein’s famous Indonesian seafood curry and knockout lobster thermidor are among the mains, but you’d be excused for skirting the fishy options altogether and instead going for a flawlessly cooked ribeye or fillet steak (the bone marrow gravy is delicious). Despite its smart-occasion label for go-slow Dorset, the £27.95 three-course lunch menu seems more than reasonable, including dishes such as Penang Road laksa with sea bass, Pondicherry cod curry and Mexican rice pudding, and even the kids can dive into Stein’s imagination with a wacky-and-wobbly fish jelly and vanilla ice cream pudding.
Address: Rick Stein, Sandbanks, 10-14 Banks Road, Sandbanks, Poole BH13 7QB
Website: rickstein.com
The Parlour, Burton Bradstock
Best for: pizza
Dish to order: the Lucana with Italian sausage and cima di rapa
Set within Bredy Farm in the Bride Valley, just outside of Burton Bradstock, is this secret pizza parlour and sometime live-music spot. Bag one of the outdoor tables flanked by terracotta-potted cypress trees on a summer evening, and there are few places you’d rather be. Chunky Amalfi-style painted ceramic plates are piled with juicy panzanella salad, plump olives and stacks of fluffy focaccia. The pizzas are cooked in a huge red-mosaic-studded wood-fired oven, and the menu is short and changes monthly. As well as your standard Margherita and Napoletana, you might find goat’s cheese with spinach, pine nuts and raisins, or coppa di Parma and artichoke. All the ingredients are fresh and scream of Italy. And while pizza comes first, the pasta is also excellent – lasagne with a herby rocket salad or an ox-cheek ragù – and specials might include wood-grilled sea bream or grilled seafood platters.
Address: Bredy Farm, Bredy Lane, Bridport DT6 4ND
Website: theparlour-bredyfarm.com
The Wimborne Pig, Wimborne
Best for: a local secret
Dish to order: the Wimborne burger
In one of Dorset’s prettiest market towns – a pocket-sized maze of pastel Georgian townhouses, cute cafés and antique jewellery shops – lies the Wimborne Pig, a hideout many foodies regard as one of the best restaurants in Dorset. This little restaurant is one of those mercifully undiscovered spots you want to keep a secret; an ode to the region’s rural mythology and burgeoning deli-meets-dining foodie scene. Inside, two floors of rickety pub-like interiors are filled with convivial, in-the-know locals and famished walkers fresh in from Badbury Rings. The merry din subsides only momentarily when rustic plates of low-and-slow smoked brisket, pork belly and Jurassic Coast-reared ribeye arrive. Newcomers would be wise to tuck into the Wimborne burger with Dorset Blue Vinny or rarebit on a toasted brioche bun or ask for the fisherman’s catch – simply cooked whole fish served with lemon and caper butter. A seasonal and fiercely local agenda keeps the menu fresh while the homespun, laidback style of the restaurant keeps savvy diners inland. There’s limited seating, so book ahead to avoid disappointment.
Address: The Wimborne Pig, 26 West Borough, Wimborne BH21 1NF
Website: thewimbornepig.com