Bridport Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: This hip West Country tribute to East Asian casual dining serves “great food” in a “great atmosphere”, and is “even better with the new look post-lockdown”. The menu is constructed around dumplings filled with prime Dorset ingredients, backed up by a small selection of main and side dishes, and with sake options on the drinks list. It’s a formula that comes up trumps: “couldn’t get enough of the dumplings!”. (Note: despite the suggestion in the name, there’s no sushi on the menu.)

Two vintage railway carriages near the sea and harbour in the former West Bay station constitute this “delightful” venue. The cooking is sometimes seen as the weakest link (“they try hard, without really hitting the spot”), but most reports are upbeat, citing “above average food” in an “unusual and quirky setting”. Since our annual diners’ poll concluded, change is afoot with a new arrangement introduced in autumn 2022, which sees fine dining from chef Chris Chatfield’s seasonal menu in the newer ‘Beeching’ carriage, and relaxed dining in ‘Brunel’, from the First World War, with both menus available in the dog-friendly ‘Station House’.

With its “superb seafood in a wonderful beach location”, this daytime venue has been a fixture since 1991 and “is still as good as ever” – “perfect after a walk along the beach or cliffs”. “Despite being very busy, they have an efficient system” – “and they now take bookings”.

“A hidden gem in Beaminster”, this “atmospheric” fourteenth-century stone house is now a restaurant-with-rooms (‘ollerod’ being an old Dorset name for cowslip) serving “outstanding food” from Chris Staines, former head chef at Bath Priory and the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge (“there are clear but subtle oriental touches throughout the tasty menu”). The “charming front of house” is run by owner Silvana Bandini, formerly of Pig hotels.

2022 Review: Cass Titcombe's “small, cosy and friendly restaurant overlooking the village square” offers “just the perfect balance of everything”, say fans – whether that’s the much-foraged, Mediterranean-style food, or the fine interiors, courtesy of partner Louise. The duo also run an excellent shop, Brassica Mercantile, across the road, mixing homewares, foodie books and gourmet treats (including from Borough Market).

This 400-year cellar serves “tasty small plates of interesting food and a good wine list, featuring lots of natural wines”. It’s the little sister of Harriet Mansell’s nearby restaurant Robin Wylde, operated with the same local and sustainable ethos.

“We’ve dined in numerous Michelin-starred restaurants through the last year but none have come close to this” – chef Harriet Mansell’s “fabulous” debut (following a series of successful pop-ups), which has earned a unanimous string of accolades. There’s “a real sense of ownership here. The tasting menu (which seems to depend partly on what has been foraged that day) is creative and exceptionally good. The accompanying wine flight is well chosen (partly English) and balanced, staff informative and helpful and the owner/chef very chatty and open. A superb evening”. The sister wine cellar Lilac nearby is run with the same ethos, serving snacks and casual meals.

Mark Hix’s primely positioned and well-known seafood spot in Lister Gardens (with outside decking, although this is currently a source of local dispute with The Lyme Regis Society) is known for its “good relaxed vibe” and views over Lyme Bay. It is still mostly applauded for some “excellent dishes”, but ratings dipped this year with a number of reporters clearly expecting a little more from such a high-profile chef: “it’s a nice but not a wow restaurant” – “food was fine but hardly mind-blowing”.

This “very traditional and comfortable country hotel” from the Red Carnation group is one of the few left that still practise “silver service – the plates are placed in front of guests in synchronisation, and the staff are fabulous”, while “the food is absolutely delicious (dinner is definitely better than afternoon tea in my opinion)”. Deep in Thomas Hardy’s Wessex, the village of Evershot appears disguised as the fictional Evershead, and the novelist even designed part of what is now the hotel in his days as an architect.

This “quaint pub in the tiny village of Evershot” – immortalised as the ‘Sow and Acorn’ in Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ – offers “beautifully presented, consistently good and interesting” food from Kenyan-born chef Robert Ndungu. It is the more informal sibling of Summer Lodge on the other side of the village, from the Red Carnation hotel group.

2021 Review: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s TV tie-in kitchen – serving sharing boards and veggie tapas alongside more conventional starters and mains – is celebrating its twentieth anniversary, but feedback on it has seldom matched the hype, and is too limited last year for a rating. Such as we have says it’s OK value, but variable in performance.

On the Devon-Dorset border, this popular old coaching inn (dating from the sixteenth century) is a “lovely local, providing seasonal food, cooked with care and great presentation” by chef Jack Cannell from an interesting menu; plus, there’s “very professional and friendly service”.

2021 Review: This “lovely” thatched village pub opened in 1680 as an inn for passing travellers, and still makes a “delightful stopover” just off the A303 near Crewkerne. Ratings for its “high quality”, “classical” food have revived in the past 12 months under new owners backed by Nick Jones of Soho House (who also own the Beckford Arms at Tisbury and the Talbot Inn at Mells). Steve Hill and Michelle Payton, who ran it for 15 years, have retired to France.

2022 Review: With no social media presence as yet, and a hard-to-find name (lots of search results for Carluccio's – not helped by the fact that this location used to be one, and even repurposes the sign), we are presuming that Luciano Pierre White is relying on word of mouth – and his famous name – to get punters into his first solo restaurant. He's worked with Pierre Koffmann and the Adria brothers according to press quotes, and his father credits him with a great work ethic. An early-doors visit from a reporter noted it to be ‘very promising’ and another thought ‘the food’s great and the service will only improve’.

“Genuinely spectacular pizzas and gorgeous Italian food in the middle of a farmyard” in the picturesque Bride Valley may be “very off-road for many” – but this “interesting restaurant” with “friendly staff” is by all accounts well worth the trip. Brede Farm also hosts a cider press, micro brewery, campsite and live music.

This “delightful and relaxing café/restaurant” in an “attractive” 90-year-old venue has “spectacular views” over pebbled Chesil Beach. “Informed and attentive staff” ensure there’s a “good atmosphere”, and the “interesting menu” offers “good value” for its “tasty fish choices”.

2022 Review: “Like being on the Med, only with local IPAs and bitters” instead of a carafe of wine or Campari – an “excellent” two-year-old seafood restaurant (primarily) where diners can enjoy “friendly service”, “superb” sharing platters and the “most extravagant Niçoise ever!”. After a meal, make sure to check out the neighbouring arts hub Town Mill.