Dorchester, French Restaurant Guide

“The food is always reliably delicious” at this 300-year-old thatched cottage across the road from Thomas Hardy’s old school (the author was born in the neighbouring village) – which “must be one of the best restaurants in Dorset”. Former Four Seasons exec chef Jamie Jones assembles a “relatively short menu that caters for all tastes and appetites” – “you know as soon as you taste the canapes that the food is going to be excellent”.