Chilled Red in Purbeck

Bloody brilliant. Food and ambience superb. Service with a smile. Superb plaice and monkfish Thai curry. The desserts are all made by the chef. We had a pavlova but look forward to coming back for the chocolate torte. Very underrated restaurant of the highest echelon.

All four of us agreed it was the best meal we had in Swanage. Staff very attentive. Two of us had the lamb loin, one the pork wrapped in pancetta and one had fish. Not cheap but well worth it. Nice atmosphere, not crowded. Certainly would go again when we are in Swanage next.

The food was wonderful and the service excellent with really lovely staff. The only slight criticism is the soulless feel- maybe the spot lights could be dimmed or tea lights on the tables to soften the look and improve the ambience.

We were warmly welcomed Lovely restaurant hidden away behind main thoroughfare Don't be put off by no website or Facebook site Phone or visit for reservation Weekly changing menu with a wide choice of both fish and meat Nicely priced for 2 or 3 courses Reasonable wine prices Very friendly staff The beef bourguignon special and venison were both excellent

As always, this gem of a restaurent never fails to please. Fresh, local & seasonal produce prevails. Chef is a genius at cooking fish and of course, everything else. It’s a small family run establishment. To those moaning about lack of linen table cloths & napkins, sorry I’d rather have quality food and service with a smile. For 35 quid for 2 courses you’re getting top nosh. Highly recommend and can’t wait to eat here again.

Pre booked for 6 for a birthday meal. Food was perfectly cooked and the service was first class. Particularly liked the fact that tables are well spaced

We pre-booked, which seemed necessary, and dined on a Thursday. The tables are well spaced which we like. The menu was priced at £35 for 2 courses (these can be a main plus dessert) and £41 for 3 courses. Fish was widely featured. I had 2 sea bass fillets and my wife had a “special” of sole in lobster sauce. A dish of vegetables was provided comprising broccoli, cauliflower, beans, carrots and new potatoes. Chips were an option. We had cheesecake and lemon tart for desserts, and the choices change daily. All our food was excellently cooked. Service was perfect being attentive and friendly but unobtrusive. Portions were large. We would have been satisfied with just a main meal, but this did not appear to be an option as pricing was for 2 courses. We each had wine by the glass. Definitely a place for a special treat. It was obvious people go there regularly.

So, we come to Swanage once, maybe twice a year. Over those years Chilled Red has never disappointed. Andrew and Kirsty have always run an excellent restaurant. Favourites this year included the venison, sole and plaice. The desserts are Amazing so please leave some room. The wine list remains well thought out and reasonably priced. Our 3rd visit during a 2 week holiday beckons.

Just look at the reviews before this. I really can’t add any more! This is an excellent restaurant with an excellent menu, great service and sensible pricing. Highly recommend. Located a few yards along an alley off the main road. Better signage would help!!

This restaurant provides a really lovely dining experience! Firstly, the waiting staff were excellent! They were well presented, welcoming, friendly and helpful. The menu offered a fantastic choice of dishes. The food was exquisite! Beautifully cooked fresh fish and a delicious selection of vegetables. We would highly recommend this delightful establishment and will definitely return!

Brilliant in every respect! So friendly with excellent locally sourced food excellently cooked. I can’t fault it.

Great welcome, friendly staff and imaginitive menu. Fabulous fresh fish and reasonably priced wine. We will be back. Not the easiest place to find - it's in a pedestrian precinct but well worth the effort.

Fabulous food was had by all. My hake was cooked to perfection, in fact all the fish was spot on. The Chef really knows how to cook fish well. What a great spot to eat and drink. Great service by the friendly owners and their team made for a lovely evening. Definately going back again. It's a gem

Came here for an evening meal after many recommendations from friends. The food is second to none in the area. Absolutely delicious. Also really fantastic service from Kirsty and all the waiting staff. We will be back.

The food was excellent and the atmosphere was very relaxing couldn't ask for a nicer evening. Will definitely be going back.

Perfect - trio and garlic tiger prawns, followed by plaice and sole, then cheesecake and chocolate torte. Beautiful fresh fish, lovely wine, faultless service.

Another great night out, we chose the Garlic Prawns and the fish trio for starters, followed up with main from the specials board. Cheesecake as a dessert very nice, and all well presented. We call in on our holiday yearly and have never been let down by food, service and general atmosphere.

Absolutely wonderful, went with half a mind to order the steak but after a chat with our server about the specials decided on the seafood thermidor and haven't stopped thinking about it since. It was delicious. My partner order the lamb and was just as pleased, it looked Instagram perfect. If anyone ( hello chef lol) has a recipe for the thermidor I would love to have a go of recreating it at home

After seeing reviews on Tripadvisor we decided to book this restaurant. And we are so pleased we did. We were greeted with a smile & had the menu explained to us. You could either have 2 or 3 courses. We opted for 2 as didn’t have room for a dessert. We both thoroughly enjoyed our starters (garlic prawns & & caprese salad) mains (rib eye steak & beef curry) everything was delicious & piping hot. I do think that the acoustics to the softly played music could be improved. This however didn’t spoil our evening at all. This was by far our best meal in Swanage.

Absolutely delicious food, a very warm welcome and excellent service. We spent a week in Swanage and Chilled Red was by far our favourite restaurant. Tucked away behind the main road, it’s an understated, quiet restaurant where the food does the talking. Excellent!

Da non perdere. Menu interessante, tutto preparato con cura, e presentato molto bene. Per finire dolci ottimi. Locale pochi metri fuori dal caos della zona fronte mare. Bravi

Best restaurant in swanage, we always visit at least twice when in Swanage. The food is excellent as is the service, we really love visiting Chilled Red.

This is a hidden gem. The food was incredible and the menu really interesting. Great wine and super friendly staff, the only minor thing is the ambience is soulless. It’s such a shame, but really everything else is fantastic!

We stumbled on this restaurant Wednesday evening while on holiday in Swanage. We were given a warm welcome by the two ladies who are working here. We ordered a bottle of Merlot, which was very reasonably priced. To start I had Tiger Prawns grilled in garlic and parsley butter and Steve had salmon with a gin and dill sauce. For my main I had Loin of Dorset Lamb with Dauphinoise potatoes and red wine jus. Steve had Saddle of local wild Venison with Dauphinoise potatoes and red wine reduction. We also shared carrots, courgettes, broccoli, red cabbage and new potatoes, which is included with our meals. To finish I had local grown rhubarb Crème Brûlée. Steve had fresh local grown strawberries with ice cream. All the food was cooked perfectly - the lamb and Venison were very tender. Everything tasted delicious. It is a set menu where you can opt for two courses at £33.50 or three courses at £39.50. There is plenty of options and it was hard to decide what to order as it all sounded so good. The food is so delicious before we left we booked a table for Friday night. We definitely recommend this restaurant 👌

What a wonderful find, the food was amazing, gorgeous Thai monkfish and prawns, beautiful pate. The service was so friendly and welcoming. Would definitely recommend a visit, probably need to book.

Tried this place again after many years and it’s been closed for a while. At £33.95 for 2 courses and £39.95 for 3, this isn’t cheap and so I expected a bit of finesse for what they are charging. The place is quite clinical and lacked ambience, the tables were close together and I felt like the couple next to us were part of our conversation although I couldn’t fault the staff who were very attentive and friendly. The food was nicely presented and there was nothing actually wrong with it but it was nothing special. The portion of veg was a bit mean when 2 are expected to share but the chips were very good, although we had to pay extra! However what really let’s this place down is the lack of finesse. For the prices they charge I would expect cloth or good quality paper napkins/serviettes, a modern toilet (cistern looked circa 1960’s) good quality hand wash and paper towels and a hand dryer. Also maybe mints on the plate when the bill is brought to the table. All little touches that would elevate this place to what I would expect for the prices they charge. Unfortunately Swanage restaurants all seem to lack this attention to detail and finesse but charge prices that don’t measure up to what you get. I won’t be going back I’m afraid!

Lovely welcome from the staff and great advice regarding the chilled red beaujolais we chose to drink! Garlic prawns to start, sole and venison for mains and chocolate hazelnut torte for pud were all amazing. Fresh veg and chips with the main course and lovely...

Tolles kleines Restaurant mit anspruchsvoller, überschaubarer Menü Karte. Leckere Vorspeisen, Fisch- und Fleischgerichte als Hauptspeisen. Vielfältige Desserts. Gute französische und...

This venue is first rate - excellent food, good service and friendly / attentive staff. Can’t fault it - exceptional evening, thank you.

Lovely welcome, relaxed atmosphere, food superb, no pressure to order, overall excellent experience , 😀

Consistently the nest food in Swanage and great value for money. Great choice for coeliacs, only one thing I couldn’t have. Gluten free bread provided. Amazing choice of homemade desserts.

Chilled Red is by far the best restaurant in Swanage. We were delighted to eat there once again when staying in Swanage last week. They food is excellent. Cooked to perfection and beautifully presented. It is a fixed price menu with an amazing selection. The...

Fantastic meal. Best we have had in Swanage! Every course tasted delicious and was presented beautifully - and generous portions too! I could have chosen everything off the menu. Lovely staff too. Will definitely be back.

I have lived in Swanage for 6 years. I love good food but have never eaten here before because the place looks so sterile and if I go out to eat, I do like both good food and ambiance. I was taken here by friends...

I cannot fault the food which of course is the purpose of the place but I did find the atmosphere quite sterile. Formica tables no candles, no flowers and little atmosphere. Ed Sheeran etc music. The room reminded me of where I might have sat...

Visited Chilled Red for our anniversary, with friends. The service was excellent, very attentive. The food was top quality and presented beautifully. The fish selection was sublime. Thank you all.

This restaurant is a gem of a venue tucked away in a small pretty courtyard behind a parade of shops. Don’t let that put you off. The food was glorious coupled with a great front of house team who were excellent. We would definitely visit...

A special meal celebrating one of our parties big birthday. The food choice was absolutely fantastic. How often do you peruse a menu and struggle to find that appealing meal. Well this time I'd go for just about everything that was on offer including the...

We had a beautifully cooked meal here. The menu was fabulous and it was hard to chose. We ended up having three courses and rolled home afterwards. The staff were lovely and very welcoming. It is a lovely spot for dinner.

A lovely light restaurant with the friendliest of staff. The set menu - 2 or 3 courses offers aa very good choice. My chalk stream trout rillette was beautiful in presentation and flavour - and we had a basket of bread to eat with it....

Great service from happy local waitress. Tasty beautifully cooked food without the need of too many sauces. A gem of a restaurant hidden in the centre of town.

Dined on Charcuterie and grilled skate wing.Both were amazing and having dined all over the world tonight would rate exceptional. Can’t wait to return !!!

Excellent food, hubby had for starters trout parcel and I had wan tons, both lovely and for mains both had plaice, mine in lemon butter with capers and hubby had plaice in crab cream sauce - had new potatoes and veg. Staff attentive and service...

We came based on reviews and the start did not disappoint. Excellent service and the starters were delicious. We both ordered fish for mains. Really good sized fresh skate wing served swimming in butter with raw garlic and no seasoning. Totally underwhelming and left a...

Simply the best meal we’ve had in a very long time. Superb food, excellent service, great atmosphere. We will return.

As the title says we ate twice at Chilled Red. Fabulous food of high quality and great service. The Thai spiced monkfish was superb. The set price menu at £31 for two or £36 for three courses was good value. Highly recommended and we will...

Starter was great. Main not so much. Menu needs to be advertised so you can make an informed decision as to whether to book or not. You can only choose from a set menu

The lamb was delicious, Pollock was sadly disappointing as very plain. Lack of atmosphere, you can't see out of the frosted windows and the restaurant feels quite clinical. The service was lovely though thank you

Food was absolutely amazing. Good start when we arrived we were seated and a bottle of water was brought straight away. Service was impeccable, wine was delicious and bill was extremely reasonable. Would definitely recommend and would absolutely return. Thank you

faultless! set menu was tremendous value, food service, everything was impeccable. Best restaurant i’ve been to in years recommended without hesitation

Booked hoping for very fresh fish and not dissappointed. Special of the day mixed grill was superb. Starter excellent. Nice dessert Staff very friendly, safe distancing of tables if anything is a little extreme and perhaps detracts from providing a better atmosphere. Clean environment, concise...

We had a delicious meal with a lovely atmosphere and great service. The crab was so beautiful and fresh which was a real treat. Thank you for such a lovely evening

great food, without pomp wine list broad, inexpensive (but no list for beers - nor any print of dessert menu) pleased to hear that it's possible to share a meal between 2 and to have water on table = no pressure to drink (although vegetarian...

Definitely recommend this restaurant for excellent food & drink. Lovely atmosphere & service was perfect

Just to say this place never disappoints in terms of the food, the best in Swanage but I do wish they'd make the place feel cosier and less echoie.

Like the reviews suggest, a great but non-pretentious service, of wonderful flavoured dishes. Some great wines on the menu too. A good ambience, but the par excellence was the food itself!

We were celebrating a 60th birthday here. The food was excellent- good quality and generous portions. We had the 3 courses for £35 each. I started with garlic prawns. A bread basket was brought to have with the starters with different kinds of bread. I...

1 week in Swanage means 2 visits to Chilled Red. With an ever changing menu no issue of repetition and another flawless display of exciting and accomplished fish cooking. Mixed seafood jalfrezi was a highlight as was slip sole with a homemade tartare. See you...

My friend and I had an absolutely wonderful evening here and the food was outstanding.The service was impeccable and very friendly. Thoroughly recommend this restaurant

Once again a fantastic meal for all 5 of us and such excellent service. Never had anything else from Chilled Red. Cannot recommend highly enough. Always a lovely. Thanks so much to all the staff.

A wonderful meal out this evening with great food. The service was great, the choice of food was excellent which suited us all

We were a party of 5 who chose different starters and mains. All the food was exceptional, especially the fresh mackeral starter and fresh fish courses. Lamb and duck courses were also ordered and very much enjoyed. Our server was helpful and friendly and overall...

We are as an extended family of 6 and pretty much covered most of the menu between us. The food was as good as it always it. My steak was cooked to perfection and, given the size of it, completely worth the very modest supplement....

We always receive a very warm welcome from Kirsty and Andrew. Superb food and service is second to none. Hope to visit you again very soon!

We had to book a week in advance for a booking as so popular. Food was divine, I had the Lamb and my husband had the Lobster. Really lovely here, staff couldn’t do enough for us.. an enjoyable end to a great week’s holiday.

A very unassuming place (from outside), but one of the best restaurants in this area. High end cuisine, with local produce; fish and seafood deserve a special mention. Good wine selection. It is advisable to book, which can only be done over the phone. Service...

We had a lovely evening with friends. On the whole, the food was delicious, except for veal escalope. Meat too thick and tough. The mushroom sauce that went with it was flavoursome.

Visited Chilled Red after recommended at local b&b and we were not disappointed. Staggered entry times due covid and football on in evening so glad they could only do 18.15. Kirsty could not have been more welcoming, aperitifs were lovely and specials were described. We...

The chef at Chilled Red excels in two main areas: the jus or sauce the meat or fish is served with; and the perfection to which fish, fowl or meats are cooked. This is no small achievement and, with good quality ingredients, the trilogy of...

We were lucky to book 2 visits during our 7 night stay and what a treat. Set menu 3 course is nearly £34 but you get what you pay for. We had 2 fantastic meals with a good variety of starters , mains and deserts...

We booked this restaurant for the first evening of our holiday and so glad we did. Everything about it was brilliant. We were warmly welcomed and shown to our table and the staff were great throughout. Professional but friendly. The menu was full of lovely...

Another perfect experience. Came here for our 2nd wedding anniversary. It never fails to impress. Food was perfection !!

Our first time to the Chilled Red didn't disappoint! The staff were very friendly and accommodating. The menu was well balanced with meats and seafood main courses, with fish dishes taking centre stage. The fish was fresh and cooked on point To cook fish to...

Our third visit and the food and service were just as good. The halibut was amazing and beautifully cooked. Although the tables were suitably spaced, we would have felt more comfortable with a little more ventilation during these difficult times.

This is a superb restaurant tucked away in the centre of Swanage. Fabulous choice of food and the fish in particular is excellent. The service throughout the evening was excellent and the atmosphere couldn’t have been better. If we had been in Swanage for longer,...

We came here whilst on holiday to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary. We wanted a special meal and weren't disappointed. Booking was essential with reduced capacity and we liked the idea of a set menu. We chose Garlic Prawns and Pate to start, Venison steak for...

We had a good meal and the service was excellent. However, our enjoyment of the occasion was quite spoiled by the level of noise in the restaurant not helped by the tables being too close and two very loud and tipsy ladies in the table...

We went on their first evening after the covid 2021 shut down, May 19th, after 6 months of closure, the food and ambiance was great, A lovely bread basket is included in the set price menu of £30 for 2 courses, i had ham terrine...

We ate at Chilled Red last night. Wow what a find! Truly delicious fresh fish. Great service too. Will definitely return and recommend to others.

We’ve not been here for dinner for around 4 years as we don’t live in the area. The only thing that appears to have changed is the content of the menu. The quality of the food is still stunning, really fresh. You can tell a...

We ate at the Chilled Red restaurant whilst on holiday in the area. It was truly a fabulous culinary experience. The strip mall type location belied the quality of both the preparation and presentation of the dishes on offer. As a family we enjoyed the...

Just eaten here the freshly caught fish was superb. Excellent value for money. The only slight negative if there was one was the service felt quite rushed and non personal.

We were lucky enough to get a table (this was a Thursday, fully booked the day before) Rather small set menu but between the three of us, we had a good sample of everything they had to offer... we weren't disappointed! Cook fresh, local ingredients...

Comfortably the best meal we have had in Swanage. Ok it’s not cheap but an excellent 3 course meal for £34 is also not overly expensive and the quality of the fish/shellfish and duck was wonderful. Dessert was lovely and to round it off service...

We visited last night and was very impressed with the food excellent lamb and curry dessert was of a high standard Service and staff friendly it's just a shame the restaurant lacks a buzz of a atmosphere it's quite sterile perhaps more colour and music...

The owners of our hotel recommended this restaurnant to us and we were lucky enough to get a table. The menu choice was very good and we both enjoyed our meals very much. Our waitress was friendly and professional. We would definitely come back.

Excellent. Slick service, personable front of house staff, backing a very skilled kitchen. Very good wine list, and imaginative menu ( in a good creative way). Lovely evening.

We have visited Chilled Red on many occasions, had another excellent meal, services was as always fantastic.

This is easily Swanage's best restaurant; I can't believe it's 9 years since I last visited. I made up for lost time by having dinner here twice during a 4 night stay. On both occasions, I opted for the mixed fish grill; fillets of salmon, sea bass, mackerel, monkfish and plaice. A real fish feast with new potatoes and veg. A delicious garlic prawn starter on my first visit, crevettes for the second. They have a wide variety of gorgeous desserts; £33 for 3 courses is a great deal for what's on offer. I noticed on my second visit that some diners were disappointed, as they'd run out of steak. Why go to the seaside to eat steak? To each his own. The restaurant has simple decor, and is hidden away down a grubby looking alleyway between McColls and Ladbrokes on Institute Road, but who cares? The food is the star of the show.

Restaurant has reduced tables owing to covid so we were very lucky to get booked. Laid back atmosphere. Food and service excellent. Very pleasant staff. Will visit again when in Swanage.

Hidden gem serving great food. Excellent and friendly service. Could have had anything off the (short) menu and a good selection of wine to go with it. Tables well spaced

Had a lovely meal here with a friend, had received a recommendation and it didn’t disappoint. Service was great, very friendly staff. Food was delicious and very well cooked. Perfect portion size too. Would come back again !

We had a sublime meal in comfortable surroundings. The restaurant is hidden away but is well worth a visit. The service was attentive and efficient.

We would never have spotted it but Chilled Red was recommended to us by a local.It didn’t really have a restaurant feel about it but the staff were all lovely and made us very welcome. We knew it must be good as it filled up very quickly.Then came the food....really good food and great value for money. We both had the soup of the day and then I had the beef bourginon which was really tasty and tender. Hubby had the pork tenderloin and again was really impressed. Good portions so you didn’t leave still feeling hungry.Good set up for social distancing so felt totally comfortable whilst we were there.Would definitely recommend!!

We booked last minute on our recent trip to Swanage and were very pleased to be accommodated within about an hour of our phone call.The tables were well positioned for social distancing and there was plenty of sanitizer available.Very friendly service and very efficient.My wife had garlic prawns and I had chicken liver pate to start. Very generous portions.Main courses were fish mixed grill, which was perfectly cooked and simply served with tartar sauce.My pepper steak was cooked to perfection, very tender, probably one of the nicest steaks I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy.Served with fresh veg and chips and washed down with a cold beer & a tonic water.Highly recommended.

The food here was just sublime. I had the grilled lemon sole and it was beautifully cooked and flavoursome. My wife had the monkfish which was lunchtime and delicious. The sides were amazing also. Had the prawns for a starter - OG they were good; save the bread to soak up the sauce. Puddings were out of this world. EAT HERE!!!!

What a meal to celebrate escaping from Lockdown! How this is only rated #6 in Swanage defies logic!! In our view it's #1!The food is to die for, and their Wine List is pretty good too. I had Tiger Prawns in garlic followed by Thai spiced Monkfish. My wife passed on the starter, but the waitress bought an extra plate and cutlery so she could share. She had Plaice with Lobster for her main. We finished off with Creme Brulees. All washed down with a bottle of excellent Argentinian Malbec. We could not fault the food or the service. Both were first class. Go there! You will not be disappointed! And you will be pleasantly surprised by the bill too.

Excellent food and service as always. Lovely to be able to eat here again after the prolonged coronavirus closure

Would highly recommend this hidden gem of a restaurant in Swanage. 8 of us had a lovely meal. The staff were extremely helpful . The food was delicious. 2 of the group are dairy intolerant and they went above & beyond to accommodate us. Thank you for making it a Special day.

Absolutely first class we love the standard this restaurant sets. It offers an excellent menu and good wines especially by the glass. Service is exceptional and the staff very friendly. We have been numerous times and will continue to do so.