Elephant and Castle in East Dorset

Did not need to book, although it got busy later on. Staff shortage was very evident (Only Barman & Chef). The service was very friendly and Good ambience. Orders taken, drinks got we sat down and waited. The food was delivered by Chef and it was plentiful, and tasted very nice, i still have Choc Fudge Cake and custard stuck to the roof of my mouth:) We did overhear from next table that some of the menu advertised was not available and a table of 10 did seem to wait a while for their courses. I'm sure once some decent waiting staff are engaged service time will improve and overall experience will be fine. Would we go again, definitely, but suggest that until more staff are on board Don't Plan your visit on Timings, Theses could go well over..

Lovely place and fantastic hostess. Loved it here.

Had a great Sunday lunch in the pub. Beef was good and also the chicken too. Great veg and good value for money. Excellent friendly staff. Even the dog got a yorkshire pud !

In the last week we’ve had 2 meals. The Sunday roast was one of the best pub Sunday roast that we’ve had in a long while. The beef was nice and tender, and the chicken nice and succulent. Tonight’s burger and the Indian was excellent. This pub is on the up.

Fantastic place. Food amazing. Very well priced. Would recomend this place 100%. Staff very freindly service top class.. food presentation and taste.cooked to perfection.. well.done to the new owners. Keep it up.. wish you best success for the future.. well done 5 stars

Wonderful Pub, Great Food, Lovely Atmosphere and Staff. Would go again

Lovely food and friendly staff, will definitely return

Went for drinks with friends, the Landlady Michelle was excellent and very friendly, the pub was clean and the atmosphere was lovely.

I came in with a bunch of friends for food and drinks. Food was excellent and the staff was amazing 😁 Definitely be back again

Food was good , only one member of staff working the bar and 1 in the kitchen when service became unmanageable. The owners where called who turned up in there flashy rang rover, when we asked where our tip money would go , the owner himself said the tips get split between the staff and the owners which is awful.

Under new management so thought we would book a table for Sunday lunch. Not too busy but it took nearly 15 minutes to get served at the bar and only 3 people in queue but they needed to check one of the barrels so that was why. Ordered Roast beef and the turkey it was really nice the beef was just slightly overdone but it’s very hard to please everyone it was easy to eat and not chewy at all Turkey was good. Roast and mash potatoes, cabbage, carrots, peas,Yorkshire pudding, stuffing and a pig in blanket with gravy. Plenty in the plate lovely and hot so very satisfied, we will be back.

Very friendly little place,good food but not always available,they are working on this

Visited on sunday with 9 others, had the Turkey roast, lovely food and staff ( believe under new management) and a great time had by all of us.

Lovely pub, very clean.food was amazing and staff were very friendly and helpful. Will definitely be back lovely atmosphere

Went in last night for a few drinks and was pleasantly surprised how busy it was. Got a nice welcome from the staff and Michelle told me that her and her husband Lee were now the landlords of the pub. Things are beginning to change with the bar having a nice coat of paint and Michelle said this was just the start of brightening up the place. Karaoke was on with plenty of singers, pool and darts as well. I'll definitely be back.

New owners, great atmosphere ,worth a visit staff pleasant, polite and efficient Menu being extended soon. Good food, good prices

Lovely meal (definitely having the BBQ Cauliflower Wings again - yum 😋) and friendly and attentive service by Hayley. Restaurant lovely and cool in this weather and very clean. We live locally and look forward to visiting again soon.

I have not been here for 3 maybe 4 years. I’m so glad I have been going recently. The drinks options is amazing. The food is great and especially quick service from ordering the food to the food being on the table. The karaoke is a very fun night. The staff are very welcoming and willing to help with food orders. Definitely going again and again

The manager Michelle is superb. She arranged a beautiful celebration of life. The decoration, presentation and atmosphere were perfect. Thank you for all your hard work. You made a hard day much easier. Thank you - highly recommended!

We have in the past had a couple of very nice meals. So when we had an evening trip from Southampton to Weymouth, we decided to have an evening meal here. When we arrived I was able to park in the disabled bay as the carpark was virtually empty. Having got mum into her wheelchair, we entered and found a suitable table in an empty restaurant. We spent a few minutes looking at the menu before I went to the bar to order. It soon became apparent that they had a Quiz Night just starting (7pm). I waited at the bar for about 5 minutes, before someone informed me that they didn't do food after 7pm on Wednesdays. This was a contradiction to their website which stated that the kitchen shut at 9pm during the week. They certainly lost out that evening, they lost our custom, then and in the future. Thank goodness for the Tap and Railway, a little further down the road, where we had a lovely meal before continuing our journey

First time at this place. We are new to West Moors so thought we would check it out. The customer service was excellent and our food was great. Very hot and good value for money. The place was very clean too. We will definitely return. Thankyou!

Fantastic atmosphere , friendly staff, would like more pub food on menu,would definatley return.thanks for a fabulos day

Pup has a great atmosphere now and welcoming. Would like to see more pub grub though.

Lovely local pub, too many of these are changing to corporate bars. All clean and tidy, and a good atmosphere.

Staff were lovely, they were understaffed on the evening but still looked after us. Food was nice, big thumbs up to the chef who spent sone time with us getting feedback on the food. The lady behind the bar found 2 minutes to give the dog a treat and a bowl of water which was lovely.

Heard it had changed hands and the pub has had a revamp. Only been in there a couple of times for a drink and felt quite at home with the atmosphere. Yep. O.k !!

This place is now spotless , good price food and friendly staff , our dog loves it too , well done the place is a lovley local now , keep up the good work

Everything was very good since the new people arrived, the only thing that lets is down is the very draughty windows they either need replacing or secondary glazing.

Very friendly, lovely food and drinks and incredible service considering the team were 2 staff down on a busy Sunday afternoon! Thanks to Darren and his colleague for allowing my family to enjoy such a great Sunday afternoon! 🙏👍👏

Castleman Community Larder coffee morning was amazing

Went for a birthday party very good food

My Family and I had a wonderful 3 course festive meal on Boxing day this year. The food was delicious and the service very friendly and all at a reasonable price. Will definitely go again.

Over many years we have had our traditional Christmas dinner several venues in the area but very un-impressed . So I decided this year 2023 that "so-called " christmas menu was a rip off and we would stick to the nomal menu. Having read the Google reviews, we thought we would for the last time give it a go. Very Impressed. Perfect meal, our Host Darren was very friendly and greeted us at the table. The Lunch was excellent, followed up with Christmas Pudding with Brandy sauce custard. We paid only £18.00 each for .2 courses. Excllent value and the meal was very delightful and very well cooked by the manager Darren. We will definitely go again when we next eat out. Would recommend to anyone reading this. Darren keep up the good work with your cooking and customer service. Brian & Sue December 20th 2023

This has become our go to pub, we had a wonderful meal off the Christmas menu. it did not disappoint, the right amount on the plate and really scrumptious 😋 the staff are super great as well, absolutely would recommend the elephant to everyone 😀

Friendly helpful staff food lovely and everything fairly priced will definitely be going again

Great atmosphere, lovely food. Darren and the team are lovely and nothing is too much trouble

Large pub, not particularly busy for a Saturday night. Booked for a table of 11 ages of all sorts. Warmly greeted, food order placed with everything explained well. Jackie, front of house, brilliant personality & very knowledgeable. Darren the chef manager took our order. Food all came out together, well cooked, nice & hot. Bar staff very friendly & efficient. We all had a great night celebrating a 84th birthday. Pay it a visit, u will enjoy.

my wife and I attended my father in laws wake and the buffet was well presented and an excellent choice thank you.

This is one of the most loveliest, friendliest places we've ever visited. We took our dog and he treated to a handful of biscuits and a water bowl which brought to our table by a lovely member of staff who just happened to notice him. That kind of thing means a lot and I've been telling family and friends about our experience since. The menu is fantastic. We also met the landlord who saw us getting out the car with a wheelchair and he came over to offer his help. Truly a brilliant experience. I can't recommend the Elephant and Castle enough.

Great food and good price drinks, staff always friendly always look forward to popping in.

Lovely friendly staff, nice place to eat.

Such friendly obliging staff. Nothing too much trouble and Darren is a real good chef. Food was great!!!!

Good beer and food, pleasant staff but not enough staff, bar was abandoned for 5 minutes as kitchen took priority thus causing a backlog of customers waiting to be served at the bar. All in all a good experience and I will visit again despite the glitch in service.

Steak night for two tonight and everything excellent. Food, service and drinks all fab.

Website says food mon to sat big board says food all day everyday you arrive and sign says no food Mondays communication

The food is excellent beautifully served, lots of it. Very polite staff. Only one minor Gripe No Disabled Parking Spaces.

Great reasonably priced food, good beer lovely staff!

A really lovely pub with great food, great service and we enjoyed the garden at the back in the sun! We'll be back! 😎👌

This place is flying since being taken over by new management last year. Had a main and a dessert today, very tasty food. Friendly staff too. Will be back again! Edit: Back again a week later. The best steak I've had in a long time!

Had a lovely, pleasant evening. The meal was excellent. So pleased that we went. Will be going back again.

The staff were really nice and the food was really great. We had a main and a dessert and really couldn’t fault it. Will be back again soon!!

Very friendly staff, felt welcomed from the outset! The pub itself is very clean and tidy. We came here for a quick dinner but they had a quiz on which was brilliant! Good fun!

Nice friendly staff and restaurant great service 👍 reasonable prices

From the second my boyfriend and I walked in we were greeted with so much energy from the team on shift. They were singing behind the bar, having a joke and a laugh with us and I’ve never felt so at home. Not to mention, highly recommend the steak, it’s to die for! Such an amazing energy and the staff are so helpful and kind.

Under new management, polite friendly staff, generous portions, very reasonably priced - will come again

Well done new owner pulled this pub from out of the pit! And what a delight it was tried the bacon cheese burger with garlic mushrooms and chocolate fudge cake... was NOT disappointed. Massive portions, didn't break the bank. Will definitely return.

Absolutely fabulous food . 4 different meals chosen all thoroughly enjoyed .Great value . Friendly staff . Will definitely be back to try something else .

Great evening out. Food was freshly cooked and a pleasure to go there

Beer is a lot better than previous tenants

Very friendly staff and bright looking pub

Nice beer , good food & very good value

Drink took to long to table bit can't be helped but the food was amazing and when I'm next on holiday I will visit again

Great Pub, Angie is brilliants hosts. Well Done

Great pub friendly staff and a great atmosphere special thanks to jackie and darren

We all had a curry. It was good will go back for another visit

We had a family birthday celebration with 10 adults and 2 small children, the food and service was excellent. Thank you.

Really nice food the sticky toffee pudding was lush and staff were attentive, will eat again 😋

Good food. Singers out of tune Lovely company

The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Would highly recommend

Bar manager was very friendly, polite and helpful. Food was lovely, very accommodating, we will be back! Thank you!

Amazing new menu can’t believe how the food has changed here in the last six months. Amazing new Chef!

Four of us went for a roast dinner Sunday! Food was really lovely, staff friendly and so nice to see the pub clean and welcoming. We can finally use the pub local to us. Thank you Darren and keep up all the great work you are doing. See you again soon 😉

Lovely hot food Friendly staff Nice atmosphere

Gentilezza con la possibilità di fare una partita a biliardo. Da consigliare

Really is a family friendly pub with a great atmosphere, we were made to feel very welcome and the staff were all so kind and easy going, The food tasted absolutely amazing and very reasonably priced, really good value for money. Thank you all

Had a lovely roast yesterday with the family. Food was delicious. Compliments to the chef Wes. Nothing was too much trouble.

13 of us went for Sunday lunch today. Staff very welcoming and food was great and good value. A new landlord has taken over recently and is improving things very day. Really worth a visit highly recommended

First time here ..lovely atmosphere..very friendly staff.and the food was very tasty 👌

Excellent meal at a reasonable price. Well worth a visit. Great staff here too.

Went in today for a meal and drinkies. Was so tasty. Friendly staff and great atmosphere. Will be going again

Great place . Now it's been taken over

We went to the Elephant & Castle for the first time. We were greeted warmly by the new manager, Darren. The food was absolutely delicious, the atmosphere was delightful and the cleanliness was spot on. Very friendly and welcoming staff. We would thoroughly recommend!

Friendly staff and had food which wS good so will go again, typical locals pub but nice atmosphere

Been two times, both times not doing food. Even though there wasn't many people in the pub (approx 5 people), we sat there a while before a customer told us, they weren't doing food as chef had gone home. The second time, it looked empty again so we went to the bar straight away to ask if they were doing food, which they were not. I don't think I'm going to try a third time. Other reviews and pictures look good, it's shame my experiences have been bad.

Had meal steak was good on Thursday and only 9£

New governor in town. Great guy but it still feels that same. Come on let gets some life, passion and atmosphere into the pub.

As the new owners have been there just under 1 month the food was very nicely cooked a d the staff very pleasant. Good luck to them and will go back when they have a full menu in a few weeks 😀👍

Went our for dinner. No food being served. The place is gone downhill .😒

There's a new Landlord , poor bloke appears to have been dropped in the deep end by previous occupiers but he seems very pleasant so I reckon he will do a good job , think we will go again .

Saturday night, no food available, TV on max sound, don't think I will return

Helpful staff all round good little pub

It was good food was great friendly staff

Good pub on a Saturday afternoon

Good beer, welcoming but no chef so no food in the evening.

We had our Christmas Day lunch and it was faultless! The table was bright and festive and the girls who served us were lovely. The food seemed extra delicious this year and was greatly enjoyed. Thank you!!

lovely visit to west moors, nice pub and food was great

Went for lunch after rememberance parade, loveley atmosphere and food

The food is excellent as is the staff.Delighted we found it

Went for lunch. Great service, good value pub grub. Well cooked and presented. Would go again.

Freinds staff, amazing service. Good prices. Have been a regular for a long time and I will be back for many more visits. Thanks guys good job