Finley's Cafe in Purbeck

Visited this cafe today and the service was really bad. The lady serving us was very rude. The order took over 1 hour for fish and chips and panni’s. We ordered for two adults and two kids. Really wasn’t worth the wait when it arrived. Over priced , poor service and not clean. Not sure what the hygiene rating is but the place wasn’t clean. The lady that took my order was extremely rude and questioned my son on why we needed four dessert spoons after we ordered desserts and refused to give us more than two dessert spoons and asked us to take the wooden ones instead. Very old behaviour. We also noticed that a lot of people that arrived after us received their order before us. Would really avoid this place as the food was average but more importantly the staff were not helpful and rude. Disappointing as we wanted to buy a painting inside but due to the poor experience decided not too.

Food Took Forever, People Received there Food way before Ours Even Though We Ordered Before them , And Ordered A Lot more Food Than Us , When Politely Asked if our food was coming was Received with A Attitude, Wouldn't Go Back , Food Nothing Special Smallest Sausage in Batter I've Ever Seen ! Not Cheap Either, But Don't Normally Mind This If The Food And Service is Up To Standard, But Unfortunately In This Case It Was Not .

Decided to try Fish and chip shop owned by same company the customer service was very bad it said open at 12 my wife went in at14 and was told by a young member of staff togo and wait outside we havent put signs out yet very abruptly. We ordered two portions of chips they were horrible and greasy staff grumpy will not use again

Nice and clean cafe'. There's a sign saying 'wait here' for service and 'service' can take while even though the place was quiet. I ordered a breakfast and sat at a table. It was cooked to order, which I thought was a good sign, but, unfortunately it was a mediocre breakfast. The bacon was over cooked as was the sausage. The knife was as blunt as is possible - it would have barely cut butter let alone overcooked bacon.

Absolutely terrible customer attitude towards young Chinese teenagers who were trying their best to order Staff literally mocking them Would never go here again Don’t deserve to be in business

Can't say I was impressed it was absolutely dreadful. Need to work on manners and cleaning there tables. 4 staff members working in total and not one cleared the tables and cleaned them. Someone from somewhere else in the shop or whatever cleared the tables. Low quantity on supplies over lunch. The chairs and tables covered in dirt. Can't say it's the cleanest place I've been too. And i work in hospitality. If its quiet you shouldn't hide away get cleaning! A clean place is happy place.

Place dirty, tables not cleaned despite several staff on duty. Food acceptable although limited stock and informed. just after lunchtime, that there were only two scones and baguettes left. Main comment is that you need to get the staff working on customer service and cleaning as both woefully lacking and if we visit Lulworth Cove again we would rather give our money to another establishment.

Visiting Lulworth on a family day out and thought we would pop into the only cafe that seemed to be open this time of year. Lady on the counter could use a course in customer service! Grunted and moaned behind our backs when we placed our orders . Took ages for a drink and I'm not sure what she thinks a latte is but it definitely wasn't what she served us. Food took around 20 mins and came out lovely and hot and well presented. We went for the full English ( served until midday ) and the Omelette. I visited Finley's a few years back and it's definitely changed for the better but only slightly. Place could do with a tidy up and maybe a manager as there didn't seem to be anyone in charge. Food however was spot on . Maybe next year when we come back to Dorset it might be perfect.

Afternoon tea was lovely, however service was slow (resulting in lukewarm drinks) and young staff member appeared poorly trained. Was charged incorrectly, I understand mistakes happen, however this could have been forgiven if the customer service had been better and the person in charge had apologised for the error. Would not go again.

Worst place to go for lunch, has not improved one bit since I last came here in “Covid times” not forgetting the awful service I had with a young boy telling me he can’t serve me until I put a face nappy on, very brainwashed establishment at the time. Went here this year 2023 October nothing has gotten better still an absolute shambles young staff even more miserable than last time can’t smile at all and don’t have a clue on what they are doing clearly management can’t train any of them properly and better yet the food is a rip off and is awful. Clearly need new staff and management or just shut the place down.

I have been here 3 times now and always enjoyed the full English breakfast. Visited in September to see they no longer have an English breakfast on the menu, only bacon, sausage or egg sandwiches and baguettes. Service was ok. Wouldn't eat there again, as really wanted a breakfast.

The restaurant was ok, food and drink average. The service was terrible. We were treated to an almost Faulty Towers experience when ordering. EVERYTHING WAS TOO MUCH TROUBLE, EVEN PAYING. Captive audience = poor service, avoid.

I really hate putting negative reviews but in this cause I really have no choice. There are several places to get a coffee and cake in Lulworth Cove and sadly we chose Finley’s. I went inside and looked as to where I needed to queue. First issue, there were two people serving (more about them in a moment) and two queues but no one seemed to know where to go, were they separate queues? Was it a case of order at one and collect at the other? No signs to say and the staff, well, they certainly weren’t going to speak unless they had to. The lady who was serving, well I’ve never seen someone so miserable and clearly hating their life as this woman. She wouldn’t speak to people, called them over by grunting at them, no smiles, no ‘good morning’, no ‘what would you like?’ She glared at people as if she hated them. Very off putting. She was so slow it was painful. I got called round to the younger guy who was marginally more ‘cheerful’ ( he really wasn’t, he just didn’t give me death glares likes the lady). I ordered a latte, a mocha, a tiffin and scone with jam and cream. This took SO long that by the time I took it outside to my husband the drinks were almost cold. We got dive bombed by wasps, not the cafes fault I know, but it just really summed up a miserable experience. There’s a gorgeous cafe in the visitor centre and a little Chococo one round the corner. I’d try there in future. Whoever owns Finley’s needs to sort the staff out. I appreciate that hospitality is a tough gig and they are probably tired but a smile costs nothing and for goodness sake speed up!!!

Awful miserable service and dirty tables outside . We were served by a miserable older lady, who obviously didn’t want to be there! Poor value pot of tea didn’t even make two small cups . And the cups were dirty and had to be changed. Toasted tea cakes would have been ok if they’d had sufficient butter! They came with two small pats. We asked if we could have some more and were grudgingly brought a teaspoon more butter in a little paper sauce pot. As for some knives…..we were told to fetch those ourselves!

Whats Happened.. So I ordered from the takeaway Fish chips & after a 20 min wait considering it was quiet I thought they cooking the chips fresh but oh no they served last night's re heated chips (14 I counted) this place used to be amazing with a lush bag of chips etc but now your barely get anything for your money & the food is terrible.. Mr Finley you seriously need to get hold of this slide in your business as the guys currently working for you this summer are not doing your business justice..Can only be honest sir & hope the standards improve on my next visit..

Called in so my wife could swim in the cove. Went for brunch after her swim. Friendly service excellent bacon butty and toasties sat outside. Excellent cakes and savoury menu. Unrushed and peaceful... thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Toilets, including accessible clean and well equipped. Recommended...

A visit Lulworth Cove before taking the walk along the coastal path we called into Finleys for morning coffee we had 2 lovely decaf lattes and a snack very good pleasant service a much needed refreshment before tackling the walk up the cliffs. Well worth a visit.

Great gluten free roll packed with loads of tuna mayo and fresh side salad and crisps. Unexpected find.

Best part of £15 for cod and chips. Get in the sea!!! They were ok and to be fair other places nearby were similarly priced, but the meal wasn't particularly nice enough to warrant the cost, nowhere near!

Dropped in for an afternoon snack earlier this week. Cheesy chips and Sausage sandwich were great, and inexpensive too. Loo was spotless.

Wanted two cold drinks, picked up from the fridge. Should be a quick and simple transaction. Collect and pay. Unfortunately they want you to queue with everyone else ordering food and hot drinks etc until you’re called forward to place your order; and then you...

We stopped here for lunch after seeing the cove, and it was lovely. We ordered tea, scones, cheese baguette, chips and a hot chocolate. All was wonderful and served promptly. The loos were also good, nice and clean.

Lovely drink, good value. But the most miserable woman serving. The staff need to learn the concept of serving a queue as well.

As there is no separate Facebook for the adjoining fish and chip shop I will have to leave my review here. They have a captive audience but the product is not good. Cod and chips was £9, chips by themselves £3, which is a lot...

On a day trip to Lulworth Cove. Stopped in here to grab some lunch, so glad we did. The food was top rate and the staff were extremely pleasant. The young man who was behind the till was very polite and despite him having to...

I ordered the vegan breakfast (see photo) and my friend order scrambled egg on toast with bacon. I ordered extra toast, the toast was barely toasted it was warm bread and it was swimming in vegan butter (you should put the butter in a side...

Yummy! After an epic walk along the coastal path from Weymouth to lulworth Cove we stopped and had fish and chips here before heading back from the little takeaway on the left. The staff were efficient, polite and honest. Told us up front there was...

Waited ages for food, missed bus in process. Staff were rude when explaining needed to catch a bus!! Muttering under breath. Very expensive and only do one size of chips £3 for not many. They should have chips and food readily prepared especially towards end...

After an enjoyable visit to Lulworth Cove & Durdledoor we decided to get some chips before we caught our bus back. Bearing in mind the bus time we thought 25 minutes would be more than enough time to purchase said chips & return for our...

We waited 30 min to receive bland food that was only so-so. They charged extra to ketchup. They didn’t seem at all concerned about providing a positive customer experience. Pack your own lunch and save yourself time so you can see your sights on your...

Nice coffees and good selection of cakes,paninis and other food. Friendly staff and toilets were clean.

Would definitely recommend. The staff are so friendly. We had fish and chips cooked to order that were amazing. Dont leave without a cream tea absolutely beautiful.

Why oh why do the paying public continue to keep such awful food outlets in business - lack of competition I suspect. NEVER HAVE I EVER been served fried frozen chips at a seaside fish and chips shop, UNTIL NOW THAT IS. If that wasn’t...

We have just had fish and chips here. I’ll start with the positives: no queue (1645) and lots of seating available (the place was heaving when we arrived at 1230). Fish was ok but the chips. Oh my goodness. Definitely frozen ones, reheated most definitely,...

When we called in for lunch while on a visit to Lulworth Cove, there was a bit of a queue so we wondered whether to join it. Well, how glad we were that we did join it! The queue moved very quickly, due to the...

So I popped in for a quick Bite to eat & ordered a Bacon/Sausage Baguette & 2 Fanta’s & was blown away by how nice The taste was & how well it was presented with A Side salad.. Keep up the good work & hopefully...

Waited 20 mins for service still not served I am diabetic service bad would not use again dog running round cafe

Large Group of friends all ate the fish and chips, amazing food! Cooked to perfection. Well done Finley’s !!

My partner and I visited for the first time on Monday 9th of May ( it was my birthday, so it was a little treat) and found Finleys Cafe to be a beautiful place. We walked in and ordered breakfast at 11.55 when they finish...

Truly terrible coffee. Stale scones. Slow service. Poor value for money. Not a recommended experience. I guess the location makes it too easy.

Very fresh hot and looked after the dog with a sausage. Look after these local businesses and they'll still be here for our next visit

Frozen chips that were fried and very greasy, batter on the fish soggy, worst fish and chips I have ever had….bet the locals do not use this chippy! Very expensive wish I had of gone to the pub!

Awful, worst fish and chips I have had in a long time and this after a 45 minute wait. I couldn’t understand why we had to wait so long. Disappointing end to a lovely day !

I came here to enjoy a family meal, unfortunately our tea was spoiled as the tea was cold, in fact the very expensive mushy peas were frozen, £7.80 we had paid!!, takeaway price at that!!. Very disappointing, Infact , if you are eating here, before...

We had the vegan burger, chips and salad and teas came to £24.30. We sat outside after working up an appetite walking to Durdle Door. Lots of condiment sachets which were no extra charge. Food was hot and a generous portion. Heed the warnings not...

Generous portions. Really nice fish and chips, panini and coffee. Staff were really friendly. Was a busy day but the quality was great and service quick. Thanks!

Great cafe with fantastic customer service and extremely generous portions. My friends ordered a bowl of cheesy chips and soup whilst I had a cheese sandwich served with salad and crisps. We each managed about 2/3 of our meals and sadly didn't have room for...

Called in on a cold December day, we where well looked after by Cassie, and our food was quickly bought out to us, despite a sudden influx of customers Cafe was happy to take dogs, and also served gulten free and vegan choices Be more...

Returned from a stunning walk from Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door and enjoyed a generous portion of fish and chips. Everything was cooked to order so we waited 30 minutes and it was piping hot and worth the wait on a busy Saturday afternoon. Plenty...

Poor customer service on a non busy day so no excuse, food was ok but expensive.Fish and chip shop attached seemed to be the better option.

Nice little cafe with lots of space outdoors, and a chip shop attached so lots of choice. Sandwiches, paninis, soup and drinks. Quick and easy!

Ordered fish and chips for 2. It was later in the day (6pm) and we waited 20 minutes. Believe the food must be cooked to order as was piping hot when we got it.Very nice food. Sat in their terrace area. Only feedback would be the tables are not cleaned. Be nice if they did this.

Excellent selection of fresh, tasty sandwiches….they were fab. Pleasant service too. Cakes looked nice although I resisted.

Joined trip advisor just to review this place, I should have read the reviews before and would have stayed away. Terrible food but even worse service the staff are so rude. How they continue to have any customers I will never know. Absolutely disgusting. It was like being in an amateur production of Fawlty Towers the staff were so rude I genuinely thought I was on a hidden camera show because it wasn’t just one person, almost everyone I came into contact with had a bad attitude and those I didn’t seemed to just stand about doing nothing. If you go to lulworth AVOID AVOID AVOID. Between dying of starvation or eating here again, I choose death.

If you want to wait half an hour to pay by card go here. I payed with cash in the end due to a long wait. Then they couldn't even count the change. Honestly a joke, do not recommend coming here. The food was so bad, £4.50 for a ham and cheese sandwich. This place is a joke

We saw the sign saying please be patient low staff, but decided to wait as we wanted chips, 25min wait but when we opened they had covered it in salt and vineger even though when they asked I said none as I have young kids who won't have it.Worst of all they were chips not fry's! Change your sign to fish and chips to fish and fry's then I can make my mind up and will go to macdonalds. Dissatisfied

As a family on holiday we stopped at Finley’s for Fish & Chips. It took 45 minutes with about 5 people in the queue in front of us. Chips were tasty, fish was ok but a bit over cooked.

Extremely slow service. Had to wait 40 minutes. Never had to wait so long for fish and chips before!

I visited today. There was just one person ahead of me in the queue. The sign on the door said ‘be patient as we are short staffed.’ I was called to the counter and I asked for a large portion of chips and curry sauce. The server shrugged and told me ‘there’s a twenty five minute wait, at least 25 minutes’ I said ‘for chips?’ She shrugged again and said ‘yes for chips!’ I wouldn’t expect to wait that long after ordering in a restaurant let alone at a quiet fast food take away! I won’t be going there again, rude and unfriendly and clearly don’t want the business.

Had the best chicken and vegetarian burgers here, and the chips were divine! A welcome respite after climbing up and down steep steps near Durdle Door. Eventhough the burgers we had were sparse (no salad or sauce), the burger patties on their own tasted amazing. And you can ask for condiments. Also, no idea how they make the chips taste so good, but would definitely eat here again. (Or move to Lulworth...)

Can't believe the other reviews, in my opinion the staff were rather stretched when I visited last week but food was good and considering the pandemic was a reasonable choice. It doesn't have sea view

The staff are all rude. very young and don’t have a clue on what they are doing. They are very rude and unfriendly and discrimate against you if you are exempt from wearing a face covering I suggest you don’t give them your money as the food isn’t worth it I could get better from a dump truck.

My partner and I had a panini each and chips to share. I was expecting a crispy panini but It was so so soggy I couldn’t even pick it up! Chips were obviously cooked in old re used oil, they had a funny taste to them.

Our order chips and fish cakes. Beckose cod or other fish was unvalible at 5pm.After 45 min waiting for food finally arrive melted,oilly ,sucked,microvive chips with flounding cakes inside of the paper bugs. Stuff was like ofended that we want to order food and eat this. All impression this bar very bad.Not too much people was waiting before us but everybody was disappointed with time and quality of this very simply fast food. People DONT weast your time nerves and money hear. Additionally even we did not eat just try but soon after two of us was fill sick. Conclusion is so sad after so beutifull walking to durdle door and back to Lurwordh cove I was sick and discasted.

Very nice lady served us. Sat upstairs. Good views. Good food. Can imagine this place gets absolutely packed and the seating is limited.

Great location and very welcome to have a place there serving coffee and fish and chips. Beware the coach parties.

We stayed 3 nights at Durdle Door Holiday Park and came into Lulworth every day. Finleys had great coffee, tasty fish and chips and other lunches and the staff are wonderful. One of us has lactose allergy and when we were greated by a different lady on our last day, the lady from the days before had passed on the message for if we turned up again, incredible customer service. Perfect spot for snacks in the sun before heading to the Cove or off for one of the surrounding walks.

Beautiful fresh fish and chips here, with well organised and responsible socially distancing in place. Friendly service and generous portions, would definitely come back here!

Excellent fish and chips. Fast service and very well cooked fish. Prices pretty reasonable given location and the size of the portions

Excellent! A little apprehensive as it was so close to such a major tourist attraction and it looked a bit like a motorway service station at first glance. I shouldn’t be so precious. Best Full English I have had in a long while. Friendly and efficient service and all Covid precautions very reassuring. Highly recommended.

We arrived in front of the shop at 17.33,2 other people waiting for their food,doors open. A young guy told us to go awy because they close at 17.30 and the kitchen was closed. For 3 minutes an no one else around apart from us they could have made an exception.

Arranged to meet friends here for breakfast before we headed off on our extremely long walk! It was a beautiful morning so we sat outside! Staff made us feel safe with their “in one door, order, out the other door!Egg and bacon sarnies were amazing!We were really tempted with a fish and chip lunch but resisted! (Unfortunately)

Really nice venue with wonderful staff and great food which is well worth the short wait. We love visiting Finleys!

Four of us have just finished eating fish and chips from Finley’s despite having read some mixed reviews. We all thorough enjoyed our meal. The fish was a good size and the chips were soooooo tasty - naughty but nice . Would recommend based on this experience particularly given the paucity of chip shops in the area

Stopped off at Lulworth Cove during a walk of the Jurassic coast, had a cream tea at Finley’s Wow it was much better than expected, From the outside it looks like a greasy spoon how wrong I was. The scones were so light and tasty. The staff were very friendly and made everyone stick to their COVID rules no matter who they were. Will be visiting again during my vacation.

i can only speak for the Fish and Chip part of the restaurant, but to wait about 10 minutes to order food and then another 15 to receive it, was very poor.There did not seem to be an "social distancing" in place.The staff were working in total chaos and needed organizing properly, the management need to organise the place. think they can get away with it as there is a very small choice of eateries and they are sitting on a goldmine.The food was pretty awful, the chips were made frozen, the pastie was the worst i have ever tasted it appeared to have been nuked in a microwave.i was very disappointed.If they want repeat custom they need to buck up!!

Went here for chips while in lulworth and while I appreciate it was a very busy day the service was so very slow. With not a lot of other choice for food it was 20 minutes before we could even order (3 portions of chips) and another 25 before they were ready for collection. Nice chips when we got them tho.

If you are visiting Lulworth Cove you can have lunch or snacks from here. I had delicious fish and chips from them. There are benches outside to enjoy your meals.

We visited here for lunch and we were very impressed with the freshly tasting baguettes! Not bad prices either, only £5 each. I asked for the crab which they had sold out of which was a bit disappointing as not many places sell crab. Instead I had prawn and mayonnaise. Plenty of filling and very tasty. We had to sit outside due to COVID, so luckily it was a dry day.

Our last day in Lulworth was met with a huge downpour! We had walked to the Coves for breakfast just as it started to rain, unfortunately many of the places were not serving breakfast?! Finley's was our saviour! Very helpful staff and we ordered to takeaway. Cheese toastie and carrot cake helped lift our moods are being drenched!

Ordered cod n chips, food came in a nice, convenient packaging for take away. Quality of food was amazing - freshly made and with good ingredients.Portions were quite small for the price we paid though.

Let me ask you why is your cod fish portions like a third of the size of normal cod fish portions in other shops and you charge a staggering £7 plus.I came the other day and was over charged, I ordered 4 cod on it's own and two small chips separate to the cod so why was I charged £29 plus, which works out to be for 4 separate fish and chips.I was racially profiled and told to move my car from near the shop when I only parked the car there because as I saw a car already parked there and saw a white male get into the car who came out of your fish and chip shop with takeaway food. Was it the light brown skin and beard that made one of your staff tell me to move the car. Now that's double standards. I was told by your staff to purchase a ticket and park in the car park for what exactly I dont understand. I only needed to be there for 5 minutes as I was on the go and I was to takeawayYour a profiteering chip shop and your charging over inflated prices for the sizeable portions given.

Really great takeaway fish and chips. Friendly service. Cod very good. Good portions. Great to eat out of the bag by the sea

We stopped for a cuppa which was served in a paper cup due to the crisis which was fine. Only outside being used currently and no access to toilets.

Very tasty fish and chips, decent portion. Plenty of outdoor seating and friendly service. Perfect for a quick lunch or dinner.

Had fish and chips. Was ok but I’ve had batter! I thought was a bit expensive for £7.50 per portion and the portions were not “massive” was ok, limited on food places in the area.plus add on £4 to park to get your chips

After walking back from Durdle Door we thought we deserved a treat, so we stopped off for a couple of ciders and some cheesy chips. They were great. Service was great and friendly staff.

Excellent place to stop and refuel after a walk to Durdle Door. Huge servings and great value with interesting gallery

We stayed in west Lulworth in Feb (out of season) and most things were closed. I telephoned Finlay’s and asked if they would be open for takeaway tea and they kindly offered to stay open till 4pm for me. On collection we were given more than enough food as well as extras for the children’s meals. They also gave us a bottle of tomato sauce. The fish and chips tasted gorgeous and were very reasonable priced.I would definitely recommend.

The initial queue for placing your order is very off putting, however the wait was very worthwhile.Soup after a tiring walk on a cold blustery day was fantastic and the Brie and bacon sandwich in a seeded bread was honestly the best I have ever tasted.The building is a little tired (possibly because of the vast number of people that visit) and I think perhaps a regular clean up of the restaurant areas would not go amiss, but could not fault the food or the service other than at the slow Counter service.

Just had excellent fish and chips - delicious, crispy and served with a smile. What more can you ask?

Très bon chocolat chaud après une grande promenade le long des falaises, le service est rapide et les plats proposés très bons !

We ordered take away fish and chips from Finley's cafe at around 5.00pm to take back to the campsite. Strangely, they had no cod in batter pre - cooked ready for the evening and had to get some out the freezer for us. Ok, fine. We thought it had cooked quickly, when it was handed over to us, just five minutes later. I have to say, it tasted amazing (the fish), but the batter did look a bit anaemic and like it could've been cooked for a tad longer. At the end of the day though, it's fish and chips. What's not to like?

We had their ‘soup and luxury sandwich’ deal. The pumpkin soup was quite pleasant but needed spicing up. The prawn sandwich was good, but the filling in the crab sandwiches tasted more like a mixture of tinned tuna and crab and was a bit disappointing.Service was good.

Ate here recently. Had the cod cooked on request from the takeaway - really fresh and tasty. The others in my group opted for the vegan burgers. The burgers came with salad and hoummus and looked particularly appetising. The lady who served us was especailly friendly and took time to explain what was on the plate and ask if they wanted any other extras.

Som glutenintolerant är det inte ofta jag kan njuta av scones på café. Här fanns många glutenfria alternativ och de glutenfria sconesen var väldigt goda. Mycket prisvärt!

My husband and I stopped here for lunch while visiting Lulworth Cove. I had the Brie Ploughman’s which included a large chunk of Brie, lovely fresh baguette,salad with pickled onion and pickle. My husband had the ham ploughman’s. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and would recommend visiting if you’re looking for something to eat or drink

Me and my wife popped in here for a late lunch while visiting Lulworth Cove,

Decided to have takeaway fish and chips on the last evening of our holiday. Freshly cooked, good sized portion, very tasty and value for money.

We arrived just as the cafe had stopped serving food so thought we would try the takeaway. Having heard the staff say to somebody in front it was a twenty minute wait for the fish we thought we would go for the sausage. We were told there was a twenty minute wait and then found a seat near the takeaway to await our food.