Helyar Arms in South Somerset

Great food but one young member of staff needs to be less stressed with customers and it's not the first time

After a mix up with our booking we were looked after extremely well and or roast lunches were top drawer. Fantastic pub.

Our overnight stay to attend a 90th birthday party was very pleasant. Our room was very comfortable with a lot of character. Our evening drink in the pub area was relaxed with a warm atmosphere. We enjoyed our well cooked breakfast and chats with the staff.

Stunning country Inn, close to Dorchester and Yeovil. Always friendly service and a cracking pint. Yet to eat here however, the food looks and smells outstanding.

Had a meal here recently. Disappointed that a group over 7 people had to pre-book. It meant much of the menu including specials was not available to us. Much of the food was pre-made not homemade. The pork Wellington was pitiful. We had barely sat down and food thrust in front of us. Service was rushed and gave the impression they just wanted to get people out. I'd want to see changes before going again.

Good beer, friendly welcome, highly recommended

Rating for food only / bar service only. Always been good since I have been here. This evening I went with my 3 year old as she wanted whitebait, and she loved them, gobbled up the whole plate. I had a Pizza and it was yum. Staff were nice and got us sorted promptly which was nice for keeping the trip fairly short with a little one.

I stayed here for a couple of nights for work, it is a stunning little spot in the most beautiful village. Everyone was so friendly and kind, the rooms are cosy and homely. I even debated asking them if i could buy the pillows as they were the most comfortable ones I'd ever slept on. I would 100% recommend staying here if you are visiting.

Lovely place and food but completely ruined by local clientel who seem to have the blessing of the landlord to drink to excess and abuse tourists. Sadley removed from our site

I ate at the Helyar Arms twice over one weekend. The food was excellent and appropriately priced for the quality, service was good. I would recommend booking in advance, it was busy the Friday and Saturday nights that I visited.

Lovely building and garden would be perfect for drinks but the food was not good and expensive.

Lovely little village hotel. Great room although it was a bit smelly. Bar staff wer3 good but not impressed with steak as wasn't cooked how o asked. Then when they did it again it was raw. On complaining again the waiter asked me do I want it rare or medium when I orgiabnly had ordered it medium-rare but clearly the chef didn't unrstand this term ology. Given a free drink which wasn't impressive. Breakfast superb and so were the staff serving it

This is a great country style pub. Great selection of drinks, excellent food and such a great, relaxed atmosphere here. Thoroughly recommended

Awful awful eating experience! Very expensive tiny portions and really poor quality. Staff were fine, and the pub itself is beautiful but the food really really let it all down😢

Cannot rate room as did not stay, food great! Staff great!

Great to spot one of my favourite cask ales among the taps. Good affordable (locally sourced) grub with some top notch menu options. A nice venue for a mid-week meeting or social.

Ate there, lovely location and pub but food disappointing

A very charming village pub with a great atmosphere. Large beer garden for those summer days or a cosy area in the pub with comfortable sofas. Food was great and a good selection of ales.

A fantastic country Gem 💎 10/10

Good food, comfortable bed and very friendly helpful staff. I would be pleased to stay here again.

Great pub garden is lovely and the staff are the best 👌 👍

Fantastic Sunday lunch in a Beautiful village setting.

Very nice inside and out. Very friendly staff 😀

Food was fantastic. Good choices for my gluten and dairy intolerance. Reasonably priced. The staff were all lovely. Will definitely be back.

The heylar arms is a wonderful place to stay. The hosts are very friendly and the bar staff are very helpful. The food is exquisite and the beer is good. Situated in the stunning village of east cocker with its thatched roofs tops . The rooms are very spacious and the cleanliness is exceptional. The large carpark is terrific I've stayed in many places were the parking has been a problem , but not at the Heylar arms. This is my second time of staying here and would highly recommend a stay here.

Visited with a friend and both had an excellent meal. Good service, fresh produce and well priced.

A fantastic pub. Great food, friendly staff and a warm and welcoming atmosphere. A delicious and large range of dishes which enabled us to eat there every day of our short stay in the area.

Good food and friendly, helpful staff. Recommended!

Friendly atmosphere, attentive staff

We were a group of 8 adults and one dog staying at Helyar Arms this week and we had a lovely stay! The village and building are beautiful and the rooms were cosy with a country cottage feel. We had dinner and lunch, food was fantastic, as was the service. Would recommend!

Lovely staff and a great Sunday roast! Made us all feel very welcome.

Had a gorgeous valentines meal. Always something different on the specials board. Love the snug to be able to sit comfortably and chat after and have a drink. Highly recommend

Brilliant food... went for a midweek lunch and loved the genuine home cooked veggie options. Great service and a lovely interior.

This is a place that we always visit when in the area (unfortunately we couldn’t get a room for our fixed dates this time) We were welcomed like old friends and served promptly. The restaurant was busy but there was no sense of being rushed. The food, as always, was superb. We were even given a tub of their delicious tomato butter. Would highly recommend this restaurant

Absolutely outstanding choice from an excellent menu. Staff were lovely and the food absolutely delicious. In fact I would vote this my personal pub of the year. Just a pity I live in Bury St Edmunds. I would be a regular. My daughter who was with me agrees.

We went as "walk ins" whilst on holiday and had a very pleasant dinner here. Pub was busy and buzzy and had a good atmosphere.

Good food, good service and reasonable price, what more could you want. Wife and I went for early Dinner and were well looked after and really enjoyed our meal. Highly recommended.

We really enjoyed our Saturday night stay at the end of February. A lovely pub, we particularly enjoyed having a drink in the Apple Loft before dinner. Room was good and spacious with a great en-suite. Absolutely delicious dinner and lovely breakfast the next morning. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Comfortable and well appointed room. Breakfast was freshly prepared to order and delicious. We ate in the restaurant on three occasions too - wide ranging menu and not typical pub grub. We thoroughly enjoyed each and every meal. Would highly recommend

Had heard rave reviews but overall very disappointed. Our booking wasn’t written down correctly and it wasn’t the most welcoming reception. A lamb, beef and chicken order. Roast potatoes overcooked or reheated, vegetables raw, cauliflower cheese undercooked. Gravy not what you expect and poured on the plate in the kitchen. Small portions, we did ask for extra potatoes. Also ordered an alternative to a roast of haddock new potatoes, overall very plain and very small portion again. The young waiting staff were polite but when we complained made no apology. Such a shame for such a lovely pub.

We were able to walk to this pub and have a drink to try it out. As we were impressed with the friendly staff and cosy feel we returned for dinner, twice. All the food we ordered was excellent and piping hot. Each time we visited it was always quite busy, even in the middle of the day. It seemed a very friendly local pub. We recommend that you book in-advance! There is a very nice outside space with plenty of seats/benches and quite a few pretty flowers too.

Stayed with my Mum as was visiting relatives in the area. Great setting, nice room. Staff lovely and breakfast delicious! Would definatly stay again.

We went there for lunch recently and were very pleased. The menu wasn’t the same standard items, there some more interesting things. My husband had the game of the day and I had pizza which was home made (although bought in dough which was one of the best I’d ever had). Desserts were good. I had lime posset which is one of my favourites but rare to find on pub menus. The sticky toffee pudding was better than most. They also do an artisan ice cream from Dorset which we’ve had in other places, if you like ice cream you will be happy! Staff were friendly and service was good. We eat out a lot with a lunch group in this part of the world and will definitely go here again

Organised a 70th birthday party, which was greeted with enthusiasm. The food was very good. I was a little upset that the 12 of us couldn’t sit on one long table, although we were next to each other. We were allowed to take a cake and balloons, which was a bonus. The service was ok, but plates / cutlery for cake had to be asked for, which was probable due to training. The rooms were clean and comfortable. The breakfast was served on a plater for us to help ourselves. Plenty of tea and coffee and we could have asked for more food. I would have given4 1/2 but no provision for 1/2 point. Would definitely recommend and we would go again.

Had a table booked here for lunch on Sunday, I subsequently emailed to enquire as to whether we could eat outside and they said not possible so I cancelled. On Sunday afternoon I had a rude and ignorant, flippant message on my answerphone from their landlord asking if I had the "decency to tell him why I didn't show up". If he read his emails he would know. I will not be back due to this poor, unintelligent customer service from someone who purports to be in charge of the establishment. Please do not have the audacity to cancel a booking here, they won't take any notice and leave sarky messages on your phone!

Excellent food and service. My brother and father both had the haddock, which looked great and tasted fresh. I had the vegetarian special (beetroot and ricotta ravioli) which was lovely. For dessert, the lime posset was simply to die for! The young staff were excellent, attentive and polite.

It was all so good it would sound very boring: only to say that i would have given it more stars if it was possible. Having been before we knew it would be good, of course. Thank you everyone, and Happy Christmas

Good food and sensible prices with good beer.Well worth a visit and we will visit again. Thanks to all at Helyar Arms

good range of ales and ciders on tap, on chalkboard so we could see what was available and prices. Very efficient table service, regular checks to see if we wanted further drinks or to order food. The venison and leek burgers are amazing, and you can order fries separately - choose the sweet potato ones! The pizzas looked good - limited menu due to being outside service only. The marquee kept the wind and rain off us, we brought blankets and hats/gloves the second time in our week of self-catering, but the weather didn't put us off. Would love to visit when pub is open inside, menu is extended and maybe even stay overnight.

Possibly one of the best run pubs I know. Always spotlessly clean and really well looked after. Food great and a fab choice of beers and other. Had my favourite 'London Pride' on the other week.

My wife and I called in on September 19th. It was 1.45 and we asked if they were still serving food. The young man at the bar said he would ask. An older man (manager/owner?) said they were but could not take the order for 20 minutes. We asked how long it would then be before we would get the food. He dismissively said didnt we realise it was there busiest time so he couldnt know.We stayed for a drink. After ten minutes we noticed another couple had come in and asked for food. The man took their order right away and said the food would be about 20 minutes. Had we been non-white people I can imagine we would have experienced this as racism instead of downright rudeness.

Great to see a business getting back on their feet after the pandemic and doing everything right. A limited menu, well done and a fine welcome.

Had a lovely meal in a cosy little village pub with so much atmosphere. The food was amazing, we had steak which came from the local farm shop in East Coker. We were greeted and shown to our table which was near a beautiful wood burner blazing away. The staff were very efficient,was a lovely evening. It's not the first time we have eaten there and definitely won't be the last.

We stopped here for lunch yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. Lovely environment and welcoming staff, the food was good, I enjoyed the trio of sausages and mash.

We booked a table for 9 for my sisters birthday (adults and children) we were greeted by a friendly young lady who got us seated and got our drinks. Everything on the menu sounded delicious- there’s no children’s menu but they offered scampi, sausages or anything on the menu as a smaller portion. Most of the party had steaks and I opted for a chicken dish which was really tasty. Desserts were fab, good selection of gin, we all had a great night would recommend and return. Really don’t understand the negative comments about the landlord on other reviews- I found him very friendly and even ran out while we were getting kids in the car as one of them had left a toy. All in all a fab evening!

Just had two days staying at The Helyar Arms...had two meals in the restaurant during this visit, both excellent. Good quality home made food with very pleasant and friendly service. Highly recommend this eatery!

i Love the pub, the young staff are so helpful and friendly. After a few visits with my dog, I noticed the landlord lurking in the background with a long face and very little charm.Well today I met him and he spoke to me like I was a bit of dirt on his shoe, I point out that his manner was rather grub and I didn’t like it. He told me I could leave.When I left the pub he followed me into the car park and was very abusive and called me rude names. I replied that he should not be working with people. It’s a shame, great pup rubbish landlord

We were in a group of 10 and had booked a table in advance.The landlord (or maybe he was the manager?) was so rude and unpleasant that after we'd had our drinks we got up and left without ordering any food.It is not the customers' fault if you only have one chef on duty and there are ways of conveying this information to customers without being aggressive.

Very warm welcome Great ambiance Excellent food and good beer A good menu with a range of options from pub favourites to original weekly specials list Highly recommend

What a wonderful pub, popped in for a quick meal with our children. The staff were so lovely and helpful, moved tables around, and did everything possible to make our meal lovely. Fantastic food, wonderful beer and lager, beautiful fire burning away. It’s the perfect pub and highly recommended..

We we were concluding our annual family weekend away get together by having a Sunday Roast at the Helyar Arms, at East Coker, Somerset.It certainly did not disappoint, even though there were 17 diners including some vegetarians.small and older children I thought it was quite a challenge and so to make things easier we had preordered our choices we were given a really nice spacious dining room exclusive to us away from the main bar,with spotless white table cloths and quality cutlery, the roast arrived promptly, as did all of the meals, and it was piping hot and very tasty for everyone, we were also offered extra hot gravy if required served in cute little gravy boats .very nice touch....the waitress service was really excellent and they very attentative, we all felt very well looked after, there was also a nice sweet menu for those that had room..although not many of us did as we really full with a Great Lunch. The cost was very competitive and was definitely very good value, we would all without exception like to return as it was FIRST CLASS..

Today we had the most unappealing cold bacon sandwich. The bacon was so full of fat and a few lettuce leafs and boring crisps decorated the plate. So wished we had sent it back as it was the worst sandwich I have ever had! The bacon had a dreadful texture too. Feel sick just thinking about it!

In the heart of East Coker village with its thatched cottages and manor houses, this is an interesting old pub. It is dog friendly and great for walking the miles of local footpaths. Only tried the beer (Otter and Rev James), but food looked good.

We went to the Helyar Arms as a last minute”let’s go out and eat”. And what a good decision it was. The food was fantastic, the service was excellent with the staff being very attentive and the price very reasonable. It is nice to see a country pub so full with both people eating and just in for a drink. We will definitely be going back. Thank you.

We arrived later than planned and the restaurant was busy and Patrick (the landlord) apologised for not getting us a table straight away.

We recently spent a most enjoyable short break in the picturesque Somerset village of East Coker. The Helyar Arms is a typical old village inn, conveniently situated on the main road through the village. We found all the staff, and landlord and landlady, very friendly and welcoming. The basic charge is for the room only, but we opted to have the excellent breakfast (terrific value at £10), and also had our evening meal there each day. That too was very good, plenty of choice, and all reasonably priced. We particularly enjoyed 'Burger Night' on the Sunday, with an impressive selection of different types of burger. Definitely a good place to stay if you need a base in the south Somerset area.

Perhaps the cook was away on the day we visited but the food wasn't great. My tagliatelle was overcooked and it tasted as though it hadn't been salted. My boyfriend's lamb didn't taste particularly nice either and had also been cooked for too long. The sea bass was apparently just okay.

The Helyar Arms is a well decorated Punch Tavern. The menu is good. The food is well cooked. There is a varied choice of wines and beers. The young staff are pleasant and helpful. OK so far. But our party of six locals felt a tension in the atmosphere right from the start. The service was conducted with sharp instructions more like a drill sergeant on a parade ground than with the quiet, friendly efficiency of a professional front of house service. The tension spoiled the meal for us and regrettably we won't be returning.

A group of four of us were staying overnight and dining in the restaurant. This country pub is nicely fitted-out and retains much of Ye Olde charm. Our two-course dinner was superb, with relaxed and friendly service. Meals were all served piping-hot and all four together.

I am 2metres tall , I called to ask if their family rooms all had foot-boards on ALL of their beds, the lovely lady said yes, and there had been issues with previous customers.. a male voice in back ground said “what do you expect for that price?” .. obviously not intended for my ears, but I heard it never the less. The lady informed the male, l he can’t help being tall” to the unidentified male I heard quite clearly. I told them that with that attitude they could poke their business. Verbatim.

Good food and attentive service. Enjoyed the lamb. I thought the wine was a bit pricey. Overall very enjoyable.

After being rejected at one pub due to not having booked we ended up in East Coker hoping for a place to eat. Luckily the Helyar Arms ticked all the boxes. Friendly service, a great atmosphere and freshly cooked food. Prices are very reasonable (on average £11 for mains) and the portions generous. Desserts were more traditional, I recommend the Baboo ice cream.

Stayed for a week in a nearby cottage, so tried the Helyar Arms on our first night. What a treat! Fantastic food, great service (many thanks Emily!), lovely warm and welcoming atmosphere throughout. The food was truly excellent.

Excellent Service , wonderful food . The hosts made you feel so welcome and couldnt be more helpful . Will definitely be visiting again .

Situated in a beautiful village close to Yeovil, this is now my preferred stop over B&B.; The room is lovely and relaxing, the food delicious and the owners very welcoming. Wonderful atmosphere 10 out of 10 from me.

Friendly atmosphere and staff. Good beer, good food (I had the beef, rare, cooked to perfection for me) in a charming building in a charming village. Thank you to the hosts.

This place is fantastic local pub. The Landlord and Landlady Pat and Claire are magnificent hosts. Nothing to much trouble at all. The rooms are decorated elegantly. Breakfast is extra which is great as you might not want it. So many selections for breakfast. Fruit, Yogurt, orange juice, English breakfast, eggs which ever way you want it.

Well if I could have given it 10 Stars I would have. Pat and Claire fantastic Landlord and Landlady. Nothing and I mean nothing was to much trouble.

The wonderful atmosphere is the first thing that you feel when walk into The Helyar Arms followed by the warm welcome of all the staff. The food was delicious and would highly recommend to everyone from the single business traveller (me) to families and friends evenings and lunches out.

We arrived too early for our air BnB check in so drove around some country lanes looking for a pub or somewhere for lunch. New to the area so we stopped a dog walker and asked where we could fins a good pub for lunch. She directed us to the Heylar Arms. So glad we stopped and asked! Beautiful clean looking pub, in a picturesque English village. The patron gave us a really warm welcome and let me try a few of the local beers before deciding on one. It was lunch time so not very busy but it was very relaxing the arrived in a timely manner, was nicely presented, hot and tasted really good. The patrons were very friendly. On the way back to the car we discovered they also had a genuine old fashioned skittle alley - wooden skittles and balls on a polished wood floor! What fun! Would highly recommend. I want to go back and have dinner their the menu looks really good.

Service great and food good value, big car park, one of the reasons we stayed there, and breakfast is optional.

We had lunch between Christmas and New Year, very good food we could not complain.

There were 9 of us all wanting different meals and some with special requests. The owners and staff couldn’t have been nicer nor more helpful. All or needs were accommodated. The service was excellent, all meals arriving together. There were no complaints about the food in fact there were several compliments. Apparently according to one of our party the ‘cow pie’ was the best pie she had ever tasted. My pan fried bass was done to perfection and the younger members enjoyed their steaks. The duck was lovely, the lamb curry was morrish.

My husband and I stayed in the Helyar Arms for four nights. We booked and then read the reviews. I must say that the people who wrote negative reviews cannot possibly have stayed in this delightful bed and breakfast!

We had lunch here today. The pub itself is lovely, clean & inviting. Clean toilets which is always good. The service was good & the waitress very pleasant. The food was amazing. My mum had the seacake which she enjoyed, I had the beefburger which was very tasty. Can't fault our visit & we will definitely be returning.

A lovely meal in a dog friendly restaurant. Very reasonably priced food. Free dog treats provided - need we say more!

Necesitaba un pub perros y encontré éste, y atractivo paseo por la zona y un buen pub para volver. Buena comida a un buen precio, no hay que esperar por horas. Muy limpio, el personal era genial. . . Gran aprobado. . . volveremos por muchos más paseos por la zona, no me puedo quejar

Estaba deseando tener un buen almuerzo relajante en este pub encantador. Sin embargo, encontramos la selección en el menú del domingo muy limitado, especialmente para mí, ya que soy vegetariana y sólo había una opción de un plato de mariscos de mejillones, camarones y calamares con linguini o cuscús con verduras, como no me gustan los mejillones o calamares, entonces yo tenía que tener el plato por masiva. No estaba mal pero no mucho y caro para lo que era. Aunque el desierto era agradable, tenía sólo desierto como yo era todavía hambre. Hemos esperado mucho tiempo para que viendo la propietario y su esposa me imagino, comiendo su almuerzo. Nos dieron nuestra desierto por la casera después de ella había terminado su cena. El personal era agradable, pero nos dejaron después de ser servido y no nos preguntó si queríamos más bebidas, etc. Es una pena realmente, ya que este pub es precioso y realmente puede ser agradable. Sólo había 3 mesas ocupadas que en una tarde soleada encantadora esperaría que fuera ocupado. Así, tal vez algunas cosas deben cambiar.

Nuestra familia había estado aquí el año pasado y nos sugirió que vayas por una noche. Fuimos con los nietos y a la llegada nos encontramos con una respuesta de usted puede tener una mesa tan larga como usted orden rápidamente. La camarera era encantador, pero el propietario era grosero y desagradable, incluso hasta el punto de que él dejó una tabla de pizarra en un huésped menú en su intento de limpiar la mesa de prisa. No en el niño poco amable, menos menús infantiles, pero no si tomamos su perro habrá una acogedora cama de perro. Pasamos una importante cantidad de dinero pero no dan las gracias cuando nos fuimos. Un restaurante con encanto una pena fue estropeado por un anfitrión muy ingrato y nos hicieron sentir una molestia.

Agradable paseo del ganso sitio caravana slade. Precioso y frío sidra historia en macetas dada por el propietario amable sin duda volveremos más adelante en la semana para probar la comida

We went to this pub with great expectations, we were served by a charming waitress, who couldn't have been more helpful. However our experience was completely ruined by the unpleasant host behind the bar (man with beard) who seemed more interested in his dogs than his customers. He was loud and aggressive towards his bar staff to the point of making us feel embarrassed and uncomfortable.The waitress concerned looked close to tears at times. The food was mediocre and certainly not good enough to warrant a return visit.

Was passing through on a cycle trip and stayed a night en route.Service was very hospitable indeed. The owners went out of their way to allow me to store my bike off the street. Food was great. Really good ingredients cooked really well.And the room was comfortable, clean and quiet. Recommended.

Our special celebration lunch was marred by the rude and aggressive landlord who wanted us out before our coffee was finished even though there were other customers still drinking on the premises. We had booked for 1.30 and not told of any time restriction, the pub is advertised as being open until late evening. There were long delays between the courses, not of our choosing. The waitresses were delightful and helpful. We were not a noisy or demanding foursome. We spent over 100 pounds and had completed our meal by 3.30 pm. On requesting the bill, there was an unpleasant exchange with the landlord who was liberally and pointedly spraying chemical cleaner on an adjoining table, having brushed under our feet. He was clearly irritated and impatient for us to leave. Perhaps he would make a perfect candidate for an anger management course which might enable him to keep customers and get better reviews.It has left a nasty taste in the mouth, we will not be spending our money in this pub again. What a shame, lovely setting, lovely old pub, good food, rude, surly landlord.NO THANKS!

The food was fine - but the service is not good at all which really lets the establishment down. perhaps a bit of waitress/waiter training would help?

With its beautiful location, this should be a great pub but alas it was easy to see why it was empty on a bank holiday monday: food was dire and overpriced without exception from the 6 mains ordered; cold fizzy drinks were flat and tepid and an unwelcoming management team made for an awful meal- unfortunately won't be visiting or recommending again.

Such a lovely village restaurant & nice people as well.We had a nice lunch with only a couple of soft drinks but felt comfortable & welcome.

This is in a fantastic location, staff were absolutely spot on, only fault was the bed, I was a bit too tall to be comfortable. Breakfast was fantastic.

A relaxing family evening dinner was the plan. We were, however pushed to place our food order quickly. Not sure why as it wasn't actually that busy. I was pretty gobsmacked when the young waitress said she was afraid she must push us for our order. We'd literally only just took our coats off & sat down. If we were late it would have been a little more understandable. The food was pretty good when it came and the wine is ok also.The landlord was welcoming and friendly enough. But maybe try not to have your staff rush your clients if you want repeat business.

Pleasant setting, had a drink in the beer garden before lunch. Roast beef and salmon linguini. Beef thinly sliced, slightly over cooked but tender enough. Two little roast potatoes, limited vegetables accompanied by thin, watery gravy and burnt Yorkshire puddings. Linguini was ok. Staff fine, even when informed that the online prices advertised were less than the actual prices! Problems with the web managers, but assured they would be changed. Lacking the final touches hence no problem getting a booking when others locally were full.

Three of us ate an evening meal here and could not fault the service, especially as two of us have special dietary needs. One meal was created off menu without any fuss. To be fair we had forewarned them and they suggested several off menu solutions. All dishes were well,presented and delicious. It is so nice to see smiles and service which is friendly without being patronising. Well done.