Hive Beach Cafe in West Dorset

Great view and beautiful seafood like being on the Mediterranean

Only had a coffee but lovely setting and views.

Wonderful crab sandwich. The warmest welcome too.

Always very good. Slightly pricey for those on a budget, but well worth it.

Beautiful food (fish soup was amazing), staff friendly and efficient on a busy day, and you can't beat sitting outside with a sea view. On the pricey side, but worth it.

Dog friendly cafe. Dogs are allowed on the beach between the 1st October and 31st May. Staf were friendly. Only had hot drinks so cannot comment on the Food.

The cafe used to be one our favourites, always having the half lobster meal. The lobster now is served like an overcooked semi cold mess served alongside overcooked mushy prawns. Wondering if the lobster was previously frozen. Upside: the chips were good. Very disappointed and sadly will give it a miss in the future as they are now clearly catering for the unsuspecting one visit tourist.

Lovely food. Staff polite and very helpful We would come here more often if we were local to them

Friendly service but luke warm not very good quality food. No beans so quite a dry breakfast . Tomato & brown sauce nice. Coffee good

Great little cafe, although far more than a cafe, wonderful warm welcome for us and the dogs, biscuits given to dogs, had breakfast but huge range menu and drinks, takeaway cafe and shop. Service wonderful genuine warm

Very disappointed with the food and service. Very expensive to. Won't go back.

Lovely view, good hot chocolate, not too crowded.

The food was Fantastic. Service was great. I would highly recommend this.

£16 for fish and chips only was a small portion (half a fish). Took 24 minutes to be served.

Lovely place to eat. Staff are so friendly & we felt welcome with our dog. Food was amazing, good portions & fresh. We will definitely return.

Please save yourself money and time and don’t attend this dirty shack. The place is overrated, the menu is overpriced and the ‘food’ is overcooked. I only finished my lobster because I felt sorry for it. Please avoid this place. If you think the food is bad, the service is worse. The waiting staff are a bunch of surly sixth-formers with no manners. They hover around and watch you eat with their creepy grim faces. Just a dirty little place that I should have exited immediately rather than being let down and ripped off. It was recommended by friends and I seriously doubt their judgement now or perhaps this place used to be good in the past. It certainly isn’t anymore. Don’t go. You will be disappointed.

Very expensive, so instead of lunch there, we only had a coffee and a biscuit. Shame, but the beach was great and our two dogs enjoyed their walk there. We had hoped to have the crab sandwiches but at £13 each, and 4 of us, we thought £52 was a lot for a snack.

Excellent place in a gorgeous setting

Went for breakfast. I had an excellent full English, my wife had the pancakes. They were very busy but the service was very good. Plenty of servers “crew” to see that it went smoothly. Parking just out side and a few yards off the beach.

Andrew and the staff together with the food were fab - Thank you

A great option for meeting friends or just soaking up the atmosphere yourself.

Right on the beach and just lovely to eat and relax

Camping at Freshwater holiday park, a 20 minute walk to visit this gem of a place. Busy and bustling restaurant, great menu, food was outstanding and the service was great too. Dog friendly aswell, all in all, will definitely be returning soon.

Excellent quality fish meals served here. We had the standard fish and chips which was really crisp and tasty but on future visits will experiment with some of the other exciting looking choices. Service was friendly and unobtrusive and prices were very reasonable.

Stunning view. Great coffee £16 for a small takeaway fish and chips is ridiculous. Completely unacceptable to charge that for takeaway. Lovely icecream.

Nobody interested in serving you. Took a long time to make 2 cups of coffee. The cups leaked returned them but disinterested staff member. Not just me but quite a number of customers unhappy.

Great food in a great location. Best fish and chips we've had.

Great food and service 5 star all round. Must try their desserts !😋

Had a take away consisting of 3x fish and chips one soup and one crab sandwich. Food ok but tiny half size fish and chips and they forgot my crab sandwich had to go back for it. The issue was the £75.50 cost. Extortionate. If you are dieting and money is no issue go for it!

Great as always although the service is a little slow. Too many young kids having to be directed by the boss to clean tables take orders and also remember orders. But will keep going back when we are down there as the location and food has always been great.

We had heard amazing things about this cafe so made a point of eating lunch there whilst in the area. The set up undoubtedly is amazing with views out over the sea. The food is good (but if I’m honest we’ve eaten just as well elsewhere for less) and is served reasonably quickly. Dogs are allowed which is another plus - for us at least. However I am a Coeliac and that’s where they let themselves down. The young lad who was our waiter - though impeccably polite did not have a clue about what contained gluten and the menu had no indicators. I’m pretty good at guessing what should be suitable but at each question he had to go back to “ask chef”. At one point he even totally confused which dish I was asking about - and they were very different dishes! The whole process was the worst I have encountered in a long time and made me feel like a total nuisance so frankly I did not enjoy the dining experience at all.

Huge muscles in a nicely balanced blue cheese cream sauce. The fish chowder was also lovely, great tasting fish and fresh veg. We enjoyed on a wet and windy day, outside seating had heaters which warmed us up nicely. Would recommend after a walk.

Great place, great hake and chips, chowder, mussels. Very good house wine and cider. Servers were excellent. Thanks.

A lovely place to have lunch beautiful views

Been a couple of times but really not sure what the fuss is about, waited over an hour for mediocre and overpriced food. Location is obviously superb but you can't eat a view 🥴

Amazing food, with a beautiful view. The staff are so friendly and welcoming and it's a great place to bring your dog. Superb cocktails too!

Apparently they are dog friendly. Our 10month old puppy was barking whilst outside the venue. He always settles once we sit down as he is just excited at first. But we weren't even allowed to take our seat and sit down. we were told that people get upset at dogs barking and were turned away. So is the venue dog friendly or isn't it? the fact we weren't even allowed to sit at our table and settle our dog I found quite extraordinary. I would understand if he continued to bark whilst at the table but we weren't even allowed that opportunity.

It's just not as good as it used to be unfortunately.

Probably expected to much. Service was very efficient, but food was so so. I had hake and chips, pretty much tasteless, I know hake lacks flavour, but that's what cooking is about, giving it ummph. Lovely setting with lots of people on seperate missions, i.e., not very friendly.

Great place to visit always love national trust a few years since we've been back not really changed

We have lunch with a magnificent seaview here. Better book the table in advance or you need to spend some time for waiting.

Arrived at 4.30pm. They shut at 5pm. We had a Cream tea each but you could have coffee instead. Choose of plain, fruit or savoury. £7.50 each which I thought was very reasonable. Sat outside with our dog and watched the sea. Lovely service . Very polite young people.

Love this restaurant set right off the beach very layed back vibe with the best fish dishes

Great coffee and apple cake well served, just what you need after a long lovely walk on the beach.

We have been coming to Dorset for years and always like to have our crab sandwiches at The Hive Beach café, but I have to say, I was a little disappointed this year after yearning for one for so long. Years ago, you used to get uncut doorstop bread and fresh crab on its own, but now you get sliced bread (nowhere near as thick) and the crab is mixed with either a dressing or mayo to bulk it out a bit. Although it tasted ok, it wasn’t up to the standards it used to be. Such a shame.

Unless you're a proper fussy arse, this place is just great.. Sat, chatting, eating good food, with a sea view. The unpredictable weather added to the environment, with staff rolling up the clear awning sides as soon as the sun was out and rushing to roll em down when a shower caught us out. I say us because diners helped out. Just great 🙂

Stopped for coffee and cake. Very pricey for average coffee and cake. Great views Good staff

Always a good place to break ones journey - national trust car park - access to beach - the cafe and toilets.

Lovely food right on the beach. Place katsu was really nice as was the squid. Expensive, especially given the shabby decor/furnishing.

Eat seafood overlooking the beach at sunset. Simply lovely.

We arrived at 11.20, just in time to order breakfast. We were lucky to get the table on the edge of the 'tent' overlooking the beach. Despite being quite busy we received very efficient service. The food arrived within 15- 20 min, then our hot drinks. We had 3 x full English and egg Benedict on muffin with bacon. Everyone enjoyed it. The only nuisance were a few wasps but not a lot to spoil our experience.

Very disappointing meal tonight, experience much below last visit 2 summers ago. Service levels, food appearance/quality and environs all issues. Time of the booking (early evening) should make no difference but felt like all concerned were keen to get off home. Indeed the main area was being dismantled for cleaning as we were leaving after leas than an hour. Won’t be returning.

It's a lovely place with great views and good food but a bit pricey

Great place to visit with superior menu. Staff are friendly and pleasant. Food is professionally prepared and served. Thoroughly recommended.

Came here today, after walking from our campsite at Graston Copse through Burton Bradstock village. A warm welcome by a member of staff & shown to our outside table for 4 with 3 dogs. Our waitress took our drinks order & returned after a few minutes to take our food order. She was very friendly and attentive, giving time for a chat despite being extremely busy. Wait for our food was minimal and when it arrived it was hot, tasty & well presented. Back ground music was pleasant, giving the Mediterranean feeling due to the sunshine. Wouldn't hesitate in returning if we are in the area again .... thank you.

Beautiful location overlooking the sea. Attentive staff , generous helpings and plenty of choice to meet all tastes and pockets

After a long walk on the beach the Hive is just the place to visit. Lovely atmosphere and great food

Well I only had coffee and cake but it looked nice inside the cafe. It has got a small shop and the beach is fantastic.

The food is good but the service has gone down hill. We have been several times over the years as we are local. You can book online for the evening but be careful as it shuts at 8pm but you can book for this time. We booked for 7.15pm which was accepted but then we were asked to pay as they were cashing up before we were even finished. Drinks came way after food and one of our party had to wait a long time for his food so we started as ours was getting cold.

Very busy but friendly staff and good food. In an ideal location

Everything about it is excellent. The cafe, the takeaway and the ice cream shack are all brilliant

Great service and excellent staff!!

Great staff and very understanding about wheelchair access being needed. The food was good but they could do with more vegetarian/vegan options for dinner/lunch.

Second time coming back to this place. My wife is an awkward eater, so she normally has to settle for a combination of non-fish sides, whereas I can eat everything on the menu! Lobster and pan and cream dishes a little in the echidna side... but then again they usually are! Great location, great food and a friendly helpful team.

Views are incredible, food is ok- it’s the position of this cafe that makes it and I feel they ride on that a bit as it’s expensive! I had kippers for Breakfast, could have done with a side dressing and the waitress couldn’t even help with how to get the bones out- I worked it out myself- Not her fault but for a fish place you would think this came as staff training.

We booked for dinner for my wife's birthday and i was very disappointed. We were put up in what seemed to be the overflow marquee on the edge of the site (they obviously didn't want to open the main restaurant due to lack of bookings) It was a very windy nasty day which of course wasn't their fault but we felt unwelcome. Our food arrived without drinks which took quite a while to get resolved for some reason. When leaving we had to search for a staff member to pay the bill. We have had many nice experiences at Hive but this one was supposed to be special for my wife. It wasn't.

Large queues, disinterested staff. How hard can it be when you have a captive audience and no competition? Despite waiting for 20 minutes, when we finally got to the takeaway window we were told that they had stopped serving food 15 minutes ago. Some ideas for improvement: Display your menu in a prominent position Clearly state what times food is available Move the body boards, spades etc out of the way so your customers can actually access the serving hatch without clambering over your stock Train and manage your staff so that they are aware of what the menu is, when it is available and so that they accurately and efficiently serve the customer

In its setting, and if its type, this is a really good place to visit. The food is good and the staff are well trained. Plan a visit.

Nothing bad to say , excellent all round

We visited last night for a family meal . We love the style and atmosphere of The Hive and were seated in the top marquee with a good view of the beach and sunset. Between us we had very good fish and chips with excellent tartare sauce, lobster, squid rings and a steak sandwich. All fresh, light and delicious. Desserts included a chocolate brownie sundae, a caramel bar and Biscoff cheesecake. A large jug of Pimms was very good value. During dinner we were treated to the sight of 20+ dolphins traveling along the coast and leaping in the air. Magical!

Overpriced, slow service, terrible crab sandwich. The “crab” sandwich comprised huge doorstops of not very fresh bread and a thin scrape of crab paste. Brown meat only. No white. A disappointing rip off.

The crispy squid was absolutely out of this world, on another level from the usual squid rings you get, the accompanying sauce was amazing!

I was taken here for the best crab sandwich. And it was the best I have ever tasted. Fresh and delicious. I will certainly go back again.

Excellent sun, sea, sand, great food, location and service..the closest I could get to the med without getting on a plane. I will be back!

Lovely food and great location. 💥

Excellent coffee and service. Even on a sunny Sunday at peak time they got through the queue amazingly efficiently.

We attended as a party of 18 and found Hive Beach Cafe to be very accommodating. The walk down onto the beach was fantastic, and the location is 10/10. The atmosphere was bustling with the sound of chatter, seagulls and the sea. You can't beat a seafront eatery if you really want those holiday vibes. The young servers were friendly and attentive and brought everything we needed. There was a slight mix up with one of our orders, but only because we had a couple of fussy children with us asking for bits to be added or taken out of their meal. This was resolved really quickly and without any hassle whatsoever. Our entire party enjoyed their food, although I personally felt my own meal was overpriced for what I had. £37.50 for half lobster and chips. It was tasty, but not exceptional. We sampled the Hive Cider, and a couple of cocktails which were all really nice. Cocktails seemed to take a while to come to the table, but this was only noticeable because others in the party were well into their pints when our cocktails came out. Probably not an issue for some people, but enough for me to mention; I found the metal chairs to be uncomfortable on the back of my bare legs. Most people are likely to be in shorts/short dresses during the warmer months, so take something to sit on like a blanket or towel. Overall, we really liked it here and we'll definitely come back. There is so much more on the menu that we really want to try!

A lively cafe in beautiful position overlooking the sea. Staff were very efficient and friendly. Food was amazing. It was quite expensive but really good quality. We had crab sandwiches - the best ever tasted . Lovely bread, tasty crab and accompanying salad. I would suggest booking as really popular all year round.

Stopped by breakfast. Very good quality food. Despite being extremely busy, the largely young crew did amazing and the service was brilliant.

Beautiful beach, refreshments available, ample parking, fantastic views. Did not eat at eatery just visited for view.

Arrived just after 1000 opening time on a windy summer day and and the cafe soon filled up to capacity although there was more room outside for those who wanted to brave the elements. Dogs are welcome inside and out, but be aware the tables are close together should your dog require a little more space. The young staff members were cheerful and polite. We ordered two hive cooked breakfasts with toast and a coffee (both additional), and the cost was £18 each which does seem a little excessive. The food however was very tasty with a hash brown, 2 sausages, bacon, tomato, large flat mushroom, and an egg all freshly prepared. The location is obviously lovely so that is where the premium price probably comes from but still a little out of sync to others. I doubt we will return for a breakfast due to the excessive costs but would always pop in for a coffee if space allowed.

We visited on a Wednesday at lunch time on a dull, windy day. This did not deter the many visitors. Those who hadn't booked had to form a queue and wait for a table. The service was good and the food excellent. I was amazed that the chefs could produce so many brilliant meals for so many people. However.....there were many dogs. One yapped all through our meal. A woman, directly behind us struggled to control hers as it was far too powerful for her to manage. There was no way you could hold a conversation as it was so noisy. It was a joy to leave. A word of advice....check your seat. When I stood up to leave I saw that I had been sitting in the remains of a previous meal.

I visited the Beech Cafe as part of a family and friends camping trip, a booking of 20 people. First thing to say is that it is expensive, and initial impressions are ‘too expensive’ for a low key crab shack! But that’s kind of what they are going for, and if you buy into this (which we did) it’s actually fair priced and a really nice experience! The lobster @ £70 seemed about the right price and when my daughter and asked for ours plain with garlic butter, rather than the specified Thermidor it was accommodated with pleasure. It was actually the best lobster I’ve had in some time, and I eat a lot of lobster! Staff were friendly, attentive and efficient, with one exception, which is the only reason this review is not a 5/5. I was barked at by a man who I understand to be the executive manager? I acknowledged and even apologised to him for an isolated cheer (when learning of a football result!😂) , took the time to go see him to apologise and convey my disappointment at the way he handled a situation (that actually wasn’t really a situation and didn’t need handling) and was met with even more more contempt than our initial encounter. This was all before we went to our table and identified ourselves as a dining party of 20, so maybe he thought we were a just a rabble who’d rocked up for drinks? Our perhaps he’s just someone with no idea how to communicate politely and effectively with other human beings, let alone paying customers?!

The most expensive fish and chips meal at £19 per head but it was cooked to perfection and very tasty, crispy cod and batter just right. The pot of tea was excellent also. We come here a few times a year and it's good to see the food standard consistently excellent. The views are pretty good outside too. Update- Back again and just as good as previous visits but being a sunny day it was rammed, they coped well though.

The food was average (fish and chips), a modest portion size, lots of hard small bits of chips, expensive for what it was ( £19)£7.50 for a very average eton mess. Management at the entrance very welcoming big smile.Pleasant staff.

Very popular spot and we had to queue to get in but service was excellent and food was great!

We have eaten here regularly over many years but recently feel the food and service is deteriorating and over priced . We had a family member that is vegetarian and they would not change the menu to accommodate … not even a Caesar salad to a cheese salad ? We won’t go back to The Hive but will use local pubs instead after our walks .

Brilliant meal and great service. Fresh seafood platter that tasted so gooooood. Poppy was great waitress and works extremely hard.

Beautiful location on the seafront. Excellent cream tea.

Food was reasonably priced despite having no competition.

Very lovely café on the side of the beach with yummy apple cake

£16 for a miserable box with less than a handful of chips and a pathetically sized portion of fish. They are rinsing their customers. Absolute rip off. Bring your own food!

An excellent time, delicious breakfast and very friendly upbeat staff! Thank you vary much!

Had a steak sandwich which was very good. Great food and fantastic views. Seating indoors and outside.

Fantastic service from the second we walked in, told the hostess I was a fussy eater and was very accomadating! All the servers were friendly, service was extremely quick, and gorgeous view of the beach - what more could you ask for!!

Fantastic food , right on beach, lovely

Perfect location right next to the beach. Dog friendly in the cafe. And a dog friendly area of the beach about 100m away. Food was excellent.

On a poor day weatherwise we ate indoors and were fortunate to get a table directly facing the sea which was nice. The food was good once again although the lobster was a little chewy so I suspect overcookkng but service was prompt and efficient. We have eaten there before and will do so again.

Good café/restaurant serving some interesting plates. Location is great as it's next to a beach and a National Trust car park. The car park is free for members. Service was efficient and staff friendly. It does get busy.

My friend had the dorset apple cake and said it was very dry and almost inedible; seemed like it was defrosted? However, service was great, and they offer a range of gluten free options from Baked to Taste.