Horns Inn in East Dorset

Lovely pub, tasty food. A little perturbed at waiting staff petting/feeding dogs during service 🫣

We recently visited Horns Inn and found the experience to be mixed. On the positive side, the food was satisfactory and reasonably priced for what was offered. The atmosphere was fairly upbeat, which made for a generally pleasant dining environment. One of the real highlights was the younger staff, who were attentive, polite, and seemed genuinely eager to provide good service. It was clear they took pride in their roles and contributed to the positive energy of the place. Unfortunately, our experience was let down by the main server assigned to our table. His appearance was noticeably untidy and unkempt, and his demeanor was indifferent at best. When my daughter politely asked for her drink without ice, he responded with a heavy sigh, which came across as both rude and unnecessary. Throughout our meal, he made no effort to engage with us or ensure we were comfortable, which left us feeling more like an inconvenience than valued customers. It's a real shame, as the rest of the team seemed to be doing a great job, and the setting has a lot of potential. However, the poor attitude and lack of professionalism from our main server made the overall experience disappointing. Because of this, we're unsure whether we'll be returning, despite the otherwise positive aspects of the visit.

Good food, prices are good when the offers are on.

Delicious light lunch in the sunshine...5 Stars!

It would've been nice to have been warned they were short staffed as we waited an eternity for our food order.

Very quiet yesterday, so not as much atmosphere as usual. Service was ok.

Terrible experience. Food took over an hour to arrive. It was awful. Rare steak was cooked to a cinder. The rib- eye was not. The lone girl who served at table did her best but fighting a losing battle. Onions rings were over cooked and tasteless. Very disappointed with this experience. We will not be back.

We come here quite regularly to drink but have never eaten here , the pub itself is lovely great outside space and always quite busy the staff are always welcoming ,tonight we opted for the rib eye steak at £19.50 each and a couple of drinks total bill was about £54 for two, the steak for both of us was awful it was so tough and chewy and I'm no quitter and I have all my own teeth but it beat me I think as I said to the barman the cow possibly died of old age. We ate around the steak and returned most of both of them .When we were asked if everything was ok I said it wasn't , the barman then proceeded to ask the server whether I had returned it and did it "look" tough she stated one of them possibly? Now how she could tell that by looking at it is beyond me anyway it resulted in a refund for one , we will go back as the pub is lovely but we won't be ordering food again

Once again so happy with the horns inn my favourite pub for food beer and service today I was served by Zoe what a lovely lady again left with an empty plate what can I say😁😁

We went on Easter Sunday for a Sunday roast. We were greeted and shown to our table. The menu was good traditional homemade food. We specifically wanted a roast,and weren’t disappointed a choice of 3 meats from 4 available. When it arrived we were delighted with the array of seasonal vegetables on our plates. The meats were tender and of really good quality. Also extra gravy was available in a gravy boat. All the accompanying sauces were available too. Traditional desserts were available and they too were of a good quality. I cannot recommend this establishment highly enough. For quality and value for money.

We visited for my birthday, but unfortunately I was disappointed. Table booked in advance, so was a bit surprised when we arrived, the table that was “pointed to us” only had 5 seats when we booked for 6, however we dealt with it by taking a seat from another table. Although our meals were hot, our Lasagne lacked flavour and serving a side salad on a hot plate is a new one for me. My husband ordered a burger, but asked for it to be plain, however when he took a bite, he noticed some sort of sauce in it. Desserts were ordered with ice cream, however one came out with custard. I know we could have asked for it to be taken away, but in all honesty I just wanted to just eat and go. My son commented that there wasn’t a huge choice on the children’s menu and was surprised at the size of his meal, as he ordered from the bigger children menu, but the portion was small. Both kids didn’t like the dessert, as brownie was hard and the sauce tasted strange, kids wouldn’t even try the pomegranate, even the lady who worked there mentioned pomegranate was a strange choice to put on a child’s menu.

Lovely well maintained garden, food was delicious, good efficient service and a good range of beer, would highly recommend.

The dreaded RedLetter Days voucher gift !! This was our nearest reasonable looking option to use our voucher. Enough of that !! Promising start with decent car parking we had been allocated a nicely positioned table for 2. Bar person Liam was very helpful as we sorted how best to make our voucher work best for us. We selected a starter and main course from the set mention. Calamari and Rendang Bites for starters were both tasty and decent portions. Main course Gammon Hunters Chicken both of these were also good portions and tasty. Washed down with a Red Wine and a Real Ale. Overall service was very relaxed and Liam was working very hard multi tasking as it would appear not all staff were fully trained and possibly they are short staffed at present. This didn’t detract from our overall experience and we enjoyed our meal.

Stopped off here for lunch. We ordered from the table on the app. Drinks came out really quickly , however we only ordered a sharing fish platter firstly they have no mackerel pate which was fine we changed it to ham hock. Food took over 40 mins to arrive. And what a disappointment only half of ciabatta no fried samphire, no capers two mini crab cake four prawns and some calamari and cold prawns in butter. Not worth the £22 shame as garden was nice to sit in.

Returned to The Horns because previous experiences had been quite positive. Definitely regret the decision. It's really gone downhill. The lady running it is clueless and verging on being on rude; obviously not suited for her role. Consequently the staff are demotivated, and it took 57 minutes from ordering to receiving our food and our order was very simple... soup, a ciabatta and onions rings (nearly cold). Apart from being very disappointed, I actually felt sorry for the staff working there as they were obviously demotivated and embarrassed how bad the place was. Unlikely to return unless I hear it's under new management.

I came to the horns in today for lunch and the service was super. I was served by Liam who provided super service. The food was hot and quick out. Will be returning. Also the staff are all friendly and we always feel so welcome

Friday night early seems to be mainly work group drinkers and gets a but loud!

Came here as part of an important family remembrance supper and we were certainly not disappointed. The food (I ordered the lamb shank) was superb and the service was very attentive. I look forward to returning. Thank you!

Heard about the half price Monday menu so thought we would come along. Bitterly disappointed both ordered the steak, when it eventually arrived the onion rings were overcooked so much so that when you tried to cut them they broke into small pieces, the steak was unbelievably chewy and fatty. The best bits of the meal was the tomato and mushrooms!. As we were still hungry we thought we would have pudding which was not worth the £7 price. Overall a very disappointing evening

Had a great experience once again at the horns inn Ferndown the food was excellent service great staff welcoming and helpful from stay to finish poppy was a great server and is very helpful very impressed will be back again in the near future

The manger Jackie is one of the rudest member of staff I have ever experienced. If you have a bad experience she has no empathy and doesn’t care. She makes that quite clear. When The Hornes Inn get a new manager - I may return. I can’t believe she is a manager

Just had a fabulous experience at the Horns Inn and feel compelled to leave a 5 star review for the 5 star service bestowed on us by staff member Zoe.From the moment we arrived Zoe’s attentiveness was exceptional and we were made to feel very welcome.Having expertly poured the pints of Guinness for us Zoe made us aware of the MiXR app that would reward us with loyalty points for what we had purchased. Being from a generation where tech doesnt come naturally Zoe guided us through the app registration and scanned our codes into the system to allow us to benefit from another pint of Guinness each! Result!!!! We were then encouraged to look at the menu and Zoe recommended a sharing plate of fajitas that were both tasty and filling(We will definitely be going for one of those again) All in all a great time was had made even more enjoyable by the very impressive Zoe!👏👏👏👏

The staff and the service was absolutely excellent, friendly and efficient, faultless. I feel the portion sizes are very inadequate though. I had salted caramel cheesecake for dessert which was laughably small. I don’t have child size portions of food at home so I wouldn’t expect this in a restaurant either.

The afternoon tea was such a disappointment, finger sandwiches were laughable and I've never seen a smaller piece of cake. The scone/jam/cream was ok. The price extortionate for what we got, certainly wouldn't go again.

We’ve been coming to this pub for years and it’s always busy with a bit of a buzz. The waiting staff are always friendly. It can take an age to get a drink but that is what it is. The food is not great. Instant mash and frozen veg is the norm. They also charge about 30p for a chip. See photo for a £3.50 portion of soggy frozen chips. 🤦

Came in the bar was warm and tidy. No resturant tables but the bar happily took our order in a different area- should've booked but the bar was just as nice as the resturant tables Goregous roast dinner for the price and the option to have extra potatoes gravy etc included is a real sell for me personally! Staff were lovely. Beer was fizzy. No complaints will absolutely visit again! In the summer the beer garden especially will absolutely be a weekend spot for me and the family! Thanks :)

Great for a family Sunday lunch. The staff were friendly and very helpful. The food is standard pub fare. The restaurant feels warm, welcoming and clean. The garden looks good too.

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR OPENING TIMES!!!!! If people want something, Tesco nearby is open, for people to grab a refreshment..if you fancy advertising your opening times, stick to them, for the love of god! Every time I've been here (over the last 3 months), the kitchen is miraculously closed early. PUT IT ON YOUR WEBSITE!! SAY people need to book or call in to ensure you adhere to what you publicise. Or stay open UNTIL your advertised 'closing time'. I used to very much enjoy it here, I hope you fix up. Or at least be more polite when you mess up.

We haven’t been to The Horns for months so thought we’d give it a go for lunch, but disappointing so doubt we will go back in a hurry. Firstly we were disappointed with not being able to order from the table, like other establishments. The lady who served us at the bar, Jackiee, seemed to take an instant dislike to us, and it was all quite awkward and difficult, like everything was too much trouble. I asked for medium rare steak that was definitely well done. I would have said something, only the very polite young waitress asked how the food was when she bought our sauces, so we hadn’t even started eating. Then the man came and collected 2 of our plates and left the third one, even though he walked past our table several times afterwards, empty handed. All in all, not really impressed and back to The Curlew we go, where nothing is too much trouble and the food is excellent.

Ham was tasteless. selection food poor .

I have been in today feeling a little hungry after a hard day of work, I fancied a nice roast dinner and as usual at the horns inn I was not shocked that I had a great Sunday roast and great service from Amber. Thank you

Visited for the Valentine's set menu. The service was prompt, good and polite. We were happy with the food we received, your attentiveness and we felt a reasonable price was paid for both the meal and drinks.

Lovely atmosphere,always made to feel welcome by Jacqui and the rest of the team. Food is good and always hot. Would recommend to anyone who wants a warm welcome and a relaxed night.

Only slight thing is the food could of been hotter but a plentiful and enjoyable roast

Had Jackie as our waitress the last couple of times we've been in superb service always food amazing 😋 staff always friendly a nice relaxed atmosphere what more could you ask for😊

Have visited on a number of occasions and have always found everything good, but on visiting yesterday (Saturday) evening we were informed that a number of menu items were not available. A bit disappointing but what we did manage to order was very nice.

Only popped in for a drink..but I'm very tempted bg the roast dinner on a Sunday as I live nearby

Lovely pub with plenty outdoor space. Very efficient and pleasant service, lovely food, reasonably priced. A pleasure to call it my local. Thank you Amber for your lovely and friendly service.

Very expensive drinks. Bitter £5.40 per pint.

Just had a 90th birthday lunch at the Horns Inn for 15 people. We had booked the small private room for this event which was perfect. The food for all of us was delicious, hot and served beautifully. Liam + his team of 3 girls looked after us all so well - nothing was too much trouble for them. Thank you to them all. Would also like to thank JJ for his help with arrangements beforehand. The Horns Inn is a lovely pub and local to my Mum and is one of our favourite lunchtime venues. Would definitely recommend.

Visited with 4 friends post New Year. Luckily for me the Sunday roast menu was on offer. I had the 3 meat option. All food was very good and plenty of it. One friend has poor appetite and was allowed a kiddie size. I had a flat white which was super size. I didn't have a sweet. The ones who did were happy with the choice. Would happily visit again as it was very reasonable.

Food was good but was very disappointed with the unhelpful manager. I had an e-mail with 40% off, which I clicked on the link and booked a table. Fair enough I didn't read it properly that you had to quote a code in the notes, but to be told nothing could be done was baffling. At any other restaurant you just show the code on your phone but not at the Horns Inn Ferndown. Used to go there a lot but will never go again, unhelpful management and no customer service skills whatsoever. Told "it quite clearly states", which to be fair it does, but anywhere else they would have honoured it. Still, plenty of other places to eat in Ferndown. The e-mail in your reply doesn't work? My e-mail to you has bounced back?

Been going here for years. Used to be great but the last three times has been bad. The vegetables were not just cold but frozen. I spat out some sprouts on my plate that were frozen and told them about it. They just heated up the ones on my plate including the chewed up ones. Gone way down hill. Three strikes and they are out now.

Nice and cosy. Plenty of space.

A very very good visit here Friday 03 january. Couldnt fault anything. The food was hot and tasty. The staff were very friendly and delivered excellent service. Good value. Warm and cosy. Nice quiet area too

Large outside seating area.great service

Had a lovely boxing day meal this afternoon, food was lovely, a lovely Christmas meal for all five of us, the staff were so very friendly and helpful with our two elderly members of the family!

Unfortunately our meal wasn't great at all, service was very slow, I think we visited on a busy evening, although we did have a group booking, it was a disappointing evening.

Had our office Christmas dinner here - lovely comfy pub - food was exceptional and all the staff were efficient and very welcoming - highly recommended

After being here a few times before, we planned our work Christmas party here. 3 course set menu was fantastic, particularly the smoked salmon and the chocolate torte. Would highly recommend. Service was friendly and efficient. Considering there was so many of us, the food came out amazingly timed. Thank you Horns Inn

Went for a festive afternoon tea, absolutely amazing, staff were lovely and lovely atmosphere.

Visited today after being gifted a voucher for a roast and wine for 2. Looks lovely on arrival, staff are welcoming and polite. We’re not big drinkers so we asked to swap the wines for shandies which they obliged without issue. Roasts arrived in good time, however, the food was very disappointing, one beef and one pork roast, both meats were quite tough, roast potatoes were soggy, mash was instant and a measly portion of veg. The broccoli was crisp and the gravy was thick and tasty which warranted the one star here. We also ordered extra crackling and a giant pig in blanket. Giant is not a fair reflection, it was an average sausage with one strip of bacon in the middle which frankly could have done with longer in the oven, for £3 felt like a rip off. The extra crackling for £5.50 was a bowl of pork scratchings! We returned these for a refund which they gave without question we advised this was misleading and inaccurate of what is expected for pork crackling on a menu. Apparently company wide policy but still not acceptable for the price in my opinion. Overall we were left quite disappointed, we felt it not fair to complain for a free lunch as it was gifted but the extras we did pay for didn’t cut the mustard! I won’t be hurrying back for a roast any time soon!

I am trying to call the pub and I’m talking to a silly robot. This is a joke. Why would you not have a real person the other end

This is the worst pub I have ever been to in Dorset, let alone ferndown. The service and the food was terrible. They are basically stealing hard earned money from their customers. When we went in we were not given our reserved table and had to request another table to be cleaned. When ordering food staff ignored us and were curt. They didn’t even wipe the table. They didn’t give us any cutlery and we had to ask them 3 times. It was a 45 minute wait for food. When we did get the food it was just bad- I can’t understand how they’re charging these prices for the food. Please see the photos I have attached- would you pay £10 for two pieces of white bread and cheese? If I had the money, I would pay people NOT to go the horns in. (The only member of staff who gave good service was a very nice and hardworking Australian waitress). We felt disappointed because we wasted over £50 at that establishment.

We hired the private room out for my friends baby shower, which was free and we ordered the deluxe buffet. The staff and food was A star we left there stuffed little piggies :)

Staff very friendly, jamie was very helpful. Food was lovely and very cosy atmosphere

We popped in after my husband having an MRI at Bournemouth Hospital. It was absolutely fantastic, we both had steak and it was delicious. Friendly, quick service and a great atmosphere. Thank you

Great place, lovely food, reasonably priced.

We came here for a family dinner on Saturday evening. The pub has free parking' and a large garden area great in the summer. But the atmosphere from the bar man and our waitress was hostile. One for asking if we all could be reseated somewhere else due to being by the entrance door ! And it was almost too much to serve us, and all 4 of us were made to feel uncomfortable. There was a younger female waitress, who was very polite. Our waitress realised she had been rude and gone to far' so she made an effort to turn a negative into a positive. But we were offended by the her reaction which made an ever lasting impression. It was ashame that the Barman didn't follow suit ' he seemed very unhappy when we previous ask him for no ice polity' but he was very put out' that he had to empty the glasses as he forgot after taking our orders. We understand it was busy, but the customer service is just as important as the food, which food we couldn't fault. Unfortunately we won't ever come back or our parents who made the trip here. Very disappointed as this was a special occasion .

A fabulous brunch experience to celebrate with my partner. Everyone was wonderfully welcoming, especially JJ whose warmth and passion for pride month made us feel right at home! I highly recommend to anyone of our LGBTQIA family Xx

Excellent service and very nice food. Very much recommend and will defiantly return. Super team that works here!!!!!!

Avoid this place like the plague. Worst meal we have ever had, not just one meal but all of them.Very poor attitude by both waitresses. Kids meal looked like the mash had been sitting on the plate for days. Shame you cannot give minus stars.

A Massive THANK YOU to the staff. We had our grandmothers wake here. The staff must have worked so hard to get the meals,drinks and sides sorted for us all as we were ordering so much. They set aside a space for us and allowed us to congregate away from others. The food was well presented and did not disappoint, it was hot and full of flavour. baby changing facility’s were clean and locked away. 10/10 from all of us.

Good food and service, will return

Brilliant experience, friendly staff, excellent roast dinner, hot plates and hot food

Came here again for lunch, the service was excellent and the food came quick, hot and tasty. Music was good, creating a great atmosphere.

Had lovely food and excellent service from the staff especially J J who is always so friendly every time we come to eat there....will come back soon.☺️

Fabulous food. Very happy to be able to have our dog sit with us. Service was okay but it would have been nice to have been asked if we needed anything as we would have liked some condiments. Lovely pub, will come again!

Disinterested staff, dirty tables, refused Monday discount because hadn't prebooked and would not allow us to book a table once we'd arrived. No starters available and the food served was poor quality even for pub food.

We had a great business meeting in the cosy room. The service was excellent, the food was delicious, and the room was well-equipped for a business occasion.

Lovely food and lovely staff. Will come again soon. Great service from Dan

Zoe delivered the best service I have received for a long time. Anything I asked was no problem and she was so enthusiastic to respond to any request of any of my party. I would recommend attending the horns for any sort of of occasion

Me and husband visited early evening 4th October, we both had the beef rib, did not disappoint , cooked to perfection, served by smiling staff. A lovely place, have been a few times and will continue to do so.

For a pub chain, the food was quite good. Good portion size.

We love this place. Good food and beer. Friendly staff

Another delicious meal served quickly by great staff

Had a recent dinner here. Booked online which was simple. Table was ready and waiting. All 4 of us were eating, the lasagna and scampi were so tasty. We ordered drinks throughout our visit which arrived promptly. Nice wine selection. Service was attentive. We would come back to eat here again.

Had lunchtime special Hunters Chicken which was excellent. Good value and nicely presented.

5 friends went for dinner. We booked a table and everything went very smoothly. Nice varied dinner menu with something for everyone, fairly traditional meals with options for vegetarian and vegan. We were served by JJ who was fabulous and couldn’t have done more to make our meal enjoyable and made us all smile with his great smile and cheerful enthusiasm. I had the lamb shank which was delicious. They made it very easy by opening a tab at the bar and no issues with splitting the bill. Good range of drinks on offer as well. Would recommend for a very pleasant fairly casual dining experience that won’t break the bank.

Went to celebrate a friends birthday staff couldn't do enough to help. Food was absolutely spot on. Even though there was an England match on it wasn't to noisy. The whole visit was perfect thanks all

What a warm welcome- thank you for making us feel so welcome! We are so grateful your hospitality. Thanks for making us feel so welcome.

I met up with some old work colleagues and we ended up going to the horns first time I had been here for a few years because it was a bit out of the way. Price was reasonable with a very friendly atmosphere and they had a quiz on which although we never took part was very good. The food going by looked great although we didn't eat prices again very reasonable. I would highly recommend a trip to this lovely pub

We had lunch at The Horns Inn. The food was good, the atmosphere was amazing, and let's not forget the lovely staff.

Nice big car park. Really tasty food, lots of choices and friendly efficient staff. Will be back!

Older blonde woman very work shy, let the service down, everyone else was brilliant Sadly had sold out of dish requested.

Amazing food, service a little slow in comparison to business

Had a great Sunday roast here recently with family. Good roast Great service

Two of us, just for drinks as usual. Very warm welcome and a great service by JJ at the bar. I ordered a pint of "Proper Job" and 'er indoors' had a pint of "Tribute" shandy, dimpled handles? no problem for JJ. Going outside, we had a good choice of seating, some under parasols, some under trees and some in the sun, even a couple of deckchairs. The dining area was busy for a Tuesday lunchtime, but the diners looked happy. My wife ( bless her ) can be a bit picky and difficult to please, not this time, she said it was probably one of her favourite pubs and she felt very comfortable and relaxed, in fact she wanted to stay longer. All in all, a lovely time and a special thanks to JJ, a credit to your establishment.

JJ made our visit a very special occasion with his cheerful and helpful manner and personality. Definitely 5 star service.

I have visited here a few times and they cannot do enough for you very friendly good selection of food 👌

Food is good, staff friendly and a great pub garden.

Very nice place, food and service was very good, and our dog had his own fish and chip dinner.

Disappointed that, as a treat to our guests,wanted to order a bottle of Sancerre from the menu only to find that it wasn't available (with inference that it had never been available). Also ordered from the 2-course menu ,only to find,when ordering the sweets,that that menu was not in fact available at the weekend and that that particular menu should have been removed from the table before we took our seats. Seems that I am only complaining as indeed I am,....about the admin. On the plus side,the food was absolutely excellent.

I’m not one to write reviews but I was shocked to say the least.I was extremely disappointed with the behavior of the manager at this establishment. I witnessed him shouting at his staff in front of customers on the bar and then carried this behaviour on in the kitchen, This is both unprofessional and disrespectful. It's completely unacceptable to treat employees this way, especially in a work environment. This kind of behavior not only creates a toxic atmosphere for the team but also reflects poorly on the business. I hope the company addresses this issue and ensures that the manager treats their staff with the respect that they deserve. The scene was uncomfortable and left me questioning the professionalism of this place. A manager’s role is to lead by example, not to belittle or intimidate those who work under them. There is no excuse for such unprofessional behaviour. I don’t think I will be returning which is a shame because the food was nice.

Visited today with my sister, had the signature gammon steak, with egg and pineapple wedge very nice( a few slight niggles though)1. the gammon did seem to be VARY salty and 2 although onion rings and grilled tomato were stated on the menu, they were conspicuous by their absence on my plate!!

Awful experience dining here, rude staff, moaned when some of our group paid in cash, also only 4 items on menu gluten free, shouted loudly across whole pub. "I'd better go and sort that gluten free woman out" food was overcooked and dry didn't get 25% of bill even though went on Monday and it's advertised, wouldn't go back here if you paid me

Stunning outside area, great food and superb service.

Went for dinner had one mouthful which I almost spat out...service when it came to the food was non existent, ended up eating a bag of crisps will go somewhere else for food unless it's for a drink its definitely not a pub worth visiting

Good service at the bar service with the food was terrible had one bite out of it and wasnt even asked why....good atmosphere but youd be better eating tesco ready meals, mash literally had a skin from being microwaved so long...servers need customer service training

The food there is brilliant and I've had the hunters chicken multiple times now. Whenever I'm free I try to go to the pub quiz for a laugh.