Pier Head in Purbeck

The best restaurant in Swanage. Excellent food and friendly service. Relaxed ambience and good acoustics for a conversation. Highly recommended.

A warm lovely welcome and booking experience One starter of tempura prawns in sweet chill sauce, they were ok but not anything more Onto the mains we had monkfish and king prawn red Thai curry which was superb as was the bowl of mussels in white wine and garlic and light cream A lovely evening with very good customer service

Visited last week and both my wife and I had the trio of fish which included crab , prawns and smoked salmon served with salad and fries. The meal was lovely with just the right size of portion. We both had a nice glass of pinot grigio, it wasn't cheap but you get what you pay for which was excellent. The service was both friendly and excellent, would definitely recommend and will return on our next visit to the fantastic Swanage.

A very enjoyable crab seafood for 2 in a beautiful setting. Staff were very attentive, lovely stylish decor and a good ambience within.

Casual dining with good atmosphere and very good seafood dominated menu. Staff were friendly and great views to the Pier.Based close to all town centre amenities.

My meal here didn't really work out. I had a whole lemon sole, but it was covered in an extremely salty butter sauce (really inedible) , so I had to send it back. I'm not sure what the chef did exactly but the partly eaten fish was returned to me in a less salty state, albeit with less of the butter and herb sauce. I think ordinarily I would have expected a replacement meal but I accept it's much less wasteful to revive a damaged meal. Throughout, the serving staff were polite and helpful. However my experience was dented hence only scoring the restaurant three out of five. My wife seemed happy with her meal (trio of seafood).

Very good gluten free options. Love the grilled fish and scallops. Staff are very friendly too. We also enjoyed desserts and affogato.

What a brilliant restaurant and staff! I had asked to book a table by the window to celebrate our wedding anniversary and when we arrived they led us to our table and brought us some sparkling wine & celebration napkins. How really lovely and thoughtful. The staff were really kind and food every bit as good as all the other reviews. Highly recommend and thanks everyone for making our time with you special!

Great location and food. Large portions of great quality seafood. Not the cheapest in Swanage but by far the best . Was great we could take the dog with us too!

We had a really nice relaxed dinner. We went straight to our table, and received great service, attentive but not over the top. The mussel starter was excellent. For mains we had crab macaroni and cheese and the crab/prawn/salmon. The crab/prawn/salmon was slightly disappointing.. Im not sure what i was expecting but what came in my opinion didnt warrant the £25 price tag. It was presented well and tasted superb but it was just OK.

Excellent dinner here, we had lemon sole and it was lovely. Service great. Went back for oysters a few days later and they were superb. Again great service. Well done Pier Head - my only gripe is the slow email reservations process. The second time I went I tried to book by email and had no response so just turned up, got seated and left and had an email to say they were full! Really need to be able to phone up and find out straight away.

Fish menu is brilliant, but something special for everyone. Friendly team, very welcomed. Fantastic sea view, and our favourite place to eat out at in Swanage.

The restaurant is well located on the seafront but parking was difficult. The fish of the day was Sea Bass which was delicious as was the Fish Soup starter. The big disappointment was the dressed crab. For £24 the portion size was outrageous. The actual crab meat was smaller than the shell it was served in (see picture) Most of the plate was made up of bread and salad with chips. 3/5.

Friendly atmosphere, good food, lots of choice on the menu, open kitchen layout , good service and attention to detail.

This is such a great restaurant! The food, service and atmosphere are all consistently lovely. We’ve been here several times when visiting Swanage and the experience has always been a real delight. The food is excellent and the oysters and Prosecco are a must!

Absolutely fabulous restaurant. Food was amazing, service great, cocktails delicious. My "must go to" favourite restaurant in Swanage.

Unsatisfactory experience won’t go again . Prawns were chewy and out the freezer . Fish didn’t seem fresh . Hummus was disgusting , didn’t taste like Hummus pure lemon and didn’t seem home made . Disappointed as went for my birthday , we told the waitress our thoughts and they said they would tell the Chef . We didn’t even get a reply or offered anything complimentary !

Chilled meal, seafood, wine sunshine and good company I know swanage well and often visit for day trips. It was a beautiful late summer day and I wanted something outside so thought I’d try pierhead. Very glad I did. The food is excellent and there’s a good selection of wines and drinks ended up having a long chat with some other customers and also with the restaurant owners. Staff could not have been more helpful, and we had more drinks as the Sun went down. Lovely into a day I have already recommended pierhead to friends and family, look forward to visiting again soon

We had the shared seafood platter. It was amazing all the fish you would want. They squeezed us in at short notice and we’re super friendly. Don’t miss going!

Excellent food, service and view over the Bay. Not the cheapest of restaurants but the quality makes it worth the extra cost.

We have visited this restaurant two or three times before and again it was excellent. I had the grilled mackerel with a tomato sauce, salad and a wonderful potato salad. I may upset some die hard Swanage visitors but in my opinion the food is better, than there better known competitions at G. Whites which is just opposite.

We had visited The Pier Head on a couple of previous occasions and had always been delighted with it. On this occasion, the whole experience did not disappoint in any way. Fabulous service and amazing food! We both had the King Prawn Thai Green curry with monkfish and stone bass which was cramped full of fabulous prawns and fish..the best Thai Green curry we had ever had, beautifully presented and piping hot. I made the effort to tell the chef as we left, we will be back again and again

We booked a table after seeing reviews on trip advisor. Bookings can only be made via email - (no telephone bookings). Emails were replied to promptly & questions answered fully. My husband had whitebait & I had the seafood bisque soup. Both were delicious. We then both had the salmon, crab & prawn salad with French fries. Again this was delicious. The gin cocktails were delicious & served in nice glass. (makes such a difference) Staff were attentive & friendly & service was v good. The only thing that slightly spoilt our evening was that we had a family behind playing UNO the whole time. Don’t get me wrong we enjoy seeing & hearing children having fun but hearing ‘uno’ being shouted throughout our meal & even knowing if it was Jake Ruby or Daddy who had won did become a little annoying. We completely understand that there is absolutely nothing the (or any) restaurant could do about this & was just unfortunate for us on the evening we dined.

My partner and I went here on Tuesday after visiting last year and falling in love with the place. He booked it, and whilst booking, he mentioned that he will have proposed to me earlier that day. As such, upon arrival, not only did the staff give a little round of applause when he said "she said yes!" but our waitress, Megan, had decorated the table with a balloon, confetti and provided a glass of bubbly each to celebrate. I have never felt so special in all my life. To top it off, our food (Moules Marinere, Oysters and Cold Meat Platter) were delicious. We truly couldn't fault the place and a huge thank you to Megan for making the evening extra special for us. They truly went above and beyond!

Great service, friendly staff, vegan Dahl was tasty, Oysters were delicious and fresh, the chef kindly made a vegan dessert too. Amazing place.

Absolutely delicious meal - staff fabulous, everything great. Need to book or go for an early walk in.

The most delicious seafood and Excellent service. Would definitely recommend!! Pre-Booking advised.

Lunch in the sunsun. Just arrived and it hit the spot..an abundance of fish and sunshine. Sat outside and it was the perfect start took a short break in the town

I have been here several times and the food is great however the service so so. I ordered a curry and expected to get some pitta bread and they said ‘no’ that is with the other curry. Then I asked could I have it anyway and they charged me an additional few pounds for it. When you are paying £60+ for 2 curry’s and 2 drinks you would think service would be better and more flexible. I feel they now over priced and the service does not match the food quality which is always good.

Been here a couple of times and it’s really good - menu has a good range, the staff are prompt, friendly and smiling and the Service time - even when busy - is excellent. Good place to eat overall - just one small piece of feedback; don’t announce the cost of the meal to the table when taking the money. It’s not good form! Other than that small point, an excellent venue 👍

Good location, but unfortunately very limited menu choice for dinner and the dessert list was very generic. Service was really good - so a pity we came away a bit underwhelmed by the food.

Visiting Swanage on holiday with friends. We had a recommendation to dine here. So glad we did! We were made to feel so welcome, the service was great. The food was stunning. Best seafood I’ve had in a while! Thank you!

Excellent seafood in a stunning location. The service was first class. Would recommend to anyone staying in Swanage.

I had the grilled fresh fish of the day : markerel (perfectly cooked with slightly smokey crispy skin packed with umami flavour & tender flesh inside) served with a vabriant salad that compliment the fish so well, wow! The combination of flavour and texture was...

I can’t remember the last time I ate so well! We had a pint of North Atlantic prawns and whitebait to start then the dressed crab and mackerel fillets with pesto. It was all delicious and so fresh. Combined with a lovely crisp cold bottle...

Excellent fish restaurant- the lobster bisque starter was delicious. Lovely sea views, it’s advisable to book. Also the service was very good.

The menu had some interesting dishes! The Thai fish curry being one and the crab sandwich was also good. The absence of a traditional fish and chips supper was a surprise. The serving staff very pleasant and prompt. My overall impression was that everything was...

We Googled for a fish restaurant in Swanage and this was one of the options. We booked for 12 noon and it was very quiet when we started but jammed packed by the time we left - by what looked like many locals - a...

Nice new restaurant on the sea front at swanage. Food was very good, to the point we ate to much. Would recommend you try it out. Staff helpful and cheerful nothing to much trouble.

We went for late lunch and was very impressed, my wife had the best fish cakes she has had and my fish and cashew curry was excellent. We also had a nice bottle of pic poul wine with the meal The best meal we have...

Visited whilst on holiday. Had the mussels and trio platter both were very good. Very clean restaurant and pleasant staff. Would highly recommend.

We had lunch here last week. Food was good. I had an open sandwich and my wife had a goats cheese muffin. All good as were the drinks. Quite a new looking building so presents well and the views over the bay are picturesque. Service...

Lovely light lunch. Bottle of white and a couple of pints of prawns in the sunshine, although it was fresh! Attentive staff.

Fabulous! This is our favourite restaurant in Swanage. The fish is always top notch and delicious, and the scallops are superb when they have them. The deserts are good too! We are always warmly welcomed by the lady owner, and can't wait to return!

The best restaurant in Swanage without a doubt. The food is great quality well priced and piping Hot. The staff are best in class. Well done to all the staff and to Peter the chef. Locally sourced food and prepared on site to order. Thanks...

Just called in last Saturday for a coffee and cake - very good service, delicious coffee and yummy cake - had a look at the menu and will definitely come back for a meal.

Meal for two that included starters and mains. My mussels starter was big enough to be a main course. Professional and friendly service. Definitely going to return. Thanks.

Top notch food and great service. Staff were very helpful and happy to accommodate 4 small children. Nothing was too much bother. Some of the best Mussels I have ever had.

Had an excellent lunch at Pier Head Swanage today. Everything was first class from the moment we walked in. Nice table, staff very pleasant and food / wine outstanding. I had oysters and my wife had scallops, accompanied by large glasses of Chardonnay. The chocolate...

Lovely restaurant small, but very friendly. Quite expensive for what you got. £23 for 6 small prawns, spoon full of crab, slice of salmon. The rest was salad, loads to make the plate look full. It was a lovely place though.

Best food I ever had and very friendly and funny headchef ! The choices on the menu is mouthwatering only a Swiss Rösti is missing 😉

Great food wine and coffee, pleasant attentive staff, nice location with a great view of swanage seafood as well Moules looked good

Food was delicious and staff were super accomodating as we thought we'd booked a table, but there was no record of our booking. They found us a lovely table and really looked after us. The views from the outdoor seating area are lovely, overlooking Swanage...

Me and my wife(and 2 children) were actually on our way to another place that was marked highly on trip adviser for lunch but we passed this place and it looked a bit nicer and the menu had stuff we really wanted so we thought...

Loved the food- service was quick- lovely view over looking the sea in Swanage bay and you can even see the old harry rocks in the distance. French fries were perfect, sea food and mussels in cream sauce was delicious and I eat every one....

We ate on the last night of our holiday at Pier Head and wished we'd found it sooner! I had chatted to the owners mum on an early morning paddle outside the restaurant and she said I wouldn't be disappointed and she was right! My...

This is a real gem of a restaurant amongst the usual very average seaside offerings, well worth walking that little further though town towards the pier. They made a real effort to accommodate the seven of us and the dog. Staff and service were excellent,...

We called into a couple of unkempt looking pubs to eat. Horrible so we left and carried on walking and came upon the Pier Head by chance. The outside part was full so we assumed the restaurant would be but they had lots of inside...

Would like to say a massive thank you ! After walking around Swanage in the heat and hungry ! I could nt find anything gluten free ! I could have cried ! Myself and my partner both gluten free fell open this little gem !...

Wandering around as we do we came upon the pier head restaurant and it smelt gorgeous outside. And we weren’t disappointed the staff were very helpful and the meals we had were just lovely it’s a long way from home to return just yet

Young girls were all very nice and polite, the older lady came across like she was doing the world a favour working there The prawn cocktail was very basic, Made with lots of very cheap defrosted prawns piled high on a bed of lettuce ....

Popped in for lunch, both food and service were excellent. Would definitely recommend and will visit again

Staff were lovely and attentive however seafood portions were small and then the meal bulked out by serving huge portions of fries! However the food was tasty if on the small side just do not feel like you are getting value for money as chips...

We returned to Dorset this year and started our holiday off with a lunch at the Pierhead seafood restaurant .I had grey mullet and my wife had panko prawns which were complimented by a fresh Greek salad and a crisp bottle of Sauvignon blanc ....

We enjoyed two lunches in the Pier Head during our visit to Swanage, both were excellent and good value for what we received. We would definitely dine there again.

Small but clean and pleasant café/restaurant opposite the pier. From outside can watch chefs cooking food from fresh. Were welcomed by staff who didn't seem to mind if we wanted lunch or simply a coffee. Lunches ranged from hearty open sandwiches to soup and main...

We called in on spec on Saturday and got a table as it was mid afternoon. They are happy to let dogs in and the staff love them. We had seafood meals which were excellent and nice desserts to follow. Not cheap but good food,...

We love this place, and new ownership are continuing the high standards of great seafood and warm service. The cocktails are yummy too!

We went here as we usually do every time we are in the area… what can I say as usual we were not disappointed!!! The whitebait was amazing and those mussels!!!! Quite frankly the sauce they were in was so good I contemplated drinking what...

My wife and i decided to eat lunch at the pier head Restaurant we very happy with what we ordered, but have two observations that might help to really make this eating place a bit better!!!!! Employing young girls (assume School )is okay as long...

We’ve enjoyed this restaurant for about ten years in its various locations and have always enjoyed the delicious food and friendly service with family and friends - usually during the day, outside (Top Deck) and more recently, indoors (Pier Head). A first time for dinner,...

We only stayed for coffee but wish we had been able to stay longer… the customer service was outstanding - the best I’ve experienced in the UK in a long time! The waiting staff were welcoming, warm, friendly and nothing was too much trouble. They...

Superb food, wonderful service and great views. Having previously attended Pete and Emma’s French and Antipodean wine tasting evenings we have been for a birthday celebration lunch both as a couple and now family too. The food is simply outstanding with a very good wine...

The staff were really friendly. Restaurant is in a beautiful location and the food was really tasty. Recommend the veggie curry!

the food in this place is GREAT. The Fish soup is fantastic, the seafood tagliatelle great. My daughter does not like cinnamon so the Lamb tagine was out so Peter arranged for a chicken dish for her, my friend had the tagine it was fantastic....

This place is a must to visit outstanding food and service, lovely choice on Christmas menu Pork Belly was amazing so tasty, happy jolly staff so professional and welcoming will defiantly be returning can’t wait..😍

Such a lovely restaurant run by a super couple and a great team. We recently booked for the 'French' evening. A superb evening of delicious french food (6 courses) accompanied by specially selected wines with each course. It was fabulous! Have also had a few...

We had walked past this a couple of times but took no notice. The rain made us look again and I must say we were grateful for the rain! As soon as we went in we were welcomed by friendly staff and made to feel...

If seafood is your thing, it tastes even better when you can see the Sea. This new build is one of the most delightful I've seen and the dedication to mouth-wateringly excellent seafood makes it a double-whammy must visit.

First visit here, and an enjoyable experience...the banana, pineapple and cinnamon cake incredible! Clean and spacious, lovely atmosphere. Staff very friendly and helpful. Will be back for a meal...smells from the kitchen were delicious! Thank you 😊

We had a nice family catch up here on warm autumn day. Decor doesn't overdo the seaside theme, and the food does the talking. Between us we had generous bowls of moules mariniere, smoked fish platter and fried fish. The staff were warm and friendly,...

We’re recommended to dine here by our Hotel and we’re not disappointed. Decor is a little ‘Spartan’ but pleasantly in keeping with a fish Restaurant! Young staff were very personable and efficient. We had a smoked salmon, crab and prawn trio which was presented in...

We chanced upon this restaurant - loved the short menu, a great indication that food is going to be cooked to order. Service was efficient and friendly and the prawn open sandwiches we enjoyed were delicious, lots of prawns with a lovely Marie Rose sauce....

We were visiting Swanage for couple of days and wanted to have seafood. Went for a dinner there and loved it! Food was amazing! We had oysters, fish soup and mussels with fries and bread as sides. Everything was delicious. Even fries were the best...

Lovely evening meal at pier head. My partner had oysters to start which were good. For main he had the trio of seafood (crab, prawns and smoked salmon) which was delicious, and I had mussels and a side of fries which were more than enough...

We went to Pierhead for lunch this week. The outside table was comfortable and spacious. Service was probably the best we’ve had for a very long time. During our two weeks here in Swanage we’ve eaten at a few places and had nondescript service but...

Outside seat on a warm September day, great food, mussels and prawn cocktail followed by cake and choc pot, excellent prompt and friendly service.

We bagged a table which was available for just over an hour - we hadn’t booked so it was on a whim. Service was quick, food was tasty and staff were polite from beginning to end. The restaurant seemed clean and vibrant. Views across to...

Excellent seafood served here. Friendly staff. The open sandwiches were divine - tasted as good as they looked.

Excellent position right on the seafront. Excellent seafood menu well presented and excellent staff. Food quality was great, and more than worth a visit. Get there between 11-30 and 12 for lunch, or you will be in for a wait as it i is very...

Great, freshly-cooked food and friendly service. My son said this was the best fish curry he'd ever had. Difficult to book in advance but they take your number and let you know when a table's available

Very polite staff. great food, amazing view. very hygienic tables cleaned and disinfected. would definitely recommend.

Eat here again during our recent stay in Swanage. Service and food excellent again only disappoint my favourite special had sold out hey ho everything else was great as was the service. Definitely one of my go to restaurants when staying in Swanage. Just one...

The nicest staff - a happy environment and food always freshly made. Every time we visit Swanage we come to the Pier Head restaurant.

We kept going back! They gave great service, amazing seafood and couldn't be more accommodating. The staff and the service they gave us was second to none. We celebrated a birthday, decided to have after wedding drinks a day later and went back for a...

We walked passed a number of times as this restaurant looked so nice, but the sizes looked very big. We were able to share the sea food platter, with dressed crab, prawns, smoked salmon, salad and chips it was more than enough. The food was...

Delicious meal of mussels served with lovely bread. Excellent service by very cheerful staff great location. Will definitely visit again.

We stopped here for a late lunch. We had oysters, mussels and battered prawns, food was excellent. Staff were friendly, attentive and a real asset to the restaurant. We would definitely without hesitation,

This is primarily a fish restaurant and there is indoor and outdoor seating. We ate here twice during our stay and loved the food and the ambience of the place. The menu is set but they do have specials of the day - we had...

Highly recommend the Pier Head. Lovely views overlooking the harbour. British modern cuisine, fresh ingredients, beautifully cooked and presented. Really good service from polite, cheerful, well trained staff, particularly Fern.