San Tonino in North Dorset

Set in a re-purposed church building , this is a wonderful place , very spacious and with good decor. We only had a main meal, the service was quick and friendly, the food was good and the price was average.

Went for lunch with friends, 6 children between us. Great venue and friendly staff. The food was fine and prices as expected.

Top place great food - perfect for birthdays

Went in for a short notice supper, easy online booking and a very friendly welcome. The food was fantastic and the waitress attentive and friendly.

A most magnificent meal in one of the most extraordinary spaces i have come across. The dishes were all perfectly cooked, well presented and generous proportions. The waitress was attentive without being overbearing and is to be commended. Overall a perfect dinner.

Visited again for my husbands birthday and feel like its our regular place to for a nice meal out to celebrate. Food was amazing . Very happy with everything we ordered. Thank you..

Quirky restaurant, converted Chapel came for lunch, excellent food and service all round. Would definitely come back when in the area.

Haven't been here for a long time. Lovely food, lovely atmosphere and lovely staff. Will definitely return

Fabulous food in a great venue. Highly recommended. Food cooked to perfection. Delicious . Scallops and pork medallions were wonderful. Service brilliant.

Have been here several times now and I think l it's brilliant. The food is very tasty and fresh and the prices are reasonable. The white chocolate covered profiteroles are amazing! Staff are friendly and efficient and it's always clean. Really this should be 4.5 stars, only loses points as online it says they are open till 23.00 but aparantly they close at 21.00 on a Sunday as we were informed... Albeit very politely! Because of the building (an old church) there is a lot of space, however if it's quiet this means it's a bit big and echoey. Not a massive problem at all but it's better when it's busier and bustling! All in all I will say it's a brilliant restaurant in a very interesting setting and so worth the visit if you enjoy Italian food!

Lovely birthday meal. Went with young children and felt welcome. Food was wonderful! Had king prawn risotto which I highly recommend. Will be back again. Thank you!

Excellent Italian restaurant in a former church. Very friendly staff. Good pizza's. Mediterranean atmosphere due to the nice posters of Italy

The best restaurant in Shaftesbury. Lovely atmosphere friendly staff and delicious food. Highly recommended.

Restaurant was not very busy, but it was a Tuesday evening. Loved the décor, very quirky! Service was friendly and attentive, and the food - excellent - left feeling extremely fat!!

What a wonderful find. Great food and excellent service inside a unique but retired house of worship. I couldn’t fault any part of our evening and it was nice not to be over charged like I’ve seen in other venues

Good restaurant. Unplanned visit, but we were quickly seated in this unusual location (converted chapel) Food was good, and wine priced fairly.

First visit this evening and we will certainly visit again. Staff helpful and attentive, it was a relaxed atmosphere, and we were certainly not rushed. The food was excellent, the salmon and asparagus was superb and the chicken in cream and mushroom sauce was equally as good. Good selection of pasta and pizza dishes on the menu and a great kids menu. We had a lovely evening, thank you San Tonino.

3 people : 30July2024Tues: WOW What a lovely find along our route from a holiday in Devon back to Hampshire: we looked for a restaurant near Shaftesbury. Located in a former Chapel in a beautiful high-ceilinged room. Warm welcome with a smile. Lovely relaxed service. Food: EXCELLENT! like home-made Italian. One person loved the Pollo al Forno: excellent! Lemon & Mango Sorbet: lovely. 5/5 for the other dishes listed too. We will be back because we use this route often and we love excellent Italian food. Thank you San Torino 🙏

Had to book a meal in Shaftesbury for 13 people. San Tonino were very accommodating. We were all served promptly by friendly and efficient staff. The meals were delicious with generous portions. Well done, we will be back!

Totally delicious and authentic Italian food this evening, my wife and I both loved it. The manager squeezed our order in ahead of a huge group, which we really appreciated. The restaurant is in a beautiful Baroque style former church and it's been really well treated acoustically so you can hear one another speaking. We will be returning soon!

Very special restaurant located in old church. Beautifully decorated, tasty food with a lot of options of Italian cuisine. The staff is very attentive and friendly. Very recommended

Very friendly , very good food .... Amazing

I can’t recommend this restaurant enough. My husband and I had a meal here last night whilst visiting Shaftesbury. The location is unique and stunning, the food was amazing and the staff were all extremely welcoming and friendly. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

I can’t recommend this restaurant enough. My husband and I had a meal here last night whilst visiting Shaftesbury. The location is unique and stunning, the food was amazing and the staff were all extremely welcoming and friendly. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Had dinner here for the first time last night. Would not recommend it at all. Firstly, the calamari as a starter was very rubbery and bland, for £12 I would expect far better. The pizza as a main was extremely disappointing. Tasted just like a frozen pizza, and clearly wasn’t cooked in a real pizza oven; for almost £17 I thought it was very poor. It’s the kind of pizza I would expect to get for £8 from a kebab shop. Lastly, the waitress serving us was very rude and rushed us along to order when it wasn’t even busy. Also, she did not ask once how the food was and was generally unfriendly. There are far better options to go to, for less money than here. Completely shocking that they charge such high prices for such mediocre food. Do not come here.

We booked a table here for my partners birthday meal. Nice airy feel to the place. Staff were attentive, and our meals came out quicker than I thought they would. Our starters and main meals were delicious! We will definitely be going back.

What an amazing place! Took our daughter for her 18 th and the food was delicious. Really lovely. The service was even better. One of the nicest places we have eaten. Amazing. Thank you.

Good food and service. Very quiet when we went there. This place is clearly underrated as a lunch destination it deserves more.

Great pizza and calamari. Stuffed. Decent price and polite service.

Lovely pizza and calamari starter, left the restaurant stuffed. Reasonable price for dine in and polite service. Would visit again.

Beautiful setting and marvellous food. Brilliant service and the tastiest Italian food we have had for a very long time!

Second visit to this restaurant as we drive from Bath back to Dorset. On both occasions very welcoming. Food very tasty and good value. We both had steaks that were tender and flavoursome. Restaurant is located in a converted chapel which provides an airy and colourful space.

We went there with a big team. The food was really good. And staff looked after us.

A group of us went here for a meal to celebrate a birthday. I messaged beforehand to check they were able to provide a vegan alternative. They replied quickly with a list of different items they could adapt to be vegan. I opted for the Calzone as I haven't had the chance to have one since going vegan. It was absolutely delicious! The man (who I presume owns the place) was incredibly helpful and attentive. I fully recommend eating here! I'm looking forward to returning.

Had a party of 17 and liaised with the restaurant before who were very helpful. On the night the welcome, service and food was excellent and can highly recommend or visit to San Tonino

Honestly, this place has a huge menu but they ace the food. They cook it fresh, it is just fantastic and the service is great. The wine is even better than what's on the menu, just fantastic

Excellent, freshly made, genuine Italian food. Our daughter is vegan and their options were excellent.

Lovely old chapel and the decor was fantastic, ordered onion rings to start and despite the price of £5.90 they were frozen, albeit well cooked and crispy. The Hawaiian pizza was basic and uniform, I was expecting a more hand tossed rustic base but the ingredients were good quality. The chips again were basic frozen fries and quite costly at £5.90. I wasn’t introduced to the specials board which disappointed me too. I’m glad I went to try the place but wouldn’t return.

Brilliant food and brilliant service

Excellent food and generous portions. Attentive staff Would recommend Take a torch....path to car park dark and uneven.

Lovely atmosphere, great service and food. We’ve been as a small group and a large group and the service and food has remained very good. It has such a great ambience that we’ve always had very happy evenings here. Thank you 🙏

Wonderful meal with the wife, if only closer to home it would be a weekly event. Highly recommend 👌

A very cool setting with absolutely delicious food, would definitely come again when next in the area!

Amazing! I felt like all the products they used was top top quality. Our visit was more then a positive if I may say quality of food was way over then what we expected so well done to all . A couple of things what I will mention is . 1) I wasn't offered a spoon for my spaghetti 2) wasn't offered baby chair Overall amazing I honestly think is underpriced for what u get to where you are food it's outstanding highly recommend much better then what we expected We done to the the Team keep up the good work . See.you soon

Food was delicious, service was perfect and staff were so friendly and attentive, great night and enjoyed by everyone in our group

Wow had a fabulous meal and dessert last night 05/03/24 here. Look at the pics and decide yourself. Wonderful service too. Love and thank you.

Could be good but not open this Sunday (3rd March)

Really nice Italian restaurant, food is excellent,

One of the best restaurants I've been to in a while, food was perfect and the desert was presented beautifully. Staff were attentive and polite but not intrusive I really enjoyed myself, would definitely return!

Lovely Italian food with a very attentive and genuine quality to the service offered. Very amenable to requests to change menu options to suit vegetarian and my daughter. Highly recommend.

Absolutely amazing food, beautiful setting , really enjoyed the evening

Went for the first time this week. The interior was beautiful and the pizza was fabulous. Wish I discovered this place sooner.

Stumbled across this place whilst on a nights stay in Shaftesbury.We were so impressed with everything we experienced.Friendly knowledgeable staff,the food was gorgeous and the ambiance was great.All this in a quirky location.If you’re in the area or passing by you must pop in and sample what they have to offer

We were here for our 29th wedding anniversary. It was fabulous. Nothing was too much trouble, food beautifully presented. Every dish was perfect. We really enjoyed the meal. A real taste of Italy.

Excellent food, delicious Prosecco, good service, nice place... what more could you ask for? Will definitely be back!

Excellent Italian food, great service. Portion sizes good and great value. Can’t wait to come back. Would recommend the Pollo Dolce Latte and the Chocolate Soufflé.

Had an amazing meal here with friends, loved the restaurant in an old church. Lovely friendly staff, definitely recommend.

Beautiful setting, attentive staff, good food and happy atmosphere. An authentic Italian restaurant in the middle of Dorset. Bella!!

Will recommend to others 👌 excellent food, service and atmosphere.

Another fantastic family lunch in the wonderful San Tonino restaurant....if you're ever nearby, drop in for fabulous food (great gluten-free pizza and pasta) and a very warm welcome...we will be returning

Excellent food, served by attentive helpful staff. The Wednesday evening atmosphere was slightly subdued with a small number of diners.

Lovely place, great atmosphere, service excellent and yummy food. Perfect.

Dinner was so good, we brought our group back the following night. Try the bolognese or carbonara - both were amazing. Wines were delicious too and you must save room for dessert. Great experience, would definitely recommend.

Lovely food, shame about Gardener outside making a right jobsworth of racket

They now have sound deadening pads throughout the ceilings and on the walls, which makes it a vast improvement to noise absorption. Service is still great, and the food is superb. We will eat there more often now. 5🌟

Fabulous lunch and wine. Definitely recommend the vegetarian risotto. Very filling. Great service. Friendly staff. Throughly enjoyed the experience.

4 of us visited 17/08/23. Usual choice of pizza and pasta dishes. Order was taken by efficient and friendly waitress, food arrived promptly as ordered and was hot and delicious. Nice spacious setting with high ceilings thanks to its previous life. It was our 2nd or 3rd visit and would go again.

Good food and good service Price is good 👍

Very good restaurant, very pleasant staff. The place is beautiful and the entrance is more than original (you pass through a cemetery to reach the restaurant door!!!). The dishes are hearty and tasty. I recommend, really a good experience!

Really nice Italian restaurant nice art work on the walls and good food

Amazing restaurant, was made to feel very welcome on arrival without booking! Me and my family was seated straight away, was approached by friendly and attentive staff. And food was amazing. Will definitely be back when next in the area.

Visited on a Friday evening, arriving at 6pm en route back from a holiday and stopped in Shaftesbury because of the great reviews we’d read of this restaurant. Unfortunately, we were made to feel somewhat unwelcome for not having booked (despite there being only one large party of about 15 on a central table and two other couples on tables round the edge so the place was less than half full). Eventually we were led to a table, menus were slapped down and then we were roundly ignored for 15 minutes with not even a drinks order taken. At this point as we still had a 90 min journey to do we decided to leave. Not finding an abundance of dining places open in Shaftesbury on a Friday night we ended up in Morrisons buying a meal deal! Not quite what we had hoped for but the shop assistant was very friendly, courteous and helpful so five stars to them for customer service! Having read more of a range of the reviews of this restaurant rather than only the positive ones, it seems that a number of other guests have experienced this poor level of customer service in terms of dismissive attitude and tardiness when taking orders. Unfortunately we didn’t get to try the food and now never will as I doubt we shall be back. We regularly visit a particular Italian restaurant in London which has a similar price point which produces consistently stunning dishes, absolutely delicious, fantastic level of service, great buzzy atmosphere and always packed to the rafters with satisfied customers. It has been in business for almost 60 years. It’s an important lesson for me next time when selecting a restaurant to read a range of the reviews rather than just the good ones. A number of others have had the same experience as us and of course, as with every business, there is always a risk that great reviews will be partially populated by friends and family, though there is no way of a potential customer such as I knowing whether or not that is the case, so I’m not suggesting that this is the problem here, merely that it’s something to be aware of. A real shame as we had hoped this would be a real highlight - the last meal of a holiday which had featured some truly spectacular meals in a variety of venues from pubs, cafes, restaurants etc all of which I have positively reviewed on here (credit where credit is due). Make people feel welcome, whether or not they have booked (due to traffic we didn’t book as we could not be certain of turning up at a certain time), especially when you are only half full at best.

Lovely staff, thoroughly enjoyed our food.

Food is perfectly cooked and presented and a good variety on menu. Great service very friendly people. Like the building and decor.

Top location, good food. Very helpfull.

Eating very good Italian food in a former church redecorated to suit the theme. And after, you can check out the headstones in the graveyard as you leave.

This was the first time visiting this restaurant and we wanted somewhere to take our visiting friends who love Italian cuisine and have many decent Italian restaurants where they live so this had to deliver....and it did. The venue was impressive very well laid out and a great atmosphere. The wonderful girl that was singing that night of (15/07/23) will hopefully be a regular as she was fantastic. We have given 4 stars for service as we felt a little bit forgoten about after we were seated. It took a while for someone to tend to us. This does not detract though, from how good the service was there after. The food was incredibly quick to arrive and was an amazing standard. Our friends were really impressed and loved it. So all in all it was a great restaurant experience of which I thoroughly recommend to anyone. We will be back 🤞🏻

Completely fantastic in every way

Decent Italian and very accomodating

Food was amazing! And in such a unique setting! We will definitely be back.

We had a wonderful evening service was excellent - great advice from waitress and owner. The food was all beautifully cooked and sea food very fresh. The tiramasu was delicious.

Our group of classic car enthusiasts visited in May for lunch. We had a great time, and really enjoyed our food, the service was great and the building is very impressive. All in all highly recommended. We will return.

Food was lush but the atmosphere was about as lively as a plain Weatabix; but I should say, it was mid-week when we visited the restaurant and were one of probably 5 occupied tables. The really tall ceilings don't help with the atmosphere. I like that they've put Italian themed coloured boxes/tiles on the ceiling but I'd say some hanging vines or something might help make the restaurant more cosy and a bit vibey. Waitress was really nice and food was spot on so don't be put off visiting by my dig at the ceiling.

Our group of classic car enthusiasts visited in May for lunch. We had a great time, and really enjoyed our food, the service was great and the building is very impressive. All in all highly recommended. We will return.

5 of us went for a birthday meal, food was absolutely lovely, would highly recommend. I mentioned just in passing when reserving the table that it was to celebrate a 70 birthday, to our surprise the staff had decorated the table with banners and balloons which was a lovely touch.....thank you. The ambience and staff were marvellous. Best food in Shaftesbury.

Good Italian style restaurant nicely decorated, provides tasty Italian food. Unfortunately Tartufo Bianco I ordered instead of stated on the menu my favourite crushed meringue pieces was covered with coconut flakes which I hate. I was very disappointed.

We stayed in Shaftesbury for a night and just fancied a simple bowl of pasta. This restaurant more than satisfied that. Good food, great prices and lovely staff.

Brilliant restaurant - great service, staff were friendly and helpful, food was excellent.

Good food. Absolutely appalling service

Excellent food and service from all the team , highly recommended, thank you for a good night 😘

This is a nice restaurant with really nice food. It is somewhere I'd definitely eat in again and enjoyed the reverie of midweek birthday party laughter enhancing the atmosphere. It's inside an old church/Chapel so not as cosy and intimate as some restaurants but, nonetheless, a really nice dining experience.

This is a nice restaurant with really nice food. It is somewhere I'd definitely eat in again and enjoyed the reverie of midweek birthday party laughter enhancing the atmosphere. It's inside an old church/Chapel so not as cosy and intimate as some restaurants but, nonetheless, a really nice dining experience.

Fantastic food, great service. Difficult to say about atmosphere as we went for Sunday lunch and it was quiet, but I would think that in the evenings it would be buzzing!

We were greeted by Tony, Antonio, and as we entered you could just tell he was welcoming you to a wonderful experience. The fried goats cheese was delightful for starters, followed by pastas that had fantastic depth of flavours...and topped off with a scrummy panna cotta. The service was first class and you could 'feel' and 'taste' the Italian heritage. A truly honest and authentic place for Italian dining. A great story too, set in an old church in the middle of Shaftesbury. This is the best meal we have had, in 3 trips to England.

Fantastic food however rather over priced

San Tonino is a gem in the small beautiful town of Shaftesbury. The food is exquisite and really travels you to Italy, and the staff are incredibly kind, friendly and attentive. We even got treated with a nice limoncello before heading off! We will definitely be visiting again, highly recommended!

Lovely Italian food, love the staff and always welcoming! Nothing is ever too much and great with our children. Keep going guys

We went for my wives birthday and had a great experience. The food was brilliant. Service was fab the staff also involved my young children. Super job all round

Deserves to be busier. Lovely tasty pizza (not doughy thick bases), friendly staff, quick service. Deserts awesome. May well be back tomorrow EDIT: came back, and food also excellent and will be back when next visiting area

Great food, great service, a little cold, but after all it IS an old church building!