Shave Cross Taverna in West Dorset

I thought we should give this place a try having read the reviews......all I can say is that we must have gone to a different place than they all did. Yes the 'owner' is a nice chap but the other two members of staff were somewhat less engaging. First of all please be advised that the novel aspect of this place is that you get to pour your own beer from taps set into the wall.....initially great fun but this soon turned to frustration as it is virtually impossible to get a full pint as the beer (when we went) was far too lively meaning that you seem to pour away more than actually goes into the glass. .....and there were no staff on hand to help out . So on the night that we went all 3 tables had folks sitting there with half full glasses, each taking turns to revisit the taps and attempting to top their glasses up. Personally I made 4 trips and am convinced I never actually got a full pint......and by the way the beer is pretty good but at £5 a pint is somewhat overpriced....presumably because most of it end up on the floor hence they have factored into the price a huge degree of spillage As regards the food we ordered 2 meals which were both supposedly based on tagliatelle pasta.....both arrived with spaghetti and no comments or excuses were provided. As spag bol goes my dish was underwhelming....cheap, yes but not what I had expected nor wanted. So if you want to pay £5 a pint and spill beer over your shoes and then pick something from the menu which might appeal but acknowledge that something different will most likely be presented then this is the place for you!

Excellent Italian food. Basic menu but cooked beautifully and great selection of wines. Garlic pizza bread was also very good. Will go back.

A truly fantastic evening, Tom is a great character and made us feel extremely welcome, the food was amazing and the atmosphere was brilliant, cannot recommend the restaurant enough, go and eat here you won't be disappointed

Lovely trip to the Taverna on New Years Day evening. 4 adults and 4 kids (9-12). The owner could not have been more friendly. We jokingly asked if the kids could be sat separately and he set up their own table and treated them like adults so the parents felt like they were not there! Very very friendly, fantastic food, all cooked to order, and generous helpings. Would defn recommend.

Brilliant food amazing atmosphere Tom always goes that extra mile. Can’t recommend it enough Carolyn and Nick Woodgate