Soulshine Cafe in West Dorset

Warned that with a 6pm sitting that we would need to be finished by 7.30. Arrived on time. Were slowed to be served. Found the portion size was very small for the price. Eaten here many times before and always been delighted. The cod this evening was particularly small for the £18 price tag. Cabbage side was £9….they serve ‘tapas’ style but their portion sizes have massively reduced. Madness. Due to the slowness of their service, our guest didn’t have much time to eat desert. Only one of us out of 4 had desert - the apple crumble - which was also disappointing. Warm - not hot, and crumble was terrible - a sprinkling if anything. Needed more for sure. You can’t call a crumble a crumble without the crumble!! The bill presented was £240 and on checking it, discovered they’d over charged us by £100. They also gave us the bill before the end of the meal stating that we had to leave by 7:30 - we didn’t HAVE to go anywhere, but they wanted up out for the next sitting. No apology given. Didn’t thank us for eating there, really sullen waitress. I was unimpressed!!

Loved 😍 the buttermilk 🥞 with blueberry compote and Marple syrup 😋. Thank you 😊.

Excellent food and service and the owner went above and beyond. Soulshine was recommended to us for a great place to have lunch. They had a great selection on the menu but at the time, I was unable to eat any carbs or sugar(nightmare customer, I know) due to a current health problem. The owner who was also serving us, recommended the salad but I was tempted by the meatballs, which unfortunately came with potatoes. So I opted for the salad as suggested. All of a sudden the owner came back to our table and said "would you like me to add a couple of meatballs to your salad" to which I was over the moon. The food came out promptly and it was delicious!! He didn't have to do that for me so it was very kind of him to go out of his way and to accommodate me. My mum and her partner had marmalade on sourdough which they said was very nice too and the coffees were excellent. Next time we are back in Bridport, we will definitely be back. Highly recommended for a chilled out atmosphere and rustic homemade style food. Thank you.

This restaurant alone made our trip down to Dorset worthwhile! Ample selection for vegetarians and vegans. From outside it looks like there’s only “at the counter” seating but at the back of the restaurant there’s better and more extensive seating .

I'd earmarked this place for our visit to Bridport and on the day we went it was tipping it down with rain and it was packed. There was a queuing system for lunch tables, so we waited in line and watched with interested as the chefs plated up in the open kitchen. Service was efficient, friendly, and the menu is full of interesting options, plus loads for vegans (which we both are). We opted for the split pea hummus, soup, and chocolate & hazelnut buckwheat slice. All were absolutely divine. There is a little shop at the front selling coffee beans, cakes, jarred bits etc. Wish this place was closer to where we lived, I'd be in there all the time.

Exceptional taste bud experience - all vegan dishes chosen from a varied menu - all flavoured and cooked to perfection with very friendly service. Highly recommended!

What a great find. We’d heard about the great Coffee and it was! As were the too tempting cakes, delicious. We’re planning a return trip for a meal. We’re recommended it to friends and family. The word must be getting around as even on a foul day it was packed.

Just had Coffee and Cake, such a lovely place . Staff friendly, will definatley return.

What a fantastic evening yesterday experiencing Soulshine’s mushroom supper club.. This is the second time we’ve been to this particular evening and again wow, the food was just amazing, the Cod cheeks were a delight and the silver mullet was absolutely delicious.. We can’t get enough of this place and it’s our go to restaurant for any special occasion as well as a coffee treat while out shopping in town..

We were staying in Bridport for a couple of days with friends and visited Soulshine on the Saturday evening. We had walked past here during the day and it looked like it was a small but busy cafe so weren't sure what to expect in the evening. We were seated at the back of the restaurant and it was busy so glad we had booked. The service was friendly and helpful in terms of how the menu works. They suggested sharing 4 starters and 4 of the main dishes (2 meat or fish/2 veg sides) so to start we had a hummus & bread, brie with walnuts, pan con tomate and anchovies all of which were plentiful and tasty! For mains we shared the lamb and hake plus beetroot with tahini and roast courgette with tomatoes again all of which were very good. For dessert we were quite full so shared 2 croissant bread and butter puddings between the 4 of us. The total bill including a bottle of wine, a carafe of wine and service was approximately £160 which was great value for money for excellent food. We would happily return.

Really friendly cafe , food amazing , would definitely recommend here , had a really good vibe

I’ve been here 3 x in about 10 days. All my meals have been ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This place uses a wonderful mixture of unusual ingredients & old favourites, for instance fried eggs on sourdough toast with Peanut Rayu - SO delicious ! On both the other recent visits I had a Tortilla ( as in Spanish Omelette) served with a layer of aioli, that roasted cherry tomatoes sat on top off. Utterly gorgeous. The coffee is fantastic; the staff delightful; the art on the walks is fun and the cakes…. No words 😂 It’s a lovely experience to eat here, especially after a cold 🏊‍♀️

Great vibe! I wasn't a big fan of the apple juice, however the gluten free brownies were definitely the best I ever had!

Excellent vegan and veggy options

Outstanding food, absolutely great all round.

Gorgeous staff, gorgeous food, lovely surroundings

Great little place. Lovely food. Good selection for carnivores, pesci, veggie and vegan. Buzzing atmosphere when we were there. We had a selection of dishes which were all excellent. Food bill approx £25 a head, total around £40-£45.

Amazing Ottolenghi inspired food

I love this place. Always visit when I'm in the area, and I wish I i could get food like this local to me. Have you considered a northern branch? Highly recommend to anyone who wants a taste sensation, good food done well..... thank you 😊

Utterly delicious! One of the tastiest meals I've ever had. Also has an amazing choice of dishes for vegetarians! Will be back!

Lovely food. I had tortilla. The soup was delicious. Nice vibe. Friendly staff.

Food hit and miss.. service the same. Husband had a lovely tortilla.. my bread pudding was incredibly bland like it was missing all the bits that gave it flavour. Pricey for such a thing too. If you know the staff or owners you seem to do well.. if not then we found the service very off. Crammed onto a little table an inch from another with a very smelly dog. Realised on leaving we had paid more than we normally would in a nice restaurant for a proper lunch!

Stopped off today on a journey from Swanage to Devon, so glad we did! Great food, dog friendly and loads of gluten free options including real gluten free bread, no packet stuff here. We will be back 😊

Mixed experience here, mainly bad. It's quite a chaotic enviroment and a few of the tables are crammed in close to others. So if that's not your thing, I reccomend elsewhere. Food was good but VERY expensive. I don't mind paying those type of prices for great food. My husband was spoken down to by one of the staff (man in 40s/50s with a short perm). Very rude and dismissive. Speaking about we weren't the only ones to have this issue!

10/10 worth queuing for! Amazing food wonderful space great staff

Very nice salad amongst a range of other dishes which sounded very nice

Impromptu visit to the Soul Shine for breakfast. Most impressed. Lovely décor, laid back atmosphere, friendly smiley staff and wonderful food and drinks . What's not to love! A testament to them that on an overcast Monday morning the place was buzzing. Would love to come back and sample their lunch menu next.

A great evening of delicious food with fabulous, informal service. As a vegetarian there were so many choices, loved the padron peppers and the super chocolate bread and butter croissants desert. We chose 5 plates to share, plus our dessert and our eyes were bigger than our tummy’s 😊

My partner and I arrived for brunch, there were very friendly staff to take us to our table and we ordered, egg, salad on toast and Beans and bacon on toast. These weren't your normal foods, these were Soulshine meals and they were brilliant and unbelievably tasty. We only get to visit soul shine once a year and they have never disappointed.

Fantastic little cafe with very nice food and great staff. Our server was Gracie, and she was incredible 🤩 can’t recommend this cafe or Gracie enough. 5 stars 🌟

We didn’t reserve a table for evening service, but the team squeezed us in on a table for 3. We hadn’t planned to eat here, so didn’t know what to expect - but we were absolutely blown away by the exceptional food, and the brilliant service. Our son was really chuffed that he was allowed to take his finished (and empty!) plate to be washed up - it made his day! TRY THE LAMB! Ooooh, and the garlic is delicious too…!

My partner and I had a lovely experience at Soulshine. Firstly, the ambience is great—the space is quite peaceful with plants dotted around the restaurant. The service was fantastic, we had a very friendly and helpful waitress. The food surprised us with just how good it was. My partner ordered the beans on toast with two eggs while I got the shakshuka with bacon. My partner, who is British, said the homemade beans were the best he’s had (maybe even better than Heinz!). My shakshuka was flavorful and tasty.

So wow from the moment we stepped in the kitchen staff were so welcoming, we knew were in for a good meal. The staff were really friendly and helped decipher the best selection of dishes. We had the most delicious white wine 👌followed by fantastic food. One dish in particular blew my mind…fennel, white bean and nut something. It was the best vegetarian dish I think I’ve ever had. Ultimate delicious

Excellent brunch! We stopped by on a long drive from Cornwall to Brighton for brunch and loved this cafe. A great space with more room at the back so bigger than you initially think. Good coffee and great brunch options - plenty of vegetarian ones too. Service was very friendly. A super convenient stopping point too as only 3 mins off of the A road and with a car park just across the road.

Really wonderful breakfast at Soulshine on our way back to London from a weekend in Lyme Regis. This is clearly a place that's valued by their community - filling up quickly from the doors opening, multiple people asking if their favoured staff member was working that day... always a good sign. Out front is for coffee and pastries to take away, but through the back is the main event - a gorgeous restaurant space with outside seating for sunny days. Both kid- and dog-friendly, and with a crowd-pleasing menu that children will love for its simplicity and the grown-ups will appreciate for the quality of the locally-sourced ingredients used. Of the breakfast menu, the baked beans are exceptional and the home-made kimchee is another highlight. If you're like us you'll walk away from Soulshine thoroughly charmed, and resolved to return for dinner the next time you're in the area.

Brilliant breakfast here. Portions are great, food is delicious and staff are lovely.

Nice place with friendly staff but food was lacking in taste. Really need to check quality. Hummus should be very tasty but is was pretty poor. Butter again had no taste and was very disappointing on sourdough bread. Finally the malt loaf was stale. Only highlight was the tea was very good. £20 lunch should be enough for a good meal.

Absolutely gem of a place - the cafe at the front opens up to a gorgeous restaurant at the back -beautiful fresh flowers on every table - food and coffee were fantastic - stand out dish was the grilled cabbage with a delicious spicy peanut dressing

The most wonderful of places, discovered by chance as we travelled through Dorset. Desperate for a decent cup of coffee, we were not disappointed. One of the best I've had in a long time, clearly made with love by a talented barista. So good we stayed for lunch, and, again we're blown away with the quality of the food and the attentive team. We will be back, it's too good to pass by! Absolute gem of an eatery in a sea of mediocrity. Thanks for making our long journey special, with some joyous memories of Bridport!

Great find on my way from Brighton to Cornwall, had a shakshuka which was fantastic and great coffee - recommended!

Busy cafe, great menu with yummy breakfast beans on sourdough but slightly disappointing as halloumi and fried eggs overcooked and service quite slow. Basque cheesecake was yummy.

Excellent place to eat. Very modern. Great service.

Awesome breakfast and fabulous staff. I'd highly recommend a vist

What a fabulous restaurant - the menu was amazing with so many tempting and innovative dishes, coffee was the best we’ve had out of London, staff were wonderful and best of all the food was superb! What a brilliant chef - the food was carefully prepared and so beautifully flavoured. We especially enjoyed the Hispi Cabbage with peanut rayu and onion purée - wow! So good. Make sure to go to this charming place

Delightful visit today with my friend. We had a table for two served by Tilda who is wonderful and suggested the halloumi sandwich - so tasty and very filling! Served our coffees by a gorgeous lady with sparkly eyes. Will definitely come again. Highly recommend!

Fab place. Went there for dinner - tremendous food, great atmosphere and decent value! Would 100% return! Also staff were super lovely

The best cup of coffee I've had!!

Anyone visiting Bridport must pop in here.....The staff are extremely friendly and the place is clean and interesting.Will go back.

Just dropped in by chance for lunch. Really nice place, well prepared food good choice & very busy. Seating mainly to the rear in covered area some window seats and outside. Well worth a visit.

Lovely food, great atmosphere and staff

Superb, absoutley excellent. Genuinely shocking for small town Devon to find somewhere with top restaurant quality menu, food genuinely tastey, modern, some of the best vegan options weve had since moving to the county. Soup with greens and shitake mushrooms, in Devon... its like being in an upmarket eatery in camden or bristol or brighton or something. Will be coming back every time we're in the area.

On a trip to the visit our nephew, we enjoyed great coffee and an amazing sandwich here. It gets pretty busy and we were lucky to get a table.

This is a café and restaurant with a very nice charming atmosphere. The food is tasty and the price is good. The best is the decoration. It is diverse and you might think it does not fit but this is the special thing in here. If you don't like it when you enter, stay away. All others will love it and will always come back. Then, if you sit there and watch the time go by, drink your coffee and just enjoy life, you will leave full of energy.

First time for us eating the evening menu , WOW !!! Really tasty food and the mixture of flavours on your palette is divine . Absolutely blown away, full credit to all the staff for quality food and service . Defo a 5 star venue highly recommended. Thank you

Absolutely amazing place, food fantastic, staff are so lovely will definitely be going back.

Thank you for the lovely service and food, I ordered pancakes. I wish the syrup was optional to add myself instead of served already on top. Other than that I shall definitely be back again

Really enjoyed breakfast here. Great atmosphere, beautiful coffee and tasty food. Lovely outdoor seating area too. Will be back again!

Brilliant food and service, will definitely return.

A very busy little shop and very well equipped with an army of staff. Sadly we were recommended to try them so I was keen to. The place had a typical artisan feel and crowd was the usual 'cofficianado' type. However I wanted a flat white... I was told the only milk option was full fat or oat and on top of that it was 15 minutes to wait for a coffee despite having a big team. I never got to try the products which was a shame but for such a well presented shop it left me rather disappointed. I could make several recommendations which should improve service and popularity. Shame.

Absolutely incredible food. We had breakfast and dinner, both meals outstanding! Thanks very much!

Beautiful atmosphere, amazing food and really good friendly service.

What to say? Beautiful, well decorated, wonderfully staffed with friendly people, great quality, well made food, great coffee, nice rear garden, wonderful products for sale, the lost goes on and on. I will definitely pay another visit next time I am in Bridport. This coffee is on my all time favourites. Thank you for the great experience!

Great coffee and croissant. Booked in for the "supper club"

The most amazing frittata I've ever eaten. All the food was full of flavour without being pretentious. Highly recommended 👌.

Dropped in for breakfast on a busy Saturday morning and service was super friendly and fast. I had creamy garlic mushrooms and greens on sourdough toast. My husband had 2 eggs on sourdough with grilled local halloumi. Both meals were delicious. Coffees were lovely too. Will be back when we’re next in the area.

Delicious breakfast, great service, lovely cafe at the front. Loads of outside seating and round the back

Honestly one of the best meals we've ever eaten! Imaginative food cooked to perfection, everything we ate was utterly delicious. We had dinner -two meat mains ( venison and pork) and three vegetable sides. They call it a tapas menu but the potions were really generous and prices very reasonable for such outstanding food. Wish we lived nearby and could come regularly!

Absolutely delicious lunch with lots of original options.

One of the best places in the world

Fantastic choice on the menu, wonderfully presented, friendly staff and the most wonderful flavours to excite any taste buds. You will not be disappointed.

Food was out of this world!!! Every mouthful savoured!! We will be back!!

Delicious coffee! Long black is a proper long black! :) latte, flat white- really lovely Very busy place, yet, everyone is friendly. We cannot wait to go back.

An alternative option with inventive breakfast options. Delicious food, great service, lovely people

Gem of a cafe ultra fresh and seasonal. Had wild garlic pasta that was off the ⚖️

Maybe we were expecting too much, the bread was great, disappointing service but maybe we just got a bad day, the cafe was recommended to us by a fellow restaurant with high standards but just guess we got unlucky. We ordered olives which were forgot but added to bill, My husband found the soup to be under seasoned. I think it’s good but as we say I think our expectations were just too high.

A busy busseling place with good food and coffee.

Loved the vibes and aesthetic of the place, it had a wonderful energy with really tasty flavourful and locally sourced? food. Good quality, friendly service. Keep up the amazing work Soulshine. ☀️ Will definitely return if I’m in the area ❣️

Consistently amazing food & friendly staff. We've been coming here for the past few years & it's been very impressive everytime.

This place is a hidden gem. I had the best tortilla I've ever tried and I'm looking forward to coming back to trying the other great stuff on their menu. Everything is homemade. The attention was really good also Just a suggestion: I'd add a sign out front saying there is space to sit at the back. I almost missed it!

This place is fabulous! We have had lunch and dinner here and had a great experience each time. The staff are friendly and the service is efficient. Very interesting and tasty dishes too. Highly recommend.

A heart warming spot brimming with locals and visitors alike. We loved sitting in the window watching the world go by with both our two dogs and son very happily welcome as we munched yummy toasties and delicious soup in a great atmosphere!

What a great find. We booked a Friday evening and really enjoyed it. A gd welcome and loved the setting, decor, ambience. Service was attentive and friendly with clear explanation re the tapas/advice how/what to order. A really interesting menu and delicious tastes. We especially loved the cabbage (!) and a beetroot dish. There was quite a, wait between cold and cooked tapas but the flavours and presentation made up for this.

Have been there for lunch and always had an enjoyable experience. However decided to try Dinner for a change and what a disappointment. The oysters and local wine were excellent, however the food produced in the kitchen was way below the usual standard. The crackling with the pork was so hard and inedible. However the chef did a great job with the log fire which was a great feature on a cold January night so perhaps “ a change of roles “ !! ??

If I ever get the electric chair these guys are getting call the night before I ride the lightning!! I had a cheese toastie with a cup of builders tea…this thing was so chunky if I hadn’t actually eaten it I’m pretty sure it would offered me out for a fight!!! And the tea was essentially a cup of liquid Britain…marvellous

Excellent flat white and nice little shop inside too.

After a disappointing breakfast at another cafe in Bridport a while back 'Soulshine' certainly did SHINE.. fantastic service..food served quickly, well presented and freshly cooked..The bacon was particularly good as were the buttermilk pancakes..I had a cup of Ethiopian black coffee that was rich in flavour and hot all the way to the bottom of the cup..Will definitely be eating here again..Great experience 😋 Steve & Annie

Stumbled across this beauty of a coffee shop when visiting Bridport to watch my daughter play football. Always like to support local coffee shops rather than the burnt coffee mega chains and Soulshine certainly didn’t disappoint. The cortado was amazing and I’m looking forward to another away day match so I can drop in again!

Can not fault the food or service in this quirky deli/bistro. Food is amazing and wholesome, Tortilla was fabulous, the rhubarb drink was soooo lovely and the baked cheesecake was scrummy.

What a great cafe! Food delicious and fab atmosphere and service! If we lived locally we would live in here! Thank you Rosie and James

Wow! Soulshine is exceptional. Loved the vibe, the food (oh that soup), but also sampled a bite of my daughter’s bacon and egg sandwich… next level! Super place.

Amazing food and great flavours. All to die for 😍

Post Parkrun coffee, that turned into eggs on toast and cake 😋. Relied on instinct for this one, and was not disappointed. Clearly popular with those that know, but as visitors we lucked in. Waiting in the queue to be seated was enough to convince us we needed more than cake. All breakfasts looked mouth watering. 🙌. All on sourdough toast and the bacon was proper baconey 😂

The cheese and. Kimchi toastie was delicious, as was the mackerel and beetroot salad

We came for the Supper Club Our first time here for this particular event. It was beyond what we expected. The food was amazing, beautiful flavours, local produce and cooked to perfection. We really couldn't have wished for better. We left absolutely stuffed and will most definitely be coming to another Supper Club. Would thoroughly recommend to all

Absolutely amazing place, food, service, nothing too much trouble for the staff

Took my old dad to his favourite breakfast place in Bridport. We were a party of 5 on a very busy Saturday morning so chances of getting a table were slim. However, the fabulous chap who greeted us shuffled a few accommodating people around and we were seated within a minute. Glorious breakfasts of pancakes, beans, eggs, bacon and the best gluten free bread I've tasted in yrs were served up. We indulged ourselves even more by having cheesecake to follow ! What a splendid place Soulshine is, such fantastic staff and such superbly toothsome food. Bridport has many good food establishments and Soulshine is up there with the best.

Stopped off in Bridport on the way home from Lyme Regis and we're lucky enough to find Soulshine. Great find, had an excellent coffee with an amazing slice of orange, almond and pistachio cake (WOW) Great friendly service and just what we needed before travelling home.

Great service with fabulous home cooked, fresh tasty food. Lots of choice and plenty of seats. Local mackerel, turnip soup, cheese toasties, with good house wine and choice of beers. Washed down with excellent coffee and a sensational brownie. Enjoy

My Husband, Daughter & I love this place. You are always guaranteed repeat business when you nail the food/produce. These guys certainly have. Recommend!

I love popping into this cafe when I am in Bridport, the menus is small but full of nice dishes. I love their doorstep sandwiches and their tortilla, just delicious. I am either vegetarian or vegan but they have some lovely vegetarian dishes. I found their coffee has a bit of a funny undertaste, not sure I like their coffee bean choices. Their baked cheesecake is lovely but some of their (vegan?) cake slices were also not quite my taste. However, those are my personal tastes, other may very well disagree.