South Deep in Poole

What a great location, very friendly, beautiful food and amazing views

1st of all, the woman who greets guests at the front was rude and unhelpful. Once sat at our table we ordered drinks, half an hour later we're still sat there with no drinks. At least 3 other tables were complaining about the slow service. We got up and left as god knows how long food would take. Shame as it was a beautiful evening ruined. Wont be wasting our time here ever again.

Nice breakfast and lovely fresh juice. Slow service, and it wasn't busy. Will go against

Dont come here for a drink. 40 persons in the queue for an hour. all angry at the service. Bar staff complaining. Everyone left sober and and not happy!

Lovely location, good has generally been ok but the service is consistently terrible. Went a few weeks ago for an early dinner and it was slow but the food was good (although someone else had the steak and said it was overcooked) last week, a friend and I had dinner. The service was slightly better but I stupidly had the steak and once again it was dry and overcooked. Today we went for drinks and they have a ridiculous policy where if you're sitting outside you have to buy drinks from the outside bar. Wouldn't be so bad if the extremely busy outside bar wasn't staffed but 20% of the available people! I looked inside to see what beers were available on tap and there were 4 staff members to tell me I had to order drinks from outside. Went to the other bar, was 4th in the queue with 1 person serving. As I left some friends had arrived (a group of 7) and had been waiting ages, in the end they gave up and left.

Not the best experiences with customer service. The sign outside told us to wait to be seated. So we waited. It wasn't busy in the cafe but had to wait 10 mins before getting service and then was told just to sit somewhere outside. Once sat down. Someone else came out to say they are no longer serving food. They said the food service stopped at 11am. We sat down at 10:50 and we were were waiting outside to be seated at 10:40. I do understand that it is close to 11am but I have been able order food in a budget resturants/cafe 5 mins or even 1 min before they finish food and they have never made an issue about it. I do understand that restaurants/cafes work in a timely manner but I wouldnt expect this level of service from a place that presents itself as higher end dining and charging customers a higher price on food.

Yes yes and yes... Great food service and was buzzing on a Friday afternoon in the sun

First class service, wonderful place, delicious food, super attentive waiter. Amazing

If you want an expensive subpar coffee, and to boot the wrong order, served by work experience teenagers who don't know what they're doing, this is the place for you. All style and absolutely zero substance. Enjoy the wait, the chaos and the pretence that this place is in any way as upmarket as it's trying to pretend it is.

We are reluctant to give this poor review as we go to South Deep on a regular basis for drinks and love it, however we visited for breakfast and it was dreadful. The coffee they served was not as we ordered so had to be taken back. They also got another group of people's coffees wrong too. We ordered egg on toast. The toast was so burnt it was completely inedible. We asked for some ketchup with our order but this didn't arrive and we had to ask three times for it to eventually arrive. By which time the eggs were cold. When we were asked how our breakfast was we said that the toast was burnt and inedible they casually said "sorry about that" and just took the plates way! This is not the service or quality of food expected of such a beautiful restaurant and location. The owner needs to look at the service side of his business.

The girl in the ‘sipping container’, Anna was very helpful and has a lovely attitude. Would definitely come back again. Xx

Position, atmosphere and great food are the positives about South Deep. The restaurant has only recently reopened fully, so the friendly young and enthusiastic staff are still learning the ropes. We have had 2 excellent meals there in the last 2 weeks, with friends, and can only say what we experienced. Jo, the restaurant manager, was terrific 👏

This star rating is generous, doesn’t even deserve 1 star. The service is non-existent, we waited 55 minutes and didn’t get asked if we wanted a drink or food. I went to the bar 40 minutes in to try to order 2 pints and got told to sit down, and no one ever came to take our order. The wrong food was brought to our table on two separate occasions (we didn’t even get a chance to order our own food). I tried to get the waiters attention on several occasions but was ignored and they were constantly on their phones. After 55 minutes we then had to ring up other local restaurants and luckily got a table elsewhere. Not worth getting out of bed for. For anyone considering coming here- lots of better options such as Shall Bay, Baffi or Lazy Jacks. Very Disappointed.

Stunning location, great views, even better when the sun is shining! The day we came it was busy, couldn't get a table in the main restaurant unless we booked. So we sat on the bench just on the other side of the outdoor seating. We went to order our beers at the outside bar, after queuing for 5 minutes, the barman said we couldn't order one of the specific drinks there and we had to order in the main restaurant. So we went in there, waited and was told we weren't allowed to order in the main restaurant because we were sat outside. There is absolutely no order here. The staff don't know what they're doing and it's down to bad management and bad communication. I ordered cold prawns from the outside bar because I couldn't order from the main menu. I waited for 20 minutes for a half pint of prawns and sauce. The prawns were chewy, no finger bowl or wet towel after peeling all the prawns. Shame. The service really lets it down!

Amazing to see Jo now managing Southdeep. Jo is incredible and always happy to help her customers. Thank you for looking after the girls today

Great location, but service and food was very poor. Staff distracted and had to ask to order and then ask to pay several times. The burger came without a burger in it (just bun and salad). Add one when this was pointed out. Actually tasted ok once the burger arrived. Just opened at the start of the season. Hopefully better soon.

Great news I’ve just found out that it finally has a proper manager and not being run by children that have no clue what they’re doing. Looking forward to a great season with a decent restaurant being run properly…

On line it says that is open, which is not. Then went out to the container, no other food left rather than bagels and , bagels are finished and you get a bap. Super slow service not even acknowledged. We decided to leave. Not impressed at all

I thought I would try the very unusual breakfast of smashed peas on sourdough bread. What I actual got was a few garden peas (not smashed and no added flavorings/sauces) thrown on top of an unbuttered piece of sourdough toast. Water from the peas made the sourdough soggy. It was a tasteless dish of peas and soggy toast. The service was very slow, with staff not really 'on the ball'. Food was missed off my friends full English plus eggs not cooked as requested. We could hear the staff turning people away as they had run out of food!!!! The place was not full so no idea why the service was so slow I gave 2 stars for atmosphere really for the location and view.... I will not be back, shame as it has the potential to be amazing. Sort your food and staffing issues. PLEASE BE AWARE; although it does say on the menu's (in small print, at the bottom); card only, no cash...it is not obvious. But strangely enough, they accept cash for tips!!!

This was our first visit, it won’t be our last. We had not read any reviews before going so had no real expectations. We enjoyed everything about our visit, the restaurant itself, the food, the service, the location. We ate in the main restaurant but then had coffee outside on the deck. Had a great chat with Jo who explained that this was just there second day of being open again and she was keen to hear feedback. When we got home we immediately booked for a couple of weeks time when we have friends staying because we know they will enjoy it just as much as we did. Steve & Jan Saturday March 22 2025

Loved the food here and looking at all the boats was lovely

My wife and I enjoyed a fabulous Sunday roast, everything cooked to perfection, crispy roast potatoes, tender beef, tasty roasted vegetables and all served piping hot. Best roast we’ve had in ages and service was excellent. Thank you!

Vibey place tucked away in Parkstone Bay Marina! ☕️

Fantastic customer service and food. Lovely views of the water. They surprised my friend with a birthday treat as per some of the other reviews. We’ll be back soon! 😊

Stopped off at this lovely restaurant en route home after a lovely weekend. What a treat! Nestled by Parkstone Bay Marina. Had the most delicious & well presented breakfast. The staff were so helpful & professional. They even surprised me with a complimentary birthday ice-cream treat, which was absolutely delicious! It's definitely worth a visit if in the area. We'll be back!..😎

I am a member at Parkstone Yacht Club and had breakfast here most mornings during Poole Week in the last week of August. Not sure about the "peas on toast", I think that's trying too hard TBH. Avo/Salmon is better IMHO. Fab service from JEMIMA and BARNEY. Took some mates for end of season breakfast.; they loved it ( apart from the peas on toast, LOL). Great for well behaved dogs too. It's tucked away a little, but worth the effort. Check re times. EG Breakfast finishes at 11am and lunch begins at 12 I think.

We celebrated my mum's birthday at south deep on Saturday and we had a fabulous evening. Great food, service and atmosphere. The team were great, friendly and accommodating with our late booking for 16! Thank you so much

Beautiful sea bream, super friendly service. Thanks

Staff need to work on their terrible attitudes

Great location and food. Fantastic place on a sunny day. Relatively high priced for what was offered, but worth it on a nice day. Eating in the gardens adjacent to the water is lovely.

Great location with friendly staff,food was good although was weird how pizzas come out at anytime so ended up getting my main meal before my starter but was warned this may happen! Food was really nice though and everyone enjoyed themselves will definitely return!

Been coming here for years, watched it grow and develop. Now has people lining up to get a table. Busy, can be noisy (turn down the rubbish background music), parking only for yatch club members, also separate toilets, so expect queues. Attention to detail please. Staff are great and vastly underpaid!! Menu good, food produced good. If you like a lively, perky, fun for all visit, this may float your boat. 😜✌️

Great venue for breakfast - lunch or dinner. Delicious freshly cooked dishes with friendly service.

Ordered food, were told pizzas would come out first. They came within 5 minutes. Waited an hour for main courses. Appalling service and staff attitude, saying "we did say the pizzas would come out first" - didn't expect there to be an HOUR difference! They took drinks off the receipt to apologise, sadly didn't make up for an extremely disappointing and drawn-out lunch (we were late for our afternoon plans as a result).

Just been to South Deep, too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, fair enough. Ordered two coffees and sent them back, they were tepid. When they arrived back from the microwave (?) they were hot. Sadly, bereft of coffee, more like dish water. Great place but won't be back in a hurry.

nice location, shame about the rude, miserable and unwelcoming staff and general atmosphere. this is located inside a boat yard so the clientele are to be expected… prices are average for the area, can’t comment on food as we left after 1 drink.

Doesn't accept real money (cash) Pizzas were overpriced and has limited beer selection, which you can't order at the bar. If you want more choice in Beer, better pizzas and less pretentious clientele go to The Butchers Dog in Ashley Cross instead

Great venue, great food, great staff. The only thing that lets this place down is the limited bar selection from the outside bar and not being able to have bar service at the inside bar. Drinks orders get lost between the two bars when delivering to a table

Lovely location, lovely staff, just not trained to be in hospitality, very very slow

Having such high expectations of this one I was a bit disappointed on first impressions, all tables very close and oddly all the table tops were sticky, but I must say the breakfast really made up for it, although very dissapointed at the service charge, we are not in America and let's be frank your doing a standard service nothing worth the extra expense!! So! food was good but disappointing service charge and close tables. My personal opinion but give it a go!

Madi served us tonight on a large table for my daughters 18th. Amazing. The team helped us plan ahead of the day also. Thanks guys

Last orders was called at 1630. Yes its Monday, but it's June and 24°C 🤔🤔🤔

The only reason for the dropped star is that we booked for lunch online at 3pm (tables showing available until 3.45) only to be told upon arrival that service finished at 3pm! Once we explained our issue they agreed to honour our booking but we had to quickly order which detracted from our experience. The food quality, menu, wine list & service were very good. We will return …. Just earlier next time!

We booked in for a late lunch because we wanted to spend the afternoon with friends. I think if you take a booking for a second sitting the food should be the same quality as the first sitting. We all had mussels and they were disappointing, over cooked with a dollop of something white on top of the mussels which was never going to get down into the liquor. Why not just steam mussels with wine, garlic and parsley then add single cream and pour the liquor over the mussels just before serving. Having said that! The staff were excellent, kind and looked after us well. The location is fabulous here's to many more delightful afternoons with friends.

So many staff so disorganised. Waited 20mts to order after I stopped waitress. 4 different staff took the order, served, gave the bill and took payment. Lovely sight but not the 1st time let down by very slow but pleasant staff. Result...went home and cooked breakfast!

Just enjoyed a splendid dinner here with my wife. Delicious food, very friendly staff, amazing location and vibe overlooking Poole harbour being bathed by the evening sun.

Went for coffee and pastry. Coffee was good and pastry was fresh and tasty. The location is good right by the harbour and you can sit inside or outside if the weather is good. The staff are helpful and service is quick.

Went to south deep for a father's day breakfast! Service was extremely poor even though the staff were lovely. Asked for a high chair when taken to our seats waited 15 mins before I went & got it myself! The hot drinks arrived cold as did the breakfast except the beans! I'm sure the breakfast would have been delicious if hot as the ingredients were spot on! The strawberry smoothie was lacking any flavour lumpy water is probably the best description! Shame really as I've heard so many good things!

We had a great breakfast here, and not for the first time. Brilliant full English and a huge portion! No complaints from anyone in the family, we all had a lovely morning and the staff were extremely friendly

We have eaten at South Deep many times recently and the food is absolutely fabulous. The staff are so friendly and always accommodating, a real pleasure.

My family and I visited for a birthday. The service was amazing everyone was so lovely, kind, welcoming and helpful. The vegetarian choices were great and all the food we had were large portions and absolutely delicious. The staff very kindly brought out a birthday desert for the birthday guest. It was such a lovely gesture. To top it all off we were able to sit outside and enjoy the sun, it is in such a wonderful spot. Can not fault this place. Thank you to all the lovely staff on the 25/05 we had an amazing time thank you for making our birthday special ❤️

The food here was nice, but unfortunately the service was absolutely terrible. We arrived towards the end of a 60km cycle and had picked the restaurant for it's location and outdoor seating. We were waved through and told to pick a table - the 3 waiting staff then pretty much ignored us for 15 minutes, not even a menu, and no awareness of other tables when they were serving so no opportunity to catch their eye. It was lunchtime but not especially busy. Eventually we got up and asked for menus and the staff seemed surprised we hadn't had them already. Another long wait, and we had to again call someone over to take our food and drinks order. There was an apology for the wait when the drinks were brought over, but unimpressed with the staff who seemed annoyed to be there.

We stopped by for a drink at 5.30 on a Sunday to find they close at 6. But the venue is pretty & we'll go back during opening time.

This is a ‘must go to’ place to enjoy good food a drinks. Weather permitting, you can also enjoy superb alfresco dining in a beautiful setting. The customer service received from Alana as absolutely fantastic.

Booked for family dinner, outside table but expected to eat while people all around smoking and smoke blowing over our table, more like an outside bar than somewhere to enjoy a meal, left without ordering food.

Here in Poole and walked to this gem of a place along the shore. Lovely. Coffee and tea time. Just follow the route to the blue flag.

Just had my 40th party at South Deep and wanted to say a big thank you to the team. The venue was perfect, staff very attentive, nicely laid out/decorated so not much for us to do! We had 50/60 people but could easily fit more. Would highly recommended as a venue for a private function.

Had a lovely lunch here. The setting is lovely and the food was nice. We The burgers and sandwich’s came out looking the nicest. Everyone seemed happy with their food. Their where a couple of things that didn’t go that smoothly with the service but overall would recommend.

Lovely light lunch overlooking the water with a loveky view.

Lovely location. The 2 young ladies who served us were delightful and very knowledgeable when it came to drinks and food on the menu. Thank you for a very enjoyable lunch time.

We understand short staffed issues but not cold food, no table check, no butter- being scowled at for asking for butter with a full English and no accommodation of child allergies (the 3 year old can’t eat egg and so had to have massive side orders). We then asked for a second coffee and after half an hour of waiting with a 3 year old decided to leave - that really was the final straw. Such a shame - we get it but no excuse for the lack of ability to accommodate allergies (you have the food and can easily make a mini breakfast minus egg) just bring butter with the sour dough toast - it’s hard to eat it without. Hope you get your staffing issues sorted. We are now in Costa having coffee.

VERY limited breakfast menu - selection akin to a first year uni students kitchen . Not worth the trip!

First class the best place in poole by miles

Had a coffee here. Found by accident whilst walking. Lovely find.

Great find, loved the whole experience: food, service, ambience - will be back!

We went for lunch here. Staff are very friendly, food is hot and freshly cooked and plenty of it

Apart from stepping in the dog bowl full of cold water!! (Please make sure they put to the side) it was a totally fab experience. Lovely chilled place and coffee is super nice!! Haven’t eaten here yet but do intend to return! Staff really nice too. ☺️

Bit pricey because its next to the sea

Updating my review having been today the service was 10days better all the team were friendly and chatty and cannot fault them at all. Food was delicious. Well done to them team for turning it aroun It’s a shame location and food are great but the service is severely lacking. We arrived to an empty restaurant and asked for a table to be told it would be full in 5minutes. We had a drink and food at a picnic table which we had to ask if people had booked out and they said oh no they are first come first serve which only 1 was in use, when we left and the restaurant remained empty. There are around 2 waitresses who we could see were actually doing work the others were on their phones or talking with each other and did not look happy at all. Such a shame such bad service has let the place down. Would not recommend

Good place for a pint in the sun - wonderful beer garden

Very friendly greeting but after sitting down there was no eye contact by staff, very hard to get attention. Waitresses constantly playing with untied hair(unhygienic). Food tasted AMAZING though. Toilet over the road and can be used by anyone.

Excelente lugar y comida buenísima

A fabulously cosy restaurant with a great view. Staff are always courteous and efficient. Food is always great and large portions consistently served.

It’s in a marina and is a little haven by the water, great for sunsets and watching the bating world go by. There is a play area for the kids and the food is great and has specials most days. My kids like it too, probably for the ice creams from their parlour, The Scoop! Definitely recommended local place to go for food or sundowners.

Such a lovely place, friendly staff (especially Grace) and great choice of food and drink, staff are very attentive & very lovely evening- thank you!

Chips were hard, "to crispy", lots of wasps around the tables in Spring and Summer. When sitting next to the speakers it's too loud, not able to talk. Expensive for a value and quantity. Hygiene rating is 3 given by FSA, should be 5, for what they are charging! Staff very slow and don't care,need to wave if you want to order or pay a bill.

We passed through here on holiday. Was blown away by their scallops - with fresh orange pieces and fennel. Sounds weird but they were incredible! 🤯

Amazing food. Fresh fish, perfectly cooked steaks. Couldn’t fault the meals

Wow what a place to have a great meal! Couldn’t fault the service and food at all. Will definitely come back both for the amazing food and excellent view but the service and attentiveness of the staff is second to none. What a great little gem !

Great place to eat, fabulous views. My baked egg marina was good. However, too much for me, so I left a fair bit. Probably wouldn't have again, but that's just my own personal choice. Son had full English... toast a little overdone. Good quality ingredients. Good service, which was also quick but didn't feel rushed.

My family of four wanted a decent brunch after staying the night in Poole. The weather was terrible so we jumped in the car and chose a target based on reviews. South Deep did not disappoint. Service was a bit slow, the staff knew that and apologised, but the place was very busy so we kind of expected it. Really convenient for parking, only 5 mins from Poole centre.

A wonderful lunch out for our wedding anniversary. Great food and drink.

Lobster thermadore, whole massive crab, 2 steaks perfect burger and trad fish and chips. All great but probably best to pay on card unless you have a very thick wallet.

Had a great meal, food was fantastic and great value. Staff were lovely and very helpful. We were in a big group and they were a bit disorganised with the bill, could probably do with training the staff a bit better on how to deal with multiple payments but it all worked out ok in the end and didn’t taint the lovely evening.

Nice location for coffee or drink but food is unfortunately overpriced.

Beautiful place to have a dinner. We enjoyed everything there, food was really good, we had a delicious starter, and main dish was really nice. Well decorated and cozy atmosphere. One thing - toilets outside, and the day we were there - was super rainy and windy 😁 nigh quality service, so 5⭐️

New conservatory has a non closed door so very cold in inclement weather. Mussels not as good as before visits and now very expensive - we won't be coming back!

Had a most wonderful evening at this restaurant with our family. The staff were particularly wonderful and did everything they could to accommodate us. Abbie, who served us, was great when it came to selecting our wines and we really appreciated being able to taste them prior to ordering. She was a delight and helped to make our evening special. Chapeau to the chefs, the food was great. It was a 5 star evening for us all. Once again thanks to Abbie, who was so charming, as were the rest of the staff.

Beautiful place, lovely service, clean toilet outside, portions are good size and we enjoyed the meal

Food was pretty good, no particular complaints there except only being given 2 measly pieces of toast/bread for the fish soup. The service was very odd indeed, made us feel quite awkward and unwanted a number of times. Walking past our table and not clearing our plates until we asked, table was dirty and had to ask for a wipe down, lack of toilet paper in the toilets, took ages to give us our bill and even longer to take payment. Very odd indeed. Food and atmosphere was great but service let it down. Actually felt reluctant to pay the tip (already applied to our bill) as we really didn’t have much of a service at all! Hope to visit again soon and see improvements made.

Superb. Slightly pricey but great food and great service.

What a hidden gem in a stunning location! Service was a little slow and portion sizes were on the small side but I enjoyed my visit non the less.

We love South Deep, there really is no better place for lunch on a sunny day (probably on a rainy day too, but the sun always seems to shine when we’re there!) The mussels are a must! Great choice of beers and wines too. The Rockferry 3rd Rock Sauvignon Blanc is beautiful alongside the mussels. Make sure you book though as it can get busy… always the sign of a good restaurant! Enjoy.

Always a great atmosphere and super friendly staff. Brought my parents here and they loved the food!

We’ve been to South Deep a few times now and highly recommend! Staff are friendly, location is great and the food is awesome.

Each time I go to South Deep they have made more changes. The outside eating area had been increased this time and it did not disappoint. South Deep for me is like a hidden gem in Poole, we have been going for at least 12years now, my go to meal is always the Moules. They are delicious! WE all had a small portion of Moules and everybody loved them. The staff were very efficient even though they were busy and had a full restaurant.Great work guys!

Fabulous setting to share drinks fun laughter with friends - fabulous memories made!

Loved hanging out here eating with friends...upbeat modern and friendly with good food and choices.

Always atmospheric at South Deep. A fun, casual place to go with delicious food and attentive service.

A firm favourite for many years with good food and atmosphere