the blue raddle in West Dorset

A proper pub, lovely hosts, good selection of draught beers lagers and ciders all at sensible prices, excellent choice of food both hot & cold well plated and promptly brought to table . Plenty of comfortable seating in small groups or sit at the bar.

Heard good reviews about the blue raddle .. I have to say we weren’t disappointed the food was amazing.. really tasty roasts and yummy desserts .. all in all a great dining experience..

We always love this proper pub, the owners run it well, the food is fantastic and by what I saw and smelt last night, I wished I had got there earlier, the menu is fantastic, but get there in time for last knockings for food is 8pm. You can pick a cozy nook to sit with a lovely poured pint, and it's just such a lovely pub, and people respect each persons space and regulars love a laugh and chat and well behaved dogs are welcome. This is a brilliant local for us and the Dorchester community

Lovely atmosphere. Good beer. Great food. Just a nice place to be. Welcoming landlord/landlady. Everything you want if you want a proper pub.

Great pub, marred by landlord's incessant cleaning. Someone moves, the vacuum is out.

A lovely traditional family run pub with hone cooked food. Great veggie and vegan options as well.

We visited Dorchester as part of our Cruise thru Northern Europe. We were hungry but short on time when we discovered this Pub. The staff excelled at clearing a spot for us and getting our orders in to meet our schedule. As we sipped our Blond Ales, we chatted with the bartender and a regular customer of 25 years about our trip and our next stops. I ordered Fish and Chips and my wife ordered a Burger. The fish and chips were the best I've ever had and the Pints were delicious.

Only popped in for a quick drink however very friendly and they allow dogs. Plan to go back for a meal the menu looked very varied. Lots of veggie and vegan options. Also the place was spotlessly clean.

Always great food here. The landlady prepares and cooks all the meals on the menu and uses locally produced products.

Locals friendly, beer top notch and the food was really great home cooked fayre, we had the steak stew and veg, was delicious, will go again.

Lovely cosy pub with great service. The smoked haddock chowder was great and good size portion. The garlic mushrooms were okay. Good selection of vegetarian and pescatarian food and a varied menu.

Friendly knowledgeable bar staff, decent beers. Will come back.

Ale was well presented, however the whole pub smelt damp??

Christmas meal. Really good. Pub was a bit noisy on our arrival but managed well by proprietor.

This was a great experience of Sunday lunch at an old English pub (free house actually). My wife tried the lamb roast with vegetables, accompanied by a half pint of light ale. Absolutely loved it! I tried venison sausages and mash, accompanied by a locally made raspberry lemonade - the kind pubs served when I was a boy. Both great. We would have tried their deserts, but no room left after the big main course. Husband and wife hosts were lovely and the regulars also made us feel welcome. Small word of caution- they are only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Always excellent food and service. Good choice of beers. Booking a must as the Blue Raddle is always busy. Highly recommend. Dog friendly too.

Tucked away behind the welcoming door of the Blue Raddle is a small slice of heaven. You won't find anything else to be small though, as all aspects of the hospitality are generous, especially the wonderful, genuinely home-made food. Of all town pubs anywhere, this is my favourite.

The pub was recommended to us as we'd talked to someone about struggling to find somewhere that offers good vegetarian food. I'm so glad we gave them a visit. We arrived early afternoon and hadn't booked but luckily a table was available. They offer an excellent meal choice, including a wide range of both vegan and vegetarian food. Something I rarely see. I chose the broccoli and blue cheese pasta, with garlic bread, which was absolutely delicious. My husband ordered a pork and cider casserole, which was served with a great range of veg. He says his meal was also delicious. I loved the quirky decoration, around the walls and bar, which is certainly interesting. I have no doubt we'll be back, with our vegan daughter, to try their Sunday roast.

Cosy friendly pub, excellent selection of ales and fabulous coffee and cake.

Best fish pie and vegetables I've had in years.

Superior "pub grub" doesn't do this place justice. An amazingly long & unusual list of options on the black board, including veggie/vegan, fish & meat that should satisfy anyone. All clearly home cooked too. Good choice of real ales & a friendly atmosphere, just as a pub should be. We got lucky with the last unreserved table, so booking recommended.

Good selection of ales and lots of choice of beautifully cooked home-made food. Plenty of options for vegetarians. The pub is very clean, the staff friendly and welcoming and there is a wonderful atmosphere that makes one feel like one of the locals.

Cosy pub with fantastic food and good ale but you need to book a table in advance as it usually fully booked

Good range of bitters and ciders all served by the owner with his wife taking care of the food side of the business. Very friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

Called in for a drink on afriday night and were so intrigued we decided to eat there the following night. Fantastic varied menu that I doubt you will find anywhere else. lots of veggie options as well as Venison and Pheasant. Drink selection is also nice and varied as is the decor. This couple work so hard to ensure everyone enjoys themselves, This is a local business and well worth supporting, visit and enjoy yourselves.

Great pub with extensive menu. Good atmosphere in centre of the town.

Good beer, good food, great atmosphere.

This pub has been recommended to me many times but I had not been able to visit due to its limited opening days. I am pleased to report that it exceeded all expectations. Comfortable, clean, welcoming free house serving a good range of unpretentious ales at very reasonable prices. This pales alongside the food, which is hearty, wide-ranging, and offers several local game choices, incl. venison, pheasant and duck. I had a venison casserole, which was delicious and was accompanied by perfectly cooked vegetables. Again, excellent and unpretentious. Best pub in West Dorset, and that's going some!

Always a warm welcome and a wonderful selection of real ales

Stopped for lunch and had a delicious home made soup. Hubby had a wonderful game pie. All fresh and well balanced. Very friendly staff and comfortable surroundings.

This is a first class traditional pub with well kept beer and friendly staff. We visited for the first time this evening and will definitely be back - food is served until 9pm and looked very enticing!

Made to feel very welcome. Very tasty Sunday roast dinner. A great drink of guiness!

Live local and have walked past 100's of times so finally went in for a drink. Took a while to figure out we liked it so much there are no tv's, fruit machines or children just conversation 👍👍

A proper pub. No gimmicks just great service and landlord knew his stuff. Well worth a visit

Lovely pub, lovely food, lovely beer and lovely country.

Fantastic atmosphere. Seriously some of the best food I have tasted. Simply a great pub. Top marks

A friendly & welcoming pub- I've been here several times and the food and welcome has been top notch. Tonight I had the whitebait followed by the steak & kidney pie, while my companions had the pheasant & vernison burger, and the chicken & bacon pie. The dishes were geneous and fresh, and all plates went back to the kitchen spotlessly clean. Finished with a slice of their homemade cake now the day and all but rolled back to our hotel. *Highly* recommended 👌

Cracking beer and ambiance, brilliant J S Osborne.

So friendly, decent pub with tasty food. Definitely somewhere to go for good drinks and food.

Food is superb...friendly hosts and good atmosphere..

Nice pub and staff just has short opening times

Very nice traditional freehouse pub. Small but cozy with a great atmosphere and good choice of beers on tap. Although I did not eat on my visit the menu looked to have a great selection, and others that did eat were happy with the food. The pub was nicely decorated with interesting and amusing newspaper and satirical articles from the past. The staff are friendly and welcoming and make visiting the premises enjoyable. Sensible covid measures have been implemented here to make any visits as safe as possible without being unnecessarily obtrusive. If you like traditional pubs I would definitely recommend.

Very good food and atmosphere and run by lovely people.

Booked here at short notice for a meal tonight. We've known this pub of old and food at the pub is always good, with the pub itself being one of the best in Dorchester.We had chicken and tarragon pie and chips. Well, it was delicious and a plum crumble and rhubarb crumble, both with custard were delicious too.Rick and Chris the owners are fab and we were chatting with a regular and having a wonderful time.

No nonsense proper pub, without a doubt, the best pub in Dorchester, now unfortunately only open Friday and weekends.

My Father and I and my dog's had lunch here. Very friendly. Food was delicious and homemade. The dog's snoozed happily. Its not on the main street, so I'm pleased I googled before our visit to Dorchester. Highly recommend xx

What a treat. Suggested as a rendezvous point by family members who live locally we were most impressed. Good selection of ales (I tried three of those on offer - all west country brews, all excellent). The food was great, I had Cajun chicken skewers which were filling and tasty. All eleven of us enjoyed our meals, and it's worth noting that the options for vegans and vegetarians are plentiful. It only opens at the weekends until 10PM at the moment, so do check before you go. It was busy with friendly locals and the selection of Private Eye covers on the walls in the gents kept you amused while availing yourself of the facilities. The landlord and landlady were very welcoming. If you are in the area, give it a try.

Well kept beer, good choice from local brewers. Great food, lovely happy atmosphere and customers.

Visited here primarily for beer and then chose to have dinner there since the menu looked very nice. Great selection of real ales here, that regularly change. Good choice of food and great service.

A lunch time pint and bit to eat. Truly wonderful freehouse.Great beers,good food.The Landlord and staff welcomed and treated us as locals Couldn't have been more helpful. Highly recommended.

Nice local pub run by nice people

Good selection of ales, friendly and covid safe.

Was visiting Dorchester for the day with friends and we passed this pub. Seeing as it is a freehouse was more inclined to visit. Great selection of real ales and a lovely traditional atmosphere.The food was clearly homemade and tasted great.However, the gentleman who served us did come across as a little militant regards CV19 protocols. Which I understand, but it's very difficult to insist on people wearing masks, when your own is constantly sat under your nose. Also, if you have rules, they should apply to all. One person sat drinking at the bar, everyone else had to be seated. Either it's order at bar or not. A real shame as otherwise it's a great place, hence my four stars.

Visited this pub for Sunday Lunch today and was not disappointed! A real English pub, that was serving lovely home cooked food with a good choice of beers.We also commented on how clean the pub was. Thank you for your hospitality and when we are in Dorchester again we will be sure to visit

Always a pleasure to go here. Great food and ales on offer in a welcoming atmosphere.

What a lovey pub! Excellent find and we were so lucky to get in on a Friday evening at late notice. The landlord and landlady are lovely, with a great selection of beers. Dog friendly too. The food was well rated by all. Thank you.

A proper, very very good, pub.The landlord and landlady were friendly and couldn't do enough for customers.The drinks choices were excellent - several very good cask ales and ciders, and didn't break the bank.The food was absolutely fantastic - pheasant hot pot and beef and ale pie, and bread pudding in particular. All home made, piping hot, fresh and properly cooked veg, and wonderful custard (bread pudding only!).The pub had no TV, music of juke box, so conversation was the order of the day.The only bad thing about it is that it's many miles from where live so I can't make it a regular stopping point.

Such a great find. We were looking for a dog friendly pub with great local home cooked food.... bingo!We emailed ahead and got a quick response. Easy check in and great staff. The menu is extensive but better still the food is yummy. We tried the Mac n cheese, faggotts, chicken and bacon pie and venison casserole. All got the thumbs up. For pudding we had bread and butter pudding, banana split, choc sundae and Dorset apple cake. Mine was the Dorset cake and it didn’t disappoint. I would highly recommend this fab pub

Rick and Christine. The Gould's curtains you gave me 3 year+ ago are still hanging in my flat. Looking good. But will dry clean in spring. Look forward to you opening again. Cheers Stuart.

Fabulous gem of a proper pub. Friendly service, great choice of drinks and delicious food. A warm and cosy atmosphere!

Great pub grub! Extensive menu of home cooked food. Caters for veggie and vegan. A long list of cost effective "substantial meals" too 🤫 Super real ales.

Lovely homely food traditional pub atmosphere lovely stuff

Lovely traditional pub, it has a great atmosphere

Great meal and great atmosphere. Thanks for making our dogs welcome!

An amazing traditional pub, friendly people and dogs welcome. Plenty of selection of real ales and larger, fairly small pub, serves a small food menu, very clean and hygienic.

Excellent meal and beer at lunchtime. Friendly hosts.

Chose this place for dinner after reading the reviews and wasn’t disappointed. Landlord welcoming and good atmosphere. This is an independent pub good good choice beers and wine. British style food menu with good selection, the place had a local pub feel about it which was great

Lovely local food, in a fab atmosphere! We visited during the Covid-19 precautions, and we were so pleased by how careful the management team were to keep everyone feeling safe and happy. Run by a lovely husband and wife team, the food was honestly delicious. Home made, and an amazing vegetarian selection! The selection of beers was fantastic, and the decor is cosy and welcoming. If you're in Dorchester, you absolutely must visit.

Lovely little pub..putting a brave face on in these strange covid times

I do not get to go the pub enough at the best of times, when I do go, as a priority I always head here . There is a great selection of beers ciders and real ales. The wine and spirits selection is pretty spot on to boot. The atmosphere is lovely, very respectful with friendly staff and patrons always welcoming. I have yet to try the food but the menu and the smell of the dishes that have passed me by have certainly made this a must. Young Children are not permitted, but to be honest I think this is a good thing, not all free houses should be expected to cater for this. The pub is colloquial and traditional, walking through the front door brings upon a person a sigh of relief and lighter shoulders. I cannot wait to go back.

Great town pub very welcoming good food looking forward to going back as soon as we can

Nice friendly convivial atmosphere, will be back again soon.

Thought I would try this after reading reviews, very nice landlady served us and place was clean throughout. Nice choice of meals from a blackboard and food did not take long to arrive. It was certainly hot as I lost the skin in the roof of my mouth but that's my fault as I was rather hungry. Nice meal, well presented and cooked but not very big portion on either of our meals and left hungry and went to get a cake from round the corner after we left. Glad we went but will not be rushing back, several places considerably better value than this in Dorchester.

Hidden tv only comes out for special occasions. Watched England win the Calcutta cup!

Came in here with my friend Judith. Lovely evening, staff were great.

Good ambience. Friendly staff. Huge selection of starters, mains, pudds & veggie options. Tasteless dijon chicken but very good pies.

Good service.Good ales and ciders. Clean toilets.

Nice little pub with good reasonably priced foid

Cosy. Comfy. Great ale selection, if that's your thing. It seems like a 'locals' place, but we we're very welcome as non regulars. Quirky. And the staff were very friendly. Lovely tasty food too - thank you. A bit off the beaten track but worth popping in, if you're looking for somewhere to chill.

We have visited this lovely pub in Dorchester several times when visiting our family in Dorset. The landlord and landlady are welcoming friendly and keep a good house serving good clean ales and honest food. I would recommend anyone visiting Dorchester to find this lovely interestingly decorated pub.

While recently in Dorchester we needed somewhere close to our hotel for our evening meal. We had previously tried the nearby Thai, which was nice, but now wanted something wholesome. After trawling the streets of Dorchester, and finding empty bars, pubs and restaurants, we stumbled upon the Blue Raddle. It was packed with people and we grabbed the last available table. The pub - it is a pub and not a restaurant - offers a wide choice of food and drninks, with some unusual beers. We chose the Pheasant Casserole and Lemon Chicken Tagine, both of which were delightful. Try the Gurt Coconut Rum Stout, it was quirky but very enjoyable.

Spent a very pleasant Sunday evening here, sampling the delights of several beers from smaller breweries. The Blue Raddle is the only free house in Dorchester. The regulars who were in the pub that evening, made us feel very much at home, and our only regret was that we could not return on another occasion, however our visit to Dorchester was time limited.Please note, this is a proper old fashioned pub, with good beer and an engaging clientele, and excellent owners- long may it continue. I wish my village pub was like this, instead of the fun pub it’s turned into. To everyone at the Blue Raddle, thank you for a very memorable evening.

Been here before , always good ales , service was very slap dash , not even , was it good ? , nothing.,,,,the food how ever this time , was very mediocre, we both had venison casarole, nice , but not brilliant , the real let down was the veg , a great selection of 5 -6 diff , but , absolutely tasteless , i would assume from this , it was "ping ping" , that's the only way you can knock all the flavor out of veg. Chips on the other hand were excellent.Another slightly annoying thing was , the landlord seamed more interested in talking to his 3 mates @ the end of the bar than serving his customers ( time for him to retire i think ) .Vote with our feet on this one.

Proper pub.... all there is to say! Well kept beers, and homely atmosphere

Pub and a half. Not only the best pub in Dorchester but one of the best I have ever visited. Well kept and wide choice of beers. good food but not taken over by eaters. We were lucky enough to catch the live; improvised Irish (type) music night. This takes place on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. PS does not open Monday morning session.

Love finding places like this. If you like fantastic home cooked food, perfectly kept ales, appreciate a huge choice of veggie dishes but also a stonkingly good faggot, combined with the most convivial atmosphere, this is the place!!

The decor is everything sheep, but the food is freshly cooked, local produce, of excellent quality.Three of us sheepishly decided that this would be a good place to end our riverside stroll.We were not disappointed,the menu being exceptionally diverse.I started with a bowl of steaming soup which in addition to bacon contained a wide variety of vegetables, and was accompanied with a couple of hot bread rolls.I should have known better, because I had ordered rabbit pie to follow, and I was determined to finish both. A light flakey pastry covered a goodly amount of rabbit and gravy.My colleagues chose duck leg with plums and cottage pie, and were also very appreciative of the efforts of the cook.A good cup of coffee ended our meals.What an excellent quirky pub, with very friendly staff, and great food.

Great food.Would highly recommend.All home cooked and served beautifully,great chips too,which are often not good in many places.Will be visiting again.

All top class very friendly and lovely food whether you are the for half a hour or all night you are always felt to be welcome.

Wow what a find this lunchtime a lovely pub with exceptionally nice home cooked food..can’t wait to return! Thank you.

This is a very small traditional style pub with some quirky decoration. When we arrived at about 18:15 on a Friday night it was quiet but nearly all of the tables were reserved, we were lucky to get the last free one. The pub quickly filled up and it was getting really busy by the time we left.I can see why it has such a good reputation for food - the steak & ale pies we ordered were probably some of the best we've ever eaten. In fact all of the food, which is genuinely home cooked, looked lovely. At the bar there was a really good choice of cask ales and both of my pints were well kept - clear with a nice head.All of the staff were cheerful and obviously wanted everyone to have a good night out.If this place had more space I'm sure they could double or triple their turnover but maybe it would then end up losing it's cosy charm.

Interesting landlord approach to cleaning. But very good ales choice.

Local, friendly pub with wonderful atmosphere. Amazing food with such a great choice. Great service at affordable prices.

The Raddle keeps a good pint and offers a good selection of ales. Pub food is available and the humble atmosphere is a welcome relief to those who want a conversation. Subtle music in the backround means you're not screaming at each other to hear. Pleasent and helpful staff give the down to earth customers very happy. The gents toilet have a novel way to avoid poor aim, you can't help but take part!!!

We had this pub recommended to us by someone where we were staying. Well worth a visit, huge menu on several blackboards, hard to choose what to have. Food was great, choice of beers etc. Dog-friendly too, would return. Like the sign outside re dogs, owners & under-14s!

How good it is to find a traditional pub that serves great food. The customers all feel like locals and it is great that whilst they accept well behaved dogs, children under 14 are not allowed....bonus!!!

Great ale at right tempeture and food pub check it out

Very quirky pub with a good choice of real ales.

.... Just like a pub used to be - friendly, welcoming and with great beer. Sadly we'd just eaten so didn't get the chance to try the food. However, we did soak up the atmosphere and there's plenty of that!

Lovely friendly pub, took 🐶, she was 😊