The Curlew in East Dorset - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Sunday lunch for four - food was tasty, hot and a good size portion. Service was also very prompt and friendly - would definitely recommend.

Two friends and I visited The Curlew for lunch yesterday, 3rd September. we have visited the restaurant many times and have always been very satisfied. However, yesterday it took 45 minutes for the hot starters to arrive and when they did all three starters were cold. The staff were very apologetic but then it was a further 10 minutes before we received them again. Also the main courses were not up to the usual high standard. It was very disappointing as it was my birthday celebration meal.

Great ambience, meal and service, as always. Several different areas to the restaurant to cater for quiet dining, taking a dog with you or eating out with children.

Lovely meal and great service. Only issue for us: when booking a choice of ‘dining area’ or ‘dog friendly’ is offered - having selected ‘dining area’ we expected to get a dog-free experience but this was not the case. This would influence our willingness to return. We don’t have anything against dogs - but would rather eat our lunch away from them.

We had a marvellous time at the curlew. We had an ice cold corona and a lime and lemonade for drinks. Aswell as being a restaurant it’s great to have nibbles and picky bits which were really good. We shared garlic bread, chorizo and chips. All of this was accompanied by a lovely server named Holly who was very funny and a great asset to the evening.

Such a lovely place to spend a Friday afternoon with family and the pooches

Really nice pub lovely food and very nice staff

Great pub with delicious food, lovely beer garden with very helpful waiting service. Only minor gripe the toasted flatbread could have been toasted a bit more otherwise perfect.

Have visited The Curlew a few times over the last 12 months, breakfast and lunch were very nice, lunch menu especially. And great for vegetarian options. The most recent visit was for Sunday roast, there were 5 of us eating 2 had the veggie Wellington, which went down well. The other 3 had the meat options. The time between ordering and getting the food was a long time. Originally, the server only bought out 1 bowl of veggies to share between the 5. These just about served 3, so we needed to order more. The meat was lovely but, and personal opinion, the veggies were under cooked. 1 of us ordered a cocktail, which would traditionally be a short cocktail. However, it was served in a tall glass, thus drowning the taste of what it should have been. Overall, it was a nice lunch, good service, and value. The staff were all friendly, and the servers were very polite and cheery despite being very busy. Will definitely return soon, especially for the lunch menu skewers.

Emily was very friendly and efficient

Excellent Sunday lunch, roast turkey and veg were delicious. Emily was our lovely friendly waitress. Will come again. 10/10.

Five of us for dinner and we were all very happy and satisfied and Emily our server was very nice and helpful!. We would definitely return and recommend the Curlew.

Prepared meals NOT amazing staff efficient let down by food quality

The restaurant was very busy for a Wednesday night which is always a good sign! Our waitress, Loz, was very friendly attentive and helpful. We were not rushed to pick our choices and there was a nice gap between courses! There were 4 of us eating and we all thoroughly enjoyed the food we chose. I would not hesitate to recommend. Some people may consider the prices slightly higher than ‘pub’ meals but you really do get what you pay for here, so it’s worth the little extra!

Loz was so kind to me and my family. She made jokes with us wich my Grandad loved, so did I. Thank you so much this was an incredible experience.

We stopped in for lunch on Friday 2nd August 2024 and were allocated a nice table inside. Served by Emily who was attentive whilst not obtrusive and very helpful. The service was excellent and our food was good too.

Our waitress Claire was amazing very very accommodating very kind and sincere. Steak came wrong because of other waitress but Claire changed it and was very happy and pleasant to do so So very good meal and experience because of Claire

Lovely pub food, staff are very friendly and efficient. Will be going back very soon.

Lovely meal and great service from Emily. Thank you 🤩

Nice atmosphere, very close to the campsite, good food, good service. Gladly again.

Heard great reviews about poached egg. Menu is premium with niceties like cherry on the vine tomatoes to polish up the breakfast with quality looking for something a bit nicer. It was a standard breakfast though and no cherry vine tomatoes, just basic grilled tomato I’d get at a Wetherspoons. Left having paid 32 pounds for a breakfast and coffee for 2 and I could get that for 22 at Wetherspoons. Poached egg was good. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Recommend adding seasoning to eggs and buying premium ingredients if you advertise them otherwise buyers will feel mis-sold of their premium quality.

I have not been for years, but hopefully return very soon. I had a great meal with great service..

Amazing food, very impressed with the Gluten free options , friendly and helpful service from Emily 😄

Fab meal, great service, definitely recommend

The staff was super polite and the food was amazing the scotch egg was the nicest ive ever had

Sharon was wonderful, attentive and helpful. Thankyou

Had a fantastic time. The food and service was great. Made more special by our waitress Emily... dispite getting everyone singing me Happy birthday. She was very welcoming funny and attentive. Will certainly be going back.

A really nice place to eat, the food is good, the service is good, and the portion size fits your need. It is well presented and has a nice atmosphere and is not noisy - so you can chat without shouting. Nice place.

Spent a lovely afternoon in the garden enjoying reasonably priced drinks and the wide selection of bar snacks, which at £10 for three good portions are excellent value. In particular the warm runny Scotch Egg, Chorizo Sausages and Halloumi Fries with dips and if you add the Garlic Flatbread with Beetroot Houmous and you've got a great tasty Lunch for 2 for circa £15. The staff were all polite and efficient, in particular Lauren, who was very professional and made us feel welcome. I'd highly recommend The Curlew.

Great time had at the Curlew on Friday lunch time. Lovely welcome and great food and the whole team are so friendly. Thank you for the great experience 😊

Only go if you are eating! It's not a pub it's a restaurant. My daughter was at a works meal so we arranged to meet her. We'd had her daughter for the day & it was a convenient drop-off collection point. We went in ok and found the table that they were at. We sat down, and my husband went to the bar to get us a drink. No bar service, table service only. So he came and sat down he watched 3 waitresses chatting & having a laugh. He saw the front of the house manager go over and say something. He'd told my husband that someone would be over to take an order. Eventually, after arm waving, a drink order was taken. My daughter & friends wanted their bill. Eventually, they got up and went over to the waitresses station. They were told to sit down & they would bring it over. Eventually, it arrived, and they worked out payment. Some were paying by cash and others by card. They said the food they had was good. My daughter left, and we decided on a second drink. The Front of House manager came over and said that the table was needed in 15 minutes, and we said that's fine. If we could have the bill, we would take our drinks outside. He thanked us but did nothing about the bill! We decided he/they couldn't be bothered, then neither could we. Eventually we asked for the bill paid and took drinks outside. We won't bother going back for a drink. The menu looked ok and food choice was good.

Great quick service. Delicious food

We booked for my 30th birthday, and whilst it was over the phone, there wasn't a way to speak to a human, instead it was an automated service to book a table. I gave an average score for the food, as whilst my steak was decent enough, the other food was mediocre and overpriced for what it was. The worst part was being told we had 15 minutes left on the table, despite having JUST cleared our plates and not even finished our first, and inevitably only round of drinks, let alone thought about dessert. Don't get it wrong, we weren't chewing at a slow pace (we were really hungry), and the majority of the time was spent waiting for food. We didn't get starters, just main meals. Personally, I think this is awful for a food establishment, especially with a booking. Funnily enough we weren't told at any point that we have a time limit, and frankly I didn't appreciate being made to feel like a cash cow. Would've been nice to have a birthday dessert, or a second round of drinks. You're better off going to harvester or somewhere else, where you'd know what to expect and not have to pass on puds. Dear management: People don't eat out because they can't cook or order online, they do so for the experience. And if you charge as much as you do for the level of food you serve, it's paramount that the experience makes up for it. What a disastrous disappointment and waste of a birthday. Regrettably, you've lost a local foodie and pub lover.

Excellent Staff friendly and helpful, food was excellent really great atmosphere! Can’t wait to return

Excellent service and a buzzing ambience, even on a Thursday lunch time! A good wine list is always a good sign of good quality of food!

Had a lovely evening out. Food was tasty and generously portioned. The atmosphere was warm and the service was great. Thank you Liz

Great food with lovely service in a welcoming setting not much more needed or could ask for highly recommend.

Nice food but staff all looked like they’d rather be anywhere else this evening. Won’t rush back.

Sunday roast was tasty and a good portion.

The vegetarian Penang curry was far too chilli hot and the accompanying rice was congealed. Wrong choice of dish as others looked better. I was offered a replacement but had no time

Easy to get to location with great parking. Nice outside space and a warm and welcoming atmosphere inside . Tables well spaced out. Service from the staff was excellent- very attentive but not intrusive. Excellent menu choices and really tasty food. The penang curry was superb!

A great breakfast with my family and good service too.

The service was very friendly and cheerful. Full marks to our waitress. The food was generally very tasty, I was impressed with the feta salad side to the prawn skewer it was plentiful. The crab cake starter was maybe a little on the small side for the price or lacked accompaniments. Our friends commented that the fish (with chips and sea bass) was as bit tasteless. We were unhappy that two groups of people with dogs sat near us and yapped at each other. One table had put their dog on a chair! Not really acceptable where food is being served. We also found the "bottle bank" annoyingly noisy. Staff would come in from the garden with a load of bottle and slammed them into the receptacle with a crash. It was not very pleasant to hear this repeatedly, really they should carefully put them in.

Lovely atmosphere and really friendly service from Emily 🥰

We popped in on the off chance we could get a meal and they were rammed with customers but we were given a table swiftly. Fish and Chips were fantastic

We had Stacey as our waitress & she was marvellous very helpful in every way.

Had lunch with 15 other ladies. Food was OK but the service we received was very good. Interior of the Curlew very nice indeed

Our server was Emily and she was phenomenal. It was so busy and stressful in here and she served everyone with the biggest smile and amazing attitude. She deserves the best!

good choice of menu, served by a very friendly waitress. comfortable surroundings with a good atmosphere

Excellent venue - very friendly & welcoming, with great food

Sat in the garden for lunch, very nice and the trees and bushes blocked out the main road.

We are very keen to book fir Christmas Day, a total of 16, 12 adults and four children. Your manager was very helpful and advised me to get back in touch towards the end of July when the menu and prices should be available. Is there anyway we can book anyway and confirm as soon as venue etc is out. We don't want to miss out as we know we are a bit group and hard to accommodate. We were shown an area which would be suitable over 3/4 tables so everything crossed 🤞 Many thanks. Moira

Came here for father's Day brunch. Fantastic service and friendly, helpful staff. Three of our party had the full English breakfast. Superb and very good value for money. My daughter had her usual, eggs Benedict. Everything was beautifully cooked. We all left with very contented bellies! We will definitely be back.

we came here for Father’s Day lunch. they were offering a set menu for just under £30 for 3 courses. food was lovely, I had the 3-meat roast dinner with extras, my brother has the veggie roast and our dad had the fish’n’chips. HIGHLY recommend the lemon tart for dessert 🍋🥧 lovely service, they managed an obviously busy Father’s Day very well. PLUS 🐶 friendly which is always a plus.

Nice little pub, good food and nice beer garden

I was only there for a beer. I didn't have any thing to eat but it did look good

Really enjoyed our meal here. Very busy, so I’d recommend booking if you’re going any evening, but they managed to seat us and service was very quick! Great quality food which I think is worth the price

Every mouthful was a tasty delight. Fantastic Sunday lunch with gorgeous food. Emily our waitress offered exceptional service was so friendly and happy in her job and disposition. Thank you for a wonderful experience all of the team . Felt a fully welcomed guest from moment I stepped out of my car to when I left. Bravo & will be recommending the food and excellent value for money & tasty super food .

Food is not particularly good and very expensive. You can get the same quality, if not better elsewhere.

The food was absolutely amazing compliments to the chefs on. Shout out to Emily who was very attentive without it being too much. She was very friendly and chatty thank you so much

Great food and great outside area to relax in the ☀️

Friendly staff, nice environment, beautiful food

We had a great time with old friends. I am sure that we will be back. Didn't sense any particular atmosphere, but beyond that all good.

Lovely meal only issue was some food had sold out so had to choose something else.

The Curlew, 287 Christchurch Road, BH22 8SQ Visit: 6th June 2024 We visited The Curlew" for the first time with friends. I had the fabulous lamb dish, it was served pink as I asked and was so yummy. My wife enjoyed the Sea Bass dish too. We loved the food and the service was friendly, efficient and helpful. The whole occasion was above expectations. Food presentation was excellent. Beware of the deserts, they are so naughty, but oh so nice. The loo is spotless, and there is free WiFi available. Altogether an enjoyable visit; we will be back. Thank you so much Emily and the team.

Really good food and wonderful service.

Lovely place good food dog friendly

We really enjoyed the our main course and desert. The quality of ingredients, portion size and presentation was exceptional. Thanks to the chef and staff. We will see you again in the very near future.

I've never had anything but a great experience when I've visited the Curlew. The food is always good, and the service has always been excellent. Staff are always very friendly, helpful and actually fun, which makes for a great dining experience. Today's waitress was Sharon, and she couldn't have done any more to please us, she was lovely. Thanks Sharon.

Great service with friendly staff. Good food as always. Annoyingly forgot to get my app card/cide scanned so no surprise incentive for the next visit this time!

Just dropped in for a quick drink and catch up with family. Perfect for that!

Just back from a lovely meal at The Curlew. Sarah, Guy, Lauren and the team gave us a very warm welcome. They were all very efficient, attentive and helpful. The pub was busy which created a nice atmosphere. Inside the pub is always clean and tidy, the garden is clean and well tended(the wet weather meant we stayed inside). Well done to you all and thanks for a lovely meal.

Recommended to me by a friend , and certainly didn’t disappoint. Modern but cosy inside and one of the best selection of beers I’ve seen for a long time. Food was fantastic and able to accommodate us for a quick meal despite being fully booked. Huge beer garden as well. I will definitely be back.

A nice atmosphere, good quality food and friendly staff. We went out for a family birthday meal with the grandparents as we received a 40% off mains voucher, which made it more value for money; I personally would not go at full price. Because of the promotion it was very busy in the restaurant and food was a little slow in coming out as expected, but they communicated with us when our food was due. One of the plates had to be sent back because elements of the dish was cold, but they sorted this ASAP. I would recommend going here for dinner, but perhaps the usual price is a little more than I'd like to pay for the food. Plenty of choice on the menu and a lovely atmosphere to be in.

Superb food from a large pub with atmosphere. Highly recommended

one of the best pubs in the area, fantastic atmosphere and good food!

Food was disappointing. High prices but low quality and stingy portions. Won't be going back

Great local pub. Food was very good, enjoyed the cocktail, service was friendly and efficient. They have local cocktails and gin options, which is great to see the support for the area.

Came for my fathers 70th. Lovely food and they made his day by bringing out a crumble with a candle and singing happy birthday. The little touches matter, thank you to Kate our server

Excellent food. Crab cake starter was particularly lovely. Both the chicken and prawn skewers were tasty and well presented. Even my fussy dad said it was his best pub meal in years! Fantastic service from Emily.

Always great service and great food, plus once you sign up to the app and collect points you always receive money off or free cocktails/desserts so well worth it. Not the cheapest place, but always worth the price as food/service are 5 star.

Emily our server was lovely. Very attentive. Quick service. Great food. Lovely lunch.

Was dubious about returning to The Curlew after a poor experience a while ago , but I’m delighted to say we had a very different experience this time . Sharon our waitress was exceptional and went above and beyond to make sure our whole visit was wonderful . Great food but more importantly great service from Sharon . Will definitely be back on a Monday lunchtime .

Both the food and the service was excellent, our waitress in the dog friendly area was a credit to the restaurant

We came here for a meal to celebrate my in laws 41st wedding anniversary this was only our 2nd visit here and the meal was very nice, enjoy the experience the staff was friendly, the only fly in ointment was the waitress who served us need to be a bit more attentive, I know it got busy but we were trying to attract her attention for the bill, but she was still very pleasant., definitely will come back again

Excellent Sunday lunchtime visit with friends. Service was excellent (our waitress Claire in particular). Food was really good with a wide selection on the menu. Dogs are very well catered for with water bowls and treats available to help yourself to at the door and all the staff seem to enjoy interacting with the fury customers!

Went out for a meal. The waitress serving us (Claire) was very friendly 🙂 and also very understanding to my needs as I have certain dietary requirements and always feel on edge when I go out. She made me feel at ease. So thank you for this Claire. However, there was another waitress who brought my meal over and her tone of voice was extremely loud when I asked her a question, I felt she was shouting at me. If I had of been in the main part of the restaurant I would have got up and walked out due to feeling so embarrassed as it was very busy. I would have given it a five star as I'm there quite often and it's the first time I felt uncomfortable.

Food and service great, Prosecco brought to the table with a wine bucket and stand then not opened just left there!!

Sunday lunch with friends and our dog. Staff attentive, especially Claire who was friendly and helpful. The food was lovely and lots of treats and water for our dog - we’ll be back! 😊

I had an amazing meal. I told them how I like it done and they did it it was great....

Stopped by on the way home from the airport. Very kindly squeezed us in as it was busy. Great food, excellent service. Would definitely come back

We have been here a few times before, but given that was two years ago. I remember the food being amazing, yes it's a little on the more expensive food however it seemed worth it in the past. This time we ordered the camembert sharing board between 3 people. The "sharing board" came with four slices of bread and some pumpkin seeds. Four slices!!!! For £15 something you'd expect a little more bread. It never used to be like that. I mean how much does bread cost? Not a lot to keep your customers happy. We then ordered pizza which was very dissapointing, especially for £16 each. Very bland. They used to be so good! The atmosphere is nice and the staff are friendly but the food was a let down to say the least. For those price points you'd expect more effort on the food front. £130 paid between 3 people. Please bring back your former chef to make the food worth paying for again! The desserts were nice though.

Nice pub, nice choice of drinks and food

Absolutely shocking and unhelpful attitude of manager . Will never return to this pub ever again. Completely couldn't care less about his clients. Maybe get a different job that doesn't involve customer service as you don't provide any.

Fantastic restaurant, class food, service & aesthetic. We were served by Emily a couple of weeks ago who was swift & attentive. I would highly recommend this place to anyone as we have previously also had a fantastic breakfast here.

The Curlew was recommended to us and I'm so glad we went. The menu was varied and food wonderful. Very friendly and warm atmosphere, Emily was helpful and professional. We'll be back.

Lovely serving lady! We went for a few drinks (Guinness and long islands are really good!) ended up having the three plates for £10 and they were pretty big plates compared to what you normally get would recommend

Yasmin was very attentive and helpful. A lovely celebration meal. Food was lovely and atmosphere buzzing. The drinks were also very quick to arrive and the cocktails amazing!

Working down in the area for a couple of days. Great find polite waitress service by Laura who was amazing 10/10. Food was warm very tasty. Will definitely eat here again if in the area.

Great waitress Emily ! Food was probably the best pub lunch I’ve had in years. The arancini starter was fabulous. The lamb pan roasted was delicious. Recommend the Moroccan chicken on a skewer.