The Dovecote Restaurant in Purbeck

On the plus side Staff were friendly and helpful, a pleasant sandwich made with lovely fresh bread . But sadly he cafe itself is looking a little tired and the sink in the toilet was an absolute disgrace

Went here for the first time today with my sis and friend, we had jacket potatoes, they were lovely 😍, lovely setting, nice staff , definitely next time I'm that way I will go again 😁

£21 for one scone, one sandwich, a tea and a coffee… Lots of flies buzzing around in the café… Not a friendly Welcome from the woman serving Good coffee

good food service with a smile very pleasant 👍

Whilst waiting for a couple of D of E silver teams to complete their 3 day expedition in Purbeck at Moreton, we leaders needed some urgent sustenance close to the finish and found it at the Dovecote Cafe. Having missed breakfast, all 5 of us opted for the standard/small all day breakfast and had one of the best breakfasts we have had in many years of running our centre, possibly even "The best". Well done and thanks to the Dovecote team for the welcome and excellent food. Will try the cream teas next time;-)

Very nice café with young staff ideal for a stop on your walk

Tables and floor unclean and had to ask 3 times before table was cleaned. Had cream tea, scone was dry, portions of jam and clotted cream a bit on small side, tea was mediocre only. Not value for money

Unfortunately visited on a plant sale day, cafe unable to cope with any kind of volume. Long queues, food very slow to be delivered (more than an hour of queuing and waiting for sandwiches). Request for dairy free children’s lunch not fulfilled (allergy procedures not followed). Waiting staff very nice but not well informed.

Good food with friendly service in very pleasant garden surrounds. Well worth a visit.

We dropped in for lunch and very much enjoyed our fish and chips. Very good food, had the two mains for £20, and great coffee. Staff were friendly and helpful, and there was a great playlist coming from the kitchen. Great to hear employees laughing and obviously happy in their work.

I had the halloumi burger main. It was very tasty indeed and very good value on the £10 deal. This is a genuine review hence none of the cut and paste lingo that others use.

Pleasant little café with a good range of food, and tea and cakes. Small range of gifts also available.

We popped in for a cream tea ,, the scones Will rock hard,, stale ,, the cream was hard and the sell by day was removed,,??? Are table was dirty,, and 2 other tables left unclean,, for as long as we sat there !! Staff was leaning over the work tops ,, not a good impression,,,, sad really,, because the garden is lovely ,,we attended your premise’s around 1500 ,,on the 04/02/24 ,, i had to ask for spoons ,, I did not speak to any members of staff,, because on my first impressions was not good,, why was the labels removed from the pots of cream ????

Beautiful breakfast Great friendly service Great value Absolutely easiest five stars ever should be 10 for this fantastic place

Popped in for lunch after walking around the walled gardens. Very tasty sandwiches, and friendly staff.

Lunch on a rainy day. Limited seating inside

Visited end of January 2022. Really good service, much needed cuppa - where a pot of tea means at least two cups! plenty of room, both inside and in the spacious and beautiful garden, which I look forward to revisiting in spring when it’ll Look even more Lovely. Well done!

Lovely country cafe surrounded by their large gardens. Good wholesome food with seating inside and out. Run by a charity supporting employment training for those with special needs. It's such a great cause.

Food excellent, lovely place for children.

This was a lovely café with friendly staff and delicious food. We had the classic breakfast and it was huge and tasty. Kept us going all day.

Just had afternoon tea (or high tea) here and it was perfect, the food was really fresh, and it was a good mix of sweet & savoury, the pot of tea was piping hot, just how it should be. The staff are all friendly and professional, and don't hover at your table, they take time to explain what you are having, come and ask you if everything is ok, then just let you get on and enjoy your food. We left feeling very full and very satisfied and it's great value for money. Would go again in a heartbeat.

The dovecote café is one of the best places i have been to in a long time. Home made food and the portions are big and the staff are friendly. So if you are hungry go get some food then you can walk it off round the garden...

Such a lovely place for lunch. The food is made with love and care. We sometimes come for tea/coffee and fabulous home made cakes.

We had cake and it was lush!!! All of our varied dietary requirements were met. Lovely afternoon tea.

I had the sausage sandwich it was very nice but the skin on the sausage was very rubbery and hard to chue

Great place for a stop off on bike ride. Must come back and view the gardens.

A charming café set inside a garden center, had a full English breakfast which was delicious, the tomatoes and mushrooms were fresh and I recommend adding the black pudding for £1. Staff were kind and helpful, they employ community members with disabilities which is wonderful to see. Highly recommended.

Lovely place to escape for awhile, charming staff in nice surroundings, just enjoyed a scrumptious bacon BAP

Lovely gardens and cute cafe. The cream tea was okay, not great. The scones were nice but the clotted cream was frozen solid.

Lovely garden and cafe with very friendly staff. The English breakfast was huge and with fresh produce.

Great cafe. No main meals this week, good service though, friendly staff

Great family lunch, very friendly staff and really good choice including specials. Definitely recommend especially with the gardens which are free to access with a recommended donation and they support young people with learning disabilities

Beautifully laid out gardens and the cafe was a welcome place to stop for a cup of tea and cake! Quick service and friendly staff.

A lovely, friendly place. Jacket potatoes were wonderful. Thank you very much. We will be back!

Had a morning coffee and croissant. Excellent coffee, nice croissant and friendly service. The cafe is compact but well laid out with both indoor and outdoor tables. Several trails lead away to the different garden areas and the dinosaur hunt for the children.

Purchased a cheese chutney and portland crab sandwich and drinks at this cafe today. Enquired about the crab sandwich as my husband is quite particular about his crab and was told it was a mixture of white and brown meat. Unfortunately it was more brown meat and a tiny sprinkle if white crab. He also felt there was crab paste added in the mixture. Cheese & chutney sandwich arrived with that much sweet chutney that I couldn't taste the small amount of grated cheese on the sandwich. One side of the bread was fresh the other side was going stale. For me it was the most expensive I have ever paid for the few crisps that were on the plate because I couldn't eat the sandwich.

Went for a breakfast, excellent value for the money, lovely setting near the Morton walled garden.

Great food and service Pre-booked table for a group of eight Very well organised

We loved the feel and diversity of this lovely garden. We enjoyed a very good crab sandwich. 2 negatives were the half hour wait for food. The unpleasant and rude attitude to everone of the mature dark haired lady in charge of the counter.

Fantastic cafe. Lovely grub and excellent, friendly staff. We'll definitely be back! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟😊

Absoultely lovely cafe,such wonderful staff and the food is fab,one of the best cream teas I've had !!!

Absolutely beautiful environment. Wonderful staff, yummy food. 10/10 would definitely come again.

A fantastic place, serving one of the best Bacon, Brie & Cranberry sandwiches.

Great meal, enjoyed walk around garden.

Lovely food and staff and great atmosphere

Food was good, lovely pot of peppermint tea too. The only downside was the attitude of the woman serving hence the 3 stars. Remember if you are customer facing you cannot talk to customers that way.

Lovely cafe. Chocolate brownie was very nice and so was my Earl grey tea. My husband enjoyed his cappuccino too.

Nice little café, beautiful grounds. A lovely walled garden with a stream, a pond, a small children's playground and some farm animals. There wasn't a lot of choice for food. My sandwich was okay. My hot chocolate was nice but it's the setting that makes this place a delight.

Just had sandwiches, coffee and cake, absolutely lovely and great service too, highly recommended

Great for a pick me up snack whilst on the go!

Great coffee. Will try the food next time. Very busy on my visit.

Very tasty food, with comfortable surroundings. Take heed of the uneven floor! The staff are very helpful and polite.

Lovely place with friendly staff and great atmosphere

Free garden walk good menu choice, good service, what's not to like. The local church & windows are fabulous also.

Great place to stop during my cycle rides.

What a lovely relaxing place, the food was lovely and very hot. I certainly will return again. The staff are so helpful, nothing is to much trouble.

Lovely little cafe set in beautiful gardens. Was pretty busy but service was quick and food was delicious. One jacket potato a little under cooked but other was perfect!

I love working in this café because I need to improve my cooking skills & at the start of college at 9:00 am I order my lunch. (that's what I need to do as one of my targets) then I collect it at lunchtime at about 12:45 pm.

Great place to eat, good service and very clean.

Very clean and the prices are not to bad, great selection of cakes .

Regular visitors. Usual high standard

This quaint cafe is located within the Morton Walled Garden, food is really good & tasty, with very reasonable prices. The cafe service is ably provided by senior staff who are assisted by ( younger people who are less fortunate with their personal capabilities ) provide a friendly & helpful service within a nice cosy setting.

Very nice cafe with a beautiful view of the gardens. The staff are very friendly and helpful.

Cosy comfortable & coffee or T if you still English (very rare these days)

A bit of a wait for food but very good. Gardens beautiful and easy walking

Relaxed dining inside and out. Pleasant staff, pleased it's scheduled to be open most of the year. Enjoyable wandering.

Bad service. Rude staff. Bad cake. Coffee ok. Don’t come here.

Great selection of food from this cafe. Wonderful location with a beautiful garden to explore. Stop for a quick coffee or a long lunch. It has picnic benches under cover outside or inside seating. Take your pick.

Lovely clean cafe, great service and beautiful cake!

Lovely food reasonably priced. Good selection of snacks and meals as well as hot and cold drinks.

Great gluten free cakes! Lovely staff and very friendly. Thank you

Nice place to visit but the food was bland and we had a long wait for food. Not worth the money or wait unfortunately!

Had the fish and chips. Unfortunately very dry chips and the fish overcooked. Lady who served me was abrupt when taking order. Wouldn't eat there again.

Very dissapointed in the dovecote cafe was not busy when we arrived but had to wait 35minutes for 3 coffees there was plenty of staff working but obviously not very organised. The walled Gardens were also very dissapointing everywhere looked a mess and hardly any flowers mostly weeds there was a lovely fountain but that was covered in algae and the water dirty .Unfortunately I would not recommend a visit at all

A great experience. A welcome place to rest after walking around the gardens

I'd love to give this cafe a higher rating because I know that their heart is in the right place. However, on the day we visited in August, we waited nearly an hour for our food. We weren't warned about the wait when we ordered. The food when it arrived was good. So if you go at a quiet time you'll probably have a better experience.

Recommending the quiche salad with new potatoes 😃

A nice little cafe, but their ordering/waiting system seems to confuse people. We had an early lunch there, but they buzz you on a device that they give you when you order. You stand around wherever and wait. They then buzz you to go and get your drink...then you go away and wait till they buzz you again to return back to get your food..when i went up for it the server had walked away so i just picked it up, with the paper receipt balanced on top of my wife's sausage in a bun..in the mean time there were several people waiting all very confused as to where or how long their food would be....on the plus side the food was very nice. Bacon brie and cranberry sandwich on brown bread was nice with a small side salad and crisps..shame that they didnt have some hand sanitizer available inside the cafe because the small toilet block had a long queue....so wasnt able to wash our hands before eating. Just a small gripe, but nowadays its a bit of a must have thing...they had some outside but after holding onto the buzzer thing, which must have had many other people's hands all over it, while waiting for it to buzz me to get our food, a quick clean of hands would have been welcome.

Not been before will go again very nice.

Very good food well priced and a wide choice

Lovely location, good coffee and tea. Scones looked good, although we didn't have one. Staff were nice but did seem to need an extra hand or two; tables weren't being cleared, almost every table was covered with used cups, plates & leftover food. We arrived around 4pm, some were clearly left over from lunch. It's a real shame as inevitably it gives a poor impression of what would otherwise be a fantastic little cafe.

Nice choice of well priced food and great coffee

Excellent food & service. Would recommend to friends

Service took a long time and the coffee was awful and left a bad aftertaste.

A beautiful day with good food, pretty walks/gardens and excellent company. First time there, will definitely be returning, an absolute gem.

Very nice food the pasties were good and sausage rolls out of this world

Helpful staff & a great cream tea - huge scones with a very generous amount of jam

Lovely cream tea. Very generous with jam, clotted cream just enough to cover the large scones. Choice of plain or fruit. Tables well spaced. Slightly higher prices but as there is no admission charge for the gardens I didn't mind this. They also employ youngsters with learning disabilities.

Tasty generous pieces of cake and good covid set up.

Great location. Good quality food with a broad choice of dishes on the menu.

Tasty, filling scones and nice light lunches. Tables were left uncleared by staff and lots of plates, trays and leftovers left sitting out for a while. Tables not cleaned between customers and nothing for customers to clean tables with for themselves. But off putting generally, and especially in current times Nice gardens to walk through before and after eating.

The walled garden is definitely worth a visit.

stopped for tea and cake during our walk: very extensive menu, we simply had tea, coffee and coconut cake and everything was good. we looked at the plates of food that were served around us and they were huge and customers seemed to be very happy. fast and efficient service, lacks atmosphere (surprising considering the setting) but well worth a refueling stop

Not special but have Employ youngsters which is good.

Beautiful place, lovely staff & great food

Loved this place! Prices are fantastic and for what seems like mostly home made cakes and sausage rolls. Massive selection and all individually wrapped (covid I assume). Big portions and great prices. Toilets were clean. Plus accessible with a push chair and parking was easy - plenty of fields etc. Was free to park and walk about to, which was nice - made the café even more reasonable in my opinion.

Very pretty. Really friendly young people. Enjoyable coffee in the sun. What more could you want? :)

Lovely visit yesterday. Staff seemed stressed and customers kept putting there hand through the plastic screens for condiments... Its there for a reason 🤦🏻‍♀️ But food and drinks were lovely

Lovely lunch. One female member of staff seemed a little grumpy with the polite young man serving us. It doesn't go unnoticed. Lovely surroundings. Toilets were not very nice I'm afraid.

The cafe is a key part of the lovely Walled Garden, and it offers indoor and outdoor seating, as well as the option of bringing a picnic rug and ordering takeout. The cream tea was enjoyed, the prawn linguine was tasty, the fish and chips...