The Horse & Groom - Winner of Daily Echo's Dorset Pub of the Year 2023 in Purbeck

I found the service to be very good.. As regards the atmosphere it was a tad like the climate...chilly...but the daily special was slightly deer, especially for the venison burgers...but hey...can't win them all.. No point locking horns...or antlers...

Nice selection of real ales in a friendly atmosphere. Didn't eat here but it looked and smelled good.

Seemed to have an upper market clientele compared to other pubs in Wareham. The barman wearing a shirt and tie. Obviously as such the prices were a bit higher but service and atmosphere were very good

Got my card cloned in this pub , went in and asked for cctv so i could send to my bank , the manager was not happy about it and im still waiting for the footage, this was three weeks ago, just be careful when paying by card.

Great selection of ales, amazing fish and chips, and very friendly staff.

Thank you so much, this was our first meal for our week in Dorset. The quality was superb - all 5 of us were utterly satisfied, and service with warm smiles - well done… we will be back 🤩⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lunchtime drink for us so can't comment re food. However, the menu looked excellent. Fairly priced as well. Anyway. Really lovely pub with friendly welcoming staff. Great range of ales beautifully kept as you would expect from a Camra pub. Comfy garden area. Really enjoyable hour or so. Recommended.

Nice food. Good service. Good selection on tap. Prices average for the area.

Visited Sunday 30th March. A great pub, we had Sunday Roast which was one of the best I've had. Highly recommend a visit. Staff are so nice, friendly. Nothing too much trouble will definitely come back when we are in the area again

Saturday lunchtime and first choice on the menu was sold out! Only choice of 2 draught ciders, no food hygiene rating on show, no brown sauce. Pub not exactly clean, or welcoming. Won't be returning.

The best pickled eggs we've had for ages. Great nightcap on a Tuesday night

Fab pub! Genuinely friendly welcome from these guys today, absolutely delicious fish pie - real fire, real people and real food!

Good local, good beer, good food

Great pub. Food is good, staff are friendly and do a cracking job.

Busy day for drinks on Christmas Day, but nice welcome

Lovely locals pub, excellent beer and food 😊

Perfect pub. Delicious food, good beer selection, friendly staff. Fireplace inside and nice garden out

Can't comment on the food (though it looked absolutely exquisite on the table opposite). Classic local pub. Great service, lovely customers and atmosphere with good drinks. I'm a local and come here fairly often. Would always recommend.

A very jovial host made this a good experience. Decent pub food menu, including sandwiches and jacket potatoes at lunchtime. Good selection of beers and ciders.

Lovely food. Dog friendly. Good price. No WiFi

Very friendly place. Always feel welcome.

Had Sunday lunch here today. Food was hot and delicious. 11 of us and all the food was excellent. The man who took our orders was lovely and the service was great too. Offered sauces and extra gravy. All great!

Lovely real ale and pub food place. The ploughman's lunch was delicious. My only gripe is that the garden has got a bit tatty and needs some attention

Great music Good food Good service

Heard a lot about this pub & it certainly lived up to the positive views, had a fantastic lunch here. I’ll definitely be back 😎

Lovely pub, sat outside in the back under a canopy, a sunny day and comfortable. Great service and food . Lovely atmosphere.

From the outset, I'm a fussy eater, so no veg was required. They said they'd meet this and I asked for extra roast potatoes please, using the words 'lots' and reiterating several times. I was a little disappointed when it arrived. I 'should' have asked for Yorkshire puddings, it slipped my mind not having beef. The food was good, but pub was full so had to eat in the very busy beer garden. The wind was strong, the wasps a real nuisance. I was checked on, I should have asked for more, but was busy batting wasps away and just wanted to leave at that point. Wasps not pubs fault. I enjoyed what I had.

Was recommended to us and we weren't disappointed, went for a drink then booked a table for that evening, food was lovely, I had the cajun chicken husband had the gammon, we really enjoyed it, also had dessert and coffee. If you like the feel of the old pubs but with great food, drinks a friendly service this pub is a must It also has a beer garden out the back which is also very nice. 10/10

Excellent food. Excellent staff. Can't wait to go back.

We eat out regularly and have to say this was a thoroughly enjoyable lunch.The food was excellent,with a good choice and lovely presentation at a reasonable price.And the staff were very friendly.A really clean place with a great outside area.Cant wait to go back.

Had the seafood basket but the cod I think it was was a bit rubbery. Had a taste of each piece but wouldn't order again.

The food was very good and the location is very cozy.

A proper pub with proper beer, friendly service and excellent food.

Didn’t eat there but lovely friendly pub

We were recommended to go here by some local inn-keepers. It did not dissapoint. Great food and service! 5/5

Tasty tapas tonight! Lovely food, thanks.

Fantastic place with a warm and friendly welcome. Value for money with a good selection of foods and drinks. Portions are very good, had fish and chips and really struggled to finish as it was so filling. They have plenty of space and areas to eat and drink as well as a beer garden. Dogs and children are welcome.

Great pub with such friendly staff and excellent beer

Don’t usually leave reviews but was really impressed with this place . Had a brilliant nights craic during our 2 night stay in Wareham. Live music, really good beers and atmosphere. Staff were excellent, really friendly. Great pub all round!

Traditional English pub with an excellent selection of beer that changes regularly, a good menu with a choice for everyone, i've eaten here many times and have never been disappointed. If you wish to dine on Sunday lunchtime, then you will need to book a couple of weeks in advance as it's always very popular.

Very well prepared fish and chips , good service

Went for a dog walk and popped in for a drink

We wondered into this pub after getting a bit lost on our way to durdledoor (if you know the area you know just how lost we were...🤣) we were very tired from our 2 hour bus drive and not knowing the area very well wanted a place to settle whilst we found a way back. The staff were so friendly and we felt at ease straight away. The drinks were well priced and the atmosphere was welcoming. There appeared to be an area for dogs as well and an outside area. I want to thank all the staff for providing us a little relief (without even knowing) as emotions were starting to run a little high for us at the time... i recommend a visit if you're in the area

Best pub in Wareham! Great food, beers and atmosphere

Very welcoming Very dog friendly Very affordable Traditional pub.

Wow, fantastic Sunday roast. Great staff and a nice selection of ales. What a find.

Excellent atmosphere, good food , friendly staff.

Sunday lunch is fabulous Staff amazing First class

Lovely pub restaurant food and local ales , service was excellent 👌 😋

What an amazing pub friendly staff great food and great selection of beers , larger and wine ,wish we lived in Wareham

Favourite pub in Wareham! Great food, nice welcome, decent drink choices, nice open fire. What's not to love?? Update: They also show 6 nations rugby!!!! Yay😊

Friendly staff , brilliant food. Best Sunday lunch I've had in many years. Recommended

As a local me and the missus often pop in for a pint after a walk as it's our favourite pub in town. Today we went in for Sunday roast and we were not disappointed. Absolutely lovely food and lots of it accompanied by the usual friendly and welcoming staff 💯 will be back soon

Good atmosphere, and nice food.

Excellent service, great tasty food, charming and pleasant staff highly recommend 😋

Very very busy, even midweek, no seats, except reserved tables who don't turn up and other customers have to stand as they won't let you use them.

Wonderful road .Great service xx

Lovely cosy pub, roaring fires, and beautiful outside space at the rear. Staff were very friendly and nothing was too much trouble. Food was excellent.

I can see why the pub has won awards. Great ale and superb service. Solid menu. Food was top notch. Friendly atmosphere.

Proper pub. Good food . Dog friendly. Love it

We had our pre-Christmas dinner here, and it was an all-around favourite. The menu is well put together, and the food was superb. If they had roast potatoes like these in Hobboton, Samwise Gamgee would have stayed in the Shire. Besides the great food, there's a good selection of well-kept, drought beers, lagers, and ciders, Kudos to the H&G team for making this pub the warm and welcoming place it is.

A fabulous, friendly, award winning pub. Highly recommended.

Really good choice of local ales and standard bar drinks, lovely place, lots of history and good friendly staff.

Amazing food. Nice people, great atmosphere and a lovely place for lunch.

Nice decor, friendly welcome and lovely food. Everything you want really.

We went as a family here, staff were fine- not especially warm but fine. Fish and chips was fine- very large portions which personally we found a bit silly as so much food ends up wasted. Chips were nice. There was only one vegetarian option and it was a halloumi/avo burger. It was a burger bun with some fried halloumi, mashed up avo and a few lettuce leaves. Nothing else in the bun. It was pretty tasteless and can say it was the worst vegetarian burger I’ve had in years. Sort your burger game guys! Vege burgers can be so tasty and full of good stuff, even a simple tomato would have jazzed this boring thing up a bit. Couldn’t even be bothered to finish my food (which is unusual for me!). These days I expect much more re vegetarian options, wouldn’t go back here tbh.

More and more impressed by the ales inl this pub. Always an interesting selection of ales generally from the South West with some I don't see elsewhere in the local area.Characterful old pub. Good value traditional food. Smallish but pleasant outdoor seating area which is well protected and can be quite warm out of usual season

Wow! Absolutely blown away, definitely deserves pub of the year. Food was perfect, really nice atmosphere and good service for a reasonable price.

Good food,friendly waitress staff. A nice atmosphere, what more do you want!

Busy, busy pub. With good reason. Good choice of beers and good food. With an authentic pub atmosphere. Excellent.

Hubby had Cajun chicken, which he said was delicious. I had cod & chips, the thickest, tastiest cod I've ever had, it was beautiful. The place is clean, the staff very efficient and super-friendly and the price very reasonable. Would ld definitely recommend.

Was looking for a decent Sunday lunch and walked by this pub on the way to another. We are so glad that we stopped here as the food was the best that we had had in a long time and the service was friendly and pleasant! The best vegetarian roast meal that I think I’ve ever had and i can be fussy 🤣 Well done for making a great impression on us and thank you. We will definitely be recommending this pub to others!

Service was average as was the beer. Pricey and very very neutral atmosphere. Nice surroundings but staff fairly uninterested.

Came on a Sunday, had a lovely roast lunch. Had the lamb shank and there was plenty of gravy and sauces available. The pub is cask marque certified and had plenty of beers on. Staff were very friendly and had a chilled atmosphere. There's also a beer garden.

I had a truly wonderful experience here. The food was delightful (Sunday roast), it is a cask mark pub serving real ale (so I got another scan on the ale trail) and it also had a lot of prosecco - of which I drank a copious amount to get over the sadness of the women's netball loss in the World Cup final. Extra points for the fact they were showing the women's netball final and supporting women's sports. I would definitely come again if was in the Wareham area (which, with the brilliant tank museum just down the road, I may well do). Well done to the landlord and staff.

Great family friendly pub, in a brilliant location. The Sunday roast went down a treat with all the family and the pigs in blankets were sublime!

Sat down at the only table that had no reserve sign in it only to be told that we couldn’t eat in a pub of empty tables because of understaffing in the kitchen

The service an atmosphere were nice, however the food was quite disappointing. Very nice place to drink a beer but i would not recommend them for food. We ordered a tune sandwich and a burger we left more than half of them. Despite the ingredients are fresh, the end products were quite average. The bread chosen for both the tuna sandwich and the burger rull are quite average bread, especially for burgers these days you would expect a proper roll! Also, the meat was stiff and overall unpleasent to eat. The cost of the burger was approximately £15 which does not reflect at all the quality compared to other places.

Great Sunday Roast, Great Atmosphere, Well Done!

Amazing friendly staff and a great selection of beers. Delicious food with a range of interesting specials. Lovely friendly atmosphere that is usually busy. But often can find a table. Best book for a table at peak times though. Award winning fish and chips are delicious too!

Good food, excellent ales and friendly staff.

Very nice little pub with lively atmosphere and good drink selection.

Never ate here but did have a drink in their lovely garden, and always so nice🦋

Didn't get a chance to eat but the pub was great, really nice and cosy out the back. Helps that they serve offshore as well, one of my favourites 😉

Really nice quaint hostelry. Service was great and really friendly. Good selection of beers. Would certainly recommend.

fabulous Sunday dinner friendly and warm welcome. The staff are all amazing. Caroline and Bob as the owners and Joe the manager, and all bar and waiting staff are all very friendly and helpful. Well worth a visit. Fabulous place. update: 02/07/23 this place just gets better and better. Now Dorset Pub of the Year 2023 absolutely fantastic

Pleasant meal with usual good service. Great choice of ales

Friendly welcome. Fine beer selection. Recommended if you are near Wareham Quay.

Super food. Friendly staff. Lovely location and well priced. The fish and chips was stunningly good and the HG burger superb

Didn't eat, but any pub that keeps its beer this well deserves a recommendation.

Great pub Lovely friendly staff Food brilliant hot& tasty Highly recommend if your in Wareham

Always a pleasure drinking here x

Excellent, friendly welcome, great selection of ale. Food fantastic

Amazing roast dinner. Proper home cooked food. Hot, tasty and the veggie option was great. Would highly recommend.

Veey friendly particularly the manager, prices reasonable , a excellent roast dinner as well on Sunday's

Great Sunday Lunch piping hot normally beef turkey pork on offer. High recommended, but book early i called on a tuesday and only 2 choice of time available.

Brilliant local pub. Looks after its beers and the staff are always friendly and helpful

Lovely little boozer, dog and kid friendly, spent a whole evening in here seeing friends recently and really enjoyed ourselves.

Popped in just for a coffee on a cold, wet afternoon. The welcome couldn't have been warmer; the pub has a genuinely warm atmosphere. Only stayed for coffee but will definitely return when next visiting. Thank you.

We read some good reviews and popped in for a drink - we weren't disappointed! Booked a table for a meal. Really friendly staff, nice pub food, and a few gluten free options clearly signposted. Good choice of drinks too.