The King John Inn in Wiltshire

The roasts were ok but the puddings were so disappointing that I don’t think we’ll be back. The server over-sold the ‘special’ which was a white chocolate bread and butter pudding. It was awful - cold (you’d have thought she might have mentioned that), a watery berry compote and no crème anglaise as promised. The second, a cheesecake was only average. The chef obviously has skills but why try to mess about with the puddings (deconstructing cheesecake and serving solid cold B&B pud) The second Butcombe pub in a row that has been a disappointment so probably best not to try another.

We came with some friends to celebrate my Husband's birthday. Thanks to the generous loyalty card, we enjoyed a complimentary drink on arrival. The food and service was excellent, and being dog friendly we took our dog with us (she has separation anxiety so we prefer to take her along with us) and she enjoyed some treats too! This was our third visit and we'll definitely be back!

Had a very well prepared and good quality lunch delivered with very attentive service. Great location for walks in the outstanding location of Cranbourne Chase.

Had a lovely Sunday lunch here. Service was excellent and food delicious and great quality.

Very friendly place. Helpful staff & excellent food. Very clean & well presented establishment. Well worth repeat visits.

Me and my partner came here for dinner and we absolutely loved it. For starters we had the prawn & crab cocktail also the calamari which were excellent choices. For the main i went for the Ox cheek Wellington, it was amazing and cooked to perfection! My partner had the brixham fishcakes with the gorgeous paris butter source. After our meal we moved to sit closer to the lovely roaring fire where the manager Don very kindly made us an old fashioned with whiskey, slightly off the menu but was the best I've had outside London. Another mention to the friendly & charming chef with glasses we spoke to in the carpark, we didn't catch his name unfortunately but we will not forget him and his team's lovely food. We look forward coming back here soon to soak up the atmosphere and try a few more things off of the menu!

Had Sunday lunch here with the family. Good food. Service left a bit to be desired but it was a busy Sunday afternoon. Car parking is very limited at busy times.

We had such a great stay! The staff was so welcoming, a special thanks to Charlie who made our time there perfect! The room was beautiful and very charming. We had dinner at the restaurant and the cheese soufflé was sooo good. I definitely recommend for a beautiful get away from the city

A little bijou but fine for one night. Food and service was excellent.

An all round wonderful place. Staff, location, food and rooms all exceptional. Couldn’t fault the place and the hotel is dog friendly… looks forward to staying again… Ps. The breakfast was unreadable

Welcoming, friendly and accommodating staff, great location for a walk and delicious lunch afterwards! We will be back.

The staff are always welcoming and do everything that they can to make your experience special. The food and drink (We had an exceptional bottle of Amarone!) is excellent. Can't recommend enough - chilled classic country vibes with excellent service, and in a stunning location.

A fantastic menu, food was incredible, service superb and such a lovely ambience even on a relatively quiet weeknight evening for our anniversary celebration.

Has a great evening meal at the king John.. great food and cozy atmosphere with a lovely log fire.. the new refurb is great also. Great staff, great chef, great location.

Really good food. Service was excellent. Staff were friendly and efficient. Wednesday evening with 25% discount made it very reasonable! We only came for dinner.

We stayed at the King John Inn the weekend before last and had the most wonderful overnight stay. Our stay started off with a complementary upgrade to the suite and a complimentary drink. The suite was stunning, the bedroom and bathroom were spotless and the bed was super comfy. We had a 3 course meal for dinner which every course was delicious and presented beautifully. I would highly recommend the Cheese Soufflé starter! The breakfast was just as yummy and again, presented beautifully. The thing that really makes this inn though is the staff. Particularly the young lady with blonde hair (I’m sorry I didn’t get your name), who worked her bottom off until late in the evening and was back early the next morning still will a big smile on her face and incredibly attentive. Thank you all for making our weekend away a memorable one. Can’t wait to visit again next time we are in the area.

Our 2nd stay at this beautiful Inn. Room exceeded our expectations and service provided by Charlie and her team was excellent. Highly recommended.

A beautiful building in a lovely setting. An extremely warm welcome, the staff were friendly and very helpful: they resolved all our requests. No problem was too difficult for them. The food was delicious and the menu offered an interesting choice. Worth going out of your way to stay here.

Love it here, will always visit at least once a year, good food (leeks were under cooked). Very dog friendly, great choice of wine and beer, cosy atmosphere and fabulous staff/service. Room at the front prone to traffic noise (ear plugs supplied) and no cold water from bath tap. Sad to see kippers off the breakfast menu. I know I sound a little negative, but we still love coming here and would fully recommend.

We had a fantastic time, and the bar tender was so kind and helpful recommending a new liqeur which has become my favourite. Thank you for making our stay so lovely.

What a refurb! We stayed at the King John a few years ago and were absolutely astonished to see how well the pub looks like now. The attention to detail is palpable from check-in and throughout our whole experience. The staff were very friendly but professional. Special mention to the cheese soufflé and the wellington. Breakfast was very good, lots of choices, amazing speciality coffees and the live fire was just the touch that made it magic. There was a bunch of classic cars WOW what a view. Congrats to Charlie, Wes and their teams. We definitely will be back I can't recommend enough!

What an amazing place to stay. The rooms have recently been refurbished and they look amazing and have everything you could want and didn't know you needed. The bed and pillows were super comfy. The staff were very friendly and nothing was too much for them. I peeked into the executive room and I think I would rename it - the Love Nest - unless you wanted a very wonderful executive room. I can imagine being in there for a couple of nights for a lovely romantic time out. The supper food was very tasty and the full English in the morning hit the spot. We were greeted with a complementary drink. All in all, it was an amazing stay and the best best place we stayed on our trip. It is in the middle of nowhere but it was worth it when we got there. I would go back in an instant.

Wonderful place to stay and eat in quiet location with great history

Lovely place, great rooms but spoilt by service. Everything seemed to want close down early on Sunday night. Having had a lovely evening with family in the bar and spent a lot on drinks we felt under pressure to go. We were told we could order food later but this was not the case. Breakfast was beautifully presented but cold. There were items not on the plate which were ordered such as smoked salmon. No toast offered and extra tea ordered did not arrive. Lighting could be better in breakfast area and rooms.

Delicious food, friendly service.

LI’m v like punch and staff were superb

Lovely pub. Great rooms and marvellous staff.

Lovely stay in a charming Inn with great staff a in a beautiful location.

Had a great meal here last night, service was excellent, very friendly staff. Menu was varied and interesting, presentation very good. Would definitely recommend and will become our go to pub. Only slight downside, there is limited car parking here.

Thank you for a very warm welcome and for looking after us. Many compliments to the head chef for the food, they are very good

This is a very special place, with delicious food and drinks, friendly staff and gorgeous surroundings.

Great meal at a competitive price

Monday night dinner out with Husband and daughter. Food was fabulous, service was great, even though there was a slight mix up with the order which was quickly rectified, overall lovely evening.

Lovely village inn, great food and beautifully decorated room. Staff very friendly and helpful.

We had Sunday lunch at the King John Inn. We had been a couple of times before and loved our time there, really enjoying the food and ambience. This time was very different. We were a party of 4 and each of us felt very disappointed with our lunches. My focaccia was stale, the dipping oil was drowned by acidic vinegar, the belly of pork was extremely fatty and the entire plate was over salted. And so on. It was hard to pay the bill. We understand that they were short staffed (the Manager was as ever very courteous and kind) but the quality of the food was quite frankly very poor.

Excellent accommodation and lovely staff!

A beautiful little pub with lovely rooms at a reasonable price, breakfast was exceptional

Great characterful inn and restaurant with great service and food. Rooms are comfortable and quiet so a good nights sleep for all of us!

What a gem. Idyllic, quiet location, enormous and luxurious rooms, and staff that are extremely friendly and aim to make your stay as perfect as possible. I was amazed to hear that they are due to close next week for refurbishment: I thought that the standard was high enough to be just after a refurbishment! The mind boggles at what it will look like afterwards - so I shall definitely have to return! Decent value for money too.

Stay was perfect and the staff adorable. The place is great and the hotel's restaurant is excellent (I am French - believe me).

Stayed for 2 nights (either side of a nearby wedding). Location and buildings were idyllic and staff were an absolute joy- nothing was too much trouble. Rooms were lovely (although a strategic lick of paint in a couple of high traffic places would help). Thank you all.

Very quaint and very friendly, very good food

Thank you so much for being very flexible and welcoming

The Lovely King John Inn was perfect for our needs. All the staff were wonderful, great quality food. The Sunday roast was excellent, the room had character in keeping with the inn itself. We had a family wedding at Larmar Tree house, so the King John was in the perfect location. Loved my stay ❤️ Beautiful little village. Great value!

Superb hotel, very warm welcome. Hearty breakfast.

We walked from Ludwell and tried to have breakfast. We arrived before 10 but were told that breakfast was over. Why advertise what you don’t really do?

We booked five rooms for the family for a one night stay after our son’s beautiful wedding at The Larmer Tree Gardens. All was great apart from mine and my husbands room which was the most expensive. There was no water in the room but luckily we caught the staff who were just closing the pub. In the morning I went to make a cup of tea for us both and there was no milk. Also a huge and beautiful room but no dressing table and mirror. I found a mirror on the inside of a wardrobe door and made a stool out of the little round coffee table however there was no plug socket close enough to plug in the hair dryer so couldn’t see what I was doing. The young man who was taking the breakfast orders and making the tea juice and coffee as well as serving everything did an amazing job serving 14 of us sitting outside😊

Very pleasant stay. Lovely evening meal. Breakfast quite limited. Limited to tasty cooked breakfast, although 3 options were unavailable. Nothing on offer other than cooked breakfast. Asked for fruit juice, no toast offered, 1 cup of coffee brought to the table. No top up offered.

Lovely room, great breakfast options and also dinner menu was delicious. I was staying for work and it was a good spot between offices that was visiting.

Lovely place, character inn, in the middle of rural Dorset, with beautiful countryside all around. Lovely rooms, food and drink. Would go again!

We had another great meal at the King John Inn, definitely worth a visit for their quality cuisine, and pleasant village location.

We had Sunday lunch and was predominantly served by Jules. The food was delicious and Jules was polite, efficient and competent. We are definitely going to recommend the King John Inn to our friends and family.

The building, food, and atmosphere were fantastic. The manager made the whole experience for us. We stepped into a busy pub and restaurant and even though all the staff were busy the manager made an effort to acknowledge us and then come to say hi as soon as he got a second. His welcome and explanation of rooms, services etc was considered and very polite and throughout our stay we were made to feel that we could ask for anything which was great. The breakfast and the breakfast choices were fantastic. The beds were comfortable and the room was nice and warm. I would definitely recommend staying here.

Here for a wedding - would come back just to stay anytime. Customer service is second to none. We have a toddler and my partner finds things quite stressful day, to day and the hotel are just so accommodating and helpful. Makes a stay an experience - as it should be. They have REAL cafeteria coffee in the rooms - we stay in 5 star hotels in London that don’t have this - this is genius of them. Brilliant. Thank you and deserves this review

Went to this pub for a drink and a small meal after a dog walk, staff were very friendly and attentive even offered water and a snack for our dog which of course he loved great pub very yummy food and even better atmosphere

Pretty disappointing. Went for a meal with a few friends. Ordered starters and mains. Service was friendly but food was underwhelming, especially considering the price point. My friends steaks were really chewy. I ordered the pie of the week (Chicken ham and mustard with seasonal green and 'proper gravy') the chopped broccoli stalks in the greens were so woody they were inedible (had to spit these out), the top of the pie was burnt and dry inside, and there was half a wish bone in the pie and some smaller shards of bone too. Not sure about how 'proper' the gravy was either. Mentioned all this to the waiter when he collected our plates but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. wasn't expecting anyone to bend over backwards but some acknowledgement would have been nice. If i had the option to come again i would opt out.

Stayed a night here as a stopping point on a roadtrip. I liked the Inn vibes, kind of like a cross between a traditional pub and a boutique hotel. Easy going, characterful, full of charm. My room was comfortable and well decorated, in a style in keeping with the hotel's Victorian exterior (it actually feels Edwardian to me). The food in Butcombe pubs is a drawcard. And of course the beer. I liked, too, that it was easy to park -- useful on a roadtrip.

Came across this pub by chance while walking and what a lovely surprise! The food was really tasty, fresh and interesting, great location and friendly, efficient service from Jules and the lady (presumably manager) there. I'd definitely travel to visit again.

Thanks to our waiter Jules for his attentive service, good knowledge of the menu and charming manner - especially when bringing us an unexpected treat for our dog Amber!

Called in for a drink and the staff were very friendly and accomadating. Reasonably priced drinks and lovely furnishings and decor

Lovely pub in the middle of a beautiful village. Stopped mid-walk for an impromptu lunch. Delicious lunch and Butcombe beer ably served by a very nice young man called Jules. Great service!

Excellent meal in a perfect gastropub environment. The food is outstanding as is the service. Good selection of beers and wines but the latter are quote expensive. A very enjoyable meal

In nearly 50 years, I've never heard my husband say that a pub meal was exceptional but it really was! We all enjoyed wonderful Sunday lunches with delicious, beautifully cooked meat dishes and a great selection of freshly cooked veg. Many thanks to the kitchen staff and Andy who looked after us.

The King John Inn and the staff was excellent 👍 We had room (2) lovely a nice view into the village. Lunch and Dinner was great. I am a big foodie and the food was the best I have had for a long time 🍴👍 The staff and chef’s were very friendly and engaging to talk to, which makes you feel at home. A great Seasonal Menu with a varied choice. Keep up the Good Work to all at The King John Inn 😀😀👍👍 Thanks David & Helen we will be back.

We split our walk around Cranborne Chase with lunch at the King John Inn in the pretty village of Tollard Royal. We were promised a warm welcome on the board outside before we entered and they delivered in full. The room is open, comfy and stylish. There is also lots of seating outside on a raised area. Service was relaxed and friendly. We drank an excellent pint of Butcombe ale and had a delicious meal of local venison faggots and the richly filled shin of beef and ale pie. If this pub had been at the end of our walk, we would probably have spent the rest of the day there. As it was we had to walk the hill back to our car. We’d happily do the walk again to revisit the King John.

Good basic clean room with a fantastic breakfast included in the price. Needs bigger bed and we were in the stable block upstairs which is a little claustrophobic!

Enjoyed a really good lunch at the King John. It is a really nice place with a warm a friendly feel. Andy the manager was excellent and runs the place so well. Food was good with decent choice of food. Compact but decent wine list. We will return.

Beautiful location, excellent service and the best breakfast ever!

A friendly, attractive pub with a comfortable atmosphere. Good service, treats and menu for dogs. Excellent food with interesting, modern cooking as well as traditional food choices. Exceptional wine list. Definitely will return!

We booked a weekend away with our dog having read reviews from others about the King John Inn. It was outstanding in every respect. Dogs are very welcome, Wilfie our furry boy had a great time. Our room (7) was lovely, clean and felt like our own little apartment. The drink selection was excellent at the bar, the food absolutely superb. Our evening meals were great, but for me it was the breakfasts that stood out. Best sausage ever according to my wife. And she knows her sausages! All the staff were excellent, especially Sam who was working on Friday evening, great service and very welcoming. We look forward to returning!

Appaling, the food is almost cold and terrible. the staff seemed rather impatient while taking the time to decide what we would like, with my children. I would not recommend to come here at all! Ruined our day.

Great supper with friends at the King John Inn. The menu was very good with something for everyone and a strong range of beers and wines to accompany. The star of the show was Jules who managed to remain charming, efficient and attentive despite being very short on colleagues on a busy Saturday night service. Very impressive young man. Thanks Jules!

We had a great meal at the KJ last night. The food was excellent, but what really stood out was the hard work and dedication of Jules, our waiter, who seemed to be running the place single handedly. He was superb, trying his best, friendly, appreciable and detailed in dealing with our requests. Most impressive! Good beer too!

We visited for lunch on Mother’s Day. I was especially impressed with the attentiveness of the staff. The food itself was delicious. The venue is cosy, comfortable and smartly designed. They definitely need more car parking spaces but overall we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and thought the choice of food, and kids menu too, was perfect.

Delicious lunch, wonderful service, especially from Jules

Superb meal! Very, very impressed. Reasonably priced and delicious food the biscoff doughnuts were a highlight! We will be back soon for sure!

While house hunting we stopped in The King John Inn for a lunch. Whole place was very inviting and well set up. Friendly and quick service from Zoe and Andy was briliant and food was extremely tasty. I would also highly recommend to taste local beer! Overall experience is great and we are looking forward to dine here again!

We had another wonderful lunch at the King John Inn. Top notch service from Jules (thank you, Jules) and delicious food - particular praise for the Cornish mussels and the vegan ravioli (even from one non-vegan). Thank you all.

Great food, great beer, great location and the rooms were lovely. Dog friendly which was great as well. Perfect for an overnight stay. Good job Andy the manager and your hard working team. All very friendly.

Why can’t chain businesses such as Butcombe hire Chefs and allow them to be creative? Clearly the food here is designed centrally and rolled out across all branches. Poor quality produce at high prices is such a disappointment. Customers don’t mind if there’s not a huge choice but we want delicious exciting food, locally sourced as Dorset has an abundance of excellent local suppliers! Such a shame as staff and location are fab

Great birthday lunch with friends courteous, amiable and efficient professional service. Delicious food. Both Zac and Chef Ash will to go the extra mile to make our visit outstanding.

Went for dinner yesterday and it was exceptional. The chicken saltimboca was a personal favourite. Our waiter Jules provided brilliant service and he has the same name as me 😂 how funny!

Excellent experience for a Sunday roast. We contacted the King John Inn one day before to book and let the team know that one of our party was vegan. We were informed that there was a vegetable wellington on the menu with a couple of traditional sides unavailable for a vegan diet. When we arrived, Jules was friendly and efficient - he informed us that, having given notice of our vegan guest, Chef had adapted the sides for a vegan diet. The meal was superb. I must congratulate Jules on some great customer service.

Good food both nights of our stay and great drinks. Would have liked the option of cereal, fruit and yogurt at breakfast but cooked breakfast was very good.

Food very good, attentive service from the bar team, service team, whilst I appreciate you were busy could have been a little more vigilant/attentive. Very good food though, great beers as usual and will for sure be back.

Popped into this wonderful pub for a drink while visiting family in the area ended up staying for dinner with the service being excellent especially our server Charmaine will definitely be going back when next in the area.

Nice pub and good food. Had a good lunch of mussels and dessert of affrogato, herself enjoying some fish and chips and chocolate mouse and Charmaine recommended a chateauneuf to wash it all down with. She even laughed when we made the 'charming Charmaine' joke. Bit intimidated out by the giant cutlery pictures though, but will definitely be stopping by again.

I have been here a few times now as I’m new to the area and it doesn’t disappoint. Lovely location with a warm inviting feel to it. Also the added bonus is I could take my dog with me. The staff are also lovely and last week I took my boss in for a lunch and the service by Charmaine was great. Highly recommend

An excellent Sunday lunch at the King John. Delicious food (the Nduja scotch egg starter is highly recommended), well-kept Butcombe and great service from Andy and the team.

Delicious Sunday lunch with excellent service from Nick, thank you. Well worth a visit We'll be back

Fabulous lunch stop on a great walk. Really enjoyed the service (thank you Lucy) and the food was delicious.

Had a great Sunday lunch with the whole of my family. Food was excellent Service was fantastic, thanks Nick for looking after us all.

Great food, but even better service by Zac & Charmaine, attentive, without being intrusive, helpful when required, & happy for us to spend a leisurely late lunch. Excellent

Unreal food for local on Weds night in a village. There's more here than you expect cos of these big shooting parties they can run a great menu... I could type it, but what matters is its great. All the dishes had acidity / well cooked / great portions / great service from Charmaine and Zach who advised on great dishes. All over the corporate stuff without ramming it at you too... perfect weds meal. And Weds meals are what pubs need.

The food was poor and possibly the worst Sunday roast experience which was a pity because the venue is lovely. My wife found a hair in her meal and her beef was poorly carved the meat was much too thick and impossible to cut. The roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese were undercooked which gave the impression that this was an end of service meal. The gravy bland and lacking flavour a bit like this review…..! It takes a lot to get five meals so wrong which is a shame really as the staff were friendly so no complaints about the service.

Lovely Inn and friendly staff and a good menu with some very tasty sounding dishes but our food was a bit disappointing. Starters were good but mains were a let down. The descriptions on the menu were not what we received. The ravioli should have come with slow roasted tomato but instead was served with a lump of cold uncooked tomato and the pork ribeye was very fatty and lacked any flavour of the supposed smoked sausage accompaniment - just tasted of tinned tomatoes and no burnt lemon. Important differences that affected how the meal tasted. We will probably be back but likely to stick to simpler dishes!

This was our first visit to The King John Inn, we had a great meal. The menu was incredible, must go again soon to try some of the options we didn’t have! Everyone enjoyed every course. Staff were friendly, helpful and efficient. Thoroughly recommend!

I rarely write a downbeat review, because I prefer to celebrate the good, but.... My starter - black pudding scotch egg, was very good, but the advertised prune ketchup accompaniment turned out to be a chutney which may or may not have involved prunes. Judging by the colour, it didn't. Plus a bowl of unnecessary gherkins and capers and a few tired salad leaves. But the scotch egg and the chutney were very good. My main - warm salad of wood pigeon with puy lentils, pickled blackberries and black pudding fritters. The fritters and blackberries were excellent. The puy lentils needed longer to soften and soak up some flavour. The pigeon was overcooked - easily done - but unpleasantly over salted. When I mentioned this I was told that the chef doesn't salt the pigeon. (Why wouldn't you - a little?) And that maybe I was mistaking the saltiness for iron, because pigeon is 'quite gamey'. Oh, like I've never eaten pigeon before. Or cooked it. I have to say I cook it - when I can find it - rather better. I wouldn't have given this meal two 'stars' if the scotch egg hadn't been so good, and if the waitress hadn't had to endure the passive-aggressive banter from our adjacent diners. We've been saying for a long time we should give this pub a try, but we won't be returning.

Great food, great staff we had a great birthday celebration, our waiter was very helpful and the food was really good. Will be back.

Haven’t been in since changing hands but really like the team. Also a new menu which looked great. The burger was probably one of the best I’ve had. Looking forward to going back and trying the faggots