The Old Thatch | Freehouse Pub, Kitchen & Country Store in East Dorset

To be honest we were disappointed. The food was mixed, two of us had lamb which was very nice but lonely on the plate and expensive. The fish and chips were average, nice batter but only small fish within it. Prices were higher than we anticipated even for an olde world pub.

lovely pub, nice food and good atmosphere

Can't see why it's so popular or has all the good reviews, place wasn't exactly busy when we went and service was slow...had better pieces of steak from a wetherspoons and that's saying something when a sirloin costs over £30, what seemed like microwaved tomato's and some cold chips, wouldn't bother again..wasn't even asked about the food when they could clearly see I'd left more than ¾ of it either

Good quality food, esp Sunday roast, thoughbit pricey compared to other places. Portions were smaller for same price on last visit.

Beautiful old thatched pub , food and people were excellent 👌

The food is absolutely sensational. It was incredibly busy in the pub and when we arrived we had to wait 20 minutes for our table to be ready - once we were seated however the waiting staff were brilliant and the food arrived quickly. If you don't mind spending a few quid extra for something really decent - this is an excellent restaurant. There are cheaper alternatives in the area but the whole experience of dining in such a lovely setting is worth paying a little extra for, in my opinion.

Great food. Great service. Booked our next visit there and then.

Top Sunday roast. Great service, lovely food. Highly recommended.

Nice place,friendly ,family oriented pub. Laid back atmosphere. Great staff. Also dog friendly! I forgot to say "cosy!"

‘Award winning’ and ‘artisan’ are certainly not phrases I’d even remotely associate with this flounced up Harvester. It was busy on the Sunday we visited, clearly too busy for the compliment of young staff, a snigger of which I found huddled out of works reach when I took back my woeful vinegary pint of ‘real cask ale’ . The Sunday roast was in fairness relatively edible for the most part, the veg thankfully perfectly cooked and the meat hovered just above the acceptable mark. Gravy dispatched in mini milk churns and reminded me of my Mothers terrible Bisto from the mid ‘80’s. I think I speak for all my party of 4 that there was a palpable sense of relief to have finished the meal , further enhanced once we left the faux ‘ye olde worldy’ stage prop filled rather tired looking confines of this hugely over-rated establishment . To summarise, if you liked school dinners or have fond memories of The Beefeater back in the 80’s and the highlight of a holiday abroad is the In flight meal or the Wetherspoons breakfast , then this place will delight .

The Old Thatch offers a delightful dining experience with its charming thatched roof and cozy atmosphere. The menu features a great selection of hearty dishes, using fresh, local ingredients that truly stand out. The staff is friendly and attentive, making you feel right at home. Whether you're enjoying a casual lunch or a special dinner, the ambiance and quality of food here make it a lovely spot to unwind. Highly recommended!

Had the beef roast today & John our server was so attentive & informative. The food was superb & it's obviously a very popular pub. I would thoroughly recommend going there

Thank you for an amazing evening and making my husband’s birthday special . Service was excellent, food was excellent. We’ll be back soon.

We adore this place!! Just been for Sunday lunch, and the soup to start was amazing, followed by fantastic beef!!! Hats off to the chefs and the lovely servers, who make e everthing wonderland!!!! Don't change what you re doing!!!!!

Excellent service and very tasty food. Very pleasant atmosphere all around

Fantastic food carnt wait to go back

A very nice pub inside and out, a calm, laid back atmosphere, great food every time (especially the roasts) and flawless service from the staff.

We were a group of 6 people with 3 dogs , made very welcome , excellent atmosphere, excellent service , food was of a very high standard , very good value for money , highly recommend

Fabulous food & service as ever !

The food and service was excellent. The Staff went above and beyond to make sure my meals met my dietary requirements being dairy intolerant.

The food and service was excellent quality, I'm dairy intolerant and the waiter liaised with the kitchen to make sure my roast was dairy free, They even provided my crumble with dairy ice cream, yummy.

Fantastic place. Food is fresh and delicious. Very cosy place, especially during winter/ Christmas time. Reminds me of wooden lodge in mountains. Would recommend. Great for work meals out!

Lovely place. Disappointed that they charged 10% on the whole bill including drinks for a table of 2 !!!

Lovely place to visit for superb food with great friendly staff and a lovely atmosphere. Dog friendly and has plenty of seating. Great country pub and will definitely return

Much more expensive than it used to be but the food is just lovely. Worth the price as some one who cooks a fair bit they have perfected it.

Cosy, welcoming, very good food and super busy with a great atmosphere! Dog friendly. Booking a must if you want an indoor table at the weekend!! Mulled wine and mulled cider a great winter warmer. The open fire was roaring.

Was allowed to order from the Children's Menu

First visit to this pub for office Xmas dinner. Loved the vibe. Staff friendly. Food was mostly good but the turkey dinner didn't have the advertised pigs in blankets included. Once the food had been set down we didn't get a visit from a waitress again so I couldn't tell them that we were missing the item. Also the starters took around 45 mins to arrive and a similar delay with the mains so it was too late to try to fit a dessert in. I will probably try the pub again next year as I liked the atmosphere and they have events which might be interesting.

George was a fabulous server! Food great, the temperature in the pub could have been a bit warmer but a lovely place for a Christmas lunch.

Fab food, a bit pricey but really nice. The service is a bit slow. Atmosphere is great, very cosy. They have a fantastic outdoor set up with playground for kids

Lovely Sunday lunch with my Parents. Food was lovely , fresh , flavoursome , meat butcher quality. And plenty on the plate. Mercedes our server lovely did exactly what should do, non of the over bearing is everything ok ever 5 mins which I hate. Remembered my father’s allergies and kitchen accommodated with no fuss and was even printed on the bill .

Have had a couple of Saturday evenings at The Old Thatch recently. Lovely food (Venison pie, fish pie and apple & berry crumble with custard), efficient and friendly service and accommodating to a large friendly dog, who was happy to receive gravy bones and a bowl of water. Good beer, including real ale on tap. Busy, but everyone seemed to be having such a good time - so much to recommend and will definitely be back there again soon. Thank you for your hospitality x

Food was absolutely amazing and fresh, the staff where amazing and i would happily come here again.

Decent food and friendly staff! Roast 🍽️

Fantastic food, great service and toasty fire on a cold day.

Lovely place second visit as good as the first

Good Sunday lunch! Food as always was brilliant! Service was a bit slow this time!

This restaurant/pub never lets you down its outstanding ,the best there is.

Been to couple of events round back of t h at h. Great for kids to run around. Has love music some days

Halloween party and meal . Great food good service .

Really good outside space. Pizza was a little slow but can't really blame them as was very very busy.

Always 5 stars...highly recommended...the food is amazing and beautifully presented..the ambience is perfect..service is very good...definitely worth a visit.

If like me you enjoy great food in a wonderful pub with a fantastic atmosphere then you will The Old Thatch a top choice. The food, the friendly staff and the whole experience is first class. Perfect for Sunday lunch too.

On sunday i had a reunion of family and friends at the old thatch. It was a great experience for the 7 of us and kirsty who took care of us was fantastic.we all had roast dinners and i cannot fault the quality of the food.kirsty was especially good to our 87 yo uncle pete who has a wicked sence of humour and will break into song at any opertunity and hand out little gifts to everyone. So thanks kirsty for your service. Darren. New zealand😁

Met here for a family reunion. The service and food were both good and the atmosphere of the place was good. Will use it again. Good selection on the menu.

Booked a table and was told upon arrival that the table was outside under the circus tent. I had to keep my jacket on as, despite the heat lamps, it was quite chilly, even at lunch time. Drinks took a while to come, the food took forever. The roast potatoes were soft, the beef was bland. We were shown the dessert menu and then left alone until we flagged someone. The whole experience took around three hours. Staff were friendly but busy and not on the ball. Food was expensive compared to other places.

An amazing experience all round. Fantastic service by all members of staff! Outstanding food! & all in an beautiful old pub! Couldn't ask for more. Absolutely brilliant!!! If your thinking of going there...stop thinking & go!

Fantastic food and friendly service

We heard good reports about The Old Thatch, so met friends there for dinner. The food was reasonable, the service was poor (3 hours for a main and sweet). We won't be going back anytime soon as you can get better food and service for less money elsewhere.

Sunday lunch was amazing! Dog friendly, service and staff lovely.. thank you 😊

Amazing atmosphere, great service and fantastic food

Lovely Sunday roast. Had to eat in the marquee as indoors was fully booked. But the patio heaters warmed the area fine. Great food... plenty of veg to go with well cooked meats.

We attended for the first time for a family birthday. We had a table of 9, and my goodness what a surprise - amazing food, excellent service and an all-round fantastic evening was had. We will definitely be back.

A great experience with lovely staff especially Kaya, Who was very attentive, kind and helpful, pleasant and a great asset to your company sorry to see you go Recommend will recommend to all our friends great day thank you Mr. Morgan.

Great small lunch with three others. Lovely atmosphere, attentive staff & a delicious BLT sandwich with a half of Thatchers cider. Perfect for a wet day.

Wasn't impressed with value for money. £18 for fish and chips not a big fish and not many chips mushy peas spread across plate. Both the men were still hungry .

The food was really good as was the cocktail I had. Staff were friendly. We dat outside which was a lovely area. Highly recommend

Quite an experience in one of the oldest pubs in the area, we went on a Sunday and as usual, we had Sunday Roast! It has 4 varieties, 3 meat options (beef, pork and lamb) and a vegan option. You can also order extra and incorporate the 3 types of meat. The beef is good, but the pork stood out and I recommend. It is accompanied by vegetables and very delicious sauces. We have to return in winter because the place has large fireplaces that surely create a very warm atmosphere.

Good food, excellent service. The pie was as much pastry as filling, bt overall a good meal.

We've loved this place so much over the last few months - superb food & excellent service, but this evening the service was poor & the food average - I don't know what went wrong, but we won't be re-visiting in the near future. Such a shame as its just a short walk from home

Friendly and attentive staff, food was delicious.

Not a place I will be going back to, poor in all areas.

Wow what can I say, brilliant fast service. Beautifull food. Very clean. One of the best roast dinners I’ve ever had! Will defiantly be back soon

Nice food and good local beer. Outdoor covered eating area is complimented with great play area to keep the kids busy

Went for Sunday lunch, good-sized portions, and I like the gravy served in mini churns. Nice range of draught beer. Very popular, so book a table in advance. I'm not sure I'd call it award winning food and in a competitive Sunday lunch market, in my opinion, overpriced.

Went here for Sunday lunch as a party of six. We sat in the marquee. We were impressed with the service and food. I had the roast pork and roast lamb. There was roast beef as well. I had the Apple and berry crumble, which was delicious too. There is plenty of free parking. I would recommend this place for Sunday roast.

Nice lunch, room a bit dark but very pleasant.

Beautiful old fashioned pub with a lovely olde worlde atmosphere, good food, friendly staff and good selection of beers. Perfect

Pizza in the pub garden with fantastic live music!

Excellent authentic English pub. Food was very nicely presented. Nice fresh ingredients. Place became busier as folks came in for drinks and attentiveness to diners dropped off at that time. I'm sure this can easily be remedies by adding another team member at that time of day. Overall, well worth stopping in

No rating on the food as I have not tried it. The pub is lovely inside and the staff are all very friendly and professional. I was there for the monthly folk club session which was enjoyed by all of us as musicians and proved to be a welconed surprise to the diners and drinkers. The selection of drinks is extensive with ales, beers, lagers, wines, 0% and soft drinks. I pass here regularly and it is full of families with children on dry days. Now i know the evenings are quieter I will be going back.

I had the venison sausages, which were great, and my wife had the mushroom parcel, which is her favourite!

The Sunday roast was very good, personnally the veg were a bit ' al dente' for my taste, but that is just MY taste, the service was excellent. I found inside was very dimly lit, for a June sunny day outside, more of a winter atmosphere

Wonderful Sunday lunch today, couldn’t fault it, staff were first class 👍👊👏🤩

Gorgeous pub with lots of atmosphere. We stopped for tea halfway on our trip on a Saturday in June. It opens at 11 am, it was not busy when we arrived though got much busier while we were there. Friendly staff took our order. The brownie was delicious. Loved browsing in the artisan shop just inside the entrance, there are lovely unique gifts if you need something for a birthday. Toilets were clean. There's a large outside area where kids can play while parents have their entertainment. Great place, will visit again if I'm in the area.

It was expensive for what it is, there were dogs in the restaurant and quite frankly it was a bit of putting seeing them sniffing each other's rear. It was busy and therefore noisy and cramped the food and the service was excellent

Really lovely atmosphere inside the pub. Great service from the moment we walked in the door. Very nice squid starter and fish and chips main. Large portion, couldn’t finish it all! Fresh tasting fish and lovely batter. Very good presentation.

Called in for a relaxing pint after a long week at work. Unfortunately ruined by at least 4 dogs barking at each other in the bar area. I love dogs but honestly the owners make my piss boil. Bring back the good old days of no dogs or kids in a pub.

Been to this pub 3 times and they were disappointed every time the staff just wanted to chat amongst themselves the cesar salad had lettuce fish and a boiled egg never had a cesar salad like that before weill never go again many more disappointment to many to say

Great selection of dishes, and food really tasty. Would visit again if in the area

Had a really lovely meal, food was amazing and service even better. Our waiter Georgia was very helpful and nothing was too trouble. Will definitely be coming back soon!

*Best Sunday roast we've had in years!* Visited earlier in the year for an impromptu Sunday roast and ordered the duo of meats - other pubs tend to give you smaller portions of meat when you order a duo, but not here! really generous and quality portion size with well cooked, quality veg. Visited again yesterday, but ordered the trio of meats - same outcome! plate was loaded with thick cuts of pork, beef and lamb with a huge Yorkshire pudding on top with a separate jug of really tasty gravy. Easily the best Sunday roast my wife and I have had in Dorset for years! - 5 star

The Old Thatch - Ferndown Sun 19th May 2024 1p. Table for 3 - Birthday Lunch Well done and thanks. Julian & Amanda

If your dog barks, or makes a noise, be sure not to take it to the old thatch! The owner is arrogant and rude and he attempted to exert his authority by displaying threatening behaviour and ordered me to put a muzzle on my dog purely because it barked. To top it all off we ordered food that never turned up! Previous food I have had there was greasy and not great at all. I will not be lining that man’s pocket with my money again.

Beautiful roast dinner. Meat perfectly cooked, lovely Yorkshire puddings and gf catered for!

Lovely setting, made to feel very welcome by the staff. Food was excellent, beer was good.

We were a large group of friends in for lunch, I hardly recognised the place! The food was great, lovely fire in the hearth, friendly staff and not too intrusive.

Always a lovely country pub atmosphere and friendly helpful staff and wonderful food

Wonderful Sunday lunch. Polly was a truly fantastic server. She knew everything about the food and beverages and was very friendly.

Family birthday meal 🥰 Excellent food - we all rated it very highly (vegan - mushroom parcel; fish & chips; 2x beefburgers; chicken & mushroom pie). So full of flavour and for the pie, lovely veg as well. Very busy traditional pub with lots of attentive staff - thanks

I thought this was a great pub with fantastic staff, polite and friendly. A fantastic play area for the children and a well organised and oiled machine throughout. Highly recommended it.

Characterful restaurant. With good choice on menu. Service was very friendly and attentive. We must have been served by every member of staff. Food was delivered very quickly. We were able to have great conversation as noise levels were very good. Most of my party were delighted with the food. Exception was one fussy eater. My 7 year old Granddaughter loved the kids menu . Only slight quibble was that the entrance was not entirely obvious and it was dark so we wandered round the back. My Mother finds walking difficult so this was a little inconvenient. Overall we had a great time. The final bill for 5 adults and one child was £200. Only two of us drank alcohol but I felt this was very reasonable. Service included but I gave a £20 tip. Would recommend.

can't fault it at all. even given a table when we didn't book. filled to the brim. food is outstanding, highly recommended

Lovely oldy worldy pub. Quite a small bar area if you just want a drink but plenty of seating if you want to eat.

Good food Good drinks and a nice play area for the kids

Lovely food and service, if you are vegetarian the mushroom dish is delicious - highly recommend

I would like to have given a 5 but this is very expensive. The food tasted good and the only issue was the kids meal fish goujons were mostly batter, very little fish. The waitress didn't seem to know the menu very well. Watch out for the service charge on your bill. Nice looking pub, trying to be gourmet / bistro ISH, Would I go back? No.

Fantastic food and service. Highly recommended.

Lovely atmosphere, helpful people.

It's been a while since I called in here, when to be honest it used to feel tired and soulless, but following a change of management, and obviously some decent investment, The Old Thatch is now in a very different league. With excellent service, very good food, tasty local ales, this has to be one of the best pubs in the Ferndown district. Family friendly, dog friendly, a spacious car park and a pleasant garden area, it even has a shop selling the best of local produce. Recommended.