The Owl's Nest in East Dorset

A group of ten for dinner last night, the whole experience was superb. The dinner was delicious and generous, served hot by a lovely waitress who couldn’t have done more to please. My meal was traditional, steak & ale pie, dauphinois, selection of veg incl cabbage & carrots. All ten were very satisfied with everything. The bar is cosy with character(a lot of owls) so we’ve booked again and would thoroughly recommend.

Lovely old pub, first rate friendly service and home cooked beef and ale pie. Well worth a visit. Parking a bit limited. A welcoming pub.

Trying to find a place to eat on a journey and off the beaten track. Discovered this gem. Cozy, friendly and great big food. Steak and Ale pie was just spot on.

My best friend and I met that for lunch as we do once a month and visited the owls nest. What a delight ! We had roast dinner which was absolutely huge with all the trimmings , we also had a lovely sherry trifle , 2 soft drinks and 2 glasses of wine which came to £48! Absolute bargain ! Will defo be back again !

We regularly visit here with friends for an evening meal. The pies that are on offer are always homemade and tasty. I don’t recognise the veg and potatoes mentioned on previous review. They are certainly not poor and tasteless. There’s a great selection of potato types to choose from and the vegetable options are fresh and cooked to perfection (not turned to slush). The value for money is excellent. The staff always friendly and check back that everything is okay. I highly recommend visiting.

Very disappointing Sunday lunch ! Visited as seen good reviews however our experience was less than good ! The staff ( waiting ) were lovely and couldn’t do enough to help however the quality of the meal really was lacking ! We sent the roast Turkey back as what was served resembled minced Turkey stew - despite this were told with an apology that this was how it was coming out !! So accepted it as no white meat alternatives ! Roast beef was ok, but had no taste and was over cooked ( we arrived at 1.30) ) the veg and roast potatoes again were tasteless and cabbage was not cooked ! Overall a real let down !

The owls nest is our favourite local. We had. Roast lamb and roast turkey for our dinner and it was absolutely wonderful! Veggies cooked to perfection and very generous portions! What I love the most is it’s home cooked. Whether you’re going in for a drink or food, you’re sure to be welcomed by the landlord and landlady with a smile and a warm atmosphere. 10/10 for us

Food excellent - we 5 girls meet every 4-6 weeks and will definately be going here again. Highly recommended food excellent, prices very good and lovely, friendly staff.

Went for lunch with family. Had a fantastic time. The food was lovely. The atmosphere was good. It was great to have a lovely relaxed meal without being rushed. The food was plentiful and great value for money. No skimping on gravy or custard

Came here on mother's day. Thought it would be expensive. So was a bit wary. When we Walked in through the door . The service started, WOW, such a kind reception. Took us to our table with menu's asked about drinks, brought the drinks. Such a polite young bar person . Couldn't do enough for us . We ordered our meals . Within 10 minutes 2 large beef roasts, 1 for smaller appetite. Tastiest roast I have had for a long time. The meals were to big for wife and mum. So we got two doggy bags as well 🙂 then we had two lovely desserts. I still couldn't believe how well we were looked after. Definitely will go there again. Oh , and the bill? Just 47 pounds. Thank you Owls nest for giving us a lovely mother's day lunchtime

Lovely little pub, great atmosphere and lovely staff. The home made pies are very good value for money and you will not be disappointed , plenty of other meals to choice from. dietary requirements catered for.

Just been for Sunday lunch, not an overly extensive menu but all meals were superb. The moment you walk in you are greeted with a friendly welcome. All staff were friendly and seemed to be enjoying being at work. Many thanks

Steak was fab. Scampi too. The service fantastic, as was the entertainment. Our waitress was very friendly, checkout website for entertainment, 3 weeks out of four, worth a visit.

Our first visit and we’ll certainly be back. Food was excellent, very tasty and great portions. Friendly service and reasonable price. Loved the traditional feel, would definitely recommend.

I am local, and popped in here a few years back to think "Blimey - its the 1970s" and left. A few years on, and I hear good reports so we gave it a go. Still a step back in time, and quiet at 12:30 but that was ok. Reasonable choice of ales and a decent home made steak pie, except my order of peas became mixed vegetables. Alas my wife's prawn and egg mayonnaise jacket had microwaved and cooked prawns which did that no favours (presumably someone tried to defrost them and got carried away). The tables are incredibly close together so I was actually sitting closer to the loud couple next to me than to my wife so a relaxing chat over lunch was impossible. There is just no atmosphere, and the bill was calculated on a scrap of paper - seemed to be about right. Can't comment on beer prices as I dont know what they charge; not cheap though. So the food was ok in parts, but there is a limited menu choice, you are sitting in the laps of your neighbours, and you feel like you're on the set of "Life on Mars" - Not one for me, thanks.

From the outside, not the sort of pub you would think of taking your elderly mother for Sunday lunch, but appearances can be misleading. On entering we were greeted with a friendly welcome by the young ladies behind the bar, and , being the first customers through the door, were given the choice of where to sit. The menu is small, but don't let that put you off. We plumped for the roast lamb and turkey. Good portions of both, with proper roast potatoes, for dessert, we had crumble, and syrup sponge, both with lashings of custard Overall, well worth the visit, excellent value for money allied with friendly service

This was the first time we had been here for food. A traditional pub with a warm welcome from the landlady. She let me sample some beer as this is a freehouse with brands unfamiliar to me. The menu was a little limited to traditional pub food. But whow! The food was home cooked great tasting value food. Great portion sizes. There was a specials board too. The waitress was smiley and very attentive. Will definitely go back. Wish we had found this pub years ago!

Recommend to anyone who enjoys proper home cooked food and a good choice of real ale, Have eaten on many occasions never disappointed

Not sure why small businesses whinge about lack of clients, twice in the last week we have booked a table at venues advertising live music only to find that was not the case. How about updating your website! The Owls Nest is the latest culprit "Live Music First Thursday Of Every Month" - Noo. Arrived at pub to find sign on door saying closed! but they were open! Queried live music, "that stopped sometime ago", update website then. This was last night, this morning still quotes live music.

Great atmosphere, wonderful staff and excellent food. Wednesday night Blues Jam is always a fantastic night. Excellent beer and wine. Possibly the best "proper pub" around.

We were out looking for Sunday lunch, not having booked anywhere. We're from out the area so didn't The Owls Nest. But we struck lucky here. Easy parking. Friendly staff. Friendly other customers (Obviously locals). Delicious food. Nothing too much trouble. Reasonable prices. Great real ales and ciders. Comfortable surroundings.

Very friendly staff, great choice of menu and dog friendly. The band was fun, giving opportunity for new and budding musicians to entertain us, singers and players very talented. Great ambience and a welcoming feeling. We had a fun evening, with good food. 👍

Very nice quaint place, enjoyed the meal . Lots of choice and specials board too. Enjoyed my meal and had a fab time . Owners very nice and helpful too.

We went to this pub the other evening as my husband plays at the Blues Jams. We had a nice meal and were pleased to have a table in the restaurant area this only a section at the rear. Unfortunately a man that was sat in the next table in the bar area started vaping, which he did all night. It made me feel quite ill. I told the bar lady but she said sorry it is allowed and that man comes in 3/4 times a week and spends a lot of money. Of course did nothing. It was awful and from what we could see he was the only one in the pub doing this. Next time we will go to the pub next door for a meal and pick my husband up when he has finished playing. He will stand/sit away from any of this

Drawn in by the blackboard on the pavement outside saying, "20% off", and the delightful name of the "Owl's Nest" we drove into a near-empty car park and parked .... only to see a notice on the door saying: "Closed on Mondays"!

My mom picked this place to celebrate her birthday. At 1st glance I thought I went through a time warp back to the 70s. Outdated lobby. And feel to the bar. Service was slow waited around 1 hour to get our food. Had the lasagne. Very bland and dry!!!! Not worth the £9!!!! A Tesco ready meal would have been better!! The bill was hand written!!! Very difficult to know what you needed to pay! Waitress did not seem to care about us as she was to busy having drinks with friends at the bar. If I was in the area again I would try the pub down the road. Be warned!!

We visited the Owls nest for a family meal. The food was average... Not worth the prices. I personally felt like the entrance to the building was not very welcoming- run down , and not well kept.Most of the food arrived warm not hot. The lasagne lacked taste and the plates had a mixture of cooked veggies and salad which I find an odd combination. Cabbage and lettuce ? The restaurant needs to update their systems. We were given a hand written bill which was very hard to understand. Also the bar tab was just a list of prices , we had no idea what cost what.Also we were waiting around for our waitress to discover she was sat down having a chat with some people drinking in the bar area. For a big group of people we did not get the attention we should have. If I was you I would pop next door to the horns when treating yourself to a meal out.

On Monday night the traffic in and around Ferndown was almost at a standstill during rush hour probably due to road works on the spur road,and having spent nearly an hour getting from the Ringwood road roundabout and after cutting through various short cuts we found ourselves almost opposite The Owles Nest and decided to stop and have a meal and wait for the traffic to subside.We had been recommended to try this restaurant previously and this seemed like to ideal opportunity to give it a try.What a really good decision.........Pleasant surroundings,.Friendly staff, Great service and Fab food, the beer was good as well....What else do you need!We ordered 2 lemon Sole and the waitress came back to us apologetically to say that there was only one left so my partner was offered a Dressed Crab salad. Both meals were fantastic, my Sole was cooked to perfection.My only criticism was that my meal needed a wedge of lemon rather than a slice..."Chef please take note"Would we come back again ? Can't wait ........

I loved the traditional look of this pub. Very friendly landlord, local clientele. Food was good and of great value. Staff, very courteous and friendly, attentive and happily recommending what to have, guiding through the ' specials'.Unfortunately the toilets were in great need of updating, would not like to use them in winter.Would recommend this pub for a good value for money pub and food.

This pub is right next door to The Horns public house in Ferndown, which was so disappointing.. As you enter the pub you are greeted by a member of staff who ascertains your reason for visiting and take your order for a first drink. You are then shown to a table and left to chat and decide on the menu. The food was plentiful, hot,nicely presented and very tasty. The staff were all friendly and you felt most welcome and we will CERTAINLY visit. Again.

We have eaten here a few times now and each experience was memorable. As a matter of fact we have recommended to friends who have exquisite taste and we know they will appreciate our visit tomorrow also.

We (a party of 8) had a super meal, really high quality food backed up by kind and caring service at this cozy pub with its own excellent restaurant.They have an extensive menu and work hard and caringly to ensure you have a truly enjoyable meal.Don't miss this great little restaurant.Excellent food to suit our party containing 2 generations of our family.

Great home cooked food in pleasant surroundins with excellent staff and service with a smile, just lovely well worth a visit, we will be backGordon and Julie

A fantastic venue, olde worldey pub. Great selection of ales, ciders coupled with great food and friendly bar staff and management. Regular music events coupled with a yearly pie and ale festival, we would certainly recommend the Owls Nest as must go to place.

Went to go there as driven past it loads of times with our little niece. The outside looks lovely but stepping through the door it's like you have walked back in time. It is a traditional back street pub feel to it to the threadbare 1970's carpet it was just missing the smoke from the old saloon. We went there for lunch but they have no high chairs which for an eatery in this day and age is a must. We turned right around and went to the horn next door fantastic modern food and feel made truly welcome

We came here early January for a quiet lunch, complete with our two dogs. We were all made really welcome by the already busy staff who were friendly and calm, they even brought a bowl of water for the dogs. Food was superb. Fresh (really fresh) eggs, delicious ham, proper scampi (not the mashed up stuff you find in many places). Amazing chips. Place was busy, but not too noisy and nicely decorated still after christmas. It was our first visit here, but it definitely will not be our last.

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of eating my first all beige/grey roast diner. This consisted of two sorry looking slices of what I think were beef. It was hard to tell as they were covered in a lamb tasting gravy. This was complimented by 4 tiny slices of carrot, 1ish parsnip, two stale tasting roast potatoes and two over boiled potatoes.i was hoping to see something green on my plate but I think they must have run out. I felt like I had been sent back to the 1970's when colour and taste weren't invented yet!

This is a lovely pub especially if you are a beer lover. The food is home cooked and you do have to wait a bit but well worth it. The staff are very friendly. Do book as they get very busy.

Great pies and real ale. Good value, good service. What more could you want? Traditional English food well severed.

Driven past this pub/restaurant 100 times and never called in until today. There are 3 pubs within a short distance of each other, but this one has always looked the most interesting, and they have a recommendation from Camra so we thought we'd have a look.First impression is dated, but in a good way full of little nic-naks on the walls and any flat surface. Staff were friendly I ordered a pint and asked about food. The pint was an ale from Yeovil, and there were a few to choose from, we took our seats near the real fire.Its waitress service, I had the steak & ale pie, my wife had salmon from the specials board. The menu was simple. When it came the food was very nice my pie actually contained real steak. Most of the patrons seemed to be local and known by the staff but it was quite busy on a Monday night on a road that has 2 other pubs within walking distance, so the service has to be good.And the "quirky" title ? Most of the nic-naks were owls. Loads of owls big eyes looking over you. Fantastic. pictures, ornaments, brass owls, even a stained glass window owl behind the bar. There are too few pubs like this left, we should support those that are still here.

Good, value for money dinner and friendly service. The pub itself is a bit old fashion and could do with a face lift.

The Guinness here is the best in the UK in my opinion. And I drink a lot of it! The landlord here serves his beers and ales PERFECTLY. The food is all home cooked and the pies are wonderful - pies with loads of filling and lots of meat! You don't get that for this price anywhere else that I know of. I will definitely be a regular....

If you like hand local beers, good homemade pies. This is the place to go.. A real old fashioned family atmosphere pub.. Very welcoming and friendly staff. Good food

Have driven past often in the past but tried it for the first time recently. The pub is a free house with a reasonable selection of beers and ciders. The food menu is a little limited, but what they do provide seems to be good. We had two starters, two main courses and coffees for £30. The soup of the day was okay and the prawn cocktail was fresh with crisp salad. The gammon steak was well cooked and the mushroom stroganoff was creamy and reasonably tasty. The staff were friendly and helpful and if you are in the area I would definitely suggest trying the place.

We called in in the passing as all other pubs were very busy, We were made to feel welcome, our order was taken , the food arrived quickley.it was good quality and at a very reasonable price, This did seem to be a locals pub, people seemed to jnow each other, It seems to be catering for a more mature client, Not full of yobos.We will come here again,

I've visited this restaurant many times for Sunday lunch with my parents and never been disappointed. The clientele on a Sunday are mostly elderly and they receive superb service. Nothing is too much trouble for the friendly staff. There is always a good choice of roasts or other options e.g. fresh fish from Poole.Certainly worth a visit.

I had heard comments that it was the place for "the older generation" but on the whole I don't know why people say this about "The Owl's Nest". It is a pleasant place with excellent food. The service is slow, but we knew it would be as the food is not mass produced, but what was delivered was excellent. If you are having a meal, you won't feel rushed, but also you must be in a situation where you must be somewhere else at a given time. Just go there and enjoy the evening with good food.The only things which could be considered amending is that the normal knife on the table was changed to a steak knife - if you ordered the steak, and that the dessert selection available had more variety. The cost of these was getting pricey - £4.60+ to which was quite an average portion for vanilla ice cream.Yes, I would come again, but leave the dessert next time.

The food and service is amazing, very friendly staff, who cant do enough for you. Great choice of food on the menu and extras on the specials board, pricing is reasonable and you get plenty to eat. Yes a lot of elderly eat there but so do a lot of younger people, I eat there when I can get a table, but they are so popular it isn't always possible. you aren't made to feel uncomfortable when you finish eating and just want to sit and relax like some other places near by. Great place.

We often drink and eat here as we have recently moved to the area. Right from our first visit, we have always been made to feel very welcome and it is great to find a pub that serves food as opposed to a cafe/restaurant that sells beer. I would describe the food as pub grub which is good and reasonably priced. All the staff are very friendly and we always enjoy the choice of real ales (the Pub had their first Beer Festival recently which was a huge success). This pub doesn't pretend to be anything other than a good friendly pub serving fine ales and good food.

A lovely, traditional English pub. We discovered it a year ago and were made welcome from the start. So was our little dog! Since then we have become regulars. The staff are warm and friendly and they keep a good and varied selection of real ales, several lagers and a decent wine list. No surprise that the place has won a Camra award. Live music, often Irish folk, can pack the place. The beer festival earlier this year, focusing on local brewers, was excellent.

A truly dreadful place, hardly ever open, opening hours are something like 12 til 2 and 6 til 8. Service is poor and anyone under 90 shouldn't even think of going in there. There are much better places either side both the Horns Inn and the Dudsbury are far better and I should know as I live in Christchurch Road.

when my partner and i stoped here for lunch we were encouraged by the home cooked element...how ever i went for the roast lamb and my partner went for the fish pie oh dear his pie was luke warm with barely any fish in it ...i hardly had any meat with my roast and there was not nearly enough vegtables to share ...we left still feeling hungry and ripped off ...will not go back ever!!!!! you have been warned anyone that thinks the food is good must live on tinned food!!!

Lived in Ferndown just down the road from the Owls Nest for 9 years, but never got around to actually eating there, even though I drive past it most days.Well, it was my other haves birthday and so as we are always very very keen to try new establishments decided to book a table, and what a find.It was so great to find a real traditional Dorset pub, with genuinely friendly and welcoming staff, and good food at good value (the beer was rather good too).I suspect this well now be our new local, and I believe they have entertainment on some nights as well, so will keep an eye out.This establishment gets a huge thumbs up for being so genuine, and not the faceless chain style all of the other local eateries strive to mimic. (my Dorset accent did not feel out of place)

We booked a table for Sunday lunch for 1pm and arrived slightly earlier and were meeted by the friendly staff and quickly showed to our table. On looking around nearly all of the tables were reserved. We shared starters of calamari and prawn cocktal (as we weren't sure of the portion sizes) and were glad that we didn't have 1 each. Sunday roast was average however the potatoes could have been a bit crispier and there was just a selection of carrots and cabbage for the side veg. Pleasant enough experience and would pop in if passing by but wouldn't go necessarily drive out of my way to re-visit.

Excellent food and reasonably priced. Great attentive service. The Owls Nest is well worth a visit. Looks can be deceptive.

This is a pub/diner just outside of Bournemouth where the staff are very friendly and accommodating. We arrived early just as a large family gathering (wake) were winding up. We were seated close to the door and well looked after by all of the bar and restaurant staff. The food was varied and offered a wholesome choice including roasts. My elderly mother in law was pleased to be offered a smaller portion rather than have to eat or leave from a huge plate full. The restaurant was warm with a fire at one end which amply heated the space especially as it was very cold outside. There were many decorative artifacts around the room which made for added interest. I never did ask about the display of headwear above the bar.There was a good choice of dessert with a home made season option.We certainly will visit again when next in the area!

I live in France and if there's one thing I miss about British life it's having a decent pint of beer. So, when we arrived at the Owl's Nest for lunch it was great to have four real ales to choose from - even better to be offered samples before selecting! All the beers are in really good condition and the choice includes local breweries. The food service was efficient and the roast meals good value with well cooked tasty meat. The small portion option was very welcome too.The pub is welcoming, very clean and had a welcome real fire when we were there. Recommended

Sandwiched by two pubs that look superior externally -The Horns and The Dudsbury - you would be forgiven for dismissing The Owls Nest. Upon entering the pub you are struck by the aged furniture, 1970's carpet, old decor and tired looking curtains. The seats are recovered badly and the bar is not high tech by any means. The next thing you will notice is the clientele all seem to know each other, this is only partly true as the staff and clientele are so friendly. This is not a young persons pub - you will not find chavs and hoodies. What you will find is good ale, a friendly welcome and quality traditional pub food. The food is cooked from scratch so there is a lengthy wait, but as the sign by the bar says, they don't serve fast food, they serve good food as fast as they can. The service is excellent, the atmosphere is one of a warm, family run pub that prides itself on quality food and drink. My fiance and I had a very enjoyable meal, we were seated instantly and made to feel welcome. Can't recommend it enough. Pubs like these are a dying breed in the quest for fast money and quick turnovers.

I had a lovely visit to the owls nest and would definitely return. The food was fantasic I couldnt fault anything. Service was friendly and very welcoming. Overall me and my family had a great night.

Haven't used for a while. Didn't book but was found a nice table quickly and advised to order soon as they had a big table. Not a problem and better to know. Nice friendly waitress and nice bar man. Ordered from the special which was fish, oh my! Big big mistake, sorry looking fillet of fish, off colour, no sauce, overcooked and cold. 3 small boiled new potatoes with a casual nob of butter on the side, nice bit of salad garnish though. Also ordered vegetables, they were hot and fresh. So very disappointed. My partner had fresh fried cod and chips which looked lovely.

Excellent food, great atmosphere friendly staff and good value. Have eaten here a few times and love going back.

We had a great tea with a choice of tea, a choice of sandwiches some Danish pastries and of course home made scones with locally made jam and clotted cream. Great value and taste. Well worth a visit.reasonably priced too.