The Square & Compass in Purbeck

Perfect weather, company and lamb pie. Not too busy either!

Unique pub. Incredible views to enjoy while trying random very nice ales

Super quirky pub that serves a range of beers. We didn’t eat here so I cannot comment on the food but people were eating pasties that smelled great. Comes complete with fossil museum that had some great local finds and a great beer garden. Parking is in nearby public car park, 100 yards walk. We shall be back. If you like interesting rustic pubs then this is definitely one for you.

Best pub in Dorset worth a visit if you're a cider drinker

I've visited here twice once in season and it was lovely very friendly staff, nice vibe, real pub / community vibe. However going here off season I might as well have not bothered. Unless you've been part of the 50 house community that is Worth Matravers your whole life then you aren't gonna get served. The gals on the bar were more bothered about Brian's tinder obsession than serving customers who had been waiting in the dingy hallway for ages. I imagine if you are one of the few folk living here it's probably a very personal experience but if you're anyone else you will be treated like a 2nd class citizen. Foods and drinks are alright just over priced for what it is and the service/quality definitely doesn't make up for the price you're just paying to be in the middle of nowhere. There is a nice view from the pub but honestly just sit on the wall with a tinnie you'll have a better experience .

You must visit this pub, so quirky and interesting. Amazing views from the garden, the best stone tables !! Food is perfect pies/pastie’s great Beer and local Cider’s. A beautiful Singer/songwriter was playing on the Saturday night

Very old world village pub, with Museum. Quaint with limited beer & cider, and variety of pasties.

Lovely little place. We enjoyed our steak pasties and apple cake!

Such a lovely little pub. Great staff and well worth the experience!

Stopped in for lunch. Steak pie was great. Very scenic location.

Nice ale Good pasty Great views recommend

What a great quirky pub, pasty's and sausage rolls were amazing as were the views

On a beautiful sunny day we made our way through to the lovely old pub. It was very busy but was soo much fun and lovely people dogs and chickens playing in the garden was lovely. Had a nice sausage roll and a pint of cider which is all locally sourced I believe.

My favourite pub in the whole country

Cane here before settling off for a long walk. Their onsite cider is rather nice and goes well with their pies and delicious chorizo and sausage rolls..

A very small bar area and long ques

As a local this pub, this is the best in the purbecks. Stunning views, always great atmosphere and the pasty’s are amazing. Service always friendly - good to see a pub run by a local family who know their business & value their customers.

Fantastic beer and atmosphere lovely open fire too

I visited The Square & Compass yesterday with a friend and his dog, Bertie the Schnauzer. It’s a beautiful setting, and the pub itself looked warm and inviting, especially with a roaring fire going. We ordered our pints and settled in by the fire. Just as I sat down, my phone rang. Unfortunately, a particularly unpleasant local took great exception to this. I stepped outside to take the call, but when I returned, he was still ranting. Frankly, he was a downright obnoxious Berkshire Hunt. The whole experience was soured, and with locals like that, who needs the hassle? — G.B.

Outdoor tables, dog friendly, great pasties and a good selection of ciders. Fast service. Very clean toilets. Park nearby in the village carpark, £3.

Excellent and well known pub. Plenty of outdoor seating, although the view from the front looking south is hard to beat. Often a queue to order (5-15 minutes) however the staff are excellent and smiley, superquick handling an order. Loved the pasty and spicey sausage rolls. Plus some great beers. Plenty of footpaths to get to this great destination.

Beautiful Location amazing food kind people & the walk to the sea is also popular for a realistic day out at reasonable prices with the beauty of our Jurassic Coast is probably why I visit through all seasons but looking forward to the summer of 2025

Unique gem of a pub. Hasn't changed in years. Excellent draught beer and heavenly pasties.

One of the greatest pubs in the country, not to be missed. Amazing, unrivalled views, pasties and pints from a barn door and chickens roaming the garden. This place is unreal

Hot meal and cozy corner, good view, really a nice place to come and eat and enjoy!

Amazing village pub. Quite unique. Outside tables, and two inside rooms. You'll want to come back for sure. Very old building. Photo is the beach 5 mins away.

Always a real pleasure every time I visit!

Ok, if you are walking & don't mind sitting outside. Very small inside with only pasties on the menu, so not alot of choice!

Unique pub in the middle of nowhere. We walked from Corfe Castle to Chapmans Pool and up to the pub, about 8 miles. Fantastic beer and cider. No mobile coverage so organise your journey back if you need a taxi. Team behind the bar are great. Plus there's a little museum and music several times a week

If you’re over 6 foot 3, watch your head on the way out. Great place.

Great pub,can be a bit of a wait at the bar bit well worth it

History galore in this pub based amongst the quarries. A must visit destination and a small museum on site too. There's a rare combination!

Always a good time after a walk in the purbecks

The beer was spot on, but the pasty's unfortunately wasn't very good, the last visit a few years ago they was fantastic..

Beautiful country pub with great Cornish pasties and a wide selection of beers. Nice little fossil museum and a lovely view. Wonderful for a post walk beer.

The Square and Compass is possibly one of the best traditional pubs in England. When the world continues to get more crazy, this is where I need to be. Open fires, great beer, dogs and home made food - time for an update - This pub remains in my top 5 in the world. A small part of my mind & heart is always at the S&C !

My son and I enjoyed our lunch including some great cider. We loved the unusual old layout a NN dlow ceilings of the pub. It really is worth a visit😄

Very popular but cheap pub with good pasty’s and nice atmosphere

Fun, cute and great place, lovely people and a very nice atmosphere!! Recommended!!!

Really quirky pub great music and atmosphere cant wait to get back

This is the best pub EVER. Great food , great staff, just great all round. I live in the city of southampton and go here once a year when on a camping holiday near the pub. Ive never been anywhere like this ever in the city. Its the best place to go. And the landlord Charlie is fantastic. Thank you charlie for the best pub EVER

Delicious soup and lovely open fire. The staff were very nice and helpful.

Good choice cider and beer. Friendly staff. Good museum as well in this wonderful quirky pub.

Simple food (pasties) but what a pub!

A real gem of a pub: may it never change!

Lovely traditional cafe. Atmosphere old world charme

After a lovely sunny walk we ended up at the Square & Compass. We had an ale and mulled cider with a steak pasty and a chicken leek and bacon pie. Service was quick and the staff were polite and friendly. We sat in one of the snugs. The whole place is a living museum and you step back in time once you cross the threshold. Service is through a hatch in line with the entrance, it became very congested very quickly with only a few people being present. Not so easy to navigate once you add a tray with drinks and food on it.

Amazing pasty lunch , excellent beer. Fed the birds with pasty crusts :).

Truly an amazing pub, much loved!

Keep it simple, a selection of pasties, a sausage roll, and a steak pie, plus some good cider/beer. Served from a hatch which does admittedly cause a bit of a queue, but eaten on tables outside in the sun was worth the wait. Don't miss sticking your head inside to the museum room on the far left and the atmospheric lounge on the right.

Classic British pub that hasn't changed in generations. Keep it that way. Great beer, cider and pub grub. Frequent live music too.

Such a special place. Can't beat it. Frequented the place when we lived in Dorset & come back on every visit. Visited today after a lovely walk from Worth on the Priest's Way, down to Dancing Ledge for a swim & back along the coast to Windspit before heading to The Square & Compass for a Pint & a Pasty. Nowt fancy, just good honest food at a good price. Couldn't ask for better.

Unique. Pie and a pint. A part of Dorset history that, luckily, is a family business and free from the makeover boys.

Always a beautiful place to stop for a beer and a pasty! Good vegetarian versions available!

The finest pub in Drorset, and probably beyond.

Lovely fireplace. Pub ready for Halloween

a real gem of a place - river the glass collector brilliant x

Is nice pub to be there after a bit hiking around Dancing ledge, a lot britains goes there to have a glass of beer 🍺, nice talking, good view. Also they have a small museum about fósils found around. They hay a good variety local beers 🍻 simple but nice taste traditional food.

Lovely place with live music and a cool Fossil Museum

Absolutely lovely place. It has such a warm and inviting atmosphere, it's a fantastic place to head to for the evening. Food options can never be faulted, always difficult to choose between their amazing treats. We will be back often!

One of the best original pubs I have been to.

A cosy quirky pub on the way to Chapman’s Pool. Many other coastal walks are available nearby. A large car park a short walk away, takes donations, there is no phone signal! Order drinks from the kiosk inside & I recommend a pasty of your choice to accompany it. We chose to sit outside at one of the stone tables & watched a folk singer entertain. There are cosy tables inside, just right to warm up on those cold winter days next to the fire. Also there is a small museum inside. Thoroughly recommend the magical atmosphere & view.

An absolute must, if you're ANYWHERE near! Beautiful place, setting, and food.

Friendly staff and lovely view :)

Very friendly customer services

Honestly one of the best pubs in the uk, a truely unique experience. The pub does home brewed ales and ciders aswell as truely excellent pasties and pies.

A shining example of a pub. Great seating lovely views. Great beer, great snacks and pasties, or even a brownie. Has a good selection of crisps and sides. It even has its own museum which is interesting and worth a visit anyway.

A local in Wool suggested we come here as they only sell local beers/ciders, and serve only pasties. The view from their garden out towards the sea is just fantastic. The cheese pasty I had (I'm vegetation) was really tasty but could've done with a tad more seasoning, and the pasty the boyf had (steak) was apparently very tasty. If you want a small local pub with plenty of heart and good views then come here. Also some great local walks starting from the pub so you can start/end your walk with sustenance.

Very old pub in Worth Matravers. Great beers & cider and mostly Gravity poured. They have a small fossil museum in the pub and we're preparing the pub for Halloween.

Beer straight out of the barrel, love it. Great view from the garden. Definitely worth a vist.

Absolutely gorgeous pub and little museum, serves the best pint and a pasty I've ever had.

Perhaps the best pub I’ve ever been to. Perfect location, rustic and charming atmosphere, spacious outdoor seating, good beer. You can’t ask for more!

Excellent and very popular pub in a very pretty little village. Has excellent views from the front seating area to the sea. There are quite a few footpaths that converge in the area so it is very popular with walkers. The food is excellent, and it has a tiny, and very strange little museum.

Overrated... reasonable panoramic views but abysmal service

Always a good experience at this pub. My wife and I have been going to this memorable, hole in the wall pub for 35 years. It is the business.

Come here all the time and this was the first time they lost a star ⭐️they open at 12, went in to queue at 11:55 in order to look at the menu and decide on a cider and pasty. Met by a girl behind the counter who might have been new or just woke up on the wrong side of the bed as her words were "we're not open yet, we open at 12" so I said it's ok I'll wait and she said quite bluntly "oh you're going to wait there are you, it's 5 mins" so I said it's only a few minutes so yes I'll wait here. Maybe they don't want the business or perhaps as I don't live down the road as a local. No need to be rude is there. Hence they lose a star ⭐️for her poor manners.

All sorts of pasties is the only menu. Lots of different beers to choose from and the most amazing view, it's on a hill and best to experience when sunny. Outside seating is really unusual on lumps of stone or wooden benches.

Quirky and interesting in equal measure, Evan a small fossil museum! Good range of ales and ciders, pies and pasties. Lovely to sit outside on a sunny afternoon or inside by the fire now Autumn is with us.

I think this might be my favourite pub in the world

Great locally produced cider and pasties

Very quirky establishment Good selection of beers and ciders.

Great rural pub with immense views, very busy, lots of outdoor to take advantage of the views, good beer and cider selection and lots of pasties

Nice pub. Met Willem Dafoe there as he drinks there regularly. Signed a green goblin figure my son had with him

The best country pub in Purbeck. Great selection of ales, including non alcoholic options. And there's a fossil museum too!

Quaint little pub, found in the middle of nowhere. Lovely, oldy worldy, good pasties, home pressed cider and a walk afterwards just what you need to blow the cobwebs away.

Dropped in for a drink. Quaint place; like the in-house fossil museum!

Outstanding! Don't miss it if you're in the area

It is a lovely traditional pub with a great family history. The food is based on the love of pasties. Lovely views over the coast.

A wonderful pub to visit in beautiful surroundings. There's plenty of outdoor seating also. It's a great area for coastal walks too.

I just seen pasties and cider. Couldn’t wait in the que as our toddler wasn’t up for the wait. Seams like the perfect place for ramblers, not really for a lunch or a sit down.

One of the best pubs around the Jurassic coast. Simple food, amazing beer, lovely chatty staff, and always brilliant bands play here. It is no frills, but the scenery, location and atmosphere is just sublime. Don't hesitate, get yourself there!

The best country pub in the south of England. Handmade cider (the best) and pies made with love by the owner. At the side of the garden, two kind ladies bake delicious pizzas. Great view. I can see why so many people have it as their hangout. On the side of the building, there is a small fossil museum.

Class spot, watched live music on a Wednesday evening. Highly recommend

Brilliant classic English pub with great sea views, a very nice, tasty pasty and a pint. Highly recommend!

Always nice to stop off for a cider and pasty :-)

Brilliant pub in a lovely area for walking, nice outside area that had a few musicians playing when I went there and a cool little dinosaur museum on the side

England's best kept secret! What a pub!!! Amazing!

Beer at still under £5 a pint, although on a sunny day you might have to queue outside!

Basic food, mainly pies. Very old, quaint pub, serving beers and cider mainly from the keg or barrel.

Quirky little place with a small museum attached. Curry pasty and pint were lovely.