The Stocks Inn in East Dorset

Visited this lovely pub on the fly whilst in the area. Did not disappoint! Ashley our server was amazing! Went above and beyond too with pregnant wife with allergy as well as super friendly Only wish we'd come earlier in the week so we could have visited again. Highly recommend. Steak & Ale pie was delicious as was cheesecake of the day

On our recent visit to the Stocks Inn for Sunday Lunch we had variable experiences. We were promptly seated and given a menu with a comprehensive list of dishes. The food and drinks which we had ordered arrived and everything was going well. After our main course, it took some time for the waitress to bring the dessert menu for us and we waited for her to return to order our desserts. We waited and waited and in the end we gave up, thinking that as it was after 4pm by this time, that the waitresses had gone home, so we paid the bill and left. Disappointing service which marred an otherwise satisfactory afternoon.

Lovely place. Middle of no where so has to be good and it really is!

Good food, drink and lovely garden

The website states last restaurant orders 8pm. They took orders for drinks from our party of four tonight. When we asked to see the menu the staff told us the kitchen was closed! It was before 7.45pm! Any pub restaurant that refuses a food order from four customers after taking a drinks order then refusing a food order over 15 minutes before the published last order time for the kitchen, when it isn't even busy, deserves no more than one star.

We had a brilliant meal with no complaints 😋

Delicious fish cakes, gammon egg and chips, and steak and ale pie, and tasty puddings too! Helpful staff, and a very pleasant atmosphere for eating and chatting with friends and family. We also stayed overnight in our camper, which is a brilliant facility. It was very quiet overnight, with some expected road noise at about 7am (weekday). Also a helpful leaflet about a circular walk from the pub.

Had a wonderful meal here, great pub, brilliant atmosphere, excellent service and dog friendly area to .... You really couldn't ask for better.

We love the Stocks.. Great food and friendly service. Good pub food prices.

Absolutely and utterly amazing and brilliant. The best LASAGNE my wife's ever had, and the STEAK'ALE'PIE was mind-blowing!!!!! Breakfast 🥞🍳 dinner and tea, all in one. AMAZING 🤩😍

Really nice good food. Staff were very helpful and moved us when we said it’s really noisy. Thank you

Beautiful food 😋. So tasty and good portion size. Staff were so lovely and popped a candle in my mum-in-laws pudding for her birthday. Definitely recommend this pub.

Spot on food,brilliant service,and the staff made a good atmosphere, will go there again

Great trip here today for a celebration. The team were super friendly and helpful, making sure to check back with us often. Food was really enjoyable and desert portions generous, verging on maybe too large! Will return here for our next family event (it's a 2 hour drive for us but worth it). Having returned, everything above still stands, although we didn't realise the table was booked after us and could have stayed longer.

Sunday lunch as close to home made as you can get and plenty of gravy. Also do smaller plate for bit less. Beef was lovely.

Awful value for money as I ordered a large fish n chips for about 18 pounds, the fish was small and disappointing, the chips where undercooked so I got a replacement order of fries but these where also disappointing as there was some oil left on them so I burned my hand. Service was lovely wouldn't come again

Popped in with the wife for a quick drink whilst passing. Had a lovely pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord ( in a dimpled handle ) and the wife had a Famous Grouse and lemonade, both at a good price. Clean, fresh smelling toilets. Nothing to complain about. Well done.

Had a meal this evening 4 adults this is a visit we do quite frequently but tonight service was very slow side salad had been left under the warmer and portions very small compared to other times. The managers of the pub weren't there so the service seemed very poor. Disappointed but will come back. Went back to the stocks the week after and had amazing service and the food was excellent just like it always is. All homemade and really good menu and always happy to cook it to your required taste. That's why we make it our go to pub when taking friends and family out.

Came here for a birthday lunch with a group of 12 today. Super Sunday lunch, hunters chicken and pies. Amazing puddings - especially the cherry cheesecake, sticky toffee pudding and banoffee pie. Lovely, kind and friendly staff. It was busy and reasonably loud when we arrived - I suspect we added somewhat to that too! But there were also quieter spots in little alcoves round the corner and dogs were welcomed.

Food was tasty and hot, a fair price in this day and age. Staff were pleasant, polite and well presented. 4 stars because coffee machine had been turned off and we couldn't have a coffee afterwards.

Excellent Sunday lunch. Got us in last minute due to power off at home. Great staff attitude. We loved it, thank you from Geoff and Pauline

Lovely lunchtime meal, nice atmosphere, and friendly staff. A pub which always delivers.

This place is clearly popular but I just can’t see why. Our steak and ale pie was pretty disgusting. The pastry was like cardboard and the filling was some sort of meat sliding around in a thick, slimy, glutinous gravy. The pie seemed to have been cooked previously and passed through the (visible at front of kitchen) microwaved and served. Chips seemed to have been cooked in old oil and were Iceland sort of standard. On the whole the meal was like a downmarket school or airplane dinner. Perhaps we caught the on a bad day because, as mentioned, the place is popular. I can only hope so.

We were visiting the area and had Sunday lunch on 16/2, it was delicious. The service was excellent too. Following on from this we had a query about some lost property that was swiftly and kindly dealt with by Drex. Thank you. We will definitely come back next time we’re down your way.

Tip top! Valentines meal. Food, staff, drinks all excellent. Great pub, great staff, great meal. Very helpful with dietary requirements. (GF) Thank you.

Took my friend for a birthday dinner, we had such a lovely welcome from Sally, the food was delicious as always and all the staff so friendly, such a pleasant evening, wd definitely recommend a visit 😊

Efficient booking and friendly welcome into a lovely warm pub on a cold day. Staff were friendly and took orders in good time. Five of us each had main and dessert and no one had any complaints. An excellent place to eat.

Good food, good beer and a nice to friendly atmosphere. Will definitely be revisiting

Amazing lasagne.. but don't tell everyone! They'll be none left .. Been coming here now over the last 10 months.. and consistent in the quality of the food.

We had our family Christmas get together, everyone was happy with their meal enjoyed our afternoon and my wife and I were pleased with the service we received as we were hosting it

Visited with family party of 9 ppl including 1 wheelchair user and 1 infant. Much appreciated that they were able to take our large party booking which was last minute following a family function the day before, especially in the lead up to Xmas on a Saturday. Menu was basic pub grub with plenty enough choice but good quality, hot and food was good. I had chicken curry which was lovely and others enjoyed the lasagna and fish and chips. Portions generous. Service decent and our food came in a timely enough fashion and simultaneously. There was a service charge but would say prices were pretty average and decent enough value for money. Easy to park. My father is a wheelchair user and the ramps, doorways, toilet etc worked well for him despite it being an older building with plenty of character. There were also baby change facilities in the disabled loo.Quite old fashioned decor but kind of part of the charm of a traditional English pub.

Went here for works Christmas lunch yesterday. My meal was delicious, and everyone else said their options were too, and the food all came out piping hot, not easy when they were serving so many different meals. The staff were friendly and welcoming in spite of being so busy. All the food is cooked fresh.

Great little pub with a decent atmosphere. The service was fast even though it looked busy and the portion sizes are great even with the smaller ones

Came in yesterday the 17th for a festive meal. Despite how busy they were the food and service was amazing. We both went for the vegetable broth, belly pork and syrup sponge with ice cream. It was all stunning. Thank you Stocks Inn. See you in the New Year.

Regular pub food. Nothing too exciting.

Always enjoy the food but found the atmosphere a bit flat

We enjoyed a group Christmas Dinner at the Stocks and it was brilliant. The booking was easy, organising each families orders was great and everything was super smooth! The food was delicious, we mostly chose from the Christmas menu and it was fabulous. A great pub, run by wonderful people. Highly recommended.

Absolutely lovely evening. All the food was fantastic and the service was top class. Excellent gluten and dairy-free options. Will be back.

Had a most enjoyable Christmas lunch today . Food was plentiful, well presented and nice and hot . Staff were polite, friendly and helpful . Highly recommend!

Another great meal and fantastic service, already looking forward to the next visit.

A great pub for a drop in lunch! Having initially planned to visit a pub further up the road, we decided to choose The Stocks Inn as it looked more inviting; we weren’t disappointed. It was a Monday lunch time, so not terribly busy, but we received a warm welcome and found the interior to be comfortable, cosy and literally warm (heating was on and the temperature was just right) Service was great, friendly, professional and welcoming. Drinks and food were very reasonably priced, beer and wine was good and when food arrived (we didn’t have to wait long) it was absolutely delicious! The Inn is Dog friendly (we were given a bowl of water for our girl) and everyone was so approachable. Would definitely recommend.

Wonderful, friendly pub with great food and gluten free options. Very dog friendly.

We have visited the stocks many times over the past 30 years but this was the worst meal we can remember. The gammon was thin, scrappy and too salty, the chips over cooked. We were asked if we wanted both egg and pineapple and then charged £1 extra for the pineapple, which we weren't told about when placing the order. At £18.95 it was not value for money. We ordered lemon & ginger cheesecake, which was more like mousse on a biscuit base, not the consistency of cheesecake. This desert was £7.95 so you would expect better. We told the waitress,who did offer an alternative, but this was declined. She said “I’ll let them know.” . An adjustment to the bill would have been more appropriate. There is a lot of competition in this sector and regrettably the Stocks prices have edged up too much and now sit at the more expensive end of pub food options. In summary a disappointing and overpriced lunch.

We have visited the stocks many times over the past 30 years but this was the worst meal we can remember. The gammon was thin, scrappy and too salty, the chips over cooked. We were asked if we wanted both egg and pineapple and then charged £1 extra for the pineapple, which we weren't told about when placing the order. At £18.95 it was not value for money. We ordered lemon & ginger cheesecake, which was more like mousse on a biscuit base, not the consistency of cheesecake. This desert was £7.95 so you would expect better. We told the waitress,who did offer an alternative, but this was declined. She said “I’ll let them know.” . An adjustment to the bill would have been more appropriate. There is a lot of competition in this sector and regrettably the Stocks prices have edged up too much and now sit at the more expensive end of pub food options. In summary a disappointing and overpriced lunch.

Excellent food. Had a lovely evening

Delicious food, excellent service as always

We have just enjoyed a fabulous meal with great service. We ordered a taxi as my wife had fractured her ankle recently and the road is a little narrow, so although not a long journey back to Wilksworth farm we wanted to remain safe. Fabulously the owner offered us a lift now that is above and beyond in my book, I wish I had a local pub near me with great food, great people and a sense of community..... booked again for Sunday roast.

Possibly the tastiest steak pie ever. Friendly service. A Good slection of beers to complement. Lovely olde worlde pub popular with dogs and their owners. Would definitely recommend, and will be returning for more of that pie.👍

No Sunday menu available but full menu otherwise. Makes a change instead of Sunday roasts in places and not much else. Pub full of character, staff good, and ample parking on site.

Proper good pub grub, always a good meal had here. Highly recommend 👍

Very nice Saturday lunch catching up with friends. Staff very nice and friendly. Food tasty, and large portion for reasonable prices. Nice to see a traditional style pub still in use with all the decorations, and one that’s popular too.

We held our Dad's wake at the Stocks Inn as it was a favourite of his to visit with my mum and friends and also with his friends during shooting season. Sally and her team made us feel so relaxed and comfortable and effortlessly catered for over 70 people with really delicious food. The team took care of everything in a caring and professional way and made us so glad that we had chosen the stocks inn, it felt like a home from home and we will be forever grateful for the memories.

Went in for a quick evening meal, service was fast. Starter of breaded Brie was stone cold on the inside, sent back to be reheated and still inedible. They took it off the bill, which was the least they could do as it wasn’t eaten anyway. Main meal of steak pie was average and very over priced, nearly £20. My wife’s risotto was very good.

Lovely food in a traditional pub setting. Cosy warm feel as you walked in. Friendly staff and huge portions. Roast dinner was excellent.

Wonderful pub, friendly atmosphere.. excellent food, great value

Lovely food, great service and friendly staff

Just lovely service perfect well priced and parked up for the night in the camper with no issue

need to try excellent food and hospitality

Good all round experience during a busy Sunday lunch service. All requests catered for in a timely and pleasant manner.

Wonderful welcome, great service and meal,

Great country pub, very good friendly service large range of well price quality food. Look forward to a return visit.

Had a lovely family reunion. Food and service was excellent and we're allowed to have time in the bar to remake family ties. Not rushed it was lovely

Staff very friendly and efficient. Ambience always good. Food was excellent.

We were out for the day and decided to stop here for something to eat and have to say it was amazing. We've eaten in a few pubs and always find the food doesn't arrive very hot but here it was piping hot and extremely yummy. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend this place for something to eat. 5 stars in my opinion. We were actually going to try a different place in the area in the recommendation of several customers that my husband had given lifts to (he's a cab driver,he doesn't just give random people lifts) unfortunately the place was closed so we went here instead not expecting much and I'm so glad we did. Well done to all concerned with the running of the place

Superb food and service. Group of 10 and staff were very attentive. Excellent vegan shepherds pie. Good prices for both food and drinks. Will return

Stopped here on our way home from holiday, and it couldn't have ended better. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Dog and child friendly, staff interacted with both, making them feel welcome. Kids menu has something for everyone and includes vegetables as one of the options to give a healthy option, something you very rarely see. A good menu and reasonably priced. Food quality was excellent and plentiful. Would highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

I had the hunters chicken, it was disappointing, I had been looking forward to having it for a long time. When I received it, the chicken was rather tough and not enjoyable. The lovely waitress managed to change it for the fish and chips which were absolutely lovely and hot. The customer service is second to none. Two members of staff ensured that I was happy with my food and were amazing!

Excellent lunch today, thank you

We went on a Sunday lunchtime but resisted the roast (which looked great) and went for a ploughmans instead. We were not disappointed at all, lots of thick ham, a huge chunk of really tasty cheese, boiled egg, pork pie, three different pickles, a lovely warm baguette, big pickled onion, apple and salad. We'll worth the money. Will definitely eat here again.

Lovely pub very nice food popular place but also very friendly garden also nice for summer days and evenings

Gorgeous Pub with excellent food and customer service. Highly recommended and worth a visit. Wish we had found it earlier. Thank you everyone at The Stocks Inn.

Lovely meal in the beer garden after a day out with family.

Large home cooked portions...lovely place to eat ...highly recommend!

Really nice pub with good atmosphere. Food was delicious and service was quick and friendly. Proper traditional food with good variety. Definitely recommend.

Went there a couple of weeks ago- having been many times before. Service and friendliness is great and important to share that. We ordered two meals, both came out within about 5 mins which is always concerning. I have had steak pie and veg. The gravy covering the pie was all congealed and had a skin as though it had been frozen and put in the microwave. The meat inside the pie was dry and crusty. The broccoli was mushy and sooggy again as if microwaved. My partner had lasagne and said one part of the lasagne was just solid cheese as if they had run out of the dish and made it up with just cheese. She also said it was cold in the corner. She left a majority of it. In hindsight we should have complained- but when we got home we both said the same about the Food. It was pretty poor. Shame as the place is really nice but let down this time.

Had a great lunch in a packed dining room on a Wednesday. Ploughman's in particular was excellent

Wow the food is excellent, the service is awesome just all off the charts. Have been here a few times now and it’s now our favorite restaurant. My Mrs has a serious allergy and they just can’t do enough for her and make her feel safe every time. The service really is excellent and the selection of food is amazing too and catering for everyone

We were a table of 7 on a Saturday evening, very friendly and efficient service, food was excellent. Food allergens clearly labelled which was very helpful as two were diary free .

Great food & Great service highly recommend.

Frequently here great staff always with a smile and a can do attitude! Lovely location and when the weather behaves a great garden to chill out in too! As for the food best Hunters Chicken and Lasagna!

We dined here twice during our stay in Dorset. Meals were all very good. I was particularly impressed with the Gluten-free menu which had plenty of choices.

Nice and friendly service. We made a reservation for a group of around 20 people and were served quickly. It was fun at the Stocks Inn

Used to come here a while ago has gone down a bit the food came so quickly I think it must have been microwaved it certainly burnt my mouth

As previous review this is an average venue. Food when i visited was average. The beef pie was dry and overcooked. My wifes fish and chips were bland. Staff were pleasant and to be fair dealing with two large parties. But no excuse regarding the pie, it shouldnt have left the kitchen. I was unable to send it back as i was a guest .

Thank you, to Chefs James & Ashley for the care and safety taken in avoiding cross contamination in preparing a delicious meal for me. I have a rare Tomato Allergy. It truly made my day. Once again thank you. ❤️

I liked the pub very much and we had a nice meal - the only two reasons I cant give more stars is that I had the hunters chicken and there was literally only a teaspoon of delicious coleslaw given. Such a tiny amount it almost looked out of place. I was baffled by it and wanted to order (was happy to pay) for more as it accompanied the dish but I couldn't get any waiting staff attention until we had nearly finished. The other reason is some of the waiting staff we encountered were a little lack lustre and seemed fed up. I don't expect too much but I notice when waiting staff appear to not want to be there. But pub was clean, smelt good, very tasty food, good vibe. Would return.

Great place,friendly and welcoming

Great country pub with excellent food & beer choices, plenty of space to find a table for any size of group without feeling too sprawling. Haven’t visited for over 10 years and I was very impressed.

As always Food.superb. service A1

I can't say alot about the food, I that a butcher burger i wouldn't it was from a butcher, had better in lots of other pubs. And try serve triple cook chips. Not just fries, for the I think you could.

Good pub food but over priced. Very pleasant, friendly staff and customer service.

Lovely little pub we stop at for a cold drink after walking our dog. Friendly and beautiful beer garden 😋

Consistently good pub food in a nice location. Nice friendly staff too

We visited this pub on a Sunday without having booked and were shown to a table without fuss. Staff were very friendly and helpful during our time there. The only negative was having someone come to take our payment. My cottage pie was excellent. I had a shepherds pie the previous night at another pub. This pie killed that one! My wife rated her chicken dish very highly. Servings were a good size. No quibbles. Recommended.

Food really good service was a tad slow.

Fish and chips and hunters chicken both 10/10, lovely sitting outside in the pergola area with the sun beaming in. Service was nice and quick, we will be back

Decent pub grub. Ordered food & drinks separately, waited appropriately & received 2x good sized plates of tasty food. The desserts are super sized too. Will return.

Fabulous food in old country pub surroundings. Beautiful place with a lovely atmosphere.

Met up with family at the weekend and enjoyed a lovely meal. Very welcoming pub and dog friendly. Thank you ☺️

The food was amazing very generous portions, and the staff were lovely. A wonderful experience. Would definitely go again xxx