Watch House Cafe in West Dorset - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Very friendly staff and great food. Lovely relaxed atmosphere. Recommend the pizza! Accommodated a party of 10 of us at a relatively short notice in a lovely area. Dog friendly too.

Good pizzas. Nice location on beach but shame it's now all behind thick plastic so it's very hot and your view is obstructed

Great selection of food, we went for breakfast and world totally recommend. Dogs are welcome too.

We have been coming here for many years as they have great fish and chips with homemade tartare sauce. I would have given five stars for food however, they have changed the peas to garden peas - they used to be mushy and better in my opinion and the chips used to be crisper! Still good though.

40 minute wait for 2 bacon baps and the place was near empty

The experience was fantastic! Me and my girlfriend had a great time and THOROUGHLY enjoyed the food and the exceptional service. Lulu was great and very polite. The young lad with the blonde curly hair was extremely positive and sweet, they both deserve a raise! Couldn’t recommend a better restaurant in the area.

I love the pizza, but the burger and nachos are great too. It's nice to feel like you are outside but it's still lovely and warm too even if it's not the best weather

Food was okay depending on what you had. Expensive for a casual meal.

Food is mediocre at best, very little chicken on the chicken loaded nachos, never again.

Delicious fish & chips! Big cocktail menu. Great location right by the water.

perfect fish and prawns and lovely service and drinks

Excellent on every level. We had four breakfasts ranging from veggie full English to pancakes and all were delicious. We also had dairy and gluten allergies in our group and both were not a problem. Staff were really friendly and attentive and venue was lovely. Highly recommend.

Had a lovely meal inside,staff were quick and friendly. The next night we had a takeaway stone baked pizza which was also very nice. Can't fault the food or the service

Pizza are very nice , wood fired and good service

10/10 coffee and spritzes from the takeaway shack

Friendly staff, nice food, I had nachos which was quite tasty, good size portion. I also had a garlic pizza, which was so nice, I would like to try their pizzas as they use a pizza oven. It was a wet day, but the atmosphere was good, I recommend giving it a try.

One of the best places to dine in West Bay.

Brilliant in every way. Dog friendly, great service, delicious food. Staff were unbelievably friendly and helpful. Brought the dogs some treats as well.

Love this place, right on the seafront

Lunch lamb cutlet’s took 3/4 hour to arrive cold my wife’s pizza never arrived very poor service won’t be going back

Went for lunch on the spur of the moment. Very friendly atmosphere as were the Team. Good, varied menu. Reasonably priced as are the drinks choices. We had a Meat feast pizza, coleslaw and slim fries. I had an Amstel lager and my Wife had a 7up. The food was delicious and quite quickly served up to us by a very attentive Team member. We finished off our meal with a Chocolate Brownie Sundae and a Strawberry Sundae. They were the BEST we have Ever had. To finish off was the Bill and we were very pleasantly surprised at how reasonable it was. Well worth a visit.

Alway vome here the pizzas are the best in the world

This restaurant is right on the beach and the eating area is protected from the elements but still allows a view over the beach. They do their own beers, wine and cider and the menu has a wide choice of seafood dishes, wood fired pizza, specials etc. The restaurant is dog friendly with a dog menu of treats. Food was very good value and the service was great.

Lovely location on the beach. Pizza was really tasty and service was great 👍

Great service from the staff there and the atmosphere is wonderful. Very reasonably priced, and the food was excellent. Many thanks to everyone there.

Lovely beach shack. Total awareness of allergens. Friendly and professional. Hand made dough. Delish.

Only popped in for a drink but will certainly think about a meal in the future.

Well is a lively beach cafe.. exactly as I’d expect a beach cafe to be.. service was prompt and customer service was a sweet interaction with beach girls. Usual typical breakfast fare… Highly recommend.. reasonable prices with a great service..

Nice cream tea nice views friendly staff

Really lovely meal here with great choice of food. Most of the staff were efficient and friendly.

Not sure what happened when we went, out garlic prawn starter and fish dishes were so over cooked they were hard and chewy and promptly returned. The service was good. The food not so.

Not been in since it has been refurbed but even better now. Food is very good and 👍to the Hive cider. Friendly and efficient staff and we must visit more often.

Lovely atmosphere friendly service 👍😁👍

Great location and good food. Dogs are very welcome and even have their own menu

Food excellent and staff very polite and friendly.

Great live music, had pork belly roast and it melted in the mouth! Staff were great and attentive, and had a wholesome atmosphere and really relaxed will definitely visit again next time we are down this way

We have been to the other branches, The Club House at West Bexington and the Hive Cafe at Burton Bradstock, both good, but this one is the best. Great location, really friendly staff and very good food, our friend’s description was simple “definitely on the come back list” Think we will.

A wonderful lunch, we all decide to have the daily specials. All were delicious, great value for money and we had three dogs with us and the staff could not have been more friendly or accommodating. They bring you complimentary biscuits for the dogs.

Great food, lovely atmosphere and right on the beach, what more could you want. Will give the boxed cider a miss next time though - very warm and flat.

Not a fantastic experience sadly. Didn't seem that busy but service was very slow. One meal finally arrived but the other took another 5 minutes! I had chicken nachos which was very poor. Liquid cheese and a breaded chicken burger chopped up and thrown on top. Shame as lovely position on the beach and staff seemed very pleasant.

Wow, what a lovely experience! We were shown to a table outside quickly, had the most amazing food and was served by the nicest people, not sure of their names but they were 2 blondes and a brunette lady that really made us feel welcome, if your looking for a drink and a bite to eat in Westbay, look no further

The first time we came here was 7 years ago. We came again 3 years ago and today. These pizzas are some of the best we’ve ever eaten. The location is perfect. Service was friendly and efficient. We can’t wait to come again.

Crab sandwich to die for - and the price could well have that result.

quality food, excellent service.

The cafe couldn't do enough for us. Dog friendly which was amazing .even gave her dog biscuits at the end of our meal .very friendly and helpful staff considering there was 11 of us to feed

Friday 05/04/24 - Come here with family. Burger, chips and slaw amazing! Fish,chips and peas amazing. Really good value

Food was delicious, so good to see a menu with a bit of creativity and different options.

We love Watch House Cafe, been coming here on and off for quite some, now. Always friendly staff, great pizzas and lovely setting, next to the beach.

We were a family of 8 with 2 toddlers and two babes in arms. The tables were clean, the food and drink came really quickly which was great with two toddlers, as they only have so much capacity to sit still. The kids were given crayons and pictures to colour in. The food was really good quality but not fancy. I would definitely recommend.

Really good pizza, and a nice chilled out vibe

Mmmm! Difficult as initially service was good. But, my wife had eaten majority of her pizza before my sandwich and chips appeared. Interesting that table who ordered after us got same meal at the same time as wifes pizza appear. So suspect someone messed up. Food was OK £3 for extra chips not really worth it. Pizza was good but can't really recommend crab sandwich, a bit soggy. To be far they did discount our meal by a drink, hence 3 stars for service

Great food and drink excellent friendly service.

For a family of five with 3 young children. Ridiculously overpriced. £15 for a breakfast. £13 for a veggie breakfast in which they forgot to cook the halloumi, and doesn’t even come with toast. The children’s waffles were straight out of a packet and not fresh.

It was o.k. Not really geared to snacks. Great for a full meal.

Went on a busy day ; service very slow and the food was poor. Chicken was tough, pasta underwhelming. no fish and chips available. Kids sausages were fine but arrived an hour after we’d been seated! No baby changing and one small unsatisfactory ladies loo . Shame- it’s a great location on the beach.

A classic case of success spoiling service. Over the years its growing success has mirrored its declining customer service and this week was the last time we'll ever visit. Arriving at c.11.25 we were greeted warmly by a member of staff asking "Are you guys here for food?" to which we answered "Yes". We chose straight away from the "Served all day" [sic] part of the menu only for a different colleague to arrive (c.11.30am) saying they were no longer serving food as the kitchen were prepping lunch. Appeals that we'd been seated for food, pointing to the "served all day" on the menus, and requests to ask if the chef might be able to do something fell on indifferent ears. They just stood there like it was our problem. On leaving, the person who'd seated us was really apologetic and much more human, but it was the last in a long line of similar service experiences here. I guess all the new locals and tourists pay the bills just fine. Go there if you must, but pack a sandwich - just in case!

Ordered 2xsole for lunch and subsequently told there was only one left, my wife then ordered fish and chips . After about 50 minutes wait we we were asked what we were waiting for and was told they hadn't had any fish and chips all day !! . It looked like one boy In the kitchen trying to cope with a restaurant full !! . Never again .

Breakfast cost about £13 per person plus tea or coffee, nicely served, very nice service and a fantastic atmosphere, you can bring your pet and even buy something for it, in the afternoon we had tea and cake. Every place on the terrace was heated, so it was very pleasant.

They have dogs menu dogs aloud in side pizza really nice and tasty!

This has to be the best food in West Bay. The prawn linguine is the best I've ever had, and the Sunday roast is really nice. Each table has its own heater above the table, which is a great touch, and it's situated right next to the beach. Also have live music. Deffenatly try this if you're in West Bay.

Me and my fiancé stopped in West Bay on our way home from a weekend away. Had a little walk around and found this café, bloody brilliant. Staff were super friendly and welcoming. Food was delicious, especially the eggs! Located 20 meters from the actual ocean, was perfect.

1st time I've tried this place. I was pleasantly surprised, good quality home cooked food, reasonably priced. Friendly staff, dog friendly, dog treats on the menu😍

Food was okay ( I had a cooked breakfast) but the service could have been a bit better.

Brilliant little cafe. Fantastic staff. We visited with our very large dog and they were accommodating and understanding. Helped us out arranging a taxi home. Couldn't fault a thing. Also...Best toilets ever!!! Thank you staff xx

A great place...dogs are welcome too! I had a take away roast lunch and desert. Delicious.! Lovely friendly staff, nothing too much trouble.

Website says "breakfast until 11:30" but that's a lie

Went for a Sunday lunch and the service and food was INCREDIBLE. Very dog friendly (waitress gave them leftover chicken), free drinks for the “wait” - which felt like 20 mins and the food.. honestly wasn’t expecting cafe food to be THAT good. £20 for two courses - great value for money !! Live music was great. Atmosphere great. Decor amazing. We will be back!

We had a portion of chips from the Hive, Burton Bradstock. The chips were really crispy on the outside and fluffy and lush on the inside. We thought we would have takeaway fish and chips. Unfortunately the Hive was not open, even though the sign was out on the road stating takeaway was open. We drove to the Watchtower and asked if they did fish and chips takeaway. I mentioned the chips we had at the Hive and was advised that they were the same chips! We were very disappointed, the chips although cooked were not the same crispy chips as the Hive. The fish although cooked, the batter was doughy on most of the fish. Very disappointed at £36 for two portions. Won’t be buying these again!

Fish and chips, lovely,waitress very pleasant ,clean, quick. All good.

Great place to eat. Delicious food and lovely service. Location is great too. Much better than Hive Beach to which I will never go again.

Nice spot, dined in for breakfast. Good food, really pleasant staff who were happy to make a few adjustments to menu. Would recommend and visit again

Superb takeaway pizza, very quick. So good to sit on the beach watching the sunset and eating a very tasty pizza.

Lovely food and a wonderful setting right on the beach.

Amazing our waiter and waitress was Nelly and Harry, cannot recommend them enough, amazing service and unbelievable food. Thank you Credits to the chef also, for amazing food!

This place is a cafe, with restaurant prices. Ordered the jerk chichen burger, which was burnt to a crisp, no jerk seasoning. Not for me,.

Called in for breakfast before starting a walk. A decent breakfast with nice sausages and bacon. It could perhaps do with a slice of toast adding, £2.50 for toast on top of £13 for the breakfast seems a lot. The breakfast deal worked out well as the breakfast came with a choice of hot drink and juice for £15. A good location as it’s right on the beach. A place I’d recommend!

Great place to eat. Lovely food and great staff.

Lovely place right on the beach, a tad expensive, small portion sizes but top quality food. Lovely atmosphere and friendly attentive staff. Watch house beer pretty poor compared to the palmers local brewery stuff most places in the area stock.

Good place for a nice breakfast. Bit expensive for a family. £13 for a full English, £6 -8 for a sausage or bacon brioche. We've been here or the Hive a few times over the years and it's always felt relaxing with good food.

Ordered take away fish and chips at £16 and they forgot to give the tartare sauce. Fish had some weird taste, I don’t know weather the fish was off or if it was left too long next to some type of seafood. Woke up in the middle of the night with terrible food poisoning.

King Prawns was amazing👍nice genuine place👌

Very good childrens food with large portions. Very good quality food.

They couldn't have done more. Super efficient friendly service. Really dog friendly. Many thanks a delicious dinner!

Absolutely stunning food and drinks, plenty of seating, love the decorations, the staff were lovely and everywhere was clean including the toilets 😁 The ribs were the best ribs I've ever had honestly cooked spot on falling off the bone 🦴🥰👌

Delicious food and very welcoming to ourselves and our dog

Really good food with options for coeliacs. live entertainment was very good.

I had great hopes for this place when coming to West Bay today. I was disappointed by the food and the service. I ordered off the special board and had a very poor herb crusted turbot in lobster bisque with tarrogon pearls. The piece of fish was tiny. no more than 100g of fish and cost £23. The lobster bisque looked and tasted like chicken gravy, thick and gloopy, and the clams were crunchy. It was interesting that they changed the menu to be herb crusted cod straight after serving me, so I obviously had the last scrap of turbot. My companions had the fish and chips and the rack of ribs, respectively. They were happy with their meals and had a decent portion. For this reason, I will award up to 3 stars. I was the only one who had to go and buy a pasty from the bakery afterwards. I did mention this to the server who ignored my complaint, and all the servers were generally quite grumpy. One of our teacups was dirty, and we had to ask for a clean one, and the first jug of milk given to us was off. Toilet was a state as well. Not recommended for quality or price of food off the specials or for the service or ambience.

Great place. Lovely food and drinks. Nice and light. And good music. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely fantastic team for allowing 40 volunteers on our away day to hunker down from the attrocious weather and for allowing us to eat our fish and chips too. Thank you once again.

Overrated and Overpriced. Servers are disinterested. No beach view if the weather is not hot, covered by filthy plastic covers. Food was basic at best. Place needs a good clean. There are many nicer places to eat in West Bay. Recommended The George.

Great food at reasonable prices in a marvellous location.

A crab bagel...hmm interesting idea...if it was white meat it may have worked, but brown meat just squeezes out when you bite into it. Also for £13 I would have expected a fresh bagel...not a shop bought one....which is what this one reminded me of. Please put your crab sandwich back on the menu, it was absolutely amazing

Stayed at west bay with friends and decided to go for the bottomless brunch,it certainly didn't disappoint.The food was beautiful,and staff were friendly,a,special mention to Harry,who was especially attentive to us!!..would definitely recommend this place if visiting,..we will be back!!

Lovely location, lovely food, zero complaints 👌👏

Nice pizza 🍕 I took half home as doggy bag for breakfast 😋

Lovely food and coctails. Love the bottomless brunch

We enjoyed a fabulous 3 course meal here on Thursday. Everything was perfect. Lovely setting. Every course was perfectly cooked and really tasty. The best service we have had in any restaurant and live music which perfectly suited the evening. Thank you to everyone who set this evening up. It felt really special and it made our holiday.

The food here never fails to disappoint

As you can now book online, we thought we would. Great welcome & great views Lovely food

Great bottomless brunch with three cocktails each. The benefits of having a short walk back to the flat! Recommend the espresso martini.