The best restaurants serving British food in East Dorset South West

Myself and my wife are local and dropped in yesterday for breakfast. Very nice breakfast, my wife couldn’t finish her granola so I did, which was excellent. Will go again.

5 of us came here for a birthday lunch, a beautiful place, Beau was so attentive to us. All staff so friendly and helpful. So professional. You could tell they were aware of the customers and when they needed anything. Decor lovely, food amazing. Service amazing. Would definitely recommend.

We drove our Motorhome there and left it for two nights so we ate dinner the first night then came back for Sunday lunch, both of which were excellent. What a stunning location. Beautiful historic building with real character, thatched roof as you would guess but services was great and the food... well, one of the best pub experiences ever and I've eaten at a few good ones over the years. The pie was home made, gorgeous pastry etc. but the Sunday lunch was absolutely top rate. brilliant roasts, excellent tender meat, Yorkshire and braised red cabbage, tonnes of quality gravy.... all with brilliant service. Even helped out with water for the Motorhome. Will return there whenever we're in the region.

Great place great rooms and fabulous food 👌

Terrible food and service cold and gone off fish !!!

We came here for a family dinner on Saturday evening. The pub has free parking' and a large garden area great in the summer. But the atmosphere from the bar man and our waitress was hostile. One for asking if we all could be reseated somewhere else due to being by the entrance door ! And it was almost too much to serve us, and all 4 of us were made to feel uncomfortable. There was a younger female waitress, who was very polite. Our waitress realised she had been rude and gone to far' so she made an effort to turn a negative into a positive. But we were offended by the her reaction which made an ever lasting impression. It was ashame that the Barman didn't follow suit ' he seemed very unhappy when we previous ask him for no ice polity' but he was very put out' that he had to empty the glasses as he forgot after taking our orders. We understand it was busy, but the customer service is just as important as the food, which food we couldn't fault. Unfortunately we won't ever come back or our parents who made the trip here. Very disappointed as this was a special occasion .

Did not need to book, although it got busy later on. Staff shortage was very evident (Only Barman & Chef). The service was very friendly and Good ambience. Orders taken, drinks got we sat down and waited. The food was delivered by Chef and it was plentiful, and tasted very nice, i still have Choc Fudge Cake and custard stuck to the roof of my mouth:) We did overhear from next table that some of the menu advertised was not available and a table of 10 did seem to wait a while for their courses. I'm sure once some decent waiting staff are engaged service time will improve and overall experience will be fine. Would we go again, definitely, but suggest that until more staff are on board Don't Plan your visit on Timings, Theses could go well over..

We had a lovely evening here, food was excellent and so was the service. It is a little expensive but worth it compared to most pubs in the area.

Went for coffee and cake, the place was empty so we sat by the window. We noticed it was quite grubby and dirty with coffee stains down the chair and table legs. We ordered 2 hot drinks and 2 slices of cake, the drinks came out luke warm so had to send them back and still when they came back the second time they still weren't hot. We paid £17.50 for 2 semi hot drinks and 2 slices of cake, so unfortunately we won't be coming back.

Great food and entertainment. At around £50 for 2 with a bottle of wine and drinks included it is worth paying a little bit more than you would in a pub.

When we moved to the area in early 2020, one of our neighbours told us that Bentleys was his favourite places for a Sunday carvery. Then came Covid and lockdowns, so that we have only now been able to try it out, since its reopening last month. We were very much looking forward to it and, whilst it was OK, it was a little disappointing. Firstly the complimentary hors d’oeuvres. One small rectangular plate was presented to us, but whilst the quantity of what was on there was fine for two, the actual components on it were one chicken skewer, one spring roll and two small, but different, tarts, meaning that, other than the olives and feta, everything had to be cut in half to enable us each to sample everything! The carvery itself was neither the best that I have ever had, but nor was it the worst. I was impressed that the beef was cooked as beef should be, and not cremated, and commented as much to the chef. As this was unusual for a carvery both my wife and I went for it plus some turkey. I have to say that the turkey was very nice, but the beef was rather chewy. Vegetables were OK; I thought that the roast potatoes could have been a bit crispier and the Yorkshire was pretty rock solid. For dessert, my wife chose the lemon meringue which, I think was a good choice, because I went for rhubarb crumble and custard and found the crumble topping to be almost as solid as a pie crust. I'm afraid that it is unlikely that we will be rushing back.

Absolutely awful service. Booked a table for 9.am. typing this review at 10.05am and still no breakfast! No drinks were offered until 9.35am, ordered moccha got hot chocolate. Most of which was on the table as it was badly carried to the table. 9.50 am finally asked for our orders, I said how as no menu provided. Waitress said it was because we weren't sat at a "breakfast table"!! The table we were told to sit at ? 9.55am, cutlery bought to us but no food, not even toast. 10.10am 1 glass of apple juice placed on table but no pineapple juice or 2 x lattes we ordered 20 mins ago!! Tables that were seated after us were asked their orders first. Such a shame as our first stay was amazing. Last nights dinner service & quality of food was amazing. Breakfast ends/ended 10 am. Checkout is 11.am !! Extremely disappointing experience. STILL NO FOOD at 10 15am and I'm on the verge of just leaving without now.

I go in most days and always have a good experience in there. Whether it’s the badhand coffee, the delicious homemade cakes or the friendly and welcoming staff I always leave with a smile on my face!

Excellent welcome from land lady Margaret A very talented lady as the decor inside the pub proves. Staff polite and helpful . Very friendly place locals happy to share their enthusiasm for their rejuvenated community Pub. Another local shared how good the food is and from what we saw all looked very tasty with thoughtful presentation. We will be back to eat with friends to support this unique place . No longer called The Drovers now the Cockerel new name new vision new approach

Excellent flexible breakfast options with top quality brown sauce supplied (Stokes). Friendly and helpful staff in a relaxed country setting