The best restaurants serving British food in Swanage South Purbeck South West

Fabulous lunch and delightful atmosphere. We didn’t try the cakes as we were too full. Thank you we will most definitely return.

Bloody brilliant. Food and ambience superb. Service with a smile. Superb plaice and monkfish Thai curry. The desserts are all made by the chef. We had a pavlova but look forward to coming back for the chocolate torte. Very underrated restaurant of the highest echelon.

Lovely café, serving very good restaurant-quality food. The people in the kitchen know what they're doing! One of our favourite places to eat in Swanage. Lunch is served 12pm until 3:30pm, can be worth eating a bit later to avoid the rush.

We came here first after the beautiful coastal walk anc had yummy hoe made cakes - a pistachio and lemon slice and an almond cherry frangipani slice. We sat in the garden over looking the stunning coast. Plates of gorgeous food were coming out as we sat there and so we decided to come back for brunch. It did not disappoint!! A fully loaded back bacon sandwich with the softest brown bread and for myself avo on sourdough toast with poached eggs and herby tomatoes… so yummy. Perfectly seasoned. Staff were so welcoming and friendly and we can’t wait to go back next time we are here and try the enormous fish (whale) n chips!! Easily the yummiest food in Swanage in the best location, with easy parking, dog friendly and a coastal walk with stunning trees and views. Thank you

They managed to fit us in without a booking and had a lovely meal, one fish and one steak. Delicious. We asked about booking for another evening but unfortunately they were closing that evening to retire!

Friendly staff, reasonably priced.

Had breakfast here twice. Very nice full English breakfast, very reasonable price and quick service. My review would have been excellent but the cafe seating area needs cleaning (dusty and dirty round the counter and skirting under the windows) and a small overcharge on the 2nd visit. With a bit of attention to the little details this place would be even better.

Very good service and very good food dog friendly all food is good quality I would recommend them

Brilliant friendly clean place to stay. Thank you.

My son loves it here so much he makes us come at least twice a year on our holidays down here. The staff are always friendly, helpful and offer great alternatives if you want to take something out of your meal choice. If you want a decent value for money meal I would definitely recommend this wimpy.

This has to be the best restaurant in Swanage. There are no end of fish & chips and burger places in Swanage but if you want a high quality meal, home cooked with excellent ingredients and a feeling of ‘class’ then this is the place for you. The food is reasonably priced too and cook by the owner. Book a table to avoid disappointment and the house specialty is the local Purbeck pie. An absolute gem.

My friend and I had travelled down for a short break and were looking for somewhere to dine. All restaurants had menus outside, so you could decide on what you fancied, however, the ship inn did not display a menu, so we decided to venture in and take a look. At the entrance was a sign saying 'please wait to be seated' but we merely wanted to see the menu, before standing at the door, waiting to be seated. I could see a menu on the bar, so walked up and picked it up to be told quite aggressively, 'what do you want' I said wished to look at the menu if that was ok, and this rude man said 'you could have asked' ( I didn't disturb him as he was serving a customer) but didn't think I needed permission to look. I said'you were busy' My friend was standing behind me and tugged me away as due to his attitude, she refused to eat there. We were not queue jumping, we just wanted to see what was on offer. Clearly, all that was on offer was an arrogant git!!

Normally we enjoy visiting this quaint little cafe. Today, we had lunch and as usual the food was lovely. However, the service did not live up to recent expectations. Firstly one of our drinks was left off the order, no apology. The waitress simply stated that the order only said one drink, despite there being two meals ordered. We asked for another drink, which she duly brought over to the table, stating, 'You haven't paid for that.' Secondly, when the meals arrived, only part of that order arrived. The food was placed on the table, and the waitress left. After a few minutes, I tried to attract the waitress' attention. This was unsuccessful , so I went to the counter. I explained that our table was still waiting for part of it's order. There was still no apology. I was told they were a bit busy. I responded that an explanation would have helped and that there were now 'two strikes' and that they weren't doing too well, to which she snapped, 'It’s coming.' The chef then stepped in. This was a real shame as I previously stated the food was lovely.

Came here for food based on good reviews, on a very wet early September evening. I was a bit worried as although several tables were taken, it was quieter than some of the other pubs when I first arrived around 6pm (lots happening in and around Swanage that day so most other pubs were very busy). However, I think it might've been just that because the pub is off the main street, visitors would head to one of the more visible pubs first, so I'm glad I did a bit of research! It soon started to fill up though and I was lucky I had arrived when I did! I ordered the burger, which the lady behind the bar said was a good choice. She wasn't wrong, it was great! Everything appeared to be home made (except the bun and salad of course!) and was delicious. I had a couple of pints of Inches cider (one of my fav's) to wash it down too. It's likely not the cheapest place in town (the burger was £17.95 and the drinks were £5.40 each). I thought the price of the food was fine given the quality, but the drinks were a little expensive. The pub is dog friendly and while I love dogs, the only downside of the visit (not the pubs fault), on a wet day, meant several wet dogs kept brushing past me. Overall, I'd definitely recommend!

Bought fish and chips for two at £24 !!! Don’t know if it’s legal to sell fish and chips without the fish ?!? Shocking…. batter with no fish at all !!! Would not recommend !