We checked 14 Dorset restaurants, from Brassica in Beaminster to Shell Bay at Studland, for prices, opening hours and booking. Updated November 2026.
This 2026 guide puts 14 Dorset restaurants in one place with prices, opening hours, dog rules and hygiene ratings, and eight of them are in the Michelin Guide. Below are those eight and six more with a long public record.
Thirteen of the fourteen hold the top hygiene rating of 5. This guide covers the Dorset Council area; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are not included.
West Dorset: the coast and Beaminster
1. Brassica, Beaminster
Brassica is Cass Titcombe’s restaurant on The Square, in what the Michelin Guide calls “a pretty 16th-century house”. The restaurant describes the cooking as “Mediterranean-inspired” and says it is listed in the Good Food, Michelin and Trencherman guides.
Its September lunch menu has a two-course prix fixe. The restaurant says it does not accept dogs.
Open breakfast and lunch Tue to Sat; supper Thu to Sat from 6pm; closed Sun and Mon
Price two-course lunch prix fixe £28; mains £18 to £23; discretionary 12.5% service charge added
Booking online
Address 4 The Square, Beaminster, DT8 3AS
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 4 June 2026
Website brassica.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for breakfast, lunch prix fixe, Michelin Guide, Good Food Guide, no dogs
2. Parnham Restaurant, Beaminster
Parnham’s restaurant sits in the walled garden of the Parnham Park estate, and says its menu “showcases the best of British from land and sea”, built around small plates and sharing dishes from the garden and the local boats. The Michelin Guide recommends it.
A three-course Sunday Lunch Club runs weekly. Drive to the second signposted entrance and wait for the gates.
Open lunch Wed to Sun from 12pm; supper Wed to Sat 6pm to 9pm; breakfast Fri to Sun from 9am
Address Parnham Park, Beaminster, DT8 3LZ
Website parnhampark.co.uk/restaurant
Good for walled garden, small plates, sharing dishes, Sunday Lunch Club, breakfast
3. Sandro’s, Lyme Regis
Sandro’s is a small family restaurant off Broad Street. Chef Alessandro Strillozzi’s Italian father and English mother ran the same restaurant 25 years ago.
He spent three years as head chef at the Michelin-starred Walnut Tree Inn before coming home, the restaurant says, and he cooks Tuscan flavours with some Asian influence. The Michelin Guide recommends it. It is closed from 25 October and reopens on 18 November 2026. The small kitchen says it cannot always cater for severe allergies.
Open dinner Wed to Sat 6pm to 9pm; lunch Thu to Sat 12pm to 2pm; closed 25 October to 18 November 2026
Booking by email
Address 2 Drakes Way, Lyme Regis, DT7 3QP
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 5 June 2025
Website sandroslymeregis.co.uk
Good for Italian, Tuscan cooking, family-run, Michelin Guide
4. The Seaside Boarding House, Burton Bradstock
A hotel, restaurant and bar on the cliff above Chesil Beach, which calls itself “a celebrated and distinct hotel, restaurant and bar nestled on the Jurassic Coast”. The Michelin Guide recommends it for its seafood.
Well-behaved dogs are welcome on the terrace and in the bar.
Open daily 10am to 10pm
Food dinner 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Price mains £24 to £30; whole John Dory or turbot to share £75 to £85
Address Cliff Road, Burton Bradstock, DT6 4RB
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 7 March 2025
Website theseasideboardinghouse.com
Good for seafood, terrace, dogs welcome on the terrace and in the bar, rooms, Michelin Guide
5. Hive Beach Café, Burton Bradstock
Hive Beach Café began in 1991 as a kiosk selling refreshments on the beach and now serves seafood platters, breakfasts and coffee in sight of the sea. It calls itself dog friendly and has a menu for dogs.
The café says its Christmas menu runs from 1 to 24 December.
Open daily 10am to 5pm
Price Christmas menu (1 to 24 December) £22 for two courses or £27.50 for three
Booking online for the fastest answer
Address Beach Road, Burton Bradstock, DT6 4RF
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 23 July 2026
Website hivebeachcafe.co.uk
Good for seafood platters, breakfast, coffee, sea views, dogs welcome, dog menu
6. The Club House, West Bexington
The Club House is Hive Beach Café’s sister restaurant, in a building on Chesil Beach that it says dates from 1932. It describes itself as a coastal seafood restaurant with a seasonal menu “inspired by the sea and the region”.
On Sundays only the roast menu is served, and a Friday supper club began on 9 October.
Open Mon, Thu and Sun 10am to 5pm; Fri and Sat 10am to 9pm; closed Tue and Wed
Food Sunday roast menu only on Sundays
Parking free car park for diners
Address Beach Road, West Bexington, DT2 9DG
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 13 October 2025
Website theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk
Good for seafood, children's menu, Sunday roast, Friday supper club, free parking
Dorchester and the villages
7. Al Molo, Dorchester
Al Molo is an Italian and fish restaurant in 6 High West Street, the timber-fronted house known as Judge Jeffreys’ Lodgings. The restaurant’s history page says the house was where the “hanging judge” lodged during the Bloody Assizes of 1685.
The restaurant says it has held an AA Rosette since 2023.
Open Mon to Thu 12pm to 3pm and 5pm to 10pm; Fri to Sun 12pm to 10pm
Price two-course set lunch £22; three-course set dinner £38; eight-course tasting menu £68 a head (two people minimum)
Call 01305 602330
Address 6 High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UJ
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 14 April 2026
Website almolodorchester.co.uk
Good for Italian, fish, AA Rosette, tasting menu, historic building
8. Summer Lodge, Evershot
Summer Lodge is a five-star country house hotel in Evershot, 12 miles from Dorchester. The hotel says its menus “follow the season”, using Dorset produce, local cheeses and ingredients from its own kitchen gardens and polytunnels, with an extensive wine list and whisky selection.
Sunday lunch is served, and afternoon tea is taken in the Drawing Room or the Conservatory. The hotel does not publish prices or hours for the restaurant online.
Booking by phone
Call 01935 482000
Address 9 Fore Street, Evershot, DT2 0JR
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 27 May 2026
Website summerlodgehotel.co.uk/dine
Good for Sunday lunch, afternoon tea, wine list, whisky, kitchen garden produce
Weymouth
9. Catch at the Old Fish Market, Weymouth
Catch is on the upper floor of the Grade II-listed former fish market on the harbour, which the Michelin Guide recommends. The restaurant says the Weymouth fleet lands “right outside”, and in 2026 it won the Sustainable Business Award (SME) at the Cateys. It serves tasting menus only.
Open dinner Tue to Sat from 6.30pm, early sitting at 6pm; lunch Thu to Sat, seated 12.30pm to 1.30pm; closed Sun and Mon
Price tasting menus only: dinner £95; early sitting £65; lunch £55
Address Custom House Quay, Weymouth, DT4 8BE
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 21 April 2026
Website catchattheoldfishmarket.com
Good for tasting menus, seafood, harbourside, Grade II listed, Michelin Guide
10. Crab House Café, Wyke Regis
The Crab House Café sits by the Fleet lagoon on the Portland road, beside its own oyster beds. The café says its crabs are caught off Portland, within view of the front door, and its Portland Pearl oysters reach the table minutes from the water.
The menu changes daily with the landings, with oysters and crabs to crack. Thursdays in November are steak and lobster nights.
Open Wed to Sat lunch and dinner; Sun 12pm to 3pm; closed Mon and Tue
Price sample à la carte mains £23 to £36
Booking recommended
Address Ferrymans Way, Portland Road, Wyke Regis, DT4 9YU
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 5 March 2026
Website crabhousecafe.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for oysters, crab, own oyster beds, steak and lobster Thursdays in November
Sherborne and North Dorset
11. The Green, Sherborne
The Green is a family-run restaurant that chef and owner Sasha Matkevich has run since 2012, in what Michelin describes as a listed stone house with a garden terrace. He says the menu “evolves each day” with produce from West Country suppliers and foraged ingredients.
The Michelin Guide recommends it. The restaurant says dietary requests are “gladly accommodated”.
Open kitchen Tue to Sat 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 9pm; closed Sun and Mon
Price sample lunch menu £41 for two courses or £46 for three
Address 3 The Green, Sherborne, DT9 3HY
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 20 March 2025
Website greenrestaurant.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for garden terrace, family-run, dietary requests, foraged ingredients, Michelin Guide
12. Plumber Manor, near Sturminster Newton
Plumber Manor is a Jacobean house built by Charles Brune in the early 17th century and still run by the Prideaux-Brune family as a hotel. The hotel says its restaurant, open to non-residents, has been in the Good Food Guide every year for forty years.
The dinner menu changes daily. Sunday lunch is “always popular”.
The hotel calls itself dog friendly, and rooms with dogs are booked by phone.
Food dinner from 6.30pm
Price dinner two courses £50; three courses £60
Booking essential
Address Plumber, Sturminster Newton, DT10 2AF
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 12 March 2025
Website plumbermanor.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for children's menu, dogs welcome, rooms, Sunday lunch, open to non-residents
13. The Dog House, Wyke, near Gillingham
The Dog House is an ivy-clad 19th-century pub recommended in the Michelin Guide, which lists it under meats and grills. It calls itself a “female led country pub, inclusive for everybody”, with head chef Pascale cooking on a grill made by Simon Gudgeon.
Open Wed to Sat 12pm to 11pm; Sun 12pm to 6pm; closed Mon and Tue
Price sample menu mains £16 to £20; bar snacks from £4.50
Address 21 Lydfords Lane, Wyke, Gillingham, SP8 4NJ
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 9 July 2024
Website doghousedorset.com
Good for dogs welcome, gardens, meats and grills, bar snacks, Michelin Guide
Purbeck
14. Shell Bay, Studland
Shell Bay is a seafood restaurant and bistro on the water’s edge by the Sandbanks chain ferry, looking across Poole Harbour to Brownsea Island. The Michelin Guide recommends it.
Its sample menu lists mains such as skate wing. While the chain ferry is away for its refit in November, the restaurant cuts back its opening.
Ring before setting out, it says.
Open in November, lunch Thu to Sun and dinner on Sat only
Price skate wing £34; spiced cauliflower dish £20; whole monkfish to share £95
Booking tables seat eight at most; ring before setting out
Address Ferry Road, Studland, BH19 3BA
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 11 June 2025
Website shellbay.net
Good for seafood, harbour views, dogs on leads welcome throughout, Michelin Guide
How we chose
We started with the restaurants the Michelin Guide lists in Dorset, then added places with a long public record. That meant a family hotel restaurant listed in the Good Food Guide for forty years, an AA Rosette, a 1991 beach café and a seafood kitchen with its own oyster farm. Each one was checked against its own website on 24 October 2026 for hours, prices and closures. Prices are the restaurants’ own published or sample prices and can change. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@dorsetpost.co.uk.
For more to do, see things to do in Dorset, what’s on in Dorset this month and Dorset’s dog-friendly beaches. Every restaurant in our directory is in the local business directory, and the latest inspection results are in our Dorset food hygiene ratings round-up.
Frequently asked questions
Which Dorset restaurants are in the Michelin Guide?
Michelin’s Dorset page lists eight restaurants in the county: Brassica and Parnham in Beaminster, Sandro’s in Lyme Regis, The Seaside Boarding House at Burton Bradstock, Catch at the Old Fish Market in Weymouth, The Green in Sherborne, The Dog House at Wyke near Gillingham, and Shell Bay at Studland. All eight are recommended in the guide; none holds a star.
Which Dorset restaurants allow dogs?
Shell Bay welcomes well-behaved dogs on leads throughout. Hive Beach Café says it is dog friendly and has a dog menu. The Dog House says its pub and gardens are dog friendly, and The Seaside Boarding House welcomes well-behaved dogs on the terrace and in the bar. Brassica in Beaminster says it does not accept dogs.
Are any of these restaurants closed in November?
Sandro’s in Lyme Regis is closed from Sunday 25 October and reopens on Wednesday 18 November 2026. Shell Bay cuts back to Thursday to Sunday lunches and Saturday dinner while the Sandbanks chain ferry is away for its November refit. Everything else on the list keeps its usual hours.
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