Eight Dorset restaurants are in the Michelin Guide. Here they are with six more, with prices, hours, dog rules and hygiene ratings, checked October 2026.

The Michelin Guide lists eight Dorset restaurants, and most people land on four of them: Brassica on the square in Beaminster, Catch at the Old Fish Market on Weymouth harbour, The Green in Sherborne and The Seaside Boarding House above Chesil Beach. Below are those eight and six more with a long public record. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own website on 24 October 2026.

We have not eaten at these places for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the restaurant says about itself and what it publishes about prices, hours, booking, dogs and children. It then adds what the public record shows: the Michelin Guide, other guides and awards, and the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating. 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

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 at £28 and mains from £18 to £23, and a discretionary 12.5% service charge is added. Breakfast and lunch run Tuesday to Saturday, with supper Thursday to Saturday from 6pm; it is closed Sunday and Monday. Book online. The restaurant says it does not accept dogs. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 4 June 2026). 4 The Square, Beaminster, DT8 3AS. Our listing.

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. Lunch is Wednesday to Sunday from noon, supper Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm to 9pm, and breakfast Friday to Sunday from 9am; a three-course Sunday Lunch Club runs weekly. Drive to the second signposted entrance and wait for the gates. We could not find the restaurant on the Food Standards Agency register under the Parnham name. Parnham Park, Beaminster, DT8 3LZ.

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. Dinner is Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm to 9pm, and lunch Thursday to Saturday, noon to 2pm. It is closed from 25 October and reopens on 18 November 2026. Bookings are by email, and the small kitchen says it cannot always cater for severe allergies. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 5 June 2025). 2 Drakes Way, Lyme Regis, DT7 3QP.

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. Its current dinner menu has mains from £24 to £30, with whole John Dory or turbot to share at £75 to £85. Dinner is served 6.30pm to 8.30pm, and the house is open daily from 10am to 10pm. Well-behaved dogs are welcome on the terrace and in the bar. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 7 March 2025). Cliff Road, Burton Bradstock, DT6 4RB.

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 is open every day from 10am to 5pm. It calls itself dog friendly and has a menu for dogs. Book online for the fastest answer. The café says its Christmas menu runs from 1 to 24 December at £22 for two courses or £27.50 for three. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 23 July 2026). Beach Road, Burton Bradstock, DT6 4RF.

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”. It is open Monday, Thursday and Sunday 10am to 5pm and Friday and Saturday 10am to 9pm, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. On Sundays only the roast menu is served, and a Friday supper club began on 9 October. There is a children’s menu and a free car park for diners. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 13 October 2025). Beach Road, West Bexington, DT2 9DG.

Dorchester and the villages

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. Its menus include a two-course set lunch at £22, a three-course set dinner at £38 and an eight-course tasting menu at £68 a head (two people minimum). It opens Monday to Thursday noon to 3pm and 5pm to 10pm, and Friday to Sunday noon to 10pm. Book on 01305 602330. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 14 April 2026). 6 High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UJ.

Summer Lodge, Evershot

Summer Lodge is a five-star country house hotel in Evershot, 12 miles from Dorchester, and it takes restaurant bookings by phone. 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; book on 01935 482000. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 27 May 2026). 9 Fore Street, Evershot, DT2 0JR.

Weymouth

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: dinner at £95, an early sitting at £65 and lunch at £55. Dinner is Tuesday to Saturday from 6.30pm, with an early sitting at 6pm; lunch is Thursday to Saturday, seated 12.30pm to 1.30pm. It is closed Sunday and Monday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 21 April 2026). Custom House Quay, Weymouth, DT4 8BE.

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. Its sample à la carte lists mains from £23 to £36, alongside oysters and crabs to crack. It is open Wednesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and on Sunday from noon to 3pm, and closed Monday and Tuesday. Thursdays in November are steak and lobster nights. Booking is recommended. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 5 March 2026). Ferrymans Way, Portland Road, Wyke Regis, DT4 9YU. Our listing.

Sherborne and North Dorset

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 sample lunch menu is £41 for two courses or £46 for three. The kitchen is open Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 2pm and 6pm to 9pm, and closed Sunday and Monday. The restaurant says dietary requests are “gladly accommodated”. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 20 March 2025). 3 The Green, Sherborne, DT9 3HY. Our listing.

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: two courses are £50 and three are £60, served from 6.30pm. Sunday lunch is “always popular”, and booking is essential. There is a children’s menu. The hotel calls itself dog friendly, and rooms with dogs are booked by phone. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 12 March 2025). Plumber, Sturminster Newton, DT10 2AF. Our listing.

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. Its sample menu lists mains from £16 to £20, with bar snacks from £4.50. Opening hours are Wednesday to Saturday noon to 11pm and Sunday noon to 6pm; it is closed Monday and Tuesday. The pub and gardens are dog friendly. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 9 July 2024). 21 Lydfords Lane, Wyke, Gillingham, SP8 4NJ.

Purbeck

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 at £34, a spiced cauliflower dish at £20 and a whole monkfish to share at £95. Tables seat eight at most, and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome throughout. While the chain ferry is away for its refit in November, the restaurant opens for lunch Thursday to Sunday and dinner on Saturday only. Ring before setting out, it says. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 11 June 2025). Ferry Road, Studland, BH19 3BA.

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. Hygiene ratings come from the Food Standards Agency register. 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.