Sunday Roast in Dorset: Where to Book, Checked October 2026

For a Sunday roast in Dorset, most people start with the Acorn Inn at Evershot, named in the Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs 2026; the Three Horseshoes at Burton Bradstock, which roasts its joints overnight; the Scott Arms at Kingston, with its view of Corfe Castle; and the Anchor Inn under Golden Cap. Every entry was checked against the pub’s own site on 25 October 2026.

We have not eaten at these pubs for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the pub says about its Sunday lunch, the prices on its published Sunday menu, its booking and dog rules, and its Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene rating. Sunday menus change with the season, and several of these pubs say theirs are samples, so treat prices as a guide. This guide covers the Dorset Council area; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are not included.

The West Dorset coast

The Three Horseshoes, Burton Bradstock

“Sunday Lunch is an institution we take very seriously,” says the Three Horseshoes. It buys its joints from Jurassic Coast Meats and slow roasts them overnight, then serves them with braised red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire puddings and homemade gravy. The pub is a 300-year-old thatched stone building within walking distance of Hive Beach. Its own advice is to book, because Sunday lunch “fills up over a week in advance”; tables for up to eight can be booked online, and larger groups should ring. The Sunday kitchen runs noon to 3pm, and the pub is closed on Mondays. Takeaway roasts must be ordered by midday on Saturday. Dogs are welcome in the bar and garden, with water and biscuits. Hygiene rating 3, generally satisfactory (FSA, 8 July 2026). Mill Street, Burton Bradstock, DT6 4QZ; 01308 897259. Our listing.

The Anchor Inn, Seatown

The Anchor sits at the foot of Golden Cap, a few steps from the beach. Its Sunday menu lists treacle-cured sirloin of beef at £24, roast pork belly at £22, and a Portobello mushroom, walnut and spinach Wellington at £18 that is vegan and gluten free. All roasts come with greens, cinnamon-roasted carrots and garlic-roasted potatoes; pigs in blankets are £6 extra. The kitchen is open noon to 8pm every day. Inside tables can be booked on OpenTable from 30 September to 31 May. Dogs are welcome while you eat or drink, and the pub asks you to say so in the booking notes. The car park opposite charges £4 a day from October to March. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 22 September 2025). Seatown, near Chideock, DT6 6JU; 01297 489215. Our listing. The Golden Cap walk starts from the beach.

Around Dorchester

The Acorn Inn, Evershot

The Acorn Inn is a 16th-century coaching inn that, it says, features in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and its restaurant page carries the Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs 2026 badge. Its Sunday lunch menu lists roast sirloin of Fossil Farm beef at £26, roast leg of lamb at £25, slow-cooked rib of Dorset pork with crackling at £24 and a nut roast at £23. The restaurant serves lunch noon to 1.45pm, Wednesday to Sunday. There is a children’s menu, and dogs get water bowls and biscuits at the bar. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 16 January 2025). 28 Fore Street, Evershot, DT2 0JW; 01935 83228.

The Brace of Pheasants, Plush

The Brace of Pheasants is a thatched inn in the hamlet of Plush, north of Dorchester. Its food page says that “on Sundays” you can “indulge in a traditional Sunday Roast with all of the trimmings in front of the fire”. The head chef, Grant Taylor, is a New Zealander, and the pub says his menu is built on local suppliers. Among the awards on its site are an AA Inn Silver Award for 2025 and a Dorset Tourism Award. Sunday food is served noon to 2pm, and the pub closes at 3pm on Sundays. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Tables are booked through the contact page. It says it welcomes dogs. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 12 March 2026). Plush, DT2 7RQ. Our listing.

The Royal Oak, Cerne Abbas

The Royal Oak calls itself an “independently owned 16th century thatched freehouse”, built in the 1540s. Sunday food is served noon to 2.30pm, and the pub opens noon to 7pm on Sunday. The pub does not publish its Sunday prices online. The customer reviews it quotes on its own home page mention roast beef, roast chicken, pork belly and two vegan roast options. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and it says “we are dog friendly”. The Cerne Giant is a short walk away. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 12 December 2024). 23 Long Street, Cerne Abbas, DT2 7JG.

Purbeck

The Scott Arms, Kingston

The Scott Arms says its garden gives “one of the best views in Dorset across to Corfe Castle”. Its roasts run from late September until April. Its October 2026 Sunday menu lists roast sirloin of 28-day matured Aberdeen Angus beef at £25, a free-range chicken supreme at £22, free-range pork loin with crackling at £21 and a wild mushroom and lentil Wellington at £20. Meat roasts come with roast potatoes, honey-roasted parsnips, three-cheese cauliflower cheese, carrot and swede mash, a Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Children’s roasts are £12. The roast is served from noon; the site gives the finish as 2.30pm in one place and 3pm in another. The normal menu follows from 5pm to 8pm. The pub recommends booking, and it welcomes well-behaved dogs in all its bars. Hygiene rating 3, generally satisfactory (FSA, 22 April 2026). West Street, Kingston, BH20 5LH; 01929 480270.

North and East Dorset

The Stapleton Arms, Buckhorn Weston

The Stapleton Arms, near Gillingham, says its beef, lamb and pork come from Bramble Barn Farm on the edge of the village and are butchered on site. Its sample Sunday menu, dated 31 May 2026, lists rare Dexter topside of beef at £23, pork belly slow-cooked in cider at £22, bacon-wrapped chicken breast at £21, leg of lamb at £25 and a trio of beef, pork belly and lamb at £27. The roasts come with a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, sweet potato purée, cauliflower cheese and red wine gravy. The pub says its menus change with the season. It does not publish opening hours online, so ring before you go. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 2 April 2025). Buckhorn Weston, SP8 5HS; 01963 370028.

The Rising Sun, Wimborne

The Rising Sun is in East Street, beside the River Allen. It says it has “the best garden, with the best views in town” and that it is “now serving Sunday Roast Dinner”. It does not publish its Sunday prices online. Sunday food runs noon to 4pm, and the pub is open noon to 10.30pm on Sunday. It notes that its car park is currently unavailable, so use one of the town’s car parks. There is free live music on Saturdays from 5pm to 7pm. It is the only town-centre pub in this guide, and Wimborne Minster is a few minutes’ walk away. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 22 April 2026). 38 East Street, Wimborne, BH21 1DX.

How we chose

We looked for Dorset pubs that publish a Sunday roast on their own websites, then favoured those with a public record: national guides, tourism awards, listed or historic buildings, and pubs with a named local supplier. Each pub was checked on 25 October 2026 against its own site for its Sunday menu, serving times, booking rules and closures. Hygiene ratings come from the Food Standards Agency register, and nothing rated below 3 is included; one well-known roast pub was left out for that reason. Prices are the pubs’ own published prices and can change. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@dorsetpost.co.uk.

For more, see the best pubs in Dorset, the best restaurants in Dorset, things to do in Dorset, what’s on in Dorset this month and Dorset’s dog-friendly beaches. Every pub 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

How much does a Sunday roast cost in Dorset?

On the published Sunday menus we checked, a roast main costs between £18 and £27. The cheapest is the Portobello mushroom Wellington at the Anchor Inn, Seatown (£18); the dearest is the trio of beef, pork belly and lamb at the Stapleton Arms, Buckhorn Weston (£27). Roast beef runs from £23 at the Stapleton Arms to £26 at the Acorn Inn, Evershot. The Scott Arms at Kingston does children’s roasts for £12.

Which Dorset pubs allow dogs at Sunday lunch?

The Scott Arms, the Three Horseshoes at Burton Bradstock, the Anchor Inn at Seatown, the Royal Oak at Cerne Abbas, the Brace of Pheasants at Plush and the Acorn Inn at Evershot all say on their own sites that dogs are welcome. The Three Horseshoes keeps dogs to the bar and garden, and the Anchor asks you to mention your dog in the booking notes.

Can I get a takeaway Sunday roast in Dorset?

The Three Horseshoes at Burton Bradstock does takeaway Sunday roasts, but they must be ordered by midday on Saturday. Ring the pub on 01308 897259 to order.