Christchurch Restaurant Guide

A good position in the town centre and on the River Avon only adds to the appeal of this substantial Georgian property – nowadays a luxurious four-star hotel. The restaurant is overseen by Alex Aitken of the nearby Jetty and provides some surprisingly affordable options, including “a daily changing £17.50 two-course market menu with ingredients sourced within 15 miles”. (Some change may be afoot, though, as in June 2023 the owners since 2005 put the property on the market.)

2023 Review: “A wonderful waterside location” is the crown jewel feature of this “relaxed and unhurried” modern hotel dining room – the location overlooking boats on the Stour “makes the restaurant a romantic venue and if weather permits being seated outside is a bonus”. “Lovely food” too – “well presented and reasonably priced”.

“Still blown away with Jan & Stacey’s ability to deliver top-quality food and service” is a typical report on the Bretschneiders’ very focused small restaurant, now in its ninth year. Berlin-born Jan’s “very personal” tasting menu (eight courses for £95 per person, or twelve courses for £150 per person), which is also available in a “wonderful veggie version”, comes “with notes about his childhood that led to the thought process behind the dish”. The couple have also opened the more casual (but still ambitious) Cork & Lobster next door.

“Showing that the food doesn’t have to be fancy to be good” – fans applaud the “great menu of varied choices” in the relaxed alternative eatery of this famous country-house hotel, whose menu line-up includes posh burger and pizza options. The addition was completed a few years ago and is an attractive modern space with pitched roof, whose features include views over the kitchen gardens, an outdoor terrace and a cookery school overseen by James Martin. An “ideal venue for a special occasion – expensive, but worth it”.

2022 Review: “Top-notch fish, chips and alternatives” plus a “lovely location” not far from the centre of town make this modern seaside café a good choice for breakfast or lunch, with stunning views from the terrace.

This “excellent beachside restaurant” from experienced chef Andy Waters – one of the few in Britain to have worked under the late, great Paul Bocuse in Lyons – has a fitting focus on “good fish”, alongside classic pasta dishes and steaks. The terrace has lovely views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.

2022 Review: A “beautifully situated restaurant” in an Art Deco solarium overlooking Poole Harbour, and where “drinks on the upper deck are an extra delight”. One or two off reports on the food front this year, but also plenty of plaudits for its “really good breakfasts and lunches”, and “service has improved” of late too.

You can hang with the local mansion-owners and beachgoers at this Poole Harbour outpost of the Stein empire, which has a brilliant location overlooking the water. It inspired less feedback this year than its stablemates, hence we’ve left it unrated.

“Super-fresh fish in simple surroundings with wonderful views” over Poole Harbour and Brownsea Island makes a winning deck of cards for this waterside spot on the Isle of Purbeck, on the beach by the chain-link ferry. “Delicious puddings”, a “respectable wine list” and “friendly staff” complete the deal.

“Constantly innovative, super-fresh fish dishes” from chef-patron David Wykes have established this “small, warm space” with an in-house fishmonger as a true “destination restaurant”, invariably hailed as a “great discovery” by first-time visitors. The “outstanding tasting menus” are presented in an unusual format, with guests nominating the number of courses but not their content. They arrive with “imaginative accompaniments” and “charming, attentive service”.

2023 Review: This gorgeous old tavern on a corner site near the harbour – newly spiffed-up last autumn and with the recent addition of a conservatory – specialises in “excellent-quality” local seafood, served in a warm atmosphere that is “like being in France”.

“The new kid on the block”, this ambitious new restaurant opened in November 2022 in a “boutique hotel on Lymington’s High Street” that had been closed for a year-long renovation. It has quickly established a solid reputation for its “simply prepared and beautifully presented fish, straight from the local boats”.

“A set selection with superb balance of flavours and textures” (with options “you might not ordinarily choose”) makes for “very interestingly presented and great-tasting food” (“we even ate a tulip!”) according to fans of the “amazing tasting menus” at Andrew & Marjolaine du Bourg’s “professional” fine-dining venue in a pretty cobbled street, near the harbour. “Too many elements on a plate” can leave some diners feeling “confused”, though (“lovely people, who are trying very hard but we thought the food was unnecessarily complicated”).