please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Not so much a pub,more an eaterie and an expensive one at that.We stopped by for lunch recently and generally were not impressed.Food was average,but expensive.Beer was okay but again expensive - £3.40 for a pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord.Service was very good.Toilets were clean,but the Ladies and Gents are next to each other and share the same washroom so not very private.Wouldn't visit again as none of us felt the food warranted the price they charge and it's not the sort of place you'd just stop at just for a drink.
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This pub is set in a lovely small Dorset village. It was a bit too gastropub for our liking, with most tables set out for diners and a small group of drinkers at the bar. Getting served took quite a while, with the focus being on serving diners. Once finally served, the staff did turn out to be quite friendly. Beers available were Dorset Jurassic, Sharps Doom Bar & Ringwood Best. Orchard Pig Medium Cider was also available. I find the toilets to be fairly strange, with one door marked 'lavatory' followed by 4 further doors - 1 marked 'ladies', 1 marked 'ladies/disabled' and 2 unmarked, all served by a communal bathroom. I assumed the unmarked cubicles were the gents, but I'm still not sure! A nice enough pub. But a shame that the focus is on food.
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Fun, Friendly pub with lovely homemade local food. Perfect for lunch after a country walk or a visit too nearby Kingston Lacy
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Lovely Food, friendly, fun and efficient staff. A perfect place for lunch or dinner after a walk in the lovely Dorset countryside or a visit to the National Trust' s Kingston Lacy Hoouse and Estate a mile or so away.
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What a find! Great Welcome and Service, lovely food and the best chips ever!
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A year on and in many repects this place just gets better. The food is excellent at worst. Service in the restaurant is consistently good, with smiles all round. My one caveat is a gradual slide of emphasis away from the drinker to the diner.
That said it is still one of my favourite places. Good beer with a mainly local and West Country emphasis. Excellent food, not cheap mind you, but quality doesn't ever come cheap. You will still be welcome if you only go for a drink but at busy lunchtimes you may well be crowded out by the foodies.
Not a big place, it is in a small, out of the way, village and you will, most like, arrive by car, parking might be a problem. Very important tip,don't forget to book......
My rating remains 8. I'd like to give 8.5 but BitE won't let me.
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Half of me doesn't want to write a great review for this one, as it may get so busy I would never be able to book a table again, but I can't help myself - lovely food, great menu and the nicest red wines! Great polite service - cannot fault it in anyway (apart from it's location - not close enough to my house)
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It's been sometime since I reviewed this pub, but in that time little has changed. The food remains outstanding, if somewhat expensive it is also good value for money. The beer choice remains a bit samey, but the quality is excellent.
The staff are friendly, the landlord is prepared to listen to comments, and seems to be genuinely interested. If you are looking for good food and drink then I can, and often do, thoroughly recommend this pub.
My rating remains 8, although I wish I could make it 8.5.
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Lovely food. Lovely menu. Lovely time.
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Hi there, I'm new at this so perhaps a little nervous.
Any comments about the Anchor from before the present regime should be disregarded as not relevant. I've eaten here 3 times recently, each time the food has been excellent, if a little expensive. I agree with 'hockey', at the moment there is nowhere better for food. The beer is certainly well kept but I would question the choice, a bit too 'samey' for my liking.
Nonetheless, I rate the pub at least 8.0. On a good beer day even higher.
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I am wary about posting a review about this pub as I fear it could easily get so busy it would loose its appeal. Suffice to say the new landlord has turned this business around after the recent ridiculous goings on. The food is superb - almost comparable with the Museum at Farnham. Good range of well kept beers. Delightful location. In my view probably the best pub for 15 miles (how far away is the Museum?)
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Pulling off the busy motorway in the summer heat we wondered where the devil we were when we came across this DELIGHTFUL little pub in shapwick. The menu is outstanding and the ale is fantastic. The southafrican barman made everyone welcome and helped us to select a lovely wine. A simply charming chap.
The staff were brilliant and whilst being smart and professional, made us laugh throughout service and engaged with us in a wonderful conversation about local ducks. Unfortunatly we never got to meet the owner but if his staff are anything to go by he must be a shining example.
The food was simply fantastic and we shall certainly be visiting this pub again. I honestly cant see a down side to this pub and will continue to spread the message. What a fantastic dinner!!!
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Great pub but now a little too gastro. The food is too expensive and the menu tries too hard. The new manageress makes you feel in the way if you are not eating - I would question her choice of career. The rest of the staff and the new owners are great though.
anonymous - 22 Jul 2007 14:09 |
Charming new owner & missus. Food good but they now charge restaurant prices & menu is too ambitious. Previous landlord although weird did offer a broader range of food & modestly priced wines. I will now have to find somewher cheaper. If you just want a beer great location in beautiful unspoilt National Trust village with splendid river walk past old church.
anonymous - 7 Jul 2007 20:03 |
I'm not quite sure what the problem with the previous landlord was. I personally found him a reasonable and accomodating sort of chap. Anyway, such matters aside this is a SPLENDID pub. The location is idyllic, the beer fantastic and the food of a very high standard. Go there. Enjoy.
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NEW OWNERS!
Still smells of new paint, but it seems like a nice enough pub. Beer and food both more than acceptable.
anonymous - 28 May 2007 09:45 |
The Anchor,Shapwick is now under new management, thank the lord judging by previous reviews. The new couple seem much more hospitable. We had great food and good beer according to my knowledgable brother. The food was brilliant and not overpriced, highly recommend the Wild Rabbit and my father recommends the Pork Chops. Considering they were still moving in when we went in they could not have been more welcoming.
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misogynist landlord made me feel most unwelcome, and I do not expect to find a chip in my whitebait. We will not be eating there again.
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The Jurassic ale was good, just the right temperature, the staff were very good.
Downside: the food (whilst perfectly acceptable), wasn't brilliant for the cost. But the biggest problem was the surly landlord. He gave me a filthy look when I entered which did not bode well, and when my wife tried to order the food, he claimed he couldn't understand and passed her to his son, who had no such problem.
Otherwise, would have been worth a '7'.
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Former Victorian village pub. The excellent food and pub-like atmosphere just about compensates for the fact that it has been refurbished in the popular stripped-pine wine bar style.
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