please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Couldn't complain about the Jurassic Ale, nor the views across to Corfe Castle. A destination pub for diners
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Attractive pub with a fantastic view of Corfe Castle. Food pricey but very good. Rather dull choice of four 'best bitter' type ales with Dorset Jurassic being the most interesting so had local cider instead. Friendly service.
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Came here for a bite to eat last night. The pub is set on multiple levels and its large garden has nice views down to Corfe Castle. Ales were Jurassic Vanilla & Bourbon Portland Porter, Otter Bitter, Ringwood Best & Thwaites Wainwright. Ciders were Purbeck Cider Company Dorset Dabinett & Joe's Dry, Lulworth Skipper Medium & Dry & Westons Old Rosie, Country Perry & Cider Twist Raspberry. Food was also quite nice. I much prefer the Square & Compass, nearer the coast. But this pub is well worth a try too.
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The last review is 100% accurate especially regarding the service. I wondered if it was because we were hot and sweaty walkers only seeking a pint and crisps - but obviously not. Beers on offer were Sixpenny IPA, Dorset Brewing's Jurassic, Ringwood Best and Downton Quadhop and the ciders/perry were the local Lulworth Skipper, Cider by Rosie and Joe's Cider as well as Weston's Stowford Press/Twist/Country Perry/Old Rosie. As the views of Corfe Castle from the beer garden are so fantastic, I forgave the indifferent welcome in this rabbit warren of a pub.
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The view is truly wonderful, and a fine reward for making it to the top of Kingston Hill on a bike. Parking's a bit thin on the ground. The beer is mostly from small breweries now, and generally well kept and in good condition.
Unfortunately, the staff leans toward terse and self-important, while the beer is by far the priciest in the area. Stop for a good pint and the view, but don't expect a whole lot of appreciation for your custom.
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Visited this weekend and I was stunned to see two beers from the Sunny Republic brewery: Huna Red and Dolphin amber. These were both delicious though I preferred the citrusy Huna red. No sign of Doombar!
This is a definite improvement: keep up the good work!
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October half term: Service just right. Ringwood good. Food: Sunday lunch. i thought it was expensive at £13 a pop but then it's all about supply and demand: the place was packed, the food was served in a nice manner, but didnt look a lot to eat. however the food was superb. Great taste texture and quality. The meat was super, the veg and spuds great. The sticky toffee pudding was awesome. Nice chap pwns the place and table checked us a couple of times but in a nice way: he meant it! No false smiles. One minus comment; returned a couple of days later for a beer and despite standing at the lower bar for a few minutes with staff coming and going , no one acknowledge us until we were served. A hello, someone will be with you shortly would have done.
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OK, but they need to get some better beer. Ditch the Doombar and Ringwood and get some proper small-brewery ales - not this rubbish from the brewing giants (Coors and Marstons in this case).
Decent atmosphere and friendly staff though but you might try the Square and Compass nearby if you want some proper beer or perhaps the Fox in Corfe if it's open.
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My life! If you're the sort of person who moans about your parmesan turning up "in dribs and drabs" then maybe you might want to give this PUB a miss.
For the rest of you I can whole-heartedly recommend The Scott Arms. We went a couple of weeks back whilst on holiday in the area and the beer was very well kept, the food was tasty (though a tad expensive), the toilets were spotlessly clean and the interior was decent - not entirely my cup of tea as I prefer things a bit more ramshackle! - but it was smart and modern.
But the greatest thing about this place is THAT view from the beer garden. I've been to many many pubs and sat in many many beer gardens, but this is undoubtedly one of the best views I can remember. Could've sat there all day. Recommended.
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Great views as everyone says but the management don't seem to be able to make up their minds whether it's a 'pub' pub or a 'gastro' pub. They have a good menu, numbered tables and a waiting service but the restaurant side of the business is a shambles. No-one came to take our order, we got the cutlery, serviettes and parmesan in dribs and drabs, no-one offered us any starters, desserts, wine or coffee. If it's meant to be a pub that's fine but stop pretending to be a restaurant - it doesn't work! Food was OK but not great, beer was excellent with a good selection, and the pub itself is a wonderful buidling that's full of character. Would definitely go again, but not to eat.
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18th Century pub with car park and excellent views of Corfe Castle. Photographs of films made nearby including the Mayor of Casterbridge. His grave is in the pub garden. Food was rather expensive but generous portion served promptly. Friendly service. Good selection of beer and cider. Barmaid recommended Jurassic Ale to go with Jurassic beef stew. 20 years ago pub was very busy and best pub in area, then it declined but is much better now with new management and is getting busy again. Customers tiresome with ghastly girl running round table on wooden floor.
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Visited lunchtime on Saturday 27th August. Lovely pint of Ringwood Best. Sausage and mash very nice, wife had scampi. Good portions if a bit pricey. Staff friendly and efficient but it was fairly quiet. Came here because of the long queue at The Square and Compassess (nearby folk festival) Because of previous reviews was prepared for disappointment and was pleasantly surprised. Would recommend to friends if they were in the area. Lots of seats in garden and a great view.
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Surprised this hasn't got a better rating as the beer isn't bad and as previously noted the garden has a great view - only stopped for a quick pint and a starter and it is pricey mind you
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Great views across the valley to Corfe Castle.
Range of beers limited on a midweek lunchtime. I had one from the local "Jurassic Coast". Food overpriced, and slightly over cooked.
Worth it for the views and ambience.
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Good pub and range of beers and ciders ,food very good but a little on the expensive side,excellent veiws of Corfe if warm enough to sit outside
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Attractive pub with an excellent view of Corfe Castle. Clearly aimed at tourists but reasonably unspoilt. Beer range much improved since my last visit - 4 ales from Ringwood, Purbeck, DBC & Sharps. Food on the pricey side but pretty good.
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Fantastic views of the castle & nice enough pub. OK choice of beer. Thought the food was expensive but got huge portions so at least you get your money's worth. Would call in again if we go back to the area.
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We spent a wonderful Friday night here. The food was really good and plentiful, the staff were very friendly and helpful, and the locals were very friendly. As well as real ales they have 3 ciders on tap and another 7 available. The view of Corfe Castle that you get from the beer garden is stunning. Enjoy!
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The pub might have changed hands, but it doesn't seem like much else has changed.The prices are expensive, even for Purbeck - �6.80 for a pint of bitter and a pint of shandy.�12 for fish and chips, which, although a good sized piece of fish, came with what looked and tasted like tinned mushy peas. �10.50 for a burger, which was just that - an overcooked beef patty in a bun - with chips and half a tomato and 3 small pieces of lollo rosso on the side.Oh, and a tiny bowl of salsa which may have been home made, but given nothing else was, probably wasn't.
Personally, if I'm paying 12 quid for fish and chips I expect better than a couple of sachets of Heinz tartare sauce to go with it, or a sachet of Heinz ketchup to go with a �10.50 burger. High prices and absolutely no effort made, the chef can't even be bothered to squeeze a bit of sauce into a bowl so that you might at least think it was home made.For the prices they charge this is very, very poor service.As for the food itself, it was okay, but certainly no better than most places charging half the price.
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This place has been transformed by the new owners. The food is fantastic and the staff and landlords very friendly. Good ales and the best view in England.
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The new owners seem to have done a great job as the place was packed at 1pm on a Sunday afternoon. My husband and I ordered two small wines - at a cost of �9.30. That shocked us so much - along with the prices on the menu - that we did not order lunch. The staff seemed friendly enough but the prices seemed very expensive for what you get.
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When this pub was run directly by the Pubco it was appalling and I never went in. Surly ever changing management, miserable staff, everything run right down as far as it could go to save money.
Now the change is amazing - it seems there are now landlords in charge who moved in during the summer, and everything is better. The top bar is open, busy, beer and ciders good, food is amazing too. I am going to make sure I go here a lot more as long is this continues.
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Drinks and food too expensive and the Real ale only average.
But it has just about the best view from a pub garden to be found in England.
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Another centuries old pub that's had the guts ripped out of it and turned in to an Ikea show room. Unfortunately the pub looks dated already and the food is way to expensive for what it is. Also a word of caution for those of you with a short temper. If you see a middle aged long haired brunette behind the bar just walk straight back out as she is possibly the rudest woman I have ever encountered behind a bar. She was also the talk of the garden as the next 4 families that left the building all commented on her attitude problem. If you hate people that much why would you work in a pub. On the plus side I dont have to wake up to her every morning.
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We went to the Scott Arms week before last having set out to go the Compasses in Worth Matravers. When we got to the Compasses we found there was no food suitable for a gluten free diet so drove on to see what we could find and stumbled upon the Scott Arms and we were glad we did. The view to Corfe Castle is fantastic and the garden a delight. The food was excellent as was the Beer. All-in-all much recommended.
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Fantastic view from the garden, but you pay for it - Old Rosie cider �3.50/pt! Have one while admiring the view then go on the Square & Compass in the next village (Worth Mattravers) where local cider is �2.80.
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Visited for first time in 2 years last Saturday.
Having been told pub is under new management with new chef our expectations grew...
Initial thoughts:
+ pub looks better, toilets much improved and more space to eat.
- My wife's meal was luke warm, our table was dirty and we had to ask for it to be cleaned. Food not particularly good value. Drinks xpensive (�6 for a glass of wine is too much).
Such a shame they don't make the most of the opportunity they have there, given its position.
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We went to visit this pub for lunch and unfortunately did not think that it was good value. Small portions and high prices. I ordered sausages and the meal consisted of 3 sausages and a pile of instant mash. Cost �8.95. My husband had lamb which ncame with new potatoes and a very small portion of cabbage. I think this cost �12.95.
Lovely situation but I think they need to look at value for money.
jandy
Jandy - 24 Jul 2009 23:06 |
pubquisitor isn't a regular of the Castle Inn, if he is he has never announced himself - he seems to frequent many pubs in the Purbecks.
We popped in the Scott Arms (used to be nicely linked back in the Devenish days of old) last week. Nothing wrong with the pub itself, pity that a lot of the traditional aspects appear to have been "hidden". Beer was fine, only Ringwood Best was available when we went in (DBC's Jurassic still settling apparently).
Still one of the best views in the area, I hope the new managers (owners?) make a good job at it - we need more quality pubs in the area!
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Hello pub quistor.
You must be a local of the castle inn. You are a dickhead
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Just looked at the postings of "behind bars". What changed your mind between 04th March & 10 April? Glowing (almost) report for 04th March and short, peremptory, damning one on 10th April.
I have to say, though, I'd put the Scott Arms in the same stable as the Greyhound in Corfe Castle, although the beer garden is somewhat better. And, what is it about Purbeck that all the pubs that want to be pretentious have black as their favourite "corporate" zombie/bar staff uniform colour. It's so depressing!!!!
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Nothing has changed at all. Poor management and staff says it all
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wot a pub, the views are out of this world and everything else is great. as for the prices i cant believe the comments left about these as the are cheaper than alot of place within this area. i think these people need to get out more.
The staff are great as well. I met the manager nathan who couldnt do more to help and always made you feel welcome, the chef tyrone is great as well, he knows alot about food and will always have you laughing and enjoying yourself. Also the bar staff geoff and charlie are great as well both in unique ways with geoffs knowledge on the area and its history and with charlie amazing customer skills.
i cant say one bad word on this place and i know il be coming here for years to come
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This place has always been a bit hit and miss over the past few years
and the food has varied-sometimes good other times not so good. However, I popped in there today for a pint of best bitter and fish and chips
(the manager joked that it was a half portion-it covered the whole plate)
And i have to say that it was very good and the beer was pretty damn good as well. Maybe after reading all the previous comments the Scott Arms has raised the ante as it is a stunning location. hopefully more improvement.
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We haven't visited this pub for quite some time, but we are local and would certainly visit again if we started to hear some positive rumours about the Scott.
We have heard that this pubs lease is about to be sold by Punch (who own it) and considering what a financial mess Punch are in - according to the press, it probably won't be long before the pubs freehold is up for sale lease / or no lease so that the liquidators can get their hands on some much needed cash. Yet more turmoil for the Scott !!!
I have noticed that some of the staff have replied to comments on here, so, if any of you read this can you let us Scott lovers know what is going on.
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LOL henpen LOL SO SORRY TEACH !!!!!!all that cask marque beer had made me pi$$ spell my words ,someone said about ur comment so i had to reply .
p.s its not my own business,i was a barman there at the time.
NO PLACE IS PERFECT but ,all i was trying to say was maybe u should talk to people instead of writing comments on iternet sites it might make u a happier person .:-[
l
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The Scott Arms' barman ought to learn that an ungrammatical, mis-spelt and truculent defense of his own business isn't the way to win custom. His Cask Marque (or "CASKMARK" as he has it) would seem to have expired. I certainly am not tempted to come back for another visit with the possibility that he might just "listen to me within reason" if I met him face-to-face. (I haven't re-rated it, as I haven't been back since my October 08 visit; so I have not added a "critisim"-- or even a criticism. However, the point of rating and reviewing is to provide a selection of points of view. I stick by my earlier "3".)
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Drove through Kingston on a Saturday night and the place was empty! Carried on to other pubs in the area and they were full - this says quite a lot. With reference to the below comment written by a member of staff, there are a couple of them who are polite and a pleasure to be served by, but as with everything, there is always one or two who really let the side down with their lack of customer service skills, and lack of manners. The food is often of questionable quality, and the loos are often grubby (to put it politely). Being owned by a large company has done nothing for this pub! It has great views, but if I'm going to spend my hard earned cash on drinks for the family, I want more than good views!
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I work as a barmen here and speaking for me personally as i dont work every hour of the day ,if anyone thought they had not been poured a full pint i would top it up .also i think you will find are prices are resonable ringwood 2.65 pt ,also are food is well priced than alot of places ,we are not that expensive .you must be unsure about prices these days ?sorry
it P$ me off when people put views on here without talking to
the staff first.
iIhate comments about are customers being yuppies ,loud students the way the pub looks and comments directed at the staff ,etc ,its inappropriate and totally wrong and miss leading
we dont have a chance to comment in the instance, but i know we are far from
perfect ofcourse
but ,THE SCOTT ARMS has a CASKMARK for are RINGWOOD BEST BITTER and a few!! people like it,yes it would be nice to have more real ales and we have in the past ,but if you ask me why i will tell u. why we dont have more now .
ALL are largers and beers are cleaned to caskmark standards and are served to a high quality
if you have a problem with the beer or food served or pub in general talk to the pub direct face to face and we will listen to you within reason,
but not faceless on an internet site
Theres more to running a pub than meets the eye,espec when owned by a large company.
and there are stories and answers behind all your critisims
dont judge untill you know the full story
thank you .
.
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This pub has probably the best view from the garden of any pub in the south of England. Having said that, the attitude of the staff is cavalier and bossy, the pints aren't filled to the measure (in my experience) and the food is fairly ordinary. Why stop here when the Square and Compasses (one of the best pubs in the world) is just down the road?
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Enjoyed a visit here whilst staying in Dorset. Tastefully decorated though the loos left something to be desired.
Had a very nice meal which I didn't have long to wait for and the staff were very friendly. Huge wine list which probably indicates the sort of clientel there but a tad disappointed there was only one ale (Ringwood) on tap.
Would I visit again? Very much so. The plus points far outweigh the negatives. It's worth a visit if only for the magnificent view from the beer garden over the Purbeck Hills and Corfe Castle...
7/10
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second best views in dorset (1st is the square and compass). Definately a yuppy pub. Food is good, a little expensive. Families are welcome. very modern inside.
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Huge pub, with a nondescript choice of real ales. Bar staff unwilling to pour full pints, and at the prices they charge, it's not acceptable.
Seems to fill with posh students on Sunday evenings, most of whom are quite obnoxious. Get very busy at other times.
Food can be great or dire, depending on which chef they've managed to employ this month.
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Despite having possibly the best view from a pub in Dorset nobody local drinks here much because it's too full of London posho's down for a few days to stay in their weekend cottages.Beer's okay,big beer garden with fantastic views,but it's awful inside with a weird,modern bar that's completely out of character.
Never actually managed to eat here,but their Christmas menu was laughably expensive - �50 a head,children under 10 eat free.But pick your time,a sunny weekday out of season,have a beer and sit outside and it can be a pleasant place to waste half an hour.
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Lovely old pub,Modern inside with a good, well priced, menu. Yhe views are spectacular. Good choice of Beers.
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visited this pub on 27th July 2007. Great selection of wine, food was very good and hot apart from the powdered mash served with the main dishes. The views from the beer garden are fabulous. The loos weren't particularly clean and could do with updating. Much better food than the New Inn at Church Knowle.
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Sensational view of Corfe Castle in the distance from the beer garden.
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Don't believe everything you read...This place is fantastic! Ok, the food is not up to much but it's alright. With the magical view of Corfe Castle, that makes up for everything with a glass or two of vino in the garden. Also, there is a rumour that it's haunted which amazed and freaked my children when a bush bashed against the window one evening. Lovely Gallery dining place, toilets clean and well-presented and some suberb photos of a film (Thomas Hardy) located at the entrance. Nice staff etc and well worth a visit. PS to the owners - cld do with a bigger car park.
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This pub is summed up in the word "potential."
Great, idllic location (near the marvellous Chapmans Pool) with stunning views.
However, an unsympathetic re-fit and a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none food menu with food of variable quality lets it down.
I remember the days when it was owned by the Devenish brewery....
Sadly this pub's potential is currently unfulfilled, by a long way.
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Enjoyed a fantastic meal last night. Good food served quickly.Log fires and best pint of real ale ive had in quite a while.Staff always friendly and must have the best views of any pub in England.Friendly locals
anonymous - 1 Dec 2005 22:32 |
excellent pub, good food, friendly staff, fantastic views.
anonymous - 20 Nov 2005 20:46 |
this is a great pub with good beer and food and absolutley fantastic food!
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