please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I had really high hopes for this pub. But once again, my hopes were shattered. The place is a great old fashioned boozer with a few different spit and sawdust rooms, including one with a pool table at the far end. The menu looked interesting. But food is only served at lunchtime. The disappointment for me was the ale selection. I ordered Teignworthy Neap Tide. But that had run out. That left just St Austell Trelawny. I resorted to a fizzy cider (Rattler). Otter Bitter was later pulled through. But with just one real ale on my arrival, the ale selection was worse than Mad Dog's opposite. Lovely pub. But a terrible ale selection. If this is the best Sherborne has to offer, I won't be returning any time soon.
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Visited for first time in 3 years ,Bath Ale on at £ 2.40 a pint . Very busy on a Saturday afternoon at 5pm.
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A local punter informed us that this was comfortably Sherborne’s best pub and his judgement looked highly believable. A good range of ales from around the Southwest are on tap along with a lovely stone clad floor – surprisingly only five years old and a ‘monstrosity’ of a fire place that lend the institution a ramshackle charm. Pool is available to indulge in out the back and service was amiable.
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This is a really good, traditional pub, with very well kept drink (a pretty good selection, but no still cider) and very good, cheap food. Not all the barmaids are the sharpest knives in the drawer, but this can be lived with. I suspect that when I am in Sherborne, I will come to this one, rather than any of the others. 7/10
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I had high hopes for this place so i kept it until the last pub on our pub crawl before getting the train back to Exeter.
Maybe my expectations were too high as it really wasn't our kind of place.
Yes it is very cheap with decent ales but it was also very busy with a few idiots about.
Perhaps it would have been better at another time of the week (it was Saturday evening after all)
Handy for the station but it is unlikely we will return.
5/10
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Best beers and food in town.
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Bit of a mark down on this visit as the pint of Woods Shropshire Lad wasn't brilliant.
anonymous - 25 Mar 2013 14:30 |
Popped in last night on the way back from Exeter had Deuchers and Otter on Guinness at Three quid a pint a pound cheaper than my home town.Really busy with a good atmosphere well worth a visit wish we'd had more time
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Still sadly really the only place wirth going to in Sherborne I feel. However the beer choice is unimaganitive with simlilar styles and strengths on at the same time. Didn't help that only 3 of 4 were on then reduced to 2.
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Actively hunted out the Digby having heard of this "gem of a pub" in the heart of Sherborne.
Could not have been more disappointed. Had to wipe beer of the seat in front of the bar, bar area was covered in beer slop, glass door on fridge was cracked, staff were comparing tattoos.
Went back a couple of weeks later as determined to see what the fuss was about, but remained unimpressed.
....I have rated it a 1 because it was open and I did not get ill, but the place was rammed on both occasions and previous reviews are overwhemingly positive, so perhaps it is me.
anonymous - 10 Nov 2011 21:59 |
This was my first visit to this absolutely brilliant pub - great beer from local brewers;four pint jugs available at a small discount; food looked good although we just arrived too late (but try the chip shop round the corner); friendly bar staff; a good mix of customers and a typical beerhouse atmosphere with some very interesting bric-a-brac and pictures. Couldn't fault the pub. We stayed for three rounds!! Otter/Cottage/Wessex and St.Austell beers. There is a pool ttable but it is in another room along with the quiz machine. Old fireplaces; timber panelling; flagstone floors;a mix of furniture styles and a really good feel to the bar. Highly recommended.
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A fantastic pub in the old British tradition,Good range of beer,sFriendly staff
If I could have awarded a higher rating I would have,Hope it never changes
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Popped in for lunch today, as I was driving I only had one pint (Otter, good value, well kept) but the food was superb and great value, very highly recommended.
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Used be visit The Digby on a regular basis but haven't been there for several years - until yesterday. Crowded at 1230 and it is easy to see why. 5 handpumps serving mainly local beers (Otter, Bath Ales. Wickwar and Cottage) with prices between �2.20 and �2.50! Basic pub menu of good value food available. Service perhaps a tad slow but that was understandable given the crowd.
Pool table in the back room often hard to use due to the number of visitors.
A real gem of a pub!
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Always features heavily in our regular Sherborne crawls - which have, more than once, started here and stayed here for the whole session! Always a good and varying selection of ales to be had and, even though it gets manic on Friday and Saturday evenings, you rarely have to wait to get served as the bar staff are so efficient. Brilliant pub.
BobOs - 10 Jul 2011 16:09 |
After looking at some reviews gave it a go. Superb place! Small but ideal. Took my wife and children (4 yrs and 6 months) and found a nice corner. Food was served quite quickly, very tasty, bargain prices and filling (didnt need to eat for rest of day). Beer was very good and an excellent choice of localish ales. Prices very reasonable (its nice when its not overpriced and especially when you would have happily paid more for the quality you got). Friendly atmosphere and clearly a locals favourite, but not in a 'cluicky' (i know its spelt wrong) way. If you go to Sherborne definitely go here but my advice if you want to eat is to get there early or 45mins later (after first eaters have finished). Tops.
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A nice little pub with a polite and efficient barman and a good range of well priced beer. Could perhaps do with a lick of paint and a clean but otherwise no complaints.
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A proper pub in a town not well blessed with them, not far from the train station so a ideal place to end a pub crawl.
Decent beer and friendly regulars, not bad prices too.
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This rare gem of a pub is only a stones throw from Sherborne railway station and would make an excellent finale for a Sherborne pubcrawl before getting back on the train home.
The Digby Tap retains many period features including a flagstone floor and various wooden fixtures and fittings. A range of 4 ales were offered when we visited and I tried two of them. Oakwood's Quercus, though well kept was a little astringent for my taste, but the Keystone Ales 'Large One' was absolutely delicious - well balanced with just a slight chocolate note.
Prices were very reasonable ranging from just �2 to �2.60 per pint and by 6:00pm the place was packed with drinkers. Friendly locals and a cheerful landlord make this a pub not to be missed. I thoroughly recommend a visit.
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Well worth its CAMRA rating although the beer range varies a lot. The prices are amazing, �1 a pint less than most others in the area.
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First time back in here for 16ish years. The place doesn't appear to have changed at all. Good selection of Real Ales. This is 'the' real ale pub of the area in my opinion!! Great to see it's still thriving. Only down side is that it appears one of the management team may be a Burnley FC supporter.......oh dear!!!!!! Anyway 7/10 from me!!
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Fantastic pub, by far the best in Sherborne - price of both beer and food has to be seen to be believed. Being a freehouse, beer range is plentiful (usually 4) and changes frequently, often a Cornish beer bias.
Food is no-frills but clearly home-cooked. N.B. food is only served at lunchtimes and it's wise to get there early as it fills up rapidly.
If it has a fault it's that it doesn't take that many people to fill it due to the layout being less than ideal. Tends to be very busy early doors, with the kind of people that think the best place to congregate is around the bar.
One more thing, opening hours are deeply traditional despite its town centre location.
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Impressed, good beer, good quality basic low cost food, especially for this upmarket area. Atmosphere good, nice mix of customers. Well worth a visit.
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Visited after Saints got a last minute winner at Yeovil. Dorset Chesil, Yeovil Spring Forward, and Otter Biitter. Deuchars came on and Hidden had just gone off. Old brewey memorabilia around the pub. Very good.
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A mix of locals and visitors sat well together on my visit. This place is probably on many people's 'tourist trail' when visiting the town. Apparently Denholm Elliott frequented the place as there are photographs of him in a corner in the pub. Four ales on - Otter, Golden Hare and Taunton Ale were all eminently drinkable - didn't try the Amarillo the other ale on.
anonymous - 11 Apr 2010 11:18 |
A proper pub serving a variety of excellent beers (3 when I was last there) and food at great prices. My Moles beer was dark and tasty. Unaltered for years it has a great atmosphere - not to everyones liking perhaps but a great pub nevertheless. I'll be back for more later.
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went in there last night,shit hole 1 pint and left,VERY unfreindly and unwelcoming !
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uhhh ! what a horible place ! full of toffs on a saturday night,unfriendly uncomfortable and the beer was flat, now i know why it's cheap !, i thought it would be a nice place reading the other comments about it,i wont be back thank god the britiannia inn over the road was open it didnt take long to get the horible taste of flat beer out of my mouth ! !
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I have known this pub for 58 years. It is probably the best pub in England!
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bin goin' to this pub 4 a few yrs. don't know 'im that well but Ollie really knows how to handle people. Suits, jeans, anoraks jerks northerners, southerners etc. never asks the staff to do something he wouldn't do. Clear a table, put condiments in their place etc. Most importantly he looks after the beer and will change a pint if the next one out is not right. If I had a choice 4 a brother, he'd do just fine. The Pub, old, plain, long, low, humble building with flagstones and no room to swing a mouse in the evening but the atmosphere is second to none.
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Always top of the list on my tour of Sherborne pubs, in fact it waranted 2 visits on the same crawl of ten venues. Always good food on offer (at lunch time) and a varied choice of ales, well presented. All in all there is no need to go anywhere else as nothing else comes up to the mark in Sherborne though it saddens me to say it.
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I pop in here about once a year when visiting the area, and get a dependably enjoyable visit. Pint of Cornish Coaster or something similar, an interesting guest beer or two, and some decent pub food at good prices. Deservedly popular, in fact quite busy at times. Recommended.
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Popped in recently, not much has changed. Still got a good selection of ales. Tried the Yeovil Ale, very nice. Prices still the best in Sherborne, the pub was busy as usual. mmmm, yeah, still full of hooray henry's, but I suppose as the beer is cheap and there is a good selection, I can put up with the garble. Will be back soon.
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Good, friendly pub with a reasonable and changing range of ales. Get there early on a Friday or Saturday night if you like to sit down as it gets pretty busy.
BobOs - 12 Aug 2008 19:51 |
Lovely pub with excellent value food. Beer good, but range a bit limited.
anonymous - 13 Nov 2007 15:01 |
I LOVE THIS PUB! Couldn't believe our luck when we stumbled across this hidden gem whilst holidaying in Dorset. Fantastic value for money pub grub (main meals �4 or less), Excellent range of ever changing local cask ales, very homely, cosy with a warm and friendly atmosphere created by both the happy staff and jolly locals!
Probably my favourite pub in the universe as from now!
As for what the previous negative comments by some, the phrase 'Impossible to please' springs to mind...
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"its reputation is probably bigger than the reality"
as someone said below!
Not bad, not particularly friendly (and I'm a local)
eg: Landlord barred someone for having a disabling illness. Nice!
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Alehouses must have gone to this pub on a bad day. I've always found it to be very friendly with superb beer and a proper pub atmosphere. Lunchtime food is excellent value; shame it doesn't do evening bar snacks.
anonymous - 26 Jul 2007 19:58 |
Well, its reputation is probably bigger than the reality. Whenever i've visited, I've found the beer selection limited across the strength range, quite reasonably priced, difficult to get your hands on (busy place with barely adequate service) and often disappointing in quality.
Good Fish & Chip shop (with upstairs bar!) around the corner tho.
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After reading Dick Stiltons comments on the pubs in Sherborne, I decided to pay them a visit myself. Dont often go pub crawling, but it was worth a try. Started off in the Britannia and passed through to the Tap. As usual, the Tap has good beer and is a sound pub. Obviously being the only free house in Sherborne, the prices are good. Well done keep it up. The only thing that got me down in the Tap was the "upper class" customers bragging about their new ventures and fancy holiday homes abroad. Oh, how posh...! Give some of their money to charity - ha ha ha
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... Update. I was in here on a recent Saturday night and it was nearly impossible to get served and almost unbearably loud. The place was rammed full of youngsters in the pool bar and you had to nearly batter your way through to get to the Gents. We gave up in the end which was a pity as the beer was knob on. What I am saying is if you want a quiet pint on a Saturday night give this place a miss.
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Interesting Pub. Owned since the year dot by the local squires 'The Digby Family' who own Sherborne castles. They lease it out with tight controls regarding what the tennant can and cant do. Good atmosphere and some great guest ales. Can be full of hooray henries down from london at weekends and loud rugby types during the winter months.
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Two minutes' walk from the railway station, feels like a proper old fashioned village pub. Excellent selection of half a dozen real ales. Has a "no mobiles" policy on pain of a donation to the charity box.
Food was excellent - I had a ham salad baguette with the slices of ham about half an inch thick.
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