The Hive Beach cafe, Burton Bradstock
Diners can enjoy exquisite seafood at this cafe overlooking the pebble beach and sea at Chesil bank. Spider crabs caught from the beach below, brown crabs from Lyme Bay, legendary crab sandwiches and hand-dived scallops are served year round, while during summer sun-seekers can grab a local Craig’s Farm Dairy ice-cream sundae at the Beach Hut. The menu changes daily to reflect the fishermen’s catch. In the winter, the seafront terrace is closed off with side screens to create a cosier spot from which to view the Jurassic Coast.
• From £10.95 for grilled Cornish coast sardines to £24.50 for line-caught Portland Bill seabass, 01308 897 070, hivebeachcafe.co.uk

The Bull Hotel, Bridport
The Grade II-listed hotel, with a shabby-chic interior and a courtyard decorated with fairy 

lights, offers a varied menu in its main restaurant. As well as local seafood such as pan-fried Lyme Bay tandoori scallops with chickpea and yoghurt (£9.50), there’s spice-crusted rump of Dorset lamb, spinach and coconut milk potatoes and a moilee-tomato sauce for £19. There’s also a more relaxed pizza and cider house, The Stable, at the back of the Bull: the Ford Farm four-cheese special includes Dorset blue, smoked red, goat’s milk cheddar and Wookey Hole aged cheddar (£10). Bridport’s cultural scene has also come alive in the last few years, with the revival of music and arts at the Electric Palace – described by Ian Gillan from Deep Purple as the best small venue in the UK – and a monthly antiques and vintage market.
• Rooms, some featuring vintage rolltop tubs and four-poster beds, from £100 to £240, 01308 422878, thebullhotel.co.uk

Sienna, Dorchester
Eat here while you can, as Russell Brown is closing his 15-cover restaurant (the only place in Dorset with a Michelin star) on 25 April. Brown uses local, seasonal ingredients such as Jurassic Coast rose veal saltimbocca and pan-fried fillet of brill with cauliflower, hazelnut, lemon and English caviar.
• Two-course dinner £38.50, three-course £45, tasting menu for the whole table £65 each. Open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 01305 250022 siennarestaurant.co.uk

Hix Oyster & Fish House, Lyme Regis
Mark Hix prides himself on sourcing the best produce served as simply as possible – fish fingers with chips and mushy peas and simple grilled fish on the bone served with hollandaise sauce in this light and airy restaurant with relaxing coastal views. The whole Lyme Bay crab (£14.50) is popular, and there’s a wide variety of oysters, such as Brownsea Island or Portland Pearls at £2.25 each. Fish House Suppers for groups of 10 or more are priced at £45pp per person, and Hix also hosts and organises festivals, such as the Lyme Regis Crab Festival (in September this year. 
• Starters around £8.95, mains from £14.95. 01297 446 910 hixoysterandfishhouse.co.uk

The Pig on the Beach, Studland
The charmingly styled hotel restaurant features fish direct from Poole Bay, and ingredients sourced by a team of local foragers and from the impressive walled kitchen garden. Dorset

Crab on toast with pennywort salad and pickled daisies (£8.50), or home smoked pork belly (from its own smoking shed) with Dorset olives, Isle of Wight tomatoes and spring onion (£16) are among the tempting items on a menu that focuses on fish and pork. The hotel is set on the beautiful Studland coastline overlooking King Harry Rocks and Poole Harbour and, if it’s not warm enough to dine lingeringly beside the elegant lawn, then there are cosy fireside seats in the bar that are just as inviting for a post-prandial cocktail.
• Weekend winter room rates start at £139 per night (room only); Shepherd’s huts with log burner and sea views £239, 01929 450288, thepighotel.com

Crab House Café, Wyke Regis, Weymouth
Seafood doesn’t come much fresher than the crabs hooked by the fishermen on Chesil Beach and oysters brought in directly from the boat, than at this fun cafe in its unlikely location at the end of a car park: the blackboard menu is constantly being rubbed out and updated. Head chef Nigel Bloxham’s dedication to locally sourced produce was commended by (former Guardian) food critic Matthew Norman:
“[He] takes local ingredients of top quality, cooks them simply and accurately in its open kitchen, and serves them (via friendly teenagers in aprons) without poncery.” 
• Whole crabs from £19.95, six oysters £9.50, average meal £42 for three courses, 01305 788 867, crabhousecafe.co.uk

Mat Follas opened his much-anticipated restaurant at the Casterbridge Hotel last month.

It is a small intimate setting open on Friday and Saturday nights.

Mat said: “When I was looking for a new venue I narrowed my options down to Dorchester or Bridport — I decided Dorchester was the better option, because it has a larger population and is more central. I’m also excited to be working in Dorchester, which is a really nice location to be in. I think it’s already very well served with the likes of Russell Brown at Sienna up the road and all the other restaurants, so I’m really pleased to become a part of the mix here.”

Known for his foraging skills, Mat said this new venture has allowed him to source local great ingredients by foraging. “Dorset is probably the best place to find wild ingredients. Everything is here, particularly this end of Dorset. It’s something I really like doing, and one of the reasons I wanted a small venture, as it means I can actually go and forage ingredients for the restaurant and serve them.”

He added: “The nice thing about it is I’ll only be serving about 40 people per week, and ...

they’re not all going to be eating the same thing. So if I’m picking something for one dish, I might only need to pick 15 or 20 leaves, and that doesn’t have an impact on the environment.”

Earlier this year Mat wrote an introduction for the AA Restaurant Guide, focusing on food trends and specifically foraged and wild ingredients.

Mat’s offerings will also include daily catches of fish and other locally sourced ingredients. He is also using interesting plants such as Hairy Bittercress but promises that although it doesn’t sound appetising, it is neither hairy nor bitter.

The three-course menu is £27.50 and a six-course tasting menu is priced at £47.50. The menu is predicted to change with the seasonal ingredients.

This month it includes a main course of rabbit ravioli parcels while other dishes include a slow cooked lamb terrine and a dessert of rhubarb and whisky crumble. Mat said: “It depends on what I find when I go for a walk at the start of the week. If there’s something exciting, I can tweak the menu and change it to something different, which is great.”

Mat Follas, MasterChef winner 2009, will be opening his new restaurant on Friday and Saturday evenings, starting on Friday, March 7th.

Mat’s new restaurant will take the award winning food from his former restaurant in Beaminster, The Wild Garlic, as its starting point. 

As chef at The Wild Garlic, Mat and his team were awarded two AA Rosettes for three years until it closed; were listed by The Michelin Guide and The Good Food Guide; and were highly recommended in The Guardian and The Telegraph with scores of nine and a half and nine out of 10 respectively. 

Jasper Gerard of The Telegraph described The Wild Garlic as “sensational” and Matthew Norman of The Guardian said Mat is “an exceedingly rare talent”. Mat wrote an introduction for the AA restaurant guide for 2014, focusing on food trends and specifically foraged and wild ingredients, which are elements included in his dishes.

Mat said: “I’m delighted to be heading back to the kitchen, this time it’s just me cooking for a small restaurant, no partners or other people involved, it will only be open when I’m there. 

“The Casterbridge is a delightful, classic, small hotel with two wonderful dining spaces, a small dining room and a lovely conservatory area for guests to choose between. 

“My food will match the surroundings, with a more classic menu than I have done in the past, we will take the best of The Wild Garlic’s dishes as my inspiration and we will maintain a comfortable and relaxed dining experience.”

Melvin and Monica Curtis of The Casterbridge said: “We’re thrilled to have Mat cooking at our hotel. Dorchester has recently had an influx of chain restaurants and hotels and this is a great opportunity to balance that with a high end, bespoke offering, this provides great choice for Dorchester and surrounding area residents. 

“We know Mat will help bring tourist trade and interest from outside Dorset to Dorchester too.”

For more details visit www.matfollas.com.


To book a table at Mat Follas at The Casterbridge Phone: 01305 260884