The Abbey House Tea Rooms in West Dorset

We have visited the Abbey House a few years ago and drive especially with a detour to revisit. Since my wife uses a wheelchair I asked to be seated on the lawns just a few steps from the terrace to make an accessible place available (we had been seated there during our prvfious visit). The waiter answered: we only put tables there duiding a wedding. So no other option for us then just leave the place since which is NOT accesible for a wheelchair. We were very disappionted and felt unwelcomed.

The Abbey Tea Rooms is first class in every way, such a warm friendly and genuine welcome and attentive service with good banter. Fabulous food, not pretentious just quality local ingredients and delicious all within a beautiful setting and a crisp cool local cider on a hot summer day under the pergola…perfect!

Very warmly welcomed. Enjoyed a pudding and drink in the beautiful gardens and was blessed with the warm sunshine. Best bead and butter pudding I’ve ever had! Definitely on my list when were back in the area!

Had a really enjoyable experience. Setting, food and host all great. Good value for money, a real find.

It is ALWAYS a delight to visit this haven of calm, tucked away from the bustle of the coast road through Abbotsbury, yet easy to reach. From the far right corner of the Village Car Park it is a short walk along a footpath. Alternatively, through the churchyard it is a stone's throw from the gable end of the Old Abbey. - The owner and staff here should give courses in hospitality to other restaurants, always friendly, natural and at time hilarious. They just know how to make you feel comfortable and welcome. - This afternoon we enjoyed a relatively late lunch, selecting MAINS of the petite but exquisite MEDITERRANEAN FLAN with side salad, the comfort food that is their CRAB MAC-CHEESE and the indulgent TURBOT - probably one of the best pieces of fish that I ever watched (with envious eyes) my partner eat! Quality and flavour never disappoint here. - If you haven't tried it, I heartily recommend the BOTTLED ALES from the Piddle brewery - the "Slasher" is a gentle blonde brew which goes very well with food. Alternatively a nice bottle of ZINFADEL and some lemonade for DIY spritzers always goes down a treat. - Due to travel plans, we were a little short on time today, so we were unable to succomb to our traditional naughtiness of double deserts (!) but whatever you chose from the BLACKBOARD OF TEMPTATION, you can't go wrong. One of our favourites is the sundae glass filled with STEWED RHUBARB with a creamy topping of RICE PUDDING. Even writing about it is making me dribble! - Abbey House never disappoints and has become a regular request whenever we have visitors.... not that we ever need an excuse. Rest assured, the Double Deserters will return!

Beautiful venue- delightful garden for outdoor dining, The Abbey House full of history. Consistently fresh, home prepared and tasty food. Great host and service. A place and visit to treasure

Dropped in for a pre-booked lunch with friends and was very impressed with the friendly, relaxed atmosphere and gently humorous hosting. - Tucked in a quiet "backwater" away from any traffic behind St Nicholas Church, you can approach by car through a stone arch off Church Street, or walk through from the back corner of the main village Pay & Display car park if you are making a day of exploring Abbotsbury and all the charms it has to offer. - Luckily it was a gloriously sunny day and it was pure delight to sit at one of the many outside tables, with an expanse of lawn rolling away and leading the eye towards a scattering of historic buildings and the tree capped hill beyond. Not a vehicle to be heard. - There are lots of fabulous fish dishes to choose from but between us we savoured the delights of their ABBOTSBURY MUSHROOMS - a dish served with a delightful stilton sauce, CRAB SALAD - beautifully presented with dressed salad and two mounds of flaked white crab meat, topped with a little brown, MEDITERRANEAN FLAN - again this light flan was a delight to nibble through and the (perfectly cooked) MACKEREL. Those of us who ordered a side of CHIPS were also delighted - so nice to get moderately thick chips rather than the weedy fries served at so many venues - and the NEW POTATOES were fabulous too. - After an unhurried pause, it was time to contemplate the desserts blackboard and quite frankly we ran out of superlatives to describe them. Amongst the choices were a DORSET APPLE CAKE SUNDAE served with scooped (not machine) ice cream and cream (we highly recommend it) and one of the best BREAD & BUTTER PUDDINGS with a dreamy, slightly bouncy texture (served with just the right amount of clotted cream). - We were so charmed by the whole experience that one of our party is already planning her next trip to stay in the adjacent b&b. - All in all, a very peaceful location to relax and savour good food and drink and enjoy the good humoured service from positively lovely hosts. - Can't wait to come back.

A birthday lunch for my younger sister . After visiting the sub tropical gardens down the road the 4 of us having booked lunch at Abbey House arrived to be greeted by our host seating us in a sheltered outdoor location. Food was very fresh I had a crab salad my sister and her husband had the crab Quiche and my vegetarian sister had a goats cheese salad bread and butter pudding with clotted cream for myself and my brother in law Ice cream for the birthday girl. All this served with great humour during rain hail and wind with a smattering of sun . The view from the terrace is stunning I could not say a bad word about this restaurant highly recommend just book.

If you are in the area this is a tea shop you need to visit. The owners Sandra & Steve are so friendly and welcoming. You definitely need to try the rhubarb and ginger cake and the cheese scone with cheese and chutney. They were delicious. We will be coming back to see you again soon!

I came across The Abbey House totally by accident, I had pulled into the car park in the town and saw the board advertising this place, and wow what a great find. The location itself is amazing, I sat in their beautifully kept garden in the lovely sunshine looking out across the fields, beside a charming house. The second wow was the staff, so friendly and helpful. The third wow was the food, I had the crab salad, which has to be one of the best crab salads I’ve ever eaten, so fresh and so well presented. The bread and butter pudding to follow was excellent, helped along by some clotted cream, and the local cider was a great accompaniment.

4 of us stopped here on our drive back to Sussex. The location is amazing and the decor inside is very quaint and traditional. The menu had a very good selection, we had Crab cakes, Salmon , mackerel and a vegetarian tart, all meals were excellent. The staff were very welcoming and efficient. It is worth reserving a table.

Luckily finished our walk in time to enjoy the most perfect afternoon tea and cake in the beautiful garden. Our table was moved so we could enjoy the last of the afternoon sun with a view of st Catherine's church. I had the warm lemon cake with lemon sauce and clotted cream which was divine. Hubby had the dorset apple cake which was also delicious. The best cakes we have had in a tearoom. If you visit abbotsbury or nearby this is a must.

We came here for lunch with friends and what a great lunch it was. 'Mine host' and his team made us feel as if we were part of the family, just what we needed. The food was superb as was the local beer and what a wonderful setting. We went for a long walk after lunch returning for tea and coffee. You really must go there!