please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
All previous comments are fair i guess. Trying to eat your meal which is squashed in between the two bar hatches with a dozen people around you is challenging! BUT it is the best pub in corfe for nice service, good food, good beer!
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We went in aiming to have lunch but the 3 empty tables all had 'reserved' signs on them and there was a family with small children spread across the whole front of what is quite a small pub. I hope allowing half the pub to be reserved is worth losing drop in custom. We wont be bothering with returning.
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went in here in the middle of August as I had heard they had good beer here, They only had the dreaded Doombar on So I left swiftly.
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Usually visit this pub when in the locale and did so whilst camping last weekend. Dorset Brewing Co Jurassic was excellent as was the Doom Bar. A big group of us enjoyed the garden for a couple of hours in the sunshine. Friendly service but soft drinks for the kids seemed pricey. Hey ho. Didn't try the food although quite a few people were. Inside is smallish and laid out a bit like a restaurant.
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Friendly staff. Excellent beer. Pub has a car park and beer garden. Food rather expensive and food service can be very slow. Last time I ordered food I had to wait 70 minutes. Landlord said that there would be a delay after he had taken the money. A local said he was a good businessman because if he had told me that I would have to wait 70 minutes for the food before I payed I would not have ordered it.
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Overpowering smell of fish whenever we go in.
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I have eaten here many time & have found the food very good the beer is not always at its best.
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I visited the Castle Inn on a Sunday - around 1.15pm. A time when everyone should be firing on all pistons - an important and potentially very lucrative mealtime during the typical pub's week.
As another reviewer has said below, the food at The Castle Inn isn't that great.
As part of what I do for work, I have to travel a lot - and have done for 15 years. So I get to eat in a lot of restaurants and pubs.
After a mix-up amongst staff whether a table I was just moving to was free or reserved, my meal arrived. The vegetables had been under a hot lamp for what looked like a week - the cabbage had just about disintegrated. The brocolli was tasteless, as were the carrots. The roast pork was good, but the roast potatoes were soft, not crispy. While I was just getting stuck in, another customer walked past with the plate of food she'd just been served - she had to explain to staff she wasn't wild about eating undercooked chicken. Though the staff were pleasant to the customer, the chatting about this behind the scenes went on for a while.
My intention was to enjoy a quiet leisurely lunch, reading my book. This was brought to a halt by the manager deciding to make a very loud phone call to a friend - right by my table. I decided to leave. I wouldn't eat there again. Don't get me wrong, it's okay, but you can get much better for the same money elsewhere.
Minor niggle: The Castle Inn is on a fairly busy cycle route - there's absolutely nowhere to chain up your bike - like the food, a lack of attention to detail.
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Best thing about this pub is the service, which is prompt and friendly. I had to return an iffy pint of Jurassic, which was changed for an excellent Ringwood without question. Food was well priced and decent, if nothing special. Clearly gets very busy - folk were queuing for tables - and it's a much smaller place inside than it looks from the outside. Definitely geared toward food service, but none the worse for that. Oh, and if you're taller than 5'10", mind your head on your way in.
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Returned for a meal and drinks. Best pub for value/ale quality/food quality. Try the Fox for old english style but eat in the castle. Deserves a high rating.
odbod - 25 Aug 2010 15:33 |
Often it is worth walking just 5 mins from a touristy hotspot to get more of a feel for a place and this proves the theory well. There is a good locals feel about the pub, with very pleasant beers on tap, the Jurrasic was very decent. The beer was poured correctly, unlike down the road and the atmosphere was pleasant. We sat in the garden which has hens running around, all very rural and a great view of the downs. Good stuff.
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It was very busy when we visited, (we avoided the other pubs they were very expensive). We enquired about a table for 3 plus 2 kids and they politely directed us to a small corner and said to hang on a few minutes and they would get us seated as soon as a table became free. And they did exactly that, despite other smaller groups coming in after us. Very polite and attentive during a very busy period. The Beer and Cider was great and the food was very good for the money. There was a small wait, which was fair enough as they were full and it did say it was made fresh. Overall very impressive. Others came after us and they were dealt with in the same way, even when someone came in and sat straight down in the only space available they were told politely that others were waiting, can you join the queue please?
Nice and cosy!
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This pub is one for the locals. We did feel welcome. Food was great lots to choose from. But could be friendlier.
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This a small pub. The staff are very welcoming, the pub is clean and the service is excellent. Good beer, tried the Ringwood. The food is very good - generous portions and served after a very short wait. This pub is well worth a visit.
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Good pub with a lovely spacious garden with the steam railway along at the end of it.
Nice pint of Ringwood Bitter and the food looked good too.
Well worth a visit.
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Lovely little pub with a large beer garden. Fantastic food & great atmosphere. Only 2 beers but the Jurassic was excellent. Well worth the 5 min walk from the town square. Highly recommended.
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Very well run welcoming pub. Only two beers but both very well kept. We were visiting Swanage for a week but visited 3 times eating there twice. Good food all day which not all the pubs do in Corfe even at weekends. Large garden over looks the local steam railway.
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Now, this is a good little pub. I got the impression that this is a "community" pub unlike the three others in the village. No tourist trappings - just an honest little boozer with a good standard of food at a reasonable price. Beer was OK too and there was an air of peaceful efficiency here. Mind you, the place is small and therefore the strain on the kitchen is probably not the same as at the eateries (pubs) down the road in the village proper. If they'll have me, I'll ve very pleased to visit again. An oasis from the hideous pubs in the village square. Yus, I'll go again - but I hope this successful and pleasing visit wasn't just a one off.
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The best pub in Corfe Castle. Excellent beers and food. Very friendly welcome. can get very busy at times.
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This is an excellent, friendly place. I couldn't give it a "10" (that is reserved for the Square and Compasses in Worth Matravers, down the road) but a very different sort of place. This is clearly the best pub in Corfe Castle.
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WOW!. The food cooked by clearly skilled chefs and all round attention to detail is absolutely superb, the bar atmosphere is very welcoming (to tourists and locals alike) and the service is another level, the landlord and landlady certainly raise the bar when it comes to the phrase 'aiming to please'. These people clearly care, and the fact that this pub has currently a rating of 9.2% out of 10 is of no surprise to myself, nor anyone else who's had the pleasure of eating there on a regular basis....Brilliant.
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Great pub, great food, great service - and no, I don't work there!! Excellent effort made by all who do work there. Good old fashioned service!
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Under new ownership and one of our favourites, Landladies a bitch, but in a laughable way fortunetly
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Having been ripped off at the Bankes Arms we found ourself here. Excellent beer at respectable price and a very popular restaurant. Friendly staff made us welcome and found us at table in the garden area.
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Good food, lovely garden. Hard to get a table in the evening at weekends as the inside is tiny but lovely pub.
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