Yalbury Cottage
Oak-beamed ceilings, exposed stone walls, and inglenook fireplaces add to the charm of this restaurant in a 300-year-old former shepherd's cottage across the road from where Thomas Hardy went to school. It specializes in daily-changing, two- or three-course set menus featuring superior French-influenced cooking using locally sourced produce, with dishes like Portland crab cocktail on a crumpet, Maiden Castle pressed lamb with kale pesto, and sticky (meaning coated with a sticky sauce) beef brisket. There's also a Sunday lunch and afternoon tea. Eight comfortable bedrooms are available in an extension overlooking gardens or fields. Lower Bockhampton is signposted off the A35, 1½ miles east of Dorchester.
