The Knowhere Guide

Eating and Drinking in Bournemouth, Dorset*

Bournemouth, Dorset Pubs, Cafes, Coffee Shops and Restaurants

Food

• City Kebabs!!
• Legends Milkshake bar
• Luuurrvely jacket potatoes from Del Marco (marginally overpriced, but worth it for the pile of cheese!
• Shakeaways! milkshake shop and only place in UK that i know sells hurshy's chocolate! Just off main high street near Argos and Bongo Bongo!
• CASA
• K1 COMING SOON
• Borola on Wimborne Road. Fantastic food, incredible atmosphere. Whether it's lunch or a big evening meal. Awesome!
• Sandwhich shop in Charminster Road, Charminster, which when open has a large plastic Crocodile outside. They do large, delicious, cheap rolls.
• Check out the curry-houses up along Christchurch road if your hungry.
• Always like to go to Chippy's when i visit from USA - il ove take away fish and chips and love to sit in teh back room and watch the folks come in and go - always really friendly folks working there too
• Fatty Arbuckles in Bournemouth and the one in Poole are good american style burgers
• Acropolis - Mario and his fiendly staff give everyone a bit of drunken cheer.
• Hot Rocks cafe and resterant is right on the beach and v. cool with it's own surf shop down stairs
• Del Marco sandwiches are nice, but the best food has to be pizza from Adnanes on the Old Christchurch road....tastes just like Pizza Hut deep pan, at way less cost - they usually have half-price leaflets and stuff - completely scrummy :)
• Kebab King - The best chips kebabs in the world!!
• Vegetarian places are: Corianders at the Square, Taylors at Southbourne Cross Roads (now does a bit of meaty stuff too - also take your own alcohol) and the Salad Bar in Boscombe (day-time only)
• Rileys snooker club do amazing burgers but again you can't beat the Gander
• Noodle Noodle - Charminster.
• Campions on Post Office Road for no-frills grub. Pubs all seem to serve meals now anyway. Ocean Palaca near BIC: top Chinese gaff.
• Pinocchio - ChristChurch. I'm Fernando from Brasil. I used to work as a chef at the Pinocchio's Restaurant for five years. Now is open in Brasil Pinocchio's franchise that I own. If you like to contact me, my adress is: Rua Padre Almeida, no 214, Cambu’, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brasil
• The newly refurbished (I believe) tea-room by the lift along Undercliff Drive. We had an excellent cream tea with a large pot of tea, fresh scones, strawberry jam and Dorset cream. Haven't had a cream tea that good for a great number of years.
• The Golden Lantern, on Boscombe Rd, Boscombe End is a truly excellent Chinese restaurant. Ronnie is the proprietor, and makes an excellent host. Annie is the most wonderful cook ever, and prepares the finest Thai and Cantonese dishes.
• 7-11 Winton

Pubs

• Litten tree is ok, bit posh tho. Brass house??
• Some nice little suburban locals: The Brunswick in Charminster, nice and cheap with permanently free jukebox; The Porterhouse in Westbourne, a very civilised place by today's standards, no music, good real ales; the Crown and Sceptre in Northbourne, hard to find though it sticks out a mile above surrounding bungalows, unassuming place, nice people. The Cricketers in Springbourne, Bournemouth's oldest pub (1867), no-nonsense, cheap, good food, and a pool table at 50p a game! The Thatched House in East Howe Lane, a spot of tranquillity in an otherwise unremarkable neck of the woods. The Athelstan, the Cranleigh, the Queens Park, the Richmond Arms (though busy)... All the above are 'pub pubs', nice places to pop in for a quick pint with a mate. Just proves that not all pubs have been modernised by chains blinkered to tradition – you just have to find them.
• Moon In The Square (In the square, funnily enough) is good for a bite to eat and a drink. No music playing, so good for a chat. If you want something more lively, try the Tapp and Hobbit, opposite the Moon. (ooooohhhhhh, hold me down, I feel anouther youthfulness joke coming on. Must be the sea air that keeps us looking like children!)
• best pub is brass house
• PUBS?!?! where do i start? ok, uve got slam and circo which do their extremely cool offer of £1 a drink 6pm-9pm friday nites. And with elements and urban literally right by them uve got an after bar club 2go to! But if ur not into bars, with club music and the random old scary lookin bloke with a dodgy moustache lookin at all the "young" erm, "ladies", then theres plenty of other options. Like the Moon in the Square, v nice! Or, Jug o' ale, Brass house, 2b big TV screens, ideal 4rugby and footie matches! or Edwards, a very "ya, ya rugby" type place, where else? Woody's, erm, the list is endless im sure!
• Artful! and yes, I know it's not there anymore but anyone who was gettingdrunk throughout the 80s on Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights. This is a big Hi from the three scruffy, long-haired lads at the table nearest the gents. We salute you if you were ever there - and apologise if we were obnoxious.
• Bar Med is pretty good.
• My fave is The Gander which has recently had the downstairs stage area refurbished. The bands are (without exception) of a high quality, attracting tribute bands and original bands both local and from afar. Recent bands that have made an appearence are "Glorious", Kava Kava (Glastonbury), G13 and many more including the "Axl Rose" who appeared on Stars in their Eyes. Pop in and see us if you enjoy a relaxed atmosphere, brilliant music, good value for money food and friendly people!!! We're not as scary as we look!!!
• The Brass House is very nice and the bar is absolutly huge.
• The Gander, Holdenhurst Road, used by Metallers, Punks and Goths. And plays real music.
• Relaxed and cheap is Yates opposite the popular Jug of Ale is always having special offers and gets a smartish crowd average ages 21-30, who go there before heading onto the clubs. In Southbourne try the Malt and Hops, another popular pub.
• The Foresters is by far the greatest pub in town - see Charlie the alcho-pop in action
• For the real ale enthusiast, the Goat & Tricycle (G&T) has the best selection of independent brewer's wares. Ashley (where's me hair and up the Gunners) & Sandra make all welcome. Watch out for "Uncle Bill" and the Trekkies though !! Although it is a Wadworth house, don't let that put you off, they regularly have about 8 ales on and only 3 or 4 are Wadworth's. Don't touch Mandy's cider though, you'll regret it !!! Signed by the railway twins.
• L'Odeon, next to the Jug of Ale is now called FYEO (For Your Eyes Only) and is a lap dancing club! Bring back the telephones!
• Thousands of "plastic pubs" have sprung up in the town centre catereing for the townie element most should be avoided. The Firefly and Firkin is okay, although avoid the dodgy one man and his bontempi nights which seem to happen from time to time. The moon in the square is quite relaxed (no music) but still busy, but the door staff tend to make up dress restrictions if they don't like the look of you (no baseball caps is on eof the best so far !!). This is true of most of the pubs in town and believe it or not there are pubs where you can't where trainers I mean it's only a pub for gods sake. For a chilled out evening the Sandacres at sandbanks is your best bet. Good atmosphere whith no agro townies, pool tables and a great location.
• Newer ones include the Litten Tree, the Tapp and Yate's Wine Lodge
• The Hop & Kilderken in Winton offers a wide range of beer and good food for hangovers, a sort of locals/students haunt that has a generally good atmosphere...Where would we be without chicken tikka and chips after a saturday night out???
• THE GANDER THE GANDER THE GANDER EXCELLENT!!!!!!!
• I used to go a lot to the Five Ways pub with a French friend (we were English students spending three months there) to play pool. Nice nights!! This pub is a "real" pub 'cos you'll find normal nice people there, drinking a pint or two after work!
• I think someone forgot The Bank, the point of encounter for foreign students. Definitely cool!!!
• Out of centre: Five Ways: opinion divided. Suburban pub, mildly rough but okay during day. Iford Bridge/Riverside/Neptune: variously located Brewer's Fayre places, all out of same mould. Riverside has best location in Tuckton, Neptune on beachfront at Boscombe.
• Veritable plethora in recent years: brasshouse expensive yet sedate by day. Pretentious and loud by night, but good atmosphere. Worth a look. Edwards: suave arty friends-esque haunt, again a tad expensive but you pay for that sort of decor. JJ Murphy's: where European was, typical Irish pub but a haven from bmth's youth. Royal Exeter: hotel pub for family or quiet drink. Good for Sky footie. Criterion: a bit staid and worn, best left to locals and my old German teacher. Woodies: stay away if you are much above 18. Ridz: arse joint which replaced my favourite pub. All the above are within 5 min of square.
• You forgot the Gander-best pub in town!
• I couldn't find the Firefly & Firkin anywhere on this page. IMHO this is the best pub in town - lively atmos, great beers (brewed on the premises), friendly staff and it's cheap too! Also what happened to the Moon in the Square? Again, a bloody good pub (if you don't mind the lack of music).
• Best pubs are the European, the Moon in the Square, Rick's/Pumphrey's (Cocktails upstairs - Rock pub downstairs). The Punch and Judy in the Triangle is a good place for a quiet pint/watch footy games on Sky. Best pubs to relax in are out of town, in Poole and Christchurch - as are the really great clubs like The Manor in Xchurch and The G-Spot (one in Blandford, one at Matchams).
• And, again: The Jug of Ale. Located within 2 minutes of the city centre and just round the corner from the Cage/Zoo and next to the Artful Dodger and Fagins bar.
• Or: Jug of Ale, Moon in the square... L'Odean is NOT good and NOT a pub anyway!
• Good pubs include L'Odeon, The Artful Dodger, The Goat and Tricycle!! and Woodies.

Cafes and Coffee Shops

• The Dutch Experience 2, Britain's second cannibis café opened on April Fools Day.
• Borders has a wicked cafe bit!
• Obscura Cafe is bang smack in the middle of town near a very cool flamey thing on a pole and a mosaic floor design.
• ALL OF THEM ARE REALLY NICE CANT CHOSE ONE PARTICULAR ONE
• Boarders (the book shop) serves an excellent hot chocolate! yummy!:)
• K1 COMING SOON

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Last updated: 2008-01-19