Food & Drink Experiences

Bournemouth and the surrounding area have a fantastic reputation for hospitality, so it’s no surprise that when it comes to all things food and drink, visitors and locals are spoilt for choice. Whether it’s learning to cook, sampling a celebrity chef’s exciting new creations, or tasting locally-brewed tipples, you’ll find it all here.

For many years, the internationally respected hospitality and catering courses at Bournemouth and Poole College have produced the next generation of chefs and hotel managers. With such a vast range of restaurants and hotels in the area, it’s no surprise that many ex-students forge their careers here too. Here’s a selection of what Bournemouth has to offer for the food and drink lover.

Celebrity Chefs

Being so close to the coast, we have some fantastic seafood restaurants.  Mitch Tonks set up his first seafood restaurant, Rockfish, in Dartmouth, and he has now come to Poole.  They use great tasting local fish cooked expertly and simply.  Set in a beautiful old pottery building, they serve freshly caught sole, bream, mackerel, monkfish, and pollack, as well as traditional fish & chips.  The wine is tailored to go perfectly with your choice of fish - a winning combination.

Not far away at Sandbanks, we have Rick Stein's restaurant. With fantastic views over the water to Poole Harbour, you can relax and enjoy crab wakame and sahimi of salmon, sea bass, and mackerel, along with classics such as Dover sole a la Meuniere.

Brasserie Blanc at the Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel is a French-style restaurant by Raymond Blanc in a stunning clifftop location overlooking the sea in the heart of Bournemouth.

At No 34 at the Orchid Hotel, try stunning European cuisine from Michelin-starred head chef Jean Gysemans. Trained at the George V in Paris, Jean fuses contemporary dining with his Basquaise heritage.

How about having a fantastic bespoke private dining experience as a special treat or for a business function? Molecular Magic Catering is the creation of founder and head chef Maciek Kijewski, based in Bournemouth. Imaginative, creative offerings abound. Goats cheese and beetroot playdough cones, walnuts, bee pollen, and sage crumb, anyone?!

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Feeling inspired? Try creative cookery

If you’re feeling inspired and fancy learning the art of cookery, Flavours School of Cookery based in Bournemouth offers various classes, whether it’s Spanish, Italian, Indian, Thai or Sushi that you’d like to try. They even offer fish filleting and artisan bread making short courses.

And to follow… for chocoholics who want to stay, make and eat chocolate, try the Chocolate Boutique Hotel, where you can do it all!

Afternoon tea

Bournemouth is literally brimming with places to enjoy a special afternoon tea with friends or your family.  So sit back with a sea view or in some of the beautiful grounds our hotels have surrounding them and indulge in a cream or afternoon tea.  Many cafes also offer takeout teas so you can enjoy a private picnic on the beach or in our stunning gardens whilst you watch the world go by.

Microbreweries, gin tasting and more!

An appreciation of craft ales, microbreweries, gin combinations and mixology is huge in Bournemouth so you can sample the latest cosmopolitan trends in a seaside setting. The town is also a great base for discovering weird and wonderful brews of rural Dorset, or venture further afield into Wiltshire and Somerset.

Poole Hill Brewery is the home to Southbourne Ales an iconic brewer in the area, known for their brewery tours, live music and multi award winning ales.

The Brewhouse and Kitchen have multiple locations in Bournemouth, Southbourne & Poole. They offer a tempting range or tasty meals as well as an on-site microbrewery that produces artisan ales to try. You can book one of their masterclass experiences and learn the science behind brewing, beer, food matching and gin.

Gin lovers are really spoilt for choice in Bournemouth and the surrounding area, with popular gin bars in Christchurch, Westbourne and Wimborne. Local artisan gin producers have been inspired by our beautiful surroundings and produced Lilliput Gin, Pothecary Gin and Conker Gin, and slightly further afield in the New Forest, Dancing Cows is rapidly growing a following. Read more in our recent blog - A G&T beside the sea? Yes - don’t mind if we do! - to discover where and what to taste and try.

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