The Talbot in North Dorset

Good old fashioned traditional village pub. Very friendly staff. The food was better than I expected. Well presented and tasty.

A fantastic country pub! Delicious Sunday roast for a great price. The staff were incredible and really care about the place, with a lovely local feel. The pub dog is also an absolute delight. Will definitely be returning.

Stayed here for two nights, lovely clean comfortable room, excellent breakfast and very friendly staff. We will be back.

Many years ago, it was very well managed. It now has what can only be described as an elderly curmudgeon in charge, and surly millennial children serving. One young lady is very pleasant and polite, and the cook is very friendly, and provides good pub grub. I'm obviously barred for as long as the curmudgeon is still in charge, as I complained about being expected to share finger food with complete strangers in a time of spiralling covid cases. How pleasant.

Excellent Sunday lunch at a very good price! So much that I struggled to finish and I have a very good appetite! Highly recommended!

Very happy with the room. Good size and comfortable. Some noise from the customers at night but easily remedied by closing the windows. Also, it was quiet outside by bedtime. Slept well. Owner made a good effort to give us a decent vegan breakfast despite Bookings not informing them of our dietary needs til too late.

Pleasant beer garden in picturesque village inn, inexperienced staff trying hard to do their best with some of the worst food I've eaten in the UK in years. Ham egg and chips with thin slices of cheap ham from a packet was particularly awful

The Talbot is a traditional pub and Inn located in Iwerne Minster. I stayed there for 2 nights in May 2019. It was a last minute booking and I was lucky they had a room available. I booked over the phone and they were very helpful and informative. When I checked in later that night at about 8pm I found them to be just as friendly and helpful, so full marks for service. The room itself was good. Not super fancy, just a clean basic room. Only a few negatives really. First, the shower was ok, but would benefit from some de-liming to restore it to its above-average potential as some of the spray holes are partially clogged. Second, the mattress was a little hard. I prefer a firm mattress, so no concerns in my part, but something to keep in mind. The pub itself was cosy and had a good clientele. Not rowdy though. I would definately stay there again.

A one night stay at The Talbot, which is under new management since the venue was featured on Four in a Bed.We were welcomed at the bar on arrival after a long drive from Suffolk, we arrived early evening but apparently check-in has to be after 17:30 anyway. Having settled our bill for bed and breakfast, we were shown to our room on the first floor: Blackberry. This is located above the pool and breakfast dining room with a pleasant bay window view towards the side of the property but pretty much aligned with the road junction just outside, running north.The room was well furnished, a dressing table with three adjustable mirrors was a dated but no-doubt helpful feature for some guests. A single wardrobe and TV, with a well stocked hospitality tray (fresh coffee for a cafetiere, tea and hot chocolate, biscuits) including a tiny fridge which we were advised would be supplied with fresh milk upon request at the bar. There was bottled (sparkling) water in the room, which was appreciated.The bathroom was at first sight spacious and similarly well appointed with a bath and shower over. The bathroom had no windows and only an inefficient extractor fan so it was evident it suffered from damp on the walls. This despite an effective chrome heated towel rail. Closer inspection showed mould on the shower screen, tiled areas and bath edge. Water did not fully drain from the bath so a small puddle gathered the wrong side of the plughole. Also, the shower screen wasn't man enough to contain water from even the most careful shower. The water pressure was however great and we (unlike guests in other rooms, it seemed) found the water temperature performed as anticipated. Complimenrltary toiletries were supplied, we thought it strange that none of them were matched but this isn't a criticism.Because no food was served in the evening we dined out, returning for a drink in the bar before turning in. A friendly dog played catch for a while and the Otter ale was well kept and went down a treat.The bed was very comfortable and the linen was of good quality. Bespoke roman blinds at the windows were okay at blocking light from the road. Unfortunately our sleep was disrupted by proximity to the road. We had to close the single glazed window (which we'd otherwise have liked to leave open) in an attempt to mute it, but this wasn't that successful.We woke a little tired for breakfast - served between 08:00 and 09:30 and were met with a friendly good morning from the owner and breakfast chef. We were offered a continental and full English cooked breakfast. I requested a veggie breakfast (with veggie sausages, if available, otherwise a full minus meat). It was only when we sat down that my partner said he'd kindly made this request when making the reservation and was told it would be fine as there were croissants and veggie breakfast items. Our hot breakfasts arrived and mine was a full minus meat. It was actually fine but not what was suggested over the phone... and there was no sign of a croissant. Still, there has good hot filter coffee on the go, we had plenty of toast and what promised to be excellent French unsalted butter (but was actually warm and tasted a little rancid - presumably because it hadn't been refrigerated), together with a further pat of what was some form of spread of the "I Can't Believe It's Butter Because It Doesn't Even Look Like Butter" sort. We opted for butterless.Couldn't find an EHO scores on doors rating for the establishment online and none was displayed but, other than the butter situation, nothing seemed out of order with the breakfast and (writing this review a few days later) no ill effects felt.

Friendly staff, amazing food, would recommend