The Restaurant at Knoll House

We visited Knoll House for an anniversary cream tea. First the not so great. Service was disappointing - delays in service, dirty cups, food plonked on table like a sack of potatoes, had to ask for plates and cutlery. However staff were friendly and seemed a bit inexperienced and too few for number of customers. Good point was the food. Lovely selection of tasty sandwiches, warm fluffy scones (but a bit mean on clotted cream portion) and takeaway box provided on request for cakes we couldn't manage. Overall a good experience with spectacular views across Studland bay.

Great character,
Good food at a reasonable price. Lovely views from the terrace.
Family friendly

The staff are happy, friendly and very overworked. There is clearly a shortage of staff impacting those remaining to hold the fort. Good on them, there was no sign of panic just a quiet resolve to work quickly and effectively against the odds.
Such a shame the quality of food deserves service to match. Meal time is probably twice what it should be.

While the interior of the restaurant asks for refreshment and renovation, the location is excellent and the quality of food and service is definitely above the level of the looks. We had everything served quite quickly, the staff were lovely and accommodating, and the food was really nice. A good value for money, just look outside the window and enjoy a lovely meal!

The food was of very good quality and delicious. The staff are really nice and friendly and nothing was too much trouble. Excellent evening

Very slow and poor service. Staff were friendly but did not seem to know what they are doing

Food defiantly not worth £18.50 for a main !!!

Waiter was rude and seemed extremely uninterested

Excellent service

Lovely food and great service, an enjoyable evening

A general air of faded gentility. A lick of paint new scatter cushion,just a gentle lift to bring it up to scratch. So much wasted potential and such a glorious setting.

Excellent food, excellent service. Friendly helpful staff and wonderful delicious choice.

It was our anniversary dinner and the hotel went out of its way to make it special. Cakes and champagne as a surprise

Food and service was excellent, our first night of our stay at the hotel. Staff very pleasant despite Covid regs

Second time we had dinner there in a week as we liked it so much! Great food, good wine selection and the most friendly staff you can dream of. Special thanks to Alex and Martine for such welcoming service!

Staff very friendly and efficient. The food was excellente (feather steak and goat’ cheese fritters as mains, mackerel pate and breaded seafood as starters plus chocolate cake). The decor is very 70s (but not shabby at all) and this gives a lovely atmosphere to the restaurant! All in all a delightful evening!

We (4 of us) dined during the Covid regime which the hotel organised extremely well with social distancing etc.etc. The staff were very attentive although I am sure that their numbers were limited which led to a an acceptable delay at times . The quality and quantity of food both at breakfast and dinner was of a very high quality (especially the Feather steak for dinner .We did encounter a minor issue when the cooked salmon was not cooked through out and the restaurant manager resolved the issue in a timely and very professional manner and completely to our satisfaction .

Food was superb - nicely presented and cooked to perfection. Staff were very attentive and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Staff were so helpful My husband has diabetes so sometimes its quite hard for him to find something to select from a menu. Staff in the restaurant couldnt be more helpful especially Alex the manager. Liked the choice on the daily special

Impeccable service and fantastic food!

Part of a Travel Zoo deal
Very good choice at breakfast, well presented
Service a little slow, otherwise excellent

Great service and lovely to have GF options but the breakfast wasnt particularly hot and the "full English" was missing the black pudding as shown on the menu

Part of a Travel Zoo deal
Excellent food, we had two courses
Excellent service

Food served quite quickly and nice and hot. Staff very helpful. A good selection of Gluten Free options which I appreciated

Cream tea with prosecco, travel zoo deal.
Excellent value for money.
Only minor complaint, waited a little too long between the delivery of the tea/prosecco and the scones.
Otherwise perfect

Having stayed at this hotel before, we knew we would be well fed. However, they are suffering terribly form under staffing. I don't know if this is due to Covid or coming out of the EU, but we had to change our 8 pm reservation to 6.30 in order to eat at a sensible time. The previous night buy the time starter was served we had been in the restaurant one hour (from an 8pm reservation). By the time we finished it was well past 10pm and we found it very uncomfortable eating that late. As I put in the stars, the food is excellent but just don't eat too late. Be patient with the waiting & bar staff, they are doing their best - just not enough of them. There are many rumours that the hotel is to be developed into apartments, and this would explain the lack of updating that is seriously needed everywhere as a hotel/restaurant. Fab rooms, too.

The staff were super friendly and efficient which made the whole dining experience relaxing. The food was great and presentation excellent. Felt very safe. Thank you!

happy to recommend, lovely friendly staff with excellent menu & quality of food

Lovely food great staff especially Alex and warren

Very nice food and lovely staff

I have to say having read some of the former reviews I was sceptical however having had 2 nights B and B and dinner in the restaurant on the Saturday night I was pleasantly surprised. Breakfast was fabulous and was varied and arrived hot. Couldn't fault it at all. Dinner in the restaurant, was a varied selection and I have to say probably expensive for some, however the quality of the food was fabulous and I again could not fault it. We did a travel zoo deal delayed from last year and it was excellent value for money.

Friendly and welcoming staff although not enough of them, so service in the restaurant is rather slow. Delicious local fish, well-cooked.

This Hotel does amazing breakfast plus the staff cant do enough to help they are a major asset

Lovely service by all staff.
Professional hard working and kind.

Starting with drinks on the terrace with the best view down to the sea. We had a delicious meal in this characterful unique dining room.
Friendly staff.

My husband and I enjoyed lovely meals during our stay at Knoll House. Staff are really fantastic. We will definitely be back very soon!

Booked lunch at short notice, warm welcome and we sat out in the garden with a great sea view. We shared the croquette as a starter (delicious) with some amazing pickled carrots. The sandwiches were a decent size and tasty and the chocolate brownie for pud was great. Lovely way to spend a lunchtime with good service, really glad we took the opportunity.

Welcome, table spacing, food and ambience all good. Bread, sauces and fish were top notch. Very quiet unobtrusive music in the background. Good choice of music not pseudo classical, something far more upbeat. Since this is an honest review the only mildly disappointing thing was the tea. I drink it black and it tasted as if it had not been made with really boiling water. There is nothing about the restaurant that would stop us from using Knoll House again. It is our first choice of restaurant when in the area. We will return again and again. It's lovely to see that the major players regarding staff are the same as last year. That's got to be good.

Very nice meal nice outlook friendly staff would recommend

Booked lunch for 4 around 11 am and were told a table was available for 2.30. Once we were given the menus it was clear that lunch was not available but starters and sandwiches were. There was some confusion about ordering but the staff were really helpful and tried their best to make amends.
Shame really. Food was fine but was overpriced for what it was.

The food was even better than I remembered!

Fabulous waiter Gonzo couldn't have been more helpful.

My son's still talking about the amazing hot chocolate Gonzo made, with a face drawn with chocolate in the froth. My son then "fed" the hot chocolate man the mini marshmallows. This was the best, yummiest and most charming hot chocolate he has ever had.