Al Molo Dorchester

Amazing food, great staff, and not expensive, hats off to the chefs. would go there weekly if it wasn't so far away, over 3h drive but well worth it.

Wonderful experience for a special birthday meal. We had half a dozen of the biggest oysters we’ve ever seen and scallops for starter, dressed crab and seafood linguini for main and then a cheese board to finish. All courses beautifully presented with high quality ingredients. Attentive and friendly service and a Lovely wine list too. Not the cheapest but it’s clear that you are paying for really good quality fresh ingredients. Thanks to the team at Al Molo Dorchester.

+1

Cannot recommend this restaurant enough. Fantastic menu with incredibly well cooked and beautifully presented food. Prices were excellent and the halibut was the best fish dish I have ever eaten. Restaurant is in an old listed building and the decor inside is gorgeous. Fantastic service throughout. Will be recommending Al Molo to anyone that will listen!

Beautiful food had 3 courses and all were beautiful, service was well paced and not fast so you get to enjoy the dishes . Steak was more than an 8oz fillet and my wife’s seafood linguine was in her words divine. Waiters were lovely and honoured to meet one of the chefs . Thank you

Lovely Italian spot in Dorchester. Amazing food and building. Highly recommend!

Attentive and friendly staff, warm and cosy atmosphere - a great recommendation from our hotel in this interesting and historic town. Great flavours with the food, and servings are generous PLUS appreciate them not adding the automatic service charge - we still tipped well.

+2

We have decided to leave the fish and chips dominated seaside and went for more interesting option in Dorchester. We had £36 set menu and chosen a bit of fish and meat. My option: tuna tartar was ok but not super special however the rabbit sous vide was amazing. My partner choice scallops and tuna were also super tasty and beautifuly presented. The highlight was pistachio cheese cake - quality and flavours were top notch - I could easily eat few of them:) Recommended place if you want to leave the seaside and have more quiet and quality place to eat!

+1

We had a delicious meal here. I only drank tap water and as a consequence I felt the full impact of the flavoursome food. We went for the set menu, three courses for £36, which was amazing value for such top notch food. We paid a small surcharge for a couple of items, lobster paté for example, but that is fair enough. There is no enforced service charge, but of course we tipped as the waitress was very pleasant and helpful. All the food was immaculately presented and very good indeed. I would not have thought of putting a mandarin coulis with squid and lobster paté, but it worked! Other surprises were honeycomb chunks with the cheeseboard. A truly delightful meal. Recommend!

We arrived on at 7.15pm on a a wet Monday evening in October, on an unusually quiet street, to this restaurant in a listed timber-framed building. It felt quite Dickensian. Only two other couples in the restaurant when we arrived. Greeted courteously and seated at a table of choice. Selected the set menu for £36 which did not disappoint. I wolfed down the beautifully crafted starter of crab and cucumber. My partner had monkfish in bacon as a main and I had an large (continental sized) medium-rare beef filet with a peppercorn sauce. Chips were very tasty and home made. Desserts were carefully crafted although all pre-prepared. The pistachio cheesecake was some of the best I have ever tasted, but it was too large for my partner, so I finished it off. A glass of the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (average) was enough to accompany the meal which was over too quickly. An absolutely super meal and I would encourage everyone to visit. Quite a treat.

Food was great, all the staff were friendly and helpful. The Tuna was particularly good, the monkfish sauce could have been a little more citrus, but the fish and vegetables were lovely. Nice to find a restaurant this quality that is pet friendly. The fixed menu is very extensive it tends to work out you get 3 courses for the price of two! Nice and busy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great food, great service, and a really nice atmosphere. Everything we ordered was delicious and the staff was very friendly. Highly recommended

We had the three course set menu it was so tasty and good value. The front of house staff are wonderful, attentive and hard working. I can definitely recommend 10/10

Really lovely meal for our wedding anniversary. Each course was superb - scallops, then fillet steak, and tiramisu. The staff were busy, but friendly and helpful. Thank you!

Our group enjoyed the Valentine's Taster menu. The meat and fish menus. The first course of rabbit was for me the highlight. All the dishes were lovely to eat with just one exception, the crayfish (I think) and gnocchi (these were top draw) was, to our tastes (I tried my wife's dish) a little salty. We did ask for a few gaps as the individual courses were, imo generous. I did push through of course! The service was just right for us. Well done all. Already looking forward to our next visit.

First time visiting restaurant but will return. Food really tasty, only gripe was that server wasn't paying attention & we only got 1 starter (we ordered 2) but soon rectified. Our side dish wasn't served with main dish, arrived 2/3 mins later, should all be served together. That said, a nice evening & would want to return to see if service is better!

The food and atmosphere were stop on, the food itself in my opinion rivals any restaurants I have eaten in Italy. It's so full of flavour, the proscuitto with poached pears and figs was a revelaion. Please if you get a change visit this restuarant, you won't be disappointed.

Great food with some interesting options, and lovely friendly staff. Had to knock a star off 'atmosphere' as there was a large damp patch of paint flaking off the wall behind on to my coat on the back of the chair - please fix.

Had a great birthday lunch, food was high end Italian and exceptional. A real treat!

Lunch for two. The fixed price lunch menu had an extensive choice of options. Ham hock terrine was pleasant but less terrine, more pulled hock in a dressing with a salad. Followed by pork fillet which was wrapped in pancetta served with mashed potato and a red wine jus which was well reduced, glossy and flavoursome. Pork fillet was cooked exceptionally well. Al Molo is well worth a visit, great hosts, service and an amazing building which is not to be missed.

Had dinner here for my Dad's birthday last weekend. The menu was great, the service was very friendly and attentive, and it seemed like the staff enjoyed working there (which I think is a good indicator of a decent business!) Food was gorgeous, I had scallops for starter which were so delicious and later the hazelnut cheesecake which I haven’t stopped thinking about since! Very reasonable prices also considering the quality of food and service, would recommend to anyone for a lovely enjoyable meal out!

Both the food and service at Al Molo is always exceptional. If you haven't been and you fancy some of the best food in Dorchester then you need to book in 👌 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Really enjoyed my meal here. Tried the pork belly for the starter, linguine seafood for main which was absolutely amazing and the tiramisu for dessert. What a lovely lovely place!

Wow what a place , the food is perfect and the taste is incredible really well presented and the atmosphere and ambience is beyond belief , high recommend

Food was lovely, well presented and service was great.

What a great place to eat! The food was great and the flavours were amazing. Scallops were cooked really well and the rabbit was superb. The pistachio cheesecake was delicious. I’ve not had such a good 3 course meal in many, many years. The service was excellent and Verity was so attentive and personable.

Delicious set lunch for two on a busy Saturday, food was amazing!! And a big thank you to Kayleigh who couldn’t have been more attentive with the service.

I'm fussy but this meal was perfect, a beautiful historic setting, calm helpful staff and well presented plates full of flavour made for a lovely evening. I would definitely recommend and wished we lived nearer . It's not cheap but definitely worth the cost so value for money really.

Al Molo in Dorchester is an absolute gem. From the moment we walked in, the service was immaculate—prompt, attentive, and friendly without ever feeling overbearing. A special shoutout to Harley and Charlotte, who went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect throughout our visit. We chose the three-course set menu, and it was a fantastic decision. Not only was the food of exceptional quality, but the pricing was also incredibly reasonable for what we received. Every dish was beautifully presented, full of flavor, and perfectly portioned. We left feeling both full and thoroughly satisfied. Whether you’re a local or just visiting the area, Al Molo is a must-visit. We’ll definitely be back!

My partner and I visited on a rare night without the children, and were really impressed. The waiter was very attentive but not overbearing, he was genuinely concerned with our satisfaction. My partner dropped her fork and I think he may have even have placed another before it hit the floor. The food was really good and we have eaten in some top restaurants all over world. The waiter spoke to me about the history of the building when I asked and also gave me a pre printed information sheet. Really really pleased we found this place. Will absolutely be going okay. Waiting staff trained brilliantly and the food is second to none. Brilliant

First time eating here and not disappointed . The food was fantastic and so were the staff. Cant wait to go back , it was just superb.

Great food and pleasant atmosphere. Four of us had the set dinner menu with lots of choices for all needs as one was coeliac/vegetarian and others were veggie, GF, and “normal”. Superb scallops on starters course followed by beautifully cooked monkfish for me. All agreed on quality of food and presentation. Good service too

We came to Al Molo for the Taster menu as a treat to us. It really didn't disappoint. Every course was full of taste, and improved on each step. The starters were a great selection of seafood, the main meals were beautiful and the four mini desserts were thought out just as beautifully. We were well looked after through the night. Verity in particular was very attentive, explained everything and answered any questions we had. Ollie was also very knowledgeable and helped us through the evening. The taster is worth every penny and should be experienced by everyone. Thank you very much for a lovely evening. We were also really pleased to see dogs in the restaurant in the evening. We'll definitely be back with ours. Thank you to everyone involved for a wonderful experience

We celebrated our golden wedding anniversary with a meal at al molo's. I can honestly say it ranks as one of the best meals we have ever had. The food was fantastic as was the service. Thank you so much and well done..

A really pleasant environment, excellent and delicious food without being pretentious, staffed by lovely people who were friendly and more than happy to help. We had a lovely date here, and could not recommend it more highly.

Amazing place, beautiful food- we had the 3 course set lunch menu and it was divine! The service was impeccable, friendly and attentive. The prices were reasonable and the atmosphere was lovely :)

The food was great, and the taste was amazing. The portions were generous, and we ended up with the Set Dinner, which was quite filling. Nice food overall – I’d definitely go again.

The front of house staff were amazing, greeted warmly and professionally. Courteous, friendly and very attentive, nothing too much trouble. We had the duck pate and, cod croquettes for entrees, mains were steak, cooked to my request perfectly and the chicken also amazing. Side salads fresh and plenty. I was too full to have dessert but mum had the sorbet, delicious 😋. The only downside was when the chef verbally abused the front of house staff in the restaurant in front of customers. Not the nicest to witness. However the staff maintained their dignity and continued to serve with smiles and professionalism. Will definitely be back and hope he's in a better mood or stays in the kitchen because the food was amazing. Congratulations on brilliant front of house staff and amazing food.

Friendly staff and unique setting. The set menus are really good value for money and generous in portions. Loses one star because I asked for my steak rare but it came medium rare (still tasty though), the toilets aren't great (no toilet paper in the ladies) and the smell of disinfectant when you first walk in is a bit jarring. However, I'd definitely recommend it as the food is tasty and it also allows dogs which is brilliant!

It was a very mixed experience. We dined there in two for Valentine’s Day; set menu which should have made table service somewhat more efficient. It didn’t. The food was genuinely nice with two exceptions: 1) the olive oil served with bread (it had a very mid-quality, shop bought taste); 2) the fried polenta which was rather soggy and didn’t taste very nice. The rest of the dishes was tasty and well presented. The service wasn’t very good, I’m afraid. Everyone was kind and nice but it was all very chaotic. They forgot to bring out one of our dishes (and it was most embarrassing as they tried to “explain” (???) what the dish looked like just to make sure we really didn’t have it… were they thinking we were lying??); we had to wait ages to pay our bill; the staff member at the till was talking to other staff while we were paying so she had to recheck everything a few times. We arrived shortly before 6pm and left the restaurant at 9pm. It was all way too long. We would go back there for the food, probably not on a special day/evening.

+3

Valentines menu . So disappointing . Fish menu : scallops lovely but sauce too sweet and too heavy , octopus ok but mashed potatoes tasteless and not a good choice , salmon ok but that it. Sole with prawns simply inedible, gnocchi good, service terrible but not individual waiters fault.

Could not book and then received 2 openings from their table booking system. On the last one was told that it was an error but as a top class restaurant I would not expect this. Won’t be trying to book in the future!