November 2025 by David Peet
My wife and I were celebrating the end of our house alterations. We read reviews and decided that this was a great place to go, particularly as it was described as a fish restaurant. On the phone I asked about the missing fish on their menu (cod and sea bream) and was told that they had a daily catch menu. On arrival there was no other fish daily catch. So my wife ordered 2 starters, mussels in cream and a cheese soufflé. I ordered pork belly starter and a fillet steak. The mussels were sparse ( about 15 or so. They were tiny, the smallest we have ever been served, and on a plate, which meant that the cream sauce went cold quickly and it was almost impossible to scoop the sauce. The souffle was incredible - a large blob swimming in cheese sauce. My wife tried a mouthful and said it was inedible. I tried and agreed. It had the texture of badly made scrambled egg and was absolutely disgusting. She immediately called the waitress and said that she refused to eat it or pay for it. Interestingly, the waitress said that customers loved it so it must have been a bad batch! So, as my wife guessed, it was an imported frozen one! I am staggered how this restaurant has such a high rating. We have eaten in enough top restaurants, in London, abroad and on our travels to know what is good food and what is unacceptable. Just because one pays an exorbitant price (ours was over £90-00 minus the "souffle) does not mean quality. There was no fresh fish and the menu is very basic, standard gastro pub tbh, but the price is most certainly not. My steak was good - but served with "Guildhall salad" ( basic supermarket packet with 2 added tomatoes) and chips (I substituted potatoes - £2-00 extra!) This was most definitely the very worst meal that we have ever had for a highly recommended place. We know of 2 local quality places that are in a different league, who have interesting menus, make excellent souffle in the kitchen, not out of a freezer batch, and are definitely value for the quality. This was an enormous disappointment for what was supposed to be a celebration evening. Avoid at all costs, and question why it has the ratings that is supposedly does. The waitress was sweet and helpful.
November 2025 by mhallcool
We went for a family birthday lunch to what is largely a French restaurant with an Asian fusion twist, set in a former pub and which specialises in fish and seafood but also offers simple and delicious grilled meats.\nThe place is attractively decorated in blues and maritime symbols, and all the glass sparkles.\nThere are three steep steps to the front door but the dining area is mostly level. A staircase leads to an upstairs cocktail area.\nWe each chose different starters: a partridge Kyiv, fish soup, scallops offered with different sauces and a crab crumpet. For mains 2 of us chose the massaman seafood curry and 2 the grilled fish and seafood platter, served simply with samphire, frites and bearnaise sauce although there was a comprehensive list of further sides to choose from if required. Desserts were delicious and our birthday boy was served a complimentary chocolate ice cream with a sparkler to celebrate.\nBetween us we tried 3 different wines, French and Lebanese, and 2 dessert wines, one white and one red, all of which were well chosen. Our driver enjoyed a well flavoured mocktail.\nTwo small niggles: the diners at the other tables who were already seated had perhaps all arrived at the same time as many trays of drinks went out before our first drinks were served, and we were not offered the choice of tap water which, on reflection, seems a bit out of touch.\nBoth cooking and service were excellent. This is not casual dining for most of us and the final bill meant that we shall look forward to going again but it will be for an occasional treat.\nThe restaurant is located in narrow cobbled streets so the nearest parking is in various municipal car parks.
September 2025 by R8158VTjohnn
I have visited many restaurants over the years and have to say this establishment deserves *6 Stars* across the board!. The Manager Andrew made our party feel very welcome and looked after us for the duration of our visit. I had the Twice Baked Cheddar Cheese Souffle which was utterly delicious, to follow Roast Rump of Dorset Lamb which scrumpcious and desert, Vanilla Creme Brulee which was amazing.\nThe wines we enjoyed included Muscadet, Pouilly Fume, Pinot Noir and Primitivo which \naccompanied the meal beautifully. The waiters delivered a 'service of excellence' and haven't experienced this level of customer service in a very long time. All in All a complete joy to have have a wonderful lunch in such a delightful setting. These guys are truly Masters of their Craft.
August 2025 by Liz Hutchings
We hosted a business training event here and the venue, team, food were all exceptional. The team communicated with us throughout to make sure the event would run as smoothly as possible. We had the upstairs cocktail bar which was full of character and warmth and to top it all we had a 2 course lunch which was exquisite. It's great to see The Guildhall Tavern continue to live up to and even exceed their reputation. Thank you all for a great event! Liz and the Team Total Dorset Total Business Network
August 2025 by Upton72
We were fortunate enough to be part of a Wedding Party. A fixed, pre-ordered menu was in place but that didn't detract from the quality of the dishes served.\n The weather was good enough for us to our amuse-bouche outside, and they were excellent.\nWe had the restaurant to ourselves, (Tuesday), and although providing "bulk catering", (not the most appropriate description), the chefs did a wonderful job with 3 courses that were served by, arguably, the best restaurant staff we've come across.\nIt's a top quality restaurant, well deserving of its awards.
June 2025 by Demi-Jade Courtenay-Lewis
The food here is amazing. Honestly the best roast I have ever had! The price reflects the quality of food and the quantity is perfect. The staff are all friendly and welcoming and there is a nice atmosphere. Would highly recommend, especially for special occasions.
April 2025 by Cruiser32744103743
We have been to the Guildhall a few times now but never to the Supper club they do once a month. So this was extra special, we arrived early to have cocktails in their yacht lounge, which was good and moved downstairs to the main event. This one was the Easter banquet so we were all sitting on a large table in the main restaurant and indulged in a 5 course menu with wine pairing for only £95pp.\n\nIt was so good we have booked for the May one, the taste of the Mediterranean.
April 2025 by DLF12
This was our second visit to the Guildhall Tavern and it was just as good as the first. \n\nService was friendly and attentive and food fantastic. \n\nWe had the bread to start followed by the mixed fish and shellfish which had prawns, mussels and 3 types of grilled fish with fries and was very tasty. For dessert we shared the toffee apple pudding and cheese selection which were big portions! \n\nWith a bottle of wine the bill was approximately £150 including service for the 2 of us.
March 2025 by P661SQhannahc
Another fabulous meal at The Guildhall Tavern - a family favourite for many years! Our waiter, Daniel, was very attentive with a great sense of humour. The food is always top notch and with the Friday Night Steak Deal, it was even better value for money than usual. Would thoroughly recommend!
February 2025 by K6940NXkenr
Its been some time since I last went to the Guildhall Tavern for a lunch. On Friday 7th February four of us decided it was time for a return and which happened to be on a bleak, windy, cold and wet day in Poole. It was nice to enter into a warm "oasis", greeted by smiling faces as our coats were taken away. The Guildhall is running a fixed price lunch menu choice (as well as normal choices). We all decided to try that out, definitely not disappointed. Three of us picked the mushroom soup for starters. It is velvety smooth, wonderful flavour and comes with a warm bread roll, not a typical roll but one that is to die for!. The fixed price menu also comes with a glass of wine, a nice touch. The fourth member of our party had the crab for a starter, that looked and according to him also tasted very good.\n \nFor the main we all went with the fish and chips, perfect choice for a day such as it was outside. Very large piece of fish, cooked to perfection, excellent batter, on a bed of chips with mashed peas and serving of tarter sauce. \n\nAll in all we came away agreeing it had been a wise choice to go to the Guildhall for lunch again. Bottom line was, value for money and food that gets the taste buds working overtime! Excellent!!.
January 2025 by Guys Who Dine
Very good seafood dishes.
December 2024 by guyswhodine
Lunch.\nAn award-winning seafood & grill restaurant in the heart of Old Town, Poole.\n\nFor lunch you have the option of a set 2 or 3 course.\nOr their A la carte, which we chose from.\n\nStarters\nBarbers 1833 vintage Cheddar cheese souffle,\nfinished with double cream. £11.\nGrilled Scallops in the shell,garlic & herb butter.£15.50.\n\nMains\nWhole Roasted Plaice £28.\nServed caper herb butter,lemon,samphire & fries.\nChef de-boned it for us before serving.\n\nGuildhall Tavern Mixed Fish Shellfish Grill £35. \nA selection of fish simply grilled, with steamed mussels & king prawns in garlic butter and\nserved with fries,samphire,bearnaise sauce.\n\nThe food was all cooked perfectly and delicious.\nWe didn't have room for dessert.
November 2024 by LEL-McK
First time visiting and certainly won?t be the last! The service was impeccable and the food was delectable. \nHighly recommend the Grape 75 cocktail and the oysters while you wait before devouring the fish and seafood mixed grill - the bearnaise sauce was so rich and perfect to dip the fries in! \nA big thank you for our waiter for taking such good care of us throughout the evening.
October 2024 by MrsBear49
We booked this restaurant for a lunch to celebrate our wedding anniversary and are so glad we did as we had a fabulous meal and great service.\nA couple of days before we had a nice courtesy call from the restaurant to confirm our booking.\nOn arrival we were warmly greeted and shown to our table. One of the many nice features is that the tables are not close together.\nThere is an extensive menu of food and drinks. We ordered still water and a bottle of New Zealand Marlborough white wine which was top drawer.\nWe decided to go with the fixed price lunch menu and it was excellent in terms of choice, quality and portion sizes. We chose the cheese soufflé and smoked trout to start with and didn?t mind waiting for the food to be freshly prepared.\nFor main course we chose the pork belly and smoked haddock risotto, again both dishes were divine.\nSadly we didn?t have room for pudding but we ordered coffee and were surprised with a pretty plate with Happy Anniversary written in chocolate and a portion of ice cream which was a really nice touch.\nThe whole experience was sublime and we can?t recommend this restaurant highly enough and will definitely return.
October 2024 by kevin Boulter
Just great food great service lovely place
