Restaurant in Beaminster, United Kingdom
Seasonal Mediterranean done well. Book Thursday–Sunday.
Brassica is Beaminster's strongest dining option and holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025. At ££, the Mediterranean-inflected, seasonal menu — supported by warm, genuinely invested service — delivers well above its price tier. Book two to three weeks ahead for Saturday dinner or Sunday lunch; Thursday and Friday lunches are your best bet for shorter notice.
Brassica is worth booking, and if you have been once, it is worth going back. This Michelin Plate-recognised restaurant in the centre of Beaminster delivers a level of cooking that significantly outpaces what most Dorset market-town dining rooms attempt, at a price point (££) that makes the decision easy. The service style — warm, personal, and clearly invested in what comes out of the kitchen — earns every penny. Book for Thursday through Saturday dinner, or Sunday lunch, and give yourself enough time to linger.
The physical space matters here, and in a good way. Brassica occupies a bay-windowed corner site on the small square at the heart of Beaminster, inside a 16th-century building that would be unremarkable if the interior had been left alone. It has not. The décor runs to brightly coloured prints, decorative plates on the walls, and cushions chosen with genuine conviction. The overall effect is countryside shabby-chic that feels personal rather than styled , the kind of room that signals the owners actually care about where you sit, not just what you eat. The scale is intimate, which has practical implications: this is not a venue for large groups, and a party of two at the counter or a small table is the optimal format.
The cooking is Mediterranean-inflected, seasonal, and concise , in the leading sense of that word. The menu does not try to do everything. Smaller plates lean tapas-adjacent: Ortiz anchovies with sourdough, sliced raw courgette dressed in mint and lemon. These are confident choices, ingredients treated with enough restraint to let quality speak. Main dishes carry the same logic. Orecchiette with prawns, agretti, and tomato shows the kitchen's feel for accented seasoning without overcrowding a plate. Halibut with borlotti beans, fennel, spring onions, and aioli is the kind of dish that looks simple on paper and is technically demanding to execute well. The kitchen executes it well.
Vegetables are not an afterthought. Roast leeks with pickled mushrooms, lentils, and chard is a main-course option that would hold its own in rooms charging considerably more. Sunday lunch is the format that has built a loyal following , the careful treatment of hake and pork, alongside considered vegetable sides, consistently draws regulars back. If you are returning and have not tried the Sunday lunch yet, this is the visit to do it.
Desserts punch above the price tier. Chocolate and ginger sundae, almond cake with raspberries and crème fraîche, apricot fool, affogato , these are not complicated constructions, but they demonstrate the kitchen's understanding that simplicity and satisfaction are not opposites. The wine list is small and deliberately chosen, with a bias toward on-trend European producers: Grüner Veltliner and Blauer Zweigelt feature alongside more familiar names. Small glasses start at £5. A developing Gevrey-Chambertin is available for £105 a bottle, which, given the context, represents fair pricing rather than ambition.
The service philosophy at Brassica is the detail that holds everything together at the ££ price point. Owners Louise Chidgey and Cass Titcombe have built a room with what multiple guests describe as a 'lovely vibe' , the kind of phrase that can mean nothing, but here appears to reflect a consistent approach. The kitchen's confidence is palpable, and it transfers to the front of house. This is not a restaurant where technically proficient food arrives in a cold or indifferent room. The warmth is genuine, and at this price, that matters as much as the cooking.
Brassica holds a Michelin Plate for both 2024 and 2025 , recognition of good cooking without a star, which in this context is an honest signal. It means the food is worth seeking out and meets a consistent standard, without the price or booking difficulty that accompanies starred status. Google reviews sit at 4.4 from 148 ratings, a solid and sustained score for a small room in a small town. If you are visiting Dorset and building an itinerary around food, Brassica belongs on it. For more options in the area, see our full Beaminster restaurants guide.
Brassica also runs a homewares store, Brassica Mercantile, directly across the square , worth ten minutes if you are early for your reservation or browsing after lunch. It is a natural extension of the aesthetic sensibility that runs through the restaurant, and it adds a practical reason to arrive in the town with time to spare.
For context on how Brassica sits within the broader Dorset and South West dining picture, Parnham Restaurant and The Ollerod are the other Beaminster options worth knowing. Further afield, Hand and Flowers in Marlow and hide and fox in Saltwood are useful comparisons for what Michelin Plate-level cooking looks like in other rural English settings. If you are exploring the wider region, Gidleigh Park in Chagford represents the higher end of South West dining.
Quick reference: Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025 | ££ | Mediterranean, seasonal | Thu–Sat lunch and dinner, Sunday lunch | 4 The Square, Beaminster DT8 3AS | Booking: easy, but Thu–Sat evenings fill quickly.
Booking here is relatively direct compared to starred venues, but do not assume availability is open-ended. Brassica operates Thursday to Saturday for lunch and dinner, plus Sunday lunch , four services a week, all in a small room. For a Saturday evening, aim to book at least two to three weeks ahead. Sunday lunch tends to be well-supported by regulars, so the same lead time applies. Weekday (Thursday and Friday) lunches are your leading chance of a last-minute table, though it is still worth calling ahead. There is no online booking information in our database, so contact the venue directly. Walk-ins are not confirmed as possible , do not rely on them.
If you are travelling specifically for Brassica, pair it with a browse of Beaminster hotels and check Beaminster experiences to build out the visit. The town is small enough that Brassica is the main dining anchor , plan around it accordingly.
On a return visit, the smaller plates are worth exploring before committing to the main-course format. Ortiz anchovies with sourdough is a reliable opener. For mains, the fish cookery , halibut, hake , consistently draws positive feedback, but if vegetables are your preference, the kitchen gives them serious attention. Sunday lunch is the format most likely to show the kitchen at its most considered. On dessert, the almond cake and the sundae are both worth ordering.
The list is short but thoughtful. Glasses from £5 make it easy to drink well without a large commitment. If you are spending on a bottle, the Gevrey-Chambertin at £105 is the room's most ambitious option and fair for what it is. Austrian and lesser-known European varieties feature , this is a list built by someone who drinks widely, not one assembled to fill price brackets.
For broader context on Mediterranean dining beyond Beaminster, La Brezza in Ascona and Il Buco in Sorrento are useful reference points for the cuisine category at higher price tiers. Within the UK, L'Enclume in Cartmel and Moor Hall in Aughton represent what serious rural British dining looks like when it scales to starred level. Midsummer House in Cambridge and Opheem in Birmingham are worth knowing if you want to benchmark Brassica's seasonal, produce-led approach against city peers. For the Bray comparison, Waterside Inn sits at a very different price tier but shares the rural destination-dining logic. Also see Beaminster bars and Beaminster wineries if you are building a full day around the visit.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brassica | Mediterranean Cuisine | ££ | Easy |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Unknown |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Unknown |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Unknown |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Unknown |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Start with the smaller plates before committing to a main: Ortiz anchovies with sourdough is a reliable anchor, and the raw vegetable preparations show the kitchen's confidence with restraint. For mains, the fish dishes (halibut with borlotti beans, fennel and aïoli is a documented example) reflect the Mediterranean-inflected approach better than anything else on the menu. Desserts lean simple but land well — the chocolate and ginger sundae or almond cake with raspberries are worth room.
Yes, with the right expectations. Brassica holds a Michelin Plate and the kitchen delivers technically assured cooking at ££ pricing, which makes it a credible choice for a birthday or anniversary dinner without the formality or cost of a starred room. The setting — a 16th-century building on Beaminster's town square with colourful, idiosyncratic décor — adds character without stiffness. Book Thursday to Saturday evening for the best atmosphere; Sunday lunch works well for a more relaxed celebration.
The venue data does not specify a counter or bar seating, so solo dining logistics are unconfirmed. That said, the format — a concise seasonal menu with smaller plates available — suits a solo diner who wants to graze rather than commit to a full multi-course structure. At ££, the financial exposure is low. Call ahead to check seating options before arriving alone.
A dedicated tasting menu is not confirmed in the venue record. Brassica runs a concise, seasonally changing à la carte with smaller and larger plates rather than a set tasting format. If you want a tasting-menu structure, this is not the right venue — try a Michelin-starred room in the region instead. What Brassica does offer is a well-constructed short menu where ordering across two or three courses delivers real satisfaction at ££ pricing.
Beaminster is a small Dorset market town, so direct local alternatives are limited. For a comparable seasonal, produce-led approach in Dorset more broadly, look at restaurants in Bridport or Sherborne. If you are willing to travel further into the South West for a Michelin-starred experience, the region has options — but Brassica's Michelin Plate recognition and ££ pricing make it the most accessible quality option in its immediate area.
The venue record does not confirm private dining or group-booking capacity. Brassica operates from a bay-windowed corner site in a 16th-century building, which typically means a compact dining room with limited flexibility for large parties. Groups of more than four should check the venue's official channels to check availability and seating arrangements before booking. Thursday to Saturday evenings fill quickly, so do not leave group enquiries late.
At ££, yes — the value case is strong. Michelin Plate recognition at this price point in a rural Dorset setting is rare. The menu uses quality produce (Ortiz anchovies, Gevrey-Chambertin on the wine list at £105 a bottle) without pricing itself into destination-dining territory. Glasses of wine start at £5. For the level of technique and ingredient sourcing on offer, Brassica compares favourably to similarly priced urban bistros — and outperforms most of them on produce quality.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
