Review as listed in the
Alastair Sawdays Special Places Edition 5 & 6

A cream-painted pub deep in Hardy Country, reached via leafy lanes. Opposite the parish church, the unassuming Chetnole Inn is utterly traditional - expect a skittle alley and a jolly locals' bar with a jukebox, dartboard and old-fashioned board games. If hungry, head for the spick-and-span, hop-happy lounge and dining room, warmed by a blazing wood-burner in winter and decked with simple pine tables on stone and wooden floors. The food is generous and great value. Choose from chicken liver pâté with fruit chutney; Lyme Bay scallops with Parma ham and parsnip-ginger purée; pumpkin risotto; belly pork with mustard mash and star anise jus; and lunchtime sandwiches (eg. bacon and brie). Named after Hardy characters, the bedrooms come as a surprise, fresh and cosy with their thick duvets and feather pillows on old pine beds, perhaps a sofa or a pine wardrobe, real coffee, homemade biscuits and local magazines; gleaming bathrooms have bathrobes and Molten Brown smellies. Sherborne and the Jurassic Coast are a short drive away; footpaths radiate from the door.