The Cowshed Dorset — Restaurant in England

I was here for an evening event organised by friends to celebrate a birthday. I am a wheelchair user and use a powerchair, as well as relying on public transport.

One important note - those travelling on the Number 40 bus to get here should be aware that they will have to walk on the side of the road to get to and from the venue after the bus stop, and that the bus stop coming from Poole direction drops off onto a grass verge where there is no drop curb - many wheelchairs, particularly powerchairs, will not be able to dismount safely. Manual chairs and/or those with a freewheel attachment might be able to get up and down the verge but I recommend having at least one attendant who knows how to help you because it is a steep and high drop.

So I was here for a function and there is a step to the entrance of the function room. Staff did bring out a wooden ramp which was barely suitable (not smooth to use, no grip, and a bump on the end because of how it sat over the lip of the step) and this was taken away again as soon as I was inside so essentially I would've needed to find staff to bring it out every single time I wanted to go in or out of the event hall through the main door. This is not ideal at all and removes independence and the equal access to use the main door.

There is the side door to the narrow hallway where the toilets were but the ramp is steep and the doormat at the top of the ramp caused my wheels to skid so I couldn't enter until someone moved it. This hallway is also narrow and has the toilets there so not ideal for a wheelchair user to have to go in and out this way as they're likely to find issues if someone opens a toilet door when they're passing as the doors open outwards into the hallway. More info on the accessibility of the toilet below under the wheelchair...

Lovely setting but infested by wasps!!! We were batting off wasps when served our food despite it being clearly impossible to eat, however the waitress was not phased by this and laid our plates down, despite seeing that a wasp was already floating in my drink by this point. We asked to move tables however was left to move our food, drinks, table settings, dog and bags by ourself. After several back and forths, we moved to the back of the yard however the wasps were still absolutely everywhere and a lot of people were moving seats. We asked for an inside table so we could try to eat our food, which was given to us, however once again we were left to move everything by ourselves. I asked for a tray and the waitress just handed it over without any offer to help. Someone did then come and grab our drinks for us after another member of staff saw us struggling. Once inside the noise was ear shatteringly loud; it was incredibly busy and very tight for space. Our food was cold by this time sadly, but kudos to the chef as the vegan breakfast was still tasty enough. We decided to leave in the end due to the chaos and the wasps finding their way inside! A stressful Saturday morning and a...

A really great breakfast and wonderful Coffee.

I definitely look forward to coming here again. It's the best breakfast I've had in a long time!

Updated Unfortunately we had quite upsetting service on another of our regular visits today. We were left to feel a bit humiliated and upset about our dog who was a bit anxious due to a busy service and barked a little to excitedly greet two other dogs who had just entered the building despite the place being very busy and loud anyway.

As soon as our breakfast was bought out a server stomped over and told us to take our dog outside. Please dont advertise yourself as dog friendly if you aren't and don't bother serving me my food if you don't want me to eat it. £30 pounds down the drain to feel upset all day.

We definitely dont feel like coming back despite how much we've enjoyed this place over the last year.

I't feels like the stress of a busy day was just reflected on us.

One of the ladies who works here though was absolutely lovely as always and took the time to greet us and give our dog some love and attention, which is all she really wanted on her little trip...