The Pig on the Beach; A seaside culinary delight ⋆ Amellia Mae

The Pig on the beach in Studland Dorset, is just one of a group of outstanding culinary hotels here in the South of England. They generally refer to themselves as a “restaurant with rooms” as the culinary experience comes before everything else. That being said the accommodation is more then outstanding. From cosy shepherds huts to stunning suites, the hotel part of this concept most certainly keeps up with it’s foodie counterpart and doesn’t disappoint.

Summer is, unfortunately, drawing to a close and so we are trying to make the most of every last delicious ray of sunshine. So we packed up our Ray Bans, a healthy appetite and headed the coast.

The Pig on the Beach, is as you may have guessed on the beach! It has an enviable elevated position above the 2 bays here in Studland; South Beach and Shell Bay. The views are quite simply breathtaking.

The views are unspoiled , expansive and available to residents and diners alike. During the summer, on Monday through Friday, between 12 and 5pm, you can enjoy a rustic and laid back outdoor dining experience. The Pig on the beach offers sourdough flatbreads with a choice of delicious toppings. You can of course choose to dine in the beautiful dinning room or conservatory with a much more extensive and delectable menu, but for us, the flat breads were perfectly ample. Perfect being the operative word.

We both opted for the Isle of Wight tomato and goat cheese flatbread. The flat breads are cooked in the outside oven and so the gardens are filled with delicious aromas to get the tastebuds going.

Our flatbreads arrived quickly and were fresh, tasty and hot. The flavours were so vibrant and intense, the sourdough provided a perfect base, not too heavy and perfectly crisp.

I can’t usually get the Mr to eat olives but he commented on how delicious the “brown stuff was” before he knew what they were! He’s officially converted.

The restaurant and hotel group pride themselves on their kitchen garden and their approach to cooking which focuses on what is in season and is available to them. They also rear their livestock onsite ensuring it is well cared for, free range and organic.

Herbs are cut fresh from the garden as is all produce that ends up on your plate, as much as possible.

Everything is well maintained and cared for. You can even observe that talented staff in action if you stay long enough…hardly a challenge here.

Once we had finished our flatbreads we sipped our local cider…

and admired the view a little longer…

We took a stroll around the gardens and admired the beautiful building itself as well as the numerous quirky buildings around the site. There’s something a little Harry Potter about this place don’t you agree?

Full up on all the enchantment of the place we opted to take another stroll to the local beach, just a few hundred yards through the woods.

There are 2 beaches, South Beach and Middle Beach, both owned by the National Trust. They are both sheltered and offer great activities for the family as well as the option to have your own BBQ in the designated zones. Whilst they aren’t small, they do get packed, which can be a little off putting on a summers day. Arrive early to stake your spot, or do as we do and jump in the car and drive a few miles to Studland, where you can pretty much have the beach to yourself ! Marvellous.

We dipped our toes in the water, warmed by the glorious evening sun. It really was the stuff of story books.

A little parched and a lot sun kissed on our return we sampled some more of the local drinks, with compliments of The Pig on the beach.

Reluctantly though, we agreed it really was time to be heading home. And so naturally we decided to have one last real drink…

And something sweet to keep our energy levels up…

I drank in as much of the view as I possibly could. On a sunny evening this place really would take some beating.

We bid our farewells to the handsome long stay residents…

Then squeezed ourselves into the car and headed home. A little fatter and a lot happier for having experienced this little slice of heaven on the Dorset coast.