Pebbles - Purbeck

This is part of Rudd 's Hotel but they try and keep the reviews separate with good reason. Lulworth Cove is beautiful. The pretty courtyard to the hotel looked a great spot for lunch and the menu looked perfect. We arrived at 12:45 and went to the hotel bar to collect menus and order. We ordered drinks but were told they had just taken a big food order and were waiting for some deliveries and would take our order in 10 or 15 minutes. When we went back later we were told the owner/chef was expecting a delivery of wood and they wouldn 't come until he paid them hence a further delay. It 's like Fawlty Towers here said the girl behind the bar. At 1:15 they announced that they were now taking lunch orders. We ordered Calamari and chips for my daughter, moules mariniere and chips for my son, a crab sandwich on brown with halloumi fries for my wife and seafood paella for me. Total cost £64.50. We were told we would be called to the window of the kitchen when the food was ready. In the meantime I went to the loo a trip I would only recommend in the most urgent of circumstances. They didn 't have brown bread (my wife won 't eat white). As he pushed to polystyrene boxes of food through the window to me the chef explained that they didn 't have halloumi fries so he had put in some spring rolls instead. The calamari was inedible. As I said to the chef they could have been used as weapons in martial arts they batter was so hard. We also failed to detect any squid, The seafood paella was also inedible. They had lined the polystyrene box with tin foil because it was swimming with liquid. It was also bland and just awful. I complained to the chef who offered to refund the money for the paella £15. I would have argued and demanded a full refund but we were on holiday and it doesn 't take much to embarrass an 11 and 12 year old so I let it go. The girl who took our order came and put the refund back to my card. I have just got back home and checked my account and instead of refunding me £15 they charged me another £15. You couldn 't make it up.

The most recent review I found was from 2013, but when I took my family there last week, our experience was great. I'm wondering if there has been a change in ownership. The prices were reasonable and the food was really good. We needed two highchairs and they were provided without any issues. We sat outside in a shaded area at the back of the restaurant, and it was a lovely experience.

I have been visiting Lulworth Cove every year and decided to try Pebbles Restaurant this time. I was extremely disappointed when I paid £25 for a child's small bowl of pasta and a tiny piece of fish for myself. It's no wonder why this place was so empty compared to other restaurants in Lulworth Cove. I will not be returning and would not recommend it to others.

Well what can I say... Pebbles looked very pleasant from the outside and so we decided to have lunch there. What a terrible mistake. The food took nearly an hour to come and it was awful. The manager had a serious attitude problem too. Never again! Please avoid if you are ever in the area. There's plenty of other choice in Lulworth Cove. This place does not deserve to do business here.

Beautiful Lulworth scallops perfectly cooked. Rack of lamb tender and delicious. Pear frangipani tart: exquisite, served normally with ice cream but were very happy to do clotted cream instead. This was an expensive restaurant but the service was good, the food was good and the portion size was just right. Excellent if you enjoy your food, but not cheap.