The story
In the heart of Beaminster, at 4 The Square, Brassica is a small, independent destination restaurant that has earned a Michelin Recommended nod. The recognition speaks to the careful, personal approach of this rural Dorset spot, where the kitchen turns out Mediterranean-inspired cooking across every meal, from breakfast and brunch through to supper.
The restaurant describes itself as a "rural independent destination restaurant," and the setting matches that ambition. Guests can choose between two dining areas: tables by the fireside or a newer bar and counter, fitted with comfortable upholstered stools. The full menu is available at both, and the bar area welcomes drinks and sharing plates. A small food and home store operates within the restaurant, open in the evenings as well.
Brassica’s schedule covers Tuesday to Saturday, with breakfast, brunch, and elevenses from 9am, lunch from 12pm, and afternoon tea and coffee from 2.30pm. Supper service runs Thursday through Saturday, 6pm to 8.30pm. The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday, and does not accept dogs.
The team has also launched a "Cooking the Books" series and regular Film & Food Suppers, adding a cultural thread to the dining experience. For larger parties of more than eight, bookings are handled by email, and credit card details are required to secure all reservations.
Brassica’s presence on the Michelin Recommended list reflects its commitment to quality in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. It is a place that asks guests to honour their bookings, and in return offers a genuine, well-run dining experience in the heart of the West Country.
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With its 'lovely vibe' and 'inventive food', Brassica has undoubtedly given a welcome jolt to the dining scene in Beaminster, which is exactly what its owners Louise Chidgey and Cass Titcombe set out to do. Inside the bay-windowed corner site, the decorative tone vibrates with idiosyncrasy, thanks to brightly coloured prints and plates on the walls and a connoisseur's approach to vivid cushions. Business gets going at the back end of the week, with lunches and suppers Thursday to Saturday, and a well-supported Sunday lunch offering. Cass Titcombe has a cool instinct for the combination of accented seasoning and lightness of substance that are today's hallmarks, resulting in main dishes such as orecchiette with prawns, agretti and tomato, or a precision-timed halibut fillet with borlotti beans, fennel and spring onions, given creamy pungency with aïoli. The smaller plates have a distinctly tapas-like air, from Ortiz anchovies with sourdough to sliced raw courgette freshly dressed in mint and lemon. Those Sunday lunches proved a winning formula for one couple, who enjoyed the careful treatment accorded to both hake and pork, as well as the inspired choice of veg. If vegetables are to be the main element, they might be roast leeks with pickled mushrooms, lentils and chard. Desserts are a canny exercise in how simple resources can produce extravagant satisfaction: chocolate and ginger sundae; almond cake with raspberries and crème fraîche; apricot fool; affogato. A small but expertly curated wine selection is packed with on-trend flavours, from Grüner Veltliner to Blauer Zweigelt. Small glasses start at £5, and damn us for pointing out that even the £105 for a bottle of developing Gevrey-Chambertin is hardly an act of grand larceny hereabouts.
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