The Foresters Arms Dunster

Popped in for a drink during a recent visit to Dunster. Whole family and dogs were wet and a bit muddy but we were welcomed in regardless and refreshed. We returned a few days later for a meal, and every dish our group ordered from the fantastic pub grub menu was excellent. Staff, locals, and pub parrot were friendly and we had a great evening in their company. Great to see a traditional pub getting the basics right!

A fantastic, proper pub. Gosh I haven’t had a pint of Murphy’s on draft for years!! What a treat. Lovely staff, great pub. I’d love my local to get back to this. Can’t beat it.

I wanted to like this place as i was staying in Dunster the past few days in self catered accommodation. The food and drinks are ok, but just that. Saying the staff are not welcoming is an understatement. In particular an Irish woman who just looked very angry at lunch on Sunday, she was very grumpy & was even shouting at some people in the pub parking area. This made it feel very cold, i think some better manners and attitude would go a long way..
The parrot causes an absolute racket in the pub, and has a bad potty mouth (my guess is this is from the Irish woman) so i would not bring children unless you want them swearing too! This also makes me question the hygiene of the place slightly, the parrot must use the bathroom somewhere right?
Forks were dirty, old food between the spikes. I had to clean these off myself as i didn’t feel comfortable enough to even ask for clean cutlery.
I understand it’s an old building but it really is very tired and in need of some tlc, generally dirty and sign outside to watch out for falling roof skates which has been put up instead of doing actual repairs.
Parking in the courtyard area is quite unsightly, especially when you have to shimmy past cars to even get through the archway, not at all disabled friendly/wheelchair accessible like they claim.
Overall i am not sure how it is rated so highly as of now. They seem very stressed and serve without enough care to make things feel nice, the locals are definitely valued higher than anyone visiting. There are much better choices elsewhere in Dunster.

We got a very warm welcome from Izzy the barmaid in this clean and cosy locals pub. On offer two ales Otter and Exmoore Pale ale, both of good quality. This is a proper pub and the locals chat happily with you, food is on offer lunch time and evening but we did not try today but heard it is good pub grub. Pool table and juke box is next to the talkative parrot. Plenty of seating. Definitely recommended.....

UPDATE, we enjoyed the pub so much that we returned to try the food out and I'm very pleased to say it is very good too, Ems the barmaid is our host tonight and is lovely keeping the steady stream of customers happy. Very efficient !

Food is excellent as good as the service, piping hot, quickly served and freshly made, decent portions too. Special note, the Chilli and rice with warm crusty bread was especially lovely, but my family enjoyed everything served up from fish, to mac n cheese to baguettes. We just had room for four puddings afterwards which were washed down with another round of drinks.

All in all the tab with 2 rounds of drinks and food came to £72, for four of us that is very good value for money. Do seek this pub out if visiting Dunster, we will do the next time we visit.

Great dog friendly pub in a lovely village. Hope to go back and try their food soon

Nice pub to pop into for a pint. It had a roaring fire going on a very wet and windy night. Nice to relax on the sofa's by the fire!

Just like a pub should be, really friendly people.

Good local pub, friendly staff and locals. You'll love the parrot???