LAST week I spoke to a couple who unsuccessfully tried to find the Scott Arms.

Apparently they had scoured the countryside looking for the elusive pub, but eventually called off the search and returned home.

Shame, because had they been more familiar with the winding country lanes around Corfe, they would have found what is arguably one of the finest pubs in the area.

Clad in ivy, one of the Scott Arms’ unique selling points is the stunning view it has over Corfe Castle. So stunning in fact that the owners have mounted a telescope in the garden so customers can have a better look.

Which is exactly what my girlfriend and I did when we visited the Scott Arms earlier this month.

After ordering a pint of Jurassic ale and a Pimms and lemonade from the bar, we took in the view from the pub’s garden and peered through the telescope until the exciting menu became too tempting to ignore. This didn’t take long.

Although it was a Tuesday night, the garden was heaving with fellow diners, who seemed to be enjoying a variety of dishes. This boded well.

After perusing the menu I was sold on the Lulworth Cove scallops with bacon, pea puree and rocket (£8.95), while my girlfriend opted for the fresh sea bass with sun-dried tomatoes, pesto and rocket salad (£12.95).

Unfortunately when I gave my order at the bar I was informed that they were out of scallops. This was disappointing, although the Poole Quay lobster and crab linguini (£11.95), which was on the specials board, offered some consolation, so I ordered that instead.

And I’m glad that I did because after the first mouthful I’d all but forgotten about the scallops. Not only was there plenty of tasty crab and lobster meat, but the rich chilli and coriander sauce was absolutely divine.

Granted it did get slightly sickly towards the end, but that was because the portion was so large and I was so greedy.

The sea bass was no disappointment either, it was excellently cooked and the delicious white meat supplemented the sharp flavours of the pesto and sun-dried tomato perfectly.

Regrettably there was no room for dessert, so we ordered another round of drinks to procrastinate leaving this superb country pub.

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