Most concerts at Dorchester Abbey start at 7pm, and we serve dinner from 6pm to 8pm. So the short version is this: book a 6pm table, eat, and walk over. The Abbey is 466 feet from our front door, which makes for a very short walk, and it means you’re not watching the clock through your main course.
Here’s how that works across the autumn programme, and what to do about the events that don’t follow the usual 7pm pattern.
This autumn’s Abbey events and what suits them
| Event | Date and start | What works at the White Hart |
| Kodály, Brahms and Beethoven | Saturday 3 October, 7pm to 9pm | A 6pm dinner table, then the walk over |
| Awake to Wonder | Sunday 25 October, 7pm | Sunday Roast earlier in the day, or a 6pm table |
| Jeneba Kanneh-Mason plays Gershwin | Saturday 7 November, 7pm to 9.30pm | A 6pm dinner table, and a room if you’d rather not drive home |
| Tribute to Hans Zimmer, first seating | Thursday 12 November, 5.45pm | Lunch from 12pm, since dinner service starts after the concert does |
| Tribute to Hans Zimmer, second seating | Thursday 12 November, 8.15pm | Dinner from 6pm with time to spare, and it’s Thai Thursday |
| BACH, Orchestra of St John’s | Saturday 21 November, 7pm to 9.30pm | A 6pm dinner table, then the walk over |
| Abbey Christmas Market | Saturday 28 November, 10am to 5pm | Lunch from 12pm, or a picnic ordered ahead |
Times can move, so it’s worth confirming yours on the Abbey’s own listings when you book your tickets.
Why the 6pm table is the one to ask for
Dinner service opens at 6pm, and a 7pm start gives you a comfortable hour. That’s an easy two courses without anyone hurrying you along. If you’d like three courses, it’s worth mentioning the concert when you book your table, so the timing is clear from the start.
Our dining room sits under ancient beams with a baker’s fireplace and a few log fires going, which is a pleasant place to be on an October evening before you walk over to the Abbey. For groups of eight or more we’d love to host you, and there’s private dining if your concert party wants a room of its own.
If your event is during the day
Not everything at the Abbey is an evening concert. Daytime performances and the Christmas Market land squarely in our lunch service, which runs from 12pm.
There’s also a third option that suits a long day at the Abbey rather nicely. Our picnics come in three sizes, from the Walker’s Picnic with a fresh White Hart sandwich and a homemade snack bar, up to the Posh Picnic with sliced White Hart ham and piccalilli, prawn cocktail, rare roast beef and a British cheese plate. They need 72 hours’ notice, so order when you book your tickets rather than on the day.
The Hans Zimmer evening needs a bit more thought
The film music tribute on Thursday 12 November runs two seatings, at 5.45pm and 8.15pm, which changes the maths. The earlier seating starts before our dinner service does, so lunch beforehand or supper afterwards is the more realistic plan. The 8.15pm seating is the relaxed one: dinner at 6pm leaves you a full evening before you go.
It’s a Thursday, which means Mumi’s Thai Thursday is on. A Thai curry before a live chamber orchestra makes for a good Thursday.
Parking, and getting between the two
Parking at the White Hart is free, both onsite and on the street, with nothing hidden on the bill. That’s worth knowing for Abbey events in particular. For the November film music evening the Abbey has asked visitors to follow the yellow event signage to dedicated event car parking rather than parking on the high street, so leaving the car with us and walking is the simpler option if you’re eating or staying here anyway.
You can find directions and the full set of distances on our location page.
Staying over afterwards
A 9.30pm finish and a drive home don’t always sit well together, especially if there’s been a glass of something at dinner. We’ve 24 bedrooms upstairs in a coaching inn that’s been putting up travellers since the 1600s, most of them dog friendly, and breakfast runs from 7am on weekdays and 8am at weekends.
Planning an evening at the Abbey? Book your table and your room together, and let us know which concert you’re going to when you do.