Tickled Tummy At The Pickled Pear

Nikki Latham
3 days ago
2 min read

Our first food review of 2026, took us to The Pickled Pear in Chapelhay in Weymouth, which also coincided with Nikki's birthday.

Nikki often seems to find herself in the Chapelhay area outside this establishment’s usual opening hours, but as her birthday celebrations began at the Chapelhay Tavern it was the perfect opportunity to pop in. The visit also served as a reminder of a previous delivery to the pub for the manager there. Chapelhay has a number of small businesses tucked away and it’s always worth the short trip up the hill to discover them.

Chesil Radio worked with the owner, Leon, last year while supporting his roles with the Royal British Legion in Dorset. When entering the café it was already busy, and during the visit it became even busier, which suggests it is clearly well supported by the local community.

The choice on this occasion was the chilli. With good knowledge of ingredients, I was asked whether a pork chilli was suitable, as that was the meat being used that day. With my allergies this attention to detail is particularly important. The dish came with spicy rice, cheese – a nice and unexpected touch – and pitta bread.

Alongside it, as you might expect, I opted for a Red Bull, which was reasonably priced for a café. There was also a full range of drinks available including a selection of teas and coffees.

The food coming from the kitchen was delivered with Leon’s trademark smile. Although the kitchen itself is slightly out of sight, you could certainly hear and smell the busy atmosphere as dishes were prepared. From what I could see, the breakfast menu looked especially popular for the time of day that I was visiting.

There were also specials boards alongside the menus, with the offering split between breakfast and lunch options, as can be seen below.

Back to the chilli, which arrived piping hot and clearly freshly cooked. The food was lovely overall and had a little kick. The only change I would personally suggest would be swapping the pitta bread for some nachos — even a small serving of Doritos or similar would work really well with the dish.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/e1b984_c4ba2e84e51e4574ad7d96bee3b1984a/720p/mp4/file.mp4

It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal and, when I’m next up in Chapelhay during the daytime,

I’ll definitely be returning to try one of those breakfasts that looked absolutely amazing.