A TOWN'S dining scene has been dealt another blow with the closure of a steakhouse after less than a year of trading. 

Sam’s Steakhouse at 30 Trinity Street in Dorchester received glowing reviews upon its opening - which was announced in September 2023 - with diners describing the sirloin steaks as 'the best we've had in years'.

Now the small restaurant's doors are firmly shut and its interior is empty.

The closure of the steakhouse comes after recent closures in Dorchester of Japanese fine dining restaurant Myra’s Kaiseki in High East Street and the sudden shut down of pan-Asian restaurant Drgnfly and independent restaurant Merchant House, both at Brewery Square.

And late last year a dining mainstay of the town, La Caverna, closed its doors after 30 years of trading.

A note was placed on the door of Sam's Steakhouse in April stating it 'had found a replacement chef and will be reopening on May 11.'

Upon first opening last year it replaced burger bar Cow & Apple.

The restaurant also boasted a beer garden, a bar and an upstairs area listed for use as a function room.

No note has been left on the door and no statement about the closure has been issued.

Sam’s Steakhouse had an average four star rating on reviewers’ website TripAdvisor, with seven ‘excellent’ ratings and two ‘terrible’ reviews.

One reviewer wrote: "We had sirloin steak each, best steak we’ve had in years, chunky chips were amazing.

"My salad although lovely and fresh lacked variety of ingredients. For a no frills wonderful experience it is perfect."

Another wrote: "Absolutely fantastic food never had anything so tasty and filling, the service was excellent."

Another praised the restaurant's ribeye steak as being 'cooked to perfection', the pulled pork as 'very flavoursome' and a burger as 'very juicy and tasty'.

The restaurant ambience was described by one reviewer as having a 'very laid back friendly vibe' and 'being what Dorchester needed'.

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But there has been some good news on the dining front for the county town with the recent reopening of Myra's Kaiseki as Myra’s, under new owners Ganghyeon Kim and his wife Carla Parman-Kim.

There has also been an announcement of a Nepalese restaurant opening in Fordington, Dorchester. 

It will replace former much-loved pub The Bull's Head Inn on the High Street in Fordington.

The business taking over the site is Everest 29032, which has an award-winning restaurant in Bournemouth and has advertised the Dorchester address on its website and social media.

A historic pub in the heart of Fordington, one of the earliest references to the Bull’s Head Inn comes from 1839, according to the OPC for Fordington. It was an Eldridge Pope pub during its early years before it was sold around the turn of the twentieth century to Hall and Woodhouse Brewery.

The pub was reportedly closed sometime around 2016 with the hopes that it could be reopened again.