A Baffi pizza starts days before it reaches your table. The dough is mixed and left to prove slowly, then stretched thin and slid into a wood oven that fires it in under a minute — long enough to blister the rim and leave the middle soft. This is the Canford Cliffs branch, on Haven Road, and it trades as a proper neighbourhood pizzeria rather than a stop for passing tourists. If you are staying on the Poole side of the bay, it makes for an easy evening: book a table, pick at a small plate while the oven works, then walk it off towards the chine and the water.
The food
The dough does the heavy lifting here. Baffi’s pizzaioli trained in Naples, and the Neapolitan method shows in the chewy, leopard-spotted crust that a long, slow rise produces. Toppings are kept plain and good — San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte, fresh basil and organic olive oil on the Margherita — with the kitchen drawing produce from both the UK and Italy. Beyond the pizzas there are Italian small plates to share and vegan bases for anyone skipping dairy, plus a short run of Italian wines and beers. Specials change, so check the current menu on the venue’s own site.
The setting
Baffi is family-run and compact, with tables inside near the oven and a few out on the pavement when the weather holds. The feel is easy rather than formal — somewhere a couple can eat quickly or a group can settle in for a while. It is one of several Baffi sites around the area, with others in Southbourne, Westbourne and Poole, but the Canford Cliffs room keeps the low-key, local character that suits the village around it.
Where it is
The restaurant is at 44 Haven Road, in the heart of Canford Cliffs village, between Poole proper and the Sandbanks peninsula. Canford Cliffs Chine drops through the trees to the beach a short way off, and the gardens at Compton Acres sit close by — either makes a natural walk before or after dinner. The Poole area guide covers what else is within reach on this side of the bay.
Good to know
Booking is done online, which is worth doing at weekends when the dining room fills, and there is takeaway if you would rather eat back at your apartment. Opening hours and prices are the venue’s to set and do change, so confirm them on its own site before you head over. For something different a short drive away, Bank by Nicholas James up in Penn Hill is an easy alternative, and the restaurants hub rounds up the rest across the bay.