Isle of Wight Restaurants and Dining

(Isle of Wight, England, UK)

The Isle of Wight features many excellent places for dining out, serving a range of English and continental food. Choices range from seaside restaurants, fish and chip shops, pubs and fast-food options to cafes, coffee shops and even a number of classy gourmet haunts.

Newport, Cowes, Ryde, Shanklin and Bembridge have some of the best bistros, public houses and restaurants on the Isle of Wight, often coming with great views of the island and coastline. In particular, the area around Union Street in the town of Ryde features fine dining, with appealing and sophisticated eateries serving good meat and fish dishes. Also, on the Esplanade, a seafood restaurant offers fresh fish dishes and tasty sandwiches.


Many tourists and visitors to the Isle of Wight find it hard to resist the numerous tea shops and public houses, which serve popular cream teas (a pot of tea, scones, clotted cream, and strawberry jam) throughout the year. Most restaurants on the island usually provide excellent value for money, offering discounts for children and seniors, although it is worth noting that a number do reduce their hours out of season, during the winter months.

Most of the large hotels on the Isle of Wight have excellent in-house restaurants which are generally open to non-residents. However, for the best value, it is hard to beat traditional hearty pub grub, with favourites including steak, pies, mixed grills, scampi and battered fish, usually accompanied by chips and a side-salad. Keep an eye out for the specials boards for more seasonal dishes.

Lunch

Lunch on the Isle of Wight is one of the most popular meals of the day and many local restaurants, brasseries, cafés and bars attract people by reducing their prices at this time. Lunch is taken between 11:30 to 14:30, and can range from an extensive buffet meal to light al fresco dining at a pavement cafe - perhaps just a baguette and a cup of coffee.

Holiday makers often simply grab a pasty, sausage roll or sandwich from a local bakery and then enjoy lunch sitting on the beach, keeping a mindful eye out for hungry seagulls.

Dinner

Isle of Wight restaurants and public houses generally open for dinner at around 18:00 and stay open until 23:30 or later, although many may open earlier or may actually remain open throughout the day. Particularly notable choices include the George Hotel at Yarmouth, the Hillside Restaurant at Ventnor, Lugley's in Newport, the Priory Bay Hotel at Seaview and the Waterfront Inn at Shankin.