Isle of Wight Restaurants & Eating Out Guide

Food Lovers Guide to the Isle of Wight

 by Alison Jane Reid

Gourmet, Michelin-starred, foraged or so local you will probably rub shoulders with the farmer or artisan producer who reared your meal – the food scene on the Isle of Wight is an exciting and constantly changing kaleidoscope of culinary possibilities.

I make no apology for seeking out and focusing on the very best local, seasonal and organic food cooked by an exciting brigade of chefs who are lured to the island by its history, its beauty and the bounty of land and sea. Our small island has so much to offer the cherished, regular visitor or discerning newcomer.

On a theme of high-octane glamour, The Royal in Ventnor aims to recreate the mood of Cannes in the fifties, with its wonderfully alluring outpost, The Riviera Terrace, with views to make the desire to hop across the Channel rather redundant. Holidaying in the UK has never felt so effortlessly cosmopolitan.

The Botanic Café, Ventnor, has undergone an exciting reincarnation, and is now the place to linger for a vibrant lunch and Alice in Wonderland style afternoon tea; and Roger Serjent continues to wow us at The Taverners – the finest pub on the Isle of Wight for superb British food cooked with talent, humour and invention, and wonderful island ingredients.

Meanwhile, over on the south side of the island, Tyler Torrence, a talented Canadian, with a passion for the local and organic food scene is cooking at The West Bay, and solves the problem of where to eat out with the children and still enjoy high quality, imaginatively cooked food with the emphasis on local fish, summer grills and sublime puddings – with cosmopolitan flourishes from around the globe.