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Quay Arts Café - Newport (HR) "Best Cafe" Award 2012" Sometimes I put off going to an eatery because of reasons nothing to do with the food. There is one restaurant I know that has really uncomfortable seats. Another cafe has such a bumpy road to it I really can't be bothered. I prefer the Quay Cafe in the summer when I can sit outside because I find it too dark inside and it makes me feel "down". Out side on the deck, sometimes watching the swans or an idle boat while munching on a fresh salad bowl is right up my street. They do simple things well. Soups, baguettes, jackets, salads all consistently nice. Daily specials such as frittata or curry are usually tasty and often creative. Portion control can sometimes be a bit erratic, but hey-ho as they say. 2009 - The Quay offers a range of vegetarian and interesting salad dishes for the healthy diet conscious. Very much the sort of food you would expect from an arts centre. I have had some really nice dishes here with the occasional - not their usual standard dish - depending on who is cooking that day. Meal sizes can also vary from dish to dish. i.e you might think you are getting a meal but it could turn out to be a snack. 2008 We are a world of stereotype eaters. If you are a truck driver you are meant to eat bacon sandwiches at a greasy spoon – a pop star, to eat nouvelle cuisine – a pensioner, to eat over-cooked roast dinners and toasted teacakes – a business executive, to eat fish – a farmer to eat meat at home – or an artist, to eat vegetarian whole-foods - or that is what every art centre in the country thinks. Whether you are a practising artist or a buyer of art, this is the menu to expect at such establishments. The Quay Arts centre is no exception. Most of the customers seem to be 40–50 year- old women on their own or with a girl friend, and the men are of the paisley sleeveless sweater types. This is not a criticism, merely an observation, besides, I pop in there all the time. I like to view the art then have a cup of tea and a piece of cake, or a bowl of soup. - a pleasant way to spend an hour. The food is healthy – salads come as a salad bar selection, the SOD (soup of day) is usually vegetable, quiche, vegetarian terrines, baguettes using wholemeal bread – an improvement on the white variety served everywhere else – jackets and homemade cakes including beetroot cake. The café is quite dark but the outside deck on the bank of the Medina river is a pleasant place to sit. It can get very busy during lunchtime so be prepared to queue. Where is it? Sea Street, which is at the bottom of Quay Street Old Smithy - Godshill (R) "Best Cafe" Award 2011" 2011. This is one of the most consistent cafes on the Island. You always know what you are going to get and it is straight forward honest food that in my judgement is cooked by someone who likes to eat good food herself. This is serious catering for tourism. Plastic table and chairs, huge conservatory overlooking the coach car park. The place is so popular there is almost always a queue, but it is worth it for their huge (both in choice and size) of naughty but nice cream cakes and my favourite, Bonoffi pie the best on the Isle of Wight. If you are local and want to avoid the crowds (not an easy task), go mid-week when the children are at school or when it is a sunny day so that you can sit outside. The service is efficient and pleasant. Amazing when they have to put up with hundreds of customers every day. Food is simple, basic and well cooked. Robust soups, tasty crab tart, fresh mackerel pate. Also, properly cooked jackets. Where is it? - You can't miss it. Turn off the main road in Godshill into the large car park on the right if coming from Shanklin. Gods Providence - Newport Best Cafe award 2010 2009 - Once again they do not disappoint. It's not fancy it's not trendy, but it is traditional fare for the comfort eater and it always has been for as long as I can remember 2008 - Life can be full of disappointments. For me it is going to a restaurant that I originally thought was good only to find on another visit, that the chef has changed along with the quality of the cooking – for the worst! This means that the one thing I'm always looking for is consistency. Whether the establishment is chef/proprietor- based or the chef is employed, the quality of the cooking is the responsibility of the owner not the chef. I have been eating in Gods Providence cafe come tearooms for over 25 years and they are serving the same food, same quality now as they did then. Things have subtly changed, for instance the coconut and chocolate slice has vanished and so has the upstairs salad bar. I am sad about this as I had many girly lunches up there. – always wholemeal pastry quiche with a selection of salads. I remember the grated carrot and coconut salad with great affection. Gods Providence House is now onto its fourth owner. The second one decorated the loos, the third one added curtains, the latest one colourful blackboards and painted walls. Gods Providence House is the nearest one can get to tinkling teacups and oldé worldé charm, and old-fashioned pre-war food – comfort food. Steak pie and steak pudding, with a selection of well- cooked vegetables, poached egg on toast, omelettes, scones, egg mayonnaise sandwiches, fruit jelly and lemon meringue pie. Their concession to the modern world is cafetiere coffee selection, herbal teas and BLT; and now some delicious looking puddings. Waitresses in black and white uniforms are quick and friendly. What they create with the catering packs is worth tasting. Where is it? – St Thomas Square, Newport The Beach Shack formerly Devonia Kiosk - Sandown Amongst the usual beach kiosk stuff comes a sparkle of good food from a couple who want to offer more than just cheesy chips and burgers. They serve the best crab cake I have ever tasted - ever, anywhere in the whole wide world - this alone deserves an award! Also many wonderful home made soups; including rich mushroom, intense pumpkin with crispy bacon and mozzarella balls. Island chefs should do themselves a favour and pop along there on a sunny winters day for a warming special. Where is it? The first kiosk at the beginning of the walk along the revetment to Shanklin.
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Cup of Tea and a Piece of Cake Chessell Pottery Barn - Chessell "Best Cream Tea" award 2011, 2011 and 2010 The pottery cafe has developed a nice simple menu of homemade scone and cakes, freshly made soups and simple but very nice ploughman's type snacks using Gallybagger cheese and local pickles. The BEST cream tea we have had this year. Cleary a great deal of attention and affection has gone into this dish. perfect scones, great clotted cream by Calbourne Classics, great fresh tasting locally made strawberry jam. Definitely a pot of tea and a piece of cake stop. Where is it? On the middle road to Freshwater just past Calbourne Tramezzini - Ventnor (R) I was verging on heart broken when Goodman's on Ventnor sea front closed down. Or rather, I was mourning the loss of a highly talented chef. So you can imagine my delight to discover he has re-emerged at the Tramezzini Deli. Apparently Tramezzini means little sandwich, clearly a joke as my hot meatball rague sandwich was far from small. It was not only big on size but big on flavour too. The bread was super fresh and crusty and served simply with a few top of the range crisps. I finished with a light and creamy cheesecake topped with some zingy fruits, wonderful. I am already looking forward to a return visit. They also have a deli counter. This one is going on my regulars list. Where is it? Ventnor High street, heading towards Shanklin and on the right. On the Green - St Helen's (R) This has become a regular little haunt for maddish mum and me. Light lunches and simple cakes from a very small but well executed menu are just the ticket. We usually have soup and sandwich, pot of tea and a cake to share. We love the decor, log burner, colour scheme and pretty additions. Where is it? On the lower-green road. Warren Farm - Alum Bay A great cup of tea and piece of cake stop. Menu is really simple. Ham sandwiches, ham salad, cakes and cream teas in great farm land surroundings. Where is it? Turn left down a farm lane just before you get to Alum Bay End of the Line - Freshwater Another good place to stop for a cup of tea and a piece of cake - particularly the upside down sponge. Where is it? next to Honnor and Jeffrey garden centre Thorntons - Newport You may well ask what am I doing at Thorntons? The one thing you can be certain about a chain of eating establishments is that they are always consistent. That is consistently bad and very occasionally consistently good. Thorntons is the latter. Thorntons in Newport is my preference for service and atmosphere and their cakes are scrummy. My favourite is the Lemon Tart, lip- puckeringly tangy with a smooth finish. A close runner-up is the Chocolate Alpini cake. Where is it? - Newport High street, just down from the Post Office. Osborne House Cafe - East Cowes A simple selection of sandwiches, cakes and soup of the day in smart cafe surroundings. Thompsons Garden Centre - offers a good range of homemade cakes with a cup of tea, and, they take credit cards for small amounts of money. Cappuccino coffee is the one drink that I get really annoyed about. Most establishments think that as long as it has chocolate sprinkled on the top that is all it requires. Then there are those that think it has to have the froth piled on top like a snow-capped mountain. A real cappuccino is 1/3 coffee, 1/3 milk and 1/3 froth all below the rim of the cup. Milk to the rim is a Latte. A large cappuccino is never served in a mug, that is disgusting. The chocolate topping should be cocoa, not sprinkles and this is why I always ask for my cappuccino without the topping as no one ever seems to use cocoa anymore. Kings Manor Farm shop and cafe - Freshwater They use fresh local ingredients and as one rambler commented as they walked through the door "What a lovely smell". I couldn't have agreed more. The aroma of beef being sautéd in an open pan permeated the air. I was suddenly hungry and it had to be beef. Indeed, I enjoyed the most delicious thai beef salad English style. This was followed by a chocolaty chocolate slice, like a very fat biscuit and great tasting coffee. Where is it? Turn right at the Co-op towards the Red Lion. Turn left before the red Lion. Kings Manor is a little way down that road on the right into a narrow lane. Lavender Farm - Wootton A must in the summer to try their unusual lavender cake, lavender shortbread and lavender ice-cream. Where is it? Newport side of Wootton along the Staplers road Breeze - Island Harbour New- I am keeping an eye! This is a good name because you can certainly get blown off your bike when cycling from Newport to Whippingham an long the river medina path. I have been dropping into this eatery on and off for over 12 years. Normally for a beer and a packet of crisps. Some years the menu reads rather interesting so I have a go at one of the dishes but I have to say I have never been in raptures. I tried again in 2011 and have been occasionally pleasantly surprised. Good robust soup come in a big bowl. A soup in a big bowl has to be good or you can become bored with it. Chicken is not over cooked and puds are home made. Sunday lunch was up and down. The salmon with white wine cream and prawn sauce was good and the salmon was moist, but, it was served in a soup bowl so the sauce quickly disappeared as it soaked into the vegetables. The Roast beef was tough - better sourcing needed - and the roast potatoes soggy. The Yorkshire pudding however was home made - makes a change. Where is it? Between Newport and the crematorium roundabout.
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Quarr Abbey Cafe (R) You might bump into the odd Monk but generally speaking this re-vamped cafe is for the middle classes with a love of peaceful surroundings and art. There is a hotchpotch of old furniture and I have found myself moving the chairs around until I have found the right chair to fit the table height. While waiting to order you are confronted with a tempting array of homemade cakes. Portions are huge - one meal would be enough for two. Most dishes come with a big bowl of French fries which have to be eaten quickly before they go cold. Soups are tasty and sandwiches are gutsy. I am always surprised that there is no pork on the menu. Go there and you will see what I mean. Where is it - In the grounds of Quarr Abbey which is between Wootton and Ryde Steephill Cove is a dream holiday destination for alfresco eating and a cool windy August deters no-one. I have to say that I could spend almost my entire summer eating in this little gem of a place. Coffee and cake, crab sandwich, lobster salad, grilled mackerel. The Boat House - Steephill Cove (HR) 2011 - They are consistent do what they do very well 2010 - My first visit here was over 8 years ago. I fell in love with it. The venue alone filled me with happiness and ephemeral joy to be remembered like a holiday romance. In 2010 the concept is exactly the same. With fresh seafood from boat to table on a daily basis, now as it was then. People ask me why I have given cafe with a small menu offering the most basic of cooking a Highly Recommended award. They have a mission and they deliver it - it's as simple as that. I magine the tropics, imagine alfresco eating under the gentle shade of a palm-fringed veranda and you have The Boat House. What a joy, what bliss. What pleasure and how clever to think of planting a piece of the South Sea Islands on our own Wighty shores.Wooden slatted floors, canvas roof, directors' chairs, bits of old rope twisted around driftwood rails. Stones off the beach, trellis walls and trees growing through the floor contrast with damask napkins and large glass goblets for the delicious house wine. The menu is basically salad, salad and salad. I had the seafood platter with an almost perfectly cooked lobster. A crab shell-filled with hand-picked succulent brown and white crab meat and a dozen shell on prawns resting on a large bed of salad. The seafood was incredibly fresh. The only thing missing was a dollop of genuine homemade mayonnaise. Desserts are homemade. My raspberry brulee was completely wrong in terms of it being made to an accurate recipe, however it was divine in its own special way. Where is it? The Boat House is normally open every lunchtime so long as it isn’t blowing a ‘hooly’ outside and some evenings. Next year they plan to open lunchtimes only. Proceeding by car from Ventnor, the lane leading to Steephill Cove is 50yds short of the Ventnor Botanic Gardens. Cars cannot descend to the cove, but parking is available on the main road; or park at the top Ventnor esplanade car park and take the cliff walk. Approx 30 minutes. Crab Shed - Steephill Cove (HR) This little eatery with its ultra casual layout on two levels are suppliers of fresh crab, and lobster to take home. They also serve perfectly formed simple light lunches. Their crab pasties are kept to prefection in a temperature controlled oven. I love their freshly grilled mackerel fillets ( my all time favourite fish) with salad or in a cibatta. Salad garnishes are often the one thing thing that irritates me the most. Spiky rocket and lack of dressing are the worst. The Crab shed consistently serve a green salad that is both tender and textured with a light fruity dressing and a grating of parmesan, in fact the best green salad on the Island. The ingredients speak for themselves and the Wheelers let them shout from the hill tops. Chale Green Stores Cafe - Chale Green We like the rural surroundings and the parterre style outside seating area. Food is simple, and some of it ready made from the deli counter. My chilled gazpacho soup was excellent - not too much onion. A must after the Saturday shopping trip. Salads are excellent with attention being paid to detail. Annoyingly they want to charge you 75p if your card payment is less than £5.00. I strongly object to credit card fines for not spending enough - I have to ask what kind of customer service that is? Fish and Chips Junes Fish Bar - Shanklin (R) Corries Cabin - Cowes (R) Wootton Fish Bar - Wootton (R) Ventnor Pier - their apple fritters are v.good The above fish and chip shops serve really fresh tasting fish and chips cooked to a very high standard. |