Ryde Restaurant Guide

This “pleasant” and “airy” bistro on the seafront has shaken up its offering thanks to new head chef Adam Maker, who has introduced small plates and ambitious locally sourced cuisine alongside ongoing fixtures such as the “excellent fish ’n’ chips” and pizzas. Oenophiles are also well served as “in partnership with Camber Wines, there’s plenty of choice for all tastes and budgets” when it comes to the tipples.

2023 Review: Chef-patron Kevin Bingham has presented his “excellent” ‘global French’ cuisine at this consistent performer near the Southsea seafront for more than a decade – and at restaurant Montparnasse (RIP) before that. The tasting menu goes down well, “with a well-chosen wine flight to complement it”.

“Situated on the seafront at Bembridge”, on the eastern side of the isle, this early nineteenth century gastropub-with-rooms provides “a nice range of delicious seafood dishes”, including the trademark crab and lobster.

In 2019, locally born chef Gary Pearce and his wife Martyna took over this well-established restaurant-with-rooms right on Emsworth harbour from Ramon & Karen Farthing, who had developed it into one of the South Coast’s better-known dining options over two decades. Gary’s “complex and innovative cooking” – honed in top kitchens including Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham and Belgium’s De Wulf – scored consistently well this year, if on somewhat limited feedback.

“Satisfyingly simple and unpretentious” – the verdict on Lawrence & Julia Murphy’s long-running (est. 2000) and “rustic” venture in a cute, seventeenth-century fisherman’s cottage, on the road down to the quay; the “varied menu” features “plenty of fresh fish, beautifully prepared and served” and coming “at a reasonable price” to boot.

2022 Review: Sailor-turned-entrepreneur Ed Collison set up his popular venue at Emsworth yacht basin at the age of 21 in 2016, serving everything from £4.50 bacon breakfast rolls to a splash-out seafood platter for two at £120 a pop. During lockdown he launched a fleet of silver catering vans, and in November 2021 announced a new branch of the Deck, replacing the Boat House Café, at Gosport marina.

2023 Review: A “glorious summer lunch spot” – “if the sun is shining you could be in the South of France drinking rosé and eating lovely – if somewhat pricey – seafood to the soundtrack of Dmitri from Paris”. The seventeenth-century hotel is run by Prince Harry’s pal Howard Spooner, who last year won a High Court battle against his former business partner Sally Johnson, following the pair’s failed attempt to turn The George into a celebrity retreat for A-listers, including old rockers, yachtsmen, polo players and wealthy Americans.

2023 Review: Chef-owner Charlie Bartlett’s “little gem serving lovely food cooked with imagination” is “well worth a trip” – and by some accounts offers “close to the best cooking on the Island”, although not everyone is convinced by “a mishmash of clashing influences in the dishes”.

2022 Review: “Worth crossing the Solent for!”, say fans of this local staple, which turns out “amazing fish ’n’ chips” featuring “crisp batter and pearlescent fish”. Cart it away to the nearby seafront or tuck in on-site (“the little dining room is attached to the back of the shop”).

2023 Review: In July 2021, GC Giancovich – with the help of family and friends – opened this sibling to his Ventor original, with a similar pan-Asian, fish-heavy menu, plus sushi and cocktails. Fans say it’s “not perfect yet but well on the way to being a must-go place”.

2022 Review: This “intimate restaurant” occupies a site on the high street that in days gone by housed Phileas Fogg and a Mexican pop-up. Its rotating menu (affordable, and fairly conventional in style) is strong on local sourcing and – as per the name – cherrypicks from global cuisine. A couple of London-based diners reported their best meal of the year here.

2023 Review: This “pleasurable small town-centre bar/bistro” serves a “short but exceptional Asian-inspired menu” that “would put many well-known central London restaurants to shame”. “The staff were welcoming and extremely knowledgeable about the food.”

2023 Review: “A great location on the seafront at Ventnor” further boosts the appeal of GC Giancovich’s “bustling” five-year-old venue, which – “in a town where the eating choices are distinctly limited – stands out for its interesting and well prepared food”. On the menu, “fantastic, fresh and varied seafood” prepared in an “Asian-fusion” style, including some sushi, all washed down with cocktails. In September 2022, fire crews were called to the restaurant and it remains closed as of October 2022.

2023 Review: This “fab” harbourside wine bar-bistro “with gorgeous views across the Solent” has three glass shelters on its eponymous terrace, so you can eat outside in all seasons. The menu highlight is steaks from retired dairy cows from the island’s Briddlesford Farm, hung for 40 days and cooked to medium for the ‘tangy, rich and yellow fat to melt nicely’.