Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Ventnor
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Ventnor restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 12 restaurants in Ventnor and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Ventnor restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Ventnor Restaurants
1. Geranium Restaurant at The Royal
British, Traditional restaurant in Ventnor
Belgrave Rd - PO38
“Sit in chandeliered grandeur in the dining room, or enjoy your food whilst looking out of the conservatory over the garden” when you dine at this grande old dame of a hotel. Too limited feedback for a rating in our annual diners’ poll on the à la carte fare, which is more posh brasserie (fresh fish, rump steak, risotto) than it is particularly ‘haute’.
2. The Crab and Lobster Inn
Fish & seafood restaurant in Bembridge
32 Forelands Field Rd - PO35
“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.
3. Restaurant 27
French restaurant in Southsea
27a Southsea Parade - PO5
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”.
4. abarbistro
British, Modern restaurant in Portsmouth
58 White Hart Rd - PO1
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.
5. The George Hotel
Mediterranean restaurant in Yarmouth
Quay Street - PO41
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.
6. Le Tour du Monde
International restaurant in Ventnor
11 High Street - PO38
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.
7. Drunken Lobster
restaurant in Ventnor
2 Pier Street - PO38
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.”
8. Smoking Lobster
restaurant in Ventnor
Esplanade - PO38
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.
9. The Duck
restaurant in Ryde
Appley Rise - PO33
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”.
10. Corrie's Cabin
Fish & chips restaurant in Cowes
17 Shooters Hill - PO31
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”).
11. Smoking Lobster
Fish & seafood restaurant in Cowes
127 High Street - PO31
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”.
12. The Terrace
British, Modern restaurant in Yarmouth
Quay Street - PO41
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’.
View full listings of 12 Ventnor Restaurants
Popular Ventnor Restaurant Searches
Ventnor Restaurant News