please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Lovely old pub with very relaxing little courtyard as stated in other reviews.
Would highly recommend stopping off here for a drink.
However, we drove down intending to have lunch. I was quite astonished to discover they are charging 15 quid for a pizza and 17 quid for a prawn or crab salad.
I simply don't spend that much money on lunch.
I settled for a pint and some locally sourced pickled onion Monster Munch.
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Amazing old pub,well worth a visit if you like your old historic pubs.only one beer on bombardier from the barrel,which was good.dining area inside,nice courtyard with outside seating,lovely peaceful setting.
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Very welcoming. Arrived late, but were still willing to serve food (if we were quick). Being ravenous, we complied and were rewarded with excellent food. Only Bombardier gravity fed) on offer, but it was delicious. Unfortunately, as I was driving, had to stop with one pint. Would visit again.
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Lovely Olde Worldy Pub .Courage Best and Directors on ,good food and nice little courtyard outside.5 minute walk off the main road no 3 bus.
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Lovely olde-worlde pub full of character - a throw back to the the 1920s/1930s - with Courage beers straight from the barrel - and full of real characters. The food is first rate - fillet steak is out of this world. There is always a warm welcome and the service is first class. Highly recommended - but don't expect modern day luxuries.
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Disagree with Hoggman. This is a real gem offering excellent food, great beer in a lovely traditional setting. Service is first rate. This is a very small pub so no surprises it is difficult to book in August.
We had the best Lasagne I have ever eaten. Courage Best was excellent but do agree with the comments that the beer range could be better.
Visit the pub, enjoy the atmosphere and surroundings, sit on the patio if the weather is nice. The best pub on the Island. A 10 in my book.
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Very dissapointed - stayed just around the corner in Bonchurch itself and after reading some of the other reviews on this site tried all week (repeatedly) to book a table whilst out and about (and able to get a mobile phone signal). Kept getting an answerphone message - the only time I did finally get through was 6.30 in the evening and they were fully booked.
Thus unable to comment on the food or beer as I am not part of that 'initiated' clique of patrons that actually know how to make contact!
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Now, beer wise this is not the most exciting place (Courage Directors and Best and, seemingly, never anything else) but it does fine food and it's very characteful so I can understand the high ratings.
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The Courage Directors was first rate and the fillet steak (cooked rare as requested) was truly wonderful. A beautiful traditional old world pub locked in a time warp - highly recommended.
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What a stunner, quirky, yes, but beautiful with excellent food. The crab sandwich was the best I'd had for years. Directors on gravity was in tip top conditon.
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Our final call on the Isle of Wight yesterday, and I think we saved the best until last. Tucked away off the main drag through Bonchurch, this doesn't look like a pub at first side, as it is tucked away in a quiet courtyard. But this place is really special. Only one real ale was on yesterday - Courage Best on gravity. But the friendliness of the customers and staff and the attention to detail of the service was exemplary. The bar itself is small but well decorated. Food is served from a separate kitchen across the courtyard. Luckily we chose to dine here, as the food did not disappoint. Whilst not a traditional pub in every sense of the word, both the quirkiness of the place and the fine food make it a fasicnating place to visit. It felt as if we had stumbled across the locals' best kept secret. Well, I'm afraid the secret could be out!
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A great pub, full of character and staffed by people who really care to provide a good service.
Floyd - 18 Feb 2010 15:54 |
A unique pub and for all good reasons. No guest beers, just well kept Courage Directors and Best straight from the cask. Go and see it for yourself. If you visit only one pub on while you are in the IOW I would make sure this is it. Gets very busy with food in the evening.
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Wonderful pub, wonderful beer and wonderful food. Visited three times in ten days - once at lunchtime and twice in the evening - had food and drink each time. The Directors "straight from the wood" was nothing less than superb and I would recommend anyone going to the Isle of Wight to call in at least once. My wife would have preferred more choice of wine but then this is "Beer in the Evening" after all.
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Really nice pub ,excellent beer and Italian food,very friendly atmosphere ,very busy weekends ,suggest booking a table midweek in the pub. Only fault we found was �4.50 for "Italian" ice cream that was very ordinary.
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Visited again today, nothing has changed thank goodness! Beer still excellent and the food is, without a doubt, the best we have had on the Island. Please don't change anything!
hydec - 30 Apr 2009 18:36 |
Landlord was once at Skindles in Maidenhead, in the 1960s I believe. That was a buzzing place and good for a night out. Luckily, he has migrated to Bonchurch and made this pub one of the best in the south of England.
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Directed by locals to the Bonchurch Inn after a long and chilly Sunday walk we were delighted to discover a truly hospitable Inn. Our group of 5 with three generations was given a warm welcome and accommodated in the cosy family room. The service was first class, the quality fo food superb - including a simple sandwich for a fussy eater. The spinach cannaloni was creamy, fresh, light and delicious. Great to find alternatives to traditional Sunday lunch. The draft beer was excellent. There is also a very traditional child free room which is just as a vilage pub should be. Go there and enjoy!
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Although limited beer choice, very much enjoyed popping in here whilst walking from Ventnor to Bembridge. It made a change to have a well kept "cooking" bitter straight from the wood, than all the heavy, dark, strong beers which we had encountered - totally unsuited to a British Summer. Plenty of people eating outside - food looked enticing. Will come back I'm sure.
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10 out of 10! Walk in here and you step back to a time when a local pub was a real pleasure to visit. I don't think this place has changed much in the last 30 years. The owner and staff are very wellcoming. The beer is so well kept, straight out of the barrells behind the bar, an excellent pint of Directors! But the "cerry on the cake" is the food, fantastic Italian menu, the best we had on the island! All in all a refreshing change from the usual chain of rubbish pubs selling rubbish microwave pre-prepared crap! I'm buying the house next door!!
hydec - 10 Mar 2008 18:49 |
All of what Greybags has said and even more, the service was the best, the beer was well kept and the food is out of this world.
And the walk down the meal after is healthy for you.
The best food on the Island.
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As well as 'real' ale on tap (kept well), the food here is nothing short of excellent. A large party of people, all with different orders, all had superb meals. The homecooked Italian dishes were all faultless.(An Italian restauranteur probably helps) As was the simpler Plaice and chips.
A quieter, more romantic atmosphere can be found in the restaurant off the courtyard .
Very friendly staff too. A true gem of a pub.
Gets my FULL marks!!
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Excellent unchanged courtyard pub, which uses several idiosyncratic buildings as drinking areas. Serves an excellent pint of Directors straight from the barrel in a bar which feels like you've stepped back into the 30s. The coutyard suntrap makes a summer pint even more pleasurable. Voted 10
Jimbo Smith - 24 Jul 2004 18:47 |
