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Isle of Wight Beach Cafes With A Sea View (2025)
Is there anything more glorious than sitting in a beach café on a sunny day?
The Isle of Wight has an abundance of beachside cafes, but they vary significantly in availability (and quality).
Some towns - such as Shanklin and Sandown have several beach cafes that will sell you a latte with a view. Other towns and villages - such as Cowes or Bembridge have a much less generous choice. (My hunch is that there is more money in residential property than in selling teacakes in posh places, but let's avoid a digression).
I'm only going to include Isle of Wight beach cafes that tick these five boxes:
The Isle of Wight has an abundance of beachside cafes, but they vary significantly in availability (and quality).
Some towns - such as Shanklin and Sandown have several beach cafes that will sell you a latte with a view. Other towns and villages - such as Cowes or Bembridge have a much less generous choice. (My hunch is that there is more money in residential property than in selling teacakes in posh places, but let's avoid a digression).
I'm only going to include Isle of Wight beach cafes that tick these five boxes:
- A score of at least 4/5 on TripAdvisor. If you can't achieve that with a sea view then you aren't trying hard enough.
- Genuinely next to the beach, rather than half a mile back and on a hill. We will make a couple of exceptions for particularly popular cafes with a good view.
- Somewhere you can sit down, rather than just a kiosk. I might allow the occasional kiosk-with-a-couple-of-plastic-chairs-outside.
- Somewhere you wouldn't feel awkward just ordering a cappuccino. If you feel like you should be eating a meal then it's not really a café in my book.
- Places that just open in the daytime. If I include places that open in an evening then there will be too much repetition with our guide to seafront restaurants.
This latte was actually at The Hut, which isn't really a café, but I'm sure you'll forgive me
Beach Cafes in Shanklin
Shanklin Esplanade is the place to head if you're attempting a beach-café-crawl. This traditionally involves downing a latte and a teacake in each café, before a frantic dash to the public toilets at the end of the Esplanade.
Starting from the Luccombe end of Shanklin, your options include:
There are also seafront restaurants and pubs that will happily serve you a coffee during the day. These include
These two aren't really cafes, but they are large enough that you feel you can have a coffee on the terrace without feeling you should be eating.
There are then a few cafes on the seawall that links Shanklin with Sandown including
As I said, there's a lot of choice in Shanklin!
We will also give honourable mentions to Blueberrys Café (5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene) and The Hideaway (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene). Both are up on the cliffs rather than on the beach but they have excellent sea views and are popular so it seems a little rude to exclude them just because they (literally) look down on everyone else.
A note for grammar fans - I am not sure why it is called Blueberrys Café rather than Blueberry's Café or Blueberries Café but you'll be the first to know when I find out. For the time being, sit down and enjoy the view.
Starting from the Luccombe end of Shanklin, your options include:
- Lazy Wave (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene)
- Beach Café 34 (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene)
- South East Beach Café (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene)
- Salix Beach Café (5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene).
There are also seafront restaurants and pubs that will happily serve you a coffee during the day. These include
- The Steamer (4/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene rating)
- The Waterfront (4/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene rating)
These two aren't really cafes, but they are large enough that you feel you can have a coffee on the terrace without feeling you should be eating.
There are then a few cafes on the seawall that links Shanklin with Sandown including
- Tradewinds Beach Café (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene)
- Hinks Pioneer Café (4.5/5 on Google reviews, see food hygiene)
- Fins Beach Café (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene)
- The Beach Shack (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene).
As I said, there's a lot of choice in Shanklin!
We will also give honourable mentions to Blueberrys Café (5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene) and The Hideaway (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene). Both are up on the cliffs rather than on the beach but they have excellent sea views and are popular so it seems a little rude to exclude them just because they (literally) look down on everyone else.
A note for grammar fans - I am not sure why it is called Blueberrys Café rather than Blueberry's Café or Blueberries Café but you'll be the first to know when I find out. For the time being, sit down and enjoy the view.
We took this photo of South East Beach Cafe in February (hence the coats)
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Lazy Wave Beach Café is at the Luccombe end of Shanklin esplanade
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Beach Cafes in Sandown
In nearby Sandown, the abundance of beach cafes with sea views continues. Options include
The naming meeting for The Beach Café must have been particularly short.
At the Yaverland end of Sandown you'll find a café in the large car park. It's known as Yaverland Kiosk (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene) but you can sit in and eat a bacon bap whilst admiring the view, so I consider it a café. They were very helpful when we went in and asked a hundred questions about allergies.
- The Coffee Bubble (5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene)
- The Beach Café (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene)
- The Sundial (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene).
The naming meeting for The Beach Café must have been particularly short.
At the Yaverland end of Sandown you'll find a café in the large car park. It's known as Yaverland Kiosk (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene) but you can sit in and eat a bacon bap whilst admiring the view, so I consider it a café. They were very helpful when we went in and asked a hundred questions about allergies.
The Kiosk Café is the building on right, overlooking Yaverland Beach
Beach cafes in Ryde and East Wight
There aren't as many places to eat along Ryde seafront as you might expect. Of course, I've no idea how many you were expecting there to be, but let's move on before this gets too deep.
A café that fulfils our criteria for decent beachside cafes is The Dell Café in Appley (4/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene). I like to park in the Puckpool car park and then wander through the path that leads to the beach. It's a rather pleasant experience on a nice day.
There's also the Big Kahuna on Ryde seafront, but I don't know a lot about that one (4.1/5 on Google Reviews, see Food Hygiene). The Captain's Table (4/5 on TripAdvisor, see Food Hygiene) is sunk down a bit, so you might need to bob up and down between slurps to get a sea view.
A café that fulfils our criteria for decent beachside cafes is The Dell Café in Appley (4/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene). I like to park in the Puckpool car park and then wander through the path that leads to the beach. It's a rather pleasant experience on a nice day.
There's also the Big Kahuna on Ryde seafront, but I don't know a lot about that one (4.1/5 on Google Reviews, see Food Hygiene). The Captain's Table (4/5 on TripAdvisor, see Food Hygiene) is sunk down a bit, so you might need to bob up and down between slurps to get a sea view.
The Dell Café overlooks the whopping great sands of Appley Beach in Ryde
Beach Cafes in Bembridge and St Helens
Whitecliff Bay is often in my top-five-Isle-of-Wight-beaches, but we hardly ever get there as it is quite a lot of bother to visit unless you are staying at Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park or Sandhills Holiday Park. However, if you can get there then visit the Wonky Café (4.5/5 on Google Reviews, see Food Hygiene). Visit at low tide!
Bembridge is currently lacking in beach cafes. It has the Harbour View Café (see Food Hygiene) but that's not really near the beaches. I also can't quite figure out its review score, as there are two TripAdvisor pages, which give wildly different scores.
The beach next to the RNLI lifeboat station in Bembridge has a café on wheels called Archie's Outdoor Café (4.4/5 on Google reviews, see Food Hygiene). As you will gather from the name, you can't eat inside but there are some plastic seats outside.
In St Helens, there's a fairly well hidden café called The Duver Café (4.6/5 on Google Reviews, see Food Hygiene). It is next door to Tackt-Isle Adventures, so you can hire a bodyboard and drink your coffee onboard. The café is small and overlooks the harbour rather than the beach but it gets better reviews than the more prominent café at St Helens beach (Baywatch On The Beach).
Bembridge is currently lacking in beach cafes. It has the Harbour View Café (see Food Hygiene) but that's not really near the beaches. I also can't quite figure out its review score, as there are two TripAdvisor pages, which give wildly different scores.
The beach next to the RNLI lifeboat station in Bembridge has a café on wheels called Archie's Outdoor Café (4.4/5 on Google reviews, see Food Hygiene). As you will gather from the name, you can't eat inside but there are some plastic seats outside.
In St Helens, there's a fairly well hidden café called The Duver Café (4.6/5 on Google Reviews, see Food Hygiene). It is next door to Tackt-Isle Adventures, so you can hire a bodyboard and drink your coffee onboard. The café is small and overlooks the harbour rather than the beach but it gets better reviews than the more prominent café at St Helens beach (Baywatch On The Beach).
The Wonky Cafe is an effort to reach, but it's a terrific location at low tide on a sunny day
Pubs and restaurants with a sea view in Ventnor and South Wight
Ventnor is an excellent spot for beach cafes. They aren't as abundant as they are on the longer esplanades of Sandown and Shanklin but there are certainly enough.
I am a fan of Besty & Spinky’s Cafe Bar (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene) because it sits alongside Ventnor's Isle of Wight shaped paddling pool. We have spent many hours there with the children shouting "STOP SPLASHING ME!", me shouting "STOP SHOUTING" and Mrs Guru shouting "DON'T SLIP OVER!".
Also on the Esplanade you'll find Lady Scarlett's Tea Parlour (5/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene). It is 1940s themed, which is considered futuristic in a Victorian seaside resort.
Another highly-rated café on Ventnor seafront is Toni's Tea Room (5/5 on TripAdvisor, see Food Hygiene).
The Seapot (5/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene) is a quirky little café, which you can find on the sea wall between Bonchurch and Ventnor. It's a great wheelchair and pushchair friendly walk, when it isn't falling into the sea.
Steephill Cove is a favourite little beach for a lot of people. There are a couple of cafes including The Beach Shack (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor, see Food Hygiene). If I owned a beach café, I'd like it to be this one!
I am a fan of Besty & Spinky’s Cafe Bar (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene) because it sits alongside Ventnor's Isle of Wight shaped paddling pool. We have spent many hours there with the children shouting "STOP SPLASHING ME!", me shouting "STOP SHOUTING" and Mrs Guru shouting "DON'T SLIP OVER!".
Also on the Esplanade you'll find Lady Scarlett's Tea Parlour (5/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene). It is 1940s themed, which is considered futuristic in a Victorian seaside resort.
Another highly-rated café on Ventnor seafront is Toni's Tea Room (5/5 on TripAdvisor, see Food Hygiene).
The Seapot (5/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene) is a quirky little café, which you can find on the sea wall between Bonchurch and Ventnor. It's a great wheelchair and pushchair friendly walk, when it isn't falling into the sea.
Steephill Cove is a favourite little beach for a lot of people. There are a couple of cafes including The Beach Shack (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor, see Food Hygiene). If I owned a beach café, I'd like it to be this one!
Steephill Cove requires a walk from the main road or from Ventnor - but it's a plum spot
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Besty and Spinky's Café overlooks this paddling pool with the beach over the road
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Beach cafes in Cowes and North Wight
Cowes and Gurnard are, quite honestly, not great for beachfront cafes. As mentioned earlier, the prime seafront land has been gobbled up with big houses. There are some pubs at either end of the Cowes to Gurnard esplanade but not really what I would call a beach cafe.
Gurnard had a nice café called the Watersedge but it was demolished to make way for a new one...which hasn't been built several years later. There is usually one of those kiosks that you see in a lay-by off the A25 but it's not quite the same.
On the other side of the river, East Cowes has a beach café called Shoreside Cafe (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene). The downside is that East Cowes doesn't really have a beach. Well, that's not exactly true - it has a shingly bit of beach, but not somewhere that you will be building a sandcastle and going for a dip.
Gurnard had a nice café called the Watersedge but it was demolished to make way for a new one...which hasn't been built several years later. There is usually one of those kiosks that you see in a lay-by off the A25 but it's not quite the same.
On the other side of the river, East Cowes has a beach café called Shoreside Cafe (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see food hygiene). The downside is that East Cowes doesn't really have a beach. Well, that's not exactly true - it has a shingly bit of beach, but not somewhere that you will be building a sandcastle and going for a dip.
Pubs and restaurants with a sea view in Yarmouth and West Wight
In Yarmouth, I would go for long-established Gossips Café (4/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene). Whilst gossiping, you can also watch people pottering about on the pier and the ferry coming and going - but it doesn't overlook a glorious sandy beach. Fellow grammar fans may struggle with the lack of an apostrophe in Gossips Café. Don't let that ruin an otherwise pleasant experience.
Further along the coast near to Fort Victoria is the Boat House Café (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene). Read about our walk along here towards Sandhard Beach.
Colwell has a decent seafront café called Captain’s Cabin (4/5 on Trip Advisor) see Food Hygiene. In nearby Totland, there's a pub called the Waterfront with lots of outside seating but it's not really a café.
Freshwater Bay doesn't have a café that ticks all our boxes. Dimbola's café is a favourite of ours, but you only get a limited sea view outside as it's five minutes' walk from the beach. The Travelling Tavern is a double decker bus with a bar which is usually based in Freshwater Bay. You can get a sea view from the upper deck but a) it's a bar rather than a café and b) it occasionally drives off.
Further along the coast near to Fort Victoria is the Boat House Café (4.5/5 on Trip Advisor, see Food Hygiene). Read about our walk along here towards Sandhard Beach.
Colwell has a decent seafront café called Captain’s Cabin (4/5 on Trip Advisor) see Food Hygiene. In nearby Totland, there's a pub called the Waterfront with lots of outside seating but it's not really a café.
Freshwater Bay doesn't have a café that ticks all our boxes. Dimbola's café is a favourite of ours, but you only get a limited sea view outside as it's five minutes' walk from the beach. The Travelling Tavern is a double decker bus with a bar which is usually based in Freshwater Bay. You can get a sea view from the upper deck but a) it's a bar rather than a café and b) it occasionally drives off.
Gossips Cafe is in the bottom left corner of this photo, which was taken by Richard Osman on tippy-toes
Are your children ruining your eating out experiences? See our guide to pubs with playgrounds
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