|
|
This site uses cookies - see our privacy policy. Ads & links in bold may give us a small payment from the seller, at no cost to the buyer. However, this never affects our views - if we like it, we recommend it.
Isle of Wight Food and Drink Tour – Top 10
The Isle of Wight isn't really known for one particular food or drink.
Yes, there is locally produced garlic, seafood, real ales, wine, ice cream and so on...but it's not like Melton Mowbray where 98% of visitors feel obliged to buy a pie as a souvenir for granny.
However, you can do a pretty good food and drink tour of the Isle of Wight through a combination of visiting food producers and eating in independent restaurants and pubs.
The obvious choices for tours are The Garlic Farm, Adgestone Vineyard and the Isle of Wight Distillery but there are other options.
Here are my top 10 things to eat and drink on an Isle of Wight food and drink tour.
Yes, there is locally produced garlic, seafood, real ales, wine, ice cream and so on...but it's not like Melton Mowbray where 98% of visitors feel obliged to buy a pie as a souvenir for granny.
However, you can do a pretty good food and drink tour of the Isle of Wight through a combination of visiting food producers and eating in independent restaurants and pubs.
The obvious choices for tours are The Garlic Farm, Adgestone Vineyard and the Isle of Wight Distillery but there are other options.
Here are my top 10 things to eat and drink on an Isle of Wight food and drink tour.
1. Isle of Wight Garlic
Reports of vampires on the Isle of Wight are at an all time low, thanks to the presence of wild garlic in villages such as Shorwell. The same can’t be said for UFOs, mermaids and ghosts which are often spotted just after closing time outside the pubs in Cowes high street.
The tradition of growing garlic on the Island is furthered at The Garlic Farm, which is a free day out in Newchurch (in the general direction of Sandown from Newport).
The reason it’s free is that you end up buying eight different variations of garlic from the gift shop including garlic beer, garlic chutney and garlic mayo.
There’s also a café, woodland trails and a small playground. When we visited the Garlic Farm, there was a tractor offering rides round the farm for a few pounds.
It’s very nicely done and pulls in a big crowd, who then have smelly burps for the rest of the week.
There's also a Garlic Festival in the summer which combines garlic with stunt bikes, live music and people selling double glazing.
The tradition of growing garlic on the Island is furthered at The Garlic Farm, which is a free day out in Newchurch (in the general direction of Sandown from Newport).
The reason it’s free is that you end up buying eight different variations of garlic from the gift shop including garlic beer, garlic chutney and garlic mayo.
There’s also a café, woodland trails and a small playground. When we visited the Garlic Farm, there was a tractor offering rides round the farm for a few pounds.
It’s very nicely done and pulls in a big crowd, who then have smelly burps for the rest of the week.
There's also a Garlic Festival in the summer which combines garlic with stunt bikes, live music and people selling double glazing.
Wildflowers at the Garlic Farm
2. Isle of Wight Crab, Lobster and fish
Seafood is perhaps the closest thing the Isle of Wight has to rival Cornwall's pasties or Devon's cream teas. Freshly caught crab and lobster are served up at lots of decent restaurants.
Some to consider include:
Some to consider include:
- The Best Dressed Crab in Bembridge is a floating restaurant in Bembridge Harbour. The fishing boat pulls up alongside the restaurant to deliver its catch, so it is pretty fresh. It also featured on the TV series The Cockfields which is a favourite of ours.
- The Smoking Lobster on Ventnor Esplanade is the one that featured on Best of Britain By The Sea on More 4 in 2022. Grace Dent went wild for the lobster and Ainsley Harriott said things like "Corrrrrrr, that's gorrrrrgeous". There's also a branch of the Smoking Lobster in Cowes.
- The Hut in Colwell specialises in seafood and is popular with insta-darlings and yachties in red trousers and expensive sunglasses.
- Fox's Restaurant in Bembridge serves Bembridge crab and has a very good reputation.
- Murray's Seafood Restaurant in Cowes is long established and popular.
The Hut in Colwell is in a sunny spot at Colwell Bay (in the left on this picture)
If you want to catch your own fresh seafood then you can go on fishing trips from the Isle of Wight. Black Rock Charters is a good place to start and gets excellent reviews. You may not catch anything but you'll get a great view of The Needles at least.
We often go crabbing on Bembridge beach or at Freshwater Bay at low tide (the second beach, near to the Albion). They are big enough to elicit squeals but not big enough to eat. You'd need to search under rocks all week to make a crab sandwich.
We often go crabbing on Bembridge beach or at Freshwater Bay at low tide (the second beach, near to the Albion). They are big enough to elicit squeals but not big enough to eat. You'd need to search under rocks all week to make a crab sandwich.
3. Mermaid Gin
|
The Isle of Wight Distillery has done a terrific job of transforming itself from a niche name into a well-known and successful gin producer. The breakthrough was the release of the blue Mermaid Gin bottle, which is – undeniably – a masterpiece of design.
The bottle is plastic free and stands out on shelves to the extent that it made local news when it was spotted in the background of a James Bond film (Ed: Licence To Spill? Dr No Thanks I'm Driving? From Rookley With Love?). The blue bottle was followed by a reddish-pink one and then a white vodka bottle and a green zesty edition. You’ll see the Mermaid Gin bottles everywhere on the Island – partly because a lot of cafes and pubs use the empties for tap water. You can also visit the distillery near Ryde which is open to the public. |
Our collection of Mermaid Gin bottles (note that the two at the back are getting a little low)
|
4. Isle of Wight wine
Countryfile visited Adgestone Vineyard a few years ago.
It was one of those features where they trail what’s coming up three times (“Still to come...I’ll be visiting an Isle of Wight vineyard”) and then expect you to be surprised when they tell for a fourth time (“You probably think I’m in the South of France. Well, I’ve got news for you…!”).
The tours cost about £10 and are done with digital headsets, like the ones you get on a tour of the National Gallery. You can also sign up for a tasting lesson. Hiccup.
It was one of those features where they trail what’s coming up three times (“Still to come...I’ll be visiting an Isle of Wight vineyard”) and then expect you to be surprised when they tell for a fourth time (“You probably think I’m in the South of France. Well, I’ve got news for you…!”).
The tours cost about £10 and are done with digital headsets, like the ones you get on a tour of the National Gallery. You can also sign up for a tasting lesson. Hiccup.
5. Isle of Wight Tomatoes
You can pick up Isle of Wight tomatoes in Sainsbury’s in Dundee, so I wouldn’t visit the Island entirely for this purpose.
They're grown at a big greenhouse in Arreton and you’ll find them on the menu at a lot of classy pubs and restaurants on the Isle of Wight.
They're grown at a big greenhouse in Arreton and you’ll find them on the menu at a lot of classy pubs and restaurants on the Isle of Wight.
6. Isle of Wight ice cream
|
There are a few ice cream companies competing to give you fillings on the Isle of Wight.
|
Tough decisions at Crave Ice Cream in Ventnor
|
7. Isle of Wight Milkshake and cheese
An entrepreneurial dairy farm on the Isle of Wight has a self-service milkshake machine on the road between Cowes and Newport. You buy a glass bottle (or bring your own) at Crockers Farm Dairy and press a few buttons to get local milk with a guest flavour. I went for black cherry last time I visited.
My children enjoyed it so much that I started avoiding Cowes so that they didn't badger me to stop for a milkshake.
On the dairy theme, the Isle of Wight Cheese Company does some rather nice blue cheese. They don't do tours but you will see it sold in farm shops and served in some restaurants. They also do an unpasteurised cheddar-style cheese called Gallybagger and a mature edition which is only available in December.
Another dairy producer on the Isle of Wight is Briddlesford Farm. They make cheeses, clotted cream and do family-friendly tours on some afternoons in the summer.
My children enjoyed it so much that I started avoiding Cowes so that they didn't badger me to stop for a milkshake.
On the dairy theme, the Isle of Wight Cheese Company does some rather nice blue cheese. They don't do tours but you will see it sold in farm shops and served in some restaurants. They also do an unpasteurised cheddar-style cheese called Gallybagger and a mature edition which is only available in December.
Another dairy producer on the Isle of Wight is Briddlesford Farm. They make cheeses, clotted cream and do family-friendly tours on some afternoons in the summer.
Self service milkshake from Crockers Farm Dairy
|
The Isle of Wight Cheese Company held a short meeting to choose their name
|
8. Isle of Wight doughnuts
As I mentioned earlier, there was a TV programme in 2022 where Ainsley Harriott and Grace Dent drove around the Isle of Wight eating things. It made me very hungry.
They also spent a night or two at Woodside Coastal Retreat and visited Grace’s Bakery where they bought an Isle of Wight doughnut. They were told the story that the doughnut was invented on the Isle of Wight, albeit with dried fruit in the middle.
Is it true? Probably not. Will that stop us from trying to sell the story to visitors? Of course not!
Tuck in!
Grace's Bakery has half a dozen branches around the Isle of Wight.
They also spent a night or two at Woodside Coastal Retreat and visited Grace’s Bakery where they bought an Isle of Wight doughnut. They were told the story that the doughnut was invented on the Isle of Wight, albeit with dried fruit in the middle.
Is it true? Probably not. Will that stop us from trying to sell the story to visitors? Of course not!
Tuck in!
Grace's Bakery has half a dozen branches around the Isle of Wight.
9. Foraging
Foraging for food is probably best carried out by those who know what they're doing. Perhaps sign up for a foraging course rather than picking up random green things on the beach and saying "hmm, I wonder if this is edible?".
In case you fancy having a go without a guide, the nearest A&E can be found in Newport.
In case you fancy having a go without a guide, the nearest A&E can be found in Newport.
10. Isle of Wight Beer
I'm aware of five breweries on the Isle of Wight. There might be more that I've missed.
The bigger ones are Goddards in Ryde, Yates in Newchurch and Island Brewery in Shalfleet. As far as I'm aware, you can't do brewery tours at any of them but I've seen bottles for sale in Co-op and farm shops. They make excellent gifts for grandads who don't appreciate a box of fudge.
There are also microbreweries including Boojum and Snark which has a bar in Sandown and Wight Knuckle Brewery which is based at the Pilot Boat Inn in Bembridge.
The bigger ones are Goddards in Ryde, Yates in Newchurch and Island Brewery in Shalfleet. As far as I'm aware, you can't do brewery tours at any of them but I've seen bottles for sale in Co-op and farm shops. They make excellent gifts for grandads who don't appreciate a box of fudge.
There are also microbreweries including Boojum and Snark which has a bar in Sandown and Wight Knuckle Brewery which is based at the Pilot Boat Inn in Bembridge.
The-Isle-of-Wight-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer™ All the information on this website is correct, as far as we know, but please do check details directly - and please contact us if you find anything inaccurate. Here's our full disclaimer.
