Author: Sal
Horseshoe Bay House Restaurant: Review (7/10)
Tuesday, 4th July, 2006 at 12:01 am, Isle of Wight
All plans for a productive start to the day ended quite quickly on Sunday morning, after being woken up by young Alpha. We all decided that staying in bed for another half hour would be a better start.
So became the trend for the day.
A jungle of a garden beckoned, but before setting to work out there, we decided to take a wander down to Monks Bay, donning bikinis and trunks. What was supposed to be a short trip, ended up turning into an extended frolic on the beach and very soon we were in need of some refreshments.
With parched throats (and rumbling stomachs) we wandered towards the Horseshoe Bay House Restaurant.
We’ve walked past this place so many times and never bothered venturing up the wooden steps. A lawned area at the front of the restaurant had several tables over looking the sea, but sadly on closer inspection, all were reserved (a good indicator of popularity perhaps).
Thinking we wouldn’t bother staying on, because we wanted to sit outside on such a lovely day, we were surprised that inside was actually pretty inviting (and cool – not the artexed ceiling, but the temperature, that is). Being slightly higher up than the garden, you get a better vantage point of the sea and the room was light and airy.
A great and surprising menu, and very difficult to make a decision as everything sounded extremely tempting. I went for the king prawns in garlic butter served with watercress and crusty bread (£8.95). It was so good that Simon ordered another plate to have after he’d finished his very satisfying Greek salad (nice touch with the parma ham and fresh dates) (£7.95). It now officially being the summer, we opted for a dry Rose (£13) which was reasonable acceptable – but would probably go for something else next time.
Alpha went for the fantastically adventurous option of a cheese sandwich on brown. I felt it was overpriced at £4.50, especially as she ended up leaving half of it, and not surprising as it was a slab of cheese slapped between two pieces of plastic bread – the only let down of the meal. She made up for it, by having some Minghella for dessert. She’d spotted the ice cream fridge as soon as we walked into the restaurant – must be something in the genes!
The food was great, the service excellent – all waitresses being very pleasant and particularly attentive.
Clearly they are doing something right, as during the two hours we were sat at the table, there was a constant stream of customers. Despite this, we weren’t rushed or hassled to leave.
Infact it was so good, we’re treating ourselves again next Sunday! Top marks (almost) to the Horseshoe Bay House Restaurant. Hope we’re just as happy next time.
For this visit I give them 7/10. A great summer choice.
Horseshoe Bay House, Shore Rd, Ventnor, PO38 1RN 01983 856800
See it on Google Maps (it’s the building slightly to the left of the arrow).
Image: Auntie P
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Any chance of a review on the Boathouse in Steephill Cove????
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yep, should be coming early august.
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Been meaning to add for ages that they only takes cash/cheques and aren’t open every day
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Don’t be fooled.. THIS IS ONE OF THE NICEST PLACES IN THE WORLD
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What do you mean? Don’t be fooled?
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They take credit cards now
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Cheers Fess. Looking forward to their excellent garlic prawns, a bottle of dry rose and a hot sunny day again soon!
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Just a tip for you: we enjoyed a lovely
week here, but were greatly overcharged
with ferry price arranged through them.
Will not be be returning.
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its probably not their fault. Hotels are qoted a fixed amount for the different parts of the year. In the good old days they guarenteed that you would get the best price possible. The current bunch, don’t do that and run specials sometimes £10/£20 cheaper than the hotels have been told and when booking are not told a cheaper alternative is available. You will find though that the special price is only available for specific sailings and if you miss it you pay the full fare (eg Midweek August Special is £58 (ish), full fare £135)the fare the Hotel charge means the times are completely flexible.
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“Thinking we wouldn’t bother”
Something up with your apostrophes, Sal? I’ve tried three browsers, with the same result, so I don’t think it’s me…
Good review. Have never been there, so will try to rectify ASAP. Might wait for some sunshine first, though!
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When we did our first server switch about 18 months ago, something weird happened during the re-install. It was done by someone else and they failed to fix the problem with special characters, so there are a number of posts where apostrophes and £ signs etc have gone wonky. We were going to write a programme to fix it but never got around to it. I usually fix them when I come across an old article – think it affects about 6 months worth of postings. We have our own servers now, so in full control of everything.
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